As you can see, I had this blog redesigned through the help of ilker, from The Thinking Blog. ilker designed that cool looking header you see above (the image was taken by yours truly) and some other things with CSS coding. I’d like to say thanks to him for helping me out. If you want to check out his blog, please do so as it’s very interesting and thought provoking!

So yeah…right now, I am in a transition phase…it’s not yet official, but I will let you know when it’s done. Until next time…

Well, I’m going to tell you what I did to get rid of our stuff after our year of teaching English in Korea came to an end. To start off, we didn’t really need anything in our officetel as it came fully furnished. We did end up acquiring some “things” over the year and by the time it came to sell or give away our stuff, we realized we had some work to do!

There are a few ways for you to sell your used “junk”…they’ve worked for me in the past so they might work for you too.

1) Dave’s ESL Cafe: Buy/Sell/Trade Korea Forums - if you haven’t registered for an account with these forums, I suggest you do so. The website receives a lot of steady traffic, so by creating your advertisement “post” there will generate some sales. Lots of goods are bought and sold through these forums (just watch out for some of the bitter and lonely weirdos there! Avoid them like the plague!).

2) Work N’ Play Classifieds: these forums don’t have as much traffic, but it’s worth posting as I have sold and purchased items here in the past. It’s a great way to find some good items for cheap as some moving sales are posted here, but nobody shows up–leaving the deals for you!

3) Facebook: Ahh, Facebook. What would my life be without you? Here, you can take advantage of the massive Korea network and post your stuff up for sale. Then, once you get a lead, you can “poke” (or Superpoke!) the other person to death until they give in and buy your third-hand rice cooker that doesn’t really work. Awesome!

4) Craigslist Seoul: Ahh, Craigslist. The perfect marketplace for shady transactions, such as that discounted iPod that “fell off the back of a truck”. I’m surprised there aren’t more people using Craigslist in Seoul. Looking at the Books & Magazines section, there have only been 1 or 2 ads every 3 or 4 days…it’s still worth a shot.

5) Post a list up at work…this is one of the easiest ways. New teachers are always looking for kitchen appliances and other stuff.

Okay, so you’ve read my long-winded rant about the above marketplaces. Now what? I’m going to make this easy and list it for you step by step.

1. Pictures: You need some decent pictures of your stuff, so try to at least clean or make your stuff presentable, then snap a picture of it. If you’re running Windows XP, download and install the free Image Resizer from the Microsoft PowerToys page. Resize your pictures (this makes the biggest difference in the world when you’re emailing them to someone) to 640×480 resolution.

2. List your stuff with pictures: go to the above mentioned websites and start listing your stuff. Make a brief description of what you have for sale (its condition) and how much you want for it. This will save you time answering emails from strangers. Willing to take offers? Add in “OBO” (or best offer). Post some pictures by hosting them for free at ImageShack. Take a picture of a few items at once to save time…Put down a contact number or email so people can contact you.

3. Sell smart: try to sell all your kitchen stuff for a flat rate, or all the plants you have in a set. This makes it easier for you and the buyer.

4. Give away stuff: mention that the first three buyers will get something for free to attract attention.

5. Have your buyers come meet you close to your house. Trust me, you don’t want to be the one lugging a toaster oven half way across the city to make 20,000w.

6. Too lazy to sell? Good on you, and welcome to the club. Just pass on the good fortune to the next group of teachers coming to your school. That’s what we did we the stuff we weren’t able to sell. This will keep the circle of love going…yay.

Remember this bad boy I picked up off the streets coming home from a haircut? Well, with all garbage in Seoul, you’re supposed to get a sticker so the garbage men can come pick it up. We didn’t have time to get rid of this with packing and all, so we ended up abandoning it in the lobby of our building the night before.

We were like ninjas as we gingerly moved it downstairs and into the corner without any of the security guards spotting us. Yes, I know, we’re bad, slap me on the wrist for the idea. I’m sure someone will pick it up and make good use of it–I hope!

Happy Selling (or happy littering your stuff downstairs in the alley next door)!

