Hello everyone! I hope this finds you well and finally out enjoying the springtime weather, as I hear it finally reached your part of the world. Congratulations, you survived! I've been a busy busy bee lately - I had Easter celebrations, a school field trip, midterm preparations, a birthday party, and a recent cross country trip to Seoul and Busan, which I started by taking the GRE essay test (it went well - better than last year) and ended by relaxing on the beach. Last week I had a day off for Buddha's birthday, then a few down days due to midterm testing, before I hopped on a bus up to Seoul yet again for another birthday bash weekend. Oofda. I'm planning to stay put for the next few weeks, as I have to crack down on studying for round two of the GRE, which I take on June 11th.
Other highlights of our Apgujeong people watching session include: women with chin masks on, to cover their recent plastic surgery job, real designer handbags, (Sokhom knows how to spot them - they all look the same to me) lots of good looking people, and lots and lots of tiny little dogs either A: being carried, B: wearing clothes, C: wearing little doggie shoes, or D: all of the above. Oh, and the coconut gelato - we both swear it's the best ice cream we've ever had. All in all, my Apgujeong experience was a success - I predict many more people watching at a coffee shop sessions there. Maybe someday I'll finally have an exciting celebrity sighting.
C: Caribou Coffee
I have some bad news: last fall there were four Caribou Coffees located in Seoul; now, sadly, there are only three. When Sara and I arrived in Seoul for the GRE test, we heard the devastating news, and decided we needed to make it our pers
onal mission to visit all four Caribous - luckily the one we went to first was the one that closed, so we checked that one off the list. The hunt for Caribou number two proved successful. After just a few stops on the subway and a little bit of walking, we rejoiced at seeing the familiar blue and black sign. We enjoyed our drip coffee of the days while looking around at the Minnesota-ey decor, reminiscing about home. It was a good moment. Two Caribous down, two to go.
D: Diffidence: timidity or shyness. Most of my girl students express diffidence when I whip out my camera, so sadly I don't have very many pictures from my field trip
to show you, with the exception of Han Woo Ri and Seo Yeon here. I didn't get to see the students too much, as they were off doing activities with the group leaders, but my favorite part was getting to see them having fun and just being kids, instead of their endless studying and sitting in classrooms.
From then on, I've become a regular there, as I have a lot of studying to do, and the prices are at least a dollar cheaper than my other usual coffee shop. The free cookies don't hurt either. These days, Sok
hom and I look forward to visiting Caffe Soo (the girl's name is Soo-Jee, but her stage name is Suzy) to listen to the great K-Pop (yup, lots of Miss A), do some people watching, attempt conversing with celebrity mom in Korean, and of course, recieving the extra little treat we get with our coffee. Having coffee shop slash celebrity mom friends definitely has its bonuses. Just to make you jealous, here is our picture display of our fantastic spread of celebrity mom gifts - we threw the mug in the picture for advertising purposes.
I figured that instead of trying to comprehensively go through the past five weeks, I'll just pick out some highlights for you, from A to Z, GRE vocab word study style. I will throw some GRE words in there too, just to keep you on your toes.
Korea A to Z
A: Apgujeong and Americanos
To begin, for those of you who know me well, you might know that I am, shamefully, a bit of a celebrity gossip follower - I like my weekly fix of People and US Weekly when I'm in the States, especially when I can read them for free at Barnes and Noble. Well, since my recent discovery of K-Pop, I've started following just a slight trail of Korean celebrity gossip - mostly about singers that I know. It's the same all over the world, people, except it's interesting that in Korea most celebrities are expected to keep their relationships secret, if they have any at all. They say having a significant other is 'bad for image,' so sadly I don't get to read too much about who is dating who or who is breaking up with who. Well, during my gossip webpage perusals, I noticed that many of the paparazzi pictures take place in some place called Apgujeong. What is Apgujeong? Well, it's a district in Seoul - a brand new, sparkling, rich, and fancy area in Seoul, where my guidebook says "plastic surgeons are nearly as ubiquitous as coffee shops." The equivalent to Seoul's Beverly Hills, kind of the next Gangnam, of course this place was on my list to seek out and get my celebrity search on during my recent travels to Seoul.
To begin, for those of you who know me well, you might know that I am, shamefully, a bit of a celebrity gossip follower - I like my weekly fix of People and US Weekly when I'm in the States, especially when I can read them for free at Barnes and Noble. Well, since my recent discovery of K-Pop, I've started following just a slight trail of Korean celebrity gossip - mostly about singers that I know. It's the same all over the world, people, except it's interesting that in Korea most celebrities are expected to keep their relationships secret, if they have any at all. They say having a significant other is 'bad for image,' so sadly I don't get to read too much about who is dating who or who is breaking up with who. Well, during my gossip webpage perusals, I noticed that many of the paparazzi pictures take place in some place called Apgujeong. What is Apgujeong? Well, it's a district in Seoul - a brand new, sparkling, rich, and fancy area in Seoul, where my guidebook says "plastic surgeons are nearly as ubiquitous as coffee shops." The equivalent to Seoul's Beverly Hills, kind of the next Gangnam, of course this place was on my list to seek out and get my celebrity search on during my recent travels to Seoul.
Sadly, I was aware that the weekend I was in Seoul, MBLAQ (my favorite group, who has been previously spotted lurking around Apgujeong) happened to be performing in Japan, so I had no chance of seeing them. But that didn't stop me from exploring - a friend and I decided to go people watching in Apgujeong, so after a careful s
earch for the perfect coffee shop (requirements: in a busy area, outdoor seating, and...gelato) we settled ourselves down for some studying (yes, I studied on my vacation) and some good people watching. We weren't disappointed. Our first few minutes in the area (nicknamed "Rodeo Drive") filled with designer shops and fancy restaurants, we saw a girl being photographed by whoever she was with...and then by nearby observers with camera phones. Too bad I didn't even know who my first Korean celebrity sighting was...but at least I know where to come back to.
earch for the perfect coffee shop (requirements: in a busy area, outdoor seating, and...gelato) we settled ourselves down for some studying (yes, I studied on my vacation) and some good people watching. We weren't disappointed. Our first few minutes in the area (nicknamed "Rodeo Drive") filled with designer shops and fancy restaurants, we saw a girl being photographed by whoever she was with...and then by nearby observers with camera phones. Too bad I didn't even know who my first Korean celebrity sighting was...but at least I know where to come back to.Other highlights of our Apgujeong people watching session include: women with chin masks on, to cover their recent plastic surgery job, real designer handbags, (Sokhom knows how to spot them - they all look the same to me) lots of good looking people, and lots and lots of tiny little dogs either A: being carried, B: wearing clothes, C: wearing little doggie shoes, or D: all of the above. Oh, and the coconut gelato - we both swear it's the best ice cream we've ever had. All in all, my Apgujeong experience was a success - I predict many more people watching at a coffee shop sessions there. Maybe someday I'll finally have an exciting celebrity sighting.
