St. Patrick's day in Seoul

I'm sure there's a deeper meaning behind this day we call St. Patrick's day, but from my experiences back at home in America, it's a day when people wear green to avoid getting pinched, drink a lot of alcohol, and even dye the rivers green. I thought this was one celebration that I would miss out on in Korea, but boy was I wrong.

Seoul annually hosts events to celebrate this ol' St. Patrick. Right outside of Sindorim station,  a crowd of foreigners were gathered in an amphitheater enjoying their booze and listening to live Irish music. The bands weren't only Irish. The first band performing was actually Korean!

the Korean Irish band

They don't dye the rivers here, but the sea of green shirts worn by hundreds of foreigners came close.

Irish Festival outside of Sindorim stn

The concert ended around 6pm, but that didn't mean the party was over. Many made their way to destined party areas in Seoul like Hongdae and Itaewon.

At Rocky Mountain Tavern with friends

I met up with a couple of my college friends and explored around Itaewon. We even bought bright green t-shirts that say "St. Patrick's day" in three different languages for only 5000won! 

If you are Irish or are into celebrating this day, you won't be missing out while you're in Korea. Even if Koreans don't celebrate certain holidays, you'll be sure to find a group of foreigners who do.

Trick Art Museum

There are plenty of places to choose from in Seoul when you don't have anything planned for the weekend. Now that I teach on Saturdays, it's pretty much impossible to travel anywhere far. The good news is that this is the perfect chance to explore Seoul even more. I decided to call up a couple of my friends and check out the famous Trick Art Museum.

Trick Art Museum is a museum full of optical illusion art. This is one place where you don't want to forget your camera. The art pieces are humorous and even put a twist to some classic art pieces. If you stand next to them, you can become part of the art!

Do you recognize any of these pieces?

I don't want to spoil the whole museum, but I do want to share one more picture:

There are staff walking around to help you with pictures so all of your friends can become part of the art!

When you are finished goofing around the museum, head over to the cafe area to enjoy a snack or as I did, create a masterpiece! You can buy these blank figures for 5000Won and you can decorate it any way you like. The museum provides you with markers and other tools, so all you have to do is color!

Trick Art Museum has many locations including Daegu and Jeju Island. The one in Seoul is located near HongIk University (also known as Hongdae). Just take the green line (Line 2) to Hongdae station and take exit 9. Link

If you are looking for a relaxing and creative weekend, I highly recommend you to check out this museum. DON'T FORGET YOUR CAMERA!

Saying Goodbye

Coming to Korea can be a beautiful thing. You come to this foreign land knowing that you will experience a different culture, travel to many places, and teach some wonderful kids. What you don't know is that you will share all these experiences with people that become your closest friends.

I had my share of goodbyes my first year in Korea. Being one of the last to arrive among the group of people I spent most of my time with, I had to say many goodbyes. It's never an easy thing. It almost feels like summer camp, where you bond with people from different places and have to say goodbye and promise that you will see each other again, even though you know it might be unlikely. At one point, I was seriously depressed because I felt so lonely. I lost my appetite and wanted to desperately get out of there too.

What I didn't realize is that you are always making friends in Korea whether it's friends of friends or people new to the country. Now that it's my second year, I am having to say goodbye to people that have sent me off the first time.

Five of my friends have recently left Korea. The last few weeks have been full of celebrations, feasts, and promises. Here are some suggestions of how to send off your friends the right way:

1. Wonder Hour (COEX Intercontinental Hotel): From Monday to Saturday, you can enjoy all you can eat and drink (wine and beer) from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. It's a little bit of an upscale place, so you and your friends can have an excuse to dress up one last time. It costs roughly 34000Won, but worth every penny. Link

COEX Intercontinental Hotel Lobby

2. Big Rock (Gangnam): This bar is very spacious and can fit however many people you bring. They have towers of beer and many different drinks and dishes that will leave your friends with a lasting memory of Korea. Plus, the bartenders understand that it's a special moment and will treat you with different services like free drinks for the whole group. Link

Last hug at Big Rock

3. Rainbow (Gangnam): If you have a big group, be sure to make reservations. Rainbow is a chill, underground spot where you can smoke hookah and share buckets with your closest friends, while listening to trance or reggae music, depending on the night. The atmosphere is perfect for you to slouch back and reminisce the good times with your friends. Link

Rainbow

4. UlZzang (Gangnam): Sticker picture stores are everywhere in Korea. But if you're in the area, you might as well take one last picture with your friends before they leave. You can take pictures with different props and even edit the pictures with funny icons or messages. 

I'm sure I'll meet up with all my friends sometime in the future. The question is....where?

Hwaseong Fortress

I lived in Suwon my first year teaching in Korea and never visited the famous Hwaseong Fortress. Correction: I thought I did, but was later told that I only climbed the surrounding walls, but not the fortress itself.

Hwaseong Fortress was built by King Jeongjo during the Chosun dynasty for his father, Prince Sado. It is located in the heart of Suwon and is very foreigner friendly. Its surrounding walls make it a great place to hike and the fortress has shows and activities for the tourists daily. At the fortress, you can see the different weapons and styles of combat.

Weapon Show

trying to steal the warrior's sword

If you want to practice your archery skills, you can hop on the Dragon Trolley to the other side of the wall for 1200won. Archery only costs about 2000won for ten arrows and any age can participate.

Dragon Trolley

As you read above, King Jeongjo built the fortress for his father. What Wikipedia doesn't tell you is that his father was mentally retarded. Because Prince Sado refused to commit suicide as his father had commanded, he was locked in a rice chest until he starved to death.

