Just Fail.. It's cool ;)

Fail!!! What!?!? Yes, just do it! Fall flat on your face! Why? WHY would I say a terrible thing like that?? Well you see, I have had this realization recently that the world (well, maybe just me) is so terrified of falling on our faces or doing something not quite perfect that we don't try or we don't jump as high as we could, we hold back, and don't challenge ourselves to go for those all the things we love because we are just scared of failing.And this is frankly, dumb. What's so wrong about failing? Really? I mean what is going to happen, if one day my pictures are crap, if I look stupid on the dance floor, or if I get a 'B' on my exam (yes, I admit, I was one of those annoy 'A' student)?If I fail, the world won't end, everyone won't hate me. I won't have to give away my camera, burn my dance shoes, or ride the short bus for the rest of my life. No one wakes up just taking amazing pictures or composing musical masterpieces. You have to learn, and you learn by trying. If you try hard enough to learn you will fail many times, and that is OK. It's awesome actually. It means you have pushed yourself so hard that you could fail and when you fail you have this incredible opportunity to grow! Just like when you lift weights. The goal is to push your muscles so far that your muscles can't lift anymore, and in that instance when your muscles are too weak to lift any more, when they fail you, they are too tired for any more, this is the point when your muscles actually will become stronger.So I know we're in April, and the whole new year's resolution is so 4 months ago, but who cares? There are still 8 more beautiful months of this year left.. So this year, I want to propose a challenge to myself and everyone who is holding themselves back because of fear of failure.. Please just let go and fail!!!!Push yourself, scare yourself more and more, take yourself to that point of failure and let yourself fail. Then do it again. We'll still love you. Go learn to dance, cook a souffle, travel to Europe, or better yet invent a pineapple tree that grows in the arctic (OK, that last one was my selfishness coming through). You'll probably be terrible at first, and your souffle will look like I jumped on it, or you'll look as graceful as an elephant with four left feet on the dance floor, but you'll get better and better and then you'll be Fred Astaire. So Just Fail!So my first point of this challenge? Well I only have 4~5 months left in Korea and I have made a list of what I want to accomplish in these next months of my life... All of these are scary things for me to attempt, and even scarier to put them online. I tend to keep my goals all locked up in my journals, so if I don't ever get around to attempting them, I only know. However, this is a new year of going toward my fears. No more excuses!Challenge #1 Be more open!So here is the dastardly list. Short, Sweet and Scary. What would your list look like?1) Submit my pictures to a magazine that I like2) Collaborate with another artist(fashion designer, make-up artist, etc.) on a Photography Shoot3) Do a Fashion Shoot in Seoul4) Start a CREATIVE bi-weekly self-portrait series (all turn the camera around/in the mirror pictures are banned!) with Mandolyn McConaha in May.5) Finish learning to cook all of my favorite Korean dishes.6) Continue and Finish a Medium Format Portrait Series on my little Orphan Boys (Much more on them later)Finally this is my first attempt at using a Medium Format TLR Camera! I got a lot of uh blurry, underexposed, fail pictures, but I got some that I liked too. Using the camera was such a challenge, a totally foreign experience, but really fun all at the same time. Expect more TLR Pictures in the next few months. :)

My Crazy Cooking Mission ~ Part 2!

 

