Owner: The Constant Crafter - Living in South Korea URL:http://meverden.blogspot.com/ Join Date: Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:11:07 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: An American crafter living in Suwon, South Korea for three years learning culture and Korean crafts. Site statistics:Click here
Crafty Kids in My Building 2007-11-06 00:38:00 On the ground floor of our apartment building is a children's arts and crafts school. It's never been open when I passed by but I've peeked in the windows before. Last weekend the school had a sidewalk display of the student's artwork. I even found polymer clay as you can see in the photo above.This art was created with paper.More polymer clay along with ceramics.Amazing paper folding.This was my favorite. I'm living with a bunch of talented kids. I would love to volunteer at the school so I'm going to try and catch it open. Let's see what happens! Read more:Crafty
, Building
A Bouquet of Maedeup 2007-11-12 03:24:00 This is a pin I made in Saturday's maedeup class. Our Saturday class is really growing, we had four brand new students. The maedeup shop owner came in and taught the newcomers. Read more:Bouquet
Health Issues in the News 2007-11-09 01:13:00 Recently, research company AC Nielsen conducted a survey of 26,486 people in 47 countries including South Korea. South Korea had the largest number of people suffering from colds, headaches, indigestion or toothaches during a month long timeframe.Surprisingly, 50% of the Koreans polled stated they suffered from a cold while 50% stated they had suffered from headaches and 49% had suffered from digestive problems. But Koreans are not afraid to go to the doctor, 43% stated that they see a doctor when they are sick. This reminds me of when my husband suffered from food poisoning a month ago and missed a day of work. His Korean co-workers asked if he had gone to the hospital to see a doctor and were surprised that he didn't. Apparently, if you are too sick to work, you need to see a doctor.A big concern with hospitals is a growing lack of surgeons. The Korean Surgical Society reported that 71.4% of hospitals managed to meet the minimum requirements for surgeons this year. They also Read more:Health
, Issues
Two Months of Maedeup 2007-11-18 03:23:00 This knot is comprised of the knot used in the bouquet below, but constructing three knots in a row.The knots are getting quite difficult and I find the hardest part isn't learning the steps of the knot, butthe the tightening you must do finish the knot. I'm forever losing track of where I'm at in the tightening process only to end up with a mess. It was a frustrating week of practice for me and I even got so mad at the maedeup I sent it sailing across the room. Curt came home to one crabby Becky a few times this week.But then you see what we made in class Saturday and the frustration has been forgotten. This took us about three hours to complete and our fingers were sore from all the work but to see what we had made left us inawe.This is a closeup of the necklace. We were so excited and proud of our work today that we went out to dinner at Dos Tacos. Curt and I had been there several times but my Korean girlfriends had never been there. We had a delicious meal and the girls were su Read more:Months
Korean Christmas Cards 2007-11-15 23:43:00 Why is it whenever I go to our local Home Plus (like a Super Target), I end up buying things I didn't even know I wanted. They had put out a huge Christmas
card display and I just couldn't pass it up. I wasn't going to send out cards this year, but as you can see, I changed my mind.I love the one with the kids in the Hanboks.Maybe I won't send any out and just keep them all for myself.I was told that Christmas wasn't really a big holiday for Korean
s. Hmmm, maybe they are feeling theeffects of the Western influence.I really just want to frame these. I think the checkout lady thought I was crazy. She had to countthe number of cards I bought twice. Read more:Cards
The Carol Duvall Show 2007-11-14 00:39:00 This time of year always makes me think of HGTV's The Carol
Duvall Show. I taped quite a fewChristmas segments and was also lucky enough to be on two of her Holiday Shows. It was some of the best times of my life and it was so hard to see it end. Carol and her staff became family to me. In fact, my first producer has become one of my closest and dearest friends.Carol has a new book out called "Paper Crafting with Carol Duvall." If you want to check it out at Amazon.com. Now, if we can just get her to write her autobiography. She has had a fascinating life.Behind the scenes, waiting for the taping to begin. The director is giving me some last minute pointers.This is one of the Holiday Shows and I'm just waiting to begin. The Holiday Shows were so much fun because they included a studio audience. The set was always so beautiful. Before my segments began and sometimes after, I had a lot of wonderful talks with Carol. She is still such an inspiration to me and a lot of other crafters. Th
