I MADE IT!!!
Here's the scoop so far... I had a layover in Tokyo but there was a delay taking off from Seattle and so by the time we got to Tokyo it was too late to continue on to Seoul. It was only 7:00pm local time, but the airport closes at night (what?!?) and flights do not leave after the airport closes. So, I took a van to another airport about an hour away with a few other travelers. The airline put me (and the others) up in a hotel for the night. I called Jake to let him know what had happened and went down to the restaurant to eat dinner. By the time I got to bed, it was almost midnight Tokyo time, which meant I had been up for about 27 hours straight. Let's just say the bed felt AWESOME. I woke up at 5:30am to shower and get ready and make it to my gate. After taking another short shuttle to another terminal, I finally left Tokyo this morning at 9:30am and got to Seoul around 11:00. And to top it off, I didn't even arrive at Incheon airport as originally planned. Instead, I was on Japan Air Lines (a 747, huge!) which flies into Gimpo airport, so the instructions Jake had given me totally didn't work out. Oh well. :o)
Flying into Seoul was quite the experience - it is a HUGE city (between 25-30 million people) and the smog was the worst I've ever seen. Upon going through customs, I stepped outside into 80 degrees of humidity and hazy sunshine. I took a city bus into the center of the city for 3000 won (about $3) which lasted about an hour, hopped off, asked a random guy if he spoke English and he helped me out tremendously! He called my friend Jake and they spoke for a minute or two. Then the stranger led me back outside to find a taxi to take me to my next stop. I thought he'd just tell the driver where to go and then take off, but he got in the taxi with me and walked me to the place where I met Jake. He wouldn't even let me pay for the taxi. Strangers can be very nice in foreign countries!
Jake and I walked a few blocks to his apartment and dropped off my stuff. We then ventured out for a walk (more like a hike up steep hills) to a park overlooking the city of Seoul. From there, we walked down into the "financial district" (sort of?) to pick up a few shirts that Jake had custom made for only $40 each. We walked back to the neighborhood of Gangnam (where he lives) and he showed me the place he works in Pagoda Tower. Gangnam Station (the bus/transit area) reminded me slightly of Times Square - lots of people, stores, food/street vendors, etc. We then went to an underground bar for a beer and a break from the hustle and bustle. Around 4:00 we headed back to Jake's place and hung out for awhile until Mi Yeon (Jake's girlfriend) got here. The three of us walked two or three blocks (I used "blocks" lightly, as they are all narrow alleys filled with shops and people) to a small Korean restaurant and had boiled chicken for dinner. It was good, but spicy! I developed a cold the day before I left Seattle so the food tonight totally cleared up my nostrils, haha! Oh, and the chopsticks here are heavy (made of some sort of metal)! I guess they were traditional, so Mi Yeon kindly asked the waiter for some lighter (wooden) ones. Then the three of us came back to Jake's. I'm exhausted from such a long day with only a few hours of sleep. Jake, Mi Yeon, and one other girl went out for awhile, but I'm calling it a night.
Tomorrow we will do some sight-seeing and go to Jake's host-family's home for dinner. After that, who knows?! While Jake is working this week, Mi Yeon is going to take me shopping and out to eat (everything is done around food here, even more so than in the U.S.). I'll try to give an update in a few days. I only took one picture today of me and the stranger in the taxi. I'll take more as the trip goes on, but today was just a little overwhelming. Besides, the blonde/curly hair already makes me look like enough of a tourist, the last thing I need is a camera! Haha!
I hope all is well on that side of the Pacific! Take care, talk soon.
Love,
Elizabeth
Monday, April 21, 2008
Greetings (again) from Seoul!