It was a mad Wednesday morning! I had had no coffee; I had just one hour before I had to go to work to create 3 different Korean masterpieces; and I hadn't even gotten out of my pajamas!This  Wednesday Cooking Mission? Bean Sprout Panchan, Sauteed Seaweed and Fried Tofu.Could I, would I make it? or would I fail and be miserably late for school and be sent to the principle's office to stare at his white concrete wall? Please God, NOooooo! ::inge shudders as she thinks of the last time that happened!:: I had no time to dilly dally, fart around, smell the roses, nope. none of that crap!. There was no time to quench my thirst or to run to the loo! I barely had time to swallow my own spit, but lucky I managed that task because drool is just gross.So as I was furiously washing, chopping, frying, and crossing my legs and jumping up and down so I wouldn't need to go to the water closet, my computer rang! Low and behold it was my sister Emmy calling all the way in Amer-i-ca land. She was making an Indian curry for dinner at that very moment!Sigh, my heart melted! In fact, it melted straight onto the floor. What a mess! So as I was cleaning up my heart from my floor, thank God it's linoleum!, she proceeded to ask me of life and how to cook her curry.As I made up fantastical stories of my Korean life full of daisy picking and the proper method to follow her recipe (basically recipes are dumb), I scrambled to chop pounds of garlic, onions, bean sprouts, sea plant and whistle in order to distract myself from using the powder room..Somehow in that hour, I managed to not only talk to her,  but make all of these dishes perfectly (ok, ok, you're right, one dish was over salted~it tasted like I a glass of sea water ~ but sea plant is supposed to taste like that, right? ), then I managed to eat everything in record time.  I'm a champion food chewer, but my jaw is still sore from all the bean sprout chewing, I put my shirt on frontward and got to work on time! It was a rock star kind of Wednesday. Well except I never found time for the whole bathroom break...Ok, so here's my list of Korean food that I have committed to cook before I leave the land of Kimchi and Visors.. And my progress so far!My next mission? Well my Napa Cabbage Kimchi is getting quite fermented. In fact, it is almost 2 months old... I am so proud, my little baby is growing up! So I am thinking about a nice pot of Kimchi Stew.. What do you think?1) Kimchi (√cucumber, √cabbage, and spinach)2) √ KongNamul Banchan (Bean Sprout stir fry)3) √ Yuk Gae Jang ( Spicy Beef Stew) Probably my new favorite soup!4) Kamja Tang (Pork Back and Potato Stew)5) Dak Dori Tang (Spicy Chicken Stew)6) Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)7) √ Seaweed Salad8) √ Sauteed Sea plant 9) Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)10) O jingo Chae Mu Chim (Seasoned dried Squid) So delicious you don't even know!11) √ Pan-fried Tofu12) Spicy Mackerel Stew13) JangJoRim (장조림)14) Spring BanchanLet the cooking continue!view my portfolio here

French Toast and Funny Faces

Sunday Morning, just as we were getting ready to eat massive amounts of French Toast at BUTTERFINGERS, the best breakfast place in all of Seoul, Seo Yeon marched up to us, a group of 6 very funny, very strange foreigners, and decided to join us for an hour long chat about life., Well actually, all she really wanted to do was laugh at us and our funny faces. :) I can't blame her because our faces are ..eh...Well. there IS a reason, I don't put my face up on this blog very often. I'm protecting the little ones. You should thank me and send gifts to show your appreciation. *Don't worry, the gifts don't need to be in the form of money, just fruit. I have a gift registry at fruitisamazing.com ~ I'm not picky, Pineapples, Pears, Mangos, let your imagination run wild! :)view my portfolio here 

A Magic Salad Invention!

My favorite thing in the world to do is open up my refrigerator, grab all the ingredients that look and smell somewhat edible, wash, chop, shred, tear, and beat them silly, throw everything in a bowl, put some oil and vinegar it and then Say Abracadabra!, Open Sesame!Then! I walk behind a black cat, glue together a broken mirror, close an umbrella indoors, sprint under of a ladder, and unspill milk. I do all of this while praying to the salad gods that magic will occur. This morning it did! Woot, woot!It was a crazy concoction, and it actually workedA Coconut, Sesame and dried seaweed salad topped with two delicious eggs! Amazing. Who would have thunk that it all these flavors could be such fabulous friends? not me. I should unspill milk more often!

For all of those curious here are the magic ingredients : Amounts subject to personal taste. More of what you like, less of what you don't or in my case a lot of everything! :)1) your favorite greens: lettuce, spinach, etc.2) chopped cucumbers3) halved cherry tomatoes (optional)4) the secret ingredient (look in your international grocery store) --> crumbled dried seaweed (Korean name: Miyok)5) sesame seed oil6) toasted sunflower seeds or sesame seeds7) toasted unsweetened coconut flakes8) 2 perfect sunny side up eggs

Only 5 little months left.....

