The Way Life Used To Be

09 Sunday Oct 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Out in the Big World/Travel, Strange Customs

Hahoe Village is tucked away into a lush, green, dense, hilly region that I couldn’t have found on my own with a compass, a map, a GPS in hand and Guy sitting shotgun. Mostly because all of Korea could be described this exact way. The incredible Hahoe Village is 600 years old, so I guess she can hang out wherever the hell she pleases. I assume building this village in such a remote area made sense at one time, but now it just begs the (admittedly beligerent) question: really?! Oh, but I found fleeting moments of the reverence I’d been looking for at the temples weeks ago! There is something special about being a part of things so old, yet thriving in the modern age. People still inhabit all of the ancient homes, cultivate fruit from the apple, orange and tomato? trees, landscape the yards…sell things to tourists. Another juxtaposition, one of dozens I keep tripping over in Korea. The cars in the yards of the traditional structured houses threw my mind for a loop, for example. The cars and then the outhouses — still necessary, apparently.

In the photo on the right, notice the firepit under the middle part of the house, obviously used for heating or the kitchen. This room to the right, with the open door, seems to welcome guests, but no. Sure would be nice to be able to read the signs! Then I wouldn’t appear to be an absolute idiot, albeit a well-meaning one. I swear.

As you might imagine, the area surrounding Hahoe Village is rice fields. This makes sense, right? Gorgeous plots of land with acres upon acres of rice, planted months ago and beginning to be harvested now. The way it’s been done for centuries.

It’s difficult to see, but in this photo on the right, rice hangs ready to be plucked. No workers out today, though. Maybe they were all at the Andong Mask Festival, which was our second stop of the day. See concurrent blog for more!

Didn’t believe me about the tomato trees, did you? Here they are!

Bend It Like Hamlin

06 Thursday Oct 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Family Ties, Pride and Joy

≈ 3 Comments

I could not have created a more perfect day, weatherwise, for our 10 hour soccer tournament, held in a town called Pohang, about 2 hours away from here. When I told Natalie it would be like going to Portland, she misunderstood and said, “we’re going home?!” Sweet, sweet girl.

The elementary soccer team I’m coaching, with my friend Hugh Cole, is so big we broke into 2 teams to ensure everyone got to play a lot, to build their skills. And play they did! Regardless of the overwhelmingly one-sided scores, they kicked and ran their little hearts out, against opposing teams who looked like professional athletes, or, okay, atleast gigantic middle schoolers. I have one little guy, a 3rd grader, who doesn’t outweigh Natalie, for sure. He ran around that field like a little madman, big ol’ grin from ear to ear. He kind of made me want to get out there and play a bit myself. Now that’s inspiration!

Hugh and Me, coffee in hand, ready for the day

Every weekend here brings a new opportunity to get out and see the countryside and be more of a part of the culture that is Korea. I loved the day. It was long, but filled to the brim with laughter and pick-up side games, parental sharing of snacks (yum!), and overall lighthearted fun. It was all about the kids. As it should be!

At the end of the day, I had earned hugs and ‘thank you’s’ and ‘see you next weeks’ from the players, who, honestly, up to that point, sort of seemed to view me as a big meanie who made them run laps sometimes. I enjoyed myself so much that I signed on to continue soccer as an activity next quarter. It’s a real feeder program now. These DIS Jets will be competetive before we know it!

My guys (in the pinnies) vs. the Giants !

The Cafe and Korean BBQ

03 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Vicki Hamlin in Cuisine, Family Ties

≈ 1 Comment

It is easy to healthfully over here, I will say that. Every day, at our on-campus cafe, there are numerous fresh fruit and vegetable choices, low-sodium soup, the always present sticky white rice, and something with meat, usually with sauce. Thank goodness I am head over heels for the sidekick kimchi – it is a delicious, fermented vegetable/cabbage dish that reminds me of spicy sauerkraut. I eat it quite a bit. All the kids have tried it, too, and by golly, won’t eat another bite. No worries, there is always peanut butter and jelly or toast with butter to enjoy. The staff here in the kitchen aims to please – they’ll make or find anything you ask for, if they can. Brownie night is a big hit, as you can imagine, but not for me. My sweet tooth has yet to find a treat it deems delectable. This is good for the waistline.

Eating out is another story still. Since we have, as of yet, only been to korean barbeque restaurants, the veggies take a supporting role while the meat – center stage. Cuts of pork or beef, or whatever you order, are brought to you and cooked on a hibachi-type grill right in the center of the table. You can imagine the hit this makes with children. Finally, a gimmick at a restaurant that keeps their attention! The waitstaff we’ve had when we’ve been out is generally nowhere to be seen until we do something truly crazy like try to grill our garlic on this hibachi! This is NOT. OKAY. They will smile while you laugh, but they do not find this funny. I know this because they will take your utensil out of your hand and remove your sizzling garlic completely from your table. And they will not bring you more.

It’s hard to see in this picture, but after they take your order and get you started cooking, they will bring you a sidedish. Or 20. There are marinated onions, sprout salads, green shoot something-or-others, bowls of goo, dipping sauces, soups, more onions – only this time they’re sauteed…I can’t tell you the amount of food that arrives at the table. To date, we have not finished what is brought to us, no matter how many people we bring along.

This night, in these photos, we are with the Jolly family, at a restaurant, near their home, that took us in and treated us like we knew just what we were doing. Well, the Jollys did, actually. They’ve been in Korea for 9 years. I liked it there, because though they, too, poopooed my roasted garlic idea, they didn’t take it away from me. That’s gotta be good for business. At least my business.

Here, McKenna, Macyn and Natalie do what all Korean students seem to do – give the peace sign! And here are Guy, Sarah and Scott happily squished on the floor! A very fun experience!