And the snow, snow, snow came down, down, down and girlfriend started singing..
(I think I'm clever and that is all that matters.)
Maybe she wasn't singing, maybe she was freezing.
Either way we bundled up and head out to the Hondage area for a little Mother/Daughter fun!

                                                       The first stop on our list was the Hello Kitty Café! 
I've read about this place for years and really couldn't wait to go to the Hello Kitty Café. (Girl just came along for the ride.  She is a good daughter.) Not that I am a huge Hello Kitty fan, but because it is a HELLO KITTY CAFE. I mean Hello Kitty, whose real name is Kitty White was 'born' in Japan in 1974 and she is going stronger than ever here in Korea.  Not only are there 4 or 5 Hello Kitty Cafés here in the Seoul area, but you can find Hello Kitty on everything! Pens, pencils, erasers, backpacks, purses, clothes, mugs, key chains phone covers,  and just about anything else you can imagine!  I had to see what was so fantastic about the Hello Kitty Café.   The entrance is cute enough.

Here we go!

My first impression was that of disappointment.
I was expecting a 'sit down' dining experience.
The Hello Kitty Café is more of a 'coffee shop'.
You enter and the counter is right in front of you.
You place your order at the counter.
They were out of all the super cute Hello Kitty cakes I had read so much about. They young lady behind the counter said you have to come early to get the cakes, even though the store had only been open for 2 hours when we arrived.
Humm.
 Girl and I just ordered hot chocolate and coffee.

We took our buzzer and headed upstairs to look for a seat.

While we were waiting for our drinks we explored the place a little.
The Hello Kitty décor was cute and everywhere. 

After about 10 minuets our buzzer FINALLY went off.
How cute are these drinks?!

After one sip Girl said, "This isn't hot chocolate, this is warm chocolate."
She was correct.  Warm chocolate and coffee.

When we picked up our drinks we ordered a waffle. Koreans are CRAZY about waffles.  They don't eat them for dinner, they eat them for dessert.  True story.  (It only took about 5 minutes to get the waffle which was a HUGE improvement from the coffee.)

As we were leaving the Hello Kitty Café these two guys caught my eye.  They were sitting in the Hello Kitty Café with their computers spread out across the table and they were working.  IN THE HELLO KITTY CAFE.  If we were in the states I probably would have called the police.  I meant that is just weird.  But who knows, maybe they are the owners.  :o)

Pros:
Ridiculously cute!
Prices were pretty average for Seoul.
They deliver on Hello Kitty.
If you have a little girl that loves Hello Kitty, she will LOVE this place.

Cons:
It took a long time to get our drinks.
Drinks were warm, not hot.
Restaurant was dirty.
They were out of Hello Kitty cakes 2 hours after opening. 

I can now say I have been there, done that and don't feel the need to every do it again.

                                                               Next up, "Cats Living Here" café! 

Girl was super excited about the Cat Cafe!
I forgot she had never been to a cat cafe....remember her birthday?
Cat Living was about the same as the Cat Cafe in Myeongdong - 8,000 won for me, 7,000 won for Girl.  Plus you get a FREE drink - more coffee and hot chocolate :o) 

However the rules at this cat cafe were way more fun to read! 

Girl followed all the rules.

The cats at this café were SUPER LAZY.  Girl tried and tried to get them to play, but they would have none of it.

We hung out with the cats for about a hour before heading out to our next adventure....

Thanks Nature Café
No REALLY that is the name of this place.
Thanks Nature Café.
This place is a SHEEP CAFE.
Sheep, as in bahhh, bahhh....
SERIOUSLY, SHEEP. 
Are you as shocked as I am?
No?
You should be.

At least the sheep were not INSIDE the café roaming around.  They were in a little enclosure outside.  During the summer months they open the doors to the café so you can have more of an 'outdoorsy, sheepy' experience.

They left their food container outside near the pin so Girl started helping herself. 
The sheep were super nice.
Of course girl now wants one as a pet.

In between stops we did a little shopping, people watching and we took a few pictures for the "Not Quite Right" portion of the blog.  You will have to wait and see what they are, but for now we leave you with these....

This girl did not get the memo that it is the middle of WINTER!!  Temps are in the 20's!  Hello.  You know she was freezing.

I tried to get Girl to go check on the discolored Garfield to see what was wrong with him, but she was afraid.  :o)
We really thought his pink boots were a nice touch.

This is what we were walking on for most of the day.  Sheets of ice.

