Winter in Korea: Heated Floors

I must say that the idea of heated floors is quite an amazing invention.  Since heat rises, it keeps the room warm AND keeps your feet warm (a problem I would always have in the states).

The down side: You don't have it in every room.  You'll have it in one room of your apartment, but then either need a room heater or something to keep warm in the other rooms of your apartment.

Also, in some schools Koreans will tend to leave windows open during the winter (why?  I have yet to come to the reasoning... but I have learned Korean logic is very different).  So you may be warm when you walk into the classrooms, but freeze whenever you walk in the hallway or go to the restroom.

Purple Sweet Potatoes

What I recently found at the grocery store that I didn't know existed: Purple Sweet Potatoes.  I must say, I do love the smell of them -- more than their orange cousins.

Other random trivia: Sweet potatoes are very popular in Korea, as you will find them in foods where they may not be found as commonly in the states.
For instance, there is a food here pronounced  "dun kaus", which translates to basically pork cutlet, or as many in the states would like to call a fried pork tenderloin.  Its similar, but a bit different (I actually think dun kaus is better now).  Anyway, there is an option to have sweet potato filled pork cutlet -- and it is really quite amazing!!
Another unique way of eating sweet potato (pronounced "gogok ma" in Korean) is in a latte... yes, I do mean at a coffee shop.  Right next to the green tea lattes, you will find sweet potato lattes and they are really quite good.  At most places they are a bit yellowish in color, but I did go to one place that used the purple sweet potatoes.

Citron Tea - What a great idea for the winter!!

So I've recently discovered a tea through one of my schools that I've found is GREAT for the winter time.  It is known as Citron Tea or, aka, citrus tea.  They have them in a variety of flavors and varieties, but it seems that the default is lemon and honey flavored.  I've found that it is great for soothing your throat, (since the air is VERY dry here in the winter), boosting your immune system (tons of vitamin C  - yay!  This is really needed when dealing with little kids), and its very soothing on your stomach (Got heartburn or stomach upset?  This has done wonders for me!).  The best part -- it's absolutely delicious.  Thankfully they sell it in huge jars.

Foods that I didn't know existed until I came to Korea

During my time in Korea, I've discovered many foods that I either never realized existed or knew it was something people consumed.  These include:

- Black garlic (they'll sell it in a liquid - kind of like a soy sauce)

- Purple Sweet Potatoes

- Asian pears (round and bigger than apples)

- Red ginseng (its EVERYWHERE!!)

- Asian cabbage (used to make kimchi)

Also, there are a lot of eggplants here.  A lot more than you'll ever see in the states.

Absurd facts about Kim Jung il

Upon the death of Kim Jung il here is a link of absurd facts about him: 10 Absurd facts about Kim Jung il