Sunday (day 2) was a long day. We woke up around 9:45 and showered/got ready for the day...only to find out that my blow drier will not even work with an adapter here...lovely! Those of you who know my hair know how important the blow drier is to me. Anyway, it's humid here so luckily my hair dried okay on its own. :o)
We left Jake's place around 11:30 and hopped on a bus to Downtown (central) Seoul. We arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace and paid 3000 won to walk through the grounds. We took lots of pictures and totally felt like tourists, but that's what it's all about! It was hot and humid, but not too uncomfortable. The breeze was perfect! After completing our walk of Gyeongbokgung Palace, we exited near the Blue House - which is essentially Korea's White House. We did not stop for pictures, as there wasn't much to see. But the walk from here to the place we ate lunch was beautiful, so we took a few pictures along the way. Our lunch at Sixty Two Teastory consisted of a Belgian waffle with bananas and kiwis, blueberry/raspberry syrup, and one scoop of vanilla ice cream and one scoop of green tea ice cream. It was delightful and I actually got to use the "cuisine" setting on my camera, haha! We just talked and people-watched from our balcony table for over an hour, enjoying the sunshine in the meantime.
We then walked through some little market streets and made our way to Insadong, one of the biggest tourist shopping markets in Seoul. So, Jake and I took this opportunity to be total tourists! We stopped in a little museum/market thing where live music and lots of people made it truly evident that we weren't in the United States. We then made our way to Cheonggyecheon stream which is in the same area we began our adventure and walked along the stream for awhile. We stopped to soak our feet in the cool water and it was a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Following our stream walk, we walked a few blocks to City Hall for a few more pictures.
Around 5:30, we hopped on the subway to Gil-dong, the neighborhood in which Jake's homestay family lives. We met Mi Yeon at the subway station upon arriving and walked a few blocks to the final destination, a top-floor apartment with roof access and fresh air. His mother and father welcomed us and we enjoyed a delicious traditional Korean meal on the rooftop of the building. We ate pork (bacon-like) with yang-pa (a Korean sliced green onion) and a red sauce made of beans (but it reminded me of peanut sauce), all wrapped up in sesame leaf and a lettuce-like leaf. We also had two-year-old kimchi, white rice, rice wine, home-made red wine, and rice cakes (which are sticky, sweet, chewy, filling little rice patty things). It was all so good, but we left feeling extremely full. It was a lot of fun and definitely something I will never forget!!
After dinner, Jake and I took a bus with Mi Yeon to another bus station where she caught the bus home. This was near Lotte World, another popular tourist area in Seoul (amusement park, near Olympic Park as well). Jake and I hopped on the subway back to Gangnam Station and arrived back home around 10:30pm. We went to sleep around 11:30 and I slept like a log!
Today we woke up around 10:00, hung out, and Jake left for work at 11:30. I then showered and got ready for the day again... I'm about to head out to the main street of Gangnam to do a little window shopping. I am a little nervous to head out alone, but I think it'll get easier as the week goes on. I may also try to find my way back to the park we went to on Saturday to take a few pictures of the city. It's overcast but nice out. I am meeting Jake at 5:00 for dinner at a Japanese restaurant, and then who knows what I'll do the rest of the night! Mi Yeon will probably meet up with me on Tues/Wed or Thurs/Fri for some REAL Korean bargain hunting. :o)
Hope all is well for you back in the States, and I'll write more when I get a chance!
Love,
Elizabeth
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Annyeong haseyo! (That's Korean for "hello")
Last time I wrote, I was about to head out in Gangnam by myself. I left Jake's place and started walking up a ton of hills in search of the park we went to my first day here. Let's just say the streets don't exactly go in a grid-pattern, and I can't read Korean, so I got a little lost. I wandered my way back down to the busy streets and after about 45 minutes, I eventually made it back to Gangnam Station, yay! I only knew where I was once I saw Pagoda Tower (where Jake works). I sat and people-watched for about half an hour, wrote in my journal, and decided that my feet hurt a little too much to continue on in the shoes I had on... I came back to Jake's and changed shoes, but then decided to hang out for a little while until I met him for dinner at 5:00.
