FEAR, FUN AND FOOD

January 14, 2016

Fear, Fun, and Food

FEAR OR FUN?  

Kim Jong Il is usually such a fun guy...we're not sure why he pretended to be testing a Hydrogen Bomb in North Korea last week. Seismographs all over the world reported an earthquake in North Korea, but other sources claimed the possibility of nuclear provocation.

No matter where you are politically, this photo is sure to make you smile:

The North Korean leader having lunch with Dennis Rodman

Kim Jong Il touring a catfish hatchery

SPEAKING OF CATFISH, MORE ON FOOD:

 I counted 21 different types of rice at Costco. 

These four elders decided to have eight large orders of McDonald's fries for dinner (2 orders each, eaten with chopsticks).

No explanation required. No leftovers.

The Haagen Dazs chocolate pint was a birthday present for me!
$10.00 or 10,000 won per pint.
Worth it.

Now, for the "Gastronomie extraordinaire", 

Beondegi - silk worm larvae cooked

(three definitions from "foodie" websites see below)

1. Overall, if you want an authentic, true taste and understanding of Korean culture eating beondegi is the only way to go. Plus, eating bugs is cool  ...

2. Boiled silkworm pupae

3. Posts about beondegi. ..."The smell is enough to make you retch but it is nothing compared to the taste."

Bryan and I were walking down the street enjoying the Christmas season when we saw this big pot and I said, "Do you think that is the famous beondegi we've heard so much about? The answer was yes! In case you can't find enough silk worm pupae around to cook, don't worry, you can buy beondegi canned!

RANDOM:

There is no other way to categorize the following photos.

We noticed this little "garage" every morning walking to work. Does someone live there? One day when we went by, a man was working inside, repairing shoes, sewing, and fixing things.

Buddhist monks going for their walk in the courtyard. Some temples also have female monks. Occasionally we see monks walking around town.

This "drinking fountain" is a hose that squirts into this rock. As you can see, there are cups hanging from a rope so that you can just dip the cup into the hole in the rock and get a drink!

A few pics from two weeks ago:

CHRISTMAS DINNER WITH THE ELDERS - FOLLOWED BY:

the traditional White Elephant Gift Exchange!!

American food makes the Elders happy...Vicki says it's not healthy. How can she say that about cheesy potatoes and white rolls? (Notice our favorite wall, with all of your letters, pictures, and cards decorating our humble apartment.)

Elder Park contemplates the gift he brought wrapped in pink toilet paper.

 I wasn't kidding about no wrapping paper or ribbon. 

 SUSPENSE!

Red and green cozy socks - I found these in a closet in our apartment - probably belonging to the mission couple from 1995.

"One size fits most" made us all laugh, because Elder Dobbins wears a size 13 shoe.

Does this look like a potato chip?

No, it is actually a shoe horn. Extra small.

White Elephants never disappoint!

I LOVED getting this gift - one shoe tree. The missionaries said it had been in their apartment for years, no one knew the rightful owner. Lucky me!

Next Post:

THREE FUN OUTINGS (coming up)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

January 8, 2016

FUNNY THINGS

Happy New Year is a time for a little humor, so here are some "funny things":

When we inspect apartments, one of the questions is, "Do you have a table"? The answer is yes! This is a normal sized table for an apartment. The legs are about 5 inches and it sits on the floor. Happy eating!

ADVERTISING

One of the common ways businesses advertise is: a man drives by on a motorcycle or scooter and throws little business cards on the sidewalk. After the wind blows them around and people step on them, someone just might pick one up!

Another great way to advertise is to put a piece of paper on a wall along the sidewalk somewhere. After a while, they are ripped off and thousands of pieces of tape are on the wall until covered up by the next advertisement.

If you want to sell something, just put up some poles, a few tarps, and bungee cords; hang a few lights if necessary, and you have your own "market". One of the most popular items for sale is:

CABBAGE!

CABBAGE

AND MORE CABBAGE!

This cute lady is selling cabbage, of course, red hot chilis to spice up the cabbage, and gigantic white radishes (upper left corner).

The last really funny story of the day also has to do with food. When Koreans go to Costco, they might order something from the prepared food stand: they have bulgogi beef burgers, chicken bakes, hot dogs, and pizza. They also have the usual condiment stand with chopped onions, mustard, ketchup, and relish. The Koreans get a paper plate and load up on a pile of chopped onions and then squirt mustard over them. They sit and eat it like a meal or a snack. We asked the missionaries, "Why?" They answered, "They love free food!" Bryan bought lunch for four of the Elders one day when he ran into them at Costco. He ordered a hot dog and it came with a packet of sweet relish, which Bryan didn't use. When they were all finished, the Korean elder said, "You don't want the relish? I'll take it!", and then ate it up!

Santa's Helper

December 24, 2015

Christmas is here!

Yea! Time for the ward Christmas party!! Decorations, musical numbers, food, treats, presents, and fun. Preparations must be made...

When the Oncheon Ward was looking around for a pretend "Santa's Helper" just to dress up like the real Santa for the ward Christmas party, they looked for someone big, with whitish skin, grayish hair, wire glasses, and a cheerful laugh: "Ho, Ho, Ho!" Look no further - Elder George fit the bill perfectly! 

It was a difficult choice for "Santa" to decide which suit to wear. Three suits came back from the dry cleaner: one had kind of a "shaggy dog-like" beard and

moustache; one had a curly wig and matching beard and moustache (good choice), and the other one had several hats but no wig. 

Everyone wanted to try out for the job, so many tried on the costumes.

 There were various hats to try on, and different beards, jackets with long sleeves, jackets with short sleeves.

Finally a decision was made - Elder George found the perfect outfit!

The elves were so happy!

We love the office elves.

 

Musical numbers made the party so fun.

Brenda led the singing with the help of Kelly, age 3, mission president's granddaughter.

  The Bishop's family is very musical

 Brother Shin, in his traditional Korean "hanbok" played the harmonica - a very "Christmas-y" Korean song, "Danny Boy".

The teenagers mostly wanted me to give them candy.

There was a game where the missionaries had flour poured all over their heads.

They were good sports about it, of course.

Time for Santa to hand out the toys.

Since there are only four children in the ward, plus two guests came (yea!), so the entire Santa ordeal was pretty quick...lucky for Elder George, since he was keeping a pillow around his waist with a belt, and hoping it wouldn't fall down. The beard was also getting kind of itchy. After the program, festivities, and Santa, the entire ward had dinner. The women in the ward made the dinner and I volunteered to bring dessert: fruit, the usual dessert, and brownies. It is always fun being in the kitchen with everyone, even though the communication is pretty limited. I especially like doing the dishes. The teenagers always do the dishes for every ward event or party, and it's fun to be with them.

At the end a full traditional Korean dinner was served. These are some of my "friends" - the two girls are in college (Sister Cho and Soomi), and the couple at the end were just married (Brother and Sister Park).

These are pretty much all the women in the ward. Now I get to wear the elf hat.

CHRISTMAS DAY

The traditional Christmas breakfast, usually a huge event, was pared down to two pieces of french toast. We had a great day skyping with all the kids and grandkids on Dec. 25 or 26. That was the best present of all!