Taepyeong Middle School Sports Day!

Every year in Korea, schools have an annual Sports Day where classes compete against each other.  They do relay races, jumping rope, tug-of-war...all sorts of stuff!  But the best part of Sports Day is seeing the kids outfits!  They all order matching outfits and costumes and do their sports in them.  This year, because of the tragic Sewol Ferry accident, students were supposed to be mourning, and we were supposed to just wear school uniforms.  However, some students' classes had already ordered their costumes.  

Korean Cooking Class!!!

I find I that I have the most fun when I'm learning something new and surrounded by great company. I had forgotten to post these pictures from last May. I had a fabulous time wearing a pink apron and learning step-by-step how to make some of my favorite Korean dishes.  

We learned how to make Ddeok Mandu Guk (Rice Cake and Dumpling Soup) and Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake).  Aaron and I did it together.

Tiffany Christmas Letter 2014

Greetings!         

                                                                             

Happy holidays to everyone from the Tiffany family.  This is Erica and I am writing to you from Taepyeong Middle School located in South Korea.  We have a little snow here, but (thankfully) it isn’t as cold as Minnesota. I am having a great experience in Korea, but I miss my family very much and wish I could be home for Christmas.  Here is a brief update on the family for year 2014:

Doug (Daddy/Borneo/Patches)- This year I am especially proud of my dad.  He suddenly became very active and focused on his overall health when he discovered a FitBit at REI that helps him keep track of how many steps he takes each day.  He is very motivated to “walk the earth” and get at least 10,000 steps in before midnight (although I think he averages about 13,000 steps a day). Our family has watched him walk circles around the living room and get on his reflective gear and headlamp for an 11:30pm walk before his deadline. We are really proud of all the progress he has made.  This year he has also enjoyed getting involved in interesting research projects at work, eating lunch with his posse, watching Netflix dramas such as “House of Cards,” and going ice fishing with his buddies. He has been so committed to his 10,000 steps a day goal, he even made sure to walk in Hallock, Minnesota---a town of 900 people on the Canadian border. Last summer he and Judy spent a wonderful week in Oban, Scotland and were fortunate enough to attend the 70^th Anniversary of D-Day on the beaches of Normandy.

Judy (Mama Bear/Per Agor)- Mama is busy and enjoying retirement. She has continued to attend her “No Guilt” Book Club ever since 1997, she helps out with many events at St. Sahag Armenian Church, knits, quilts, embroiders, participates in investment club with my dad, and makes wonderful food. My mom is also very disciplined about going on her early morning “strut” around Pleasant Lake with her dear friends, “The Walkers.” This past summer when I was home for a visit, we even went on a 23-mile bike ride. My mom is pretty fast, too! I was impressed!

Harrison (Harry/The Zokioboy)- Harrison has had an amazing past year in the beautiful outdoors. After his freshman year at UW-River Falls, he declared himself a Conservation Major. In the summer, he was off to Alaska where he worked in a fish hatchery. This past fall he was able to participate in a National School Exchange and go on an outdoor excursion course in Montana.  He spent months backpacking and on the river. He met many people from other schools across the country. I bet he was one of the most experienced outdoorsmen. When it comes to fishing and hunting, Harrison is a great guide. I think he is an “animal whisperer.” But Harry isn’t just lucky. I’ve caught him reading books late at night about plant propagation, horticulture, hydroponics, world history, hunting, moon cycles when fish are most hungry---basically, he has done his research. He would much rather be outside in nature than inside playing videogames. If you ever talk to him about fishing or hunting, look out! He is a talking encyclopedia and he may very well talk your head off. Last summer, when I was home from Korea, I enjoyed eating some mouth-watering venison Harry shot.  I am bummed I am not home to chow down on the elk he scored. Harry plans on working in Alaska again this summer, but this time, he will be working on a fishing boat.  I am proud of my little brother. I was also very glad that he came to visit me in Korea last winter vacation!

Me (Ery/Minklet//에리카)- 

Well, it’s been nearly 2 years since I’ve been in Korea. I have been working at a co-ed public middle school in Daejeon, Korea. Daejeon is right in the center of Korea and about a 50-minute train ride from Seoul. I teach English speaking classes alongside a Korean co-teacher. My students are really fun kids to teach. They are separated by gender. I find that the all-girl classes are usually shy and well-behaved, while the all-boys classes are rowdy, loud, and rambunctious. I love them all though…for the most part.

My students refer to me as “Erica Teacher.” Since Korea is a very homogenous society, many of my students are very interested and curious about foreigners.  I feel like I am constantly being stared at.  They often treat me like a celebrity, complimenting me every day on how BIG my eyes are, how “small” my face is, how long my legs are, and how “white” my skin is.  It was very strange receiving so much attention at first, but now I think I will miss being so popular when I go back to America.  

Besides teaching my students speaking, proper pronunciation, and English vocabulary, I also get a chance to create fun cultural lessons and sing pop songs. I really enjoy my job, and I realized that I love being a teacher.  I think it is a good fit for me after all.

Outside of work, I have been keeping very busy studying Korean. To my surprise, I quickly learned the Korean alphabet, Hangeul. Hangeul is easy to learn because of its logical, simple structure. It is also phonetic; making it much easier to learn than other Asian languages. But learning vocabulary and grammar continues to challenge me.  It is difficult to find a good quality Korean language class, but over the past few months, I have been doing “language exchange” and journaling with a Korean friend.  We write in our journals every day, take a photo, and send each other our writing via text message. Then we send each other our corrections. To hold each other accountable, we decided that if we skipped a day, we owed the other person a cup of coffee. That has really helped me to improve my Korean.