We went to a small Japanese restaurant and I had some breaded pork/fried rice sort of dish, and some Japanese noodles with thinly sliced squid skin (or something like that...it was "fishy"). It was good, but the noodles were a little difficult to eat with chopsticks. :o)
After dinner, Jake returned to work and I walked in and out of several stores along the huge, wide street. The fashion (or lack thereof?) here is a little odd, but I did manage to find a cute shirt at a trendy store for 19,900 won (about $19). After I hit the stores on street level, I went "down-under" to the subway shopping area at Gangnam Station. WOW, what a madhouse! It's a crazy underground market with CHEAP clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. Any bargain shopper's dream! Holy cow, it was hot down there though. I felt sticky and sweaty as it was, and then once I got into some of these shops crowded with people and goods, I thought I was going to fall over from heat exhaustion. I looked at shoes and clothes, sunglasses and purses. A middle-aged man who worked for Samsung gave me his business card and was trying to practice his English on me...but I had no clue what he was saying. The only thing I understood was, "Different feel," which to me, sounded like, "difern freer"... Not trying to be mean, just honest! I smiled and nodded, and when he (finally) left me alone, I said, "Thank you." I also tried on a cute pair of shoes, and the woman working at the shop gave me the biggest size she had (which was a 250, whatever that means) and it felt like I was trying to squeeze my 9.5 size foot into a size 8 shoe. It was horribly uncomfortable. I highly doubt I'll be able to find any shoes here that will fit my monster-sized feet!
After navigating the underground market and trying to figure out how the heck to get back to where I was at street level, I decided that my senses had been overloaded and I headed back towards Jake's place. I did stop to take a couple pictures of Gangnam (the street) on my way. I also stopped in a 7-Eleven for some 2%...no, not milk. It's similar to berry flavored water in the States. I have been extremely thirsty here and I think the reason I'm realizing it is because you cannot drink the faucet water. The water itself is not what worries people, rather the condition of the pipes is what they are weary of. I came back to Jake's around 9:00 and laid down to read a book and wait for him to get home. I fell asleep in less than 10 minutes! When Jake got home and woke me up, we decided to make Korean Ramen for the "late night dinner" and had a beer (piss water!)... We watched Family Guy and Futurama and went to bed. I traded Jake, I slept on the (hard wood) floor and gave him his bed. It doesn't seem like a long day, but boy was it!
Today we woke up at 10:00, I took a shower... Pause, side note... You must turn on the water heater here prior to taking a shower. I did so, but I guess it has to warm up for like 20 minutes so my shower was ice cold. Total bummer. I never did get fully submerged, it was more like a sponge bath. Oh well, it felt good to wash my hair. Play, back to the day. Mi Yeon came over and we walked with Jake to the bank so he could pay his bills. The way to pay bills here is like going to an ATM and depositing money, except you deposit a receipt and it automatically debits your account. Strange. We walked Jake to work and then had to walk all the way back to his apartment (about 10 minutes away) because I forgot my buss pass in my other bag from yesterday. Stupid me.
Let me say here that the weather was not cold, but it sprinkled all day. People do not wear jackets, but instead, everyone carries an umbrella. It made me think of Seattle - where no one carries umbrellas except tourists. :o)
Mi Yeon and I took a bus to Dongdaemun Market, which is a mix of wholesale and retail shopping areas combined with traditional markets and street stalls...all in high-rise shopping malls. Tons of clothing, purses (knock-offs), accessories, shoes... It was a bit overwhelming! We had lunch across the street at a small restaurant and I took more pictures of our food since I had no clue exactly what it was. We had sushi rolls, some fried/BBQ'd pork, and a vegetarian rice dish. Tipping is not practiced here, and yelling across the restaurant is expected when you need your server's attention. Funny!!
We hopped on another bus and went to the oldest traditional market in Seoul. This market makes Pike Place look extremely clean, friendly, and overall, silly. Crowded with people and goods, it is not a place where tourists visit. I will have to ask Mi Yeon the name of it because I have no idea what it was called. Anyway, it was insane! Words cannot even do it justice. I did get a couple of pictures. The one part I'd like to forget, however, was the part that Mi Yeon and I saw dog...like you'd see pork or beef...cut open, bones and flesh displayed for customers. The only way I knew it was dog was because the body was still primarily in tact and I could see paws. :o( Disgusting, and sad. We also saw chicken feet, octopus, silkworm (got a picture!), eel, and lots of other random items. Not to mention all the spices, beans, fruits, and vegetables that lined the crowded alleys... A very colorful place, indeed.