Can you believe that it is the second to the last day of March and that spring will be gracing it's lovely face on South Korea very soon? Yet, what is much more crazy is that I only have 5 months (really 4.5 months) left in Korealand! I can't believe it. I have been here for over 1.5 years and now I only have 4.5 months to go! Part of me can't wait to bust a move and leave the land of fermentation and urbanization in the dust as I head for some tiny, whole-in-the-wall countryside town, where I'll know my next door neighbors by name, speak the local language and run to the sounds of birds and crickets. But then there is that other part of me that has started tallying and making lists of all the things that I have left to learn and all the places yet to go and most importantly all  of the food left to try.So in my haste to fill up the next 4~5 months with as much learning as possible before I head of to...??? (I'm thinking I might close my eyes and pin the tail on the world map and see where the pin gets stuck. No dart throwing for me, I would for sure miss the map, or hit Russia dead center, because you see, my throwing capabilities are probably on par with how good Richard Simmons is at straightening his hair. So I prefer the pinning proposition, that way I'll be sure to aim somewhere in the world that is both warm and tropical. Join me for Christmas in the tropics anyone? ) But back on task. So one of my goals before I pack my backpack? Learn to cook Korean food.I have decided that every Wednesday night I am going to cook at least 1 Korean dish that I don't know how to make yet. So tonight, which was a Wednesday. What was in order? Cucumber Kimchi and Seaweed Salad.. Yes, yes they sound terribly gross and disgustingly healthy, but really all Korean food sounds this way. So don't worry about the name, just taste it and your mouth will thank you and do a happy dance, and then you will know why I have been able to live in this arctic zone for the past 1.5 years.And of course, here are a few pictures to prove the validity of my cooking mission :)

Here are the links to the recipes if you want to taste the amazingness.Cucumber Kimchi ~~> Tip : I added a splash of sesame oil to finish the Cucumber Kimchi, the oil really takes the kimchi to the next level by mellowing the spices a bit and nuttifying the dish. http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/oisobagi-kimchiSeaweed or Seaplant Salad ~~> Tip: I added julienned cucumbers and carrots, and quartered cherry tomatoes for an extra burst of flavor... http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/miyuk-gukAnd Finally here is the list of the Korean foods that I am determined to learn to cook before I leave.. (all the √ ones I have completed) These shall be conquered with the help of the Korean cooking master of www.maangchi.comYes, yes, I admit that almost all of these foods sound really weird and icky, but just wait until you taste them, then you will stop all your wasteful doubting.1) Kimchi (√cucumber, √cabbage, and spinach)2) KongNamul Banchan (Bean Sprout stir fry)3) Yuk Gae Jang (Spicy Beef Stew) Probably my new favorite soup!4) Kamja Tang (Pork Back and Potato Stew)5) Dak Dori Tang (Spicy Chicken Stew)6) Kimchi Jjigae (Kimchi Stew)7) Seaweed Salad √8) Sauteed Seaplant9) Soondubu Jjigae (Spicy Soft Tofu Stew)10) O jing-go Chae Mu Chim (Seasoned dried Squid) So delicious you don't even know!11) Panfried Tofu12) Spicy Mackerel StewLet the cooking begin!

Three Cheers for Fermentation!