On the topic of coffee shops, I reach my next point: Americanos. Koreans love Americanos. Correction: They love to order Americanos. For those of you who don't know what an Americano is, it's simply espresso (that really strong, bitter stuff people drink out of little tiny cups) diluted with water - they come hot or iced. When I first came to Korea and noticed the high number of Americano drinkers, I figured that was why the Koreans are all so skinny, since the calories in lattes and mochas aren't exactly health-friendly...and Korea apparently doesn't do skim milk in their lattes. But no, I was wrong. According to a recent article I read in our English language expat magazine, and confirmed by a few of my more Korea-savvy friends, the majority of young Korean Americano drinkers don't even like the taste. They just like the status of being able to walk around sipping their Americanos at a posh coffee shop. Now, of course I'm generalizing and probably being a bit harsh, but for me, a person who really truly enjoys drinking an iced Americano on a hot summer day, I was a bit shocked at this newfound discovery. It broke my heart to think of people not enjoying their coffee. According to the article I read, the actual taste of the coffee is last on the priority list - being seen drinking an Americano, being seen sitting in a coffee shop, and being around the atmosphere/social aspect of coffee shops get more points than the actual coffee. Now, that I can relate to, because sometime I go to coffee shops just for the atmosphere - but I always enjoy my coffee. For my sake, and for the sake of Koreans all over this country, next time you go out for coffee - please order what you really, truly want, not what you think will look the coolest.
B: Beaches, Busan, and Bongos
Moving on. I was fortunate enough to spend the second weekend in May in the beautiful city of Busan. What is Busan? It's Korea's second largest city, located down in the far southeast corner of the country right on the coast - ferries to Japan are frequent, and it's renowned for its fresh, raw fish seafood specialties. Busan's got character. It's casual and beachy, it's good shopping, good fashion, home to tons of expats, and of course, it's all the best seafood Korea has to offer. My friend
s and I stayed in a cheap motel that was a three minute walk from the beach - there are a few famous beaches in Busan, so though we weren't at the most famous one, the particular one we picked had an awesome boardwalk street lined with shops, coffee shops, and restaurants, lots of beach space, a cool bridge in front of it, and we even had great weather to go along with it.
We zipped around town in the subway on Saturday, starting with Beomeonsa Temple, which was serenely located high in the mountains above Busan, beautifully decorated for the upcoming Buddha's birt
hday holiday. We spent some time walking around, looking at the decorations, and enjoying the great weather. Oh, and taking silly pictures in front of th
e lanterns. After the temple we headed back to town to explore part of downtown Busan, the fish market, and then hung around our area for the evening with some friends. My favorite part of Busan was Sunday morning, h
owever; when we all split up to go our respective ways home, I stayed for an extra couple of hours in order to hang out at a coffee shop on the beach boardwalk. I sat out in the sun, reading a book, drinking my iced coffee, and looking out at the ocean, almost unable to believe I was still in Korea. I thought about how back home, we Minnesotans pay hundreds of dollars to have moments and beach days like this, and here I am in a city only three hours away from where I live. If I ever need a nice getaway from life, Busan is the place to go. I was glad to check Busan off my list, and I'm sure it won't be my last visit.
s and I stayed in a cheap motel that was a three minute walk from the beach - there are a few famous beaches in Busan, so though we weren't at the most famous one, the particular one we picked had an awesome boardwalk street lined with shops, coffee shops, and restaurants, lots of beach space, a cool bridge in front of it, and we even had great weather to go along with it.We zipped around town in the subway on Saturday, starting with Beomeonsa Temple, which was serenely located high in the mountains above Busan, beautifully decorated for the upcoming Buddha's birt
hday holiday. We spent some time walking around, looking at the decorations, and enjoying the great weather. Oh, and taking silly pictures in front of th
e lanterns. After the temple we headed back to town to explore part of downtown Busan, the fish market, and then hung around our area for the evening with some friends. My favorite part of Busan was Sunday morning, h
owever; when we all split up to go our respective ways home, I stayed for an extra couple of hours in order to hang out at a coffee shop on the beach boardwalk. I sat out in the sun, reading a book, drinking my iced coffee, and looking out at the ocean, almost unable to believe I was still in Korea. I thought about how back home, we Minnesotans pay hundreds of dollars to have moments and beach days like this, and here I am in a city only three hours away from where I live. If I ever need a nice getaway from life, Busan is the place to go. I was glad to check Busan off my list, and I'm sure it won't be my last visit.
Are you wondering about the bongos? I saved that part for last. On Saturday night in Busan Sara and I decided to go out for drinks, but as we were sitting in one of those swanky type bars, drinking something that sounded and looked fancy, looking at all the people dressed to kill...we decided we definitely didn't belong there. Just out of college, used to keggers and sweatpants, we're not quite up to that level of sophistication. So what did we do? We each finished our drinks, paid too much for them, then walked a few shops down the road to the little convenience store. Three dollars later, we were parked across the street, on the beach, and having way more fun drinking out of our spiked Coke bottles than our martini glasses. It was really fun to just people watch and observe the beach atmosphere - the beach we were on isn't the most popular one in Busan, so it had more of a chill, laid back vibe. We watched families, couples, and groups of foreigners and Koreans alike pass by and enjoy their evening.
Our favorite part came when a group of young Korean guys set up shop on one of the bench areas nearby, and started playing some live music - there was a singer, a guitarist, some other instrument I can't remember, and...bongo drums. The bongo drum player was awesome - he made the whole performance. When they were finished, Sara decided she wanted to learn to play the bongos too. We went up to the group and started chatting with them - their English 
was pretty good - and before I knew it, there was Sara sitting down, learning how to play the bongos. She was a good student! Sadly, they had to leave us shortly to catch the subway, but not before they asked to get pictures with us - we made new friends.