What I Bought Yesterday 2007-11-23 02:46:00 What is this? Lipstick? No, I should wear lipstick but I don't. Pencil sharpener? Nope. Give up?It's a dojong, a Korean name stamp. Curt calls them chops but I think he got name from his travels in Asia.This is a picture of my friend, Ji Young as we watch the guy design the dojong. First, he types my name in Hangul (Korean written language) into a computer and the program gives me several fonts for me to choose from.A picture of the different fonts for my donjong. I chose the one in the second row, third in from the left. I thought it was the coolest looking.This is the machine that laser cut out my name. It took about a minute. The dojong was plastic but you can get them out of wood and even jade.Here it is done.This is my name in Hangul. I found it funny that they only use red ink when they stamp their names and since writing your name in red is taboo, I wondered at the contradiction. I asked Ji Young about it and she hadn't thought about it until I mentioned it and s Read more:Yesterday
I Got a Job! 2007-11-22 03:58:00 My Korean friend, Ji Young, found a polymer clay shop in her neighborhood. Today we visited the shop while a class was in session. They are using air dry clay. I was allowed to take pictures of only the work area. Apparently like the maedeup shop, they have a lot of "secrets." The walls were covered with shelves of clay figurines.Here a gal was working on a Santa figurine.She did a great job. I brought a long a few of my books to show the owner and she wanted to hire me to teach. I'm not in possession of a work Visa so it was decided to do a trade. They also teach Hanji. I am going to teach or help a children's class on Wednesdays and on Thursdays, I will be taught Hanji. A win-win situation.The owner wanted me to start next week but we are flying back to the States for three weeks in December and I'm working on getting things done just for that. We decided that I would start in January. Ji Young thought she should become a headhunter.
How "UnKorean" I Am 2007-11-21 03:03:00 A view of a Seoul subway. I'm in the foreground. How "UnKorean" I Am: 1. Sitting on the floor: It's so hard for me to sit cross-legged on the floor plus my rear end and legs start to hurt before long. Since most Korean restaurants are like this, I try to stretch my legs out under the table if possible.2. Chopsticks: Korean chopsticks are metal and much harder to master than wooden. I'm still a fork girl.3. Cutting in line: This makes me crazy and I will cut back if it is done to me.4. Rice: I love rice but not three times a day.5. Never leave home with being dressed to the hilt: Yes, I always go out wearing jeans not dress pants and sometimes I don't even bother to put on my makeup. I comb my hair, though and even curl it sometimes. I am knowingly committing a huge faux pas here in Korea.6. Always wear high heels in public: With the amount of walking one does in Korea, it's insane to me to wear anything other than comfortable shoes. My Korean girlfriends say all
How "Korean" I've Become 2007-11-20 01:44:00 Fall in Suwon, South Korea How "Korean
" I've Become
: 1. When greeting someone, I immediately bow. It's become such a habit that I don't even realize I'm doing it.2. I never leave the apartment without tissue in my purse. A lot of public bathrooms DO NOT have toilet paper.3. As soon as I enter an elevator, I press the "close door" button. I'm so impatient (like a Korean).4. I also never leave the apartment without an umbrella. You never know when you will get caught in a rain shower. It happened the other night when we were out with my Korean girlfriends. It was raining quite hard as we left the restaurant and one of my Korean girlfriends told me she was afraid the acid rain would make her hair fall out. We bought some umbrellas on the street for 3000 WON (3 U.S. dollars).5. When I see a Westerner (which is extremely rare where we live in Suwon), I stare now too!6. We are b
Maedeup Flower Pin 2007-11-29 03:02:00 Maedeup class was taking a previous knot called Garakji Maedeup and instead of tightening the knot, you loosen the knot until it is flat. The flower is made by creating four layers using different diameter cording. Then the layers are outlined in silver cording and glue gunned together to create the pin. It was pretty easy compared to the last few weeks. This week's class Curt is back to accompany me to Seoul and we WILL NOT be taking the 3000 bus. Standing one trip to Seoul was enough for me. You can relive that experience here.Also this week, the candidates for President of South Korea began campaigning. On my walk to the grocery store, I noticed two sets of "cheerleaders" across the street from each other swinging pompoms to the music of their candidate. The music was blaring from both sides so loud and distorted that it was hard to understand any of it even if I did understand Korean. Candidates are only allowed to campaign publicly 22 days before the election. I wish we