Anyways, we finally made it to our destination, a vegetarian restaurant that was recommended by one of the Seoul tourism websites. What we saw when we went in was not very appetizing. We either came at the wrong time of day, or they just weren’t busy enough to keep their “buffet” stocked with fresh items. It was not a memorable meal, but since it was only 6000w per person we decided to give it a go anyways!

There were four of us in this restaurant on the second floor of a building…along with three others:

Here are some pictures of the buffet…you know food is no longer “good” when it’s been sitting on a warmer for the entire day!

“Make your own salad” gone wrong…

Some more veggie dishes for your viewing pleasure. Notice the refrigeration unit in place to keep the dishes at a safe temperature–oh wait, there is no cooling unit!

Near the end of the line…we have some dessert. Remember to keep an eye on that watermelon platter:

This was my plate: some rice, veggies, a bun, samjang, a pepper, some lettuce, and half a bun. I now know how a rabbit feels…

Remember the watermelon platter? Well, that was by far the best part! It was the only tray they refilled and when I saw the “fresh” platter I pounced on it…this was the aftermath on my plate:

…and here’s my dish being placed at the “SELF SERVICE” window…now that I think about it, I definitely got my money’s worth in watermelon!

I know there are better vegetarian restaurants out there, as one of our coworkers had raved about a couple in Insadong. I think this time it was just unfortunate we went to the wrong place–doh! In the future, I will stick with my meat-eating ways…and avoid vegetarian restaurants!

The franchise started in 1999 in Japan. Since then, its popularity has exploded and there are now over 300 locations around the world, including stores in China, Hong Kong, Korea (I don’t know where the location is–someone fill me in), Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, the USA, and others. The location at Aberdeen Center has been constantly busy, with long line ups on the weekends. We were lucky enough to find the Beard Papa’s location without a line up during the week. Let’s take a closer look to see just how good these cream puffs really are.

Here’s the front of the Beard Papa’s location…right at the top of the escalator leading to the food court:

There was a mini line up, which was pretty surprising because the past few times we visited Aberdeen the line ups were absolutely atrocious–the lengths some people go to for a cream puff! It reminded me of the line ups outside the Cino’s Cheesecake locations in Seoul. Notice how there is a 2 dozen limit…TWO DOZEN! Who the heck can eat two dozen cream puffs? I hope it comes with a stomach pump!

Even though the line ups are long, they do move relatively fast. One person pumps the whipped cream custard into the cream puffs, then another sprinkles icing sugar, then another helps box the cream puffs and work the register. It’s just one long assembly line…

So let’s take a closer look. Their cream puffs are larger than normal and there is a lot of filling. I think after eating one, you are done for the next few hours.

After taking my first bite, I do have to say these Beard Papa’s cream puffs are damn good! The pastry has a crunchy outer shell yet once you bite into the middle it’s soft and flaky. The custard cream filling is chilled, creamy, and has a nice hint of vanilla flavor. Although it was really good, I don’t think these things are going to help your waistline!

Here’s a rare sight…no line up outside Beard Papa’s in Richmond!

Just what the heck is behind the Beard Papa story? Click here to watch the full story…

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t much time to update my blog as I’ve been really busy lately. The last time I told you about our travel plans that included NYC, London, and Dubai. However that has recently changed gears as I recently got hired to work with one of the school districts in Vancouver! So that means we’ll be settling down here for now. Don’t worry as I will continue to keep the updates coming, but I’m not going to post randomness for the sake of posting. Laters!

The franchise started in 1999 in Japan. Since then, its popularity has exploded and there are now over 300 locations around the world, including stores in China, Hong Kong, Korea (I don’t know where the location is–someone fill me in), Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, the USA, and others. The location at Aberdeen Center has been constantly busy, with long line ups on the weekends. We were lucky enough to find the Beard Papa’s location without a line up during the week. Let’s take a closer look to see just how good these cream puffs really are.