Our favorite part came when a group of young Korean guys set up shop on one of the bench areas nearby, and started playing some live music - there was a singer, a guitarist, some other instrument I can't remember, and...bongo drums. The bongo drum player was awesome - he made the whole performance. When they were finished, Sara decided she wanted to learn to play the bongos too. We went up to the group and started chatting with them - their English 
was pretty good - and before I knew it, there was Sara sitting down, learning how to play the bongos. She was a good student! Sadly, they had to leave us shortly to catch the subway, but not before they asked to get pictures with us - we made new friends.C: Caribou Coffee
I have some bad news: last fall there were four Caribou Coffees located in Seoul; now, sadly, there are only three. When Sara and I arrived in Seoul for the GRE test, we heard the devastating news, and decided we needed to make it our pers
onal mission to visit all four Caribous - luckily the one we went to first was the one that closed, so we checked that one off the list. The hunt for Caribou number two proved successful. After just a few stops on the subway and a little bit of walking, we rejoiced at seeing the familiar blue and black sign. We enjoyed our drip coffee of the days while looking around at the Minnesota-ey decor, reminiscing about home. It was a good moment. Two Caribous down, two to go.D: Diffidence: timidity or shyness. Most of my girl students express diffidence when I whip out my camera, so sadly I don't have very many pictures from my field trip
to show you, with the exception of Han Woo Ri and Seo Yeon here. I didn't get to see the students too much, as they were off doing activities with the group leaders, but my favorite part was getting to see them having fun and just being kids, instead of their endless studying and sitting in classrooms.
E: Easter in Korea
This year, as predicted, my Easter did indeed consist of church and chocolate, but an added bonus was some great company. I attended an English church service downtown with a girl from my Korean language class. I knew a few of the other girls from book club, and as it turned out, I had showed up on Easter potluck day. Over a random mix of Korean and western style potluck items, I did a lot of chatting and conversing - it was really fun to meet a new group of people and have some proper English socializing. In the evening I ventured across town to go out for an Easter dinner with just a few friends. If I couldn't be with family, being with friends was the next best thing. Sharing my chocolate chip cookies that Mom brought me (the mix - thanks again Mom) from home helped make Easter a little more homey for me and my friends as well. I hope you all enjoyed some family, friends, and food time on Easter too.
F: Famous moms
Though I didn't see a celebrity in Apgujeong or Gangnam, I don't have to venture very far from my own home in Gwangju to meet a semi-celebrity - how about a celebrity mom? Yup, I'm friends with a celebrity mom - her daughter is a member of one of the most famous girl groups in Korea as well as a popular TV show star. How do I know this? Well, one day a few months back, while walking around in our area, Sokhom and I noticed a tiny new coffee shop that popped up out of nowhere. We made a mental note to check it out...then didn't bother for another month or so. By the time we finally got around to visiting it, the main attraction was because of the very good looking worker who happens to sit right by the window when he's not helping customers, usually on his iPhone. Yup, a definite perk. However, when we went inside, we noticed right away that it resembled some sort of shrine to this young, teenage, cute, Korean girl - there was a life sized picture of her, tons of picture frames, magazine and newspaper tearouts, and autographed photos on the wall. We had no idea what was going on...until Sokhom recognized some of the guys in one of the wall photoa - the guys were from the popular Korean TV show Dream High. Then we saw pictures of her with the other members of Miss A...and realized she was one of them. Okay, so she was a famous celebrity. We figured there was some connection (that or the owner was just a huge fan) but we weren't sure how to ask, so we decided to just wait it out. When we ordered our drinks, we were delighted to recieve some free cookies with our coffee order from the lady worker. The next time we went (both to ogle the good looking worker and to get cheap drinks) we got two free mugs from the lady. We assumed she must be the manager or owner - she would be the one to ask about the unusual decor. The third time we went in she gave us extra cookies and a little plateful of cherry tomatoes. However, this time to reciprocate we had brought her some brownies and cookies. Our curiousity finally got the better of us, and we asked in half Korean about the girl on the wall. We said "Miss A...johayo?" which means 'do you like Miss A?' She laughed, nodded yes, then pointed to the girl and back to herself, saying "Mommy." OH. She's her mom. No wonder it was a shrine.From then on, I've become a regular there, as I have a lot of studying to do, and the prices are at least a dollar cheaper than my other usual coffee shop. The free cookies don't hurt either. These days, Sok
hom and I look forward to visiting Caffe Soo (the girl's name is Soo-Jee, but her stage name is Suzy) to listen to the great K-Pop (yup, lots of Miss A), do some people watching, attempt conversing with celebrity mom in Korean, and of course, recieving the extra little treat we get with our coffee. Having coffee shop slash celebrity mom friends definitely has its bonuses. Just to make you jealous, here is our picture display of our fantastic spread of celebrity mom gifts - we threw the mug in the picture for advertising purposes.
G: Gelato
Speaking of bonuses and coffee shop friends...Sokhom and I have somehow managed to make friends with some other coffee shop workers in town. Our second place is located at the downtown Cafe Bene, which is not only a coffee shop, but also a gelato shop. Yes, gelato - the rich, creamy, yummy ice cream everyone in Italy eats. Why it's popular in Korea I do not know. Of course, Cafe Bene isn't quite like Italy, but it's definitely a step up from Blue Bunny. Anyway, so the first time we went to Cafe Bene it was a slow-ish day, and we ended up semi-chatting (think half English half Korean again) to the worker behind the counter. Somehow, he decided he liked us; and came over with some Cafe Bene mugs for us! We were pumped - what a great service present. There must be something about us that screams 'give us a free mug.' Well, the next time we went back the same guy was working, and this time we not only got a discount, but also a free scoop of ice cream. It so happened that I had some leftover candy from school that day in my bag, so we decided to return the favor a bit and treat all the workers to some candies. Like with celebrity mom, we like to reciprocate. The next time we went (repeat performance of a discount and extra ice cream) we gave them brownies. We're pretty much regulars there now, and each time we go we make sure to have something sweet on hand to give to all the workers. The main guy is studying English, so he likes to come over to our table when it's not busy - we help him with his homework and practice conversation, then sometimes he helps us with our Korean. It's a beautiful relationship. We love making coffee shop friends - our goal is to keep trying new places to find new friends at different ones. Who knows who we will meet next?
