Sunday, March 23, 2014

Afternoon in Gyeongju

This post is very late in coming, but we wanted to take the time to get a few historical facts straight before posting it. About three weeks ago, a couple fellow foreign teachers invited us to join them on a trip to Gyeongju, a city south of  Pohang. We weren't sure what to expect, but were excited to get out of town for an afternoon. Before we came to Korea, Caleb had heard that there was an archaeological dig close to Pohang and we had kept it in the back of our minds that we'd like to find it eventually. We were excited to find out that the dig and many other historical sites were in Gyeongju.

One of the great things about Korea is the relative ease of travel travel throughout the country. To get to Gyeongju we simply bought a ticket for about $2.50 at the bus terminal, hopped on board, and were in a different city in about thirty minutes. I suppose this is how it works just about anywhere, but we were both surprised by how truly easy it was. 

The city of Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient Silla kingdom (57B-935AD). All throughout the city are vast parks that are dotted with mounds which contain the tombs of various Kings and other noblemen and women. The photos below are not great quality (cell phone photos) and don't show the absolute beauty of the spaces. The abruptness of the tombs were eery and awe-inspiring at the same time. Everywhere we looked was beautiful, despite the yellowed grass and bare trees of winter. We have been told by many people that Gyeongju is THE PLACE to go to see the cherry tree blossoms and plan to go back in a couple weeks. 



Below is a photo from a part of town that has been built up in supposedly historically accurate style. There were little temples and spaces for meditation dotted throughout the little village.


As best we could figure, the rectangular raised area in the foreground represents the footprints of buildings that have been excavated. We found many of these raised areas all over the parks.

Below is the Cheomseongdae Observatory that was used for astronomical observations. It is the oldest surviving observatory in East Asia and dates to the 7th century.

Below is the courtyard area of the museums. There are several museums of art and history. We only had time to peek our heads into one of them before they closed.

This is the Bell of King Seongdeok and was cast in bronze in 771AD. It was massive!

Never miss a chance to break the rules! Staff only down the bamboo tunnel.

Below is Anapji Pond, a man-made pond created in 674AD as part of a palace complex. It has three islands and was used as a place to grow and raise plants and animals. We arrived at dusk, just as they lit the spotlights dotted throughout the woods.
Looking across the pond at a re-creation of the Eastern palace, which was used as a place to hold celebrations.

By the time we left the palace, we were quite famished after an afternoon of walking. We found a "traditional Korean food" restaurant on the walk back to the bus terminal and decided to give it a try. In Korean homes and many sit-down restaurants, it is expected that guests remove their shoes at the door, as was the case at this restaurant. The tables are also low to the ground and guests sit on the floor. Korean meals are almost always comprised of multiple small side dishes, dipping sauces, soups, and meats. Below is a photo of our meal for four.
Up until this day, we had had almost entirely positive experiences with Korean food. However, we soon realized that the end of a long, tiring day is not the best time to try suspicious-appearing foods. We were hungry and craving comfort food. Instead, we ate mini-crabs coated in a red, spicy sauce, crayfish soup, (maybe) oysters in red, spciy sauce, and anchovies as condiments.
In general, both of us try most things at least once. We were able to swallow our respective whole crabs, though neither of us were willing to spring for a second.

Despite some indigestion over the days after, it was all-in-all a good day. We'll definitely be returning when the cherry trees are in bloom.

Monday, March 10, 2014

In the Kitchen

I (Dori) tend to do most of the cooking. This is primarily because I look forward and enjoy it and Caleb, well, he doesn't. This post may not be of much interest to many if cooking isn't your thing, but for me, settling into a kitchen is what makes a place feel like home. Being able to exist in it comfortable feels important.

We weren't sure what to expect kitchen-wise when coming to Korea, other than small and "sparsely finished." It is those things. Provided by the school was a large skillet, medium-sized stockpot, a wooden cutting board, chef's knife, two spoons, two set of chopsticks, and two plates, bowls, and saucers. Our cooking area is about 1.5 meters wide and includes a sink with a draining board and a counter top with a gas range on top. We extended or work space by buying a counter-height rolling cart from one of the other foreign teachers leaving soon, and it has been incredibly helpful to have another prep surface. Below is a poor-quality shot of our kitchen right now. It's cozy!

We managed to cook several meals using those utensils and Caleb was, in fact, the first to cook anything on our stove: a stir fry of beef, broccoli, onions, and potatoes using chop sticks to stir things in the pan. It was good!

Since then, we've acquired a rice cooker, toaster, off-brand magic bullet, and electric kettle, also from teachers leaving the country, that have proved invaluable. We're still flipping fried eggs with two spoons, spreading jelly with the back of a spoon, and flipping browning meat with chopsticks, but we've become quite comfortable with the sparseness.

One of the most unfortunate things about the kitchen is a lack of oven. Though some people purchase toaster ovens, the investment doesn't make sense for us at this point and we're just managing without. It is a sad thing to have to go without our favorite roasted veggies and the option of baking bread or cookies, but I'm sure we'll survive. I have been surprised at how useful a tool a rice cooker can be. I have managed to "roast" a chicken in it with quite delicious results!

We've grown more and more comfortable with shopping for food at emart, a Meijer-like store just a few blocks away, but recently we've taken advantage of a local outdoor market that is open on days ending with 4 and 9. It takes place just a few blocks away and offers a plethora of fruits, vegetables, meats, nuts, bulk Korean side dishes (including kimchi and other preserved vegetable "salads"), eggs, and just about any other fresh food product one might need. They have fresh seafood, as well, that we haven't yet taken advantage of. Just yesterday we witnessed an octopus trying to climb out of its tub of water. Fortunately, a passerby righted the situation by throwing the poor guy back in just as it was about to fall to the ground.

We'll try to post updates about new and/or fun eating experiences but I'd better run for now. We have a pot of meat and veggies stewing on the stove. We'll see how it turns out!