Christmas Festivities

On Christmas Eve, we had a big celebration. I had some people from work over, and some non-work friends as well. I cooked a big dinner, and we generally made merry. It was nice, because it snowed all through the night before, so it was lovely outside. Most of the snow was gone by the time my guests arrived, but it was still some nice atmosphere. 

I made a sugar cookie Christmas tree for dessert. I also made some chocolate chip cookies. 

One of my work friends has a birthday coming up, so I made a red velvet birthday cake for him. I didn't have any candles though, which was rather sad :(

The main course was a lasagna. I love lasagna. It's one of my favorite foods. But in Korea, not only is it ridiculously expensive to make lasagna, it's very time consuming. All said and done, I probably spent a good seven hours making this thing. But it tasted pretty good, and Christmas is a good time to pull out the culinary stops, right??

I also made some BBQ meatballs, and some parmesan roasted asparagus. 

Finally, I baked some Italian bread with whole garlic cloves to round out the meal. 

This was the dessert table, complete with a little bowl of after-dinner mints. 

The next morning,  I got up and went to church. My friends had some boxes from home waiting for me!! It was most exciting!

Box number 1 was from my parents and extended family. 

Box number two was from my brother and sister in law. 

After church, I went to hang out with a family from my church. They made a lovely brunch with all sorts of wonderful food, like cinnamon rolls, bacon, cantelope and waffles that are practically impossible for me to get. After we ate, we did some gift exchanging. It was great fun, because they have two young children. It felt just like being part of a family again, which was a very nice feeling. 

After that, we sat around and played with new toys, and Jessie made an amazing pot roast dinner. We watched the Nativity, and stayed up late into the night just hanging out and talking. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas. I was so thankful to spend the holiday with friends and church family from all over the world. Merry Christmas!

Things I've Seen and Done: Christmas Edition

Christmas is a quite different experience in Korea. It's a relatively new holiday, so there isn't the same sense of tradition about all of it. It is basically a holiday for Christians to celebrate in church, for couples to have another go at a valentine's day style thing, or in some families, for little kids. Some of the stores put up Christmas decorations, but not all of them. It seems to be more concentrated in the specific shopping areas, or the big chain stores. Lots of little stores don't do anything special for Christmas, and for most people it's just another day. It is considered a national holiday, so people get Christmas day off, but they just get the one day. Because Christmas fell on a Sunday, nobody got an extra day off, and for most people, it was back to work on Monday. 

It has snowed a little bit in the last few days. There wasn't snow on Christmas, but this is the Wednesday before Christmas, as I was waiting for the bus. 

I went to the shopping district near my house and took some pictures of the Christmas decorations on the stores.  

"Gift for My Fair Lady"

These big flowers were made of sparkling Christmas lights. 

I'm not quite sure why there was a fluorescent unicorn inside of this wreath, but there we have it. 

This isn't really related to Christmas, but there is a cosmetic chain called "Food Skin" that always makes me smile when I see it. 

There were some awesome hats. Donald duck, panda bears, cute baby wolves....

I think the "Angry Birds" merchandise was my favorite though. 

Grades and Culture

I finished all of my grading yesterday. It was one of those crazy, crazy days. I was giving exams in the morning, attending meetings in the afternoon, and marking and inputting grades late into the night. But I'm finally done! We have to enter grades and attendance for each student individually, and by the end of the night, the online portal system was noticeably slower. I wonder if everyone was trying to get their grades entered last night?

It was a strange experience, actually entering the grades. I teach in the general education department, and my classes are required for graduation. The university has a policy that anything below a B- means you don't pass the class. If you miss more than 7 classes in the course of the semester, the computer will automatically fail you. My section of the department is also relatively new. We just finished our third year of existence. In the beginning of the program, lots of students were failed because they didn't come to class and didn't do any work. There are about 600 seniors who are going to graduate next year who still need their English credits. As you can imagine, this is causing lots of problems for the administration. So we were basically told to pass as many students as possible.