Here’s the front of the Beard Papa’s location…right at the top of the escalator leading to the food court:

There was a mini line up, which was pretty surprising because the past few times we visited Aberdeen the line ups were absolutely atrocious–the lengths some people go to for a cream puff! It reminded me of the line ups outside the Cino’s Cheesecake locations in Seoul. Notice how there is a 2 dozen limit…TWO DOZEN! Who the heck can eat two dozen cream puffs? I hope it comes with a stomach pump!

Even though the line ups are long, they do move relatively fast. One person pumps the whipped cream custard into the cream puffs, then another sprinkles icing sugar, then another helps box the cream puffs and work the register. It’s just one long assembly line…

So let’s take a closer look. Their cream puffs are larger than normal and there is a lot of filling. I think after eating one, you are done for the next few hours.

After taking my first bite, I do have to say these Beard Papa’s cream puffs are damn good! The pastry has a crunchy outer shell yet once you bite into the middle it’s soft and flaky. The custard cream filling is chilled, creamy, and has a nice hint of vanilla flavor. Although it was really good, I don’t think these things are going to help your waistline!

Here’s a rare sight…no line up outside Beard Papa’s in Richmond!

Just what the heck is behind the Beard Papa story? Click here to watch the full story…

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t much time to update my blog as I’ve been really busy lately. The last time I told you about our travel plans that included NYC, London, and Dubai. However that has recently changed gears as I recently got hired to work with one of the school districts in Vancouver! So that means we’ll be settling down here for now. Don’t worry as I will continue to keep the updates coming, but I’m not going to post randomness for the sake of posting. Laters!

Vancouver is home to a large Chinese minority, with the majority of them congregating in Richmond (I like to call it Ricemond or Hongcouver). Well, there is also a well-sized Korean population that has populated Coquitlam, which is 45 minutes east of Vancouver. Here, as you will soon see we were dazzled by signs in both Korean and English. It was pretty neat being able to read some of the signage!

The intersection of Lougheed Highway and North Road is where all the action is. Running along North Road you can see the Korean-inspired lamp post banners.

Here we have a small shopping village, Korean inspired of course! Let’s see if we can decipher the text here…the 3rd banner down says “meg she gen chee ken; hop-uh” which is “Mexican Chicken - HOF”–very interesting (Korean fried chicken is awesome)! What else…below is the norebang! Need glasses? Look no further than Namdaemoon Optical! Want some naengmyeon? Got it! There are also a couple big supermarkets which we didn’t get a chance to visit. There is an H-Mart located here for all you fans out there!

Rogers Wireless–in Korean! It’s the perfect place to get your “hand-pone!”

Wait a minute…this sounds familiar. Is this the same California Sushi in Seoul??

So we met up with my sister’s boyfriend who works in Coquitlam for a quick afternoon snack (of course you knew that food would be part of this post, right?). We went to this restaurant and saw their “Business Hours” on their door. I had to pause for a moment to figure out the hours, because it said they were open from 11AM-12PM on some days! Soo, they’re only open for one hour during the week? Now that’s what I call flexible hours! This sign reminded me of the store hours sign inside Homever–which also had the hours written down incorrectly. Maybe this is a Korean thing…

We enter the restaurant and we are greeted by the Korean waitress/host. After being seated, I drop an ????? bomb on them. They immediately think we are Korean! haha. I tell them that I am Chinese but she continues to speak Korean to me anyways! It’s like I was back in Korea. Then she dropped a “handsome” bomb on me (which was the case all the time in Korea–what can I say, haha). Okay, awkward moment, but we move on and check out their menus.

So we are looking at their extensive Korean/Japanese menu. Boy, they sure do have a lot of items here–at outrageous prices compared to Korea! Naengmyeon and LA galbi for $9.95?! Dude, I was eating refillable naengmyeon for 2900 won ($3US) in Seoul! I ordered the naengmyeon, as I wanted to compare the flavors to the noodles in Korea.

