The Orange Backpack

Well, I don’t know about you, but it felt like Thanksgiving came and went all too quickly. I waited so long for that turkey and then it was just gone. Celebrating the holidays of your home country or other expats’ home countries can be a lot of fun. Fireworks on Guy Fawkes Day, barbecue and […]

So, the year is coming to ta close and it’s that time again. The time when most Americans are getting ready for some serious turkey eating, and hopefully saying or at least thinking about what they are thankful for.   When I was younger I had a real problem with Thanksgiving because I believed it […]

When I told people I was going to a museum about toilets, the reactions I received most were either excitement or a puzzled look, followed by “A what!?!”.  Surprisingly, some of my peers had already heard about the infamous Mr. Toilet House here in Suwon and one even had his picture up on the wall. (They […]

Well, it’s getting colder here in Kimchi Land and that means the year is almost out. I wouldn’t feel right if I didn’t give a shout out to my former home of Taiwan to celebrate their hundredth year of existence.  Currently, I live in South Korea and I love it. Even though I might feel […]

The long-awaited second installment of “Kandid Korea”! There is nothing I love more than stumbling upon the weird, yet wonderful, parts of Korea and the world at large. These treasures can give us insight into the people and cultures behind them. As always, please keep in mind when I say “weird” I mean it in […]

In a region of the world where Confucian ideals still exist and women are often considered inferior live a group of women, some well into their golden years, who have been defying that philosophy long before the well known women’s movement of the 1960s. They did it not for political or social reasons but out […]

    Pepero hangover anyone? So it’s the day after Pepero Day and I am sure most people are feeling pretty gross  right about now.  Yesterday was a particularly special Pepero Day because it is 2011. Meaning it is the first time in a century that the calendar  has read 11/11/11.  This relates to Pepero […]

One of the most pleasurable ways to explore any culture, most can agree, is through its cuisine and by extension the kind of products that it produces. Every country has something that is unique to that place and can tell you something about the culture you are in. Korea has many different items in this […]