This is definitely a time when it is hard to know what to do with cultural differences. Where do you draw the lines between objective right and wrong, and differences in culture? Some things are part of Korean culture, but I would never, ever do them in an American context. Perhaps the most blatantly obvious thing in this category is bowing. In America, you just don't bow to people. It is generally considered a sign of subservience, and American culture doesn't really have a place for that. The only time I ever bowed in America was when I was on a stage and had just finished a performance. In Korea, you bow to say hello, goodbye, thank you, respect, friendliness, etc. I bow lots and lots of times every day, because it's just what you do.

In America, if a student missed a large number of classes with no reason, sat in the back corner of the classroom and never even made eye contact, missed quizzes, only completed 20% of the assigned homework and only managed to earn a 60% in the class, they would fail. They could try to appeal their grade, but it would be pretty clear to everyone involved that this student didn't deserve to pass this course. In Korea, at least in my department (I won't venture to speak for the entire higher education system), because that student basically went through the motions, because it will cause administrative difficulties to fail her, and because it makes the department and university lose face to have too many students fail, there is pressure to pass this student. In this particular class, you have to get a B- to pass.

I struggled with this. To me, it seems flat out wrong to pass this student. It isn't fair to the students who actually did the assigned work and earned a B- on their own merit. It isn't fair to future employers who look at her transcript and make assumptions about her study habits and English proficiency based on her grade. I even think it's not fair to the student. Yes, she passes the class and feels relief that she doesn't have to re-take it. But it is also sending the message that working hard and learning isn't the primary goal. The primary goal is just making sure that nobody's feathers get ruffled and harmony is maintained.

Maybe that is the primary goal. One of the aspects of Korea that has been the hardest for me to understand is the whole saving face and maintaining harmony thing. But if I was brought halfway around the world to expose students to other cultures and ideas, should I adapt my grading to a Confucian scale? I believe that there is a right and wrong that transcends culture, but I don't know if this kind of thing fits into that category. This is one of the harder things about living in Korea. I don't fully understand the hidden cultural values that Koreans operate under, and I don't know when I should "forget" my Americanness and when I should stick to it.

I suppose that marking papers gets rather monotonous after awhile, so I could be thankful for the chance to ponder something a little more philosophical than multiple choice exams and missing articles. But really, it just frustrated me. Because I don't know how to navigate this situation. And I know this isn't going to be the last time something like this happens.

For now, all of the grades are in. I passed my student, even though it made me kinda angry to do so. And I guess I'll continue to ponder what exactly culture is, and when it should apply and when it should give way.

Things I've Seen and Done, Part 10

I haven't seen or done much that was picture-worthy this week, but it's definitely been a full week. There's been the usual flurry of grading and end-of-semester paperwork that has taken up most of my time. Things are also starting to get all Christmas-y around here. On Saturday night, I went to hear Handel's "Messiah". It doesn't matter if I'm hearing a professional or amateur production, or what side of the world I'm on, there is still a wonderful moment when everyone holds their breath in anticipation of the first notes of the 'Hallelujah' chorus, and stands up. 

Before the "Messiah", there was a children's choir that sang some songs. We came in for the last song or two, but they were surprisingly good! They were from a local international school, so their English was quite good. To go to an international school in Seoul, you either have to have a foreign passport, or you have to have lived overseas for a certain number of years. All of the children in the choir looked Asian, so who knows which category they fell into. 

There are a number of light trees like this around the city. This one was outside of the church where the "Messiah" was performed. 

This tree is outside of Seoul City Hall. It was pretty massive, and the lights kept changing colors and doing all sorts of other crazy, flashy things. 

Today (Sunday), I went to the America-Korea Friendship Holiday Concert. My school gave me tickets, so I went. The 8th Army Band played the first half, and a youth violin orchestra played the second half. It was quite good! I tried to get some video of the violin orchestra, but it just didn't turn out well. :(

After the concert, my boss took some of us out for coffee, and we ran into the president of the university. During all of this, we had some conversations about a potential future project for me. If it all goes through, it will be ridiculously amazingly exciting! But it's still in the talking stage right now, so I can't say much more. But if it happens, it wold be super super amazing! Stay tuned for more reports. 

