2011 Suwon Food Culture Festival

I had hanji on Friday which was the first day of the festival but Hannah, my hanji teacher's daughter got out of school early so we decided to check out the festival.  Since she was hungry we went to the food section first.

We found a tent with lots of food plated to look gorgeous.  I'm not just of fan of nonedible crafts, I also love and appreciate the work and talent that goes into food prep.  It is indeed a talent.  Unfortunity, it is one that I do not have.

The food looked good enough to eat but I think it was all artificial.  Making artificial food is pretty popular here and you will see it a lot in the window of restaurants.

They also had an assortment of amazing watermelon sculptures.  I had never seen anything like this in my life.  I'm just sad that the watermelon would eventually go bad:

I also was able to watch noodles being made.  It never ceases to entertain and amaze me.  I was able to videotape the whole process:

2011 Suwon Hwaseong Cultural Festival Parade

 I was thrilled that we were able to be in Korea for the Hwaseong Cultural Festival which included a parade that started on our street.

 We weren't sure exactly where it started but the last time we had lived here, it started at the Sports Center across the street from our apartment complex.

 We waited at the corner and found all sorts of activities.  Parade of the ajummas.

 This little one bored out of her mind.  The parade was suppose to start at 1 pm but it started about an hour late.

                          Some car owners really didn't want to listen or obey the police.

 We also saw what I call Korean's version of Moses.  I have no idea who this guy is but I've seen him several times around our apartment building always wearing the same outfit but carrying the same stick.

 We figured out that the parade route had changed and it started right in front of our apartment building.

 I never knew BP was not only into petroleum but horseflesh as well.  You learn something new every day.

                                                               What a nice big sister.

At the end of the parade was a bunch of foreigners.  I had never seen so many foreigners here in Suwon ever.  There sure weren't many of us in 2007 when we first moved to Suwon but boy have things changed.

The parade was much shorter than previous years but still a lot of fun.  I got separated from Rocketman and ended up with some ajosshis that were feeling no pain.  One brave ajosshi came up to me and asked me in English if I was Russian.  In Korea, that generally means he's asking if I'm a prostitute.  I told him in Korean that I was an American.  He decided to hang out with me anyway.

Here is some video I shot of the parade.  You can see in a lot of the video that my ajosshi friend and his buddies were having a great time at the parade.

Visiting a Korean Dentist

You can read about Rocketman's first dental appointment here.  His second appointment was the root canal.  They didn't give him enough novocaine so it was pretty painful.  I asked him why he didn't stop the dentist and tell him (this dentist speaks some English) and he just didn't.  I think he didn't want to appear like a high maintenance American.  This visit took a little over an hour and cost 86,000 WON ($80USD). 

They didn't want him back for the crown prep for a few weeks but Rocketman wanted this over as soon as possible and so he had his third visit the very next day after work.  This visit he was told was for the crown prep and it took a whopping  two hours and a cost of 440,000WON ($400 USD).  A dental assistant put the numbing jell in his mouth and then the dentist came in to start drilling.  Luckily, this time Rocketman did speak up and told him he wanted novocaine. 

After the crown prep there was much discussion about the type of crown he should get. They really wanted him to get a gold crown which was something I hadn't heard of since the 1960's.  They told him it would be good for our children meaning when he dies, our kids could cash in Dad's crown.  I can't imagine what that would cost today with the price of gold.

He had to get our friend Jennifer on the phone because they just wouldn't order the porcelain crown.  They said it would break and the second choice was white around the sides and the entire top was dark gray.  No, Rocketman wanted the porcelain crown and when they still wouldn't agree, he opened his mouth to show him one already in his mouth from our dentist from the U.S.  Only then did the dentist agree to the porcelain crown.

He goes back in two weeks for the crown and we'll see how that goes.  The video above is of the aquarium in the dentist office.  The jellyfish are artificial but they do seem to move like a jellyfish and it gives you something to watch while you are waiting.  I only went with Rocketman to his first visit and he didn't want me there for the others.  Apparently I make them nervous with all my questions.  I just want to know what they are doing to him, that's all.

Hanji - The Korean Medicine Cabinet Part 10

 Today in hanji class, I glued all that hanji homework I had done over the last few months to the medicine cabinet.  These were the front doors of the cabinet with the paper I had cut out glued in place.

                                  Next I had to position and glue the top piece I had cut out.

                                       These were the two sides waiting for me to glue next.

 This is a photo of the top waiting to be placed on the cabinet while I was covering the top with glue.

                                                           Here is the top finished.

                    Here is the front of the medicine cabinet.  I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

 This is a closeup of the front.  My homework from last week was placed around the opening of the center.

