First Stop: Yangon, Myanmar

"So much to see, with nothing to see."

Yangon, Myanmar is not what I had expected. I actually felt frustrated and overwhelmed in the beginning. Maybe I was still upset about leaving Korea and my wonderful friends, maybe it was the big dirty city, or maybe it was simply culture shock. Whatever the case, the first 16 hours were annoying.

Upon arrival there was confusion with the airport pickup from my guesthouse, I was not picked up, so I started off a little anxious. The next morning, exchanging money was a blister in my butthole. Bills had to be American for the best rate and brand new and crisp with no creases, marks, or slight imperfections. I checked my dollars before leaving Korea and I thought they were fine, but upon closer inspection by money changers, they were not. I went from place to place, and they were very picky, I ended up getting a lower rate with my crisp $50 bills.

Shwedagon Pagoda

The travelers that are here are mainly older people, and most of the other travelers here are French. I was expecting there to be younger backpackers (like me), but I've ran into a couple cool people regardless.

Young Monks

After changing money and guesthouses to be closer to the city, I went to the infamous Shwedagon Pagoda. It was stunning! It was so vast and every inch of it was beautiful. I walked around it several times, and sat down to wait for the sunset, enjoying the vibe of Shwedagon. A monk sat next to me and enjoyed as much small talk as our language barrier allowed. We walked around the pagoda together as he gave me a guided tour, kind of explaining things. I had trouble understanding, so I just smiled and nodded. I do remember it seemed like each area in the pagoda represented something different. There was one area was for luck, where he had me pour water over a statue three times so I can be “lucky girl”, and there was another area for meditation. Even though I didn't understand much of what was going on, it was sweet to have a monk as a tour guide.

The food stand with various pig parts

After the amazing Shwedagon Pagoda, I was starving and decided to look for some noms. I wanted to try some street food but was a little hesitant. I decided to go big. I watched a documentary on my flight over about Myanmar; one of the foods featured was various parts of pig, including pig intestines. As I walked around I saw dozens of stands with the pig parts. I stopped at one that a family was running. I tried asking exactly what parts of the animal I was eating, but I still am not sure. One was something to do with the arm, heart, and something about blood. Whatever I ate was actually really delicious and tasty, but sometimes with a very odd texture. I think it’s better not knowing exactly what I was eating. The son and daughter smiled and giggled at me as I made funny faces while eating. I was joined by a local Myanmar man who would cheers his pig part skewer with me. He taught me to dip the skewer in the fat, then dip it in a red sauce provided on the stand, then chew. We laughed at each other, without knowing what the other was saying, then he paid for my meal! It was so nice of him!

The adorable daughter

Next, I wandered around looking for a beer. Found a place with seating outside, but with limited seating we were seated with strangers. I was seated next to an older gentleman from Quebec who I exchanged travel stories with, and who was enjoying his second visit to Myanmar after 20 years. It was interesting to hear what he had to say about how things have changed. He also described the city of Yangon best, "so much to see, with nothing to see". We enjoyed Myanmar lager and nice conversation, then when it was time to go he paid for my beer!

The friendly local who paid for my meal!

What a lucky day. I think I owe it to the monk and the Myanmese gentleman who had me pour the water on the statue.

Solid first full day in Myanmar.

My Travels

I had no intentions of making my blog into a travel blog, but my time in Myanmar was so amazing I've decided to share (mostly brag) about my experience, adventures, and interactions.

I left Myanmar today, and I'm waiting in the airport in Bangkok to head to Chiang Mai. Stay tuned for some exciting stuff!

Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar

A Love Letter

I have never been good as expressing myself with words (as you all very well know), and since I am terrible with emotions in person, this is the best way I can say what I want to say.

Dear Korea, Inje, people of Inje, and everyone I have met during my year in Korea,

I love you. I love Korea, I love Inje, I love the people. I love all of you.

To Korea, you're the best. I love your people, food, culture, lifestyle, everything.

To my students who will never read this, thank you for pissing me off, making me laugh, making me angry, letting me teach you, and making me miss you and care for you way too much.

To my boss who has been like a mother to me, thank you. I couldn't have asked for a more caring and generous person to have as my boss. Having you as my boss has changed my life for the better in Korea.

