My 3rd Graders

Sunshine

The sun has finally come out in the ROK (Republic of Korea). Dan and I headed to Olympic Park for a picnic. Our picnic basket/Emart recyclable bag was packed with finger foods: deviled eggs, sweet potato salad, veggies, bread/sandwiches, vienna sausages with hot peppers, pepper jack cheese, and two bottles of wine. We tried to find a cozy quiet spot with ample amounts of grass...yes grass Hopeyeong's answer to grass is hay or AstroTurf. Everyone sitting in the park had already taken the shady spots hiding from the sun and we were trying to find a spot in the sun. Finally, we found a spot next to a soaring water fountain; laid out our  California King fitted bed sheet and unpacked our picnic basket. We munched on our food enjoying each others company all the while embracing the sun beams grazing our skin, laughter of family and friends, children running/playing, bugs crawling on our sheet and buzzing in your ears, the smell of fresh air and spring flowers.

Busted a Cap!!!

This is the story of how three young want to be gangsta's decided to make their dreams turn into reality.

One wonderful weekend day Dan and Tan along with their sidekick Fran went to Seoul. So to get this straight, Dan, Tan and Fran took Bus 1000 on a ride to excitement. At the end of the bus ride they arrived at a land called Lotte World. Lotte World is unlike any other place on the planet. Some would say it is a horrible copy of Disneyland, or even better an attempt at a horrible copy of Disneyland. Well others would say that Lotte World is a place of self discovery. Our young comrades thought the latter.
They continued through the Lotte Department Store/Mall which stands in front of, and is a part of Lotte World. They went determinedly straight to the basement. After passing what looked to be a Kim Yu Na (Winter Olympic Gold Medalist Figure Skater) autograph sighting they headed to the ice rink. It may or may have not been confirmed that it was not in fact Kim Yu Na but instead some other famous Korean person in the Mall. Anyways, they were not distracted by the large crowd and journeyed on.
Our young gunslingers moved passed the super junior speed skating trails that were taking place on the ice rink. Above the rink they noticed the roof was a long distance from the basement floor. Looking above the open roof of the basement ice rink they could see Lotte World. Above in the distance was the mechanical hot air balloons that flew across the Lotte World sky. In the distance they could hear the ever so appropriate Scottish bagpipe band playing an anthem of domination.
The three prodigies of the future 2014 Winter Olympic Ski and Shoot biathlon were now entering the hall to the most appropriate afternoon activity in the Lotte Department store, a shooting range. Now you may be wondering if this was just another BB gun contest for a giant stuffed animal; well you would be wrong. This was in fact a real shooting range only for the skilled.
The Woman at the front desk immediately noticed their amazing capabilities and asked which piece they wanted to handle. Of course Fran stepped up and asked the only question they all wanted answered to help make their decision; which one was the loudest. She broke down all the different types from the girlie all the way to Dirty Harry style. They chose the Para P14-.45 Limited and threw on their bulletproof vests.
Fran AKA Franqua took the first go and stepped right into the booth to make some noise. As he pulled the trigger for the first time, he was instantly amazed at the lightening bolt of power that came out of his heater. His face of excitement and giddiness was priceless. Not too phased by the power, he stepped back up and fired nine more rounds. Fran came out victorious. He got his score card that read a 94 out of 100. He walked a little taller from that moment on.
Dan AKA Dizzy D was now on the clock. He smoothly braced the task at hand. He firmly placed his piece in his hands and began to throw lead. His first shot was a perfect 10, as if anyone would have thought otherwise. He continued to hit 10's until the man next to him proceeded to breathe a little heavily on him which just so happened to make Dizzy D produce two 9's. As Dizzy placed the hammer down he new he came so close to perfection. He did walk out of the booth with a swagger and he proudly held up his score of 98. There was only one more prodigy left.
Tan AKA LT not to mistaken with LT formally with S.D. but LT straight from the streets of P-Dale, that's right, the High Desert. We all know how they roll. LT took center stage and embraced her weapon of choice which was the same as Dizzy D and Franqua. She held her gat high and brutalized the target. You see in P-Dale they don't shoot for the 10 they make sure they make you bleed all over the board. The score was not important in the least. She stepped out of the booth ready to dominate the world.
The three young guns made their way out of the Lotte World area just waiting for anyone to make a move upon them. But as they expected the whole of Korea had already heard the story of how they laid the law upon the Lotte World Shooting Range. The three went in the history books that weekend and are forever placed in the memories of every man, woman and child. That day was a good day, and they didn't even have to use their AK.