That's pretty much been my week!

Google Zeitgeist

Google recently released it's 2011 Zeitgeist. It included the top ten most searched for things in 2011, and a really cool video. Here's the top ten most searched for things in 2011.

10. iPad 2

9. Steve Jobs

8. Fukoshima

7. Adele

6. iPhone 5

5. Battlefield 3

4. Casey Anthony

3. Ryan Dunn

2. Google+

I must admit, this list surprised me a little bit. A lot of stuff has happened in 2011. There have been major uprisings -- revolutions even -- in several parts of the world. There were entirely new countries that were peacefully created in areas that have been entirely characterized by war and genocide. There have been significant tragedies and natural disasters in multiple continents. One of those natural disasters prompted a major nuclear meltdown, or near meltdown. There are major, major world economies who have presidential (or equivalent) elections coming up next year. There have been several major plays who have had shifts of power this year, some more peaceful than others. Even within America, there have been several significant policies passed, debated or repealed. I was glad to see that Fukoshima made the list, but I was suprised (a little) at how much entertainment and gadgets dominated this list. 

However, that surprise was nothing compared to what I felt when I saw the number one fastest rising search in the entire world. 

1. Rebecca Black. 

How did this happen? I just don't know what to make of this. So I'm not going to think about it anymore. 

In happier news, check out this video that Google also released covering some of the more significant events of 2011. I will admit to feeling a little more connected with American culture after watching this movie. Yes, there were a TON of things in here that aren't related to American culture at all... but I sometimes feel like I live in a Korean bubble, and I instantly recognized all of these events and pictures. So that's something, right??

Happy almost-end-of-2011.

Around the office

I had a morning full of exams, but in one class, it was a listening exam. The listening exam only takes about 30 minutes out of a 75 minute class period, so I found myself with some time to kill in the office. Really, I could have started grading the exams my students just finished, but instead, I decided to get lunch and have a moment of quiet.

This is my oh-so-inspiring lunch today. Strawberry yogurt, chocolate milk (it tastes more like dark chocolate and less like liquid pudding!) and a piece of sketchy cheddar cheese. 

This is what my office looks like. The desk with the map hanging above it is mine. We use the middle table as a general catch-all for student papers, a drop off/pick up point for our TAs, and anything else we happen to need. To my right sits Jonathan. He's from Wales, and he's been in Korea four or five years. Out of all of us in the office, he probably fits the absent-minded professor stereotype the best. He is always rushing around looking for things and  muttering under his breath. After we are done teaching for the day when we are all doing office hours and such, he tends to throw out the most random information. He's great fun. 

To my left is Ryan, from New Zealand. Ryan has been in Korea for about eight years. He and I teach a lot of the same classes, so we tend to collaborate a lot on lesson plans and extra activities. Also, he isn't very good with computers, so I fix things on his computer at least once a day. Out of all of my office mates, I probably know him the best. The other guys leave early on Wednesday, but Ryan and I have class until six, and some other stuff to do after. So we usually chat more about life in general on Wednesday night. 

The desk against the window belongs to John. He's also American, but he is significantly older than the rest of us in the office. He has been in and out of Korea for the past 20 years or so. He doesn't spend very much time in here on the days that I'm in, because he prefers to do his office hours alone. So he comes in on Tuesday and Thursday. I don't know him well at all. But he loves to talk about politics. Unfortunately, he is one of those people who assumes that everyone agrees with his political opinions (which I don't), so I often have to watch what I say around him. 

This is the view from the other side of the room. Jonathan's desk is on the left. The desk on the right belongs to Richard, from England. He has been here about six years, and he speaks quite good Korean. He tends to be the person that we go to when we have problems with the online system. He and I also spend quite a lot of time discussing linguistic differences between British and American English. This mostly happens when one of us says something that is idiomatic or culturally specific, without really thinking about it, and it doesn't quite compute. So then we have a discussion about meaning, regional variations and etymology. It's great fun. 