Speaking of bonuses and coffee shop friends...Sokhom and I have somehow managed to make friends with some other coffee shop workers in town. Our second place is located at the downtown Cafe Bene, which is not only a coffee shop, but also a gelato shop. Yes, gelato - the rich, creamy, yummy ice cream everyone in Italy eats. Why it's popular in Korea I do not know. Of course, Cafe Bene isn't quite like Italy, but it's definitely a step up from Blue Bunny. Anyway, so the first time we went to Cafe Bene it was a slow-ish day, and we ended up semi-chatting (think half English half Korean again) to the worker behind the counter. Somehow, he decided he liked us; and came over with some Cafe Bene mugs for us! We were pumped - what a great service present. There must be something about us that screams 'give us a free mug.' Well, the next time we went back the same guy was working, and this time we not only got a discount, but also a free scoop of ice cream. It so happened that I had some leftover candy from school that day in my bag, so we decided to return the favor a bit and treat all the workers to some candies. Like with celebrity mom, we like to reciprocate. The next time we went (repeat performance of a discount and extra ice cream) we gave them brownies. We're pretty much regulars there now, and each time we go we make sure to have something sweet on hand to give to all the workers. The main guy is studying English, so he likes to come over to our table when it's not busy - we help him with his homework and practice conversation, then sometimes he helps us with our Korean. It's a beautiful relationship. We love making coffee shop friends - our goal is to keep trying new places to find new friends at different ones. Who knows who we will meet next?
H: Hongdae.
Hongdae is short for Hongik University, one of Seoul's many universities. Because the Korean word for university is daehakyo, everyone just shortens the university's name and adds dae at the end - much like we say U for university. Anyway, anyone who is anyone in Seoul knows about Hongdae because it is the premier party location of Seoul. Most of the best clubs are there, and the streets are crawling with people, in various states of intoxication, on the weekend nights (probably during the week also.) I mention Hongdae because on my most recent trip to Seoul my girlfriends and I went out in the Hongdae area for her birthday, just because it is what has to be done if you are in Seoul on the weekend. What I liked most about Hongdae was staying in our wonderfully located hostel right off the main street - it was fun to feel more like a traveler and backpacker in Seoul, then to be spoiled at Steve and Mary's. I also enjoyed hanging out with a different group of girls, and the next day we all went shopping in Seoul's biggest shopping district - something I normally don't do in Seoul because I'm more focused on seeing things and orienting myself. It was nice to have a normal, 'fun' weekend with no worries, a prime hostel location, and a busy nightlife to keep up with. How do you know that Hongdae is Seoul's place to be at night? A: there are tons of foreigners, B: you have to stand in line on the steps getting out on the subway on a Saturday night because it's just so packed with people, and C: the streets are just as crowded at 1 AM as they are at 4 AM. Not that I would know.
I: Itaewon
I think I've mentioned Itaewon before, but if not, it's an area in Seoul known as 'the foreigner district.' It's basically one long street comprised of lots of shops and restaurants - familiar brands like Nike and Converse - but not too many clothes or everyday stores like Target or something. Its proximity to the large American army base in Seoul is the main reason it caters to foreigners - going to Itaewon is usually more like being in a funky district in any given American city. To me, the two best reasons to go to Itaewon are to pick up food at the foreign food market, which caters to many different kinds of ethnicities - I can get Nature Valley granola bars, Betty Crocker cake mix, Skippy peanut butter, and lots of other goodies that I don't normally have access to, and to go eat foreign foods like Indian, Thai, and even Mexican. If you try anywhere else in Korea for foreign food, you will recieve 'Koreanized' foreign food, such as sweet potato pizza or bulgogi (a type of Korean beef) burgers. In Itaewon you're pretty much guaranteed the real deal, so it's always fun for us to try to go out to some new, different places. Two weeks ago, Steve and Mary introduced us to an authentic Bulgarian restaurant - I couldn't tell you any of the names, but I can tell you it was good food - and the next day we enjoyed a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Oh, I forgot the third best part of Itaewon: the large new and used English bookstore. Score. They have new releases, travel books, magazines, and used books - going there is basically like Christmas.
I think I've mentioned Itaewon before, but if not, it's an area in Seoul known as 'the foreigner district.' It's basically one long street comprised of lots of shops and restaurants - familiar brands like Nike and Converse - but not too many clothes or everyday stores like Target or something. Its proximity to the large American army base in Seoul is the main reason it caters to foreigners - going to Itaewon is usually more like being in a funky district in any given American city. To me, the two best reasons to go to Itaewon are to pick up food at the foreign food market, which caters to many different kinds of ethnicities - I can get Nature Valley granola bars, Betty Crocker cake mix, Skippy peanut butter, and lots of other goodies that I don't normally have access to, and to go eat foreign foods like Indian, Thai, and even Mexican. If you try anywhere else in Korea for foreign food, you will recieve 'Koreanized' foreign food, such as sweet potato pizza or bulgogi (a type of Korean beef) burgers. In Itaewon you're pretty much guaranteed the real deal, so it's always fun for us to try to go out to some new, different places. Two weeks ago, Steve and Mary introduced us to an authentic Bulgarian restaurant - I couldn't tell you any of the names, but I can tell you it was good food - and the next day we enjoyed a Mexican restaurant to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Oh, I forgot the third best part of Itaewon: the large new and used English bookstore. Score. They have new releases, travel books, magazines, and used books - going there is basically like Christmas.
J: Jalgachi Market
Busan's Jalfachi Fish Market is one of the most famous markets in Korea, due to its high quality of fresh, available seafood. The market is situated right on the wharf, with dozens of boats docked right outside. There are outdoor and indoor stalls, all filled with workers wearing rubber gloves and boots, just waiting to reach in their little buckets, grab your selection, bag it up, and send you on your way while it's still wiggling. I saw so many different kinds of fish, eels, turtles, mussels, you name it. If it lives underwater, it's probably at the Jalgachi Market. We really enjoyed ourselves when walking around, scoping out all of the fi
sh - I'd never been to a fish market before, and I thought about what kind of a job it must be, to sit around 
smelly fish all day. I also thought about some of the older people working there, and figured their families had been in the fish business for many generations. It was neat to see such an important part of Busan life preserved and still going strong. Speaking of strong, let me just say it's a good thing that pictures don't convey scent...I think my nose is still recovering.
sh - I'd never been to a fish market before, and I thought about what kind of a job it must be, to sit around 
smelly fish all day. I also thought about some of the older people working there, and figured their families had been in the fish business for many generations. It was neat to see such an important part of Busan life preserved and still going strong. Speaking of strong, let me just say it's a good thing that pictures don't convey scent...I think my nose is still recovering.
K: K-Pop
You totally saw that one coming, didn't you? Yes, K has to be dedicated to K-Pop - it has completely consumed my life. I went through K-Pop withdrawals during my traveling week, as my friend Sara doesn't really like to listen to it, I didn't have my computer with me to watch music videos, and my i-Pod lost battery by the end of the trip. To recover and reinstate my addiction, last week I snuck away to my English room at school when it was unoccupied and listen to K-Pop in the peace and quiet, while I was hanging up English posters my kids made. I'm obsessed. However, for those of you concerned for my brainpower, let me assure you that it's actually helping my Korean studying. I've picked up on a few key phrases that are almost guaranteed to be in any given K-Pop song. The first, that I've told you about already, is saranghae (love.) Now added to the list are dolawa, (come back) hangbok, (happy) and mianhae (I'm sorry.) If anything, at least now if anyone ever needs help with their Korean love lives I'll be able to assist them by providing some handy phrases.
