Category Archives: Sherry Travels

Sherry’s Top 12 Korean Foods to EAT

Leave a reply

It’s a love-hate relationship when it comes to Korean food. On the one hand, dining gets boring when options revolve around rice, kimchi, jjigae, and grilled meats. On the other hand, because Korean food has a certain “flavor” to it — fermented gochujang (chili paste), doenjang (soybean paste), you start craving for it when you’ve been away.

I swear, when I returned from my one-month South East Asia trip, the first thing I did was visit our neighborhood Korean chain restaurant and ordered jjigae.

Sherry’s Top 15 Must-Eats

Must-Eat banner 2

Continue reading →

“I am here!” — Korea was not what I expected…

Leave a reply

The thing about abandoning everything and living in a foreign country where all aspects of it — language, culture, custom, are unfamiliar, is shocking easy. Back in 2010, I was a newly grad fresh out of college who didn’t want her fun to end, and my decision to work in Korea was a no- brainer. With my airfares and apartment paid for, I figured that the year abroad would be a party.

It was, in a way, but it was definitely not what I had expected.

"Hello, I am Sherry Teacher." A year at all-girl, Seguro Fashion High School

“Hello, I am Sherry Teacher”

I had envisioned myself teaching at an all boys high school in the heart of Seoul, sort of a teacher by day, glam girl by night kind of deal. In reality, I taught ALL-GIRLS high school and lived in SSangmun, a suburb that has more traditional rice cake (떡) shops than bars. Another aspect that I had failed to taken into consideration was: “Koreans speak Korean, not English.” Now this may seem obvious, but I had honestly believed that because Seoul is an international metropolis, I could survive with just “안녕하세요” (“Hello”).

Continue reading →

Before you go, what to know about Korea

Leave a reply

I lived and worked in Seoul, Korea, from 2010 to 2011. Just to clarify, I am not, nor do I speak, Korean. Furthermore, I had no particular interest in Korean dramas or pop stars. Hence, you might ask, “Why did you go to Korea?”

Frankly, I do not not know myself.  But I can most certainly retort with a “Why not?”. In Alastair Reid’s poem, “Curiosity,” there are two types of people — dogs and cats. A dog person opts for stability (e.g. family, work) while a cat person seeks the unknown. Contrary to popular proverb that “curiosity kills the cat,”  the poem contends that it is the lack of curiosity that kills us. For only the curious, “have, if they live, a tale worth telling at all.”

Seoul, Korea

WHAT TO EAT in Korea, click HERE to read more

I survived Korea splendidly. But that was luck and, I would say 87%, attributed to meeting a lot of great people. For those who don’t like to leave having a good time to chance, there are a thing or two you should know about the city.

Continue reading →

Girls’ Best Friend: teas and cakes

Leave a reply

The best way to catch up with a girlfriend or girlfriends is over a cup of tea and cakes. Supposedly the practice of entertaining with “tea and a walk with in the fields,” aka afternoon tea, started in early nineteenth century Britian  by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford.

Afternoon Tea

Prior to the introduction of tea, the English had two main meals — breakfast and dinner (dinner was served around eight o’clock). The Duchess was said to have complained of “having that sinking feeling” at about four o’clock in the afternoon. Her solution was a pot of tea and a light snack. Later, she invited her friends to join her. The practice proved to be so popular that the other social hostesses quickly picked up the idea.

Join the fashionable society for your sip of tea. Below, a list of recommendations.

Continue reading →

Just us, luxury cabin and the Appalachian Mountain

4 Replies

Dominated by the rocky terrain of Appalachian Mountain, New Hampshire is appropriately dubbed “the Granite State”. Of course, the nickname refers to both its landscape as well as its inhabitants’ independent spirit — a New Hampshire native general, while fighting the British in 1777, proclaimed “Live free or die.”

The state, which is the second most forested state in the nation, offers breathtaking foliage drives in fall, as well as an array of winter sports in winter. List of popular activities include: skiing, snowboarding, hiking, and ziplining, to name a few. Everything sounds great (pseudo bright voice), minus the fact that I am here in early April, its mud season.

Translation: there is nothing to do.

New England’s early April is an awkward time. With its still-in-the-melting process snow and temperature hovering between 35~50°F (2~8°C), all outdoor activities are out of question. Too little snow, too wet, too cold, too blah blah blah blah.

I had my heart set on ziplining and was devastated (in a lower “d” kind of way) to learn that the attraction is only available in the summer, starting mid-May. (o__o)ll

Despite minor disappointments, I’ve enjoyed my stay in New Hampshire. In fact, I loved it! Thanks to Eagle Mountain House, I got my vacation cabin escape. It was pure bliss!

Jackson, NH

Eagle Mt. House 1

Continue reading →

When it comes to Maine, there’s only lobster (and more lobster)

1 Reply

Top reasons to visit Maine:

  1. Lobster
  2. Lobster Roll

Barnacle BillyBefore the trip even started, I have already compiled my list of Top-Five Lobster Shack. I was most determined to go to  Five Island Lobster Co. because I read that the place — perched on the edge of Sheepscot Bay, with no indoor seating,  is the quintessential lobster shack. As I read through reviews, I started imagining myself, in a cozy sweater, eating a 3lb lobster while overlooking the bay and watching the sun sets. Ah, perfect… that was, until I discovered that Five Island Lobster opens May 11. 

I was CRUSHED. While some may argue that “a lobster is a lobster, they all taste good,” I believe that there are “good lobster” and “just lobster.” In my quest for an authentic Maine-lobster-experience (and a place that is open), I landed in Barnacle Billy’s in Ogunquit.     Continue reading →

New England Road Trip #1: Boston, History and Best-Value Italian

Leave a reply

Boston, New England’s largest cosmopolitan city, has much to offer. First, it is rich in history. The 2.5-mile Freedom Trail that snakes through town ensures, most definitely, that you will not leave this city without getting a lesson on the American Revolution. Second, it is exciting. Home to the Boston Red Sox, you, if you are a Red Sox fan, will die for a chance to pay homage to Fenway Park. Supposedly the Red Sox got “cursed” after they traded pitcher Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1920s. Nonetheless, the Red Sox exorcised “The Curse” by winning the World Series in 2004, and again in 2007. Third, it is refined. The city’s renowned universities and cultural institutions gain Boston the title of “the Athens of America.”

Gov Center, markets

With so much to do, what should I do? If you, like me, have only one day in Boston, consider devoting the day to Freedom Trail. Start from Boston Common, the oldest public park in the United States. Then walk to City Hall and grab lunch at adjoining Faneuil Market, which is the name given to all five buildings in this shopping complex (images, below). Lastly, finish your walk in the North End (aka Little Italy). Here, you can visit the Old North Church of “One if by land, two if by sea” as well as grab great Italian foods.

Continue reading →

New England Road Trip and Discovering the Much Romanticized Notion of Being “On the Road”

2 Replies

Viva la road trip! The advent of automobile paired with highway building and cheap gas prices ($0.60 per gallon!) in the 50s meant greater mobility. One could travel great distance in a car compared to horse-drawn carriages.

The drive to go places, to search for something else is best exemplified by Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical On the Road, which captures the essence of the “Beat” sensibility. Despite the fact that Kerouac depicts the Beat generation as “so lonely, so sad, so tired, so quivering, so broken, so beat,” to be “on the road” is largely romanticized and the book portrays the American landscape as expansive and beautiful.

Credit: online image, busbank.com

Credit: online image, busbank.com

Continue reading →