For those of you that didn’t know I was in the Philippines recently for my winter vacation and I have to say I absolutely loved it!!!!  Well that is except for Manila...that is one creepy city.  I actually didn’t spend that much time there but made the most of it nevertheless.

We spent our very first night in Manila at a small place called the Green Mango Inn.  It was fairly close to the airport and was actually in a neighbouring suburb of Manila.  Neighbourhoods in the Philippines are quite different than we are accustomed to in Canada...well in most western countries really.  “Safe” neighbourhoods are walled or fenced and the only way to gain entry is trough a guard station.  The closest example I can think of to something back home would be the gated communities found in the suburbs of many larger American cities.  Beyond the walls surrounding neighbourhoods many properties are also enclosed by a security fence complete with heavy duty locked steel gates.  I know...sketchy.

I have to admit that I felt very uneasy as we traveled from the airport to the Green Mango Inn.  But once we arrived at our destination and met some of the people there I felt more at ease.  When we got to our Inn we quickly put our bags in our room and headed out to the patio to relax and have a few drinks.  That’s when we met a guy named Nietzsche and his girlfriend Crystal (to be honest I cannot remember her name...but it might have been Crystal...it was something like that).  Shortly after meeting our new Filipino friends someone decided to ask about Balut, a favourite local delicacy.  In short Balut is a thee week old fertilized duck, chicken or the less common turtle embryo.  The embryos are formed with all the normal appendages that you find on a young duckling or chick, like the legs, partially feathered wings, complete with the beak as well!  The partially formed skeleton of the embryos is what gives the Balut its distinctive crunch.  I will admit I did not try the Balut.  I just could not get past the pungent odour.  It kind of smelled like a foul combination of old rotten egg and sweaty foot...not cool.  Here are some Balut pictures...BUT... be warned...they are not for the faint of heart...or stomach.

Here we see the duck version of Balut...see the duck bill?  This is not what we got.

 

Here they all are...strange colour but Johan does not seem to mind.

Andrew, Ryan and Judy...they said that the flavour is kind of like a regular egg...which made me ask...why not eat a regular unfertilized egg?  Maybe Balut stems from accidental fertilization...it is a heavily Catholic country and contraception is a no no...even for chickens and ducks it seems.

 

Do I regret not trying it...well...yes... but if I could smell it right now I know my answer would change to no right quick!!!!  Until next time.

I blogged about Kimbap a long while ago but here is a new twist on one of my favourite Korean foods.  My buddy Andrew told me once that he likes to eat his tuna kimbap with McDonalds french fries.  I thought he was joking.  I discovered a short while later that he wasn’t.  Now my first instinct was to turn my nose up at the combination.  In the end I tried it…and he was right.  Kimbap goes amazingly well with french fries.  Maybe it’s the salt or the fry grease…who knows but it works.

America and Korea...buddies forever.

In Korea most schools run something that’s called English Winter Camp.  The camp is voluntary and is intended as extra English instruction but in a more casual and fun format.  Scott (the new English teacher) and I were determined to make sure the kids did nothing but have fun.  So we designed a camp that was filled with games, activities and prizes.  Here are two of my favourites and some highlight pictures.

Day One – Egg Drop

Who doesn’t love dropping and breaking things?  Well I guess a cleaning  lady wouldn’t BUT kids love it…and so do I so what better way to start camp than to break stuff.  For this activity kids were provided materials with which they had to design and built something to protect their egg from a 3 story fall.  AWESOME!!!

  

 

Day Two - Sandwich Making Contest

Sandwich contest was so much fun.  The kids had to make a recipe based on the available ingredients and then build a custom sandwich.  Once everyone was done they got to taste the other teams sandwiches and score them based on criteria.  Kids make weird sandwiches.  

 

Random Highlights

 

  

I almost forgot about this!!!  So when I was visiting the Myeong Dong Cathedral it was during the holiday season and they were in the process of setting up a nativity scene.  This is what I saw…

…but something did not seem right.  So I moved in a little bit to get a closer look.

That’s when I noticed the problem.  Can you see it?  That’s right…the Baby Jesus is missing.  Now I realize that perhaps that the nativity scene may not have been quite complete yet but let’s get serious.  I think the following explanation for the missing saviour is FAR more likely.

So let that be a lesson to you all.  No good can come from gambling…particularly during Christmas.  Just don’t do it…you may just loose you Baby Jesus.

Just before Christmas I spent some time in a part of Seoul called Myeong Dong.  Now as it turns out this is one of Seoul’s trendiest shopping areas and a very popular place to bring a date…if you are Korean that is.  More on dating in Korea later. 

Shopping was not the reason that I visited Myeong Dong.  My Korean friend Juok told me about the Myeong Dong Cathedral and insisted that I had to visit.  Now it’s actually called the Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Myeong Dong but no one really calls it that…although I guess I wouldn’t know that for sure seeing as I don’t speak much Korean. 

Myeong Dong Cathedral is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Seoul.  Construction of the cathedral began in 1894 and was completed in 1998.  It was the very first brick laid Gothic building ever built in Korea.  The lack of experienced brick makers in Korea at the time meant that Chinese masons, plasterers, and carpenters had to be brought into Korea for the work.  I had to look that up…you are welcome.

The cathedral is also a very popular gathering place for protestors.  Which has been an ongoing nuisance for local shop owners.  Ah democracy.

 

I was also lucky enough to see a weekend wedding while I was visiting the cathedral.  I had to wait my turn to get this picture as there were hundreds of people with cameras gathered around me.  The cathedral is a very popular and much sought after place to get married in Korea.

Yes I know, I have been a very lazy blogger the last few months.  I have come to accept that I am a little bit of a hibernator in the winter, particularly during the Christmas months.  Believe me, I tried to drag my butt out of my apartment but my social life was not nearly as prolific as it was during the fall.  Blah blah blah…yes I know.  Anyway, despite my lack of posts I did manage to remember my camera every once and a while.  Here is the oldest picture on my camera…also one that I love.

Classic Korean signage!!!