This past week I moved one giant step closer to becoming Korean! No, I didn't dye my hair black, and I haven't suddenly become good at math. It is much more serious than that! I am both proud and ashamed to say I am have made Kimchi all by myself. Kimchi for those of you that don't know, is Korea's miracle food. Akin to Manna from Heaven, butter on bread, hot fudge on cake, but in a very healthy, garlic breath sort of way.They (the Koreans) say it (kimchi) will cure any aliment from a cold to the worst of cancers. This is perhaps why Korean hikers pack in pounds of kimchi from Korea when they go on treks up the Himalayan Mountains? You know just in case one of your limbs falls of due to frostbite or the werewolves, you can always rub some kimchi on it, then you'll be fine! This stuff will regenerate limbs! Incredible. Watch out doctors, you'll be out of business once the Kimchi mania spreads to the West!Every Korean meal by law.. er practically... must, I repeat MUST have kimchi.. So what IS this 'kimchi'? Well simply put, it is a mixture of Garlic, Chile Powder, Onions, Soy Sauce all smash together and then slathered onto a poor unsuspecting head of Napa Cabbage. The cabbage is then promptly thrown into airtight Tupperware, refrigerated for weeks or months on end in order to properly ferment and sour. The more fermented it is, the better chance of re-growing limbs and having 10/14 vision.. Errr.... on second thought due to the massive amounts of bi-focals I see in Korea, kimchi must not help the eyes. You think maybe they should consider fermenting carrots instead?p.s. If you're up for the Fermentation challenge here is the recipe --->http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/kimchi-kaktugi it's so easy and delicious, in a special fermented kind of way.

The Coolest Boys Eva Eva

I'm the lucky girl to have these two as my brothers. They really are quite the bomb dot coms. I'm not really sure why they even hang out with me or are my facebook friends. Do you know dear reader? I'm mean really I'm the geeky, huge camera toting, Korean, Mexican sister who can't seem to stay in the US of A long enough to do a load of laundry. Do you think they bother to put up me because I bribe them with food? Yes, yes that must be it!

Food really is a magic tool of manipulation. If you look at any great feat or massive betrayal in all of human history you know what is the motivation for it? A tasty meal. You don't believe me? Well let me explain.. Do you know the real reason Moses had the strength to cross the Red Sea? Not because he was a super human, no, no, it was because there was a pipping Chick-fil-a Chicken Biscuit waiting on the other side, Two of them! I swear it is true just look it up in the Bible. Totally there. It's there. very much there :)

And do you know why Brutus betrayed/killed his super tight friend Julius Caesar? Not because he was power hungry. He was just hungry and his mother promised to make him the best TexMex food known to man WITH extra cheese and cilantro if he stuck it to Caesar. Yes, yes, I know that they were Roman and didn't live in Texas or Mexico. And Texas wasn't even founded until much later, but you see his mother was so ahead of her times, she knew TexMex food before it hit Texas. And so there you have it my friends, the enchilada is what did Mr. Caesar in. Poor guy. You know if they taught the true history behind Caesar's fall in schools these days, more kids would stay awake in school. And that's what's wrong with the education system these days!  Hey but at least I have cool brothers. I hope you do too or at least a good cup of hot chocolate with a little cinnamon in it :)

Oh! how I love the Mountains and Pumpkin Pie too!

The mountains in Nepal are pretty much the next best thing to dark chocolate and pumpkin pie. If I could have had the foresight to bring a pie with me to Nepal, I could have eaten it while hiking the mountain then I think I would have dropped dead on the spot from happiness, maybe next year. Have you ever been to a place where you felt just an overwhelming sense of peace and clarity? For me this was the Nepalese mountains. and imagine if I had brought a pumpkin pie with me on my journey to Everest Base Camp? Wow, I think I could have found the cure for cancer!I even tried to take a mountain back with me to South Korea, but the guy in airport security said that it clashed with my outfit and the fashion police in Seoul would not have such a lapse in fashion sense enter their country. I rolled my eyes better than a teenager, but gave in and allowed him to take my precious hunk of rock from me. ::sigh:: Next time I think I'll wear more of a neutral color and see if I can sneak it past the guard. I've just got to figure out how to fit it through the airport scanner.. hmm. any ideas?Before I'm off to start my Saturday morning here in Korea, I wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! It is really the best holiday of the year, and I'm am really very sad that I missed the opportunity to stuff my face in the USA with my beautiful family. ::inge proceeds to shed 2 tears:: <---- See I even shed virtual tears - 2 of them! - to let you know that I am not lying..I'm such a geniune person..::inge sighs and then sheds yet another tear:: I hope it was a lovely day for you all, and that you entered into a proper food coma., and that you ate more pumpkin pie than I did. [for my Thanksgiving day breakfast I ate 1/16 of a pie-it's like eating gold, delicious gold!]. But this begs me to ask? Where was my airmail package of pumpkin pie? Huh, huh? I'm not bitter.. NO.. not at all. so NOT hurt for not getting ANY pie not even a pie-scented card. rude!On Thursday here in Korea, it was a coincidentally the day of my school's fall festival. Can you guess what I made my kids dress up like, and perform for the entire school? 10 Little Indians. That's right. I was going for the most politically incorrect song possible. I would have dressed them up like 10 little pumpkins pies, but unfortunately there were no songs about pumpkin pie to justify my infatuation with the decadent dessert. Next year I'm writing a song to honor this golden, sweet, custardy disc of deliciousness. It will be a mad bestseller. I can already feel it. Ohhh... it's going to be good :)  Well that's all for me now, please have a lovely black Friday in the States, score brilliants deals at the stores, but more importantly make me proud by eating loads of leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner, ok?

