Yesterday I walked into a shop at the bus terminal I go to every morning that made breakfast sandwiches. I immediately became regretful that I hadn't discovered it sooner. How wonderful it would have been to stop into this place every morning and get myself a warm, toasty, hearty breakfast, just the perfect way to start my day.
My regret quickly turned to relief, and then, eventually, dismay. After receiving my order of an egg, sausage and cheese on toast, I found that by sausage they meant "hot dog" and someone decided it would be a good idea to dress the whole monstrosity up with honey mustard sauce.
Not all that glitters is gold, I suppose.
I met a couple of Americans on the bus into the park, and we got to talking. One of the gentlemen told me this was his 11th Olympics (there's definitely, I guess what you'd call, a cult of people who live and die for the Olympics and will travel anywhere in the world to attend them...they come off as a little sad and pathetic, but it's their "thing" and they groove on it, so who am I to judge?), and he told me he'd brought his daughter to the Winter Games in Salt Lake City when they were there in 2002. He said she still considers it one of her greatest memories. It's a sappy anecdote, but it does show the power that the Olympics hold. Los Angeles is hosting the Summer Games in 2028, and wouldn't that just make for the perfect family vacation? We'll talk about I when I get home, honey.
The figure skating competition ended yesterday, and I'm headed out soon. Overall, my experience in Korea has been an overwhelmingly positive one. I'm proud of the work we did here. I'm glad I got to go watch a new sport (aerials) and was in the building for the signature event of these Games (women's hockey gold-medal game). I wish I'd gotten to see more, but with how spread out the venues are, you really have to set aside a good chunk of your day if you want to go to an event outside of the cluster you're in, and with the figure skating schedule being what it is, that's not usually a realistic option.
The food was outstanding. The people were gracious and helpful. My hotel was clean and quiet and convenient. I really have very little to complain about.
But I am ready to come home. This is a long time to be away from your family, and I miss them a lot, and I think, maybe, just maybe, they miss me, too. The long trek from Gangneung to Waldwick awaits.
But first, one last snack review.
This one, unfortunately, is a boring one, and I don't even have a picture to go with it. It was a bag of potato chips with, what I thought was, a buffalo drumstick on it, so I was expecting to get something spicy, but it turned out it was just a regular barbecue chicken drumstick, and these ended up being boring, old barbecue potato chips. Nothing to see here (literally).
Rating: 5.0
Friday, February 23, 2018
Thursday, February 22, 2018
If you're ever in Korea, don't drink this
It's called soju, it's the most popular type of liquor in Korea, and it tastes like shit. Avoid it at all costs.
That is all.
Hitting the Olympic wall...and then not (but still kinda)
I was all ready to write a blog about how I'd hit the Olympic wall, how I'd gotten to the point in these Games where I was sick and tired of going through the same routine every day, eating the same food, seeing the same people (this happens every time I go to the Olympics...I'm pretty sure I've written about it in previous blogs)...and then I went to the USA-Canada women's hockey gold-medal game.
If you didn't stay up to watch it, the U.S. was losing 2-1 after two periods (we got there midway through the second), and then scored a goal in the third to tie it up. No one else scored in the rest of regulation, and the game went to sudden-death overtime.
The two teams played a hard-fought -- albeit scoreless -- OT period, and it was on to a shootout to decide the winner.
After five rounds of back-and-forth shootout attempts, the game was still tied. Jocelyne Lamoreaux-Davidson was up next for Team USA, and she did this...
https://twitter.com/CBJFrontLine/status/966571980790038528
What a deke (that's a hockey term for when you feint to one side and then go to the other)! The Americans then needed a save from their goalie, and they'd be the gold medalists.
And Maddie Rooney came up huge!
https://twitter.com/OneFanView/status/966573530258296832
Then, it was celebration time.
They're calling it the most exciting event at these Games, and I can't disagree (although I hear the finals of the team sprint free were RIVETING). It sure is the best thing I've seen since I've been here.
I'll admit, I wasn't that excited to go to the game in the first place. To be honest, I don't find women's hockey all that entertaining -- it's too slow, the passing isn't very crisp, there isn't much flow to the game -- but when the two best teams in the world are going toe to toe, with an Olympic gold medal on the line no less, you tend to forgot about your biases and get swept up in the emotion of it all. I know I did.
It doesn't change the fact that I'm still kind of Olympic'd out and I'm very ready to come home, but for a couple of hours at least, I was happy I was still here.
Snack Review
How could I pass these up? For goodness sakes, they have a WHALE on them! Luckily, they weren't flavored like humpback (not that I would know what that tastes like), only shaped like it.
When I opened the bag and smelled these, I immediately thought of ketchup, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They only tasted faintly like ketchup, though...in fact, I couldn't really tell you what they tasted like. With every bite, I kept trying to come up with something to compare them to, and I kept coming up empty. The best I can do is, they were a little ketchup-y, a little vegetable-y, and reminded me a little of seasoning you'd put on chicken. That probably doesn't sound very appetizing, but these were actually very good, one of my favorite snacks I've had since I've been here.
The only downside was that they left kind of a funny aftertaste, but I won't let that affect the score too much.
Rating: 8.5
If you didn't stay up to watch it, the U.S. was losing 2-1 after two periods (we got there midway through the second), and then scored a goal in the third to tie it up. No one else scored in the rest of regulation, and the game went to sudden-death overtime.
The two teams played a hard-fought -- albeit scoreless -- OT period, and it was on to a shootout to decide the winner.
After five rounds of back-and-forth shootout attempts, the game was still tied. Jocelyne Lamoreaux-Davidson was up next for Team USA, and she did this...
https://twitter.com/CBJFrontLine/status/966571980790038528
What a deke (that's a hockey term for when you feint to one side and then go to the other)! The Americans then needed a save from their goalie, and they'd be the gold medalists.
And Maddie Rooney came up huge!
https://twitter.com/OneFanView/status/966573530258296832
Then, it was celebration time.