You totally saw that one coming, didn't you? Yes, K has to be dedicated to K-Pop - it has completely consumed my life. I went through K-Pop withdrawals during my traveling week, as my friend Sara doesn't really like to listen to it, I didn't have my computer with me to watch music videos, and my i-Pod lost battery by the end of the trip. To recover and reinstate my addiction, last week I snuck away to my English room at school when it was unoccupied and listen to K-Pop in the peace and quiet, while I was hanging up English posters my kids made. I'm obsessed. However, for those of you concerned for my brainpower, let me assure you that it's actually helping my Korean studying. I've picked up on a few key phrases that are almost guaranteed to be in any given K-Pop song. The first, that I've told you about already, is saranghae (love.) Now added to the list are dolawa, (come back) hangbok, (happy) and mianhae (I'm sorry.) If anything, at least now if anyone ever needs help with their Korean love lives I'll be able to assist them by providing some handy phrases.
L: Lotus Lanterns
Lotus lanterns are basically the equivalent to our Christmas lights - they are the number one decoration put out along the streets and temples to prepare for and celebrate Buddha's birthday, which happened on May 10th this year. Though there is an increasing majority of Christians in Korea, it has been a Buddhist country for over a millennium; therefore Buddha still gets a pretty fancy bash for his big day. The lotus flo
wer is Buddha's symbol, and though not all of the beautiful paper lanters resemble lotus flowers, the bright colors and designs blend accordingly to create a beautiful effect, much like the lotus flowers themselves. The weekend I was in Seoul I enjoyed walking around Jogyesa temple to check out the preparations for Buddha's birthday. Bomeonsa temple in Busan also had beautiful lanterns up for decoration. Though I had to leave early, apparently in Seoul there is an evening Lotus Lantern parade down one of the main streets - I'm hoping to get up there next year to check it out, as I'm sure it's absolutely stunning - they're pretty enough in the daytime!
wer is Buddha's symbol, and though not all of the beautiful paper lanters resemble lotus flowers, the bright colors and designs blend accordingly to create a beautiful effect, much like the lotus flowers themselves. The weekend I was in Seoul I enjoyed walking around Jogyesa temple to check out the preparations for Buddha's birthday. Bomeonsa temple in Busan also had beautiful lanterns up for decoration. Though I had to leave early, apparently in Seoul there is an evening Lotus Lantern parade down one of the main streets - I'm hoping to get up there next year to check it out, as I'm sure it's absolutely stunning - they're pretty enough in the daytime!
M: Myeongdong
To continue with your introduction to districts in Seoul, we move next to Myeongdong, the shopping capital district of Seoul. Myeongdong has pretty much everything you could ever ask for - you've got your designers - Louis Vitton, Gucci - then your typical brand names - Nike, Adidas, Lacoste - and then, my favorite part, European and American stores like Forever 21, Zara, and H&M. These last three were my main objectives during my Myeongdong visit - it's difficult to find clothes made for women over about 5 ft 5 in Korea -since I have to take advantage of the shopping whenever I'm in the area, especially now that I'm staying for another year. My group split up to ensure more effective shopping, which meant that I got some quality wan
dering and people watching time once I was finished. The area was packed with people, street stalls, and food stalls - anyone who hates crowds should never, ever go to Myeongdong. For a little while it was fun though, I enjoyed being in the middle of all the action. Also in Myeongdong is Seoul's very first Catholic cathedral, built in 1892 - of course
I scoped that out also, as I've done some reading about the Christian persecutions in the late 1800s - scary stuff. But the cathedral was pretty. Can you see the moon?
dering and people watching time once I was finished. The area was packed with people, street stalls, and food stalls - anyone who hates crowds should never, ever go to Myeongdong. For a little while it was fun though, I enjoyed being in the middle of all the action. Also in Myeongdong is Seoul's very first Catholic cathedral, built in 1892 - of course I scoped that out also, as I've done some reading about the Christian persecutions in the late 1800s - scary stuff. But the cathedral was pretty. Can you see the moon?
N: Nose jobs
Sooo, remember what I said about Apgujeong and ubiquitous plastic surgeons? Well, I recently learned that alongside eyelid surgery (many women undergo surgery to literally create an eyelid, as they believe it gives them a more Western look) and jaw surgery, (to make the bottom of their face smaller and more pointed) Koreans are also into nose surgery. The surgery's intent is to raise the bridge of the nose to make it higher and more pronounced - a more Western appeal. I was shocked. Of course, it's not like plastic surgery isn't common in the States also - but the intention and incentive to have plastic surgery in Korea is definitely a significant difference. When telling me this information, my wise and all-knowing co-teacher Mrs. Lee summed it up perfectly: she said "In my opinion, we are all a gift from God, and He made us perfectly. We are Korean, therefore we should look Korean and we should be proud of our looks." Well put Mrs. Lee, well put. Let that be a lesson to you all: be proud of who you are - remember that some people are paying to have a nose like yours.
Sooo, remember what I said about Apgujeong and ubiquitous plastic surgeons? Well, I recently learned that alongside eyelid surgery (many women undergo surgery to literally create an eyelid, as they believe it gives them a more Western look) and jaw surgery, (to make the bottom of their face smaller and more pointed) Koreans are also into nose surgery. The surgery's intent is to raise the bridge of the nose to make it higher and more pronounced - a more Western appeal. I was shocked. Of course, it's not like plastic surgery isn't common in the States also - but the intention and incentive to have plastic surgery in Korea is definitely a significant difference. When telling me this information, my wise and all-knowing co-teacher Mrs. Lee summed it up perfectly: she said "In my opinion, we are all a gift from God, and He made us perfectly. We are Korean, therefore we should look Korean and we should be proud of our looks." Well put Mrs. Lee, well put. Let that be a lesson to you all: be proud of who you are - remember that some people are paying to have a nose like yours.
O: onerous: burdensome, hard to undertake. Studying for the GRE is onerous, especially while living in Korea when there are about a million other things I could be doing, but I'm glad I'm retaking it next month as I feel much more confident going in to it the second time around. Wish me luck!
