Comfort Food that Spans Across Cultures.

What's your favorite comfort food? Is it macaroni and cheese, fish and chips or meatloaf and mashed potatoes? For a Bangladeshi it might be a plate of rice and dhal or if you are from Mexico it could be Tamales. Then again it could be plate of Spaghetti Bolognese, Pizza or even Paella even if you're not Italian or Spanish. Whatever it is I know that every country has food that makes people feel nostalgic and gives them a sense of comfort and being home.

 When I lived in South Korea I found that most Koreans don't eat the western version of breakfast. Although bread is eaten there widely nowadays, especially by young people, it is definitely an import as is coffee. For example the word for bread in Korean is "Ppang" which is clearly Pain which is the French word for bread. Bakeries are also becoming more popular and Seoul's best bakeries bear French names like "Paris Baguette" and "Paris Croissant". The bread made is definitely a "twist' on Western baking such red beans or sweet potato fillings in the bread.

Koreans are more likely to eat food at breakfast time that can be eaten at any other part of the day. It could include, rice, soup, meat and the full selection of side dishes such as Kim Chi.When I lived there amongst other dishes I ate some porridge that was so delicious and it made me feel really comfortable and happy when I ate it. Congee is a rice porridge and people make it at home all the time but is also popular at restaurants. I found out later different versions are eaten in many countries throughout the world such as China, Japan, Philippines, Vietnam, Turkey,Thailand, Portugal  and Bangladesh to name a few places!

After exploring some Congee recipes from a few different Asian countries and the varying accompaniments that go with it apparently each country seems to have their own variation of this rice porridge and there seem to be endless varieties. It is one of the most traditional foods in China and has been eaten for centuries. The basic recipe is rice cooked until it disintegrates after being cooked for a long time with lots of water. When eaten as plain rice porridge it is served with side dishes. The word Congee is actually derived from Tamil and originated as "Kanji". In Bengali it is called "Jaou" which I read originates from the Chinese character"Zhou" which means gruel. In Korea it is called Juk which is apparently from a Cantonese word.

Here are a few different recipes and variations of Congee.
The basic recipe can be made with
1 cup of rice
10 cups of water
1 teaspoon of salt.
You bring the water and rice to boil and turn the heat down to medium or low and place the lid but allow the steam to escape.
Then stir the rice till it becomes the texture of creamy porridge.

Accompaniments in the Chinese version could include tiny anchovies, cilantro, peanuts, chicken, mushrooms or green onions, or some other type of shredded meat and corn.

 A popular Korean variation is Beef and mushroom porridge. It can also be made with many other vegetables or with chicken. When made with chicken it is called " Dakjuk" and with beef "Soegogi juk". The chicken variation has julienned pieces of fresh ginger.

 Congee is also popular in the Indian Subcontinent as in the Sylhet region of Bangladesh version where it is served with chola or spicy chick peas for Iftar during Ramadhan.

In Southern Indian states such as Tamil Nadu and Kerala Muslims break their Ramadhan fast with Nombu Kanji which is a version of Congee cooked for hours with meat, lentils and vegetables, mint leaves, cinnamon stick and coconut  milk and served with chopped coriander leaves.


In Vietnam it is called Chao Bo and is a rice and beef porridge. The beef is marinated with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and cornstarch and ginger.
Ingredients
1 Cup uncooked Jasmine rice
1/2 lb ground beef marinated in soy sauce cornstarch and  rice wine.
2 cloves garlic
1 piece of ginger
10 cups of beef or chicken stock
minced onions]and chopped fresh coriander.
Method
 Put oil in a large pan with onions and garlic and add the beef till browned.
Add the stock , ginger , soy sauce and rice.
Turn heat to high till boiling.
Turn to low and simmer till the rice turns to a creamy porridge consistency.
Serve topped with chopped green onions and fresh coriander.

A rice porridge dish that spans many countries and pleases many palates varying only in the use of different accompaniments and the time of day it is served. In some countries it's breakfast and in others lunch and in other places it's dinner and others it's a snack but whenever or where ever it's eaten it is the ultimate comfort food! 

Expat Wives in Korea.

 In both countries in which I was an Expat wife I was sure to take advantage of Expat women's organizations. When you are an Expat wife it is of the utmost importance to make friends and find out what's going on around you in your new home. Your husband would have many people to talk to and opportunities for socializing through work and the children make friends at school but the wives had to make friends and get situated through these Women's organizations. Anyone could join the organizations and clubs even if you were local and not an Expat which made it even more interesting.

As soon as I got to Seoul I was introduced to a Russian lady who had already lived all over the globe through her husband's job working for an international Pharmaceutical conglomerate. As she had lived in Seoul for two years already she was working for relocation company which specialized in cross cultural training for expats and their wives. It was from her that I learned about largest women's organization and other international women's organizations that helped me survive my first year in Seoul.

Living in Germany was such great experience that at first I was determined not to like Seoul and acted like it was a bit of a disappointment. As time passed though I started to like it more and more and realized it was my own fault for listening to negative comments that I felt this way. The Expat women in Seoul seemed to be made up of mostly very positive people who were delighted by the prospect of living abroad and enjoying a new culture but there were others who were very patronizing towards the host country. I used to think to myself that these particular negative women were like mini Empresses who had the world at their feet, lived in unheard of luxury that they would probably not experience back home. All of the children went to international schools that provided them with unbelievable opportunities which some of the families could probably not afford back home.There were couple of very cool ladies I met  including an American who reminded me "there are always going to be haters out there but just don't listen to them and think of all the amazing opportunities to experience living in Asia."

Initially I had the misfortune to live near some very negative Expat neighbors who totally looked down on the Koreans so every morning when I would go out for my walk with my dog to Namsan park I met these women. Often the conversation consisted of how they hated being in Korea and Koreans. I listened to some terrible comments about how one of their Korean teachers expected a lady to give her breakfast when she came to teach her Korean. Oh the horror of it! I come from a very hospitable family so I actually didn't think it was a big deal that the Korean teacher expected a little something when she came for the lesson. The country where this person came from must be very inhospitable was my only thought( it turned out be Canada). As I went on to learn in my five years Koreans are extremely hospitable and where ever you went you would be offered a cup of coffee, a drink or a snack at every opportunity!