They're calling it the most exciting event at these Games, and I can't disagree (although I hear the finals of the team sprint free were RIVETING). It sure is the best thing I've seen since I've been here.
I'll admit, I wasn't that excited to go to the game in the first place. To be honest, I don't find women's hockey all that entertaining -- it's too slow, the passing isn't very crisp, there isn't much flow to the game -- but when the two best teams in the world are going toe to toe, with an Olympic gold medal on the line no less, you tend to forgot about your biases and get swept up in the emotion of it all. I know I did.
It doesn't change the fact that I'm still kind of Olympic'd out and I'm very ready to come home, but for a couple of hours at least, I was happy I was still here.
Snack Review
How could I pass these up? For goodness sakes, they have a WHALE on them! Luckily, they weren't flavored like humpback (not that I would know what that tastes like), only shaped like it.
When I opened the bag and smelled these, I immediately thought of ketchup, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. They only tasted faintly like ketchup, though...in fact, I couldn't really tell you what they tasted like. With every bite, I kept trying to come up with something to compare them to, and I kept coming up empty. The best I can do is, they were a little ketchup-y, a little vegetable-y, and reminded me a little of seasoning you'd put on chicken. That probably doesn't sound very appetizing, but these were actually very good, one of my favorite snacks I've had since I've been here.
The only downside was that they left kind of a funny aftertaste, but I won't let that affect the score too much.
Rating: 8.5
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
Not-so-sweet merch
There's no other way to put it: The merchandise situation here is abysmal.
Even with just these basic, plain sweatshirts and T-shirts, they made no effort to make them look visually appealing. I wouldn't be caught dead in either of those.
I went back to the Super Store today to see if I missed anything my first time through. The answer I was left with was a resounding "no."
I meant to take pictures of some of the more hideous items available for purchase, but I forgot, so here are some images I downloaded from the store's official website...
Look, I get that styles and tastes vary from place to place. Not to generalize here, but Asians seem to veer toward more child-like themes (Hello Kitty!), but when you're making apparel for a worldwide audience, you need to come up with designs that have a broader appeal and at least make an attempt at incorporating some fashion elements into your clothing. And these miss the mark on both counts.
Even with just these basic, plain sweatshirts and T-shirts, they made no effort to make them look visually appealing. I wouldn't be caught dead in either of those.
As sad as it is, this plain white T-shirt is the best thing I could find in the store. Simple, clean, wearable.
It's just a sad state of affairs, and there's only one man I know who can fix the situation...
Make it work, people!
Odds and ends
This blog will consist of a few quick-hitters because I really haven't gotten to do anything these last couple of days other than work. Today will be different, as we're off and I'm planning on going to the Olympic Park to watch some stuff (women's hockey gold-medal game?) and maybe do some more shopping (women be shopping).
Here is the text from a press release I received yesterday. Read it and tell me what sport you think it's talking about...
BREAKING NEWS: Randall and Diggins Win Team Sprint Free Semifinal to Advance
Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins have advanced to the final in women's team sprint free by winning their semifinal with the fastest time Wednesday evening at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.
The duo combined for a time of 16:22.56, finishing 0.72 seconds ahead of Sweden.
Norway won the first semifinal with a time of 16:33.28, 10.72 seconds slower than the Americans' time.
The women's sprint free final is scheduled to begin todfay at 7 p.m. KT/5 a.m. ET.
You can't! I still don't know. Is it skiing? Snowboarding? A sport where they race across a sheet of ice on foot? It's a total mystery to me.
But way to go Randall and Diggins, you two team sprint free athletes, and best of luck in the finals!
Last night we returned to the Korean barbecue restaurant for dinner. Afterward, we tried to go to this dessert place we've been hearing a lot about. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were greeted by this sign...
If I must say, this comes off as a little arrogant. Hey, Dessert 39, you don't need to brag about how scrumptious your stock is...you've already lured us here with your enticing window display (not pictured, but trust me, it was enticing).
I'm going back there today, and if they haven't re-stocked their delicios drinks and desserts, I'm gonna be livid.
Snack Review
These are called Turtle chips or Turtle bites or something. There's a short story on the bag about what goes into corn soup, which I guess is what these are made with. If that sounds unappetizing, that's because it is.
See that facial expression on the turtle on the bag? That's what I looked like when I tried these. Disgusting on every level. There was some semblance of sweetness, probably from the corn soup, and maybe even a touch of vanilla flavor somewhere in there. Overall, these were vile and wretched and should never be consumed by a living soul.
Rating: 0.0
Here is the text from a press release I received yesterday. Read it and tell me what sport you think it's talking about...
Kikkan Randall and Jessie Diggins have advanced to the final in women's team sprint free by winning their semifinal with the fastest time Wednesday evening at the Alpensia Cross-Country Skiing Center.
The duo combined for a time of 16:22.56, finishing 0.72 seconds ahead of Sweden.
Norway won the first semifinal with a time of 16:33.28, 10.72 seconds slower than the Americans' time.
The women's sprint free final is scheduled to begin todfay at 7 p.m. KT/5 a.m. ET.
You can't! I still don't know. Is it skiing? Snowboarding? A sport where they race across a sheet of ice on foot? It's a total mystery to me.
But way to go Randall and Diggins, you two team sprint free athletes, and best of luck in the finals!
Last night we returned to the Korean barbecue restaurant for dinner. Afterward, we tried to go to this dessert place we've been hearing a lot about. Unfortunately, when we got there, we were greeted by this sign...
If I must say, this comes off as a little arrogant. Hey, Dessert 39, you don't need to brag about how scrumptious your stock is...you've already lured us here with your enticing window display (not pictured, but trust me, it was enticing).
I'm going back there today, and if they haven't re-stocked their delicios drinks and desserts, I'm gonna be livid.
Snack Review
These are called Turtle chips or Turtle bites or something. There's a short story on the bag about what goes into corn soup, which I guess is what these are made with. If that sounds unappetizing, that's because it is.
