Thanksgiving?

So thanksgiving weekend in Korea ended with a great spaghetti and wine dinner. Yes the turkey and stuffing was greatly missed, but two problems prevailed. First was no turkey, possible from a gray market store one could be obtained. However if we did indulge in this smuggled from the army base imported goodness, the second problem is that we have no oven. So pasta it was.
Today I had my first tinge of homesickness. Mind you Japan was much worse, but there are times when you remember and miss. With that said though Korea has been so amazing. Job is great still getting settled, but easing into it more every day. Working with friends and having a community here to start with is an amazing blessing. Our church "Jubilee" blows me away every Sunday. The leadership and pastor have a heart I have never seen back home. Every Sunday I am so challenged to strengthen my relationship with Christ. We are meeting a lot of people at Church and have signed up for small groups which will be starting shortly.
What is a normal week like for me? Wake up at 4:40 get on the bus by 5:40. Work starts at 6 am. After 3 two hour classes, we have a lounge hour where students come to just talk, then lunch or prep for another hour. Then off by 2 pm I have the rest of the afternoon. In the afternoon/evening usually I go for a run/walk up the nearby mountain. Also there are always new places to explore or go shopping. I am really hoping to find a nearby bath/sauna house which I can frequent weekly. Soon I hope to also start learning some Korean so between that exercising, exploring and shopping, life is full.
That's all for now. Happy Thanksgiving!

Mcdonalds Japan "Mega Size" me please

Hmm...lets see 30 days of Macs, double 1/4 pounders, fried goodness, and meaty breakfasts. While some of us envied this one mans courage, did any of us actually dispute that 30 days of an unbalanced McD's diet cannot be a good thing. Yes I'm talking about the documentary "Super Size Me". This movie was a response to a problem in North America, namely there was just not many healthy options at most fast food restaurants. This movie was a call for healthy eating, for being cautious of big business, and for being informed. Now a new wave has hit the big M, healthy, nutritious, and wholesome these are the new menu buzzwords. Gone are the days of the supersize, a new leaf has been turned, healthy food for everyone right? Maybe that clown Ronald just got caught in the moment. Could it be that as people ate and were merry, maybe Macdonalds got so caught up in making people happy, they forgot that we tend to go overboard in our eating ways. Jumping the ship before it leads us to destruction.

Enter Japan......
Well actually Mcdonalds entered Japan. A country with a traditional mindset not easy to change has been flooded with the golden arches. Well established Mcdonalds took Japan by storm once their pallet started to desire the fine greasy goodness of American food. It can sometimes feel like there is a Mcdonalds on every block in Japanese cities and really that is a reality in some places.

Ronald we have a problem!
Good job Mcdonalds the strategic real estate market has been monopolized. But wait Japanese don't want to pay for sub par entry level food, a country where meals start at $10 and its not uncommon to pay $100 going out for a meal with friends. Maybe you've heard that you can tell the countries economic situation by how much Mcdonalds meals cost the average person. In 3rd world countries Mcdonalds is at high cost for the consumer, and a novelty. In a 1st world country people's attitude is "where's the dollar menu"? Once again McD's rises to the occasion with the 100 yen menu (around $1). Cheap American food that taste good? Yes, this American dream live on in Japan.

A $2 Meal???
Ahh a traditional Japanese breakfast, rice ball, soy bean paste soup, and a little fish. Mcd's Equivalent Stomach Fill (MESF) = a muffin, hash brown, and coffee. Or how about lunch 5 pieces of sushi, green tea, some clam or shrimp soup. MESF = Cheeseburger, Small pop, and small fries, equaling $3 dollars. I've been to Mcdonalds in Japan many times and seen an elderly man, business woman, or child quite content with 2 items from the 100 yen menu equaling $2. In Japan Wal-mart did not do its research and experienced one of its few failures in a country that would think junk when hearing "every day low prices". I also wonder if Mcd's also saw its self on a path to profit woes (Burger King experienced hard times in Japan, pulled out, and is just now re entering the market), as thousands of stores were serving thousands of people who were all getting rid of pocket change.

TOKYO — McDonald's Japan announced Tuesday that sales of the new Mega Mac for the first four days since its debut have far exceeded the expected amount of 1.68 million burgers with 3.32 million sold.Mega Mac, a hamburger with four patties, was originally to be a limited time offer, but the fast food chain announced that it will extend the period in order to meet the demand.

Japan Today: http://archive.japantoday.com/jp/news/396309/all

A new adventure.. A cool experience.. Something fun for the whole family.. Eating! (pictured: Mega Muffin)
Check out the pictures, ask a friend who's been to Japan, the advertised monthly burgers are huge, ridiculous, and fatty to the max. I myself would not dream of also adding chicken nuggets as advertised to complete the meal. But I guess I am missing out on the fun, filled, full, ache of adventure coolness that eating can be. As we back home try to recover from our super sizing ways and woes, Mcdonalds continues to globalize the American dream of being full and happy, and in the same stride changing people's perception being full and happy. Think that Mcdonald's has turned a new leaf, maybe in North America where we have a history of our waistline expanding as Mcd's menu does. Yes, we need to take responsiblity for our own actions and make the right choices, not just blaming 'the man'. But, we also have a responsibility not to spread potentially harmful way of thinking and way of life on to others. Watch out Japan, you didn't want to open your doors to America, but they shot canons at you, a scary gesture when holding only sword and now lay down your chop sticks, pick up your meal with both hands, and prepare to be "Mega sized".

Just a few years after things had been looking very bleak for them, McDonald’s Japan is on fire. On Monday, the company announced that they had reached their goal of having 1,000 of its 3,828 shops operating 24 hours. That was something, but better news followed: over the last fiscal year, McDonald’s Japan broke its records for daily, monthly and yearly sales. In its record-breaking month of March, the company’s monthly sales hit 43.05 billion yen. Many are attributing high sales to the Mega Mac, its re-introduction to the market, and other seasonal items.

Japan Economy News & Blog: http://www.japaneconomynews.com/2007/04/18/mega-mac-indeed-mcdonalds-japan-smashes-sales-records/