So I joined the largest organization and a whole new world opened up for me like Aladdin's cave of treasures and adventures that I never expected unfolded in front of my eyes. The members were from all corners of the globe including England, Russia, Ukraine, Indians, Germany, Sweden, Singapore Australia, Japanese, Spain, you name the country and there was a representation from there. Apart from the usual coffee mornings, information meetings and socials there were classes offered that you could participate in for a small fee. The classes offered included painting classes, international cooking classes, Hanji traditional paper craft, jewelry making, flower arranging to name a few activities. I think by joining this organization my life took on completely new direction and met new people that I definitely would not have otherwise.

There was an opportunity to take some jewelry making classes with an Indian lady (we will call her Ganesha). It was such a great class and I had never done anything like that before and as we were welcomed into the teacher's stunning home I decided to stick with it twice a week. The participants were treated to tea and snacks as we all made the most beautiful treasures with exotically colorful beads and pearls that she collected or ordered from all corners of the world. It was a total surprise to me that I could even do such things and ended up making the most exquisite jewelry. I had really expensive taste and always chose the most expensive pearls and accessories but I did end up making some stunning pieces which I wear to this day.

Another benefit was that the ladies in the class were very interesting people and I learned so much just being with them so I ended up making some really amazing friends. The host of the class was an incredible lady her self. It was obvious that she had lived to travelled all over the world as her furniture was ravishing. For example her dining table which was purchased in Thailand where we worked was made up of unbelievable intricate carvings of animals. It was fascinating just looking at the pictures in the wood carving and this made for endless discussions about furniture, travel and carvings.

When you meet people you never know what part they will end up playing in your life. Our host of the jewelry making class also headed up an American Women's Club and ran an operation called the Thrift shop on the Yongsan Garrison army base. The donations were from the Expat families and the proceeds from the donations benefitted American army families and local Korean charities.

One summer when I left my older daughter to look after and accompany my husband while I was in Europe and the USA with my younger daughter Ganesha gave her a job at the Thrift shop where she managed to sell her clothes on consignment, make friends and get a fantastic reference from her time there. It was a huge relief and comfort for me to know that my oldest daughter was able to use her time so usefully thanks to Ganesha. Also the other women who worked at the Thrift shop with my daughter took her under their wing and looked after her that summer. I will be ever grateful to all of them for the care, guidance and understanding they showed that summer.

There were so many things to do through Seoul International Women's Association and the other international Women's organizations that for the most part the experiences were very positive and a majority of the members were incredibly supportive women, some of whom are my friends to this day. However there were a few incidents that made me realize that a small number of the women used their Expat lives to play little power games through these organizations as if they were the Empresses of Asia with delusions of grandeur and power struggles.

An example was when I became involved in the fund raising efforts of SIWA which organized a massive campaign every year to raise funds for local Korean charities. In itself this was a wonderful gesture on the part of the women involved and I believe it gave them a great sense of purpose to do this. I was really excited to be apart of this effort and thought of it as a great opportunity. However there were two sides to this as I found out as I got more and more involved.  SIWA was run by a group of very some women who had very forceful personalities. You can't be shy or humble to run an organization like that. Yes they gave their time, attending meeting after meeting, giving their ideas, efforts and it was after all for charity and giving back to the country that hosted us.

Volunteering to be fund raiser for the organization was hard work but it felt pretty cool being a part of a sisterhood which showed a positive caring side to our host community in Korea. Donations were raised by soliciting funds from large international corporations including airlines, hotels, banks but also local Korean businesses, to name a few sources. Also the officials and staff of the many Embassies became very involved and donated money to get publicity for their countries.

The first year I helped to raise funds and worked at the giant bazaar and it was great fun followed by a huge dance party and dinner. These were so fantastic that I learned a lot, met some incredible people, had super experiences and felt a part of some thing really worthwhile. At the bazaar I saw what a huge effort is needed to organize these events and also saw the leading personalities of the organization. One of Korea's most famous fashion designers Andrea Kim came to the bazaar, all the embassies came with their international food and goods, such as cheese, olive oil, other hard to find items in Korea. For the most part the ladies who ran SIWA were very approachable, friendly ladies  but there were some absolute drama queens who were lapping up all that their positions gave them as the head of these International women's club and the power trip they were on was incredible to watch along with the show they put on. Expat life and the opportunities it presented was far beyond any thing they would experience back home.

However it was in the second year that some some interesting things happened. In 2010 I was nominated by SIWA to be the special find raiser for Itaewon because I lived there and shopped there. Itaewon was the shopping, entertainment and club are a where the Yongsan Garrison army base was located. It was home to many shops, restaurants and clubs that not just foreigners went to but also Koreans. There was a red light area, transgender bars, ethic shops, jewelry shops, tailors, shoe shops boutiques and numerous eateries.

Due to my friendly nature a lot of people knew me in Itaewon and the SIWA ladies were aware of this fact. However some of the business owners did not understand the concept of fund raising and thought I was nuts while others were totally on board and knew how to get new and loyal customers from the expat community. Even the normally reluctant Bangladeshi shop owners and restaurant owners gave donations and wanted to tell me how they were donating other services to Korea.

 Swallowing my pride,  I did my research and got my materials together such as SIWA monthly magazines, statistics and anything else showing SIWA's efforts in Korea and went down into Itaewon. I did this every opportunity for a few weeks and  the response was pretty great and managed to get such a great response that I got an ovation from the participants of the monthly meetings for the amount of sponsors I managed to get. One lady felt a bit competitive towards me so she also joined in saying that there were places I hadn't covered. She gave me a few more leads and together we managed to raise even more money.