Feeling Prince Sado's pain

All in all, it is a cheap and fun way to spend an afternoon. Once you're finished, you can get some steals at the local markets or ball out at the shops around Suwon station.

Diet Boxing

Since my vacation back to the states and Argentina, I have been packing on pounds like crazy! Coming back to Korea in the beginning of winter has not helped any either! I had no motivation to go to the gym or even to walk to school....UNTIL!!! I found out about Diet Boxing.

A few of my friends here in Korea are amateur boxers. Every time we meet up, all they talk about is boxing. I remember mentioning that I wanted to try it just to see what it was all about and my friend told me that you could actually box to lose weight. Next thing I know, I'm searching for the nearest boxing gym (which happens to be across the street from my apartment) and signing up for the month!

 I caught a cold last weekend and was able to go only 3 days, but I really think it could help me lose weight. The trainer coaches me for an hour and I'm only one away from wrapping my hands up and punching!

As soon as I get to the gym, I have to stretch and jump rope for 9 minutes. So far, I have learned my basic movements, which consist of walking and jumping while punching the air. Before I leave the gym, I have to do some core exercises, jump rope for another 9 minutes, and stretch. It might not sound like a lot, but my body has been aching like crazy.

The price to join is not bad at all, either. It costs 110,000won for the first month and 90,000won after. It does cost more than a gym, but you have a trainer that keeps an eye on you and it's actually pretty fun. So next time you consider exercising, try Diet Boxing. Not only will it help you lose weight, but also get rid of stress. Exercise and therapy all in one!

Laila Ali

Birthday

Usually I am pretty excited when it comes to my birthday. I used to have a reputation of telling the whole neighborhood weeks before that I would become a year older and that everyone should get me a present. Now that I have turned 25, I feel like I have nothing to look forward to anymore. This is the year when the body officially begins to decay. No more developing, just decaying. :(

On a lighter note, I found out that Korea can make some legit Italian food. Korea is big on fusion when it comes to foreign dishes and usually always fails on my palate. For my birthday dinner, we booked a spot on the 42nd floor of our apartment building that we have been eyeing for a while. Santa Lucia overlooks the Pyeongchon/Beomgye area and its interior is very romantic. The price is very reasonable and the taste is absolutely delish!

Mussel salad

This appetizer dish tasted like it looked. The restaurant was very generous and the size of the plate was bigger than my place setting. Along with a tasty spring salad came these giant mussels topped with a savory spicy tomato sauce.

Seafood Pasta

As my main dish, I ordered the Seafood Pasta. I wish the quality of this photo was better. This dish came out with a huge crab claw sticking out of the pasta. This creamy dish was filled with tomatoes, broccoli, and little bits of crab and scallops.








I wish I took photos of what my friends ordered, but I know that they enjoyed it as much as I have.

After dinner, we decided to relocate to a bar called The Flair Bar. One disappointment of the night was that this bar adds tax to every drink. This super expensive bar also made the birthday girl go behind the bar with her boyfriend and made them do some weird stuff I will never understand.

Bryan at Flair Bar

Look at this crazy menu at this bar. It starts off looking like a regular liquor box and then fans out to that!
















The rest of the night ends with me acting old and sneaking out of the bar to go to bed. Thanks to my friends for coming out and celebrating this 'awful' day with me!!

2012.

Picture courtesy of Karolina K.

I've done the countdown in Times Square, I've done it at church multiple times, but I have never experienced a new year like this.... :)

Since my lovely friends in Suwon were in charge of the Christmas party, I thought it would be appropriate if I took care of the New Year's. This party was pretty much planned last minute and I think it's safe to say that it turned out pretty awesome. Old and new friends showed up fashionably late and ready to party.

Unlike America, the land of easy party foods, it was tough to come up with snacks to feed my guests. Thanks to handydandy HomePlus, Dave and I were able to whip up some yummy and wallet friendly goodies.

Pomegranate White Sangria
This drink only needs 4 ingredients: Pomegranate seeds, any white wine, sprite, and slices of orange for decoration. This easy to make drink was probably the biggest hit at the party.







Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Sandwiches

Sounds like a handful, but this delicious snack is so easy to make!  Just take the Korean version of Ritz crackers, spread some PB on it and make sandwiches out of them. Melt some chocolate, in this case Ghana chocolate (also popular in Korea), and VOILA! If you want to be fancy, just roast some peanuts, crush them up, and sprinkle on top.

For those who watch their figure
We have a couple of vegetarian friends that we definitely did not want to disappoint. These finger snacks were made by spreading some cream cheese on toasted bread and topping them with  water crest and slices of cucumber. Sounds extremely healthy, but tastes awesome too.







Korean Cho-Bap

I guess this also falls under the vegetarian category. You can find Cho-Bap in sushi restaurants around here, but making them at home is definitely cheaper and it takes no time to make these. A big pack made to feed 4 people cost less than 6,000Won. Just mix rice with the seasoning that comes in the pack, roll them into little balls and stuff them into the delicious marinated tofu pockets that's also included.







We had other snacks like chips and salsa, PB&Banana sandwiches, and pizza. Overall, making all this deliciousness took no time. Dave and I definitely did not slave over the stove and we had more than enough food to feed over 10 people.

Since most of my money was spent on restaurants my first year here, my new year's resolution is to cook more at home. I miss all kinds of food from back in America, and will definitely try to recreate my own version of them using ingredients available in Korea. 2012, please be good to me!

Final spread