Love and Hope Orphange

I have been visiting the Love and Hope Orphanage in Daegu. It is an orphanage with either (or both) mentally and physically handicapped children whose parents have given them up. Each and every one of these children are SO precious! Their eyes light up when we walk into the room to visit with them. Their faces are riveted when we read to them. We love to play with them and simply hug and cuddle them. It is such a precious experience. Seriously, these kids are like little sponges absorbing any affection you will give them.

I don't know this little one's name but she is so pretty. On my first visit I caressed her face and told her how beautiful she is. She promptly nodded her head no. I continued to tell her how pretty she was as she emphatically nodded "no" each time I told her. Finally she stopped saying no. I just pray that she can realize that she is beautiful in God's sight and in mine.



This is 11 year old Sang Woo. He is such a cutie with his infectious smile and wonderful personality. Today he sat on my lap and hugged me. As I hugged him he was full of giggles and wiggles! As I patted his back he patted mine too.



Content and Happy. I call him Smiley because that is what he does best. When we arrived at the orphange today I sat down a good distance away from him. He is unable to walk (as most of the kids are in this area of the orphange) so he ROLLS across the floor to come and visit with me. =) What a doll!




More pics to come and video too. It is truly a blessing to be able to visit these little ones. Your prayers are coveted for these dear children.

Bibimbap

A short walk from the home is an all you can eat bori-bap restaurant where you make your own bibimbap. They also have a hot line but I did not take a picture of it. =(

In the bottom of the bowl you put sesame oil, rice or barley (barley is better imho)various vegetables such as bean sprouts, lettuce, various Korean vegetables that I dont know the name of (if anyone can tell me the name of the brown veggie please do) and put a dollop of gochujang on the top. To eat it you mix it all up so the sesame oil and gochujang permeate every bite. Yum. One of my favorite foods.











This soup is called Denjang Chigae. Another one of my faves. Can you tell I am no respector of persons when it comes to food? =) Usually it is made with a seafood broth, vegetables such as zucchini, onion, green peppers sliced, soybean paste and tofu added for good measure. It is very delish and is a meal in itself with a serving of rice.













Eek! My mouth is watering!!!

If you want to learn how to make Korean foods please look up MaangChi on Youtube. Very sweet lady and will answer all questions too!

A Brawl in Korean Parliament???

Yup- sure enough. I am able to experience Korean presidential elections for the first time and was quite surprised. Here is the reason why.

Maangchi's Korean Cooking

I love Kimchi! I found Maangchi as I searched for a video on how to make Kimchi. Cookbooks and written recipes are wonderful but when you are making something new and not familliar to you it is nice to have someone to show you or to have a video if you are a visual learner. Maangchi is sweet, makes it look easy AND answers all questions I have asked her. She is the Julia Child of Korea! Hi Maangchi!

Jagalchi Fish Market

This is the largest fish market in Korea and let me tell you... it IS HUGE! And no, we didn't have the guts to eat any of it raw!

Our Trip to Busan

Tara and I went to Pusan on the redeye train, (is there such thing as a redeye train???) spent the night and went sightseeing early the next day. We had a blast! Here are the pics to prove it!!! This was our view of Pusan from the train station in the morning. Very Beautiful! More to come...

On the wrong train

We got stranded at (the newly remodled) Gumi Train Station a few months back (yours truly put us on the wrong train which is something that I bragged would never happen---is the moral of the story to never to brag or to never listen to your wife??? lol) and I was playing around with the features on my new digital camera.

Rain and a conversation at the market...

This is day ten of rain rain RAIN!!! The weather was at about a hundred degrees ten days ago and it has plunged to mid 70s and I am FREEZING!!!

I went downtown to buy a watermelon the other day. In the back of the ajeoshi's truck were different size watermelons with various prices. I pointed at one pile and asked, "How much are those?" Three thousand won he replied "How much are those?" Four thousand won". Then he looked at me without missing a beat- I kid you not- and asked me, "Do you have a husband???" It was hilariously funny. Where are husband's when you need 'em? Mine was in the car waiting for 'yours truly'.

Seoul Station- the old and the new

When we lived in Korea last time the Old Seoul Station was the train station we used in the largest city in South Korea. It is a wonderful place. Built in 1925 and originally called Keijo Station and later renamed Seoul Station in 1947, it is a place of hustle and bustle and is a great place to people watch- that is, when you aren't running to catch a train. LOL . Lots of hawkers and evangelist greet you as you exit the train station. You can hear singing of gospel preachers and singers and pan pipers playing from different countries with lots of folks gathered around. I really love it. It has such a wonderful nostalgia to it.



And here is the new Seoul Station. I must admit I like the old better. They sit right next to each other. Old Seoul Station on the right and New Seoul Station on the right. I hope they never tear down the old.



How can I NOT resist? Great photo point, eh???

Cutie Patootie!

The Ubiquitous Kimchee Pot!

Just an average ordinary day???

