Living in the Negatives + ICE FISHING

Oh hey there good lookin'~
Welcome back to my fantastic blog.

It's 2016! Let's have fun!

I'd like to start with a clarification about the title. If you are confused, I'm not talking about being a party pooper with a negative attitude. This is about surviving in the cold of cold temperatures (negative Celsius and occasional negative Fahrenheit).

Can you guess what the temperatures are like here in the coldest province of South Korea? At the beginning of January?

Well, it's not as cold as last year. But this whole week our warmest temperature remains below freezing, and at nights plummets an additional 10 degrees Celsius or about 0 Fahrenheit.

Last winter it was this cold from early December, and the main river froze over.

We also had a lot more snow...

Sorta miss my white hairy leg mountains from last year. They're now brown and hairy... as they will be until late April.

But this year I'm living by myself in a house, not a fancy warm apartment complex. While I was still busy teaching up until winter break, I thought that my 온돌 floor heating didn't work, so I worshipped my space heater (I at least trusted the water heater, thank the Bathing Gods)

Without further ado, here is a brief and certainly not all inclusive presentation of my way of life in this cold. Maybe my dear readers in similar conditions, like my friends in Finland can relate.

Habits from last month (living without heating)

• eating warm food as fast as possible so it doesn't get cold and because it warms your tummy

• eating more than 1 person's serving because you don't want the warm to stop

• feeling really fat after that

• getting out of bed is your worst part of the day

• crawling into bed as soon as possible after work to procrastinate against life (but it's really just too cold to life)

• dying on buses and in coffee shops that are regular temperature (because whether you like it or not, you are a creature of ice now, and you cannot survive in the real world. Also taking off all of your layers is difficult so hey please just keep it around freezing and that'll be good thanks)

• changing right next to your space heater so your bare buns are actually kinda pleasantly warm while exposed to the frigid air

• wearing your hood up or leaving your hat on inside

• not having to brace yourself for the cold of outside... because it's just a few degrees colder than inside

• watching your breath in the bathroom (the coldest place in the house)

After I came back to Hwacheon with the holidays over, I didn't (still don't) have to go in for work yet, so that meant lots of time at home. I experimented with the floor heating and discovered that it just took a while to be noticeably warm, but it sure does work. Thing changes everything (not really but here we go)

Habits from this month (with floor heating hallelujah)

• THE COLD IS BEATEN! sorta

• Never leave the floor. Even if your butt is burning. Don't. get. up.

• Trying to go for runs outside... It's fine starting out in sunshine, but when you get to the shade, by the river, and the Siberian winds cut through... legs start spasming. I could feel each individual muscle taking turns twitching. And I lose all the items I collect in the running app, Zombies, Run!, because the zombies I'm supposed to be picking up my pace to flee from... cannot be avoided in a run with legs convulsing inward.

• Since I can't quite accomplish my goals running outside with the Zombie Run app, I instead pretend to be productive and started to watch The Walking Dead​. I am enjoying it immensely and marathoning the episodes like crazy (thanks to Amelia's Netflix... truly thank you) I have yet to watch an episode while eating and not feel immensely uncomfortable. 

I've only just finished season 3 so don't you dare ruin this for me. Or else.

• Finally: YOU GO TO THE ICE FISHING FESTIVALLLL~~~~~ 산천어축제

Last year, due to circumstances I won't elaborate on, I didn't fully experience the joys of our local festival. But this year was different. The county office put together a new free fishing event day for the native English language teachers, and I have my own place to host guests so, FULBRIGHTER FRIENDS GALORE all came!

This gif aptly expresses my joy at their presence.

Please enjoy the photos and occasional insightful captions.

We all got put into the special foreigners only section where they take tons of photos for potential advertising shots.

 We took a photo with the mayor of Hwacheon and some high school volunteers before fishing...

and after.

 This fish was as big as my calf!

I'm really good at fishing.

 My friends are all super cute.

And good at fishing too!

There was a tent that would cook our "fish" for us. (really just cooked different random fish because I never got my giant fish I caught back)

 We had a lot of fish..

Then did other fun things!

Like pose for lots of pictures!

And slide down many slippery slides

 And zip-lining

Yay Hwacheon!

I'm all about this life <3

Goodbyeee~~~ 

GabbynottheIce King~~

Holidaze in Korea: PUMPKIN PIE STRIKES BACK

Greetings!
The season of too many holidays is coming to a close~ and before the new year I wanted to share a bit of my Korean holy jolly experience.

This year I don't have a host family, and the Hwacheon team didn't plan a group dinner like last year but that would not stop me. I would still share the joy of American culture with my students and friends. I am a cultural ambassador after all. The obesity must happen one way or another. 

(That and I cannot survive the fall without one dish...)

Never mind that winter is in full swing...

I had all the ingredients and more.
I did not have a rolling pin.
That did not stop me. I wrapped plastic wrap around an old gas can and MADE THAT PIE CRUST.

AND THEN I MADE THE PIES.

My itty bitty kitchen doesn't have an oven.
That did not stop me.

I procured an oven. It was just... smaller than what I'm used to.
So, as you may have noticed, things have shrunk accordingly.

The aftermath (plus the not pictured over half a can of leftover Pumpkin and crust dough I put in a tupperware container)

I carry my little masterpieces in by hand Thanksgiving day. No, I did not walk over an hour to school. I took the bus. And got some weird looks for carrying pies in plastic bags, but I tried my best to not be too conspicuous and return any stares with my own "these aren't for you" eyes.

I was so excited the whole day. I couldn't wait for my after school class. 

It started at 4 o'clock. 

So I naturally had everything laid out and ready by 3:30.

 

Then to finish the surprise, covered it all with a Dooly blanket to remain inconspicuous. ;)

Then my students came! I started class with a PPT full of Thanksgiving food pictures, which got my students moaning about how hungry they were. My evil plan was working. I asked what they want to eat most, and while there were a few rebel mashed potato and turkey requests, most of their salivating musings were around pie...

THEN I UNVIELED MY SURPRISE. PERSONAL PUMPKIN PIE FOR EVERYBODYYYYYY

At first they were camera shy (as always, so I don't normally force the camera upon them)

But then I started posing Jisu, and they started laughing. And right when I started standing up, the best photo I have of me and my students was taken.

\

They ate very quietly, but they ate it all. Since one of the students didn't come, I gave the forth mini pie to my American counterpart, Wei. 

I had a medium sized pie I planned to share with the teachers, but Sungmin, the solo male of the 6th grade after school class, wanted more, and ate about half of that pie as well... The leftovers I forced our Fulbright co-teacher, Sujin, to take home for her family.

Sujin and Wei <3 <3

You bet I got right back to making more pies that weekend. This time I could look out on my beautiful view of farmhouses... (and use the flour I definitely did not clean up right away to roll out my leftover dough crust on).

That next week I ate a bit of pie for myself. Gave the leftover to the family below me. And gave personal pies to the SUPER kind and helpful cashier at the market in town and my SUPER DUPER AWESOME FRIEND, Darin.

Darin just opened a really beautiful traditional tea house attached to her family's pension business. I should write a review so all of you will want to go there yourself... (planning blogs for next year, muahahahaha)

As you can see, she cut up the mini pie into mini slices and put her own handmade concoctions on a plate next to it (for me to munch on with my tea). 

And that is the end of my pumpkin pie tales (for now... stay tuned for my SECOND CAN)

See you all in 2016!

BYEEEEEEEEE

Gabbading