To get there by subway take line 2 to the Hongik University Station go out Exit 9 walk straight then turn left at the big street. Walk for a little while, you will pass Taco Bell on your right and then you will see a Starbucks Coffee shop on the left - turn right at this street go to the next street, alley and turn right walk until you see the street fork off to the left and go up a hill - take this hill - you should see Hello Kitty Café on left - about 2 stores past the Hello Kitty Café is the Cats Living here Café.

To get to Thanks Natural Café - continue on the street with Taco Bell and Starbucks. Cross over to the left side of the street.  You will see a long shopping center with 2 floors.  Thanks Nature Café is on the far end bottom corner.

Have fun!

Welcome to Korea where temps don't get much higher than freezing on any given day from Dec-Feb.
Yesterday it was actually warm, 34 degrees F, but it started snowing early in the day and it didn't stop till sometime in the middle of the night.
If I had not made reservations for the show Miso it is possible that last night could have turned into a  'Dexter' night.
(We just started season 7 of Dexter, and OH MY GOODNESS.  I'm so rooting for Dexter.  Don't judge me.)
ANYWAY...back to MISO!
Of course had to catch an outside train.
The deck was covered.

We took line 2 to City Hall Station and went out exit 2 (don't listen to other blogs, they renumbered the exits -WHY?!?!), this is what we saw to our left:  

And this is what we saw to our right:
The Deoksugung Palace.
(Doesn't it look magical with all the snowflakes?)

To get to the Chongdong Theater you will need to turn right at the corner of the palace and follow the palace wall until it ends - at this point you will come to a 't' intersection - you will see The Seoul Museum of Art on your left  - and a street on your right - continue going straight for about another minute you will see the Chongdong Palace on your right:

How it works...you make a reservation on THIS WEBSITE. 
You do not get seat assignments until you arrive at the theater and pay for your tickets.  The box office opens 1 hour prior to the show. There are 2 shows a day 5 & 8PM, ever day EXCEPT Monday.

Hubby and got to the theater early, paid for our tickets and headed out for a little grub.  We stopped at the first place we found a little Korean hole in the wall. (We continued walking straight past the theater and it was the first restaurant on the right.)  The food was YUMMY!    We got some kind of spicy boiled chicken.  (You will see the menu on the next "not quite right" post.)  This entire pot was 23,000 won and it was more than we could eat.  If we had not been going to a show we would have ask for a to go box.

            After dinner we met up with our great friends to get our Korean culture on at the Chongdong palace!
Miso is a love story set up in the Joseon Dynasty  - girl loves boy, another boy loves girl, girl goes to jail and is beaten because she loves the wrong boy - love prevails in the end!  The costumes are traditional, colorful and beautiful! The choreography was fantastic, the lighting great, the orchestra was spot on. There was laughter, crying and everything in between! There was Korean traditional dancing & opera style singing!  Just fun, fun, fun! Overall I think we all had a great time at Miso and would recommend it to anyone above the age of 12.  

After the show it was snowing EVEN MORE!  Here we are in front of the ice skating rink at City Hall. We considered skating, but the line was FOREVER long - we decided in the end that we will go during the day and take the kids...

Let me get a few things out of the way right off the bat:
1. Pictures are G rated.
2. I wasn't sure if I could take pictures or not, so I was trying to be sneaky about it.
3. Because of #2, the picture quality is VERY POOR.

Thursday night hubby and I had an impromptu date night.
Hubby knew I had been stressed an KNEW I needed a massage (since I kept asking him to do it) so he suggested we head out to the Dragon Hill Spa - aka - Naked Spa to me - jimjilbang to Koreans.
I was game until the little boys started fighting right before we left...I didn't want to leave them with big brother, Boy 1 during their fighting session but both Boy 1 and Hubby assured me that Boy 1 would be fine and had everything under control.  I, on the other hand wasn't sure I would be able to relax knowing there was turmoil in our house. 
But something odd happened as soon as we drove away from the house, those fears disappeared and I didn't think about it again until we got home and at that point all children were nestled, all snug in their beds.... (while visions of sugarplums danced in my head....)
The point - sometimes Hubby does know best.  :o)

OK...so we drove to the Dragon Hill Spa.
I can't give you driving direction yet - I'll get back to you.
Anyway - once you find your way to the parking garage, take a ticket - park - take ticket inside with you to have your parking validated.

Upon arrival Santa was waiting to greet us! 

