I love Koreatown and Cafe Americano. Kiss of life is playing - Sade's song in Hangul - and I love that too.
Being here is comforting. This is the part of town where I started my teaching life, so it feels very appropriate that I'm here today preparing for the second half of the school year. I'm finalizing my lesson plans for my English and History classes and continuing work on my master's inquiry.
Lately, before I start work I always have to take a moment, collect my thoughts and write to myself first. It takes effort for me to be optimistic instead of falling prey to my inner critic (she's brutal). So I'll do here, what I usually do in my personal journal: positive affirmations.
I believe that I am not only passionate about teaching and serving young people, but that I have the tenacity and will to do it.
Teaching is my calling and I have the courage to continue, no matter how many mistakes I make.
Ok. I'm ready. Taking a deep breath, and moving forward!
Showing posts with label koreatown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label koreatown. Show all posts
Friday, January 04, 2008
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Walking
Walking was nice tonight. I was able to see how long it takes to walk from my apartment to the elementary school where I'm currently student teaching: 25 minutes.
When I walked tonight, on the streets of Koreatown, I felt like I was in another country. It makes such a big difference to be on the sidewalk rather than on the road. I've lived in this town for several months now and always, new discoveries on foot. I bumped into stranger's shoulders. Saw children with their parents. Commuters on their way home, off the bus. Deserted alleyways. Dark schools. People selling food stuffs, pirated dvds, shiny trinkets. Several taco trucks. I was out between 7:30 - 8:30pm. Valet people waiting. The white doors, with door knobs and the signs of Korean hostess bars. Oaxacan signs indicating they can send money back home there. El Salvadorean restaurants I haven't tried yet. Bangladeshi markets, Vons, Ralphs, and Jons and a Mexican carniceria. People lining up for loans - payday loans? Homeless men with their shopping carts. Drivers in their cars, that don't see me. A cool breeze.
I liked how cramped the sidewalk was. I didn't mind being surrounded by people. I was reminded of India. 15 minutes into my walk, I forgot I had a purpose (to measure the time it took to get to my school, to be active, oh and a last minute decision to buy fruit).
In the dark, shops are brighter, people stand out, and since I felt slightly afraid to be out alone at night, I was hyper aware of everything. But it ended up being a very liberating experience. My surroundings took hold of me and transported me someplace else. Maybe it was because almost everyone and everyplace that I passed by, was actually from another place, another country.
Maybe I'm being silly, but for a few minutes, I felt like their stories spoke to me.
When I walked tonight, on the streets of Koreatown, I felt like I was in another country. It makes such a big difference to be on the sidewalk rather than on the road. I've lived in this town for several months now and always, new discoveries on foot. I bumped into stranger's shoulders. Saw children with their parents. Commuters on their way home, off the bus. Deserted alleyways. Dark schools. People selling food stuffs, pirated dvds, shiny trinkets. Several taco trucks. I was out between 7:30 - 8:30pm. Valet people waiting. The white doors, with door knobs and the signs of Korean hostess bars. Oaxacan signs indicating they can send money back home there. El Salvadorean restaurants I haven't tried yet. Bangladeshi markets, Vons, Ralphs, and Jons and a Mexican carniceria. People lining up for loans - payday loans? Homeless men with their shopping carts. Drivers in their cars, that don't see me. A cool breeze.
I liked how cramped the sidewalk was. I didn't mind being surrounded by people. I was reminded of India. 15 minutes into my walk, I forgot I had a purpose (to measure the time it took to get to my school, to be active, oh and a last minute decision to buy fruit).
In the dark, shops are brighter, people stand out, and since I felt slightly afraid to be out alone at night, I was hyper aware of everything. But it ended up being a very liberating experience. My surroundings took hold of me and transported me someplace else. Maybe it was because almost everyone and everyplace that I passed by, was actually from another place, another country.
Maybe I'm being silly, but for a few minutes, I felt like their stories spoke to me.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Writing at Cafe Americano
After doing absolutely nothing productive at home for three hours, I'm here now. At Cafe Americano. I have my decaf, my ham panini, my wi-fi and three pages worth of ideas to gather into a cohesive whole for class.
Love this place. This place usually does the trick - I should be sleeping tonight instead of staring blankly at my computer all morning long =)
Love this place. This place usually does the trick - I should be sleeping tonight instead of staring blankly at my computer all morning long =)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Koreatown Eats and Tasers
This blog is inspired by a terrible eats and violence at my school. See if you can follow the flow - its late and it don't matter right?
Koreatown isn't as intimidating as I remember. I just want to be able to go inside a restaurant, be able to read the menu and walk out filled with joy. I wasn't able to do that before, but the options are growing and I'm not afraid about not being Korean anymore.
MAPO RESTAURANT
3611 W 6th St
LOS ANGELES , CA 90005
Mapo has the best banchan - sumptuous little dishes: beansprouts with sesame oil, marinated eaggplants with anchovies, kim chi, radishes, spinach, pototoes with onions, blanched cabbage with soy bean paste - I'm not exaggerating when I say that there may be more. The banchan makes this place special.
Do not miss the pork sauteed with green onions and kim chi. Their spicy tofu soup is thick with soy bean paste and savory chili. The plan is to try the marinated fish dish that I see on everyone's table next - I'll be brave next time and order by pointing =)
Oh, and the waitress is a sweetheart. She defies the "rude Korean" stereotype and when I go there by myself, I watch in awe. 8 tables, take out orders and the serving of a million banchan's all by herself.