 Between the two of us in Itaewon if I remember correctly we raised $7500! Incredibly that year SIWA raised approximately a staggering $80,000! I was so proud to be a part of this effort and the money was distributed amongst some very deserving Korean charities such as Hospices, children's charities and Orphanages throughout Korea. There was a spread sheet with which fund raiser raised funds from what organization or business and my name and the other person's name was practically on all of the document.

Of course $80,000 is not raised by one person's efforts but my disappointment was that even though I had clearly outdone a lot of people in my fund raising effort that year there was not one mention of my individual work and I was not in any photos of the fund raising team in the special magazine that year. Over and over in the magazine it was photos of the women who were the highest magazine officials and not the people who wandered around Itaewon humbling themselves to ask for donations for Korean charities.

Now you may think I have sour grapes saying this but I know I did a good job because in the following years that I lived in Seoul I was contacted repeatedly by the women of SIWA and other organizations about helping to raise money for their respective charities. I know how valuable I was no matter what happened by the fact that I got phone calls and emails all the time after I started working as a teaching assistant in Seoul and could no longer take part in any voluntary work. The last time I did one of the Empresses of Asia even took credit for some of the funds I raised from merchants in Itaewon on their spread sheet.

For the Expat women who are living Seoul now I would urge you to get involved in everything and join the Expat organizations. Don't be timid as I was if you do good work. Stand up for yourselves if you join any organizations and claim the acheivement that is rightfully yours. Do not let the self proclaimed Empresses of Asia take all the credit just because they are the loudest and forceful.

Worst return on Investment

Asian families seem to want  their children to be doctors, dentists, optometrists or possibly lawyers. Why is it that these are the professions are so coveted by people? Well we know that these are all professions that human beings need to make their lives better. Health is the one thing we can hold up as the  most important thing in our lives however a civilized and caring society needs other professional people to help and support one another. It is true that people in medical professions such as Anesthesiologists, surgeons, obstetricians, gynecologists internists, orthodontists, and physicians in general are seen as GODS in our present society. If you look at any statistics of the top paying professions the list mostly consists of jobs in health care, science related professions, economists, engineers, computer programers and professions linked to money.

 I just read an article on the internet on Salary. com called "8 College Degrees with the Worst Return on Investment". These degrees included sociology, fine arts, Education, psychology and communications. The careers from these degrees included social workers, chemical dependency councillors, copywriters, news reporters, marketing coordinators, human service workers, career councilors, dietitians, teachers, graphic designers, painters, museum research workers, daycare workers. I'm not critiquing the article but what it means to people who are in these professions. The return on investment for a teacher qualifying from a public university is 43% and from a private university is 13%. For a social worker the return on investment is 73% from a public university and from a private university it is only 21%. The median salary is $47, 000!

What do these figures mean for American society and what do they translates into for Americans and in particular for all 3 of my children who are all in this category? The article I mentioned ends with "we know money isn't everything. A lot of people do these jobs and have great and fulfilling careers. But as the cost of education increases it's important to know if you'll get your money's worth."

In a conversation with my husband about what our children have chosen to do for their degrees and careers we reflected on this issue. My youngest child's choice is to do a degree in Social work and attends a private college in the USA where the tuition and costs for a 4 year degree add up to a considerable amount. It was a difficult decision but we decided that we would allow her to attend this university even though it was expensive. It is a decision that requires hard work and discipline on the part of the student but also on our part as parents. My husband has to work hard and I have to be disciplined!

Being in this position made me wonder why is further education in the USA so expensive and how can other countries such as Holland and Germany and other countries afford to give their students free or low cost further education?  In my opinion American students are definitely not getting a better education than students in the other countries. I can safely say this as US employers regularly hire a select number of graduates from abroad to fill certain jobs in engineering and IT related jobs the USA.

 Why do students in the USA have a combined $1trillion in debt? Why has the cost of education in the USA risen so much faster than the overall cost of living? To make matters even more aggravating because of the recession until recently jobs were hard to come by, wages were in decline and overall purchasing power was declining. So even if you invested your money in a 4 year degree the return on the money you spend on the degree was guaranteed to be that great unless you were studying to be a doctor or in one of the professions linked to the medical fields.

I have been attempting to inform myself about this subject and learned that due to State governments cutting back on budgets for higher education State universities had to increase their tuition and charge students more to attend so "instead of each State taking the responsibility for the cost of higher education, the expense was transferred to the students" This happened across the whole country for  example over a period of 20 years from 1990 to 2012 some States like Ohio reduced their funding from 25% of it's budget to a mere 7%! "State university budget cuts continue and are accelerating according to an online article in "Alternet Education" with the heading "How did College Education become so ridiculously Expensive?" The article explains that the public universities increased tuition the elite private universities also raised their tuition so that they could "maintain their status and bring in more revenue setting off a an escalating spiral".
In the three decades that this has happened there have been widening disparities between working class and and middle class families on the one hand and wealthy families on the other. University education is seen as a way out of financial struggles but families struggle between their perceived need for an education and their lack the funds to pay for it. Most US students and graduates can only fund their education by taking out huge loans to get the education they need to keep up with their declining purchasing power.

After reading the articles related to this subject I have come up with the three reasons why the cost of American higher education has spiraled out of control over the last 30 years. I don't believe many Americans think about why the cost of education has spiraled out of control and many haven't a clue what the real reasons are. Many people don't realize it is the individual State governments who have actually perpetuated the situation by cutting State funding towards higher education because they know individuals will swallow the costs.
The second reason is the rising cost of administration and the huge salaries paid to the top officials of US universities who are paid as much as CEO 's international conglomerates and the last reason is money sent on inter collegiate sports programs and facilities such as fancy dorms which do not return much in the way of profits for the universities.

Humorous look at the subject from the internet.