Once you arrive it is 10,000 won to enter.
You get some groovy looking PJ's to wear in the common area and you get a locker key wristband. 
Your first stop is here:

The shoe lockers. 

Take your shoes off before stepping onto the nice floor and put them in your shoe locker. 
Your locker number will be the same for your shoe locker and your clothing locker.

After you put your shoes  away continue walking straight, then turn left up the ramp, then turn right to get on the elevator. Kiss your loved one good-bye.  If you are female take the FEMALE ONLY elevator. Male, take the MALE ONLY elevator. (Yeah, I think you could have figured that out on your own.)  Go to floor 3.

Exit the elevator and take a right to head to the lockers.
This is where you strip down to what you came into this world wearing.

OWN IT.

PRETEND you know what you are doing and that you are comfortable with your nakedness.

Toss your *little-bity* hand towel over your shoulder and strut your stuff down one flight of stairs to the 'wet spa' area.

If you brought your own toiletries take them with you - if you did not stop at the little 'concession stand' of toiletries before you head downstairs.  You can purchase items here at the spa.  I wasn't prepared so this is what I bought:

You don't need cash, just your wristband locker key.  

Everything you buy is scanned to your wristband locker key.

I felt these items were a little pricy and normally I bring my own things, but like I said 'impromptu' date night. 
Scrubbing pad was 1,000 won, face cleaner 1,400 won and shampoo 2,400 won.  So it didn't break the bank, but really 2,400 for shampoo?  Is there gold in it?  Is it even shampoo - it say 'hair pack' so I'm assuming, but really,  I guess I will never know for sure? It was thick and creamy more like conditioner...

Anyway, head downstairs and you will see a treatment room straight ahead....this treatment room is where you sit on a 'pot' and wear a big pink plastic cover (they type you wear when you get your hair cut). 
Don't go in that room unless you want to have your lady parts cleaned.
Turn right and go through the double glass doors.
Walk straight past all the naked people - keep going until you arrive to the area where you see ladies sitting on stools taking showers and scrubbing one another.
Find an empty stool, sit down and shower. 
Don't take a normal 'American style' shower where you are done in 3-5 minutes, you need to take SUPER LONG shower.  Scrub yourself, wash your hair, scrub yourself, shave your pits, scrub yourself, wash your face, scrub yourself shave your legs, scrub yourself...you get the idea. 
If you take a friend, you need to scrub each other.  No joke. Just go with it. 
I was by myself and I saw a little old lady eyeballing me - I think she felt bad for me because I was there all alone. If I hadn't got up to leave I think she would have come over and helped me scrub.  It's just their culture.  You help each other in the shower.
I showered and scrubbed for a good 15 minutes, but the ladies that were there before me were STILL there scrubbing and cleaning each other when I left.
I felt bad, almost dirty like I didn't clean myself enough.

After all the scrubbing I went and hung out in a couple of the hot tubs before meeting back up with Hubby in the common area.
 
The tubs range from FREEZING cold to BURNING HOT!  I did a little of them all.

In the 'wet area' you can get spa treatments - from cleaning your lady parts, to body scrubs, massages, facials and more  (read about my first adventure here).  The body scrub is 20,000 won and they remove several layers of skin leaving you feeling disgusted that so much dead skin could come off of you and you being to wonder why you didn't scrub your  own skin harder during the 'showering part'....after your scrub you check to make sure you have skin left and when you touch yourself you wonder why you don't get this done more often.  Your arms feel as smooth as a baby's bottom.

After a little relaxing in the hot tubs downstairs I went back to the lockers, put on my rockin' PJ's, grabbed my Kindle and headed upstairs to meet up with my boyfriend.  :o)

I snuck this picture in the girls locker room.

When I headed to the common area I found Hubby half asleep in a massage chair.  He wasn't ready to eat so I head in for a sports massage in the common area.. 

This is the entrance to the massage area. 

I had a 60 minute sports massage for 60,000 won.
It was WORTH.EVERY.PENNY.
After my massage I found hubby and we headed to dinner. 
There are 3 restaurants in the spa.
We chose the Korean restaurant:

Mmmmm, dinner! 

So even though we didn't spend a lot of quality time together during this date we still had a wonderful time.
If you choose to come to the Dragon Hill Spa for date night there is a ton to do.  
In the common area they have a movie room, sleeping room, all kinds of saunas, an internet café, a swimming pool, play area for small children, 3 restaurants, a couple of snack bars, TV's, a big room with heated floors for you to lay on and read or eat on.  They also have the treatment room for massages, facials, manicures, pedicures and more.  There is a gym and a driving range!  I think you have to be a member to use the gym & driving range, although I am not sure. You can spend an entire day OR night here.... 