See that facial expression on the turtle on the bag? That's what I looked like when I tried these. Disgusting on every level. There was some semblance of sweetness, probably from the corn soup, and maybe even a touch of vanilla flavor somewhere in there. Overall, these were vile and wretched and should never be consumed by a living soul.
Rating: 0.0
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Food reviews (and not much else)
I haven't had much time to do much else other than work these last couple of days, so you're just going to get a series of snack reviews in this post (I know that's the only reason ya'll are reading my blog anyway).
Snack #1
Wasabi crab crisps. At first bite, I thought these lacked potency, but upon further consumption, they provided a good amount of kick. The wasabi flavor really came through. I could have used a little more crab, and they weren't super crispy, but overall, an enjoyable snack.
Rating: 8.3
Snack #2
I'd seen these in the store every time I went in there and was always tempted to buy them, but I kept passing on them because they looked too sweet. In fact, they were the opposite. They're actually peanut-flavored, which came as a surprise. However, they're not peanut-y enough, and they're definitely sweet enough, and they have an almost stale texture when you bite into them. Overall, edible but disappointing.
Rating: 5.7
Snack #3
These are squid bites (I made that up). These bring my count of cephalopod-/crustacean-/fish-flavored snacks to five: octopus, crab, shrimp, tuna and squid. When they bury me, I want that to go on my tombstone.
Anyway, these were a bit underwhelming. Not very squid-y, decent crunch, not much else going on.
Rating: 6.1
On a related note, remember these?
I was a little harsh on them a little in my initial review (https://gangneungstyle.blogspot.kr/2018/02/i-lost-something-cool-today.html). I kept them around in my room after the day I bought them, and every day when I would get back to my hotel, before I'd go to bed, I'd eat a few, and they started to grow on me. In an unprecedented move, I'm going to amend my initial rating and bump them up to a 7.7.
I hope you all are enjoying watching the Games back home. How's the coverage been? What's been your favorite thing to watch? How perfect a couple would Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir make? Totes perf, right???!!!
If you would be so kind, please leave your feedback in the comments section.
MB signing off!
Snack #1
Wasabi crab crisps. At first bite, I thought these lacked potency, but upon further consumption, they provided a good amount of kick. The wasabi flavor really came through. I could have used a little more crab, and they weren't super crispy, but overall, an enjoyable snack.
Rating: 8.3
Snack #2
Rating: 5.7
Snack #3
These are squid bites (I made that up). These bring my count of cephalopod-/crustacean-/fish-flavored snacks to five: octopus, crab, shrimp, tuna and squid. When they bury me, I want that to go on my tombstone.
Anyway, these were a bit underwhelming. Not very squid-y, decent crunch, not much else going on.
Rating: 6.1
On a related note, remember these?
I was a little harsh on them a little in my initial review (https://gangneungstyle.blogspot.kr/2018/02/i-lost-something-cool-today.html). I kept them around in my room after the day I bought them, and every day when I would get back to my hotel, before I'd go to bed, I'd eat a few, and they started to grow on me. In an unprecedented move, I'm going to amend my initial rating and bump them up to a 7.7.
I hope you all are enjoying watching the Games back home. How's the coverage been? What's been your favorite thing to watch? How perfect a couple would Canadian ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir make? Totes perf, right???!!!
If you would be so kind, please leave your feedback in the comments section.
MB signing off!
Sunday, February 18, 2018
Off Day
As I mentioned in my last post, today was a day off from competition. I figured I'd head into Olympic Park and get some shopping done at the Super Store while I had some free time.
The line outside the Super Store always stretches for miles (or so it seems), but I didn't have to wait very long to be let in. Here's the scene that met me when I got inside...
The best part of that photo (obvi) is the news cameraman getting a shot of the swarm of people around the pin section of the store. That was the most chaotic area in the place, but the rest of the store was pretty packed, too.
After dropping 100,000 won on some sweet merch, I went over to the Alibaba House, which is a very prominent building in the Olympic Park...
I had never heard of Alibaba until I got here, but apparently it's an e-commerce company that paid a buttload of money to be an Olympic sponsor. There are a few different fan experiences you can have inside the Alibaba House. The shortest line was for the facial recognition technology station, so that's the one I went to.
And, well, here's the result...
The problem with the technology, as you can plainly see, is that it doesn't recognize facial hair, which seems like a pretty big problem when you're touting your technology as FACIAL RECOGNITION and facial hair is part of one's face. It left what looks like a smudge of dirt above my lip and on my chin, which is wholly unflattering. Needless to say, their technology is not yet ready for the marketplace.
I went and got some lunch, and while I was waiting for my food to come out, I noticed this tub of...something sitting by the pickup window...
Is it yogurt? Sour cream? Mayonnaise? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS??? I'm referring to it as a Big Tub of Nope.
As I was walking through the park, I noticed a crowd gathered around someone, so I went over to see who it was. It turned out it was Maame Biney, the African-American short track speed skater, being interviewed...
Most of the rest of my day was spent in the Mountain Cluster, where I attended a press conference, got some work done and went out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. It wasn't the most exciting day of my trip, but they can't all be thrill-a-minute adventures.
What time is it? You know what time it is.
The things I do for you people.
You read that right: Those are tuna mayonnaise-flavored potato chips. I stood in front of the rack at the convenience store for a good five minutes debating whether I should get them, whether I was strong (stupid?) enough to eat something so vile sounding. But I made a vow to myself and to you, my readers, that I would expand my horizons and try the weirdest of the weird, so I sucked it up and dove in.
I can't say I'm glad I gave these a whirl, but I also don't regret that I did either. Neither the tuna flavor nor the mayonnaise flavor was overwhelming -- they were both mild, actually -- with the former coming through more than the latter. (I could only think of the poor food scientist who had to continually go back to the drawing board to tweak the formula for mayonnaise flavoring before he got it just right.) They certainly were not off-putting -- I happily ate the whole bag -- but I would not go back for seconds.