P: Palaces
When I was up in Seoul during my holiday week I lucked out with having both nice weather and some free time to explore. Seoul has five remaining palace complexes (though they have all been rebuilt since the Japanese invasions.) Prior to last week, I'd only been to the main palace, but this time I walked just a couple of subway stops down the main road to the next set of palaces. Let me clarify once again the word 'palace' in Korea: it's definitely not like a Versailles or Buckingham, it's more like a big spread of fancy, traditional buildings arranged on the palace grounds, walled off and guarded, for the royal family to live and official business to take place. Honestly, they all do kind of look the same - I'm sure if I were Korean I could immediately spot the differences - but either way I enjoy visiting them, to think about how royalty had once walked the same grounds, and to try to imagine life in the past. The two palaces I visited, (conveniently right next to each other) were built more recently, and more for pleasure than official business.
And boy, could I see why they were more of pleasure palaces than anything - the grounds were absolutely beautiful with the bright spring flowers blooming everywhere you turned. As much as I love to wander in a historical place like palace grounds, tourist information map and guidebook in hand, I'm afraid I wasn't able to do that this time around...due to the fact that I had a large audience with every move I made. Note
to self: never go to a Korean tourist attraction on high school field trip day. Though I must admit, it was quite humorous to see the groups of boys looking over and nudging each other to come up to me to ahem, practice their English. I ended up in about five photos with different groups of boys, and I think a few cameraphones too. If you look close enough you can see them all hanging out here and there - it was difficult to get a picture without a group of students.
When I was up in Seoul during my holiday week I lucked out with having both nice weather and some free time to explore. Seoul has five remaining palace complexes (though they have all been rebuilt since the Japanese invasions.) Prior to last week, I'd only been to the main palace, but this time I walked just a couple of subway stops down the main road to the next set of palaces. Let me clarify once again the word 'palace' in Korea: it's definitely not like a Versailles or Buckingham, it's more like a big spread of fancy, traditional buildings arranged on the palace grounds, walled off and guarded, for the royal family to live and official business to take place. Honestly, they all do kind of look the same - I'm sure if I were Korean I could immediately spot the differences - but either way I enjoy visiting them, to think about how royalty had once walked the same grounds, and to try to imagine life in the past. The two palaces I visited, (conveniently right next to each other) were built more recently, and more for pleasure than official business.
And boy, could I see why they were more of pleasure palaces than anything - the grounds were absolutely beautiful with the bright spring flowers blooming everywhere you turned. As much as I love to wander in a historical place like palace grounds, tourist information map and guidebook in hand, I'm afraid I wasn't able to do that this time around...due to the fact that I had a large audience with every move I made. Note
to self: never go to a Korean tourist attraction on high school field trip day. Though I must admit, it was quite humorous to see the groups of boys looking over and nudging each other to come up to me to ahem, practice their English. I ended up in about five photos with different groups of boys, and I think a few cameraphones too. If you look close enough you can see them all hanging out here and there - it was difficult to get a picture without a group of students.
Though I was a little disappointed it was cloudy (for pictures) I still really enjoyed the palaces, and I'm glad my count is now 3/5 for Seoul palace visits. I've read some historical material about events taking place in those very palaces, and now I'm anxious to revisit some of what I've read to be able to visualize and better understand what happened. There's absolutely nothing like walking through history with the knowledge of what significant events had happened at that very spot. Props to Seoul for preserving and maintaining such important historical locations for a low cost to visitors.
Q: There are no Qs in the Korean language. Moving on.
R: Royal Wedding
Yes, I admit, I fell victim to getting sucked into the royal wedding on April 29th. I usually read the BBC news, so of course I was bombarded with all sorts of enticing articles and pictures (Royal couple to delay honeymoon! Canada to make coin commemorating Will and Kate!) that I, being the gossip gatherer I am, was excited to watch part of the ceremony, mostly (I admit it) to see what people were wearing. It turned out that one of my British friends had his birthday on the same day as the wedding, so on Friday after school everyone hopped on their respective buses and headed down to Haenam (about and hour and a half away) to both watch the royal wedding live on CNN (the time difference worked out wonderfully - it started at 7 PM here) and then to celebrate his birthday. It was a fun time had by all - the apartment was decorated with British flags, napkins, and computer printouts of the recent royal family. I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to London just before I came to Korea (I flew here from London, actually) so it was really cool to watch the ceremony and procession and actually picture the place as I remembered it. So don't worry, I'm still staying in tune with the world, even though sometimes it can be easy to get fixated on my little Korea-land and not think about other places.
Yes, I admit, I fell victim to getting sucked into the royal wedding on April 29th. I usually read the BBC news, so of course I was bombarded with all sorts of enticing articles and pictures (Royal couple to delay honeymoon! Canada to make coin commemorating Will and Kate!) that I, being the gossip gatherer I am, was excited to watch part of the ceremony, mostly (I admit it) to see what people were wearing. It turned out that one of my British friends had his birthday on the same day as the wedding, so on Friday after school everyone hopped on their respective buses and headed down to Haenam (about and hour and a half away) to both watch the royal wedding live on CNN (the time difference worked out wonderfully - it started at 7 PM here) and then to celebrate his birthday. It was a fun time had by all - the apartment was decorated with British flags, napkins, and computer printouts of the recent royal family. I was lucky enough to take a quick trip to London just before I came to Korea (I flew here from London, actually) so it was really cool to watch the ceremony and procession and actually picture the place as I remembered it. So don't worry, I'm still staying in tune with the world, even though sometimes it can be easy to get fixated on my little Korea-land and not think about other places.
S: Subway.
Hmm, Subway is ambiguous (have you noticed how many GRE words I've been throwing in here? Please be proud) - am I talking about the restaurant or the underground train? Actually, I'm talking about both. First useage: the restaurant. When Sara and I went to Seoul, we decided that the perfect treat for us would be to get a Subway sandwich, as there are definitely no Subways around the rest of Korea. Burger King? Yes. McDonald's? Of course. KFC? You betcha. But Subway? Sadly, no. Lucky for us, we knew they were around in Seoul, and we made it our mission (after Caribou) to find one for lunch after the GRE. Mission successful (we like to operate as secret agents whenever we go to Seoul, in case you haven't noticed.) After a little bit of walking around, we located the familiar looking green, yellow, and white sign - my first Subway in almost a year. I ordered my usual - 6 inch turkey on wheat - and we sat outside to enjoy our sandwiches. It tasted like home - it was so so good. One of those things I don't really think about missing, but now that I've had it again I realize how much I missed it. Sandwiches aren't really a priority on the Korean menu - more like squid soup and fried tofu (both are excellent, by the way.) Between Caribou and Subway, my Wednesday afternoon felt like it could have been back home. I definitely need that once in a while, I must admit.
