Sorry, Mister, I’m Not Santa Claus.

Today at about 4PM, I had a little run-in with the native fauna of Itaewon. Standing on the subway platform, I was engaged in a rather spirited discussion with an Asian lady-friend of mine about white dudes with samurai swords and their wanting to show said swords to Asian ladies (verdict: creepy and thinly-veiled). Apparently, I and my loud American voice were attention grabbing because a festive gentleman approached us and joined our conversation. And by joined, I mean totally interrupted.

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HCB’s Guest Post: Squid Jerky and Two Months in Korea

Our second month living in Korea flew by so quickly we barely registered our two-month anniversary last Monday. Instead of marking the occasion with something special, we just lived our lives, which is probably accomplishment enough: DME went to his Korean class; I graded papers and attended an electrifying department meeting. These days, the actual activities of making a life are absorbing more of our energy and attention than arbitrary dates and anniversaries. We’re not counting days and weeks here, and that’s a huge step. Well…I am marking our 60 days in a special way, with this little guest post.

Mr. Pizza: A Menu Planned by a Five-Year-Old, Executed by a Multinational

Last week, HCB and I had the great pleasure(?) of experiencing the Korean culinary phenomenon that is Mr. Pizza. A friend of ours (Ms. Temple!) suggested a visit to Mr. Pizza for the ongoing Korean scavenger hunt that is our lives. I was actually already well aware of Mr. Pizza because during the live StarCraft Tournament, a commercial for the popular Korean chain restaurant played repeatedly during the breaks between matches. The product being offered: Lobster Pizza.

Scavenger Hunt Task 6A: Non-Korean food in Korea

Back in California, I eat two types of food on a weekly (daily?) basis: Chinese food and Mexican food. Considering the geographic and historical context in which I now live, I invite you, Dear Reader, to wager a guess as to which of these dietary pillars is harder to come by in Korea. Need a hint? There are no tortilla chips in the supermarket.