Visitors

Last month, my mom and my aunt came to Korea for a visit!  They stayed for two action-packed weeks that were filled with shopping, sight-seeing, tours, more shopping, eating, and even a four-day trip to Beijing, China!  We ended up with over 1,400 photos from those two weeks which took a while to sort through so that I could start blogging about it!

I went to the airport to greet them and had a while to sit around and people-watch.  I realized, watching Koreans around me greet their arriving friends and loved ones, that Koreans are not hugging people.  They got so excited, waving and running up to their loved ones, but the physical contact was limited to a hand on the shoulder at most.  Even a girl who was obviously returning from college in the States only got a pat on her arm from her parents even though they seemed genuinely happy to have her home.  

My mom and aunt were still smiling after their long flight across the ocean.  We drew a lot of attention from the conservative people around us with all the hugs and kisses we exchanged :)

We covered almost all forms of transportation while they were here.  Besides the plane and some taxis, we also rode the bus, ...

we rode the subway, ...

... and we rode the train.

We bravely used a Korean "squatty potty" and yes, there is a technique to doing this properly ;)

We had fun taking pictures everywhere we went :)

We went out to eat a lot since there are so many different kinds of restaurants here to try.  We had Korean, Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, German, and Turkish food.

We stopped at coffee shops for lattes and teas every now and then:

We walked to the hilltop park by our apartment complex and used the random exercise equipment:

We had a good laugh trying some Korean facial masks:

 And we relaxed with pedicures at my favorite local spa, 4NE1:

The rest of our adventures will be covered in subsequent posts since it's not possible to fit all of the fun in just one!

Related Posts:

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Changing of the Guard

Shopping in Seoul
Folk Village Revisited

Beijing, China

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"When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all

your money. Then take half the clothes and twice the money."

~Susan Heller

Rice Cookers

Rice, along with kimchi, is a staple in most meals eaten by Koreans.  One of the easiest ways to cook rice is in a rice cooker.  We have a small rice cooker that Johnnie bought the last time he lived here in Korea.  It's a simple appliance that you plug in, add water and rice, and turn on.  It tends to splatter water and steam from the edges of the glass lid resting on top but it does make perfect rice every time.

While we were in Home Plus (a Korean Wal-Mart type store), we decided to look at the rice cookers thinking that maybe it was time to upgrade to a slightly larger and nicer version.  There were rows upon rows of rice cookers available in all different colors, sizes, and styles.  The prices shocked us the most!  There were no "cheap" rice cookers and some of the most expensive ones were in the $400 range.  Really?  $400 for a rice cooker?!  At that price, it better do a lot more than simply cook rice!

These rice cookers are equivalent to $247.00 and $302.00

These rice cookers are equivalent to $385.00 and $440.00

Ultimately, we decided against purchasing a new one simply because the buttons and instructions were all written in Hangul and looked too complicated to figure out.  Our simple little rice cooker is just fine for now :)

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"Always start out with a larger pot

than what you think you'll need."

~Julia Child

Gyeongdong Market - Products

There was a incredible variety of grains, beans, vegetables, meat, seafood, and bugs available for sale in the Gyeongdong Market in Seoul.  A few things looked familiar but we didn't know what most of the herbs and grains were.  We found one vendor who could tell us, in broken English, what body parts were helped by some herbs but we still didn't know exactly what it was or how to use it.  It would be helpful and interesting to find a book (written in English) with photos and descriptions of all these things.

Mushrooms

This market is the largest ginseng market in South Korea.

No idea what this is for:

Dried shrimp

Small dried fish

Dried squid and fish

Dried centipedes, called Wu Gong, are about 5 inches long.  They are ground into powder that is used as a pain reliever and a crude remedy for multiple other conditions.  Thanks, but I'll stick to Advil :)

Related Post:

Gyeongdong Market - People

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"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds

if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon."

~Doug Larson

Black Rice

While in the Korean supermarkets, I always hit up the pasta aisle and the rice aisle because of the wonderfully different varieties of both that are available.  On a recent trip, I decided to buy the most obviously different rice I could find - black rice.  I'm sure black rice is available in the States somewhere as it is gaining popularity as a 'superfood'.