We then took another bus back to Downtown Seoul and walked through a trendy shopping area with several American stores. Nike, LaCoste, Ralph Lauren, Adidas, etc. We found ourselves in another side alley and that's where we had our pictures taken by the photo booth. :o) After that, we ended up at LotteWorld. This place had Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and all sorts of expensive stores inside. I told Mi Yeon I had never even seen a Chanel store in the U.S.! Clearly, everything was too expensive for us, so around 4:25 we headed back to Gangnam to meet Jake for dinner. He only had a little time, so we went to a French pastry shop down the street. I had a shrimp and broccoli calzone and a chocolate pastry for dessert. Yummy! Jake returned to work, and Mi Yeon went home to spend time with her sister. It is now 6:20pm and I'm back at Jake's for a little rest. Since I've been out and about in the rain all day, I decided to relax for awhile since Jake and I will be going out for our late night dinner when he gets home from work shortly after 10:00.
WOW, this was a long update!! Sorry to keep you reading for so long...and I didn't even get to tell you about the funny conversations that Mi Yeon and I had all afternoon! Some things are lost in translation, and they're actually funnier that way. :o) Enough said. More to come later on...
Peace & Love,
E.D.B.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hello!
I will try to keep this one short. :o) Last night when Jake got home we walked a few blocks to "The Plastic Chair Restaurant" as the Americans (foreigners) call it, or "Just One More" as it is actually named in Korean. We had potato/fried kimchi, dumpling and clam soup, and a pitcher of beer. Jake and I enjoyed good conversation and the food was awesome (especially the kimchi!!)...it was a nice way to wrap up the day. We went for a little walk after we ate (it was raining, but it was nice to walk off some of the food we had just devoured)... We arrived back at his place sometime around 12:30 or 1:00am and watched the first half of a Heroes episode (first episode from season 2) that Jake downloaded. We were both tired though so we went to bed and will finish watching it tonight.
Today was "test day" at work for Jake, so he said his day was going to be pretty boring since all his students would be taking the exam. He has to have all the tests graded and the scores online by tomorrow, though, so I imagine we'll be staying in tonight so he can work on getting that done. For me, the day was an adventure. Jake gave me instructions on which subways to ride and I headed back to Insadong, the "tourist" market in downtown Seoul. Timid, I grabbed an umbrella and headed down the street to Gangnam Station (the one with the underground market that's really hot inside all the shops...the one where the guy tried practicing his English on me the other day)... :o) I hopped on the Green Line (2) toward Seoul National University of Education, the next stop. I got off and then transferred to the Orange Line (3) which took me twelve more stops to Anguk, the stop at which Insadong is located. I walked down one side of the street, window shopping and going in shops with neat things. I watched some Koreans make some weird sort of honey/powdered sugar thing but didn't really feel like eating any so I kept walking. I came to Starbucks and decided to get a Green Tea frappuccino and a berry scone. By this time it was nearly 3:00 and I hadn't had anything to eat yet so it was a good little respite, and a reminder of home too. I people watched for awhile, but continued on in search of goodies...I even found a few gifts for those who shall remain nameless! The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, but it was still cool outside. Around 5:45 I decided to head back to Gangnam Station to browse more of the underground market. It was fun, and I found a few things that surprised me... The main thing was a 1987 MN Twins American League Championship t-shirt with a necklace for 5,000 won ($5). Naturally, I had to buy it. I've seen several people wearing MN Twins stuff and it just wouldn't have been right for me to leave that shirt on the rack. I also bought a pair of sunglasses for 9,900 won (about $10). They look a little silly, but they're all the rage here in Korea. :o) I began getting tired of walking, so I went to the French pastry shop that we had dinner at last night and I bought a sausage thing (difficult to describe) and a cheesecake-like dessert pastry. I then stopped in 7-eleven to get some "Cider" (7-up in the States) before heading back to Jake's place. It's now just after 7:00pm and I'm going to relax for a bit before meeting Jake at the hagwon (school) around 10:00. We might grab a quick bite to eat on the way back home, otherwise I thought I'd just give him some company for the walk.