Dinner with My Friends 2007-11-27 20:47:00 I went out last night to dinner with my Korean girlfriends. They came down to Suwon from Seoul after they finished work. The restaurant was quite fancy and the food fabulous. They were dismayed that I took a picture after we had finished eating. Korean food is prepared with a lot of consideration given to presentation. They thought it was awful to take a picture of leftovers. I told them it looks like a colorful abstract painting to me. This was the remainder of three courses.Some of the food I ate: raw baby crab, tender fish fillets with a red pepper sauce, bulgogi, squash soup, tender pork on a piece of kimchi with red peppered veggies on top, broiled clam with shrimp, garlic and cheese, some type of spicy tofu soup and of course, rice.Some of the food I couldn't (wouldn't) eat: raw baby squid and jellyfish (I didn't even know you could eat jellyfish).We talked and laughed well into the night. Whenever I'm eating at a Korean restaurant, I always feel sorry for the dish Read more:Dinner
, Friends
How Fast They Grow! 2007-11-26 02:07:00 It's hard to believe that our daughter, Laura, is going to be 23 and our son Luke will be 21 in a few months. The picture of Luke captures his spirit perfectly. He was such a little rascal and fearless. The years have flown by so fast and I wish I had been more diligent in documenting the years. I did manage most of the milestones but Laura's baby book has a lot more entries than Luke's. I must also confess that I have hundreds if not thousands of photos just waiting to be put into photo albums. I was smart enough to put the month and year on the envelopes when I would pick them up at the photo processing center. But now they sit in boxes in a closet. I've taken a peek into the boxes many times but the task still seems too overwhelming. It's on my "To Do" list. I also have old photos from the 70's and 80's in self-adhesive(peel back) photo albums and I heard years ago that they should be removed or they will ruin the photos. I better stop thinking about it.
Demonstration in Guui 2007-11-25 01:15:00 Curt is out of town for nine days so I made the track into Seoul (Guui Station) myself for the very first time. I got onto the bus to Seoul as we do every Saturday only to find that it was standing room only. This has NEVER happened before. If you knew the way Korean bus drivers drive you would understand when I say I was scared for my life. The stops which jar you out of your seat are even more terrifying when standing. When they take a curve, they seem to accelerate and I'm always surprised the bus doesn't end up on it's side. I hung on the overhead bar for dear life and prayed the entire 1 hour and 15 minutes it took to arrive at Gangnum Station. I was also "thrilled" that the bus driver had the heat blasting at 90 degrees so I was also dripping in sweat by the time the ride ended. The windows were so fogged you couldn't see out. There are quite a few stops before my station and I was "lucky" enough to snag a seat two stops before I needed to get off.Then it was off to the subwa Read more:Demonstration
War Museum of Korea 2007-12-03 05:15:00 The main entrance to the War Museum
of Korea
where you will find the history and artifacts of Korean wars.These walls list the Koreans killed in wartime.A ceiling in the museum. The Korean War Armistice Agreement signed between North and South Korea.Paratrooper Paratrooper's parachute. The Drop which is comprised of 1300 dog tags.
Feeling Silly 2007-11-30 00:36:00
Do you every have a song you just can't get out of your head? Well, right now, mine is Jermaine Stewart's "We Don't Have to Take Our Clothes Off." I don't know why I can't stop singing it.Maybe, it has to do with the knock on the door today. I learned last week that every ajuma (older Korean woman) who appears at your door is not necessarily a church lady. For the past week, I've been having the same ajuma knocking on my door off and on. I've been ignoring her until she left a note. I showed it to my Korean friends and they said that she was with the gas company needing to check if we had any gas leaks. She came a few days later and I let her in. She checked every gas appliance with her digital probe and wrote the readings down on a notepad. I guess they do this routinely every few months.So today when the doorbell rang, I answered thinking it must be something important. This ajuma came in talking a mile a minute with rubber gloves and a bucket in hand. Oh no! W Read more:Feeling
, Silly
Snowman Magnet/Pin 2007-12-06 22:19:00 Snowman Magnet
/PinMaterials:Polymer clay: White and orange2 "E" size black beads2" 2mm black Neoprene cording2 10mm red pompomsRound toothpickBlush and cotton swabGlue gun and glueRound magnet or pin backCircle template, optional for measure ball sizeInstructions:1. Flatten a 3/4" white ball. For the eyes, press the two black beads into the head. Use a toothpick to indent two squint lines by each eye.2. For the nose, roll a 7/32" orange ball into an oval and press onto the head under the eyes. For the mouth, use a toothpick to indent 7 holes in the shape of a smile. Use cotton swab to blush cheeks.3. Bake in a preheated 265 degree oven for 20 minutes and let cool.4. For the earmuffs, hot glue Neoprene cording and one pompom to one side of the head. Press and hold until the glue has cooled. Do the same with the other side.5. Hot glue magnet or pin back to the back.In the words of Ozzy Osbourne, "Mama, I'm comin' home." Tomorrow we fly to the States for a three week visit. I hope to po
