An Expat Thanksgiving

Hi, all. Katy here. This past week we celebrated Thanksgiving together with our fellow foreigners. Or, as Koreans like to call it, we celebrated the American Chuseok. Unlike last year, when J and I did our best at a Thanksgiving meal approximate, this year our foods were a bit less traditional, but shared among more people. That being said, if I had to choose between the classic taste of thanksgiving and having loved ones to share it with, I'd choose the latter every time, so I was happy! Though Canadian thanksgiving was weeks ago and I am unaware of any others, we had Canadians, British, and South Africans at our feast this year. We ate dumplings, potato salad, macaroni and cheese, ham and greens, chicken wraps, potato chips and cake (all eaten with chopsticks of course), that we each contributed as part of a potluck meal. And to wash it down we had beer, scotch, and an Asian plum wine. Finally, in classic Goheung Gang style, we celebrated long into the night with board games and stories from our travels. It was a non-traditional, but wonderfully special Thanksgiving to remember for sure.
-K

Pepero Day

Happy Pepero Day, everyone! K, here. Pepero, if you didn't know, is the Korean equivalent of Japanese Pocky. A sweet snack that is like a thin, crunchy bread stick coated in chocolate or other sweetness. Because they look like sticks, or 1's, the 11th of November (11/11) is known as Pepero Day here in Korea and the event is reminiscent of Valentines day. Stores even stock their shelves with huge  decorated gift boxes of "specialty flavors" and unique designs.

This year, the event happened to fall on a Saturday, so on Friday, when J's students held a festival, there was a pepero making station for creating your own. This was exciting for me, not only because I got to make candy, but because I rarely get to interact with J's students. They are tons of fun and love to oooh and awww over my blond hair and blue eyes (while giving J a thumbs up). It's all very flattering. The next day, J went out and bought two small boxes of pepero flavors we hadn't yet tried, and we celebrated by munching away while watching the latest episode of Game of Thrones. Here's a few pictures of our quirky little Korean holiday. Enjoy!
-K

Made by dipping thin breadsticks in what is essentially a travel fondue pot of
hot chocolate and then spooning some sprinkles on while they dry. Yum!

It's a cruddy cellphone photo, but you get the idea.
Blueberry and chocolate oreo yay!


Autumn Colors

Hi, everyone! It's solidly autumn here in Jeonnam. We celebrated Halloween last week (we, as in the English teachers with our classes). As usual, J & my personal Halloween celebration involved a comedy zombie movie, chocolate, and a cocktail (this year it was Shaun of the Dead and Hot Toddy's). For classes, no one went too overboard but it's safe to say all of the school aged children in Goheung can now say "trick or treat" and expect candy as praise.

For the weekend we went out to Gurye, which you may remember from a previous post. There isn't a ton to say that you won't get from the pictures, but it was absolutely gorgeous! The maples were a shade of red that I'd never imagine could happen in nature. We did some hiking, visited the temple, and gazed out the window to our hearts content. And took pictures... lots of pictures. It was the perfect way to make peace with the ensuing cold weather. Enjoy!
-K

Fall lunch on the patio! Mushroom soup, baked fish, pickled bamboo, tofu,
 quail eggs, bean sprouts, onion pancake and fried eggs.

Daydreaming and coloring in my Puuung (look it up) coloring book.

The jars on the left are for fermenting



Being a dork and throwing the gingko leaves around

Drinking fountain at the Temple

Picked my favorite leaves for pressing

Leaves floating on the creek

This handsome man strolling around the Temple