Tomorrow I will probably go to school with Jake. He said that usually after a test he lets his students watch a movie (in English) as a reward for all their studying and a listening exercise too. I'll keep the updates coming! Hope you're all doing well. :o)
Peace out,
Elizabeth
Flying into Seoul was quite the experience - it is a HUGE city (between 25-30 million people) and the smog was the worst I've ever seen. Upon going through customs, I stepped outside into 80 degrees of humidity and hazy sunshine. I took a city bus into the center of the city for 3000 won (about $3) which lasted about an hour, hopped off, asked a random guy if he spoke English and he helped me out tremendously! He called my friend Jake and they spoke for a minute or two. Then the stranger led me back outside to find a taxi to take me to my next stop. I thought he'd just tell the driver where to go and then take off, but he got in the taxi with me and walked me to the place where I met Jake. He wouldn't even let me pay for the taxi. Strangers can be very nice in foreign countries!
Jake and I walked a few blocks to his apartment and dropped off my stuff. We then ventured out for a walk (more like a hike up steep hills) to a park overlooking the city of Seoul. From there, we walked down into the "financial district" (sort of?) to pick up a few shirts that Jake had custom made for only $40 each. We walked back to the neighborhood of Gangnam (where he lives) and he showed me the place he works in Pagoda Tower. Gangnam Station (the bus/transit area) reminded me slightly of Times Square - lots of people, stores, food/street vendors, etc. We then went to an underground bar for a beer and a break from the hustle and bustle. Around 4:00 we headed back to Jake's place and hung out for awhile until Mi Yeon (Jake's girlfriend) got here. The three of us walked two or three blocks (I used "blocks" lightly, as they are all narrow alleys filled with shops and people) to a small Korean restaurant and had boiled chicken for dinner. It was good, but spicy! I developed a cold the day before I left Seattle so the food tonight totally cleared up my nostrils, haha! Oh, and the chopsticks here are heavy (made of some sort of metal)! I guess they were traditional, so Mi Yeon kindly asked the waiter for some lighter (wooden) ones. Then the three of us came back to Jake's. I'm exhausted from such a long day with only a few hours of sleep. Jake, Mi Yeon, and one other girl went out for awhile, but I'm calling it a night.
Tomorrow we will do some sight-seeing and go to Jake's host-family's home for dinner. After that, who knows?! While Jake is working this week, Mi Yeon is going to take me shopping and out to eat (everything is done around food here, even more so than in the U.S.). I'll try to give an update in a few days. I only took one picture today of me and the stranger in the taxi. I'll take more as the trip goes on, but today was just a little overwhelming. Besides, the blonde/curly hair already makes me look like enough of a tourist, the last thing I need is a camera! Haha!
I hope all is well on that side of the Pacific! Take care, talk soon.
Love,
Elizabeth
Monday, April 21, 2008
Greetings (again) from Seoul!
Sunday (day 2) was a long day. We woke up around 9:45 and showered/got ready for the day...only to find out that my blow drier will not even work with an adapter here...lovely! Those of you who know my hair know how important the blow drier is to me. Anyway, it's humid here so luckily my hair dried okay on its own. :o)
We left Jake's place around 11:30 and hopped on a bus to Downtown (central) Seoul. We arrived at Gyeongbokgung Palace and paid 3000 won to walk through the grounds. We took lots of pictures and totally felt like tourists, but that's what it's all about! It was hot and humid, but not too uncomfortable. The breeze was perfect! After completing our walk of Gyeongbokgung Palace, we exited near the Blue House - which is essentially Korea's White House. We did not stop for pictures, as there wasn't much to see. But the walk from here to the place we ate lunch was beautiful, so we took a few pictures along the way. Our lunch at Sixty Two Teastory consisted of a Belgian waffle with bananas and kiwis, blueberry/raspberry syrup, and one scoop of vanilla ice cream and one scoop of green tea ice cream. It was delightful and I actually got to use the "cuisine" setting on my camera, haha! We just talked and people-watched from our balcony table for over an hour, enjoying the sunshine in the meantime.
