Thirty Hours in Fukoka

In order to get our Korean work visas, Ryan and I had to venture out of the country.  Last Thursday morning we headed to the ferry pier and boarded a high speed hydrofoil boat bound for Fukoka.  In three short hours, we had arrived in Japan.

We went straight for some local food.

raw tuna over rice with udon 

udon with shrimp tempura

After applying for our visas, we walked along the beach and stopped for a cool snack.  It was even hotter and more humid than it has been in Busan.  

Fukoka Tower

green tea ice cream

We spent the evening exploring  Fukoka's downtown. 

For dinner we went to "Raumen Stadium" where Ryan made sure to try Fukoka's specialty, pork ramen.  He placed his order at a vending machine.  Soon, it arrived at our table.

I opted for sushi!

But not this one... (fourth from the top)

We loved the walk along the water back to our hotel, taking in the quaint open air restaurants alongside cafes and shops overloaded with cuteness.

lattes topped with animal shapes

Barbie Store!

The next morning we picked up our visas and continued to explore the city.  We strolled through a gorgeous park admiring the local wildlife, then continued on to a peaceful Japanese Garden.

Our last stop was the Fukoka Castle Ruins.  

what a trooper :)

Finally we headed back to the ferry pier to return to Busan.  The departure time had been moved up half an hour earlier.  Once we boarded we realized why.  A tropical storm tossed the ferry around on the rough water for three long hours.  

I was sick the entire time.  Ugh.  No boats for me for awhiiiiile. Luckily my amazing husband took great care of me. 

All in all, a great quick trip to Japan!

Sometimes

Sometimes, when it’s been a long day and you live in a tiny apartment, and the internet isn’t working, you just need to sit at a table outside 7-11 and share some maekgeolli.

Grocery Shopping

I forgot how different it is to shop for groceries here in Korea.  The labels are foreign, the contents are often a mystery, and you're never quite certain if that's dish soap or hand soap that you're taking home.

When I spent the better part of a morning grocery shopping last week, it all came back to me.  I found myself squinting at the labels and sale tags in bewilderment.

Hmmm, which soy sauce should I get?  Your guess is as good as mine.

Kimchi anyone? 

The cheese section was sad.  No cheddar to be found.  The case held a variety of specialty cheeses, and the (oddly) standard shredded mozzerella and American cheese singles.

Blech.  A trip to Costco is in our near future.

In the midst of the foreign items, I found some things I was familiar with.  These....

And these...

I even found black beans!  

There were eleven cans on the shelf.  I bought them all.

UO Vs. LSU

Duck football season is opening today with a big game versus Louisiana State.  The Ducks had an amazing season last year and we're confident this year will be no different.  Well, except this year they'll win the championship game.  Duh.

Ryan has been a Duck fan practically since birth, growing up in Eugene and attending games regularly with his dad.  I've grown into a huge fan as well, and we've both had so much fun at games over the years.

Thanks to TV scheduling, most Duck games this year are played on Saturday nights at home.  That means kick-off is Sunday morning here in South Korea.  It was like the night before Christmas as we anticipated this morning.  Soon we'll be watching and cheering on our Ducks!  Win the day!!

Back in Busan: Our first few days

Ryan and I had been eagerly anticipating the first glimpse of our new apartment since we arrived at the airport late Sunday night.  Luckily for us, we were taken straight to it.  No Love Motel this year! 

Last year, after seeing where other English teachers lived, we realized that our former apartment, with its separate bedroom, bathtub, and small balcony, was way better than most.  It wasn't until we opened the door to our new place that we realized just how spoiled we really were.  The new place is one room (ok two if you count the bathroom) and is painfully small.  It can only be described as a studio, and a tiny one at that.

It's a good thing Ryan and I planned accordingly for limited space.  We packed significantly fewer clothes and shoes than we brought last year.  We do have a fair amount of closet and storage space which is nice, since clutter only makes an already small space feel smaller.  Perhaps the best part of arriving at 11:00 pm (really 7:00 am Portland time) was realizing that aside from basic furniture and two (don't ask me why) TVs, the apartment was completely empty. 

When we moved into our place last year after the previous teacher had vacated, we were left with plenty of kitchen utensils, various cleaning supplies, and small appliances like a tea kettle and rice cooker.  Our new place had nothing.  And I mean nothing.  From talking with our co-workers at school the next day, we realized that the apartment manager must have cleaned the place out, likely thinking he was doing us a favor by getting rid of the last tenant's leftovers.  However, last year we welcomed (most of) the leftover items we acquired last year and made sure to leave necessities for the person who moved in after we left.  But, I have to admit, it was nice buying a few new items for the place.  Our dishes last year were a mish mosh of the many teachers before us.  I was happy to find some cute matching dishes at the local "dollar store."  

After a terrible night's sleep (mosquitos buzzing in our ears and an uncomfortable makeshift sheet and pillow) the first thing we picked up from a neighborhood convenience store was a spray bottle of cleaner and some rags.  We went to work on the place, filthy from the bachelor who lived there before we did.  Then we ate our first Korean breakfast...

Don't judge, we had no dishes or utensils!  After breakfast we waited patiently for the director of our school to come pick us up.  She knocked on our door around ten, and we were taken to the school where we'll work the next year.  More on that soon... :)

We spent the morning observing classes, and the afternoon teaching some.  Lunch was Korean food from a nearby restaurant.  I had kimchi fried rice, Ryan opted for fried pork cutlet.

Kimchi bokkeumbap

Donkasu

Tuesday morning we were up at five, jet lagged and dazed.  Ryan had to be at school at 9:30, while I have the next month off until the teacher I replace leaves.  Darn! :)  I wandered around our new neighborhood, walking at least a mile in the wrong direction (twice) and cursing the humidity I'd forgotten about. 

Later that night I met Ryan and our school staff at the nearby baseball stadium to watch the Giants play the number one team in South Korea.  We brought in our own beer, potato chips, fried chicken, kimbap and dried fish.  All the baseball essentials.

After a painful loss but lots of fun, we went to a nearby bar and sipped beer with our new co-workers.  Then it was off to Japan to get our work visas!