So after learning the true reasons why higher education costs so much more in the USA than anywhere else and having 3 children who were educated here do I look at the money spent on their education as the worst return on my investments? Absolutely not! The education my children have received may not translate to them becoming rich or earning a lot of money but if I have 3 happy fulfilled people who are in professions they enjoy and feel they are being of service to people that will be their greatest accomplishment and my ultimate gratification.
If people really wanted to exercise their democracy they could voice their opinions and lobby the their government and the universities would take notice of them and change things. Also another way to reduce costs is to use a Community college to do some of the credits towards a degree which costs a lot less than doing all 4 years at University level. There are actually many other ways to reduce the costs of college which should be explored such as living in cheaper housing facilities, borrowing text books or renting them rather than buying them. Just a few suggestions that can be further explored.

Third Culture Child.

 A Third Culture Child is defined as "a child who was raised in a culture outside their parents culture for a significant part of their developmental years." If that's correct then my third daughter is not only a third culture child but a 4th culture child.
 When I was growing up in England in the 70's I took French in high school and was fascinated by the thought of traveling there but I never got the opportunity to go to France until I was 21! I believe if I had been able to go to France and stay there for length of time my experience of French culture and ability to speak French would have been so different and so much better. I look back on my time growing up in England and realized that I wanted to be the type of mother who gave her children every opportunity to experience other cultures if it was within my power. So when the time came for us to decide to move to Germany with my husband's job I wouldn't have turned it down for any reason.

With the move to Germany in 2006 my 11 and 16 year old daughters were to attend a school called Frankfurt international School in the town of Oberursel about a seven minute drive from my house in Konigstein. I know the 16 year old was very excited and saw the possibilities but I don't think the younger daughter was so fond of the idea as she was being pulled away from all her friends who she would have gone to middle school with. So instead of starting middle school in Birmingham Michigan where there was hardly any diversity in the population she started at an international school with children from about 50 different countries.
Frankfurt International school was founded in 1961 and is an English language day school located in Oberursel, near Frankfurt am Main. There are about 1800 students from over fifty countries. There
is anther campus in Weisbaden where there are a further 200 students. The faculty of FIS comes from 30 countries.Becoming a part of an international community of students opened up worlds for both my daughters in previously unimagined ways. For example through the extra curricular orchestra program my oldest daughter met Japanese, Scandinavian, Korean and English students. Her perspective went from Michigan to encompass the entire world and her way of thinking about her future was utterly changed.
In what ways you may ask? Unless people take time to travel or have the opportunities to travel it doesn't matter how many text book you read, experience and first hand encounters are the best way to learn about any thing. My older daughter was studying for the International Baccalaureate in Art and they were given the task of having a focus for the ultimate project and end result which was an exhibition. As we were about 7 hours drive from Italy we decided to go to Florence on the children's first school holiday in October.

We went on a week long driving tour of Italy and were able to visit the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia    
museum along with a myriad of other art and cultural monuments in Florence. What an amazing privilege for us all to experience one of the greatest cities in the world famous for its history, Art and culture! I think my daughters were aware of the enormity of this. The younger one had a conversation with an Israeli lady in the Accademia about the naked David statue. I think she was a little overwhelmed and over loaded with the amount of art she saw and seeing Michelangelo's David at the Accademia was the masterpiece of Renaissance sculpture. It was created between 1501 and 1504 by Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet Michelangelo. American children are not used to seeing giant statues of naked men right in front of their eyes.

My older daughter was especially interested in Renaissance portrait artists and we were able to see the works of artists such as Botticelli, Andrea del Sarto, Fillipino Lippi,  Tintoretto, Leonardo Da Vinci, Mantegna, Raphael, to name a few. She was able see how portrait artists evolved, influenced and grew to leave their immense legacy on the world of art which influenced so many things in European life and culture even today.

Uffizzi Art Museum Florence

This may have inspired the beautiful portraits of her family and best friend which my daughter later went  on to produce for her final IB exam exhibition which eventually lead to her getting a place at the university   where she went on to do her Fine Art degree. I believe the visit to Florence was part of her destiny and she remains an artistic and inspired person because of this experience. She also decided to take a year out and work as an Au pair for a French family and lived in Versailles in Paris. It was pretty certain that had she stayed in Michigan and graduated high school from her Birmingham Public school she would not have lived in one of the greatest cities in the world for a year before going to university.

Our next move was to Seoul, South Korea so my younger daughter went from FIS to another International school along with children from all over the world whose parents were in South Korea working for International and Korean companies. The school she attended was Seoul Foreign School which is a Christian International school in Yonhuidong. Although SFS is a Christian school the students are from all international communities from the Saudi Arabian ambassador's children, the Kuwaiti Ambassador's children, Europeans, Israelis, and Americans.

Seoul

I met a young man at SFS registration who had attended the German School in Seoul but his mother decided to transfer him for his last two years  to Seoul Foreign School because by the time the students were in the upper grades at the German school there were only 100 students left. I asked him how he felt about Seoul and Korea. His answer worried me a little because he was the son of a German Diplomatic father and East Asian mother and had lived in many places also because of his father's work. He stated that Seoul was boring and he couldn't wait to leave! Oh dear! Another friend of mine also told me her son hated Seoul and was not looking forward to living there. I thought to myself well"life is what you make it and if you're bored it's you not your environment!"

Seoul Foreign School was founded in 1912 by seven foreign missionaries and today there are 3 parts to the school with about 1400 students.  There is a British school which begins at Reception to year 9 and is based on the English National Curriculum. The American School begins at Pre K and goes to 5th Grade. The middle school covers grades 6 to 8.  The High school goes from grade 9 to graduation. International General Certificate of Secondary Education is offered as well as the International Baccalaureate. Graduates from SFS are qualified to attend universities all over the world.
 It is the 7th oldest International school in the world. My daughter had 5 years at SFS started out in 2008 as an middle school 8th grader to graduating from the American high school in 2013.