…and this is what arrived! Yes, this is not naengmyeon. Shortly after my order the chef comes out (I assumed it was the chef–he had flour all over his face like that commercial where the dad sprinkles flour on his face after making a batch of Rice Krispies squares for his kids) and explains that it’s not naengmyeon season. Would I like to try the Japanese equivalent instead? Me: “Uhh….sure.” So here we have it…some soba noodles on ice. They were okay, but I was still pretty hungry after this!

Devante ordered some “shun doh boo” or a soft tofu soup in a kimchi broth. It actually tasted really good, but was a bit on the salty side. Of course, when she ordered the jiggae, our waitress immediately responded in broken English, “good choice, very health”…haha…the magical wonders of kimchi baby!

What did my sister and her significant other order? None other than the Korean-Chinese noodle dish, the dish eaten on Black Day, JA JANG MYEON! Noodles with black bean sauce and bits of “fork” (pork). This one came topped off with a fried egg and wasn’t too bad.

Hey, every meal in Korea had side dishes. Where the heck are ours?! We see the table beside us get their sides but we did not get ours. So instead of pressing this button below (which you are all familiar with) which sends out a ringing bell tone, I call out a more appropriate “cho-gee-yo!” and wave my hand. haha, I am sure they got a kick out of that.

She arrives and I say that we did not get side dishes. So she leaves and comes back with literally empty side dishes! Then she clued in and quickly ran back with our sides. Her excuse for forgetting them in the first place was because I was “so handsome”…haha…I should try that line sometime.

Check out this video of the restaurant…I should’ve ordered the “hway-dop-bab” like the table ahead of us–darn it!

Vancouver is home to a large Chinese minority, with the majority of them congregating in Richmond (I like to call it Ricemond or Hongcouver). Well, there is also a well-sized Korean population that has populated Coquitlam, which is 45 minutes east of Vancouver. Here, as you will soon see we were dazzled by signs in both Korean and English. It was pretty neat being able to read some of the signage!

The intersection of Lougheed Highway and North Road is where all the action is. Running along North Road you can see the Korean-inspired lamp post banners.

Here we have a small shopping village, Korean inspired of course! Let’s see if we can decipher the text here…the 3rd banner down says “meg she gen chee ken; hop-uh” which is “Mexican Chicken - HOF”–very interesting (Korean fried chicken is awesome)! What else…below is the norebang! Need glasses? Look no further than Namdaemoon Optical! Want some naengmyeon? Got it! There are also a couple big supermarkets which we didn’t get a chance to visit. There is an H-Mart located here for all you fans out there!

Rogers Wireless–in Korean! It’s the perfect place to get your “hand-pone!”

Wait a minute…this sounds familiar. Is this the same California Sushi in Seoul??

So we met up with my sister’s boyfriend who works in Coquitlam for a quick afternoon snack (of course you knew that food would be part of this post, right?). We went to this restaurant and saw their “Business Hours” on their door. I had to pause for a moment to figure out the hours, because it said they were open from 11AM-12PM on some days! Soo, they’re only open for one hour during the week? Now that’s what I call flexible hours! This sign reminded me of the store hours sign inside Homever–which also had the hours written down incorrectly. Maybe this is a Korean thing…

We enter the restaurant and we are greeted by the Korean waitress/host. After being seated, I drop an ????? bomb on them. They immediately think we are Korean! haha. I tell them that I am Chinese but she continues to speak Korean to me anyways! It’s like I was back in Korea. Then she dropped a “handsome” bomb on me (which was the case all the time in Korea–what can I say, haha). Okay, awkward moment, but we move on and check out their menus.

So we are looking at their extensive Korean/Japanese menu. Boy, they sure do have a lot of items here–at outrageous prices compared to Korea! Naengmyeon and LA galbi for $9.95?! Dude, I was eating refillable naengmyeon for 2900 won ($3US) in Seoul! I ordered the naengmyeon, as I wanted to compare the flavors to the noodles in Korea.

…and this is what arrived! Yes, this is not naengmyeon. Shortly after my order the chef comes out (I assumed it was the chef–he had flour all over his face like that commercial where the dad sprinkles flour on his face after making a batch of Rice Krispies squares for his kids) and explains that it’s not naengmyeon season. Would I like to try the Japanese equivalent instead? Me: “Uhh….sure.” So here we have it…some soba noodles on ice. They were okay, but I was still pretty hungry after this!