Rating: 6.4
The line outside the Super Store always stretches for miles (or so it seems), but I didn't have to wait very long to be let in. Here's the scene that met me when I got inside...
The best part of that photo (obvi) is the news cameraman getting a shot of the swarm of people around the pin section of the store. That was the most chaotic area in the place, but the rest of the store was pretty packed, too.
After dropping 100,000 won on some sweet merch, I went over to the Alibaba House, which is a very prominent building in the Olympic Park...
I had never heard of Alibaba until I got here, but apparently it's an e-commerce company that paid a buttload of money to be an Olympic sponsor. There are a few different fan experiences you can have inside the Alibaba House. The shortest line was for the facial recognition technology station, so that's the one I went to.
And, well, here's the result...
The problem with the technology, as you can plainly see, is that it doesn't recognize facial hair, which seems like a pretty big problem when you're touting your technology as FACIAL RECOGNITION and facial hair is part of one's face. It left what looks like a smudge of dirt above my lip and on my chin, which is wholly unflattering. Needless to say, their technology is not yet ready for the marketplace.
I went and got some lunch, and while I was waiting for my food to come out, I noticed this tub of...something sitting by the pickup window...
Is it yogurt? Sour cream? Mayonnaise? WHO THE FUCK KNOWS??? I'm referring to it as a Big Tub of Nope.
As I was walking through the park, I noticed a crowd gathered around someone, so I went over to see who it was. It turned out it was Maame Biney, the African-American short track speed skater, being interviewed...
Most of the rest of my day was spent in the Mountain Cluster, where I attended a press conference, got some work done and went out to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. It wasn't the most exciting day of my trip, but they can't all be thrill-a-minute adventures.
What time is it? You know what time it is.
The things I do for you people.
You read that right: Those are tuna mayonnaise-flavored potato chips. I stood in front of the rack at the convenience store for a good five minutes debating whether I should get them, whether I was strong (stupid?) enough to eat something so vile sounding. But I made a vow to myself and to you, my readers, that I would expand my horizons and try the weirdest of the weird, so I sucked it up and dove in.
I can't say I'm glad I gave these a whirl, but I also don't regret that I did either. Neither the tuna flavor nor the mayonnaise flavor was overwhelming -- they were both mild, actually -- with the former coming through more than the latter. (I could only think of the poor food scientist who had to continually go back to the drawing board to tweak the formula for mayonnaise flavoring before he got it just right.) They certainly were not off-putting -- I happily ate the whole bag -- but I would not go back for seconds.
Rating: 6.4
Saturday, February 17, 2018
Hockey Night in Korea
Sorry for the radio silence recently, but I've actually been busy working these last couple of days, if you can believe it. But I'm back now and ready to fill you in on all my wacky adventures (Reader's note: I've had no wacky adventures since the last time I blogged.)
Two nights ago I went to dinner at a Korean barbecue restaurant that everyone around here's been raving about. If you don't know how it works, they sit you at a table that has a small grill attached to it, and they start loading meat and vegetables onto it (similar to a hibachi place, only with a smaller cooking surface and without an entertaining chef).
This should give you an idea of what it looks like...
Two nights ago I went to dinner at a Korean barbecue restaurant that everyone around here's been raving about. If you don't know how it works, they sit you at a table that has a small grill attached to it, and they start loading meat and vegetables onto it (similar to a hibachi place, only with a smaller cooking surface and without an entertaining chef).
This should give you an idea of what it looks like...
I did not take this picture; I found it on a Google Images search
Our waiter filled up our grill (using scissors to cut some of the slabs of meat) and then left us to our own devices for the rest of the meal. It was a very fun experience, and the food was supes delish. (While the meat was tasty, the grilled kimchi might have been my favorite part of the meal.) Go get yourself some Korean barbecue.
Last night I went to the USA-OAR (Russia) men's hockey game, which did not turn out to be much of a game. With no NHL players at the Olympics, countries had to scramble to come up with the best players they could find to fill up their hockey rosters. OAR did not have to look far, as Russia has a professional hockey league called the KHL, which consists of a lot of players who have recently spent time in the NHL and are still, more or less, world-class caliber. OAR is definitely the favorites to win the gold, and they showed it last night, pummeling the U.S., 4-0.
Outside the Gangneung Hockey Centre
The teams warm up before the bloodbath ensues.
Nothing else blogworthy has happened to me lately. Today, we have a much-needed day off from competition. We're heading over to the Main Press Center for a press conference later this afternoon and then may stick around to watch some ski jumping, bobsled, possibly another athletic endeavor where there's a good chance for major bodily injury.
It's that time, folks...
Snack #1
I'd been wanting to try these for a while...I mean, how can you pass up a bag of crunchy snacks adorned with a kindly cephalopod? Based on the presence of the hot peppers on the bag, though, I was actually more worried about the spiciness of these than the fact I was about eat something flavored like octopus.
These were...fine. Not that spicy, actually, with a decent, mild flavor. Acceptable crunch. All in all, kind of forgettable.
Rating: 7.8
Snack #2
I wasn't sure what to expect from these. I thought they'd be really hot based on the look of the packaging, but they just a little spicy. They had a perfect sweetness and an amazing crunch, and they were so good, I plowed through this entire bag almost all by myself (there are vultures in the media room, I tell you). My only criticism, and it's a minor one, is they could have used a touch more heat, but I'm nitpicking here: These were my favorite snacks I've had since I've been in Korea.
Rating: 9.4
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Look, up in the sky!
A few days ago, Everen told me you could drop a bag of clothes off at the front desk in the morning and they would launder them for you, free of charge. He did warn me that when you came back that night, you'd find your clothes hanging from various places in your room.
Yesterday I found myself running low on certain essential items, so I crammed as many pairs of socks and underwear, and shirts into a bag and left it at the front desk. When I returned to my room, this is what I found...