In the end we ended up spending:
20,000 won entry free
And then our bill for dinner, massage, toiletries, massage chairs ended up being right at 90,000 won. 
Parking was free.
So in the end you can make this as inexpensive or as lavish a trip as you would like.  :o)

I think I want to go back next week....
Anyone want to go with me?

PS....weekend and weeknights are super busy - daytime is less busy.

A few notes to make you giggle.

This one made me laugh every time I saw it. 
They were redoing the sidewalks near our house.
They poured the concrete with the timing so perfect that when the children got out of school the cement was like a blank canvas for any artist that sauntered by and really, who can resist a blank canvas?
You would see the poor guys out there smoothing it out a few hours after the kids got home and then after a few times of smoothing it out they decided to add this sign to all the barricades. :o) 
This went on for months.
Good stuff.
I love it.

The next few signs were found at the zoo.
Seoul Grand Park.

Most of the time you can figure out what a sign means, but this one?

It was THIS COLD.  Not a SINGLE person in sight. 
But I promised.
And a promise is a promise.

Boy 3 and Hubby were sick - (Ha!  I have my doubts...I think they just knew how COLD it was!)
So I was on my own with Boy 2 & Girl.
Our first stop was Dunkin' Donuts for hot chocolate.
And because of it,
Boy 2 sported that 'soul patch' all day long.

Girl didn't believe me when I told her how cold it was.
She chose not to wear a hat or gloves.
She thinks she is invincible.
I chose not to fight that fight.
Plus, she brought her own money.

They don't have to tell us twice.

Sheep herding in Korea.  
A very common site.
I'm sure you have heard of this.  :)

How cute is this?
Flamingo hearts.

"I can ignore you just as well as your children can."
Said the meerkat

This freakish little dog/wolf was so cute.  He was tossing that ball all over the place. And he was SUPER fast.

This freakish little dog/wolf was is so cute. 
Soul patch and all.

Notice the hat and gloves?
She didn't last long before she broke down and bought them.

He is just funny.

After years of coming to Seoul Grand Park, I finally convinced the kids to go into the Botanical Garden section.
I promised them warmth. :o)

I've always called them 'my little monkeys'.

Hours later Boy 2 finally cleaned his face.

A fun day with fun kids.

Seoul Grand Park

Price:
Adult 3,000
Youth 2,000
Child 1,000
Sky Lift:
Adult 5,000 one way, 9,000 round trip
Youth 3,500 one way, 6,000 round trip
Child 3,000 one way, 5,000 round trip
Elephant train
Adult 800
Youth 600
Child 500
Parking:
small car 4,000
large car 9,000
Hours:
Summer                            (March ~ October) : 09:00 ~ 19:00
Winter                             ((November ~ February) : 09:00 ~ 18:00
Night                             (July 17th ~ August 31st) : 09:00 ~ 22:00
To get there:
By subway, line 4 Seoul Grand Park station, exit 2

A few more not quite right moments for your enjoyment.

I wish I had taken a picture of the entire vending machine - get your snacks, gum and condoms all in one place.
This vending machine was located in the subway.

Who doesn't love a little 'Sweet Corn of Milk' ice cream?

Stainless Steel Scissors?

Not sure I will be using Lee's "Dehtal cllhic"

While I am on the topic of Mom & pies, I should go ahead an post her "PeCAN" pie.  This is another pie that SCREAMS the holidays for me.  Now, I don't love pecan pie as much as Chocolate Meringue but it is way up there ranking as  my 2nd favorite holiday pie.  This is Momma's EXACT recipe and it is SO easy you will want to run straight to your kitchen and bake one!  

3 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup white corn syrup
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup of pecans
1 unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 375.
Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl.
Stir in sugar, syrup, melted butter and pecans.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until you can gently shake the pie and the pie will not move.  (Your pie needs to be firm in the middle!)

Let the cool for 30 minutes.
Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. 

Side note:
My mom used to make this recipe stretch into two pies. 
Pecans were expensive and she had LOTS of mouths to feed. 
I prefer it a bit thicker so I only make one pie out of it.