Easter

This Easter was really enjoyable. Latanya and I decided to go for brunch with Jess and Fran. We actually had a lot of restaurants to choose from that were serving a Sunday brunch. We decided to go to this New York style deli. We all had a huge breakfast. My breakfast special had eggs, bacon, pancakes, country potatoes and toast. We were really satisfied. The food was good but the pancakes could have been fluffier. Other than that it was wonderful. After brunch we headed to Namdaemun to walk around the market area. We strolled around and found some really great shops. I found a stationary store that was amazing. Latanya also discovered her new love for stationary like me. After walking around we headed back home and called it a day. It was really nice going for an American style breakfast. I will admit that we might not be craving an American breakfast as much as we used to because Latanya can make an amazing omelet and we have Bisquick.

Dan and Tan's next adventure...

We are headed to Bali and Hong Kong this summer. Can't wait we will keep you posted on our next adventures.

Andy Warhol

Dan and I are trying to explore Seoul more frequently. We decided to visit the Seoul Museum of Art. On our way to the bus the sky looked like the end of the world was upon us. The yellow dust from China had taken over. I seriously wonder why it's called Yellow dust there is nothing yellow about it, it resembles a volcano explosion with ash floating in the sky. We didn't realize that it was yellow dust until we saw copious amounts of Koreans in Seoul wearing masks. Before we headed to the museum, we stopped in Itaewon to locate a travel agent. After searching for 1 hour we finally found an agent only to be told a flight would be an astronomical price we decided to research ourselves. Before hoping on the subway we stopped at a Turkish kebab stand. We heard really good things about this place and decided to see what the fuss was about. I tell ya Korea has really made me courageous with food. I had a chicken kebab and adventurous Dan had a lamb kebab. It was absolutely amazing now every time I head into Itaewon the kebab place is a must stop. We eventually made our way to our destination trekking through the yellow dust. The Seoul Museum of Art was featuring an Andy Warhol exhibit. I was beyond excited to see his work up close and personal. The exhibit featured Warhol's work through out his career incorporating paintings, photographs, and installations from both his public and private collections. His interpretation of popular culture through art transformed images with an abstract expressionism changing the way we view visual art. It was great to experience Andy's "15 minutes" so to speak in Seoul. After the exhibit we walked to Myeongdong a popular shopping area in Seoul to rest our feet and check out the new H&M. H&M in Korea had a decent selection of clothes but it was overpriced defeating the purpose of shopping there and way too crowded. We ended the night at our local Fish n Grill with a strawberry soju cocktail.

Moving to JAPAN!!!

This may come to a shock but Latanya and I are moving to Japan. I know we can't believe it either. I mean wow! It kind of fell into our laps. We were talking to a friend of a friend who teaches there currently and were inquiring about university jobs. Well needless to say Latanya applied and she was offered a position in Osaka. We are sooooo excited and can't believe it. She will be making much more at the university. We are going to break our contracts in the Summer here in Korea and move to Osaka in August. We will be signing a new contract and everything. Well more info will follow. April fools. Ya, that is definitely not happening. We are still due to come back next March. Don't worry Fam and Friends we would not leave you again.

It's Spring!!! Kind of...

Well hello all you fabulous blog followers. It is officially Spring, however the weather has been nothing of the sort. Latanya and I are ready for some warm weather ASAP!!! It has been less cold though. If that counts for anything. It is suppose to be in the 50's all week! Yeah!!! So hopefully not too much longer until we make it to the 60's and then the 70's and so on.
This weekend we celebrated our friend's birthday. Ben aka "grandpa" enjoyed a wonderful night out on Saturday. We went out for chicken galbi first. And then after dinner we bar hoped in Itaewon. It was a really nice night with a heck of a lot of foreigners. It was also a goodbye party for another friend also named Ben.
Latanya and I called it an early night after 2:00am. We got a cab back home with our neighbors Jess and Fran. Sunday was a nice relaxing day. We cleaned around the house, a sort of Spring cleaning and cooked. Latanya and I have discovered that I love to prep the food and she to cook it. It is becoming a nice routine. She made some delicious Tandoori Chicken and Dahl with rice. It was amazing (so spicy). Mmmmmm. Well that it for now, we hope everyone else is having some nice warm weather.

