Anyone that knows me well knows I have an insatiable sweet tooth - especially all things cupcake related. So imagine my disappointment when I move to South Korea and discover that the cake here, for the most part, isn't quite to my liking. Every time I visited Seoul or Daegu over the past two years I eagerly looked for cupcakes which might tide me over until I can return home and gorge on far too many Molly's Cupcakes. I found a lot of cupcakes and they were all beautifully decorated but unfortunately pretty much every single cupcake I tried was far too dry and had the most awful frosting.  I attempted to convince myself they were good (after all they were all that was available) but it wasn't possible. I came to the conclusion that cupcakes in Korea are terrible. And then I happened upon Life is Just a Cup of Cake - a small cupcake shop on the edge of Itaewon (call LeeSaem in Korean) and realized that there are good cupcakes in Korea - they're just only available at this shop. The cupcakes are light and moist with a delectable frosting. The difference between this shop and others is that they put an emphasis on the quality of the cupcake - not just on how it looks (this could easily be a metaphor on modern Korean society which values far too much the appearance of something over its function).

So for all the waygook-in out there searching for a delectable cupcake that reminds them of home - don't bother scouring the Hyundai Department Store food court or hitting up some trendy bakery - just go here. The cupcakes are delicious and they have a variety of flavors (green tea, earl grey tea, vanilla bean, chocolate, etc). Prices are what you'd expect in Korea for cupcake (4,000 won or so) and you  can even buy a big glass of milk to wash down all that deliciousness.

The Korean school year (in my opinion) is organized a bit illogical. The school year has two month long breaks with the second break falling in January and school ending in February. This means that students take their final exams in December, officially have no school in January and then had two weeks of classes in February before they get another break  and then a new school year begins. In reality though my students pretty much go to school year round - the month long January break is in reality whittled down to a mere week and students attend special classes for the rest of the month. If the students try to opt out of the classes and try to actually enjoy some free time the teachers call and pressure the parents to send the students to school. It's really quite disheartening for both students and teachers alike since none of them really get any personal time.

With the conclusion of one school year and the onset of another teachers come and go and so  the school organized an overnight trip from Friday to Saturday for all of the 2013/2014 teachers. This trip was to a town less than an hour's drive away at a small hotel. Once at the hotel we had to sit through a series of meetings on a variety of topics which started at 2pm broke for dinner and then continued until nearly 10pm. I guess no one truly realized it would be a waste of time for me to sit through nearly 8 hours of meetings completely in Korean. While I appreciate that my school tries to involve me in a variety of activities some such as meetings I believe my time could have been better spent working on lessons or proposing ideas for how the English curriculum could be improved at the school. While I found the meetings mind-numbingly boring due to my inability to understand the majority of what was being said I discovered that my co-workers were equally bored and some literally snored their way through some of the presentations. The teachers in front of me crafted an unhappy orange from the hundred or so mandarin oranges which the school brought in.

After the meetings the teachers then went out to drink, an activity of which I declined - I am a rather private person and relish my personal space and after spending over 12 hours straight with my co-workers with barely a minute to myself I needed time alone. And so I retreated to my room dreading the constant interaction and meetings which would follow the next day.

On Saturday we were only subjected to a couple of hours of meetings before leaving the hotel and heading to Mungyeong Saejae which was nearby. As I've mentioned in previous entries Saejae is a large local park with hiking trails. People go there to 'hike' up to the third gate - an old structure where Korean men once went hundreds of years ago to hear if they passed the civil servants exam. If you have visited Saejae you'll understand why I put 'hike' in parentheses - hiking, for the most part, in Korea involves walking up a relatively developed  slightly inclined path. We actually took a bus up to the third gate, hiked up a bit up a mountain to the path and then proceeded down it to the first gate which was approximately 7km away and took several hours.
 

The walk down was quite nice  - though it was still winter and there was snow on the ground the sun was shining bright and the air felt crisp and clean. It was a beautiful day for a walk, something I would've enjoyed doing quietly alone but the school's vice-principal insisted that one of my co-teachers walked with me the entire way. Once we completed the path we headed back to Jeomchon but some of the teachers wanted to continue the party and go out for noreabang (karaoke). Korean culture puts a huge emphasis on group activities and it seems, at least to me, that work or work related activities take a precedence over one's private life. I suspect many of my co-workers wanted to go home to their families but a few agreed to continue the party. I on the other hand played the ever useful waygook-in (foreigner) card and feigned ignorance at understanding the importance of such a social event and bid my farewell from the group desperate for some time to recharge my batteries.

The trip itself was quite interesting because it gave me the opportunity to observe how one's career frequently overshadows one's personal time - especially if the person ranks lower in status within the office structure (i.e. young and/or female). It also brought to light how much I don't belong in a collectivist culture - I struggle with the emphasis on togetherness over my need for personal space. I also had many issues with the food situation - although I asked ahead of time if there would be food for me,however since most people at my school let alone Koreans in general don't understand vegetarianism the only food that was actually vegetarian for all 4 meals was rice and a small serving of vegetables. For all of these reasons I recently opted out on another overnight trip for teachers and I am much happier for it.

Some holidays I desperately miss while living abroad and Halloween is one of them. I actually love Halloween - I love the fun and scary costumes, the candy and the parties. The past few years a couple of people have planned an elaborate scavenger hunt and Halloween party for the local waygook-in of Jeomchon.

My friend Kate came down the weekend before Halloween for the party and we spent a lazy day chatting, eating and watching TV. Saturday evening we dressed up in our costumes and headed out to the local bar for the Halloween party. My costume (pictured above) probably isn't very obvious to people who haven't at least visited Korea but my friend Grant and I, initially both unsure what we could go as, decided to go as a "couple". There's a quirky trend in Korea where young couples dress a like - for some it might be the same coat in different colors but for others they wear matching outfits - from the faux glasses on their faces to the shoes on their feet. Grant and I bought the same sweatshirt and shoes at the local store and spent over an hour tracking down the oversized black lenseless frames (i.e. hipster glasses) that are so prevalent here. We topped off our costume with cute cat headbands (courtesy of the pitifully small Halloween section at Home Plus) and viola - we were a couple!

With the changing of the seasons comes an influx of new native English teachers to Korea. Since August approximately 7 new teachers have arrived in the Jeomchon area. Last spring we had a welcome dinner for the new teachers and I guess my former event planner self emerged and so I organized a dinner for all the teachers.

I was so smitten by the traditional restaurant Mr. Min and Mr. Kim had taken me to that I decided to hold the dinner at there, conveniently located in Jeomchon it had a selection of food that even the vegetarians could eat and cost a mere 10,000 won (around $9).

Over 20 people were able to make it for the dinner including all of the new teachers. We feasted on the spread you see in the photo above - tofu, fish, rice, a series of sidedishes (vegetables, greens, legumes, etc) with a conclusion of a simple rice porridge. It was a tasty dinner and a good opportunity for everyone to meet - I certainly wish there had been something similar when I had first arrived to Jeomchon, I don't think I met everyone until much later at a Thanksgiving event.