We then walked through some little market streets and made our way to Insadong, one of the biggest tourist shopping markets in Seoul. So, Jake and I took this opportunity to be total tourists! We stopped in a little museum/market thing where live music and lots of people made it truly evident that we weren't in the United States. We then made our way to Cheonggyecheon stream which is in the same area we began our adventure and walked along the stream for awhile. We stopped to soak our feet in the cool water and it was a nice break from all the hustle and bustle of the city. Following our stream walk, we walked a few blocks to City Hall for a few more pictures.
Around 5:30, we hopped on the subway to Gil-dong, the neighborhood in which Jake's homestay family lives. We met Mi Yeon at the subway station upon arriving and walked a few blocks to the final destination, a top-floor apartment with roof access and fresh air. His mother and father welcomed us and we enjoyed a delicious traditional Korean meal on the rooftop of the building. We ate pork (bacon-like) with yang-pa (a Korean sliced green onion) and a red sauce made of beans (but it reminded me of peanut sauce), all wrapped up in sesame leaf and a lettuce-like leaf. We also had two-year-old kimchi, white rice, rice wine, home-made red wine, and rice cakes (which are sticky, sweet, chewy, filling little rice patty things). It was all so good, but we left feeling extremely full. It was a lot of fun and definitely something I will never forget!!
After dinner, Jake and I took a bus with Mi Yeon to another bus station where she caught the bus home. This was near Lotte World, another popular tourist area in Seoul (amusement park, near Olympic Park as well). Jake and I hopped on the subway back to Gangnam Station and arrived back home around 10:30pm. We went to sleep around 11:30 and I slept like a log!
Today we woke up around 10:00, hung out, and Jake left for work at 11:30. I then showered and got ready for the day again... I'm about to head out to the main street of Gangnam to do a little window shopping. I am a little nervous to head out alone, but I think it'll get easier as the week goes on. I may also try to find my way back to the park we went to on Saturday to take a few pictures of the city. It's overcast but nice out. I am meeting Jake at 5:00 for dinner at a Japanese restaurant, and then who knows what I'll do the rest of the night! Mi Yeon will probably meet up with me on Tues/Wed or Thurs/Fri for some REAL Korean bargain hunting. :o)
Hope all is well for you back in the States, and I'll write more when I get a chance!
Love,
Elizabeth
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Annyeong haseyo! (That's Korean for "hello")
Last time I wrote, I was about to head out in Gangnam by myself. I left Jake's place and started walking up a ton of hills in search of the park we went to my first day here. Let's just say the streets don't exactly go in a grid-pattern, and I can't read Korean, so I got a little lost. I wandered my way back down to the busy streets and after about 45 minutes, I eventually made it back to Gangnam Station, yay! I only knew where I was once I saw Pagoda Tower (where Jake works). I sat and people-watched for about half an hour, wrote in my journal, and decided that my feet hurt a little too much to continue on in the shoes I had on... I came back to Jake's and changed shoes, but then decided to hang out for a little while until I met him for dinner at 5:00.
We went to a small Japanese restaurant and I had some breaded pork/fried rice sort of dish, and some Japanese noodles with thinly sliced squid skin (or something like that...it was "fishy"). It was good, but the noodles were a little difficult to eat with chopsticks. :o)
After dinner, Jake returned to work and I walked in and out of several stores along the huge, wide street. The fashion (or lack thereof?) here is a little odd, but I did manage to find a cute shirt at a trendy store for 19,900 won (about $19). After I hit the stores on street level, I went "down-under" to the subway shopping area at Gangnam Station. WOW, what a madhouse! It's a crazy underground market with CHEAP clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc. Any bargain shopper's dream! Holy cow, it was hot down there though. I felt sticky and sweaty as it was, and then once I got into some of these shops crowded with people and goods, I thought I was going to fall over from heat exhaustion. I looked at shoes and clothes, sunglasses and purses. A middle-aged man who worked for Samsung gave me his business card and was trying to practice his English on me...but I had no clue what he was saying. The only thing I understood was, "Different feel," which to me, sounded like, "difern freer"... Not trying to be mean, just honest! I smiled and nodded, and when he (finally) left me alone, I said, "Thank you." I also tried on a cute pair of shoes, and the woman working at the shop gave me the biggest size she had (which was a 250, whatever that means) and it felt like I was trying to squeeze my 9.5 size foot into a size 8 shoe. It was horribly uncomfortable. I highly doubt I'll be able to find any shoes here that will fit my monster-sized feet!