Jjimjilbang

Last Friday night, Dan and I had date night in Gangnam at the Brazilian restaurant, Brazilia. This type of steakhouse offers continuous table side service of 3 cuts of meat, a gourmet salad, and the most authentic Brazilian side dishes you can get in Korea. Usually Brazilian restaurants give the thinnest slices of meats but we hit the steak jackpot. Our portions were very generous to say the least and we ate our money's worth all for 22,000 won ($19) each. Fun times heading into Seoul enjoying great food and my hubby's company.
On the bus to the restaurant Dan had an idea out of nowhere. We have lived in Korea for over a year now and he thought it was about time we did something we have been putting off. So we (I reluctantly) decided to go to a Jjimjilbang, a huge Korean-style sauna/spa. Thinking we might regret not going there for so long and the fear we might actually enjoy it. Many of our friends have been raving about the jjimjilbang. The main reason we haven't gone is to enjoy the spa you are required to be in your birthday suit. As a foreigner, Emart can be very a traumatizing experience with people pointing and staring. Going to a place where you're required to be naked is not my idea of fun.
So we arrived at the tree-lined walkway and entered the 7 story jjimjilbang. Paid/checked in for 12,000 won ($10) at the front desk. We were given a towel, T-shirt, shorts, and a locker key with a sensor to use as virtual cash in case you needed to purchase extra services. We walked through the lobby where you put your shoes in a locker followed by a path that leads you into a gender separated areas or the common area with a restaurant, snack bar, nail salon, spa, gym, and a enormous T.V. room. Dan and I said our good byes and picked a meeting time to catch the bus home. I changed into the provided clothes having no idea what to do. I wandered around to get a feel for the place trying to mimic everyone else. I headed fully clothed to the second floor where everyone was stark naked and ran into some foreigners. Our conversation went like this,"Hi my name is Latanya I'm not looking at your boobs but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing." They laughed and said this must be your first time here. They told me this floor was the naked zone/sauna/spa area. I changed and went down stairs hiding behind my 2" x 2" towel and explored the grounds. There were various kinds of rooms: a traditional charcoal oven room, pine tree firewood sweat room, crystal light salt room, Hinoki forest bath room, yellow earth pyramid room, natural jade energy room, and an ice room. There was also a room for fertility, I literally ran in the other direction hoping I didn't inhale any fumes. You can soak in hot or cold tubs with natural ingredients such as green tea or ginseng. This is not just a place for beauty, it's a place where families go to relax and spend time together. Jjimjilbang's are open 24 hours a day and are thus used as overnight lodging as well. On the bus ride home we could barely keep our eyes opened we were too relaxed. Really glad we tried this and will definitely be back again.

2nd St. Patrick's Day in Korea

If you are all die hard Dan N Tan blog readers you will recall last year's St. Patrick's Day. It was one for the ages in its own special way. This year was much different and even more enjoyable. Last year it was Latanya and I setting on the floor with chopsticks, Guinness and a concoction of an attempt at corned beef and cabbage. This year we received some decorations from my mom and made the apartment look festive. I made sure to wear the bright green tie to work, thanks mom, it looked great. We had brought some corned beef from the U.S. and bought some more to help serve everyone. We decided to have our normal family dinner on that Wednesday, (St. Patrick's Day) so we just invited our closest friends that we normally have dinner with weekly, along with a new couple to the area. It was a pot luck situation as usual and everything was great. Latanya made corned beef and cabbage, and a salad. Jess and Fran made some potato pancakes and Jello, Krisela and Andrew made a meat pie, Ben and Lydia brought pizza (there was a mishap with their soup so pizza was plan B) and Titus brought beer. Though it seemed like a small guest list it was quite perfect. We had some Irish music playing in the background and all enjoyed each other's company. The food was so much better than last year and we really enjoyed spending the holiday with friends. I think I introduced St. Patrick's Day to Latanya about four years ago, and I think she has perfected her corned beef and cabbage. It was sooooo delicious.