At the risk of sounding like John Walsh and America's Most Wanted [who I admire a lot for the way he has taken a personal tragedy and used it as motivation to try and change society for the better] I have gotten a lot of comments from people as of late so I decided it is time to up-date people on a few things I have been blogging about.
In my post on "Red Devils - Korean Soccer Fans" Jonathan a teacher on Long Island said he was glad to know that the alternative spelling of Korea with a C was not just a spelling error. I had promised to check into the reason for the spelling of Corea. I learned that Korea used to be spelled with a C. However, when Japan invaded Korea in the early 1900s Japan changed the spelling of Korea to start with a K. This meant that when countries were listed alphabetically Japan was listed above Korea. Koreans now want to change the spelling back to the original way it was spelled. I have not been able to find this written about anywhere but this is what every Korean knows and will tell you when asked about the spelling of their country's name.
In my post on "Red Devils - Korean Soccer Fans" Jonathan a teacher on Long Island said he was glad to know that the alternative spelling of Korea with a C was not just a spelling error. I had promised to check into the reason for the spelling of Corea. I learned that Korea used to be spelled with a C. However, when Japan invaded Korea in the early 1900s Japan changed the spelling of Korea to start with a K. This meant that when countries were listed alphabetically Japan was listed above Korea. Koreans now want to change the spelling back to the original way it was spelled. I have not been able to find this written about anywhere but this is what every Korean knows and will tell you when asked about the spelling of their country's name.
This is the picture I posted that inspired the comment by Jonathan.
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When I wrote my post "Revisiting Gumi and Daegu" I posted a picture of the Gumi train station and mentioned my surprise that it STILL wasn't completed nearly 2 years later. Travis wrote to me and told me that the reason for the slow progess was contract disputes. Thanks for the info, Travis. Another mystery solved.
This is a picture I previously posted of the still unfinished Gumi Train Station.
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In my post "Adventures in Cooking" I wrote about my struggle to learn to cook and my growing skills in the kitchen. I am pleased to report that I am continuing to improve my cooking despite not having an oven. I recently made my first banana bread EVER and it was fantasic - if I do say so myself.
My toaster oven. The only way I have of baking anything here in Korea. It's almost 3 years old but I love it cause it's so big I can cook most anything in it. It will even hold a full-sized loaf pan for making meat loaf or banana bread.
Last but not least last week when I wrote about "Vacations" I meantioned how difficult [if not impossible] it is to get airline tickets to go anywhere for Chulsok - the Korean Thanksgiving - but that I was on a waiting list. Well, thanks to Mode Travel being next door and my persistence [I literally went there everyday to see if anyone had cancelled their airline tickets] I got tickets for myself and my friend "Ray" to go to Taipei, Taiwan. Yipee! We will leave on October 3rd and we can even fly out of Busan. We will have to transfer planes in Incheon [the International airport in Seoul] but that's a small thing and it means we don't have to take the train. We will be in Taipei by lunch time. We will stay until Sunday, October 8th when we will fly back to Incheon. Unfortunately, we will have to take the train [and the slow one at that] from Seoul back to Busan and it's a five hour trip but I don't even care about that. Mode Travel was even able to book our train tickets for us. Moreover, they even hooked us up with travel insurance throught AIG. I still have to pinch myself to make sure it is real and that I really got tickets out of Korea for Chulsok. Everyone I know is bummed out cause they can't get tickets anywhere for their vacation. I feel like a very lucky girl! Yipee!
I went to Kyobo Bookstore in Seomyeon last night and ordered a Lonely Planet book on Taiwan. They had lots of Lonely Planets books and a good selection of English books and novels but, alas, they didn't have the Taiwan one. They said it should arrive in about a week. I hope so cause we don't have any idea what to see in Taiwan and where to stay. I want to see Taipai but I'd love to go somewhere else with a beach and some natural beauty for a few days. If any of you readers has been to Taiwan and can recommend somewhere please let me know. You can comment on this post or shot me off an e-mail. I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can give me.
Our airline tickets to Taipei, Taiwan.
Hi QFAY
ReplyDeleteI had a brief respite from 'hakwanitis' by flying to Taiwain a couple of years back- bought myself a Giant mtb and made the mistake of taking on the entire island (in search of aborigines and untainted culture).. you can read a little more about it at http://www.hedley.50megs.com/photo6.html
and further info (about escaping to the lovely east coast) will be posted in exchange for your banana bread recipe,
I have the exact same EUPA toaster oven,
Mark.
Hey Mark:
ReplyDeleteHere's my banana bread recipe.
4 mashed bananas
1/2 cup shortening [I use margarine since I can't find shortening here in Korea]
3/4 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups of flour
1 tsp vanilla [at www.ehomebakery.com a Korean website and you need a Korean ID number and credit card to order from it - but ask a Korean friend - you can get vanilla both pure vanilla and artifical vanilla extract]
3/4 cup of chopped walnuts if desired [this makes it extra yummy]
Mash the bananas. Beat the two eggs and add them to the bananas. Melt the margarine and add to the mixture. Add 1 tsp. vanilla extract and mix well.
In a separate bowl add all the dry ingredients and mix them together.
Add the two mixtures together and mix well. Pour into a grease loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
In our toaster oven[s] add foil to the top and bottom of the loaf pan to prevent burning. I check it when the timer runs out in 30 minutes but always put it back in for another 15 minutes.
Viola. Perfect banana bread. Enjoy!
Ann
Wunderbar-orama
ReplyDeletethanks Ann
if you haven't already booked accommodation in Taipei, there are a number of 'honest hawkers' who will quote you a negotiable price at the airport, then stick you on a shuttle bus for the city- it's all a little more westernised than Korea (given the state of Taiwanese imports) and there are plenty of English speakers around.
You should be able to find some 4 star-ish for around $500-600 in the city centre.
I can recommend a day trip north to Leliou area, however it is still Indian summer in Taiwan, so you would be best to hit the train station and get off at Hualien- plenty of reasonable accomm near the train station area & the Tarako Gorge daytrip is a must.
The ride down the coast to Taitung is fantastic (past the tropic of cancer & so much remote coastal beauty)... also check out the beetlenut girls in their little glass boxes!
In Taitung, you would do well to check out Gringo cafe (owned by an amerkin guy and his Taiwanese wife), they have budget rooms upstairs and will put you in touch with the groovy foreign teaching community there.
From there you can take a ferry across to Green Island or head right down to the tippy tip of Taiwan in Kenting - many fenced off beaches and overpriced services.
Don't forget to take your scooter repellent!
viel spass
Mark.
Hey Mark:
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for the information. I'll let you know how my trip goes. Good luck with the banana bread.
Ann