So this is where I spend my days. Or at least, some of my days. The boys are great fun, and they've been super helpful as I try to figure out what in the world I'm doing this semester. They also really appreciate chocolate chip cookies :)

Things I've Seen and Done, Part 9

Things are starting to hit the crunch time. This coming week is the last full week of teaching. It's going to be ABSOLUTELY INSANE. I have so much paperwork to deal with in the next few days. I might do something unprecedented and go into work on Thursday this week. This past week was also a little crazy. Part of it was school stuff, part of it was that I was involved in multiple Christmas music performances this weekend. So I have seen and done lots of things, but none of them were very interesting. 

This is part of the stack of textbooks I had to evaluate for the English camp I'm teaching in January. It will be switching things up a bit. I'm teaching six and seven year olds. 

I tried to make applesauce this week. I peeled and sliced all of my apples, and put in the recommended spices. I left it to cook just like I was supposed to! Unfortunately, the finished product wasn't very delicious. I've only ever seen one kind of apple in Korea, and I just don't think it was up to the job of making applesauce. 

Trash gets really complicated here. There are special bags you have to buy for different kinds of trash. There are multiple categories of recycling to deal with. These are the bags that you use for food trash (there are lots of rules about what does and doesn't count as food trash) that is full of the peelings from the ill-fated applesauce. 

I've done a lot of cooking this week. As a result, I've done a lot of dish washing. I also haven't had much time to play my cello lately. The result of this particular combination was the fingertips on my left hand started to peel. They peeled for three days before all of the callouses from my cello practice were gone. It's going to be rather painful to get them back again. 

I opened my last package of golden oreos this week. I pulled one out, and on one side it looked perfectly normal. Just like a golden oreo should. 

Then I flipped it over, and I saw this. Somehow, this one cookie had gotten put on upside down. It was a little strange. 

It made a nice design in the frosting though. For all of those people who can't eat a sandwich if the bread doesn't match, you'll be glad to know that I made sure to reassemble the oreo in the correct way before I ate it. 

There are tiny stores and road-side stands all over the city for shoe repair. Some of them have different names, but the name of this one made me laugh a little bit. It's called "goodoo byeongwon", which translates (literally) to "shoe hospital". 

Finally, I went to a Christmas cookie exchange over the weekend. This was all of the bounty before we started to divide them all up. It was a pretty spectacular way to spend a Saturday morning!

A productive -- if crazy -- day

This is my kitchen. I love my kitchen. It's one of my favorite things about this apartment. There's enough counter space to actually make things. The sink is large, there are lots and lots of cabinets. However, today, a war was waged in my kitchen that reduced it to looking like this:

What, you may ask, happened to the once brave and clean expanses of counter top? Where did the shining, empty sink go? I had quite a few adventures in the kitchen today, but I'm happy to say that all of them were quite successful. 

A good deal of what I did today involved stocking up my freezer with individual sized portions that I can just defrost after work. This was my freezer at the start of the day. Nothing terribly exciting. Pretty empty. 

This is what it looks like now. I'm excited!!

First off, I made a concentrate that I can use for broccoli soup. Basically, when I want to eat some, I just have to thaw the concentrate, heat it up and add milk and anything else that I want. My basic "cream of ______" soup recipe doesn't really use measurements. It's all about the ratios. So, you need three parts of chicken or vegetable stock, two parts of your vegetables, and one part of dairy. Your dairy can be milk, cream, half and half, yogurt, sour cream... Anything really. I also partially steamed several servings of broccoli and froze them. Maybe I'll make a stir fry or something out of them later on. 

I also made a base to use for tomato soup. I would just like to point out how neatly this tomato continues the apparent tradition of MASSIVE produce in South Korea. It's as big as my hand, and I have pretty big hands. Since I'm apparently incapable of making soup in small enough quantities for one person to reasonably finish in a few days, freezing it seemed like the only option. In fact, I already have a large container of potato soup left over from my last soup making attempt in the freezer. 

While all of the soup simmering was going on, I baked two and a half pounds of chicken breast, lightly seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper, then I shredded it to be frozen in smaller portions. I'll be able to pull it out and use it in a wide variety of dishes in the future. 

