Garosugil Street: A Touch of the Familiar

A bigger shoe store with retro-funky fab footwear!

I've been wanting to check out what some people call the 'Little Europe' of Korea. Garosugil Street is lined with cute coffee shops and boutiques. I expected the vibe to be one of those 'be seen' types, but I was refreshed to find the prices reasonable and a feeling of comfort strolling and window shopping.

 La Brunchie is one place I definitely want to try. I first heard about it from an article CNN did about this street.

Our friend, Jedia, digging through sparkly headbands and knitted sweaters.

One of the many coffee shops.

Sergio captured Zarina and I making our way into another boutique. Boutiques in Korea often tend to have a theme. This one had more of a muted colors and delicate feel to it.

This snow just keeps piling up! Wine is a rarity here in Korea, so it was refreshing to see this staircase lined with empty bottles!

As we approach our half-way mark, we find ourselves searching for things that remind us of the familiar. Boutique shopping and non-fat lattes can make me feel at home anywhere I am in the world! Besides the dark red, real leather, riding boots I can't get out of my head, everything about this street makes me want to come back for more!


To get to Garosugil: Take subway Line 3 to Sinsa Station. Get out at exit 8 and walk straight (approx. 800 meters). Turn left at J-Tower, that tall glass building three blocks down. 


Alternatively, Garosugil can be accessed from Apgujeong Station (subway Line 3). Get out at exit #5 and walk for about 15 minutes. Turn left at Kraze Burger restaurant.

Read more: Gallery: 'Europe in Seoul' on Garosugil Street | CNNGo.com #1 http://www.cnngo.com/explorations/life/gallery-europe-seoul-garosugil-street-043125?page=0,0#ixzz1B4xgcd3k

Avalon Annual Christmas Party

This weekend we had our big company Christmas Party. It was in Gangnam at the COEX in the Ballroom of the Grand InterContinental Seoul. Our company has upwards of 1,000 people, so only the ballroom was fitting! ;-) Each campus sat together, my campus was at Tables 1 and 2, and Serg was seated across the room at Table 67. We forgot our camera, so these pictures were taken by some of our friends from Sergio's campus, (thanks Jedia and Dickie). My campus (Dongbaek) won Best Teacher and Best Campus. I was curious about how they chose the winners, so I asked my Korean co-worker to translate. She had to translate because the entire ceremony was in Korean. Now normally, I would be understanding, being that I am living and working in Korea. But, I work for an English Teaching Company, where more than half of their staff are English-speaking. Alls I'm saying is a little subtitle, or translation would of made the 5 hour ceremony a little more enjoyable. Anyways, I was told that the Best Teacher is chosen according to registration rates (because that of course is a direct translation of teaching ability), and Best Campus is a combination of multiple factors, with enrollment rates being a huge part of it. We did receive 3 Million Won in prize money, though. So, what I gathered was my campus is ‘extra’ good at pleasing our clients (this being the parents of our students), because after all, this is a business! To show their support and appreciation of their hard-working teachers, our directors bought us pizza the following Monday, after they received $3,000 in USD of bonus money. HAHA- I love Korea! We were treated to a talent show of singing and dancing, and a 5-course meal. The main course was a big, juicy steak- no complaints here! We ended the night in Hongdae for some cocktails and dancing. Overall, it was a good night, a good reason to get dressed-up and a fun time had by all!



Our MC on the Main Stage. The entire show was in Korean without any English subtitles, que-cards, or translation! Talk about a long night!




Entrance into the Ballroom- great picture Jedia!




The view from the Yongin Ivy table #67!



At SAAB in Hongdae, where the bartenders had spray snow in a can!




Along with the snow in a can, they also had funny Christmas hats to hand-out!




Sergio showcasing his height as these balloons were floating up on the ceiling!! HAHA




Trying not to go bananas after getting sprayed with the snow in a can. :-)



Seoul Santa 10K

Sergio ran a 10K this weekend in Seoul with his friend, Richard. It started at the Seoul Olympic Park. At one point his eye froze shut because of how cold it was! HAHA! The event promised full Santa attire, but ended up providing a scarf and Santa hat! Good Job Boys!



Got their numbers!



Before the race....

Serg with a little pre-race relaxation!

Mount Seoraksan

Fall has come and gone here in Korea. A few weeks ago we went with Adventure Korea to Mount Seoraksan. We stayed overnight at the foot of the mountain and did a decent bit of hiking for two days. Mt. Seoraksan is the highest mountain in the Taebaek mountain range. We had heard amazing things about the leaves changing in the fall. While Serg keeps to his claim these leaves can’t compete with New England in the fall, I was speechless at the sight of them!

Once again we showcase our obsession with little Korean children!!

Sergio caught a glimpse of wedding photos being taken at the foot of the mountain!

YEAHH BUDDHA!

On our way up to see the praying Monk! Stairs were so steep!

An easier walk for day two!

Hiked all the way to see a Monk and prayer room!

First Thanksgiving in Korea

Our mound of green beans, some celery with CheeseWhiz and our turkey with gravy! MMMM MMMM GOOD!