After navigating the underground market and trying to figure out how the heck to get back to where I was at street level, I decided that my senses had been overloaded and I headed back towards Jake's place. I did stop to take a couple pictures of Gangnam (the street) on my way. I also stopped in a 7-Eleven for some 2%...no, not milk. It's similar to berry flavored water in the States. I have been extremely thirsty here and I think the reason I'm realizing it is because you cannot drink the faucet water. The water itself is not what worries people, rather the condition of the pipes is what they are weary of. I came back to Jake's around 9:00 and laid down to read a book and wait for him to get home. I fell asleep in less than 10 minutes! When Jake got home and woke me up, we decided to make Korean Ramen for the "late night dinner" and had a beer (piss water!)... We watched Family Guy and Futurama and went to bed. I traded Jake, I slept on the (hard wood) floor and gave him his bed. It doesn't seem like a long day, but boy was it!
Today we woke up at 10:00, I took a shower... Pause, side note... You must turn on the water heater here prior to taking a shower. I did so, but I guess it has to warm up for like 20 minutes so my shower was ice cold. Total bummer. I never did get fully submerged, it was more like a sponge bath. Oh well, it felt good to wash my hair. Play, back to the day. Mi Yeon came over and we walked with Jake to the bank so he could pay his bills. The way to pay bills here is like going to an ATM and depositing money, except you deposit a receipt and it automatically debits your account. Strange. We walked Jake to work and then had to walk all the way back to his apartment (about 10 minutes away) because I forgot my buss pass in my other bag from yesterday. Stupid me.
Let me say here that the weather was not cold, but it sprinkled all day. People do not wear jackets, but instead, everyone carries an umbrella. It made me think of Seattle - where no one carries umbrellas except tourists. :o)
Mi Yeon and I took a bus to Dongdaemun Market, which is a mix of wholesale and retail shopping areas combined with traditional markets and street stalls...all in high-rise shopping malls. Tons of clothing, purses (knock-offs), accessories, shoes... It was a bit overwhelming! We had lunch across the street at a small restaurant and I took more pictures of our food since I had no clue exactly what it was. We had sushi rolls, some fried/BBQ'd pork, and a vegetarian rice dish. Tipping is not practiced here, and yelling across the restaurant is expected when you need your server's attention. Funny!!
We hopped on another bus and went to the oldest traditional market in Seoul. This market makes Pike Place look extremely clean, friendly, and overall, silly. Crowded with people and goods, it is not a place where tourists visit. I will have to ask Mi Yeon the name of it because I have no idea what it was called. Anyway, it was insane! Words cannot even do it justice. I did get a couple of pictures. The one part I'd like to forget, however, was the part that Mi Yeon and I saw dog...like you'd see pork or beef...cut open, bones and flesh displayed for customers. The only way I knew it was dog was because the body was still primarily in tact and I could see paws. :o( Disgusting, and sad. We also saw chicken feet, octopus, silkworm (got a picture!), eel, and lots of other random items. Not to mention all the spices, beans, fruits, and vegetables that lined the crowded alleys... A very colorful place, indeed.
