Peppero Day

On November 11th while America was honoring the sacrifice of our soldiers on Veterans' Day, Korea was celebrating Peppero Day. Peppero is a long stick biscuit cookie dipped in chocolate with just a little bit left at the bottom for you to hold onto it without chocolate melting in your hand. Simple yet ingenious. Not to mention delicious. What's even more ingenious is the marketing brain who invented a holiday just to sell their product.

On November 11th one is supposed to give a loved one or friend peppero. Kind of like Valentine's Day with out the mushy gushy love stuff. I get more peppero from my students on on Nov. 11th than I consume in the entire rest of the year. You should see the peppero displays they have in the stores. Balloons, ribbons, stuffed animals. Peppero boxes glued together to form giant hearts. In hindsight I wish I had taken photos of them. There's peppero of every size and flavor- classic chocolate covered or strawberry and vanilla covered. There's peppero sprinkled with almonds (my personal favorite). There's big thick peppero that's a foot long or there's classic peppero which looks like a preztel stick and is only 6 inches long.

Honestly, the next peppero marketing genious will start importing it to the States. I think it would be a hit. As I sit here enjoying my peppero I wonder...what's keeping them?

Change is in the air

I hate fall. At least I used to. Until this year. For me, fall has always represented the end of summer. In September, summer dies a cold, melancholy death as winter begins to establish its chilling foothold across the land, and I HATE the cold. Having grown up under the hot and humid Virginia sun, I've developed an immunity to the heat. I don't sweat any less than anyone else, I'm just used to it and I don't mind it as much. On the other hand, having grown up under the hot and humid Virginia sun, I don't like being cold. I also hate all the layers of clothes I have to lug around to keep myself warm. In winter, getting dressed is a long chore. In summer, I throw on a T-shirt and some shorts and I'm out the door.
This year it has been different however. I've actually embraced fall this year. Even welcomed it. Maybe I'm tired of sweating on the way to work. Maybe I had a great summer and I took advantage of it so I can fondly say adieu to summer for six months. On the other hand, it might also just be that I think I look stocky and horrible in shorts and I really looked forward to wearing my nice fall jackets. Whatever the reason, I'm enjoying the change.

The mountain I gaze longingly at out my office window at work is now in peak fall color. The air is crisp and clean, but not yet cold. I can wear my jackets and actually be pleased with the way I look. And, I can walk to work without needing to take a shower once I arrive. I'm also trying to take advantage of the nice weather instead of lamenting that it's cold now.

I had a fantastic time with my two good friends Melissa and Eun Sang over Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. Melissa lived (sadly her contract has ended and returned home just this past weekend) in Gangneung, a coastal town in eastern Korea. I had a five day holiday for Chuseok so Eun Sang and I traveled there to visit. We heaved and we panted and we trudged our way up Oseak Mountain to Daebong Peak- the third highest in South Korea. For our three hours of hard labor we were rewarded with a stunning view of the surrounding mountains to the west, and the shimmering sea to the east. Plus the fact that we had completed the hike an hour quicker than Melissa's coworker. We're not competitive though. It took about the same amount of time to climb down the mountain as it did to climb up it, and for that, we relaxed in the spa at the base of the trail head.

We drank some of the carbonic acid that flows naturally from a spring in the mountain. The naturally carbonated water settles the stomach quite nicely. In the sauna there is a carbonic acid pool where one can soak. It smells like rust and has the same orange tint as rust. And, oddly, even though it was physically room temperature, the acid made it feel like it was freezing. After ten minutes in the pool my skin began to itch and once I got out, if felt like my skin was boiling. All this is completely normal, apparently. Good thing I had Eun Sang there to read me the sign in Korean that said that.

This coming weekend I will be hosting my two best friends, Mary & Stacy, to dip some caramel apples. It took me over a year to get them to finally visit me up here in Davegoggae, as they lovingly refer to my neighborhood which lies in the far northern reaches of Seoul. (I'm only a few stops from the end of the subway, which finishes with Dangoggae.)
Maybe I'm maturing. Or maybe it's because I realize that this could very well be my last year in Korea and wistfulness has already set in. But I'm determined that from now on, I'm going to enjoy everyday for what it is. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Beach at Gangneung

Me and Eun Sang...swirling lights of a colorful fountain behind us.