Devante ordered some “shun doh boo” or a soft tofu soup in a kimchi broth. It actually tasted really good, but was a bit on the salty side. Of course, when she ordered the jiggae, our waitress immediately responded in broken English, “good choice, very health”…haha…the magical wonders of kimchi baby!

What did my sister and her significant other order? None other than the Korean-Chinese noodle dish, the dish eaten on Black Day, JA JANG MYEON! Noodles with black bean sauce and bits of “fork” (pork). This one came topped off with a fried egg and wasn’t too bad.

Hey, every meal in Korea had side dishes. Where the heck are ours?! We see the table beside us get their sides but we did not get ours. So instead of pressing this button below (which you are all familiar with) which sends out a ringing bell tone, I call out a more appropriate “cho-gee-yo!” and wave my hand. haha, I am sure they got a kick out of that.

She arrives and I say that we did not get side dishes. So she leaves and comes back with literally empty side dishes! Then she clued in and quickly ran back with our sides. Her excuse for forgetting them in the first place was because I was “so handsome”…haha…I should try that line sometime.

Check out this video of the restaurant…I should’ve ordered the “hway-dop-bab” like the table ahead of us–darn it!

Did you typically work a 35 hour week? Any overtime? Is the
overtime optional?
- We had a 30 hour work week, consisting of 6 teaching hours a day. However at my school we had to show up two hours before for prep time, which was unpaid. OT was optional the first time around, but the second time we had to work it (8:45am-8pm) because registration was high.

How long did your application process take from submission to
placement to arrival?
- It was really quick, we applied in May 2006 and we had everything ready by the time we left at the end of July!

Did you keep your work hours to Mondays-Fridays?
- Monday to Friday

What age group did you teach?
- Ages 9-17…no kindergarten. Most classes lasted a month, and the next month would be the same kids.

I am a “gyopo” - does this decrease my chances of securing
employment as an ESL teacher? I was born and raised in the States and
I can barely speak a lick of Korean!
- At my branch they had lots of “gyopos” so that is not a big problem. I’m Chinese myself so people thought I was Korean. Some “gyopos” didn’t speak Korean either!

Was your apartment within walking distance to your school?
- Yes, 10 minutes (7 minutes when it’s freezing cold!).

What was your compensation package like? It sounds like different
rates apply to expats depending on experience and I do not have any
prior teaching experience. It would be helpful to know what living
expenses were like.
- a fully furnished officetel (bed, sheets, pillows, tv, dresser, drying rack, table, chairs, kitchen utensils, cups, bowls, mugs, glasses, pots, pans, fridge/freezer, AC…the full deal!) We paid about 150-300US/month in maintenance fees. It depends on the age of your building. We had 24/7 security so it was more expensive. We had paid Korean holidays. One month’s severance pay at the end of our contract; sick day bonus of 400,000w.

How did you find your first job in Korea? There are ads everywhere
on the internet and I think it would be to my advantage to apply for a
position within a larger hakwon community, one with other native
english speakers.
- We found it though a Google search and some relevant ads we stumbled upon. I would suggest checking out Dave’s ESL Cafe as a good place to start. There are lots of ad postings. Email them your application and then if you get far enough, ask for an email reference.

Were there any “hidden costs” or “fees” that you did not anticipate?
- Nope…we did have to pay to FedEx our documents (degree/transcripts) to Korea, that’s about it.

Did someone greet you at the airport?
- Yes…the school greeted us there, and drove us back to our officetel/work. We even got dinner!

If there’s anything you’d change during your planning or
stay in Korea, what would it be?
- Good question. I think the best way is to just learn to adjust and accept your new way of life in Korea. It will make life a lot easier in the long run, instead of always longing for how ways “used to be” back home.

Lots more questions answered with my FAQ on Teaching in Korea.

