Experiences // Ideas

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodnight (the Boise edition)

Well Boise, it’s been nice visiting you. Early tomorrow morning I fly back to Milwaukee. These past eight days have flown by, but they haven proven to be quite productive. I’ve learned a couple of things along the way, but most importantly, I had a chance to experience the city and interact with the wonderful people here. When I say wonderful, I mean it too. Everyone here was incredibly friendly, and many people tried to help me out in any way they could. Since I spent most of my free time in coffee shops, the employees got to know me a little bit and would always ask me how my visit was going. Nothing makes you feel more welcome in a city than the local employees you interact with on a daily basis.

To everyone that I met with during my time here: thank you. Thank you for taking the time to chat with a kid from Milwaukee looking to learn more about Boise. Thank you for giving me advice, both personally and professionally. Thank you for just being friendly. That meant a lot, especially coming out-of-state.

I hope to return in the near future and experience even more of the city. I know I covered a lot of ground this past week, but I also know there is still a whole lot more to Boise that what I’ve seen.

Aw, thanks Boise! I’ll miss you too.

(special thanks to the wonderful folks at Java Downtown for the drink you see above. I’ll be back!)

Purple Fries, Burger on the Side?

Apparently, “would you like fries with that?” is not a question in the Potato state. The correct vernacular is, “would you like a burger with those fries?” What a humorous, stereotypical Idaho joke, right?

The thing is, I’m not kidding.

Welcome to Boise Fry Company! First time in my life where I have seen burgers listed under the “sides” menu and fries under the main menu. Once you try these fries, however, it quickly becomes apparent that they aren’t joking around. They have fries made from russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, gold potatoes, purple potatoes…and more. Then you choose your cut, followed by what I believe is a crucial step: you choose your own seasoning. They simply fry your potatoes, and it is up to you to season them. Potato purists simply indulge in the un-seasoned fries, I’m sure. For those looking to add some sodium to their diet, they have a variety of salts: vanilla salt, rosemary garlic salt, and jalapeno salt, just to name a few.

But wait! There’s more.

Finish those fries off with a dipping sauce of your choosing: fry sauce, garlic aoeli, blueberry ketchup (yes you read that right), and more.

To complete the order, how about a burger on the side?

These fries were the real deal though. I ordered the purple potato fries, seasoned them with rosemary garlic salt and then tried every sauce they had. What a treat! I have never seen so much TLC given to fries before. I should mention, the BLT I ordered on the side was also delicious.

I highly recommend this place if you are in Boise. It may be surprising at first. Once you think about it, however, it makes sense that Idaho would take good care of it’s namesake. Check ’em out.

http://www.boisefrycompany.com/

Coffee at 2,704 ft.

Boise, you certainly know coffee. As a barista and coffee fanatic, I absolutely love it.

Whenever I travel, my number one expense is always on food and coffee (of course, this is aside from expenses such as airline tickets, etc.). Personally, I feel like one of the best ways to learn about a place is to experience the cuisine. Cities and towns can be heavily judged based on what they offer, and Boise certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Since I have been in Boise, I have been jumping from coffee shop to coffee shop, each with a unique ambiance. Thomas Hammer Coffee provides the city with a sleek, modern coffee shop. Java Downtown has a pleasant, hometown cafe feel to it (with a delicious breakfast menu). Flying M is a quirky half cafe-half gift shop. My destination today is the District Coffee House, which seems to me like a community based shop. The interior is open, with plenty of tables for people to meet or catch up. Eclectic art lines the walls, and couches can be found in the corners for those looking to get a little more cozy.

The common denominator at all of these places is the fact that the coffee is delicious. I’ve only indulged in the drip coffees at each location (I am traveling on a budget), but it is great nonetheless. It seems like many of the business people in Boise like to hold meetings at these shops, and I can’t say I blame them. I know I’ve only mentioned a few of these shops in town, but as I spend more time here I certainly plan on venturing out more.

Until the next cup of coffee, I have some work to do.

4:15 AM

As I write this, it is currently 4:15 AM CST. I’m making final preparations for my trip out to Boise, Idaho, which has come to fruition after many weeks of planning. Throughout the years I have had a bad habit of waiting until the last minute to pack for a trip, and this one is no exception. I rarely get sleep before I travel, and not on purpose. Some how, something always comes up the night before I leave and I end up just staying awake. This phenomena has happened since the beginning of college, so at this point it is almost a tradition. And here I am at 4:15 AM.

I’m extremely excited for my trip and I can’t wait to meet some people and learn more about the city. I was only able to briefly explore the city last summer, so I’m hoping this next week will shed some light on things I may have missed a year ago.