A scary thing happened to us yesterday. We were out and about and a lady who has come out to church invited us into her home. She speaks very little English and the same is true of our Korean. She showed us pictures of her son's marriage and of her beautiful granddaughter (who by the way is a doll!) She had brought us out something to drink which was grape juice and aloe water that is delicious. My husband drank the aloe water and commented to me that something was VERY wrong with that drink. He said his mouth was burning, his throat was burning and on down into his belly. Something was really wrong here. We left a few minutes later and by the time we got to the car on the ground floor he was clenching his stomach. By the time we got home (four minute drive) he was vomiting in the parking lot. Scary! He told me to go back to the ladies house and get the bottles that contained the drinks because we were going to the hospital. How do you diplomatically say your husband is at home puking his guts out after you gave him something bad to drink???? Not an easy task! Thoughts of the granddaughter pouring chemicals or bleach into the cup and winding down my husband's gullet crossed my mind.

After two hours at the hospital my husband's stomach was medicated, neutralized and back to normal. The ladies' husband called later that day to find out if everything was okay feeling pretty horrible about the whole situation. Definitely something that doesn't happen everyday.

Yellow Dust *cough cough* Hwang Sa

Hwang Sa. It is that time of the year again. The time when the sands from the Gobi desert are carried over land settling upon Korea. For the person who doesn't have allergy problems the only result is it is they can see the dust as it settles in the crevices of the street, upon windows and on cars. You can actually see the dust being blown across the street and the color is so strange because it actually looks flourescent. To those with allergies, it can be a horrible time with many people donning face masks while outdoors. This year, with the mild winter, it has arrived early. Normally it isn't until March or even April that we are affected.

Here is an article from the Stars and Stripes.

KimBab

I love Kimbab! There are many variations but the most common ingredients are pickled daikon radish, carrot, egg scrambled and cut into long strips, ham, and a korean green vegetable that I can't remember the name of! The soup is anchovy soup. They boil dried anchovies, making a broth and top it with fresh green onions. It is delicious- especially on a winters day!

They do not call it sushi here. It is specifically called Kimbab. If you call it by the Japanese name you most likely will offend someone. The Japanese ruled Korea for from 1910 to 1945 and feelings run deep.

Chap Ssal Dok

Yummy- Today I bought some Chap Ssal Dok from a street vendor. You can hear him on a loudspeaker as he walks from one end of the busy street to the other selling the rice cakes. They are so delicious. They are very sticky and very gummy. Most Foreigners either love them or hate em- I love them especially when they are fresh and soft. My husband hates them and will not even TRY one! ??? In the center there is a bit of bean paste and they are rolled in confectionary sugar. Mmmmmmm... nice and gooey. Want to try one? =)

Chinese Food in Korea and FALL is here

Last Friday we went to eat Chinese at a new restaurant in Waegwan and it still had that unmistakeable Korean feel to it. =)



Fall is here... the leaves are turning and a definite chill is in the air. See the hummer in the background? This was taken on camp as soon as you walk in the gate.


And right outside the gate. It isn't as picturesque as the spring when the trees are blossoming but still worthy of a pic.

Sex and the City

I know... I have your attention now.

Traveling around Korea affords me all kinds of stares. Older Women. Old Men, Housewives, Young Children, and everyone in between. I have become used to it and it really doesnt bother me.

Today I was running errands downtown before our trip to the Philippines on Monday, and stopped in the mandu house for a quick bite to eat. A man came in and sat down all the while staring at me. No problem. He rarely broke eye contact with me. I ate nearly my entire plate of dumplings while being watched. I still chalk it up as being a foreigner- I know I look different. I really am used to it. I asked him in Korean, 'Why are you looking at me?" His response was something like... 'you look good'. So I went back to eating and finished.

I really can not blame him for his staring. After I left and was walking down the street, he rode by on his moped hollering something that I could not understand. Can I blame him? Many Koreans (I didn' say all) have a view of Americans as being what they see on television. They think all women act like actresses on Sex and the City and Desperate Housewives. Can I blame them for what they think is the norm when American television is so popular here? No. I have been propositioned, amongst various other sundry exploits while being here in Korea not worthy of mention here. And sometimes I bow my head in shame. I really am ashamed of what other countries think of my fellow countrymen because we hand them that very image.

What a shame.

Market Stalls

This is in one of the buildings and it has mostly bedding and curtains...



And here is one of hundreds of stores that makes traditional hanboks that are usually made from silk fabric. The rolls of fabric below the dresses are silk bolts wrapped in plastic to keep them clean. The rolls at bottom right are also rolls of silk. Pretty, eh?

Umbrellas and Tarps

Blogger has REALLY been having hiccups for the last two days and I couldn't get in no matter what browser I used. Usually that does the trick but not this time...

Here are some pics from last Friday's jaunt to the market in Taegu, Seo Mun Market has building full of vendors stalls loaded to the gills with fabric, bedding, clothing, accesories, kitchen wares, you name it. Usually each floor specializes in a certain type of good. In between the buildings there are more stalls of goods and foods and they have umbrellas and tarps between them. It really is a neat site.

Friday Market Shopping

I went shopping on Friday and picked up a few items.

One was this so pretty fabric that has basket motifs on it. They are about 21/2 by 2 3/4 in dimension and I coudn't resist at 3 bucks a yard.


I also picked up these lace motifs that are quite large- maybe two inches by three inches.