We then took another bus back to Downtown Seoul and walked through a trendy shopping area with several American stores. Nike, LaCoste, Ralph Lauren, Adidas, etc. We found ourselves in another side alley and that's where we had our pictures taken by the photo booth. :o) After that, we ended up at LotteWorld. This place had Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Dior, and all sorts of expensive stores inside. I told Mi Yeon I had never even seen a Chanel store in the U.S.! Clearly, everything was too expensive for us, so around 4:25 we headed back to Gangnam to meet Jake for dinner. He only had a little time, so we went to a French pastry shop down the street. I had a shrimp and broccoli calzone and a chocolate pastry for dessert. Yummy! Jake returned to work, and Mi Yeon went home to spend time with her sister. It is now 6:20pm and I'm back at Jake's for a little rest. Since I've been out and about in the rain all day, I decided to relax for awhile since Jake and I will be going out for our late night dinner when he gets home from work shortly after 10:00.
WOW, this was a long update!! Sorry to keep you reading for so long...and I didn't even get to tell you about the funny conversations that Mi Yeon and I had all afternoon! Some things are lost in translation, and they're actually funnier that way. :o) Enough said. More to come later on...
Peace & Love,
E.D.B.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Hello!
I will try to keep this one short. :o) Last night when Jake got home we walked a few blocks to "The Plastic Chair Restaurant" as the Americans (foreigners) call it, or "Just One More" as it is actually named in Korean. We had potato/fried kimchi, dumpling and clam soup, and a pitcher of beer. Jake and I enjoyed good conversation and the food was awesome (especially the kimchi!!)...it was a nice way to wrap up the day. We went for a little walk after we ate (it was raining, but it was nice to walk off some of the food we had just devoured)... We arrived back at his place sometime around 12:30 or 1:00am and watched the first half of a Heroes episode (first episode from season 2) that Jake downloaded. We were both tired though so we went to bed and will finish watching it tonight.
Today was "test day" at work for Jake, so he said his day was going to be pretty boring since all his students would be taking the exam. He has to have all the tests graded and the scores online by tomorrow, though, so I imagine we'll be staying in tonight so he can work on getting that done. For me, the day was an adventure. Jake gave me instructions on which subways to ride and I headed back to Insadong, the "tourist" market in downtown Seoul. Timid, I grabbed an umbrella and headed down the street to Gangnam Station (the one with the underground market that's really hot inside all the shops...the one where the guy tried practicing his English on me the other day)... :o) I hopped on the Green Line (2) toward Seoul National University of Education, the next stop. I got off and then transferred to the Orange Line (3) which took me twelve more stops to Anguk, the stop at which Insadong is located. I walked down one side of the street, window shopping and going in shops with neat things. I watched some Koreans make some weird sort of honey/powdered sugar thing but didn't really feel like eating any so I kept walking. I came to Starbucks and decided to get a Green Tea frappuccino and a berry scone. By this time it was nearly 3:00 and I hadn't had anything to eat yet so it was a good little respite, and a reminder of home too. I people watched for awhile, but continued on in search of goodies...I even found a few gifts for those who shall remain nameless! The sun peeked out from behind the clouds, but it was still cool outside. Around 5:45 I decided to head back to Gangnam Station to browse more of the underground market. It was fun, and I found a few things that surprised me... The main thing was a 1987 MN Twins American League Championship t-shirt with a necklace for 5,000 won ($5). Naturally, I had to buy it. I've seen several people wearing MN Twins stuff and it just wouldn't have been right for me to leave that shirt on the rack. I also bought a pair of sunglasses for 9,900 won (about $10). They look a little silly, but they're all the rage here in Korea. :o) I began getting tired of walking, so I went to the French pastry shop that we had dinner at last night and I bought a sausage thing (difficult to describe) and a cheesecake-like dessert pastry. I then stopped in 7-eleven to get some "Cider" (7-up in the States) before heading back to Jake's place. It's now just after 7:00pm and I'm going to relax for a bit before meeting Jake at the hagwon (school) around 10:00. We might grab a quick bite to eat on the way back home, otherwise I thought I'd just give him some company for the walk.
Tomorrow I will probably go to school with Jake. He said that usually after a test he lets his students watch a movie (in English) as a reward for all their studying and a listening exercise too. I'll keep the updates coming! Hope you're all doing well. :o)
Peace out,
Elizabeth
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