I mean, they laid my (brightly colored) socks individually on the TV stand, on the table, on the hangers to dry. They put my underwear on hangers and hung them from this ceiling feature I've got in my room.
How can you not love these people?
After the skating event got done yesterday, I went over to the MPC for a press conference. While I was there, I ran into a colleague who told me she was going to cover aerials that night and that I should come and watch. Have nothing else to do, I said, "Sure, why not."
When you're at the Olympics, if you have the chance to do or see something you've never done or seen before, you shouldn't ever say "no" (unless it directly interferes with your work or could get you arrested). Even if you're not sure you're going to like it or have much interest in it, this event doesn't come around very often -- and you don't know if you're ever going to get to experience it again -- so you should always take advantage of a new opportunity if it presents itself.
I hopped on a shuttle, which took me 45 minutes away from the MPC (which is a good half hour away from the media village, which is about 10 minutes from my hotel). We drove into the night, ending up at the Phoenix Snow Park. After collecting my bearings, I found the route to the aerial park and started walking.
Little did I know, you practically had to be an Olympian just to get to the park itself. At several points, you had to walk over rickety man-made footbridges.
This is one stretch of the path...
That picture doesn't do the incline justice; it was steep.
Here's another part of the journey...
I felt like I was on some kind of survival march. It was crazy that there were this many people who were willing to make this trek to watch some Belarussian women launch themselves off ski ramps. But, again, this is the kind of thing the Olympics make you do.
I finally made it to the aerial park, and it was a lively scene.
https://www.facebook.com/mickeybrown1/videos/10156117116049568/
Very different than at the figure skating venue, where they have an opera singer to entertain the crowd during ice resurfaces.
If you've never watched aerials, it basically involves skiing down a mountain and then launching yourself off a ramp and doing a series of tricks in the air before trying to stick the landing. It's something you watch and you think to yourself, "I can't imagine anyone watching this and thinking to themselves, 'I want to do that.'"
But do that they do.
Here what it looked like from my vantage point...
See that blue circle up there. That there's a person. I don't know how many feet up in the air she is, but in my mind, it's too many. This sport is not for the faint of heart.
Aerials, at least to me, was kind of like auto racing: It's very repetitive, all the jumps kind of looking the same, and the most exciting parts are the wipeouts. The wipeouts are NASTY. When the competitors over- or under-rotate in the air, their bodies violently whip back or forward, eliciting an immediate "OHHHH!" from the crowd. They never seem to get hurt too badly (I think the snow is packed in such a way that their landing is cushioned), but that doesn't take away from the inherent danger in the sport.
After one round of qualifying, I had had it. It was just too cold, and I wasn't dressed for the occasion. (I also didn't met up with my colleague; we never set a meeting point, and my phone mysteriously died.) I made the long trip back to my hotel and, several hours later, collapsed into bed, exhausted from the day I'd had.
Snack review time! Today we've got these...
I wasn't sure what I was getting into with these when I bought them. I thought the picture on the bag looked like either coconuts or baked potatoes. Unfortunately, it ended up being the former.
The less said about these, the better. They're horrendous. They taste somewhat coconut-ty, but not really, the texture is kind of crunchy, but not enough. Everything about these is wrong. I can't believe these are things people willingly eat, much less made it through the taste-testing process.
Rating: 0.0
Yesterday I found myself running low on certain essential items, so I crammed as many pairs of socks and underwear, and shirts into a bag and left it at the front desk. When I returned to my room, this is what I found...
I mean, they laid my (brightly colored) socks individually on the TV stand, on the table, on the hangers to dry. They put my underwear on hangers and hung them from this ceiling feature I've got in my room.
How can you not love these people?
After the skating event got done yesterday, I went over to the MPC for a press conference. While I was there, I ran into a colleague who told me she was going to cover aerials that night and that I should come and watch. Have nothing else to do, I said, "Sure, why not."
When you're at the Olympics, if you have the chance to do or see something you've never done or seen before, you shouldn't ever say "no" (unless it directly interferes with your work or could get you arrested). Even if you're not sure you're going to like it or have much interest in it, this event doesn't come around very often -- and you don't know if you're ever going to get to experience it again -- so you should always take advantage of a new opportunity if it presents itself.
I hopped on a shuttle, which took me 45 minutes away from the MPC (which is a good half hour away from the media village, which is about 10 minutes from my hotel). We drove into the night, ending up at the Phoenix Snow Park. After collecting my bearings, I found the route to the aerial park and started walking.
Little did I know, you practically had to be an Olympian just to get to the park itself. At several points, you had to walk over rickety man-made footbridges.
This is one stretch of the path...
That picture doesn't do the incline justice; it was steep.
Here's another part of the journey...
I felt like I was on some kind of survival march. It was crazy that there were this many people who were willing to make this trek to watch some Belarussian women launch themselves off ski ramps. But, again, this is the kind of thing the Olympics make you do.
I finally made it to the aerial park, and it was a lively scene.
https://www.facebook.com/mickeybrown1/videos/10156117116049568/
Very different than at the figure skating venue, where they have an opera singer to entertain the crowd during ice resurfaces.
If you've never watched aerials, it basically involves skiing down a mountain and then launching yourself off a ramp and doing a series of tricks in the air before trying to stick the landing. It's something you watch and you think to yourself, "I can't imagine anyone watching this and thinking to themselves, 'I want to do that.'"
But do that they do.
Here what it looked like from my vantage point...
See that blue circle up there. That there's a person. I don't know how many feet up in the air she is, but in my mind, it's too many. This sport is not for the faint of heart.
Aerials, at least to me, was kind of like auto racing: It's very repetitive, all the jumps kind of looking the same, and the most exciting parts are the wipeouts. The wipeouts are NASTY. When the competitors over- or under-rotate in the air, their bodies violently whip back or forward, eliciting an immediate "OHHHH!" from the crowd. They never seem to get hurt too badly (I think the snow is packed in such a way that their landing is cushioned), but that doesn't take away from the inherent danger in the sport.
