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Here it is, the moment that you all have been waiting for....Korean Food! This particular place is very close to where I stay and teach at. Not only is the location good but food is Great as well!!

The service is really fast and the people here are very friendly. Clint and I went to grab a quick bite to eat before our evening classes started, and we were happy to find place somewhat empty. Due to the fact that this small restaurant is always busy.

We got an order of Kimchi Chigae. It's really good stuff, think of a spicy beef stew broth mixed with sliced kimchi (cabbage), vegetables and dok-bok-ee (rice cake).




With it came plenty of side dishes. Starting from the back (from left to right) we received cooked eggs, kimchi, fried tofu, (middle) seasoned roots of local plants, dried fish, and finally rice.



At the end of our meal we were able to wash up with a complimentary wet napkin. I normally would have just used the tissues behind it but they were nice enough to provide us with the wet napkin.



Now the best part of this whole experience was the cost of this little feast. All of this was only 4,000 won ($3.62 USD). Needless to say that I will be coming here more often when I don't feel like cooking.

Let me know what you think and be sure to leave a comment!

Joe - OUT!!

A couple of weeks of ago Clint and I had the opportunity to show our young students the importance of hard work. Normally Clint, my fellow English teacher, and I have separate classes throughout the week but every Friday we combine our students for one big Activity Class. This particular Friday just so happened to fall on the same day as Korea's planting season. Since agriculture is big in this area it seemed appropriate to transfer these valuable life skills to the children.

I remember that it was cold this morning and I had to fuss and fight with my little ones to get their jackets and shoes on. As we walked across the street we quickly made our way to the location.


As you can infer from my facial expression I was not ready for what had awaited us. I was under the impression that it was just going to be our class that planted potatoes. Instead several schools had stopped instruction to join in with us. Now surrounded by children I was eagerly awaiting what our next step would be. My co-teacher Lauren and my director Jenni came behind me and told the students to sit down while an older gentlemen spoke about the importance of the potato crop and how to plant them. Feeling relieved that my kids were quiet and attentive during the lecture I took this opportunity to speak with Clint about what I should expect next. After shrugging his shoulders Jenni came over and told me that they needed help plotting holes in the ground. Considering that this was my first big activity since I had arrived, I was eager to strut my stuff and earn my keep. So while my kids were listening to the lecture I was off to plot gardening holes. It was actually quite fun.




After I finished I met with Lauren who gave me some potatoes to hand out to the students. I felt that the task of putting small little potatoes in the ground would be easy enough, but they always seem to get into some unnecessary mischief:



Kevin here was attempting to fit as many potatoes as possible into one hole. And when I wasn't looking he would take potatoes from the other children's plots.



Mandy would just throw the potatoes in upside down and forget to bury them. Or she would just throw dirt in a hole without a potato inside.



Atom was my only good one. He is diligent if you give him explicit instructions. Otherwise he will sit there and just pick is nose.



Andrew was working on giving me a heart attack. It looks like he is planting his potatoes but he was putting dirt in his mouth and biting his potatoes.


All in all it was a good day. I actually learned a lot about this cities way of life and what the food that they produce that in turn feeds their community. In truth I don't know exactly what Yangju-Si produces but from what I've seen thus far I would way metals, military training, and agriculture. As time progresses I will undoubtedly come to find out.

Joe - OUT!!

I know that the title seems a little far-fetched but just spend a little time with me and you'll understand. On this particular day I was teaching on one of my longer days which usually ends around 10pm. About halfway through the first week I was feeling pretty comfortable with the flow of the school and I was beginning to feel pretty confident as a teacher, but that would soon change!

In the evening I teach a class called "Berkley Studies" which is pretty much a handful of students at different ages who are above their peers in reading, comprehension, and writing. These students meet with me for about 45 minutes for private instruction every Wednesday and Friday.

At the start of class I asked the students for their English names. Each student with clear articulation complied with my request, however there was one particular student that looked very confused. When it was his turn to respond with his English name he uttered his Korean name. I repeated my initial question, "May I please have your English name?"

Now my student was flipping hurriedly through his book trying to look for something. I can only imagine he was attempting to find some foreign indication that might have been recorded by a previous teacher as his English name. I asked my class to remain quiet as I grabbed one of Korean Teachers to translate my request.

Shortly afterward I returned with another Korean teacher, Samuel, at my disposal and I repeated my question. Samuel and my student spoke in Korean for a short while and Samuel returned and informed me that my student did not have an English name.

Feeling empathetic I reached for my Korean-English Dictionary and said, "Well that's too bad. We'll look up how to say his Korean name in English."

Without even listening Samuel brought the student in front of my desk and said "Please give him a name."

Stunned, I was completely taken aback by his request; thinking to myself 'This cannot be Ok!' I repeated, "What? You want ME to give HIM a name?"

Samuel nodded and told me to "Give him three choices and he will choose."

Now my mind raced for names. I looked at my student, attempting to match his face with the appropriate name, and I sputtered "Well...how about Ryan, Jason or Tommy?"

My student said each name twice and choose Jason as his new and permanent English name.

After my day of instructing was over I retired to my room which is directly adjacent to my fellow English teachers (John) room. I informed him of what had happened earlier that day. John laughed and said, "Yeah man, that's what they do here. Since some of the students aren't given English names at home it is up to us to give them English names. They usually keep these names forever and will use them when conducting business or doing international business." He proceeded to list some of the individual students that he himself had named, but all I could think was 'This..-ish..is... crazy!'


Joe - OUT!!