Throughout these 5 years there were so many opportunities that were available to her. Apart from the excellent academic education she would receive through SFS there were many extra curricular educational experience which were available for her broader education. Each autumn all the high school students would be given the chance to take part in Discovery Week courses in Seoul, or travel to different countries throughout the world to take part in trips, service oriented projects, educational, physical and activity trips. In her first year of high school my daughter travelled to South Africa with her school and this trip was one that changed her life. The second discovery week she did a project in Seoul called Cooking and Serving where she learned to cook, prepare and serve food to homeless people. In the third year she travelled to Vietnam and worked with orphan children.

Although SFS is a Christian school the students are from all international communities from the Saudi Arabian ambassador's children, the Kuwaiti Ambassador's children, Europeans, Israelis, and Americans to name just a few nationalities. The parents of SFS students are American and foreign corporate executives, high ranking US army officials,  Foreign Ambassadors, Military Attaches, Korean businessmen who had resided abroad and some Christian missionaries to South Korea.

Many of the students had also lived all over the world and told my daughter stories of their experiences for example one of her best friends was the child of an Ambassador from a Scandinavian country. She had previously lived in Japan where because of her blond hair she had been a famous child model. Many people in the community were envious that my daughters friend was the beautiful daughter of a high ranking European diplomat but to my child it was just her dear friend.

Seoul Foreign School

Another consideration was the fact that this child's formative years were in Seoul. Her influences were K Pop, Korean fashion, her hang outs were Apgujeong, Hongdae and Meyongdong. Amongst her dearest friends were young Koreans who remain her friends and confidantes to this day. One thing I noticed at SFS was that the Expat children,no mater where they were from, and the Korean children socialized together. A vast majority of the Korean children had been born abroad, mostly in the USA and had foreign passports.

Judging from experience with other international schools in Seoul I believe no matter how enthusiastic the staff is and how much money rolls in it is the parents and the students that make the school a positive or negative experience. If the parents are controlling and think they can some how bully the staff into doing exactly what they  think is best for their child and the school gives in there is no way the school will be successful. A school has to think about all of it's students and to carry out it's ultimate goal of educating the whole school it cannot pander to the wishes of particular parents. Also if a school is to call itself truly international the head and management has to be open minded about who the teachers are. How can you call yourself international if a majority of  the teachers are from one country? There should be diversity in the staff even if it means you train them with the particular educational philosophy of the school.

Also there is no easy way for a school to be successful overnight as evidenced in the case of SFS  which was established 102 years ago. It takes time to establish your reputation as a school and the exam results alone do not show how a school will perform in years to come. and what kind of people will come from this school? There are at least 6 other International schools in Seoul and some are newly established. Although SFS is thought to be the best International school in Seoul  and the hardest to get into there were some negative comments being floated around about the school but as a parent I believe the proof is in the end results.

One example were new International schools springing up overnight in the highly competitive International school scene in Seoul. The impression was that because they were offshoots of famous schools from London or New York they would be successful overnight and it would mean the end of SFS. Quoting an article from TES Connect talking about famous UK schools setting up in Korea, Hong Kong and Mainland China with the title "How the gold rush failed to materialize for the UK elites". This article shows that just setting yourself up as a clone of famous schools in the UK or anywhere else in the world does not guarantee success. A school should not be about pleasing local developers and boosting profits. SFS is a not for profit establishment but these new schools which are springing up are based on a premise that if you turn up with a famous name you will be an instant success in the education world. The TES article goes on to say, "A report has poured cold water on the idea that all this country's famous schools had to do was turn up and wait for the pupils to flood through the gates". Only time will tell what will happen to the competition in the international school market but SFS has stood the test of time.

Graduation Ceremony

Going back to my own child's experience at SFS was definitely a positive one filled with struggles of a student studying for her IB's, preparing for the SAT exams but also happy fulfilling and fun times as a teenager in Seoul. I believe when she looks back at her time there she will remember it with great fondness and the benefits of being a student there seem to continue into her university years. She constantly runs into her old school mates from Seoul Foreign School and Frankfurt international school where ever she goes. Also having lived in one of the busiest cities in the world for 5 years of her life meant when she got to New York City for university she adjust with ease into her student life there.

Graduation Day

Stumbling through Deutschland.

I lived in Germany for 2 years between 2006 to 2008 in the scenic Taunus area near Frankfurt am Main in Hessen. After living in suburban Michigan USA for 20 years my husband was suddenly asked by his employer to move to their facility in Germany. Maybe some would not have jumped at the chance to uproot their lives like I did but I was so stressed with my job at a local law firm and was actually looking for a legitimate way to escape so that was my window of opportunity. I wasn't really expecting any adventures but I will tell you that I ended up feeling like the silliest person in Deutschland but the luckiest person on earth! So we put our  Michigan house up for rent, took the whole household, the kids and the dog to Germany.

Mainz

On our house hunting visit to the Taunus, we were staying in Mainz so my husband took me on a cruise up the river Rhine for a few hours. I'm not sure if it was because I was so tired from my job or whether it was the jet lag but it was so beautiful it was like a dream.
After starting in the Alps by the time the river Rhine enters Germany it carves it's way through the most fairytale like scenery I have ever laid eyes on with picturesque villages, walled towns, and
absolutely spectacular scenery as well as some very old legends such as the one about a Rhine maiden called Lorelei.

Lorelei on the Rhine

At a bend in the Rhine near St. Goarshausen there is a rock on the eastern bank of the river which is about 380 feet high. There is a strong current and the rocks below the waterline have caused many boat accidents in the past. Lorelei is also the name of a female spirit and Rhine maiden which is a
character in popular local German folk lore. It is said that the Lorelei would sing and lure the sailor on the boats to go mad and then they would lose control of their vessel which would crash on the waves. There is a statue of a naked girl sitting on a rock by the river bend commemorating the legend of the Lorelei. We also went to a restaurant called Unter Den Lindern in Assmanshausen, a beautiful village on the Rhine. The food was fresh, local and delicious.
The house we chose house was the first one we looked at in Falkenstein as it was really quick to get to the children's school located seven minutes away in Oberursel. Konigstein, the town where we were to live was like a little fairytale village with forts and castles and buildings that were built centuries ago. Actually I lived in the little hill village of Falkenstein on the slope of the Feldberg, the mountain that loomed over Konigstein.