After one round of qualifying, I had had it. It was just too cold, and I wasn't dressed for the occasion. (I also didn't met up with my colleague; we never set a meeting point, and my phone mysteriously died.) I made the long trip back to my hotel and, several hours later, collapsed into bed, exhausted from the day I'd had.
Snack review time! Today we've got these...
I wasn't sure what I was getting into with these when I bought them. I thought the picture on the bag looked like either coconuts or baked potatoes. Unfortunately, it ended up being the former.
The less said about these, the better. They're horrendous. They taste somewhat coconut-ty, but not really, the texture is kind of crunchy, but not enough. Everything about these is wrong. I can't believe these are things people willingly eat, much less made it through the taste-testing process.
Rating: 0.0
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
USA! USA! USugh
First, a semi-serious observation, then on to the fun stuff.
As I was running around the arena today, a colleague tipped me off that the entire North Korean delegation was just outside the doors of the venue waiting to be taken away on buses. (If you aren't up on what's going on w/ North Korea at these Games -- the pairs figure skating team, the cheerleaders, etc. -- Google it.) I walked outside and was met with this scene...
I don't claim to know a whole lot about what goes on in that country, but I do know that when you get that many people in one place all standing perfectly still and remaining perfectly silent and awaiting orders to move, freedom is not a concept they're too familiar with.
I went to my first non-figure skating event here tonight, the USA-Slovenia men's hockey game. It was a fun atmosphere, with lots of American fans acting like, well, American sports fans. (They're easy to spot in a crowd, even if they're not adorned in red, white and blue, which almost all of them are.)
If you didn't know, the hockey tournament here doesn't have any NHL players in it, so the caliber of play is noticeably worse than it was in Sochi or Vancouver. The U.S. went up 2-0 after two periods, then gave up a goal in the third.
With about 2 minutes left, I got the brilliant idea to leave, hoping to beat the crowd to the shuttles. On my way out, I got a text from a friend telling me the U.S. had not only given up the tying goal in regulation but also the winning goal in OT.
I can't decide if I'm glad I left early or if I would have wanted to stay to witness the carnage firsthand. Honestly, I'm fine with my decision.
Our snack of the day is...
I don't know what they're called or how to describe them. Based on the picture on the bag, with the seeds and whatnot, I thought they'd be savory, but I was wrong. (I've also thought the same thing about the breakfast pastry I've bought the last two mornings: What looked like spinach and cheese croissants were actually honey glazed croissants with a sweet filling...still delicious, just not what I was expecting.)
Anyway, these were good -- really good. They were everything yesterday's snack wanted to be but wasn't. They had a great crunch, were perfectly bite-sized and were just sweet enough where I could keep eating them all the way through (which I did). I will definitely be going back for more.
Rating: 9.1
As I was running around the arena today, a colleague tipped me off that the entire North Korean delegation was just outside the doors of the venue waiting to be taken away on buses. (If you aren't up on what's going on w/ North Korea at these Games -- the pairs figure skating team, the cheerleaders, etc. -- Google it.) I walked outside and was met with this scene...
I don't claim to know a whole lot about what goes on in that country, but I do know that when you get that many people in one place all standing perfectly still and remaining perfectly silent and awaiting orders to move, freedom is not a concept they're too familiar with.
I went to my first non-figure skating event here tonight, the USA-Slovenia men's hockey game. It was a fun atmosphere, with lots of American fans acting like, well, American sports fans. (They're easy to spot in a crowd, even if they're not adorned in red, white and blue, which almost all of them are.)
With about 2 minutes left, I got the brilliant idea to leave, hoping to beat the crowd to the shuttles. On my way out, I got a text from a friend telling me the U.S. had not only given up the tying goal in regulation but also the winning goal in OT.
I can't decide if I'm glad I left early or if I would have wanted to stay to witness the carnage firsthand. Honestly, I'm fine with my decision.
Our snack of the day is...
I don't know what they're called or how to describe them. Based on the picture on the bag, with the seeds and whatnot, I thought they'd be savory, but I was wrong. (I've also thought the same thing about the breakfast pastry I've bought the last two mornings: What looked like spinach and cheese croissants were actually honey glazed croissants with a sweet filling...still delicious, just not what I was expecting.)
Anyway, these were good -- really good. They were everything yesterday's snack wanted to be but wasn't. They had a great crunch, were perfectly bite-sized and were just sweet enough where I could keep eating them all the way through (which I did). I will definitely be going back for more.
Tuesday, February 13, 2018
I lost something cool today
I went over to the MPC (Main Press Center) to take care of a few things today, and I while I was there, I noticed a booth set up on the second floor that said "Caricatures" on it. Upon investigation, I found that anybody who wanted it, and who had 20 spare minutes, could have a caricature drawn of them. SIGN ME THE FUCK UP!
I sat there as the artist drew a digital rendering of yours truly. When she was done, she printed me out a copy and gave it to me, and I was on my way, free souvenir in hand (minus the 1,000 won tip I left).
I got on the shuttle to come back to the Coastel Cluster, and who was there, with an empty seat right next to him, but Everen! What are the odds.
We talked the whole time back (the guy, while very nice, never shuts up), and then got off the bus when it pulled into the media village...AND I LEFT THE PICTURE ON THE BUS, IN THE BACK OF THE SEAT IN FRONT OF ME.
I was so mad at myself. I went back to the bus stop, and then to the lost and found, and gave them my contact information in case it turns up, but you know how these things go: No one ever finds anything at a lost and found. Ever.
At least they gave me a digital copy of the picture on a flash drive. Here it is...
What do ya'll think?
Now, onto my daily food review. I decided to switch things up a bit and go sweet instead of savory, so I opted for these maple corn crisps...
The closest thing I can compare them to, if you've ever had them, are churro nuggets. If you haven't had them, I highly suggest you give them a try, as long as you don't mind consuming about 9,000 calories in one sitting because they're impossible to put down once you start eating them.