Next, after our Minnesota (and Wisconsin) moments, we decided to head to our next destination, Myeongdong, to search for shoes for Sara. How did we get there? Can you guess? Yes, on the subway. My first subway ride was in New York City a couple of years ago, and ever since that extremely confusing, slightly traumatizing, and overwhelming experience, I've come to really like subways. They're fast, efficient, and though crowded, they make for great people watching. Seoul's trains (some of the cleanest I've ever seen) are usually pretty packed, especially during the early evening, but hey, that means more opportunities to observe people. Cute babies and cute guys are probably the most fun to observe, but of course, you have to be a little more discreet when staring at a cute guy - at least you can make ridiculous faces and pay a lot of attention to a cute baby. Also: (based on my own personal research and deduction skills) at least 3/4 of any given group of people on a Korean subway will have their heads bowed down, staring at some sort of electronic device, be it a phone, a video game, or an MP3 player. Sometimes, if you're lucky, this can provide you with just as much entertainment - I found myself completely entranced by some middle aged dude playing a car racing game on his iPad - when he leaned, I leaned. So that's fun. Other Korea subway occupations include reading, sleeping, and staring. The old people are the best at staring, just so you know. Sometimes I hide behind other people, though this can be hard to do. If you have any other subway entertainment tips, I'd love to hear them, but I was definitely amused by simply observing people during my Seoul and Busan subway rides.
T: Teacher moment
Okay, now it's time to tell you about one of the best teacher moments I've had this whole year. My students had their midterm exams last week - two days of solid test after test - seven subjects in all. The poor kids were fried by Friday afternoon, therefore we played games in my classes. Anyways, s ince the tests are scored electronically, the kids find out pretty quickly after taking the test how they did. Since I know my students' names now, I took a few peeks at the score sheet to see how they did - there were definitely some expected scores and then some surprising scores. One of my most pleasant surprised was when Hyun Jun, a third grade (9th) boy, scored an 87. That might not seem that great, but Hyun Jun happens to be in my third grade low level class - the majority of his classmates didn't score above 60 - and he scored just as high if not higher than some of my high level kids. Soon after I saw his score, he came in to the office to check his score. I was right next to the desk when he saw it, and I heard a great big gasp of surprise, then a "chinchaeyo!?" which means 'really?' He was so so happy and proud of himself - I gave him a great big high five and watched him run out of the office in excitement.
Hyun Jun also happens to be one of my favorite students - he comes and tries to talk to me or help explain things even though he knows his English isn't quite as good as some of his classmates. He's really interested in American music, and likes to ask a lot of questions about song titles (for the song 'Club Can't Handle Me' he was like, "Teacher, what means?" and held up his hand like he was picking up something, then points to his hand and goes, "club?" Silly English.) I was so happy to see him do well, since I see him try every single day to improve his English. A few days ago, I was working at my desk when all of a sudden a little paper note was dropped on my desk, and then another one on my co-teacher's desk. He ran away before I could say anything, but when I opened it I saw the cutest note ever: "Jina, you are very good teacher. Because I test score 87. I will keep try my best. Thank you Jina!" (my name in Korean uses the same letter for J to make the G sound in my name...) That note made me so happy, and made me want to try even harder for these kids, to improve my lessons, get them speaking even more, and help them feel good about themselves. I truly see why being a teacher is so rewarding.
Hyun Jun also happens to be one of my favorite students - he comes and tries to talk to me or help explain things even though he knows his English isn't quite as good as some of his classmates. He's really interested in American music, and likes to ask a lot of questions about song titles (for the song 'Club Can't Handle Me' he was like, "Teacher, what means?" and held up his hand like he was picking up something, then points to his hand and goes, "club?" Silly English.) I was so happy to see him do well, since I see him try every single day to improve his English. A few days ago, I was working at my desk when all of a sudden a little paper note was dropped on my desk, and then another one on my co-teacher's desk. He ran away before I could say anything, but when I opened it I saw the cutest note ever: "Jina, you are very good teacher. Because I test score 87. I will keep try my best. Thank you Jina!" (my name in Korean uses the same letter for J to make the G sound in my name...) That note made me so happy, and made me want to try even harder for these kids, to improve my lessons, get them speaking even more, and help them feel good about themselves. I truly see why being a teacher is so rewarding.
U: Ubiquitous coffee shops
So I think my coffee shop mention count is up to about four or five in this post alone. I like to think that the frequency of posts about coffee shops emulates the frequency of coffee shops on just about any given street in a Korean city. They love 'em. Which is a good thing, because I love them too. As I mentioned before, the social points one receives from being seen hanging out in a coffee shop are big enough to guarantee that anytime you walk by a coffee shop, there will almost always be people hanging out - not much different than the States, right? Inside, the coffee shop decor is usually very cutesy and modern - the 'funky' coffee shop look hasn't really caught on here. The menu is pretty standard - you have your lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, Americanos (of course) - green tea, black tea, blended smoothies. Some interesting items include tomato juice, (blended tomatoes and ice with added sugar) sweet potato latte, (not kidding - I've tried a sip of someone's...not terrible...but not good either) and cinnamon mocha (I've tried a sip of that one too - actually good.) For sweets, the food is pretty coffee shop-y: muffins, cheesecake, cookies, and an interesting concept that I don't know the origin of: waffles. But not just any waffles. These waffles are doused in anything sweet you can name - there are blueberry cheesecake waffles, apple cinnamon waffles, honey chocolate waffles, gelato waffles, chocolate syrup waffles. Sorry, am I making you hungry? I'll stop. Moving on.
So I think my coffee shop mention count is up to about four or five in this post alone. I like to think that the frequency of posts about coffee shops emulates the frequency of coffee shops on just about any given street in a Korean city. They love 'em. Which is a good thing, because I love them too. As I mentioned before, the social points one receives from being seen hanging out in a coffee shop are big enough to guarantee that anytime you walk by a coffee shop, there will almost always be people hanging out - not much different than the States, right? Inside, the coffee shop decor is usually very cutesy and modern - the 'funky' coffee shop look hasn't really caught on here. The menu is pretty standard - you have your lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, Americanos (of course) - green tea, black tea, blended smoothies. Some interesting items include tomato juice, (blended tomatoes and ice with added sugar) sweet potato latte, (not kidding - I've tried a sip of someone's...not terrible...but not good either) and cinnamon mocha (I've tried a sip of that one too - actually good.) For sweets, the food is pretty coffee shop-y: muffins, cheesecake, cookies, and an interesting concept that I don't know the origin of: waffles. But not just any waffles. These waffles are doused in anything sweet you can name - there are blueberry cheesecake waffles, apple cinnamon waffles, honey chocolate waffles, gelato waffles, chocolate syrup waffles. Sorry, am I making you hungry? I'll stop. Moving on.