Christmas in South Korea 2007-12-05 17:29:00 I thought I had seen everything when it comes to Christmas
decorating but this Christmas tree just inside a Lotte Department Store topped it all. I never thought to add legs to a Christmas tree. It sure caught our attention when we entered the store. Also, Christmas decorations didn't appear until after the U.S. Thanksgiving which is a lot later than in the U.S.My last maedeup class of the year. This is called Maehwa Maedeup and is also known as the Plum Blossom Knot. I don't have it quite figured out yet but I have video on how to create it. I will miss four weeks of classes now since we are going to visit back home for a few weeks. Read more:South
, Korea
, South Korea
Dan Fogelberg August 13, 1951 - December 16, 2007 2007-12-17 19:33:00
Dan Fogelberg, one of my favorite singer/songwriters died of prostrate cancer yesterday. The video is one of my favorite songs of his. His song "Longer" was sang at my wedding. It just makes me so very sad. Back in the 1980's when he was touring, he did a concert here in the Twin Cities. My husband just happen to be at a St. Paul hardware store when one of Dan's roadies came in looking for tools. We thought that was so cool! He will be missed.Well, we made it home and we arrived to find quite a surprise. I'm figuring out how to download my pictures onto my son's computer so you will have to wait a day or two. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. We have about five inches of snow on the ground and have missed a lot of the big snowstorms which is just fine with me. We also arrived to find out furnace not working properly and when it is 0 degrees Fahrenheit and you are used to 35-40 degrees Fahrenheit, you are freezing all the time. It was fixed without costing Read more:August
, December
Minnesota Not So Nice 2007-12-23 18:14:00 This was quite a surprise to walk into after a long plane ride. Apparently, my son who is almost 21 only washed what he absolutely needed during the 5 months we have been gone. His entire wardrobe is in this pile, excluding what he was wearing this day. His closet was a sea of empty plastic hangers. In case you were wondering, no we didn't surprise him with our visit, he was aware of our itinerary for about three months. We had quite the talk with him and are cautiously optimistic this won't happen again. (Yeah, right) It took two and a half days to get it all washed and dried. Oh, it's so good to have a dryer again. Curt (hubby) with our grandson, Noah. No stuffing there Noah! Another picture of Noah with Grandpa. I must say that I have strange interactions with Americans now too. Here are two since we have arrived home:1. I was entering our bank about the same time as an elderly woman leaning heavily on her cane. I held the door open for her and she gave me a dirty lo Read more:Minnesota
Girlfriends! 2008-03-11 23:57:00 Tonight I'm taking the bus from Suwon to Seoul to go out to dinner with my Korean girlfriends. My one girlfriend has had to work several Saturdays so she has had to miss maedeup class. I hadn't actually seen her for about three weeks. She called me up to say she had missed me and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. It was so sweet. The plan is for dinner followed by coffee at a coffee shop where we can talk and also work on our maedeup. One thing I have noticed here in South Korea is that dinner is for eating with very little conversation. The Koreans seem to always worry that they are taking up a table that another customer may want so there is no meandering through a meal. The coffee shops are for socializing and are usually packed with people. I'll make sure to bring my cam Read more:Girlfriends
Korean Folk Village - Part 3 2008-03-11 00:53:00 Of course, after touring the Korean
Folk Village
, I HAD to do some shopping in their souvenir shops. Do you have idea what that is in the picture above? I didn't but I thought they were cute. They are ceramic and hand painted.They are chopstick rests. I never heard of them but when I showed them to Curt (hubby) when he came home from work, he knew exactly what they were. Now, my mother would wonder what I am going to do with them. I'm not sure but they were so cool, I had to get them. They were 15,00o won ($15.00 US).I love boxes and one can never have too many! This one was so unique and beautiful. I thought to buy it for my daughter but I just had to keep it for myself.This is what it looks like opened up. The price was 35,000 won ($35.00 US).I love the hand painted Korean scr
Korean Folk Village - Part 2 2008-03-10 00:02:00 After lunch we continued our tour of the Korean
Folk Village