These little treats have a similar taste to churro nuggets but are a little sweeter and don't quite have the butteriness that comes with the caramel flavor of a churro nugget. As a result, the sweetness gets to be a bit too much; whereas I could have eaten the entire bag of shrimp Bugles by myself (and surely would have if I didn't share them with the people sitting around me), these I had to stop eating after consuming 10 or so. (They're also just a little too big to be considered bite-sized; you have to almost unhinge your jaw like a snake to fit one of them in your mouth.)
On taste alone, I'd give these an 8, but on eatability, I have to knock it down to a 7.2.
They did come with this cool Pokemon dragon sticker, though, so that's a bonus...
That's all for today. Annyeonghi jumuseyo!
I sat there as the artist drew a digital rendering of yours truly. When she was done, she printed me out a copy and gave it to me, and I was on my way, free souvenir in hand (minus the 1,000 won tip I left).
I got on the shuttle to come back to the Coastel Cluster, and who was there, with an empty seat right next to him, but Everen! What are the odds.
We talked the whole time back (the guy, while very nice, never shuts up), and then got off the bus when it pulled into the media village...AND I LEFT THE PICTURE ON THE BUS, IN THE BACK OF THE SEAT IN FRONT OF ME.
I was so mad at myself. I went back to the bus stop, and then to the lost and found, and gave them my contact information in case it turns up, but you know how these things go: No one ever finds anything at a lost and found. Ever.
At least they gave me a digital copy of the picture on a flash drive. Here it is...
Now, onto my daily food review. I decided to switch things up a bit and go sweet instead of savory, so I opted for these maple corn crisps...
The closest thing I can compare them to, if you've ever had them, are churro nuggets. If you haven't had them, I highly suggest you give them a try, as long as you don't mind consuming about 9,000 calories in one sitting because they're impossible to put down once you start eating them.
These little treats have a similar taste to churro nuggets but are a little sweeter and don't quite have the butteriness that comes with the caramel flavor of a churro nugget. As a result, the sweetness gets to be a bit too much; whereas I could have eaten the entire bag of shrimp Bugles by myself (and surely would have if I didn't share them with the people sitting around me), these I had to stop eating after consuming 10 or so. (They're also just a little too big to be considered bite-sized; you have to almost unhinge your jaw like a snake to fit one of them in your mouth.)
On taste alone, I'd give these an 8, but on eatability, I have to knock it down to a 7.2.
They did come with this cool Pokemon dragon sticker, though, so that's a bonus...
That's all for today. Annyeonghi jumuseyo!
Monday, February 12, 2018
More Korean food adventures
Another day, another set of observations about Korean cuisine...
I smartened up and bought a bowl of ramen (just add water!) before heading into work today, in an effort stave off the inevitable hunger that would hit me in the middle of the day. Before I started eating it, I asked an Asian reporter sitting nearby if she could tell from the label whether it was spicy. She said she thought it was (which indicated to me that she was not Korean but from another Asian country) but that it doesn't matter because even if something does not explicitly say "spicy," you should just assume it is because...everything in Korea is spicy.
In the U.S., when you get food that can come in varying levels of spiciness, the scale usually starts at "mild." In Korea, "hot" is the default setting.
(For the record, the ramen was spicy, but not overly so.)
I had an interesting experience at dinner tonight. I went to what was basically an American fast food restaurant (it has a sign that says "Western Restaurant" on the outside, to let foreigners know they can come in and eat food that is recognizable to them). I ordered a garlic burger combo...or so I thought.
Apparently, when you order a garlic burger in Korea, you get a friend chicken sandwich with a piece of ham on it...
I smartened up and bought a bowl of ramen (just add water!) before heading into work today, in an effort stave off the inevitable hunger that would hit me in the middle of the day. Before I started eating it, I asked an Asian reporter sitting nearby if she could tell from the label whether it was spicy. She said she thought it was (which indicated to me that she was not Korean but from another Asian country) but that it doesn't matter because even if something does not explicitly say "spicy," you should just assume it is because...everything in Korea is spicy.
In the U.S., when you get food that can come in varying levels of spiciness, the scale usually starts at "mild." In Korea, "hot" is the default setting.
(For the record, the ramen was spicy, but not overly so.)
I had an interesting experience at dinner tonight. I went to what was basically an American fast food restaurant (it has a sign that says "Western Restaurant" on the outside, to let foreigners know they can come in and eat food that is recognizable to them). I ordered a garlic burger combo...or so I thought.
Apparently, when you order a garlic burger in Korea, you get a friend chicken sandwich with a piece of ham on it...
I went back and looked at the menu, and I still have no idea where I went wrong.
(I still ate it, of course, and it was fine, just not what I was expecting.)
Alleviating my concern over the food was the fact that they had bendy straws at this place...
Am I wrong that this is not a thing in the U.S. or do I just not eat at fast food restaurants often enough back home? If I'm not wrong, this is something I'd very much like to see American restaurants adopt. Bendy straws should become the norm, no question about it. They just make drinking more fun.
One final observation. The napkin situation here in Korea is -- there's only one way to say it -- abysmal. Observe...
This problem is not just limited to this one restaurant: Every single place I've eaten at in Korea, they give you what basically amounts to cocktail napkins. And Korean food isn't exactly neat to eat. I do not know what it is with the size of the napkins here, but something needs to be done about it, and fast.
Finally, I'm going to introduce a new feature on the blog. Koreans, I've found, love their crunchy snacks, and when adding flavoring to these foods, they tend to think very outside the box (think animals from the crustacean and cephalopod classes).
Case in point...
These are shrimp-flavored Bugles. This is not unusual in Korea. If you can think of a sea creature, Koreans have tried to make a chip taste like it.
Upon my first bite, I thought it was too sweet, and had only a hint of shrimp flavor (maybe not a bad thing). But the more I ate, the more I liked it. The sweetness evened out, and I was left with a very mild seafood-y flavor, which was quite pleasant (and addictive).
