Wednesday 31 December 2014

Carnivorous Plants Video

Here is an interesting time-lapse video about carnivorous plants (I'm going to show it to students next week, so this post is partly a reminder for me . . .)

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/383907/when-plants-attack-a-time-lapse/

Making Soup

Today was a soup-making day, but I went into super-healthy mode; I keep reading about kale as a super food, so, since I found it at E-mart, I decided to add it, plus my other healthy ingredients, some of which you can see here (I am adding, as an after-note, that the ingredients are for 2 large pots of soup):


 I call it 'acorn squash' but it tends to get call 'pumpkin' here



Yes, I do use a lot of garlic; not only is it healthy but I am of the opinion that garlic in Korea is far less potent than garlic in America (one measurement is this: when I handle garlic directly with my fingers in Korea, the smell goes away in an hour or two; when I do the same thing in the U.S., it takes 2-3 days)



I cook the pumpkin/squash in the microwave before adding it to the soup



Kale, spinach. celery, tomatoes . . .


Dried zucchini . . . very nice texture (not mushy like the fresh stuff)



The finished products: chicken soup and salmon soup; tofu (the squeezable tube kind) was added at the end as an ingredient and to help cool the soup down.  (Missing in the pics are the carrots, 2 kinds of mushrooms, sweet potatoes, spices, and  . . . no onions today, because the two I had saved were not in good condition.)

Indian Restaurant -- Beomgye

I ate at an Indian restaurant in Beomgye today that a co-worker recommended.  It was good!




The menu offers a large variety of Indian dishes (6 or 7 different kinds of naan, for example, and more mutton choices) and is also a bit cheaper than the Kinza restaurants in Sanbon and Pyeongchon (though I like them too).

The name is Swoyam Bhu (수엠부).  If you take subway exit 2 in Beomgye and walk straight about 25 meters the restaurant is in a building on your right, 3rd floor.

Monday 29 December 2014

Namul Restaurant

This namul (나물; seasoned/prepared vegetables) restaurant in Ansan (Jungang/중앙 station area) is quite good.  They have 3 set menu choices, priced at 9,000W, 12,000W, and 13,000W.  Since all I had eaten for breakfast was a banana, I opted for the 13,000 W option (I think the lower priced option doesn't include fish or 더덕, the root of a flowering plant, considered a health food).


Yapche (sweet potato noodles with vegetables, served as an appetizer at this restaurant)--yummy!



The two oval dishes on the right middle are the fish and 더덕 (the root dish, on the far right)



The rice is put into the large bowls to make bibimbap (비빔밥), rice mixed with vegetables and red pepper sauce (and, at this place, sesame oil), using the vegetables on the round serving dish on the left middle; so, rice, vegetables, oil, and hot sauce go into the bowl and then it is mixed with a spoon and eaten with the spoon--delicious!

Saturday 27 December 2014

Student Santa Pics/Posters






As you might notice, several female students asked if they could make "girl Santas".  I said, "Of course you can.  It's your picture . . . do what you want!"

More Signage

Interesting:



Maybe "Attention: Slippery!"?

Sunday 21 December 2014

Ottogi Teriyaki Chicken

The outside has a nice picture:


but the inside is not like that at all.  I wish I had taken a picture of the shriveled bits of meat that the Ottogi (오뚜기) company chooses to call 'chicken', let alone 'meat'.  Those desiccated bits of stuff should not be on sale--they taste nothing like chicken!--and the company should be heavily fined for false advertising.

Shame on you, Ottogi! Stop misleading consumers!

English Signage

Most of the English that I see on signs in the Seoul area is fairly good, but sometimes you just stop in puzzlement at some of the advertising slogans; for example:



(No doubt there where some Koreans wondering why a foreigner was taking a picture of this; then again, today is so cold and I was bundled up so much  maybe they couldn't tell I was a foreigner, just a strange photographer.)

Saturday 20 December 2014

Animated History

Interesting 'animated' history . . .

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/meet-william-harvey-misunderstood-genius-human-anatomy-180953682/

Lunch Pics

Lunch today was at a Vietnamese restaurant:

The full spread

Dip some rice paper in the hot water

Place it on your plate and top it up with meat/veggies/sauce, roll it up, and eat!

(The other pics didn't come out--sorry!--but I think many people have had this type of meal; if you haven't then you should!)

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Short Film: "Rabbit and Deer"

Here's an amazingly creative short animation (about 16 minutes) called "Rabbit and Deer:

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/?s=Attila%20Bert%C3%B3ti

It is very family-friendly!

Saturday 13 December 2014

Kinza Lunch Picture for 12/13/14

I ate at an Indian restaurant (Kinza) in Pyeongchon, same owners/menu as the one in Sanbon.  The one in Pyeongchon is very close to the subway station.


That's Chicken Marsala (curry) on the left and Tandoori Chicken Salad on the right.

Very good!

The place is running a lunch special (10,000 per person, I think) now since they have only been open a month and need to attract customers--so please visit it! (The owners are Indian and very nice people.)

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Short PSA/Film about Elephant Poaching

A nicely-made, attention-grabbing visual text:

http://time.com/3617282/kathryn-bigelow-last-days/

Sunday 7 December 2014

Soup Sunday

One pot of fish soup (salmon) and one pot of chicken soup--healthy, tasty, and a nice variety (cause you can't buy anything like this in Korea!).


