Sannakji - Things that Wiggle in Your Mouth

this dish gives a whole new meaning to live dinner.
it is living and wiggling.

here's what we did.

Line 9 - Tan Line Noryangjin Station (노량진역)

make sure it's the tan line, because the blue line only has one exit, as it's a very old station.
so, going straight out exit 6 of Noryangjin Station will nearly lead you straight to the Noryangjin Fish Market, one of the biggest and oldest in Seoul.

after going out Exit 6 look for the Familymart on the left, cross the street there. If you look closely enough you'll see a blue gateway to go under that will take you down through a tunnel and out right next to the market.

We stopped at one of the fish stalls selling baby squid, bought one and then asked the lady which restaurant to take it to. I'm pretty sure anyone of them will do it so you can just pick whichever... she pointed us back to the front of the market and said to go there.

Enjoyable, maybe for some. For the most part tasteless depending more or less which sauce you use. If you ask them they can cook what you don't eat up for you, which is also good.

Personally, I'm mostly only a sushi or sashimi eater when it comes to raw food. So while this whole wiggling in your mouth thing was new to me it was do-able. I wouldn't say that I'd just go out and eat it for a nice dinner though.

If you go, enjoy! It's fun!

myself giving it a go

mr. murphy was braver than i was, being the one to take the first bite!

path to the underpass and noryangjin fish market

"blue sign" - noryangjin fish market

this is our baby octopus

with-in moments of being placed on the table, the look of disbelief across stephen's face is priceless!

first taste

Gooooooood Luck!

home for christmas

i'll make this short and sweet since it's been done and gone now for nearly a month!

flights. layovers and dealing with LAX, finally 18+ hours later. i arrive back in the good state of michigan. driving up telegraph with my dad and brother, home to lake orion. what a strange feeling to still recognize something that really isn't familiar anymore on a daily basis. something like deja-vu, but more dream-like. although that feeling could have been the very weird jet-lag i experienced.

the eight days were packed full. literally, way, way to much food, albeit good stuff. always good food to be had at home, so much i can't even begin to list the things i missed that i ate, even now, knowing i hadn't even dipped into my intentional list of things to eat!!!

the first night i arrived i visited my old place of employment... moosejaw. a happier than ever i natalee greeted me with a few mutual happy-tears and we got to hangout for the entire evening. and the next week flew by in a blur. i acquired a new down jacket, hats and gloves, two new cameras (both thanks to my very loving boyfriend realizing my need for a decent point-and-shoot, and my amazing sister for doing the same as well), a couple of books and four lbs of fantastic coffee and teas! i saw friends, family and unexpected old friends.

it was strange to be back. see those who haven't left. those who have and came back to stay, and those who have left and like me are just coming back for the first time in a while to visit. the area hadn't changed much. a few shops moved around, stuff closed, re-opened and shuffled around. the mall as busy and skanky as ever. trips to different places seemed to take forever as i had to drive everywhere myself, and even driving itself was a new experience. no traffic... none comparatively, and the space! dear lord, i nearly had a panic attack with all the space that surrounded me the first time i got off the plane. no people, no buses, no taxis, no tall buildings... quiet in its own weird way. it felt strange and great simultaneously, and didn't take long to get used to, but certainly has left me wishing for more space now that i'm back alongside the giant monoliths, sounds and LED screens of constant consumerism.

thanks mom. thanks dad. see you soon shannon, brendan and reagan.
to all my family i miss and love you all. xoxo

the christmas tree

the village

blondie

a trip to the DIA

home

the somerset decor

reagan

just one more week

so it's the count down week here in lily class. yep christmas vacation is just around the corner and i've got everything all decorated. the hallway outside has been changed. all the kids have made ornaments for our tree, colored candy canes for the door, and we've even made a hand wreath to go around our window! they're really excited for the christmas party. santa is visiting. of course what child at the age of six doesn't get excited about christmas?! you forget that level of excitement after the 'long hard years' (giggle) without santa, and being around children only makes it more important keeping the secret... now i understand what conflicts my parents went through!!!
anyways, we've read the polar express, watched the movie, and even wrote to santa telling him what we wanted. i explained to them that if we didn't mail letters santa, wouldn't know what to get them, they each even made santa a shopping card (essentially a tiny pocket sized picture of what they wanted so he'd be able to find it or make it! something my mom had us do as children)... so, i sent a copy of each 'child's' letter home to the parents. then i encouraged the parents to put their own 'santa' letters in the gifts that they would open during the christmas party.
almost everyday after 'mailing' the letters, the friday week before the party, many of the kids would come up to me asking if santa got the letter. i kept telling them they would find out soon enough!!! i was thrilled when each parent hand wrote on a card or paper a reply letter to each of their children. it made the day just that much more thrilling for the kids who were really looking forward to it. a great classroom christmas' i've seen here in korea.

letters to santa, complete with colored envelopes and addresses

candy-cane door and wreath

no standing tree, but we had to have something!!! so i made one and then they made ornaments for it and on the day of the party we sang carols and put a star on the top!

our hallway wall

so with just a few days to go before i board the airplane home for my first christmas in a couple years, i have reminisced the childhood excitement of preparing for that day, but this time with a little bit of the bitter-sweetness an adult has of knowing the truth and for myself knowing that stephen will be here by himself though the holidays.

family is just around the corner, and sure we'll see how things are there. it's been a while, and it's bound to be difficult going back for just a short time. it'll be worth it and i think for me it's bringing back that feeling of excitement that christmas misses once you realize magic doesn't exist. as grown-up my magic has become airplanes and skype. hopefully i can close the gap between childhood and adulthood for just a little while.

merry christmas and happy holidays. x

november brings on Mo-vember

a simple enough statement, as murphy shaves a stash to fight cancer

Halloween School Vs. Halloween Weekend

equally as tough. grueling. fun filled... but with different scales.

halloween at school was an interesting time. as foreign teachers we were requested (i say requested meaning 'told') to decorate the library as a haunted house to incite fear and terrorize little children. the day was filled with kiddies running around dressed up to the 9's in all sorts of outfits you could imagine. it seems the traditional make-your-own-using-your-imagination costume has mostly been forgone in the speediness at being able to run to the store and just buy one. but, there were some good ones.

a scary mouth to duck under in the beginning

the work in progress

bloody signs

the 'gates' of the library

talking wall painting

our alien

haunted forest, complete with alien, grave stones, and random bugs flying around

pumpkin carving

lily class 2011

vampire and bumblebee

my favorite - the astronaut

to cute

howdy partner

twin brothers as buzz and woody!!!

after struggling myself to come up with a costume idea. i landed on frogger. however, it turned into just being a dead frog because after multiple attempts as explaining the meaning behind frogger itself and even showing my kids youtube videos... i decided it was just easier to explain that i was a dead frog, and not a video game they know nothing about. they thought it was funny enough though.

soon enough the weekend came and as all halloween weekends end up. it's worth a couple pictures of reminiscing at least.

woodstock - gangnam

so wait, that's a squid ring, are you sure?

let's just settle this now. yes, you ate a squid ring