The Great Escape!

Mandy and I did it! We escaped Korea for a few short weeks to experience the beauty and intricacies of Nepali life.. How did we manage the escape, you might be wondering? Well see there is this new crazy invention, called an air-O-Plane. Have you heard of it? You see it wonderful! And by-golly it took us all the way from Korea right to the heart of Nepal.. Snip-Snap. Like a dream - BoooooM - Bamb! - Well quite dreamy other than 2 super long, food-less layovers in a China and then a very hearty frisking at the Tibetan border.. Ummmm, can you say Awkward?... as in awkward Turtle - (for all of the high schoolers who know the turtle well).During the Escape, I managed to grab a few photos that I thought maybe you'd want to see or not, depending on your general mood and your current Starbucks intake for the day.Below are photos from Kathmandu the capital city of Nepal, we were held captive by the city for over 4 days until the weather gods allowed us to fly our way  into Lukla, Nepal - by a sweet helicopter! - to start our 8-day, 75 mile trek to Everest Base Camp and back., but more on the mountain later. There will be more Nepali photo craziness on the blog this next week that is coming up. I Swear. Pinky-Promise, spit on my knee and then I'll even kiss my elbow. :)

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Spiders, Sweat and Elbows

My sisters, Anna and Candace, and my friend Tim (not shown --- the photographer) came to see me in Korea! Oh we had a fabulous time.. Thank- you for coming guys! More on that later but now for the...... --->

Random thought of the day.. Doesn't it feel good to sweat again? I mean really sweat??! The drip, drip with no dry kind of sweat? In honor of delicious, hardcore, nasty, sticky sweat I have compiled a list of some of the reasons I love Summer.. So far 20...AND more to come  >.<1) Sweat2) Watermelon even if it is $8.00 and Strawberries3) Fresh squeezed sour/sweet Limeade from Mexico... My Mexican mom, Zoila, you have made me a spoiled Mexican food brat... I thank thee :)4) 5:30 sunrises and 9pm sunsets5) Outdoor theaters. great time to nap outdoors because who are we kidding? You can't actually hear the movie anyway :)6) Summer dresses and flip-flopsOh, Oh... making Koreans uncomfortable by showing a little elbow (yes, yes... I know, I'm lewd.. I really should put away my suggestive elbows, but I just can't help myself...)7) Korean Visors (take our visors times their size by 4 or 5 and then you have a Korean Visor...Yes, yes it's like a visor on steroid. Exactly! Yet not only do they wear the visors outdoors, these beauties can also be seen sported indoors or at night. It makes wearing sunglasses indoors seem quite practical actually.)8) Peach picking while sweating...9) Deodorant so I can continue to appreciate #1 and #8 without too many ill affects10) Salads and Korean Melons. :)11) Trying to grow lettuces and tomatoes on the rooftop of a 20-story Korean apartment building.. notice the key word "trying" :)12) Saying good-bye to winter forever (Ok, I lie, but I'm a happy disillusionist, don't burst the bubble. It's a pretty blue bubble and I like it this way.)13) Having bonfires fueled by sweaters and scarves and socks and tights..14) Picnics and No Socks15) Cat Naps in hot, heavy humid air.16) Watching Koreans stare at me in the subway.. *but who am I kidding? I rudely stare every season of the year, sorry Mom.17) Lady bugs, fireflies, birds18) Barefootedness --- except the dirty feet part that comes with it because then Koreans stare at me even more because I'm just a dirty-footed, elbow showing, no-visor wearing, sweaty foreigner..19) Spiders, Ants and Snakes20) Coming to the realization that I was severely and totally mentally damaged by Korea's winter... Because suddenly, for the first time in my life, I am thankful for spiders, snakes, and ants and humidity.. What's wrong with me? ::fyi y'all, that's a rhetorically question. No feedback is needed::Well that the start of my summer-loving list...My goal is to make the list go at least until 100..or maybe 120... gasp!!! Yes I'm a hardcore heat lover.. with pit-marks to prove it... yes, yes too much information, I know.. Next time I will be less descriptive. I apologize.