My rating (out of 10): 8.8
Tomorrow is an off day (for the skaters). I'm going to head over to the Main Press Center and maybe try to check out some competition in a sport other than figure skating. Ski jumping? Skeleton? Who knows. Stay tuned.
Sunday, February 11, 2018
A food play in two parts
Here's what you get in the press center at the Gangneung Ice Arena when you order a sausage...
Notice a couple of things:
1. It's not a sausage; it's a hot dog. It is a larger-than-average-size hot dog, but that doesn't make it a sausage. You know what would make it a sausage? It being a sausage. But that's not what it is.
2. It seems to be missing something. Hmm, what could it be? Oh, that's right...A FUCKING BUN.
They give you a sausage -- that's not a sausage at all -- without a bun, meaning you have to eat this oversized wiener with your hands. I have no idea how they could miss the mark by that much.
I should say that none of this stopped me from wolfing it down (I was ravenously hungry...everyone's always starving at the Olympics, except the athletes and NBC staff, whose catering spread is legendary), but I didn't feel good about myself afterward.
And here's what I got for dinner, at a restaurant around the corner from my hotel, for less than $10...
That's fresh-ass fish. That's a bowl of sushi bibimbap. That's miso soup. That's all EXACTLY what the waitress told me came with my meal. (Not pictured: the four pieces of salmon sashimi the chef made for me out of the goodness of his heart. Bless that man.)
I will be coming back to this place. A lot.
The lesson: The Olympics does a lot of things well. Bringing the world together. Providing entertaining competition. Fostering a sense of sportsmanship among its participants.
One thing it does not do well? Food.
Get your act together, Olympics. Some of us are famished out here.
Notice a couple of things:
1. It's not a sausage; it's a hot dog. It is a larger-than-average-size hot dog, but that doesn't make it a sausage. You know what would make it a sausage? It being a sausage. But that's not what it is.
2. It seems to be missing something. Hmm, what could it be? Oh, that's right...A FUCKING BUN.
They give you a sausage -- that's not a sausage at all -- without a bun, meaning you have to eat this oversized wiener with your hands. I have no idea how they could miss the mark by that much.
I should say that none of this stopped me from wolfing it down (I was ravenously hungry...everyone's always starving at the Olympics, except the athletes and NBC staff, whose catering spread is legendary), but I didn't feel good about myself afterward.
And here's what I got for dinner, at a restaurant around the corner from my hotel, for less than $10...
That's fresh-ass fish. That's a bowl of sushi bibimbap. That's miso soup. That's all EXACTLY what the waitress told me came with my meal. (Not pictured: the four pieces of salmon sashimi the chef made for me out of the goodness of his heart. Bless that man.)
I will be coming back to this place. A lot.
The lesson: The Olympics does a lot of things well. Bringing the world together. Providing entertaining competition. Fostering a sense of sportsmanship among its participants.
One thing it does not do well? Food.
Get your act together, Olympics. Some of us are famished out here.
Friday, February 9, 2018
New digs
I know you were all wondering what my new living accommodations look like...behold.
And here's my room...
It's actually nice and cozy, and I've grown to really like it.
Longer commute to the rink aside, leaving the media village worked out OK.
And here's my room...
It's actually nice and cozy, and I've grown to really like it.
Longer commute to the rink aside, leaving the media village worked out OK.
Opening Ceremony
Last night was the Opening Ceremony. (Watch it on tape delay tonight on NBC!) I won't say much about it -- I'll let the photos and videos tell the story -- but in case you're wondering, yes, it was yet another dazzling visual spectacle (also...VERY COLD).
I should have been warned.
When I got back to my room, I opened the bag and along with the wings, there was a matching pair of plastic gloves. I thought to myself, "How bad could these be?" and dug in.
At first, not too bad. Tolerable. But then the heat started to kick in, and I knew I was in trouble. I grabbed the gloves and put them on, but it was too late. My hands were a saucy mess and my entire mouth was engulfed in flames.
When I finished the order, I quickly chugged as much water as I could, which did not provide any relief. So then I tried the only thing I could think of: brushing my teeth. And you know what? It cooled the fire.
Anyway, I found out the hard way that they do not mess around with the word "spicy" in Korea, and if you order food here and they give you freakin' OUTERWEAR to eat it, you could be in for a world of hurt.
All bundled up and ready for the show
This was a part of the show where they moved what looked like lit-up doorways all around the stadium...made for a cool effect.
North and South Korea walk in together under a unified flag.
The return of the shirtless Tongan flagbearer! (That dude is an absolute beast for dressing like that in those temps.)
Team USA marches in.
Shouts to the homeland.
Out of nowhere, in the aisle right next to where we were sitting, DJT and a KJU impersonators appeared.
Needless to say, they drew a big crowd.
The dynamic duo make their exit.
I'll leave you with a funny story. When I got back from the Opening Ceremony, I stopped into a small Korean restaurant near my hotel to grab some food. I looked over the menu and chose the spicy chicken wings. When I told the owner what I wanted, he looked at me and said, very sternly, "Those are spicy." I said, "Yes, I know. I'll have them."
I should have been warned.
When I got back to my room, I opened the bag and along with the wings, there was a matching pair of plastic gloves. I thought to myself, "How bad could these be?" and dug in.
At first, not too bad. Tolerable. But then the heat started to kick in, and I knew I was in trouble. I grabbed the gloves and put them on, but it was too late. My hands were a saucy mess and my entire mouth was engulfed in flames.
When I finished the order, I quickly chugged as much water as I could, which did not provide any relief. So then I tried the only thing I could think of: brushing my teeth. And you know what? It cooled the fire.
Anyway, I found out the hard way that they do not mess around with the word "spicy" in Korea, and if you order food here and they give you freakin' OUTERWEAR to eat it, you could be in for a world of hurt.
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