I have been staying in shape by spinning at a health club near my school. For those of you that don’t know, spinning is exercising on a stationary bike. However, spinning is a little different in Korea—you also dance on the bike, which makes the time go by faster. It is very fun and by the end of class, I am “sweating like a butcher,” as my dad always says.

I have put on a few ukulele performances in the community…sometimes in bars, twice at a Zombie Fun Run, and once at a charity for the International Community in Daejeon.

Recently, my boyfriend, Aaron, has gotten me interested in brewing beer at home. We made a Pale Ale and a Chai Stout at home and both of them have turned out great, in my humble opinion.

Well, it’s been a great year for the Tiffany family. I am lucky that I have such a great family.  I sure wish I could be home for Christmas, but I promise I will be home in the summer!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Erica, Harrison and Doug Tiffany and Judy Ohannesian

  

Brewing Beer at Home!

Wow! This weekend I learned how to make beer from a professional, aka Aaron Fitzgerald!

Step 1: Measure 20 liters of water into a big pot. Put in on the stove and get it to 70 degrees Celsius.

Aaron is carefully measuring the temperature with a thermometer.

Step 2: Once the water reaches 70 degrees Celsius, add a sheer bag and wrap it tightly around the outside of the pot.  This is called the "Brew-in-a-bag" Method.

Step 3: Pour the grains into the sheer bag, stirring as you pour to avoid clumping.

Step 4: Stir the grains to avoid clumping.

Step 5: Let the grains sit in the 70 degree Celsius pot of water for an hour.

Step 6: After an hour with the grains cooking in the 70 degree water, it is time to take the bag of grains out.  Place the bag in the strainer.

Step 7: Push all the water out.  

Pushing hard to squeeze of the water with my massive muscles.

Step 8:You will probably notice the water level has gone down from.  Raise the water level by pouring warm water through the bag of grains in the strainer.

Aaron is adding more warm water.

Step 9: Once the water is a little above the 20 liter mark, remove the bag of grains.

This is what the liquid looks like after being heated with the grains for an hour.

Step 10: Put the pot back on the stove and turn the heat up to a light boil. (If it is boiling too hard, it might kill the important sugars which are needed to ferment with the yeast later.)  Start a 60 minute-countdown for the boil. At the start of the boil, add a small amount of hops.  When there are 15 minutes left, add more hops.  Finally, when there are 5 minutes left, add another small portion of hops.  

(That is a total of 60 minutes boiling, adding hops in 3 segments. 60, 15, and 5 minute countdown)

Adding some hops!

Step 11: After 60 minutes boiling and all the hops have been added, cool down the beer to 20 degrees Celsius. To do this, a big strong, muscular person has to lift the pot into the sink and create a nifty, makeshift clog so that cold water is running on the outside of the pot to cool it off, without overflowing.  It will take a few hours for the temperature to drop down to 20 degrees.

Step 12: When the liquid is at 20 degrees Celsius, use a hydrometer to measure the gravity.  The gravity.

The ideal gravity is a little over 1.00.

Step 13: Once the temperature has dropped down to 20 degrees Celsius, it is time to siphon the liquid into the fermenter. 

I siphoned the beer by sucking on the tube with my mouth, and suddenly all the beer poured through the tube and into the fermenter automatically.  Pretty cool actually, except I sucked too hard and inhaled some beer.

Step 14: Once all the liquid is in the fermenter between 15 - 20 degrees Celsius, it is time to add the yeast. Surround the fermenter with the pot. Add cool water to maintain the proper temperature and cover overnight.

I am carefully adding the yeast. Notice* We put the fermenter in the pot so that we can fill it with water to control the temperature, keeping it between 15-20 degrees Celsius. Also, Aaron was pretty smart and tied the thermometer on a string so we can easily check the temperature at any time.

Step 15: The next morning, I awoke excitedly to find that the beer was on its way! You can see the yeast creating a white foam on top! 

Most of the work is done, but we will have to patiently wait at least a week for the beer to ferment.  We will also have to get some CO2. 

 I hope it turns out well!  In any case, I had a lot of fun learning how beer is made.  In sum,  making beer is quite simple, and the most important part is keeping everything the right temperature.

ONE WEEK LATER!

The beer has been sitting in the tank fermenting for about 9 days now.  Finally, it is time to put the beer into the keg!

Aaron measured the gravity with the hydrometer.

It was just where it was supposed to be...at around 12...I think.

After sanitizing the keg, we siphoned the beer into the keg.

Aaron put on a sieve on the tube.

To transport the beer, he had to siphon it to prevent air bubbles.  He lightly sucked on the tube twice and the beer started going through the tube.

He easily transferred all the beer from the fermenter into the keg.

I  held the tubes while the beer was being siphoned into the keg.  The keg is almost full, but we saved a few inches in the top for the CO2.

This picture is actually too full.  We had to ladle some out.  I had a chance to taste some of it before it was carbonated.  I thought it tasted pretty good, but we will have to see how it tastes once it is finished.

The remaining beer contains a lot of yeast that can be reused later.  Aaron shook it up.

  It is called the "slurry."  Aaron collected the slurry in ziploc containers.

Next, Aaron put the CO2 into the beer.

After putting in the CO2, we put the beer in the fridge.  

I just tried it! It is delicious, but it will take a few more days to fully carbonate!