This is one pound of peeled fresh ginger. Apparently, when you peel an entire pound of ginger, the enzyme or whatever inside of the ginger that gives it a pleasant spice transfers itself to your skin in such large quantities that your hands will burn for the next hour, despite repeated hand washing. Just so you know :) I used this to make candied ginger, which was a first for me. 

The candied ginger is in the pot on the left. The pot on the right is Alfredo sauce that I also made to put in the freezer. A note to my future self: Don't ever make two delicate, time-sensitive dishes that both require constant stirring at the same time. 

When I was stirring the ginger in the pot, it was still a liquid. As soon as I turned off the heat and literally rotated to my right to dump the mixture out onto some aluminum foil, it had turned into something that was granulated and solid again. It was pretty amazing. Now I have a lot of candied ginger AND some awesome ginger infused sugar!

A close up of the ginger. It always reminds me of Christmas, somehow. Maybe it's the way the sugar sparkles like lights?

Next up was another new recipe. I'm going to a cookie exchange on Saturday, so I needed 3 dozen cookies. I posted a recipe for some red velvet cream cheese cookies on my facebook last night because they just looked so amazing. Unfortunately, that particular cookie recipe called for a box of red velvet cake mix. Which just doesn't exist in Korea. So I went to bed last night a little sad, as I contemplated my lack of red velvet. This morning, I woke up determined to find a way around this minor setback in my quest for red velvet cookies. I did some googling and found a recipe that I could make pretty easily here. I modified it a little bit, and decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. 

Here we have the finished product: Red Velvet Chocolate Chip Cookies. Oh. My. Word. They were amazingly delicious. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from a cake turned cookie, but whatever my expectations may have been, they were far exceeded. This recipe is definitely going into the notebook where I write all of my favorite recipes and cooking tricks. It might even be my new favorite cookie. 

Finally, I used some of that candied ginger to make ginger molasses cookies. This is an old favorite recipe of mine. I've made them lots of times. But it was exciting to make them with ginger that I'd made myself!

In the middle of this cooking frenzy, I got a text message from my school requesting my presence at a ceremony that evening, so I had to run off and leave my kitchen a complete disaster. This is one of those times I'm thankful that I live alone -- I don't have a roommate to drive crazy with stuff like this! 

A new addition to the household

My computer died last week. It was quite sad. Thankfully, it died in enough stages that I was able to salvage all of my data off of it. However, this left me in a bit of a bind. So I decided to go online and buy a new computer. This wasn't a big deal. I'd purchased computers online before. There were just two problems. 1, all of the computer buying websites are in Korean and 2, the model numbers are Korea-specific model numbers, so there were no user reviews available to browse.

In the end, I settled on one, held my breath and clicked "buy". Then I sat and waited, hoping that it wouldn't turn out to be a big mistake. A few days later, my doorbell rang, and I saw this sitting on my doorstep:

I brought it into the house, and opened up the box. There were surprises waiting for me. 

Thankfully, they were the good kind of surprises. The company threw in a free 4 GB thumb drive and a 4 port USB hub. 

Naturally, since I bought the computer in Korea, it has a Korean plug on it. This is quite useful for now. It was annoying to always use the plug adapters. They don't always fit into the sockets very well. It will potentially be interesting when I come back to America, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. 

This picture is pretty terrible, so you can't really see.... But when I turned the computer on, everything was in Korean. I got a little worried. I knew that with Windows 7, I'd have the option to choose my language, but for a moment I was afraid that some technician somewhere had helpfully set up my computer for me, and my shot at an English OS was gone. Thankfully, it wasn't, and my computer is all in English now. 

I'm quite excited about this. I now have a dual language keyboard. See the alt key next to the space bar? That lets me toggle between English and Korean. I have to set up some other stuff within the computer to do that, but it shouldn't be too big of a deal. 

This is how a spent a good portion of the evening on Tuesday. The soft light of two LCD screens and some Christmas lights. Everything is basically up and running now, so posting and such should become a little more regular. Hooray for this little adventure having a happy ending!