Black rice is really more of a very dark purple color which is more apparent after it is cooked.  The husk of the rice contains the color while the inside of the uncooked rice is actually white.  I've been in a few local restaurants that cook their plain white rice with a small amount of black rice mixed in to add some color.  It is more often used for decoration or desserts since it is more expensive than other rices.

According to an article on CNN.com, black rice "contains the antioxidants known as anthocyanins, purple and reddish pigments (also found in blueberries, grapes, and acai) that have been linked to a decreased risk of heart disease and cancer, improvements in memory, and other health benefits."

Black rice has a similar taste and texture to brown rice.  It takes more water and more time to cook than white rice.  I soaked the dry rice for 30 minutes and then cooked 1 cup of rice with 2 1/4 cups water for 30-40 minutes until the water was absorbed.   A long process that had a delicious, healthy outcome!

Dulce loves rice.  It's the only occasional people-food treat she gets other than fruits and veggies.   Since she waited so patiently at my side while I took dozens of rice photographs, she got a reward of a few bites :)

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"Rice is the best, most nutritive, and unquestionably

the most widespread staple in the world."

~Escoffier

Roots, Twigs, and Berries

There were many vendors set up near the entrance of Gyeryongsan National Park where we went hiking last week.  Street vendors are extremely common here but these particular vendors weren't selling the usual scarves, bags, and hats.  They had baskets and buckets full of roots, twigs, and dried berries.  Some were for cooking, some for tea, and some for other unknown purposes.  Whatever they were for, they were at least neat to look at :)

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"There are always two people in every picture:

the photographer and the viewer."

~Ansel Adams

Tea Time

I've never been an avid tea drinker and I'm not very fond of 'flavored' teas.  My tea of choice always was (and still is) strong black tea with sugar.  However since we've been in Korea, I've been exposed to many more types of tea that I'm finding enjoyable.  Restaurants here will bring you a little teapot filled with hot water and loose tea leaves that gets strained as it is poured into your cup.  I've never had a tea made with loose leaves that I didn't like yet.

I got an adventurous urge in the tea section of a store recently and brought home some new teas to try.  I'm starting off with teas that have English words telling me what's inside.  Someday I may try the other teas in the boxes and bags with no English.  I have yet to find a selection of loose tea leaves but I'm sure there's a store around here somewhere that has them.

Upon bringing home my new teas, I found many great websites, including www.teabenefits.com, that have information about all types of tea and the benefits they have.

* Lipton Yellow Label Tea *  I had to buy this box for nostalgic purposes.  In 2007 I lived in Guatemala for three weeks to study Spanish and my host family offered me this tea at every meal.  I've never seen it sold in the States.  It has a slightly stronger and smoother taste than the regular Lipton black tea.

* Rosemary Tea *  I didn't think it would taste as good as it does.  It's pleasantly mild and fresh.  This tea supposedly has a lot of benefits including:  improving memory, improving circulation, reducing headaches and fever, fighting rheumatism, and relieving muscle pain.

* Lemon Verbena Tea *  This tea is made from a shrub that has a lemony fragrance.  It doesn't taste very lemony but it is enjoyably light and sweet.  The benefits of this tea include: relaxing the nervous system, calming the digestive system, calming itching, and reducing fevers.

* Chrysanthemum Tea *  This tea is made from dried flowers and has a light taste and fragrance.  Benefits of this tea include: lowering blood pressure, relieving headaches, reducing fevers, helping skin problems, contributes to clear vision, alleviating dizziness, and contributing to alertness without caffeine.

* Green Tea *  There are so many types of green tea available here!  I chose this one to try and I'm very happy with it.  It's very mellow and smooth.  Green tea has many benefits including: lowering cholesterol and blood pressure, improving heart health, reducing risk of cancer, and inhibiting viruses.

* Matcha Green Tea *  I got turned onto Matcha during my stay in Seattle where I had my first green tea latte.  It's not easy to find in stores in the States so I used to buy it online.  I love that it's available in the stores here and that, compared to online, it's very cheap.  I put it in my smootheis and make my own green tea lattes at home.  Matcha green tea is powdered green tea leaves.  "One glass of matcha tea is said to contain the equivalent of 10 glasses of green tea in terms of its nutritional value and antioxidant content."

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"If you are cold, tea will warm you;

if you are heated, it will cool you;

if you are depressed, it will cheer you;

if you are nervous, it will calm you."

~William E. Gladstone