Green Tea Fields

Standing in a field of green tea. Bliss!

Anne and I went to the Boseong Green Tea fields. I was reminded that before I came to Korea, I used to take so much solace in a warm cup of tea. There's nothing like sipping cares away with some green tea and a good book! I really need to start drinking again! Haha.

This was a cool mural at the bus station.

\ (^_^) /

We arrived in Boseong in the early morning and went to a nearby jjimjilbang. We soaked in a green tea bath that overlooked the ocean. The bath smelled so lovely, it was as if I was literally sitting in a cup of tea! Then we met up with Sara and Thalia, friends from our first training in Seoul.

We climbed up and around the hills of tea plants.

beauty!

I LOVED IT!

For lunch we had green tea enhanced everything...

green tea bibimbap

green tea namyeong

green tea jjajangmyeon

green tea rice

and for dessert, the best, green tea ice cream!

Before we left, we sat inside a little shop to sample the green tea.

Like a good cup of tea-- the day was simple, soothing, and perfect.

Filipino Friday Feast

I randomly met Aron after work one evening. Turned out, he's Filipino too! HA! We live in the same building, so the next day he invited me and a few workers to his apartment for a Filipino Feast!

Filipino stuffz. Didn't even realize how much I missed it!

We had chopsuey, adobo, beefsteak, shrimp, and rice.

These cuties-- Chris and Jane

And of course, dinner is complete with a cake from Paris Baguette.

What a treat it was, to have a little bit of home in my taste buds and in my belly! This was one of the best meals I've had in Korea.

Helpful Websites for Busan Newbies

This is a list of websites that I have found useful since moving to Busan. I hope it can help others out there as well. I will try to add and update as much as possible.


ESSENTIALS

• Busan Awesome. What I love about Busan Awesome is that not only do they have excellent blog post about the things to do, see, and eat in Korea-- they also have the links divided into the different city areas. Really easy to navigate through and super helpful. 

• Busan Haps. Busan Haps has up-to-date happenings and provide information for events, attractions, restaurant, and nightlife. Check out their monthly calendar for events!

• Korea Bridge. Like the Craigslist of Korea, Korea Bridge is an internet forum where you can sell things, post questions, browse jobs, and buy/sell used goods. I used this to attain most of the things for my apartment for relatively cheap or even free. People are moving and getting rid of things all the time.

• BGC Call Center. The Busan Global Center offers free phone counseling or in-person counseling by a bilingual counselor  to help foreigner residents. They helped me with a number of things ranging from purchasing my phone to finding local yoga studio. I can't believe this service is completely free.

FOOD AND PRODUCTS
Websites to help you eat and take care of yourself.

• iHerb.com. This website has over 35,000 thousand products including vitamins, supplements, natural health and organic items. Many of these products are difficult to find in Korea. You can enter my rewards/coupon code GLK339 and get $10 off your first order.

• Translation of Kimbap Menu. Ordering food here can seem daunting, especially without a guide or previous knowledge.  I found this blog post especially helpful when ordering at Kimbap Restaurants (similar to American Diners), which are found EVERYWHERE. Without this I would have literally starved my first month here.

LEARNING KOREAN
Websites to help start reading and learning Korean.

• How to read Korean in 15 minutes. A comic that can help introduce you to reading hangul. This was really well done and fun!
• Free Korean Classes at the Busan Global Center. Near Busan City Hall station they offer FREE Korean classes.  All you have to do is take a level test and buy the book. Click on the link under BFIA Korean Classes.
• Language Exchange Group. This is a link to Busan's main language exchange group, meeting weekly.

TRAVEL
Websites to help you travel in and around Busan.

• Korail Korea Railroad. Website for Korea's railroad.
• Jeju Air and Air Busan. International and domestic flights from Busan.
• Peach Air. Low cost carrier providing service to Japan.

BLOGS
Personal blogs from people who have lived and traveled in Busan.

• For 91 Days in Busan

Facebook Groups
Join a Busan Facebook group for activities and as a way to meet people and build a community. This is not an extensive list, search Facebook for more!

• Busan Bike Riding Club
• Busan Cinema Center
• Busan Day Trippers: Guided Walking Hikes
• Busan Pet Sitting Network
• Busan Salsa
• Busan Theater
• Busan Ultimate Frisbee
• Busan Urban Training
• Busan Veggie Club
• Busan Volunteer
• Busan Yoga and Meditation <3!

Time goes by...

My home screen on my phone.

In two weeks, John will be in Korea with me! 

In 100 days, I'll be in India. 

It's actually starting to feel like the end.

Kitchari

So a while back, I made a trip to Sasang's Global Markets. My spirit was feeling heavy and my body lethargic, so I wanted a bit of a pick me up. That's when I learned about kitchari, an ayrvedic detox meal. You can find countless recipes online, but I made a VERY simplified version of the meal for my own purposes.

First, I washed and soaked one cup each of batsami rice and yellow split dahl.

Next, I prepared two tablespoons of ghee and one tablespoon each of turmeric, coriander, and cumin.