To everyone I have met in the past month, you fucking rock. You are all amazing and as unfortunate as it was to meet you with such little time left, I am so glad. (Canoe trip people and everyone I met at Min's cabin over Chuseok, this is for you).

And finally, to my Inje family, thank you. Thank you for being my friend, my brother, and my sister. Thank you for going to Jjokki Jjokki with me, drinking cojiganmeks, eating at Kimbap Cheunguk, dealing with me, reminding me that my jokes aren't funny, laughing at my "punny" jokes, consoling me, letting me confide in you, noraebang nights, and thank you for being you and letting me be me. (Well that was cheesy). But seriously, Inje peeps, thank you, I love you.

Saying goodbye to my Inje family was one of the worst goodbyes I've ever had to make. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world having met all of you. Handing over my ARC card was another emotional journey where the immigration lady probably had her doubts about letting me through.

I am now sitting at the Incheon International Airport, Gate 26, crying, surrounded by a bunch of permed elderly women, waiting for my flight to Myanmar. I'm so excited for my travel adventures I'm about to embark on, but my adventure Korea will forever be etched in my mind.

Goodbye fuckers, goodbye Korea, I love you, it's been a trip. (Apologies to my parents for swearing.)

"Enjoy life."

My Dirty Little Secret

I've been avoiding writing about this for some time now, but this is such a magical wonderland I realized I have been selfish. It is time to talk about the one and only Gwangjang Market!

Thrifting and vintage shops are a passion of mine. I love the idea that "one man's trash is another man's treasure", or "one old woman's frock is my new summer dress!" I was bummed when I heard that thrift stores aren't very common in Korea; everyone's trying to wear the latest styles and newest clothes. After intense Google research and extensive blogger fishing, I finally discovered the hidden gem.

Gwangjang Market is a dream land! Inside is a labyrinth of dozens and dozens of tiny shops.

Shoes! Glorious shoes!

A cat denim vest

A hallway with stalls everywhere

A plaid suit for 56,000 won. What a deal!

The first time I went, I was in such awe of everything I didn't buy anything. It's such a maze! I've been back several times since and bought dresses, denim vests, awkward track jackets, and shoes. One thing I learned that I think is essential to know, if you see something buy it. Numerous times I saw something I liked, decided I'll look around more and come back. When I decided to go back to a specific stall to make the final purchase, I could never find it. It would take me ages to finally find the same stall again. Something else I noticed, is that they are very seasonal. I went in August and there were denim vests and tank tops galore! Two weeks later, a dress I had my eye on was gone, as were most of the denim vests, which were replaced my denim jackets and long sleeved shirts.

How do you get to this magical wonderland, you ask? Well let me tell you my way and what I think is easiest (other people may tell you differently)

1. Take Line 1 (dark blue line) to Jongno 5-ga
2. Walk to Exit 12
3. Walk out of Exit 12
4. On your left you should see an alley with an NH Bank on the left, and the Pharmacy (약) on the right.
5. Walk through the alley
6. When you reach the first intersection in the alley, on your right, you will see a staircase that says "Textile Gallery Joong Ang"
7. Go upstairs. 
8. Enter the door.
9. Walk straight through the fabric stalls. You should see a staircase at the end of the hallway, which is at the end of the vintage clothes market.
10. Then the adventure begins. 
11. If you didn't see the staircase, you went the wrong way. 

You should walk down this once you enter the market area

Gwangjang Market sign

If you explore a little more, at the edges of the stalls with young, hip Koreans working, explore the outskirts.  I went down a creepy hallway and found myself in an area with ajummas working and the selection was older, muskier, and better. There were leather coats, fur coats, purses, cardigans, and a cat dress that I so regret not buying. (I went back later, and it was gone).

The cat dress!

If you go to the market, let me know what you end up finding!

Korean Baseball Game

After our first attempt at a Korean baseball game was shut down by rain, my friend Joeanna and I finally made it to a game on her last night in Korea. I especially wanted to go to an LG Twins game, because they had the same name and similar logo to my beloved Minnesota Twins. Luckily, this game was the LG Twins versus the KIA Tigers.

