Eating Live Octopus

aaron has been vocalizing his desire to try live octopus since we first arrived in korea.  as mokpo is famous for serving live octopus, it was only a matter of time before he got the opportunity to realize his dubious dream.  at a housewarming party several nights ago, our korean co-teachers presented us with the traditional gift of toilet paper (hyu-gee!!), along with an adorable baby octopus, kept alive carnival-goldfish-style in a plastic bag filled with water.  note: live octopi must be properly chewed, otherwise they will attach their still-animated tentacles to the eater's throat...REVENGE!!  the poor octopus was not long for this world, but he put up a good fight before succumbing to aaron's carnivorous penchant for exotic cuisine.  after clinging desperately to the plastic bag he arrived in and attempting numerous daring escapes across the floor, he was doused in a spicy red sauce and summarily consumed.  he left behind a still-wriggling tentacle that i was forced to eat--i'll admit it, i got off easy, but let it be known that said tentacle was still imbued with all its former suction-related powers--i chewed it for at least a minute, just to be safe. 

Eating Live Octopus a video by gonkorrhea on Flickr.

Chuseok, Part Deux

day 2: mokpo, home sweet home

we couldn’t resist buying bikes—i chose the painfully slow, but oh-so-cute mint green cruiser & aaron opted for a lime green bike with 20” wheels (gangsta, eh?).  mokpo is fairly bike friendly, with lots of sidewalks & bike paths, but every trip is like an obstacle course, replete with omnipresent pedestrians, various makeshift food stalls, and near-collisions with the random cars and motorbikes that seemingly appear out of nowhere.  needless to say, riding on the road is out of the question--traffic laws here are vague, if not practically non-existent.  it only takes about 20 minutes to bike from our apartment to our school, and we can criss-cross the city without any serious effort.  accident-prone as i am, i’ve already managed to fall and scrape up my knee—accomplishing such a feat on a cruiser is no easy matter ;)

exploring mokpo:

foggy mokpo harbor

gatbawi rock & mt. yibamsan:

gatbawi rock

the one on the right kinda looks like darth vader
 

mt. yibamsan in the background

mascots of mokpo!

top of mt. yibamsan

day 3: chuseok!

koreans exchange presents, usually food-related, during chuseok, so we were lucky enough to receive a crate of frozen mackerel & enough dried seaweed (keem) to last us until next august.  all the stores, even the 7-11's, are stuffed to the gills with various gift boxes, containing everything from asian pears to dirt-caked ginseng.  one in particular caught our eye:

yep. it's your garden variety spam, all gussied up and ready to party.  weep, ye people of walmart, for your beloved spiced ham has moved on to bigger and better things!  (no offense to all you secret spam-lovers out there)


WARNING! food porn ahead!


our manager invited us to eat chuseok dinner at her grandparents’ apartment.  they live on the top floor of our school, and her grandma tends to all the nearby gardens.  the food was amazing—sweet beef ribs, the BEST kimchi (perfectly salty and spicy, with that almost carbonated flavor that is characteristic of true kimchi mastery), tofu soup, and raw crab (a mokpo specialty), followed by fresh fruit and a traditional fermented sweet rice drink for dessert.  all the tables except ours were divided up by gender—a remnant of older times, i suppose.  strangely enough, contrary to hallowed american tradition, no one ate themselves into a coma.  as much as i love korean food, i’ve gotta admit, the whole experience left me jonesing for some stuffing.  anyone want to fedex a box of stovetop to korea?  just kidding.  sort of.

tofu soup

raw marinated crab

various veggies--maybe ferns??

sweet beef ribs

tempura crab-stuffed peppers, squid & shrimp

Meeting Ex-Pats

We have not yet met any ex-pats in Mokpo. A few have been spotted perusing sidewalks and occupying themselves with foodstuffs a few aisles over at the grocery. However, our tentative hand waves, smiles, and other welcoming gestures, in attempt to bond over our shared foreignness, have been reciprocated with about as much enthusiasm as one would greet an approaching hoodlum in a vacant subway station.

Hope still exists, though, in the obvious form of a Facebook group. The leaders of the group assemble a get-together each month for the purpose of welcoming new ex-pats. The August get-together is scheduled for tomorrow at one of the local ex-pat bars, suitably named Moe's Bar after the bar of the same name in The Simpsons. It is my understanding that a yellow picture of Homer decorates the front window.

Perhaps tomorrow we'll have a few new friends. Maybe even a few new enemies, depending on the affordability of soju at Moe's.

I leave you with my initial interaction with the "Mokpo, South Korea" Facebook group:

Anyang!

hello all!  we're alive & kicking here in mokpo, south korea, where the temperature hovers between a cool 70 and a balmy 80 degrees (take that, texas!).  first blog posts are kinda lame, so i'll let you guys off easy with a photo montage. <3

i'll never forget that first sip of korean beer...oh (s)hite!

all of our bags...wheeled suitcases probably would have been the smarter choice. 

5 year old class, i.e. adorable hellions (koreans are considered 1 year old at birth, so these guys are actually only 4).  they call us "jessica teacher"/"aaron teacher," which is beyond cute.

traditional korean food is served everyday for lunch...not your average cafeteria fare.

"english village" classroom

grocery store stocked with fake produce 

fire station/hospital 

office, with "amy teacher"  

our school, framed by green hills & cloudy skies 

view from our school

garden in front of the school...lots of peppers & these mystery plants, all grown by a the director's grandmother, who appears to be at least 80.

on the bus

our current apartment building, aptly named "shine ville"

the bathroom doubles as a shower!  it's actually kind of awesome.

our tiny studio apartment!  complete with hot pink bed set...aaron's secret fantasy!

more pictures can be seen on our flickr account (link on the right side of the blog)!  and don't forget to feed the fish!