Betty Hallock wrote an article in the L.A. Times about Koreatown eats this past June. She makes a few great suggestions:
MOUNTAIN CAFE(San), 3064 W. 8th St. - great Samgyetang or chicken soup with ginseng.
WIEN KONDITOREI UND CAFE, 3035 W. Olympic Blvd. - its a beautiful bakery. I can sit there all morning. Recommended: their tiny cakes in the glass shelf and chestnut bread.
Then there's the place I will never go to again:
MOM's RESTAURANT (Umma Jip), 3126 W. 8th St. - I love mom and pop shops but um, there's not alot of love when you walk into this place - especially for a non Korean and a dark Pinoy. It's like the mom in mom and pop disappeared. If you're looking for something cheap, there's some beef soup for $2.99 but otherwise, go back to 6th street and have some of Mapo's grub.
I don't know friends. Kim chi is addictive. I have a half gallon in my fridge and I find myself munching on that as I cook my dinners =)
And yes, its on my mind. UCLA and tasers.
I didn't watch the footage last night and couldn't understand what my classmates meant this afternoon when they used words like infuriated. Until I saw the YouTube clip tonight. An excruciating 6:53 minutes of violence and discrimination. I passed up the protest at UCLA today cause I didn't understand what happened but now I do. It's automatic to feel angry when you hear a fellow student scream in that manner and be abused by campus police. And I'll be sure to be out there in solidarity with my peers next time. Denouncing the power that people assume with their uniform on and rejecting the mandate by our country's leaders to treat our fellow middle eastern citizens like criminals.
Koreatown isn't as intimidating as I remember. I just want to be able to go inside a restaurant, be able to read the menu and walk out filled with joy. I wasn't able to do that before, but the options are growing and I'm not afraid about not being Korean anymore.
MAPO RESTAURANT
3611 W 6th St
LOS ANGELES , CA 90005
Mapo has the best banchan - sumptuous little dishes: beansprouts with sesame oil, marinated eaggplants with anchovies, kim chi, radishes, spinach, pototoes with onions, blanched cabbage with soy bean paste - I'm not exaggerating when I say that there may be more. The banchan makes this place special.
Do not miss the pork sauteed with green onions and kim chi. Their spicy tofu soup is thick with soy bean paste and savory chili. The plan is to try the marinated fish dish that I see on everyone's table next - I'll be brave next time and order by pointing =)
Oh, and the waitress is a sweetheart. She defies the "rude Korean" stereotype and when I go there by myself, I watch in awe. 8 tables, take out orders and the serving of a million banchan's all by herself.
Betty Hallock wrote an article in the L.A. Times about Koreatown eats this past June. She makes a few great suggestions:
MOUNTAIN CAFE(San), 3064 W. 8th St. - great Samgyetang or chicken soup with ginseng.
WIEN KONDITOREI UND CAFE, 3035 W. Olympic Blvd. - its a beautiful bakery. I can sit there all morning. Recommended: their tiny cakes in the glass shelf and chestnut bread.
Then there's the place I will never go to again:
MOM's RESTAURANT (Umma Jip), 3126 W. 8th St. - I love mom and pop shops but um, there's not alot of love when you walk into this place - especially for a non Korean and a dark Pinoy. It's like the mom in mom and pop disappeared. If you're looking for something cheap, there's some beef soup for $2.99 but otherwise, go back to 6th street and have some of Mapo's grub.
I don't know friends. Kim chi is addictive. I have a half gallon in my fridge and I find myself munching on that as I cook my dinners =)
And yes, its on my mind. UCLA and tasers.
I didn't watch the footage last night and couldn't understand what my classmates meant this afternoon when they used words like infuriated. Until I saw the YouTube clip tonight. An excruciating 6:53 minutes of violence and discrimination. I passed up the protest at UCLA today cause I didn't understand what happened but now I do. It's automatic to feel angry when you hear a fellow student scream in that manner and be abused by campus police. And I'll be sure to be out there in solidarity with my peers next time. Denouncing the power that people assume with their uniform on and rejecting the mandate by our country's leaders to treat our fellow middle eastern citizens like criminals.
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Alive and Well
I've been away for a month! The move from home to my own apartment and all the adjusting took some time. Phew, this is the last week before school begins too. Its difficult keeping pace with the change I've got going on these days. Haven't even thought of the housewarming, though it'd be nice.
It's really the first time I've lived in the center of Los Angeles. Los Angeles - what a crowded city. Cars, buses, families, construction, deconstruction, smog all spill on top of each other like boiling water overflowing from a too small pot. Though less cars and more green space would be ideal, I expected this change, from a slow suburbia to the craziness of the city. And unlike the last time I did the city (studying abroad in Tokyo) I feel less overwhelmed by the constant activity and am eager to live it up.
There's more to say - but will update next time once I get the internet running from the apartment. Quite an ordeal in and of itself - I LOATHE automated telephone operators and at the moment AT&T.
It's really the first time I've lived in the center of Los Angeles. Los Angeles - what a crowded city. Cars, buses, families, construction, deconstruction, smog all spill on top of each other like boiling water overflowing from a too small pot. Though less cars and more green space would be ideal, I expected this change, from a slow suburbia to the craziness of the city. And unlike the last time I did the city (studying abroad in Tokyo) I feel less overwhelmed by the constant activity and am eager to live it up.
There's more to say - but will update next time once I get the internet running from the apartment. Quite an ordeal in and of itself - I LOATHE automated telephone operators and at the moment AT&T.
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