Sergio has been extremely adamant about making sure we had somewhat of a Thanksgiving. Thanks to my Mom that was all possible! My Mom sent us a bunch of gravy packets and boxed stuffing to start us off. I LOVE BOXED STUFFING- so shut your face! ;-) Serg found a turkey leg at HomePlus for six dollars~ woohoo! We bought some canned green beans, mixed that with some onions and corn and we had our veggies. Then, he of course made mashed potatoes, barf! Top it off with a cheap bottle of white wine and some pumpkin pie from Costco. This year was one unforgettable Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving in Korea!

Simple Pleasures

Sergio and I would both agree that every strong relationship is built on core commonalities. One of the things that we truly love to do together is eat. We love anything and everything about food. We love to cook it, buy it, eat it- all of it! We knew moving to another country, let alone a non-Western country, would allow us to experience all kinds of new food, as well as give us a chance to miss some of our favorites! One of our absolute favorite things to do here in Korea is go out for Korean barbecue or gogi gui. This method of eating includes grilling different kinds of meats (or other mysterious creatures) with a grill actually built into the table. The whole grilling experience is very interactive, you choose the temperature, you cut the meat, you flip it-you COOK! The majority of Korean meals are served family style, so if you’re a ‘germaphobe’, Korean dining is NOT for you! Most times, a few vegetables are grilled along with the meat. The dinner is served with many different side dishes called banchan. These can include fermented vegetables (kimchi baby!), lettuce for wrapping, sauces and a bean paste or two. The banchan varies greatly from restaurant to restaurant. But rest assured, your meat to grill, lettuce and veggies to wrap with the meat and plenty of maekju (beer) will always be offered at any restaurant you choose!

So far we have tried plenty of pork barbecue, or samgyeopsal (sliced pork belly). For those pork lovers, imagine a giant grill with strips of bacon cooking to perfection dripping with oil down to your veggies as they simmer and soak up all the juicy bacon flavor. Throw a piece of meat onto a leaf of lettuce, add some kimchi, small bit of rice, some bean paste and a touch of sesame oil and - BAM - party in your mouth! 

 



If this hasn’t convinced you to have your own Korean barbecue experience, I don’t know what will! Until next time....

Getting Started...

Let's just say Korea is......complex.

We have finally gotten the internet here in South Korea! PHEW! We are very excited to have the internet up and running! We are especially excited to try out this ‘blogging’ thing. First, we are two Americans from the Seattle area that just recently moved to Yongin, South Korea. Yongin is about 45 minutes outside of Seoul by bus. It is far enough away from the city to have a suburban feel, but not too far out where you feel like you’re in the country. We have been here for about 3 months now, and are planning on keeping this blog to document our journey, and keep those at home informed. I (Angela) have spent a considerable amount of time on other foreign teacher’s blogs. They offer the most straight-forward advice in a language I understand. They were a definite help with our transition to this new country. We came here knowing no Korean, not knowing how to teach, and not knowing anyone teaching in this area. We went through a company called Adventure Teaching. It was started (in part) by a couple who had taught in Korea before. Our experiences have been nothing but great with Adventure Teaching. We would recommend them as an effective and trustworthy recruiting agency to anyone who is even remotely interested in teaching abroad. Here is their website: www.adventureteaching.com.

These past two months have been a whirlwind of emotions, events and certainly triumphs for the both of us. If you are planning on coming to Korea, be ready for the unexpected, be ready for EVERYTHING to be completely out of your control, and be ready to be forced to grow while being 100% outside of yourself element and being vulnerable to anything and everything. We arrived here around the end of August. The humidity was just starting to disappear, the summer nights were getting shorter and our students seemed to be gearing up for another long school year (or so we thought). We quickly came to realize that our students attend school year-round. So what we thought was an avid energy to meet their new teachers and see their new classrooms, was simply the nature of attending school all year as an 8-year-old! We are both teaching for the Avalon English Academy. It is the biggest after-school English program in Korea. While there are many different types of academies, in many different places, this academy reaches the most students from a wide range of learning levels. Classes are created based on English level. In theory, a class could be composed of fourth, fifth and sixth graders all at the same English level. This is a private company, and with that comes the pressure to keep numbers high and the students (well, their parents, really) happy. This system can have its ups and downs, and we will let you consider the academy option yourself.

Sergio teaches middle school children (and all the wonderful things that come with teenagers ;-))! I teach elementary students at a different Avalon location.. Each has its good parts and bad parts, but overall we are enjoying the teaching experience. Academies like Avalon are used to a large number of students and a large turnover rate for their foreign teachers. Therefore, they have to keep the curriculum consistent throughout each location. This can sometimes lead to a lack of independence in the classroom, but it is a great teaching job for new teachers like us. Avalon provides structure for the teachers, and mainstreams most of its material. If being told what you’re going to teach isn’t exactly your cup of tea, we would suggest trying a smaller, more intimate academy setting. You might be more comfortable teaching at an academy with more freedom and responsibility. Avalon works great for us!

South Korea is very different from anything we could have imagined. We are going to try to update this blog as much as possible. Meanwhile, check out our photo blog at: www.seoultravelers.smugmug.com. This website showcases much of the photography done by Sergio, and gives you a visual narrative to go along with the stories you will read about here. Please excuse any writing errors. We thank you for taking this journey with us! We welcome any and all comments!