Inflatable red clappers errywhere

I hate to admit this, but baseball games in Korea are soooo much more fun and exciting than baseball games in America. First of all, you can bring your own food and beer into the game! Families brought full pizzas and boxes of chicken in the stadium. Many people (myself included) brought in their own beer from one of the many convenient stores outside the stadium, and even if you wanted to buy beer there, it was only about 3,000 won! Amazing!

Ominous weather. Luckily, no rain that night.

Not only was the BYOB concept great, but the fans are a whole other story. For both teams, there were songs and chants that everyone took part in, songs for specific players, songs for whatever was happening in the game, even Justin Bieber's Baby was turned into a baseball chant. The fans' enthusiasm was contagious. I had no idea what was being said, but I found myself clapping and yelling at everything. My favorite thing that I really think baseball fans in America need to adapt are what I called "the Clappers". They are long inflatable tubes that you inflate to the fullest and clap together to make a loud, annoying sound. Not only do they make a lot of noise, but they are a hoot to clap together.

Keg-on-a-back. America, do you see this?

I forgot to mention that they had cheerleaders at the baseball game. AND instead of selling beer in cans or bottles, guys with kegs on their backs came around refilling cups.

Cooking Day: Sandwich Rolls

Another Cooking Day at the Inje English Village, and today's recipe? Sandwich Rolls! As mentioned before, the Western cooking recipes we use are slightly adapted to Korean tastes, and what ingredients Korea has to offer.

The original recipe. Luckily, we modified it.

John is unsure of the Sandwich Rolls

I don't know where the first recipe we had came from. It called for a sauce made with mayonnaise and strawberry jam, and for us to spread butter on the bread before spreading the mayo-jam concoction. Thankfully we decided not to use butter, or the mayonnaise/strawberry jam sauce. We changed the sandwich toppings and used ham, cheese, crab, sliced apples. We also changed the spread to just strawberry jam.

Jenny and Mille

I had the students flatten the sandwich bread with a rolling pin to make the bread thinner and easier to roll once finished. One of my students called it "paper bread". Then we would spread the strawberry jam on the bread. At this point I would yell "spread the bread!" to my students because it rhymed and I love things that rhyme. No one found this amusing. 

Mona, Lilly, and Rose enjoying their Sandwich Rolls

Next, we placed a slice of ham on the strawberry jam. I couldn't control my rhyming self so I yelled "ham on the jam!". Same response from my students: nothing. At this point I gave up. Which was a good thing, because I couldn't think of anything that rhymed with apple. Anyways, we added sliced apples, cheese, and pieces of crab sticks to the roll. Then we rolled the bread up like a tortilla or kimbap.

The inside of my Sandwich Roll

The Sandwich Roll was interesting. Like the Chicken Tortillas and Cheese Canapes, it was unique with so many different flavors that shouldn't go together, but it wasn't terrible. I wouldn't recommend making it at home for yourself, but if you find yourself teaching a cooking class that's making this, try it!

Music Monday

This band probably has one of the coolest names of any artist/band I have reviewed in the history of my Music Monday. KAKKMADDAFAKKA. Say that ten times fast.

Kakkmaddafakka is a seven piece indie rock band hailing from Bergen, Norway. Their music is a beautiful blend of indie-rock-pop and even a touch of reggae. I have been unsuccessful in my attempt to illegally download a free copy of their most recent album Hest, so this is based of a couple of songs that I sampled. I mean, what?! I would never try to illegally download music...

All the songs make me feel happy on the inside, and I usually start a one woman dance party while listening to them without even noticing. Their songs are catchy and melodic, and the lyrics are simple and comical (and in English!) The lead singer, Alex Bindenes, sings a lot about young girls, touching girls, other guys' girls, sandwiching on the dance floor with girls, and being an "original G". Kakkmaddafakka obviously has no intention of being taken seriously, which I think makes them awesome. I think they're great and I think they definitely have the potential to be bigger and better. I couldn't pick a favorite song, but I will leave you with their "Gangsta" music video, which made me literally LOL.

I lied. I can't pick just one. Here's "Your Girl", the very first song I heard by Kakkmaddafakka that really caught my ears. (This is basically a video of the band members making out with girls, so this might be NSFW.)

If you ever have the opportunity to see them live, do it. I haven't yet, but I heard they have backup singers (who are men) and who sometimes dress in matching costumes.