Thursday 4 December 2014

Visiting a Doctor

I have been sick for the last week, or maybe I should say 'getting sicker', for what started out as the signs of a cold turned into evidence of a sinus infection (which is what happens to me once or twice a year--hard to avoid when students are sneezing and coughing within the confines of small classrooms).

Anyway, in my apartment building there is a doctor's office (or several, but one doctor is an E.N.T. specialist whom I have seen a few times before).

I went there yesterday but the office was closed--very disappointing as I knew I needed to start taking antibiotics.

I visited the office again today and was rewarded for my early showing by being their first patient--I didn't have to wait at all (sometimes it can be 30-40 minutes).

The doctor confirmed my sinus infection by sticking a small tube-like camera up my nose (not enjoyable, though seeing the pics on the monitor next to my head was interesting, if a bit disgusting (mucus: up close!) . . . just remember to obey the orders of "Don't move!", otherwise pain will ensue).

To wrap up, I saw the doc, got my medicine at the pharmacy next door, paid slightly less than $10 (for everything), and returned to my apt. in 15 minutes.

That's one thing I like about living in Korea.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

2 Short Films

"A Morning Stroll" : the beginning is kid-friendly, but the ending is probably not
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-Bl-QWZ2WU


"My Mom is an Airplane!": a family animation
http://vimeo.com/70678953

Sunday 30 November 2014

Short Film

Charming in a romantic way:

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2014/11/28/rhinos/

Saturday 29 November 2014

Surprise

As I walked into a class last Thursday, a short first-grader held up her arm and said,"Teacher, look!"

I was expecting to see a new pencil or eraser.

When I focused, I saw a tooth.

A tooth!

(This had not happened in a long time . . . I had forgotten about the possibility of kids removing parts of their mouths in our academy.)

This little girl then pulled down the right side of her mouth to show me exactly where the tooth cane from.

Shivers!

Homework: Pull your teeth out at home, not at English academy!


Coincidence

Coincidence: a situation in which events happen at the same time in a way that is not planned or expected (merriam-webster)

First class on Friday. Young advanced students, 1st-2nd grades.

They were writing about their favorite season, and one boy was writing about winter and snowboarding.

He came to my teacher's desk and asked me how to spell "board".

Just at that moment, a girl--who had already finished the writing and was working on a word-search puzzle about classroom objects--asked me how to spell "board", as in "whiteboard".

I spelled "b-o-a-r-d" for both of them.

Strange!

Short Film

A nice short film for the Thanksgiving weekend . . .

http://www.shortoftheweek.com/2014/11/27/my-moms-motorcycle/

Saturday 22 November 2014

Minion Movie

Banana!

Summer 2015 . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9-FCC6I7u0

Yeah!

Saturday Lunch

Today I ate at a 'boribap' restaurant (보리밥).  I really like this kind of Korean food: rice and soup (of course) with a nice variety of fresh prepared vegetables:


The beginning of the meal



 Namul: Korean seasoned vegetables



Sujebi: hand-torn noodle soup (here with perilla seeds)



The whole meal



The first time I have eaten rice like this--delicious!

Friday 21 November 2014

Outdoor Market

Every Friday, near where I live, there is an outdoor market, mostly food but also some other things (kitchen tools, etc.).  Since I hadn't visited it in a long time, I decided to walk there today and buy some fresh tofu, some muk-chae, and some seaweed sprinkles.  Here are the pics:









Sunday 16 November 2014

Sunday Cooking

Fish soup (salmon) and chicken soup:

Yum!


Friday 14 November 2014

College Entrance Exams

Yesterday--Thursday, November 13th--was the day for Korea's nation-wide college entrance exams.

Here is an interesting article about the tests and their importance/effects (considering that 640,000 students took the tests at the same time on the same day, they are clearly important, enough so to stop Samsung and Korean Air from functioning for a short time):

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20141113000861

Sunday 9 November 2014

Fall Colors

Beautiful!





View on North Korea

For a hardline viewpoint on North Korea, read this:

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/11/08/opinion/whiton-north-korea-diplomacy/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

Saturday 8 November 2014

Penguins

The 'Madagascar Penguins' are my favorite animated characters:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI4zp7yeuMU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5USLvy_9fcM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpHLNPsUY9c

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1y_kfWUCFDQ

Friday's Lunch

From one tent at the market (see post below) I bought this take-out bowl of acorn jelly, seaweed flakes, kimchi, and other healthy foods. It came with a bag of broth and a small bag of spicy stuff. I've had it before, and I like it (muk-chae; 묵채 , I think it is called; $4):



Market/Festival Pics

There were a lot of food tents at this market/festival, though few eat-on-the-spot types of foods . . . mostly healthy types of Korean foods such as nuts, kimchi, seaweed, etc.  There was also a stage set up for performances; one older Korean man approached me and told me, in good English, that he was going to sing John Denver's "Country Road" and that I should come listen:








The last pic is of dried fish (on the left--I bought some) and octopus tentacles (on the right--I tried a small piece, and it wasn't as chewy as I thought it would be).