. The wheel wasn't actually turning but it still made a beautiful sight. I would not want white eyebrows! I thought this sign was hilarious. A woman making a Korean hanbok by hand. You seen hanbok stores almost on every block here in Suwon, at least the area I live in. Molds that were used to decorate rice cakes. I never did find the food if you wanted to increase your odds for having a girl. Hmmmm. While pregnant, if you dream of any of the items on the top row, you will have a boy. If you dream items on the bottom row, a girl. I just know that when I was pregnant with my daughter, I craved McDonald's fish sandwiches which I never liked before or after her birth. My son, I craved and had to chew ice, every waking moment. My jaws
Korean Folk Village - Part One 2008-03-07 17:53:00 Yesterday was the day for the Korean
Folk Village
. The village is a recreation of Korean culture in ancient times. I went with Mr. Choi and his wife from my yoga class. It was wonderful to attend with Koreans. I found most signs contained English which was really helpful. The Korean above was using his hands to stretch a sugary mixture into thousands of strings. He then added a sweet nut mixture and the strings were wrapped around a few times.Basket making.Fans.This is called a Dutch wife and I saw them throughout the village in various buildings. When I asked Mr. Choi what it was for, he said that in the summer when it is too hot to wrap your arms around your wife to sleep, you wrap it around a Dutch wife. It was much cooler during the hot summers.Pipes.I hate to see these at nigh
Dang! I Didn't Know Australian Cream Cheese Was So Expensive! 2008-03-06 00:38:00 I paid 7900 ($7.90 US) won for this cream cheese. The size is about 4" round and 3/4" thick. It's brand new in the cheese section at my Home Plus and I just couldn't resist. I also bought some bagels to go along with it. I have found very little cheese in South Korea unless it's pizza cheese (shredded mozzarella). I've been craving a flavored cream cheese and lo and behold, it was there. Now, if we could just get a "Chipotles" here I would be in food heaven. My trip to the Traditional Folk Village was cancelled because of the snow on Tuesday. The village would have been very muddy yesterday. We are going to try to go tomorrow. Yoga class was brutal today. It seemed a lot of the exercises were focused on the knees. My knees were like jelly by the end of class. My buddy left earl Read more:Australian
, Cream
, Cheese
, Cream Cheese
No More Snow! 2008-03-03 23:42:00 I had just gotten home from yoga today when the snow began. The actual temperature is in the low 40's so I was surprised that apparently, it is still cold enough to snow.A view looking down from my apartment. I worry about Curt's (hubby) commute home. The Koreans do not drive well in snow, although come to think of it Minnesotans don't either.Tomorrow is a big day for me. I'm going the the Traditional Folk Village with an older couple from my yoga class. He speaks English very well. I am thrilled to be able to do some sightseeing with Koreans. You learn so much more.A big day in yoga. I was finally able to count to ten in Korean without assistance. That got me a huge round of applause and I was so excited. In case you want to learn: 1 - hana, 2 - dul, 3 - set, 4 - net, 5 - daset,
What Does This Look Like To You 2008-03-03 01:16:00 We always get packets of tissues when we fill up our car. Usually, the advertising consists of the gas station's name. This week was definitely different. This is the tissue packet we received yesterday. Is it me or is the baby watering the flower? The inside of the packet. I find myself smiling for no reason here in South Korea.
Sunday Shopping in Suwon 2008-03-01 17:22:00 Stores here in Korea have some of the wackiest names I've ever seen.See what I mean.I didn't know underwear was a secret! Shhhhh.We met three new friends.I can't believe I paid 43,000 won(about $43 US) for this toaster. With the large selection of two models to choose from, I decided to go with the cheaper of the two. The other toaster was 89,000 won (about $89 US).I've missed making my own toast and just couldn't take it anymore. Read more:Sunday
, Shopping
Subway Warning 2008-02-29 03:03:00 We found this sign while waiting for the subway in Seoul last Saturday. The subways in South Korea are really safe for the most part. The only time I have felt uncomfortable is when we have had to ride the subway at night. There seems to always be a few drunken Korean men and they make me nervous. A few weeks ago, we were riding home from maedeup class when we heard an older Korean yelling. Apparently, a young man sat in the section that is designated for older and handicapped people. He did move but that didn't pacify this man. He was clearly drunk and continued his tirade. As we were exiting the subway, we had to walk past him and he reeked of alcohol. It really is sad to me that this type of behavior is acceptable and excused. Read more:Subway
The Must Have Winter Accessory in South Korea 2008 2008-02-28 01:12:00 It's the animal or character hat. I have seen both adults and children wear these hats. We had to buy this Winnie-the-Pooh hat and send it to our grandson, Noah. One of our gasoline attendants wears a wolf one and I always do a double-take when I see him in it. But I bet they are warm! Read more:Accessory
, South
, Korea
, South Korea
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