Time is like
a slinky. Technically, the coils are uniform and evenly spaced, but when in motion
they expand and contract, stretched out, bunched up, constantly changing.
Right now it feels like time is in a long extension, the coils stretched out with no
compression in sight, yet pending nonetheless. Since we landed jobs last month,
Zak and I have had time in abundance while waiting for our paperwork and start
date. We’ve hiked, checked out markets and temples, signed up for online
accounting and finance courses (free!), cooked with new ingredients, practiced Korean, read
books, watched movies, worked out, and done about every activity we can think of that
involves spending the least amount of money possible. Our temporary housing,
about an hour and a half outside of central Seoul, is in a very authentic
Korean area with little English signage and an urban sprawl of residential
housing interspersed with pockets of shopping. We did find some cool urban gardens on our neighborhood walks.
Our paradox
of time is about to snap back into form with to-dos including a visa run to
Japan, moving into our apartment downtown, a few days to settle in, and starting
our jobs, which will have both of us pulling a split shift of morning and
evening classes. It’s ironic that after such a busy spring and summer working
and preparing for our wedding that we have had so much TIME after our plane left the
States, and now once again we are ready for it to start moving a faster clip.
So, a few
testaments to time in Korea and what we have discovered thus far.
Bibimbap
This is THE
staple meal here. At its basic, it is rice topped with fresh julienned
vegetables such as cucumber, carrot, gosari
(also called fern brake), mungbeans, scallions, and seaweed. Sometimes there
will be mushrooms or bulgogi beef,
and it is all topped off with a fried egg or raw egg yolk. You then add gochujang, or Korean red pepper paste
and mix it (“bibim” for mixing and “bap” for rice). My favorite version of bibimbap is dolsat, served in a hot stone pot, which sizzles and crisps up the
rice before you eat it. And with your meal, you will always receive a side of kimchi, fermented vegetables such as
cabbage or daikon radish. Side note: If you're in Austin, try some healthy bibimbap at Koriente downtown!
Hiking
When Zak and
I first arrived we noticed Koreans in the subways, particularly on weekends,
decked out with trendy athletic wear as if they were about to embark on a
treacherous mountain climb. Serious hiking shoes, matching pants and tops with
zippers and pockets about every five inches, poles and backpacks, visors, hats
and gloves. Why all the gear in the middle of a crowded metropolis? We found out on a 11 km “intermediate” hike
along the Ulsain Ridge in the Bukhansan National Forest north of Seoul. This is
some serious hiking! Not for the faint of body or mind, we scrambled over
boulders, went along paths that dropped into the unseen, and hung on to ropes
for dear life as we traversed the trails. For our Korean leader, it was a mere Sunday hike as we discovered at the packed mountain crest.
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Hangul
Hangul is
the Korean writing system (“han” meaning Korea), developed in the 1400s by King
Sejeon. It consists of 24 consonant and vowel symbols, which are grouped into
blocks each representing a syllable. For us, that means that we can more or
less sound out written Korean now; however, learning the vocabulary behind it
is a challenge! None-the-less here are a few of my favorites in hangul.
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| Try kiwi - it's exactly how we pronounce it! |
Matchies
And finally,
we must pay tribute to the devoted couples that express their love through
clothing. If Zak and I suddenly return this way, you’ll know why.