I got all the Chinese characters cut out and now my homework is to cut them out 1 mm from the edge.  I have class on Monday but pojagi and miniature homework plus the festival is going on so we will see it I get it all done.  I'm getting anxious to see it completed. 

Korean Miniatures - Rice Cakes and Fish

 This is what we are making this session of Korean miniature foods class.  I also found out that they are offering a new class in November, Korean Tol (First Birthday Celebration).  I am so excited and if you are wondering what that will involve, you can go here to see a sampling of the food I will be making.  Coincindently, we have a tol that we will be attending in a couple of weeks and you know how much I adore babies. 

 Back to this class, the first thing we made was a fish.  This started with a ball of clay that we shaped into the fish.

             Then came four coats of paint in varying shades to get just the right look.

                                    Then we used a knife to cut out the stomach.
 The rest of the class was all about dduk which is Korean for rice cakes.  They come in all sorts of shapes of and sizes.  We made some of the most popular kind.

 This is pumpkin that will be sliced up and used in one of the dduk.

This is the dduk I came home with.  Next Thursday is my next class.  Rocketman is at his third dentist visit and this one is for two hours.  He won't be home till late and he has a teleconference with the U.S. at 10:00pm.

Tomorrow I have hanji class than Nan wants me at her place to attend the big festival that is going on.  I can't wait!

Chilbo Class (Korean Enameling)

 This week Nan was very busy getting ready for the huge festival that will be held at the Hwaseong Fortress.  It is running from Friday through Monday.  Nan wants me there every day to help out and she said that it was good for business to have a foreigner around.  The picture above is some of the things she was working on.

                                                                 Here are some more.

 Then it was my turn to work on faces.  I need a lot of practice and I had a lot of fun.

                                     She made all my faces into rings, pins and barrettes.

                                                         These are the rings I made.

I also noticed my two jewelry boxes in the window.  They will be heading to Insadong next week for the Korean Enameling Associate Exhibition.  I'll also be heading there next Wednesday to check it out.

                          Nan also had some of her latest creations in her window display.

Tomorrow is a full day at miniature class and Rocketman has his third dentist appointment in as many days.  I'll blog more about that later.

Day of Appointments

 Rocketman decided to take the day off to visit the dentist and to get a flu shot.  I also needed a flu shot and I had an appointment with my dermatologist.  Rocketman had texted Jennifer, one of our Korean friends, to call the dentist first thing when he opened at 10 to see if he could get an appointment today.  Rocketman has had a sore tooth for some time and I told him he didn't want to wait until he woke up in pain and with a swollen face to finally address it.

So he went with me to the dermatologist which is close to the dentist we had used when we lived in Korea the first time.  While we were there he got a call from Jennifer saying that the dentist was booked but to go anyway.  Koreans rarely make appointments so that is no big deal.  He went over while I waited for my appointment at the dermatologist. 

About 15 minutes later I get a text from him saying he was in a chair and getting numbed up.  He was going to have one or two root canals and one or two crowns.  What!!!  I also needed to go to the bank so he said to go to the bank and meet him at home.

We got home about the same time and all the dentist had done was grind his molar flat.  In the U.S., they have also left a nub where they could glue the crown.  He didn't have a root canal, that was it and the cost was 56,000 WON ($50 USD).  He will need to go back a total of 4-5 times.  He has another appointment for late in the day tomorrow.

They told him he would be pretty sore when the novocaine wore off and boy, were they right.  By then we were in a taxi on our way to a hospital in Suwon to get flu shots.  Rocketman's company offered discounted shots but we had to go to a specific hospital.  We found it with a little help and made our way to the counter.  Rocketman had his company nurse on the line to explain everything and that helped a lot.  We got the forms filled properly and  then we were taken to a doctor who spoke English and who asked the usual questions.  She also took our temperatures.

We then were guided to this plush waiting room you see above.  I wish we had waiting rooms like this.  It was so comfortable.  It was also pretty quiet. We waited a few minutes and then a nurse appeared calling my name.

 She led me into this tiny room, too small for even a chair and gave me the shot.  Rocketman followed.  We then found a Dunkin Donuts because that always helps when you have a sore tooth, right?  We then caught a taxi back to our apartment.  All told, we were home by 3 pm.
 Rocketman was in a lot of pain and took a little nap.  He also took some Tylenol.  My original dinner plans took too long to prepare at this rate so we ordered some delivery, "Mexican Chicken."  It's sweet and tangy and delicious.

 We also had some of Hellena's mother's white kimchi which was delicious.  She had sent it to us all the way from Busan.  I never knew you could mail kimchi but it arrived in perfect condition.  Tomorrow I have bojagi and chasu class in the morning and chilbo in the afternoon.  It's going to be a busy day.