Hidden Treasures Unearthed

What a day!  Thursday night, one of our summer interns told us about a hamburger place within walking distance (translation - within a 3 mile radius) of our dorm. He guarantied a real American hamburger! So, Friday morning, we set out in search of said restaurant, planning on arriving for lunch. On the way, in an area we've wondered through before, lo and behold... a Presbyterian church with an English speaking service. Much, much closer (translation -  a 35-40 minute walk in low heels) than the church we've been attending. TREASURE # 1!

A few short blocks away - TREASURE #2 - PLAYBURGERS. And sure enough, hamburgers are what they serve. About eight different kinds are on the menu.  Koreans have difficulty leaving something "plain" but with high hopes both Doug and I ordered a "plain" hamburger, potato, and salad. Despite the fact that our hamburgers did have a sauce, the potato was a fried patty, and the salad was covered in some type of mustard dressing - (where do they come up with these things?) , we are calling it, TREASURE # 2.

Finally, to Doug's absolute delight, two stores down from Playburgers, a donut shop selling a multitude of various donuts. The first donuts, I might add, that actually taste like what we call donuts. Hence,TREASURE # 3!

Donut shop!

So, delighted with our finds,we walked home with our box of 6 donuts in hand, stopped at the store for a few groceries and spent the evening playing our 200th game of Ticket to Ride.

Penance supper after treasures number 2 and 3.

A New Twist On Two Old Favorites

Thursday evening, grad students from CNU that we entertained when they were summer interns at SDSU,  invited us out for a Korean meal. Lots of food and good conversation during dinner, then on to a coffee house for dessert and more conversation. Very fun.

And now, here's the "New Twist On Two Old Favorites"
I know we seem to be obsessing about food, but Friday Doug and I did have a most unusual lunch. As usual, our lunch tray was bedecked with a variety of interesting food items, but two stood out in particular. In the middle of our tray....egg salad. Now I know what you might be thinking, but re-adjust your thoughts. Literally, we were looking at a lovely green salad, fairly large, with a cold fried egg sitting on top. That;s it...greens and a cold fried egg. And on the left side of the tray, we spotted french fries! Yes, french fries, but... these fries were combined with a smattering of green beans, carrot strips and a "mystery ingredient", squished together into a clump, dipped in some kind of batter, and fried again. Admittedly, most creative are our Student Union 3 Korean cooks.

A new twist on 2 old favorites (egg on a salad [top] and french fired medley [left side of tray]) 

Then Friday evening Doug and I attended a Korean "folk dance" at the Daejeon Cultural Arts Center. The building itself is pretty spectacular, and the evening was very Korean and very entertaining. We had wonderful seats, compliments of the professor who choreographed the dance. Based on a traditional folk tale, this particular dance was being performed by other dance companies in various Korean cities, so we're assuming it's something Koreans are familiar with. "Rose and the Mating Dance" was the title of the performance, and the audience seemed to know who the characters were and what the story was about. Doug and I did a lot of guessing and wild speculation, then went home and looked it up on the internet.

Daejeon Culture and Arts Center Complex

Finally Spring Comes to Daejeon - At Least for a Weekend.

Here they are - scenes from spring's arrival at CNU. Lovely pink and white cherry blossoms, elegant white magnolias, and bright yellow forsythia have braved the inconsistant weather to show their colors. Doug will tell you, walking to work is like walking through a painting.

Magnolia blossoms

Forsythia

Cherry Trees

And coming soon, the azaleas.

A Trip to Independence Hall

Doug's class met earlier last week, so Friday we hopped on an express bus and headed for Cheonan, a city of about 200,000, and then on to Independence Hall, located about 30 minutes outside of the city. Built in 1987, it was built to "help people reflect on Korea's sad history and the importance of nationhood." Comprised of seven large exhibition halls, a 4-dimentional theater, 93 monuments and memorials, and situated on 4 million squae meters, it takes a good day to explore. We had a beautiful day (the nicest Korean weather-day so far) and a wonderful time meandering through the grounds and in and out of the various halls.
After spending the day here, one fact remains very clear. Their loss of sovereignty from 1910 to 1945, has left Korea with a fierce sense of pride and the importance of maintaining their independence. I'm guessing China and Japan would take issue with some interpretations of what happened during Korea's 5ooo  year history. However, whatever side you way in on, the facility itself is most impressive and informative. We had a delightful day.

Korean Flag

From this point we are already halfway from the entrance. In the background is Monument to the Nation. This monument, resembling praying hands stands 19 stories high.

This monument along with the Reunification Monument portray the desire for peaceful reunification of Korea.

The size and beauty of this structure is inspiring.

Reunification Monument (points look like they almost touch, representing the two Koreas so close yet not one country).

Beneath the points is the reunification bell.

Grand Hall of the Nation (15 stories tall and as large as a soccer field)

Schools of Koi. Many over 2 feet long.

 

Korea's Declaration of Independence. Take note of title: Title is in English everything else is in Korean.

Two more examples shown below.

This notice was posted last week on the door to the foreign staff residence. No one knew who it pertained to. We assumed it was not us.

Above is CNU's Spring Arts Calendar. When you open it everything is in Korean.

Informational Odds and Ends

Here are some interesting odds and ends we've learned or observed.
Knowing that English is taught here from KNDG on, we've wondered why our CNU students seem so ill prepared. Easter Sunday, a young woman from the states sat behind us. A math teacher in the US, she arrived  in Korea and was given two weeks of ESL training. Now she has 19 classes a week - 35 students in each 40 minute class - and each of those classes meets only once a week. She was told she could expect to make good progress with 50 of her, by my calculation,  665 students! This may not be how it's done in every school, but it does offer possible insight..
We've already mentioned how neat and "clean" everything looks. The explanation - workers! We see people everywhere, picking up litter, sweeping the walkways, trimming trees, reparing loose pavers.... Saturday morning I came out of our dorm, and there she was - a worker - cleaning our granite entryway and sidewalk with a broom and a water bucket. I headed for the steps going down the side of the "hill we're on" - another worker, bucket and broom in hand, cleaning the steps and the pavers below. "Workers" and that's what they're called, are numerous and are what we would call "unskilled labor".

A Korean Swifter

Cardboard collector (You see them all over town!)

That being said, we already mentioned how impressed we've been with how conscientious CNU students are about recycling, picking up their trash, etc. Well,with the onset of warmer weather, groups of students have been gathering on the lawn to talk, study, and, at night, party. Friday was our warmest day so far. Below is a snapshot of what we saw as we walked around campus Sat. morning.

Friday night remains. At least some put their garbage in a pile.