Did you typically work a 35 hour week? Any overtime? Is the
overtime optional?
- We had a 30 hour work week, consisting of 6 teaching hours a day. However at my school we had to show up two hours before for prep time, which was unpaid. OT was optional the first time around, but the second time we had to work it (8:45am-8pm) because registration was high.

How long did your application process take from submission to
placement to arrival?
- It was really quick, we applied in May 2006 and we had everything ready by the time we left at the end of July!

Did you keep your work hours to Mondays-Fridays?
- Monday to Friday

What age group did you teach?
- Ages 9-17…no kindergarten. Most classes lasted a month, and the next month would be the same kids.

I am a “gyopo” - does this decrease my chances of securing
employment as an ESL teacher? I was born and raised in the States and
I can barely speak a lick of Korean!
- At my branch they had lots of “gyopos” so that is not a big problem. I’m Chinese myself so people thought I was Korean. Some “gyopos” didn’t speak Korean either!

Was your apartment within walking distance to your school?
- Yes, 10 minutes (7 minutes when it’s freezing cold!).

What was your compensation package like? It sounds like different
rates apply to expats depending on experience and I do not have any
prior teaching experience. It would be helpful to know what living
expenses were like.
- a fully furnished officetel (bed, sheets, pillows, tv, dresser, drying rack, table, chairs, kitchen utensils, cups, bowls, mugs, glasses, pots, pans, fridge/freezer, AC…the full deal!) We paid about 150-300US/month in maintenance fees. It depends on the age of your building. We had 24/7 security so it was more expensive. We had paid Korean holidays. One month’s severance pay at the end of our contract; sick day bonus of 400,000w.

How did you find your first job in Korea? There are ads everywhere
on the internet and I think it would be to my advantage to apply for a
position within a larger hakwon community, one with other native
english speakers.
- We found it though a Google search and some relevant ads we stumbled upon. I would suggest checking out Dave’s ESL Cafe as a good place to start. There are lots of ad postings. Email them your application and then if you get far enough, ask for an email reference.

Were there any “hidden costs” or “fees” that you did not anticipate?
- Nope…we did have to pay to FedEx our documents (degree/transcripts) to Korea, that’s about it.

Did someone greet you at the airport?
- Yes…the school greeted us there, and drove us back to our officetel/work. We even got dinner!

If there’s anything you’d change during your planning or
stay in Korea, what would it be?
- Good question. I think the best way is to just learn to adjust and accept your new way of life in Korea. It will make life a lot easier in the long run, instead of always longing for how ways “used to be” back home.

Lots more questions answered with my FAQ on Teaching in Korea.

At first I contemplated taking a taxi, but it would’ve been way overpriced (about 50-70,000w at the bare minimum), thought about taking a bus (it was leaving in 15 minutes), but in the end I decided to wait at the airport until 5:30am to catch the first train aboard the newly constructed AREX Incheon to Gimpo Airport subway line. I first saw pictures of the station through Jon Allen’s blog.

Man, the arrivals area of Incheon is pretty dead at 4:45am…I felt like I was walking through a ghost town. On my way down to the AREX line, it was so empty and bare it led to an eery feeling (which is unusual because Seoul is so densely populated):

Here are the toll gates to access the line below…not a soul in sight! I had to do the Asian squat and wait patiently till 5:30am…

All the subway stations in South Korea have maps showing you where you are. The subway lines are very deep. This picture below is nothing compared to others, such as the purple line, line 5:

Check out this video of me boarding the first train (with that dude in front of me and a couple others)…I’m all alone!

Now when I told you it was EMPTY…this picture speaks for itself! I had the best seat on the train–every seat! Compare this to jam-packed subways in the morning and it was really an incredible sight:

These new subway cars had some improvements…such included some LCD screens displaying commercials and some other misc. broadcasts:

Also the subway line maps now had LEDs showing you the progress of your trip:

Now here is the train in action…

By the time I reached Gimpo Airport, then to my final destination in Mokdong, it was about 7am. I was dead tired and I just jumped right into bed. After waking up at 1pm, it was time to get ready and get back to work!