Burg Falkenstein

Imagine looking out of your kitchen window and actually having a ruined castle to look at as you did the washing up! The castle in the main town of Konigstein was built in the 12th Century and was set on a thickly wooded hilltop. The town is on the old trade route between Frankfurt and Cologne, a part of the Frankfurt Rhein main urban area. Konigstein is also a "climatic spa" which means there are thermal "bads"or baths which come out of the ground. Koingstein is incidentally one of the wealthiest towns in Germany because of the European Central Bank located in Frankfurt and Konigstein is one of the favorite places for wealthy bankers to live.

Königstein im Taunus from the Castle.

The village where our house was located was Falkenstein which also had a castle and going up there to look at it became a daily habit of mine. Once there you got the most breath taking view of the Main valley across  to Frankfurt and beyond. On a clear day professional photographers would come from miles around to take photos of Frankfurt.
The house was a really well designed 4 storey German house owned by a Frankfurt banker. The owner's mother told us she built a brand new house on the land where her grandmother's house used to be.  She herself grew up in the northern German town of Lubeck, famous for it's Niedregger marzipan sweets. I was really comfortable and happy there for our 2 years of Expat life in Germany. We must have cared for the house well because I was informed by a letter written in German by Mrs. Z that if I ever came back to Germany I could live in that house again!

Maria Mull was our next door neighbor and guarded us like a Mother hen. She told us all about herself, her childhood, her life and about the little town where we lived. Maria would bake us plum cake or Pflaumenkuchen, with plums from her garden, bring me little posies and generally look after me. I think Maria felt a little protective of me because one time she caught me talking to another neighbor and told me not to talk to the "Hexe" the English translation of this word is "Witch!" Our houses were very close to each other along with just a handful of houses which discovered later were all owned by a family of lawyers who hated my landlady. They were located in a valley and Maria would watch ever move I made. One day I woke up from a mid day nap and went out side and Maria was watching me and the first thing she said to me was "Hast du gutt geschlafen?" or "did you sleep well?"As we lived in the valley it means all my neighbors knew I'd had a midday snooze!

One really smart decision was to take advantage of German lessons as my husband's company offered to pay for to help us feel a little more assimilated to the local community. I went to Berlitz in Escborne which was a few miles from my home. I soon got stuck into my German lessons and looked forward to seeing my two German teachers Regine and Angelica. I started off shakily and spent a lot of time speaking English to my teachers which was really good fun but one day things fell into place and I was unstoppable. I was so obsessed with learning the German language that I felt like by brain was on fire!

What a great feeling to be able to read the signs on the weekly offers at Tenglemanns or  Edeka, the local grocery stores! The reception I got from local Germans was incredible! The dentist complimented me, my landlady was so impressed and I loved conversing with my neighbors and teachers. People were so complimentary and encouraging and I really excelled. Even though the lessons were paid for by most of the multinational employers a lot of the women decided not to carry on with the lessons and would ask me why almost a year and  half after I arrived in Germany I was still taking lessons. Well my answer came in the form of a few of my friends asking me to help cancel or make appointments at the hairdressers or the dentist or doctors. I loved being able to help them. One of the most amusing things to happen with my new found German language capabilities was my utter lack of confidence when a very testing situation arose.

On the way to picking up my older daughter from Frankfurt airport I was driving around looking for a place to park but not able to spot a parking building when I suddenly realized the Polizei were behind me with flashing lights. My heart sank and my thoughts were Oh shoot, what the heck am I going to do now?
After stopping and getting out of the car I immediately said to the policemen "Wass hab ich gemachkt und konnen wir auf English bitte?" What have I done and could we speak English please? The policeman heartily laughed his head off and said in German "Warum mussen wir auf English  wenn so Sie gutt Deutsch sprechen?"Why are going to speak English when you speak such good German? That was the point when I started to laugh hysterically because he had just complimented my German but I had absolutely no confidence in my German abilities if I had to talk my way out of a traffic ticket!
I kept repeating "Ich verstehe nicht" meaning I don't understand and ended with the policeman saying very sternly "Sie durfen nicht!" You may not drive in the taxi lane! He let me go but not before I humiliated myself by driving past one more time and I waved at him and he laughed and shook his head at me!

Frankfurt Am Main

Another day I had a run in with a bucket on the way to my German lesson. I decided to get some petrol  and as I drove up to the tank I saw a bucket and mop in front of my car. I filled up and then drove away. Suddenly I realized my car was really dragging so I pulled into a side street. I was wondering why there was a really worrying scraping sound coming from under my car. As I bent down to see what was under the car a young man pushing a stroller turned up and asked me what was the matter. This time I decided to skip the German and said there's some thing under my car! When we looked, I realized to my mortification that I had run over the bucket and mop at the petrol station and dragged it about a mile down the main road. The young German guy pulled the bucket out from under the car and said' I'm glad to see you are driving  German car!" which was really funny because although I was driving an Opel which is a German name, the car was a General Motors an American company! I just replied "Oh yes, of course thank you so much for helping me!"
I then drove away thanking the young man profusely and went back to the petrol station, parked around the corner and sneaked the bucket back and put it behind the petrol station building and hurriedly drove away feeling like a complete idiot. I'm sure the people at the petrol station wondered how the bucket got there and why it was all squished.

One of many castles on the Rhine

Konigstein Castle

 Germany was a brief experience in the scheme of things but I had so much fun, met some incredible people, learned so much about Europe, living in a new country and mumbled and stumbled "Auf Deutsch" to get out out of embarassing situations. I loved the rivers, the beautiful towns with their amazing castles, churches and cathedrals to name just a few things and the German countryside that took my breath away. I am grateful for this chance to live in this exciting European country.

