IT WAS A GEEK & FREAK COSTUME PARTY... AND IT WENT A LITTLE LIKE THIS...

There was a strict dress code that was enforced- Geek or Freak!

Although most Geek parties consist mainly of chips and pop... we had a little too much booze!

Gettin Down to Geeky beats from the past kept the party pumpin!

And, of course, how could one throw a kickin party with out shooting off a bag or two of fireworks off the roof of the apartment when everyone was superrrrr slurrrrry drunk!

The Crazy Korean Food that We Eat !!!!

Out of all the crap that I've done in Korea, people at home to seem to be ultra curious about the food. As you know, Korea is notorious for serving almost anything that moves... its second to only China for serving the most seamiest dishes.

They even serve dog!

They have a special breed "Korean Dog" that they breed specifically for eating. They don't just snatch a dog off the street or hit up the humane society for some fresh meat. Last month I saw a truck that had about 15 small cages in it. Each cage contained Korean Dog... they are pretty much treated as cattle here. The Korean people say they look so ugly, but I think they look really cute! You also have to go to special "Dog Restaurants" to eat them... you can't just go to the restaurant down the block... there are no surprises. These dog restaurants are also quite rare in Korea. No kid has ever admitted to me that he has ever eaten dog. I was told that just the old, old Korean men still eat the cute (but apparently quite delicious) dog meat. They believe that eating dog is good for virility and stamina. I was told by a friend that, traditionally, they used to beat the dogs with a bat before they slaughtered them. They did this so the meat that is consumed shortly afterward would be filled with adrenaline and the meat would be more tender and taste better. It was thought that the man eating the beaten dog would absorb this adrenaline and could therefore "preform" better in the sack! I was told that it no longer happens, and the dogs are treated humanely. The story of why Korean people eat dog is actually quite sad...

Because of the extreme poverty and persecution under the Japanese Occupation, and then the poverty that resulted from the Korean war, meat was difficult for the average person to afford. As a result, they resorted to eating cheap meat- e.x. dog. As of late the economy has done tremendously well, but apparently, once you get a taste for dog (like the blood of moral humans) you will never be able to stop consuming it. Perhaps this is the reason why adults won't feed their young children this addictive delicacy (this is just my non-sensical opinion though). Ohh yeah... I used the word delicacy... nowadays it's considered just that and apparently its pretty expensive! I was told by another foreigner that If you eat dog other dogs, because of their keen sense of smell, will be able to smell the consumed dog in your pores, and that they will hate you with their whole soul, and they will instinctively do one of two things... run as far and as fast as they can away from you or ferociously attack you like Bush on Sadam !!!

There is an old saying that I was told by a Korean about the Chinese that could almost be applied to Koreans as well...

"They eat everything in the sky except the planes,
They eat everything on land except the buildings,
They eat everything in ocean except the submarines!"

It's totally true!

Pictured above is by far the grossest thing I have consumed from the sea... It's name, GAYBUL...

In Korea the seafood is so fresh and delicious. If you walk down your block your guaranteed to see at least one restaurant that has many large aquariums packed full of seafood that you didn't even know existed! They have live eels, big fish, small fish, squids, octopus, king crab, sea errchant, and ... the most disgusting, revolting, thing ever witnessed in the sea... GAYBUL... It pretty much looks like a giant uncircumcised penis. It has no eyes and just kind of squirms around like a worm in the sea! Most foreigners squirm at even the sight of such a hideous thing!

One night some other foreign English teachers and I walked past a restaurant with a tank full of the freaky penis shaped abominations of the sea ... one of the teachers dared me to eat one. I said that I would eat one if they ate one.

We agreed to meet the next day to do the deed.

It was a lot grosser then expected! The Korean people actually eat those disgusting creatures raw. They just fish them out of the tank, gut them and slice them into tiny pieces, and serve completely raw. I swear they had just stopped twitching before we chowed down. It tasted bad... real bad. Definitely the worse thing I've tried from the sea since I've been to Korea. I think me and some of the other teachers are going to try the live octopuses next. You actually eat them while they're still alive. I hear that you have to chew them real good so the tentacles don't choke you... you'll never guess what the worse thing I've eaten on land was...

HAPPY 24st Birthday Alissa!!!

We celebrated a good old Korean style birthday...

A cake and "Happy Birthday" song followed by everybody devouring the cake with chopsticks in hand.

Latter we went to a Japanese style pub for food and drink... it was a fun day all round!

WHO'S CRAZY?!?

If you asked my students to use one word to describe their teacher (me) they will unanimously say "CRAZY".

Often the students will ask me, "Teacher, are you crazy?"

I will almost always respond "Yes ... of course!"

It took me a half year to figure out that the word "Crazy"( a word that has 2 meanings in English 1- mentally ill and 2- very fun) has only one meaning in Korea.... mentally ill.

The Korean translation "Michhin" means "Crazy" and only "Crazy"!

So this begs the question... "Do my students really think I am CRAZY?!?"

DUnkin DunkiN at Dunkin DunkIn DonUts- A StaPLE of THE KorEAn DIet

There are many things in Korea that I love, one of the most obvious is the Korean food...

So far I have managed to avoid talking about all the crazy, spicy, and delicious food that Alissa and I have managed to consume in Korea... Sooo this will be the first of many blog entries on some of Alissa and my food experiences in Korea...

When you spend a lot of time completely absorbed in the a different culture, you inevitably get bombarded by all elements of their culture- The catchy, popy Korean songs ("Maria... Ava Maria.."), the weird Historical Dramas on the TV ("Jumon"), the language (Hangul), the fashion (FYI Daegu is the fashion capital of Asia.... snicker, snicker), and of course...

THE FOOD!!!!

Alissa told me last week that she's never truly happy until she gets her morning coffee!

I laugh.

Over the last year or so I have gradually, almost nearly, eliminated the wonderful king of caffeine, coffee, from my diet, and substituted tea instead. But with the arrival of Alissa I have once again been seduced by the bitter, black beauty.

It's actually a misconception that that Koreans mainly drink Green Tea. Actually, I was told by a wise old Korean man that nowadays coffee drinkers almost double tea drinkers in Korea. So you would think that they would have good taste in coffee, right?

Actually, almost all of the coffee consumed in Korea comes from a can or a vending machine and it is almost exclusively instant coffee, the worst of all types of coffee! Ohh No!

Alissa's saviour... Enter Dunkin...

Dunkin Donuts, a USA food chain, has managed to enter Korea and fuse itself to modern Korean culture. They're in every train station and in every major shopping district!!! They're kinda like the Tim Ho's of Korea!!!

Their some major differences of course...

1. they have rice and green tea donuts


2. they trying watering down your black drip coffee when you order it (DAMN NATION)


3. they just started to sell bagels with cream cheese about 2 months ago and about 99.9% of the Korean pop has never tried a bagel!


4. they sell the most beautiful cakes


5. the Korean people like to rip their donuts into small pieces and then share the pieces with their friends so that everybody have a little taste

Ahhh well... It is as close as you get to a Robins Donuts or Tim Hortons. It's one of our favorite restaurants when we miss the "Back in Canada" smells and tastes!