I’ll try to share some updates as my trip progresses. Please feel free to reach out if you are in Boise or know people there. In the meantime, I should probably finish packing.

“Kamsa-Hamnida” Pt. 2

The question may have arisen from my previous post about the meaning of “kamsa-hamnida” and why I chose to name my posts that. It’s quite simple: it is the phonetic spelling of “thank you,” and the only word in Korean that I learned during my trip. I’m sure it was a bit ridiculous to see an American just pointing at things and responding to every question or statement with “thank you.” Oh well. If I return to Korea, I will have something to work on.

I decided to share the experiences that stood out to me the most during my trip instead of recounting everything I did. There is just too much to write about that wouldn’t involve these posts as a five part series. We traveled in to Seoul many times, visited some eclectic markets, went halfway up the Seoul Tower, explored the nightlife in Itaewon, amongst many other activities. There was a lot going on and I really did enjoy my time there.

Now let me introduce you to this guy right here:

This was one of the most enjoyable and unexpected parts of my trip. My friend started taking boxing classes from this gentleman above when he moved to Korea. This picture was from when he was younger; I’d say he was about 40 when I met him. Now I haven’t taken any boxing classes before, but he had to be one the best instructors out there. He didn’t speak any English, but still managed to teach me the basics of boxing. On the second day, we started to spar.

This guy destroyed me.

I consider myself quite in shape, but I got the workout of a lifetime. As I was keeled over, gasping for breath, he would just chuckle, slap his gloves together and yell “hey!” Talk about motivation. I joke now that if I ever wanted to become a professional boxer, I would want him as my coach.

What was most intriguing to me was how we were able to communicate despite the obvious language barrier. You always hear about how communication is 70% non-verbal (or a number close to that), but this was a specific experience that proved that. Essentially, I learned how to box without uttering a single word of English.

If you are ever looking for a great workout in Dongtan, South Korea, I highly recommend taking a class with him.

“Kamsa-hamnida” Pt. 1

Truth be told, back in March I was hoping to have my blog up and running because I wanted to write about my first solo overseas trip to South Korea. However, life has a way of “happening,” and I didn’t have time to sit down and write about it. Now that I’ve had a chance to step back and breathe, I’ve been able to process the experience and hopefully give a brief, but detailed, depiction of what I experienced in South Korea.

Let’s rewind a year for a little back story. Two of my closest friends since middle school back in New York (who have also been dating for seven years) decided that they wanted to teach English abroad after college. They applied to a number of programs and were eventually placed in a year-long contract in Dongtan, South Korea. So in May 2014, they gathered their possessions and moved out to Korea. As the months went by, I had heard only good things about Korea. My friend mentioned that they were flying back to the U.S. for a week in February and was interested in visiting me in Milwaukee. I declined and told him if we are visiting each other, I would be the one traveling to South Korea. Nothing against Milwaukee, but visiting South Korea sounded much more intriguing.

Fast forward to March 6th, 2015. I had just walked off of a 14 hour flight and into a mild night in Incheon, South Korea. I have been outside the U.S. multiple times, most notably to Italy, but this was the first international trip that I took on my own. Let me tell you, that was a hell of an experience. Armed with my passport, 200,000₩ (roughly $200) and specific directions on how to get to my friends’ apartment written on a small piece of scrap paper, I boarded a 45 minute bus ride to Dongtan.

My big South Korean adventure had begun. South Koreans speak limited English, so I had a feeling of being helpless. I enjoyed that feeling, however. It was an exhilarating new experience, I had a bit of a “Jake against the world” mindset, just being lost in a foreign country and making my own way. Until, of course, I actually got lost when I missed my stop and tried explaining my situation to the bus driver who didn’t speak or understand English. Thankfully there was a woman on board who was able to understand enough English to explain what happened. The bus driver just let me off at the corner, and I only had to back track about 10 minutes. I spotted my friend, and I was finally “home.” 11:30 PM. Crisis averted.

After some disbelief and “I can’t believe this is actually happening” sentiments, we walked around Dongtan and met up with his girlfriend at their favorite Korean BBQ restaurant. This place was AMAZING. In the middle of each table was a little charcoal grill where you cooked the meat they brought out to you. I finally tried kimchi, and was introduced to soju, a Korean vodka-like beverage. Admittedly, I took quite a liking to soju while there. Being someone who loves food and cooking, eating the traditional cuisine of a country is one of my favorite things to experience. After a long flight, this meal was exactly what I was looking for.

After dinner, the lack of sleep (36 hours) and a couple of rounds of soju really started to work a number on me. We headed back to their apartment and I cozied up on the floor, ready to take Korea on in the sunlight.

Pt. 2 coming soon. I have a lot more pictures to share, so hopefully future posts won’t be so text-heavy.