American Girl in Marrakech

Egypt used to be one of the biggest destinations in North Africa but with the uprisings and political unrest people are heading to other safer countries for vacations. Morocco is now a very popular destination for many holiday makers, even featured in the December 2014 issue of US edition of Bon Apetit magazine. It is a country that shows how people of all different backgrounds can live together in harmony.

I was thinking about a blog I'd read by Jamie Oliver about Marrakech where he says, "What a culture. The people…incredible. The food they're doing here completely blew me away. To step out of my world into this world…..what a shock and what a pleasure." Well with an endorsement like that I couldn't wait to get to Marrakech! I noticed that Moroccan culture, food and destinations were  all the rage in England so I decided to take my older daughter on a holiday to Marrakech in Morocco.

Although born and brought up in Michigan my daughter graduated from High school in Germany and has travelled throughout Asia, USA and Europe. She had done some research about Morocco before leaving Boston Massachusetts, her home for 6 years, and told me about all the things she had read about being a tourist in Marrakech. Although I found her fear a little amusing I could sense she was a little worried because the reviews she read were a rather negative and I also knew there were feelings of excitement and anticipation there was also a little fear of the unknown.

I on the other hand was very excited to get out of gloomy Manchester and knew that 3 hours away was an alluring city nicknamed the "Red City" which comes from the fact that the city walls which surround the old part of the ciare made of red stand stone. I could just hear the enticing, exotic world of spices, couscous, harrisa and Tagine calling me. I wanted to experience all the things I'd seen on the cooking channels on TV for myself.
Our hotel was the Riu Tikida Garden hotel owned by our vacation company and the food served was  flowing all day. There was food for every taste and palate but you could also have Moroccan food and although I did eat the Moroccan food in the hotel restaurant I would say the Moroccan food we ate out side the hotel was of a much higher quality.

Jemma el-Fnaa Square

El Khatoubia

                                   

Medina, Old Marrakech

We decided to get the shuttle bus on our first full day in Marrakech from our hotel then walk to the El Khatoubia Mosque. There were beautiful rose gardens all around the grounds of the mosque.

The following day we took a group guided tour through the Medina or the old walled historic quarter of Marrakech. A Berber Professor of history was our tour guide. I noticed he was talking to my daughter while we walked around the town. My daughter was giggling her head off and I wondered what the Professor could be saying to make her giggle like that. Upon enquiring what he had said she replied"He says I look like a Moroccan girl so he will speak to in Arabic!"Of course she couldn't understand a word but it was really kind of him to make her feel so comfortable and she definitely relaxed after that.
The tour ended with a traditional Moroccan lunch including hot and cold salads, Couscous, which Moroccans seem to eat with every meal, fish in a spicy sauce, chicken, lamb stew, vegetables with the traditional spices of cinnamon, cumin, saffron, ginger, pepper, coriander, paprika, turmeric to name just a few. Dessert included puff pastries stuffed with almond paste and sprinkled with sugar and  also seasonal fruit.  One delicacy is preserved lemons which are often used in Moroccan dishes. One thing I noticed about Moroccan meat dishes is the use of fruits and the mixing of sweet and savory in dishes such as lamb with prunes and apricots. Also raisins are used in a lot of dishes both savory and sweet. I found that Moroccan cooking is an amazing mixture of Mediterranean, Arab and eastern influences.

The tour around the 1000 year old part of Marrakech was exhausting, it is an absolute "must"and it was  a great introduction to the charms of this city. There were so may shops and galleries that I really didn't know where to look but was advised to hold off buying anything till we looked at the market in Djemaa El Fnaa Square.

Intricate carvings of the windows of buildings in the Medina.

The following day we took time to relax by the pool at the hotel and I enjoyed a something which is a very important part of Moroccan culture and life, a Hammam bath while my daughter got a pedicure. A Hammam is a traditional steam room bath. Moroccans of all ages, men, women and children will go to the Hammam, sometimes as a family. It involved having mud rubbed all over you while completely naked, and then a female attendant scrubbed me with an exfoliating glove until I was almost raw but all the dead skin and mud was washed off by really hot water which is then followed by a really cold wash. I definitely felt invigorated and refreshed after this treatment and highly recommend it.

In the evening we went to the famous market in Jemaa el Fnaa Square and watched as the sunset and the market place got absolutely jam-packed and busy. It was so exhilarating to anticipate bargaining for lanterns, leather handbags, silver jewelry, decorative items and experiencing the exotic colors and scenery. The people in the market were sweet and charming and not pushy or rude at all. When I wanted an ethnic printed and leather bag in a certain shade the guy who was actually making the bag followed my wishes and oiled it to get exactly the shade that I wanted. 

Moroccan lantern

Lanterns in the market

One of the most unforgettable trips was to the Atlas mountains. Our guide was from the  Berber people, the indigenous people of Morocco. Most of the population of Morocco are Berber and Arab however Moroccans don't know how mixed they are or whether they are Arab or Berber.Today the rural Berbers make up about 33% of the population of Morocco. They are mostly famers and live on slopes of the high Atlas mountains. We went to a Berber family house where we drank mint tea and had fresh baked bread. We then drove around the mountains and looked at the amazing majestic mountain scenery. That day we also had a traditional Moroccan lunch of Tagine vegetables, couscous, chicken with lemon and a traditional Moroccan egg appetizer.

We also saw how Argan oil was being made by being ground on a stone wheel. Argan oil is produced by local Morroccan women and is very labor intensive, which is why products made with Moroccan Argan oil are so expensive. It comes from the Arganosia Spinosa tree. The seeds of the berries are roasted and then ground into some thing that looks like peanut butter and the oil comes out from this process. Morrocans use it for everything and of course it is exported all over the world. It is added to L'Oreal products, Moroccan oil products and in many cosmetics all over the world. Morocco is the only home to the Argania Spinosa tree so it is very unique.

Argan berries being ground to make Argan oil.