So long Sir Frozen Toes, Farewell Mr. Long Johns!

Today I heard something that I thought I would never hear again.. Birds! Oh the beautiful birds.. The ones that poop on your windshield and your head! The sweet birds, They are alive! They were not killed by the treacheries and debaucheries of winter! Can you believe it? They are alive!  I've heard the birds! It's true I tell you.... I don't lie, I am honest. So honest, Like Abe Lincoln Honest... look at my face. I have an honest face. Just look, See!?! ::inge sucks in her cheeks to thin out her face, grabs a black top hat , and gives her best Abe eyes::  Don't you see? I'm practically Honest Abe himself... ok, ok, Honest Abe herself.. but gender is just a piddly detail....:)The Birds, they have told me Spring is here and Winter will be no more... Why today the temperature was a blazing 40 degrees (that's 4.444444444444445 C for all my Fahrenheit challenged friends [tsk..tsk. those poor dears])  and tomorrow my Asian weather man promises 42 and sun! Do you know what that means? Well..... It means I am breaking out lawn chair, my blow-up kiddie pool, and dragging them up to my 20-story apartment rooftop for a little R&R in the blazing sun. But I thought since my dear nemesis winter was with me for ever so long, I would give him at least one last tribute before I shed myself of him completely. I'm done with him, and I mean done. Party Notice: There will be a "Death to Winter" bonfire at my house tonight: please bring any or all of the following for the blaze: turtlenecks, scarves, gloves, long johns, sappy winter novels, bad movies and the Snuggie blanket you are hiding in your closet (you know who you are!).. p.s. you will be denied entrance without these items. But until tonight, here are some photographs taken a few weeks ago when Winter was still tormenting Korea.. For all those still being heckled by Mr. Frosty remember to drink loads of tea and make use of your backwards house robe know as a Snuggie.

 

A Wintery Wonderland

This past weekend, I had a long weekend and I had the itch to explore the outer realms of Korea, take a dive into the abyss you might say, but where to? Well I of course am super intelligent, a genius really. So where does my genius self go? I went to the only sane place to go to during a blizzard weekend, to a Korean beach of course.. So I put on my swimsuit and then proceeded to stick 10 shirts on, 5 pairs of pants on and 7 1/2 pairs of socks (couldn't find the 8th lefty sock..I swear it ran away. It was the rebellious type). So I layered up, stuck some chap stick and some super glue in my pocket (you know, just in case) and I prepared for an adventure on Mui Island and I found one..

There I outran polar bears, climbed Mount Everest, fought off snow monkeys with icicles, roasted 5 pound clams over the open flame in subzero temperatures, met the Swiss Family Robinson (they are so cool), and I still came back with all 8 1/2 fingers! (forgive my typos, please) ... Some how this trip gave me a new appreciations for winter. Maybe the cold caused brain freeze?