In a pot, I heated the ghee (smells so amaaazzzzing!) and mixed in all of the spices. Then I combined the rice and beans in the ghee/spice mixture. Next, I added 2 cups of water and brought it all to a boil. Finally, I lowered the heat to a simmer and then let the mixture sit for 20-30 min.

the result

So, I ate this for five days straight-- breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes I added a pinch of salt for flavoring. Sometimes I ate the kitchari with green beans, sweet potatoes, or other veggies I had lying around.

The Good:
First, eating a mono diet made cooking SUPER easy. I got really efficient at preparing one meal. I could make large batches and store them easily in the refrigerator. In the long run, it also saved me money.

Then, after eating such blandness mush for almost a week, my taste buds were super heightened when I reintroduced my normal diet. Bibimbap had never tasted so good!

Finally, (and most strikingly) around the third day, out of no where-- I had an odd feeling of peace. I can't attribute it to anything external, since I was sitting on my couch doing absolutely nothing when I noticed. The feeling wasn't ecstatic or blissful, but rather a feeling of balance. I can only explain it as a "lack of want" that was neither happy or sad. I just felt fine for no reason. Which I realize now, is a feeling I'm not familiar with.

The Bad:
I didn't poop for 5 days! The diet is super low in fiber and (particularly with my vata dosha type) needs to be supplemented with A LOT of root vegetables or supplements.

The Verdict:
It was GREAT. I would totally do it again. I certainly felt a difference. During this time, I also cut out all caffeine, sugar, and processed food from my diet-- so that certainly could have been it as well!


Happiness or peace can't be forced, but we can create the circumstances for it to thrive. This can be done by choosing to take in what serve us... whether that be through our bellies, though our thoughts, through the words we read, or through the people we surround ourselves with.

Crepe Night

This was another board game night in PNU with Benny, Warren, and Nicolette. 

Nicolette taught us how to play Rummikub.

Afterwards on our walk home, we passed by a crepe hut. This is the second one I've seen so far. But it's basically a hut that serves crepes. 

OMG, I want one NOW.

Global Food Markets in Sasang

Recently, I've been researching Ayurveda, an ancient and holistic study of health and medicine. Ayurveda is about exploring and adjusting the ever changing balance of your unique constitution. I'm really drawn to Ayurveda because the science of it is based in the properties of nature and it is highly intuitive. I'm just at the tip of the iceberg in my learning. There is a mountain of knowledge that would take decades to learn properly.

Regardless, I was really excited to try out new foods and recipes based on my Ayurvedic constitution (I'm a Vata Kapha, if that means anything to anyone.) The only thing is, it is pretty difficult to find some of the foods and ingredients that are often used in Ayurvedic recipes in Korea. (Oh how, I miss the days of Berkeley Bowl!) However, there are two options that many folks in Busan use to get more specialized market products.

1. iHerb.com | This website has thousands of products including vitamins, supplements, natural health and organic items. They ship all around the world. You can enter my rewards/coupon code GLK339 and get $10 off your first order!
2. International Marts in Sasang | Luckily one of my friends who has also studied Ayurveda told me about these three markets that sell a variety of Indian and Asian goods.

I decided to peruse the markets one Saturday. On my way to there, I was stopped by the blaring sound of Bollywood music. I looked up to find this:

Now it has been a loooooong time since I've had really good Indian food, so I stopped dead in my tracks and immediately walked in. 

Interior had individual, comfy booths.

Bombay Spices was a little more pricey that I what I am used to paying (dishes running from 10000 won to 18000 won), but during lunch time they have a set menu for 9500 which comes with a roti and three different curries.

This was the set menu. They allowed me to replace the beef curry with a lentil dish. The food was really tasty! 

After a very filling and satisfying lunch, I walked to the markets and was pleasantly surprised.  Though small in sizes, they had tons of products and every spice you could want!

My favorite of them all was Asia Mart, which looked like it was own by couple who were very helpful and kind. They also have an online shop where you can order and have things delivered to your door the next day.

I came home with a bag of basmati rice, yellow split lentils, Quaker oats, ghee, and coriander for about 30,000 won. SCORE.

With these items, I am planning to go on a detox mono-diet of kitchari for a few days. But that will be a later blog post.

Directions to Bombay Spices
From Sasang Station take Exit 3. Walk about 5 minutes and it will be on your right. If you walk past Emart, you've gone too far.

Directions to Asia Mart
From Sasang Station take Exit 3. Walk about 5 minutes and turn right at the street before Emart. Walk straight for a few minutes and you will see two marts on your right.  Go around the corner and Asia Mart will be on your left. TIP: Ask about their online and delivery options.

Seedbed

My youngest class. Holy cow, are they cute?!?!

Yoga Flow and Glow

Callie, Andrea, and I led a three hour Yoga Rave Marathon to raise money for The Africa Yoga Project. Yoga and glow sticks are two of my favorite things in the whole world, so I was THRILLED that Callie asked me to be a part of this. 

I started the first hour with a Vinyasa Flow class set to electronic music. Callie followed it up with Africa Booty Yoga Dancing and Partner Yoga. Andrea ended with a beautiful Kundalini Dancing Meditation. Here are some highlight pictures.

Partner and Acroyoga

Kundalini Dancing Meditation