Atlas Mountains

Berber Village on the foothills of the Atlas mountains.

Jardins du Marjorelles

Beautiful window.

Yves St. Laurent was very inspired by Morocco and the Berber people as we discovered on our visit to the Jardins du Marjorelles. This is a garden in the very trendy district of Marrakech. The area is full of beautiful boutiques and art shops. 

Jardins du Marjorelles designed by an expatriate French artist Jacques Marjorelle. The artist used a special shade of cobalt blue in the garden and on the buildings.

On of the days when we wanted to relax we decided to use half of the day riding a camel. It was brief experience  it was great fun and our camel hander Mohammed was really protective of us.

I think my American daughter had a great time in Marrakech, stating that when she wanted to decorate her first home she would go back to the market at Djemma El Fnaa and no matter what trepidations she had when she first arrived we both decided Moroccans were some of the most hospitable and friendly, kind people we'd both ever met. We would definitely go back to Morocco and highly recommend it. 

Diamonds, Gold and Gossip in Itaewon.

Most South Koreans have one of a handful of last names, Lee, Park, Kim, Moon, Shin or Han. In 2008 I found myself living in Seoul through my husband's job. Although I didn't enjoy it at first, I ended up meeting  lot of interesting characters and anyone who thinks Seoul is a boring city must just be a boring person themselves because it is actually unbelievable how much is actually going on! Of course there are many cities in the world with a fantastic amount of things going on and many may have a lot more than Seoul.

 Here is a little tale about one of my encounters in Seoul.

Namsan Tower

Gwangwhamun

There was no excuse for saying you were bored there because there was always a club to join or an art class to take or just coffee with an Expat friend in Itaewon. In my first 2 years there I joined as many clubs as I could and had learned to cook Spanish and Korean food, make dim sum, arrange flowers, fold napkins, you name it I took a class in it!
One of the best ways to entertain yourself is to make as many friends as possible in the Expat community and amongst local people. The area we lived in is called Itaewon where many of the foreigners from all over the world congregate. It is home to Yongsan Garrison, the biggest US army base outside the USA, Transgender clubs, a mosque, a red light district called "Hooker Hill", foreign reastaurants, clubs, bars and hotels.
When my son came to see us in 2012 he described Itaewon as "tacky" but I would go further and say it was downright grungy but that's what I found so charming about it! You could walk down the main street in Itaewon and sample cuisine from any corner of the globe, buy designer jeans for afew thousand KRW, buy diamonds, gold, Chinese clothes and jump on a bus, subway or taxi to take you anywhere in Korea! You could also hear every language on the planet being spoken by the bustling crowd congregating on the street around the make shift stalls of street vendors selling roast chestnuts , sweet potatoes, rice cakes or fishcakes.

One day when I was meeting some of my British Expat friends I discovered a jewelry shop on the high street which specialized in diamonds, gold and gossip.  While socializing with Expats who had lived in Seoul for a while, many stunning and unusual items of jewelry were worn and upon enquiry, Mrs Kim's name was mentioned so one day I went  to see where these beautiful items were from.
It was the owner of Kim's Jewelry who would go on to make my stay in Seoul so interesting. We will call the owner Mrs Kim although that wasn't her real name but it could also be any of the names above that I mentioned and it was in this jewelry shop that so many interesting stories, encounters and revelations occurred.
I came to understand that she had been in business almost 30 years, starting  out small, then she expanded and had now become one of the most popular jewelry destinations for foreigners. Kim's Gold even had their own work shop where you could get things made, remodeled and repaired. Everyone from the Filipino maids to the Ambassador's wives were amongst her clients. The array of stuff was so alluring that I found myself absolutely entranced by the glimmering gold, gems and designs. Another interesting coup by Mrs Kim was that she would sponsor every major foreign event that was held in Seoul so she would get new foreign customers almost every year.

Gwangwhamun at night.

The shop was not disappointing and the jewelry was so enticing that I soon found myself there every week and even though I couldn't buy something all the time I still went regularly. The store owner was so warm, inviting and charming that she would make me warm drinks of Korean citrus tea and Korean Maxim coffee and just lull me into buying some thing which started out small.
 I also solicited her good will when I raised about $7000 for Korean charity for the Seoul International Women's Club and she gave me a massive donation of about $500 donating just as much to the British Association and the American Women's Club as well as the Australia and New Zealand Women's Club.
Later on we seemed to become really good friends and I genuinely felt affectionate towards her as we exchanged stories about our lives, our children, our husbands and when I became obsessed with Korean dramas we discussed those. I would tell her about my travels  around Asia, Europe, the USA and England. I also loved the jewelry I bought there and treasure it to this day. Many have admired my necklaces, rings and earrings that my husband and I bought at that shop in Itaewon. Once when my husband went there to buy a ring for me she thought she would have a joke with him and showed him a ring that she said was "as big as my face"and lead him to believe that I really wanted me to have it. Eventually she showed him the ring I really wanted but we had a laugh about the monstrosity he almost bought from her!
 It was a place where many personal information and stories were exchanged. So during my years of living in this place in Itaewon it became a sanctuary where I would swap stories with Mrs Kim in the process of buying all kinds of beautiful jewelry. American soldiers would come in and tell her stories of  love, infidelity and pain. Many personal details were exchanged  along with many laughs. I felt very close to my jeweler friend. Secrets of painful things I was experiencing were divulged. I was not the only person I believe that had these experiences or this particular experience because I heard about many other stories too about people who had left Seoul already but some was just gossip about current customers.

About a year and a half after I left Seoul a message appeared on Facebook from an acquaintance questioning me about a very personal matter. I am still wondering whether it was heard from the expat community or whether my indiscreet confessions to my jewelry friend had come out. I prefer to believe it is just the rumor mill and not the gossip mill that may have come from behind the glittering gold and diamonds in Itaewon. I will always remember my friend in the best way possible where she comforted me in my time of loneliness and need of a friend in a foreign country where I found myself by chance.

Kimchi pots