                                                       As many of you know my mom has Alzheimer's.
                                                                  (Just FYI, Alzheimer's SUCKS!)
Before Alzheimer's took my sweet Momma from us (she is still alive, but anyone that has lived through Alzheimer's will know what I mean when I say Alzheimer's took my Momma - and sure we still get glimpses of her but it is not the same) she was an amazing cook.  She was a back home, country girl cook and with 10 kids in tow (that's right, that was NOT a typo - I have 9 siblings!) and she could make a meal stretch.  I swear one cup of beans would feed our entire family for a week.  (Oh goodness, I see this post going in a different direction - back on track =  Chocolate Meringue Pie - that is what we are talking about.)  Growing up I LOVED the holidays. We may not have had much in the way of worldly possessions and I may not have loved that meatloaf Momma always cooked, (give me her fried chicken ANY DAY OF THE WEEK!) but when it came to Thanksgiving and Christmas my favorite thing ever was Momma's homemade Chocolate Meringue Pie!   She always made the pies a day or two ahead of time and she would 'hide' them on the washer and dryer.  I would go look at them and ask her if I could PLEASE have a slice, she always said "No, those are for Thanksgiving - you need to wait."  It was TORTURE.

As the years went on and I grew into an adult and moved further and further away from my home and started missing more holidays at home I tried recreating the chocolate pie for my own family.  I remember the first time I tried to make Momma's pie, I was living in Colorado Springs - I called Momma on the phone and she walked me through making the pie, a pinch of this, a pinch of that, and let it bubble, if is not sweet enough just add more sugar, pour in a little more milk....that pie turned out so awful I had to throw it out.  Mom had a talent, I was fearful I did not.   I didn't try to make Momma's chocolate pie for many years to come.  I knew the next time I went home Momma would make one for me.  The years passed, mom made pies for me and I didn't bother learning.  Then one year it was clear to me that I needed to learn, Momma's memory was slipping and she had stopped cooking.  She couldn't remember how to make the pie.  She couldn't even remember what was in the pie.   My sister and I pulled our resources and I started experimenting.  It took a couple of years but I finally did it.  I have recreated Momma's Chocolate Meringue Pie.  Now I cook a little like Momma used, a little of this, a little of that..... but I tried very hard to put everything into measurements for my children so that they to can make "Momma's Chocolate Meringue Pie" for their families some day.

Momma's Chocolate Meringue Pie:

3/4 cup of sugar (a little more or less depending on how sweet you want it)
1/3 cup of flour
sprinkle of salt
2 1/2 cups of milk heated (Momma would say "Scald the milk in a pan on the stove")
3 egg yolks (save the whites for the meringue)
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa
3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 TBL melted butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pie shell baked (Momma always bought the frozen pie crust that were already in the tin pie pan - I haven't seen those in a LONG time!)

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In cereal type bowl whisk egg yolks (save the whites!)

Put sugar, flour, salt and cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat, gradually whisk in hot milk.  Once all milk is mixed in continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken.  When mixture thickens add about 1/2 a cup of the cocoa mixture into the egg yolks (in case of curdling you have not lost your entire cocoa mixture!)  and mix.  Once the eggs and cocoa have been mixed well add the egg mixture into the saucepan and continue to whisk until the cocoa mixture start to make big bubbles - continue cooking for about 30 seconds while bubbling.  Remove the cocoa mixture from heat and add the melted butter, chocolate and vanilla - mix well.  Pour into pie shell.

Meringue topping:
3 egg whites
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Using an electric mixer beat the egg whites on HIGH until they start to thicken and form peaks when you pull the beaters out of the mixture.  Once it starts to thicken gradually add the sugar and vanilla (still on high).  The meringue is ready when you can make firm peaks with the egg whites. 

Add meringue to the top of the chocolate pie, spreading out with a spatula. 

Once the meringue is spread evenly and all of the chocolate pie is covered make peaks. 

The best way I have found (this is the way Momma used to do it too - and I tried many different ways - proving that moms do know best!) is to use a regular ol' kitchen teaspoon.  Using the backside of the spoon gently smack it down on the meringue and pull it up quickly with (only using your wrist) and you will create delicate little peaks (pictured below and above).

I start making the peaks by working my way around the edge and then moving to the center.

When peaks are perfected put this bad boy in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes (give or take a few depending on your oven) or until your peaks a soft brown.

This is the hard part:

Cool the pie at room temperature for NO LESS THAN AN HOUR.  4 hours is better. The chocolate filling needs to set. 
If you CAN'T wait that long go ahead and dig in, it won't be set, but it will still be super YUMMY!

This one wasn't set all the way, but I couldn't wait.

This one was almost fully set:
Either way, it is good.
Just eat it.

This post was about so much more than pie so I am going to continue on with another little story about Chocolate Meringue Pie.

I just like my mom made the pies a day in advance for Thanksgiving.
Just like me, Boy 2 can't resist a good Chocolate Meringue Pie. 
Boy 2 just like me wanted some the night before Thanksgiving.  But just like my mom did when I was little, I told Boy 2 -"No, those are for Thanksgiving - you need to wait." 
Boy 2 couldn't resist and I found this:

Now, I hate to admit this part: 
I yelled at him.
"Why on earth would you do that?  You KNOW these pies are for Thanksgiving!  I can't believe you would do that!"
He ran off crying.
He hid in the bathroom.
I started thinking.
And feeling bad.
It's just a pie.
I hated having to wait for pie at Thanksgiving & Christmas.
After all we are teaching our kids to be thankful for what they have. 
Boy 2 is thankful for pie and he loves his "Momma's homemade Chocolate Meringue Pie". 
I thought to myself "What is the big deal?  Why did I freak out over something so little?"
At that moment I went back into the kitchen (took a picture of the pie with my phone), and then cut a big ol' piece of pie, the piece he stuck his finger in and put it on a plate and went and knocked on the bathroom door.
Through the door I said "I'm sorry I yelled at you, please come out, it's not a big deal, it is just pie and we have 6 of them in the kitchen."
He ignored me.
After a few minutes of pleading with him and telling him over and over how sorry I was, he FINALLY came out of the bathroom.
I hugged him and gave him the piece of pie.
The grin on his face was priceless.

And now a new tradition was born into our home.
I told Boy 2 that I was glad he stuck his finger in the pie because now every year the night before Thanksgiving I want him to find the pie he wants and to stick his finger in it.
When I find the pie he stuck his finger in that will be our Thanksgiving Eve pie.

Since arriving back on the peninsula in June I have wanted to learn to make kimchi.  Something I NEVER thought I would say a few years back!  You see kimchi is something many American will turn their nose to and say "OH YUCK...I don't want to eat something that has been put into an urn and buried for awhile so it can turn rotten."  And to be honest, before I moved to Korea the first time back in 2008 I said the same thing.   It's amazing what living in a country and opening your mind, heart and taste buds can do for a person.  I will admit that it took a long time for me to like cabbage kimchi (I liked the cucumber and bean sprout kimchi right off the bat) and I had to try cabbage kimchi many times before I could actually say I liked it, but I think that has more to do with the cabbage than the kimchi.  AND there are many different types of kimchi - there is the kimchi that most American's think of - the type that is fermented, it takes about 2 weeks to prepare, but most Korean's don't bury it anymore, they have Kimchi Refrigerators they put it in.  That is right a refrigerator dedicated to JUST KIMCHI so the smell and the taste doesn't seep into your other foods.  (And I have recently just learned that a kimchi refrigerator is very much needed as our piano teacher brought us a bunch of this type of kimchi and our entire house smelled of kimchi until it was all gone.)  Another type of kimchi is fresh kimchi - this is my favorite type of kimchi.  Fresh, you make it, you eat it.  No fermentation required. 

SO, when I heard there was a kimchi making trip to help the orphans and elderly I was in!  On November 7th I hopped on a bus and headed to  Paju, South Korea to help make 6,000 heads of kimchi!  I was totally psyched - I get to learn to make kimchi and I get to help people in need!  It's a win, win!
 

As soon as we arrived Stanley and I got dressed in our green apron and pink gloves and headed straight to work!

This is the line I worked on.  Sweet little Korean ajummas were showing me how to open the leaves and pat them down with the filling....

This is the filling stuff you put in between the cabbage leaves.

While I was working this lady came into our line and worked right beside me.  She had a camera crew following her around, turns out she is the wife of some big wig - maybe equivalent to a mayor - anyway, she worked by me for a little while, I met her and her hubby and who knows, maybe I was on Korea TV....

Quality control.

The kimchi we made was D E L I C I O U S ! While we were working people kept putting food out on the kimchi table - they put out steamed pork and before I knew what was happening the ajumma I was working beside was wrapping some up in the fresh made kimchi and shoved it in my mouth!  Yum-o! I loved every second of it! 

My work here is done.

Even though I had a GREAT time and am very happy to have helped those in need, I still don't know how to make kimchi!  They had everything prepared before we arrived - I just helped put it together.