V: variegated: multicolored; various. Korea's variegated spring vegetation has truly 
been a treat for me to observe. To me, Korea is always beautiful, but this spring especially it has seemed to pull out all the stops - flowers and bright green everywhere you look.
been a treat for me to observe. To me, Korea is always beautiful, but this spring especially it has seemed to pull out all the stops - flowers and bright green everywhere you look.
W: Wet and Wild Children's Day
May 5th marked Korea's annual Children's Day celebration. According to one of my students, Children's Day began back in the early 20th century, during the time of the Japanese occupation. Because everyone was so fixated on trying to get rid of the Japanese, apparently the adults decided that they weren't thinking enough about the children, who would be the future of Korea, hopef
ully as a free Korea. They designated Children's Day to be a national holiday, just for the kids. These days, Children's Day is basically when children (usually up to about 10 or 11) are spoiled rotten - they get taken to parks, amusement parks, movies, etc. There is also an excess of balloons bopping around and ice cream consumed. Sara and I were in Seoul for Children's Day, and we decided to check out the downtown area of Seoul because we heard about some sort of festival. We ended up not really figuring out what the festival was all about, but we did e
njoy hanging out in Seoul Plaza, on an immaculately manicured lawn, watching kids play in the fountain and families having picnics. The weather was awesome, the kids were adorable, and the atmosphere reminded Sara and I of having a family picnic on the Fourth of July before the fireworks. After our law
n sit, we did some more walking around downtown - the last time we saw this scene it was an outdoor open concert - now somehow it transformed into a waterfall in the middle of the city? That's Seoul for you.
ully as a free Korea. They designated Children's Day to be a national holiday, just for the kids. These days, Children's Day is basically when children (usually up to about 10 or 11) are spoiled rotten - they get taken to parks, amusement parks, movies, etc. There is also an excess of balloons bopping around and ice cream consumed. Sara and I were in Seoul for Children's Day, and we decided to check out the downtown area of Seoul because we heard about some sort of festival. We ended up not really figuring out what the festival was all about, but we did e
njoy hanging out in Seoul Plaza, on an immaculately manicured lawn, watching kids play in the fountain and families having picnics. The weather was awesome, the kids were adorable, and the atmosphere reminded Sara and I of having a family picnic on the Fourth of July before the fireworks. After our law
n sit, we did some more walking around downtown - the last time we saw this scene it was an outdoor open concert - now somehow it transformed into a waterfall in the middle of the city? That's Seoul for you.
X: xyloid: of or relating to wood.
I hope you cherish that piece of knowledge - it will take you far in life.
I hope you cherish that piece of knowledge - it will take you far in life.
Y: Yangban hanok village
During my free afternoon in Seoul two weeks ago, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and my alone time to check out the Bukchon traditional hanok neighborhood, located in between two of the old royal palaces. What is special about the neighborhood is that the housing style is preserved in the traditional Korean style, and the houses aren't allowed to be changed. This district used to belong to Seoul's elite yangban, which basically means upper class. These were the landowners, the merchants, and the aristocr
ats of Korean society, second in status only to the royal family. I learned that only direct descendants of these yangban families are allowed to live, or at least have control over their rightful property in this neighborhood today. It was free and open to the public, and as you can see, a popular attraction. Everyone lined up to get a picture of this street, and I must agree it's worth the wait to see the city of Seoul spread out in front of you.
During my free afternoon in Seoul two weeks ago, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and my alone time to check out the Bukchon traditional hanok neighborhood, located in between two of the old royal palaces. What is special about the neighborhood is that the housing style is preserved in the traditional Korean style, and the houses aren't allowed to be changed. This district used to belong to Seoul's elite yangban, which basically means upper class. These were the landowners, the merchants, and the aristocr
ats of Korean society, second in status only to the royal family. I learned that only direct descendants of these yangban families are allowed to live, or at least have control over their rightful property in this neighborhood today. It was free and open to the public, and as you can see, a popular attraction. Everyone lined up to get a picture of this street, and I must agree it's worth the wait to see the city of Seoul spread out in front of you.
I was walking through the neighborhood, once again I was struck with the all too familiar feeling of contrast between tradition and modernity, a constant struggle in Korea. As you can see in the picture, century year old houses exist within the same frame as brand new modern skyscrapers. I love how Korea has so much history to offer, and how important it is for them to preserve their culture and tradition. Korean history and culture is so interesting to me - I can picture their old way as life just as easily to me, though I know some of the elders these days worry that the old way of life will soon be lost, including traditional values and respect.
Last, though it doesn't start with a Y, I must credit Steve and Mary Kosberg for telling me about this area, as well as thank them once again for their recent hosting. Sara and I were so fortunate to stay with them during the week - It's truly a blessing to have such a comfortable, cozy, and welcoming place to stay in the middle of one of the biggest cities in the world. Most importantly though, for me it's a taste of home - from the Mankato Magazine hanging out on the coffee table to burgers on the grill to the plentiful supply of peanut butter (and peanut M and Ms) - staying at Steve and Mary's makes being so far from home feel a little closer to Minnesota. I feel so lucky to have them in my life!
Z: Zzzzzzzz
One final cultural note for you: If you are ever on a Korean bus or train ride, you must be aware that 98 percent of your fellow passengers will be sleeping. Public transportation = sleep time in Korea. On my way home from Seoul this Sunday I actually had some company with me, (usually I'm alone) but we had to be super careful about chatting on the bus because otherwise we would receive the worst death stares you've ever seen in your life. These people may look cute and sweet, but if you are talking too loudly on a bus, especially in English, you will be positively glared at. The best advice I can give is when in Korea, do as the Koreans do. Zzzzzzzz.
One final cultural note for you: If you are ever on a Korean bus or train ride, you must be aware that 98 percent of your fellow passengers will be sleeping. Public transportation = sleep time in Korea. On my way home from Seoul this Sunday I actually had some company with me, (usually I'm alone) but we had to be super careful about chatting on the bus because otherwise we would receive the worst death stares you've ever seen in your life. These people may look cute and sweet, but if you are talking too loudly on a bus, especially in English, you will be positively glared at. The best advice I can give is when in Korea, do as the Koreans do. Zzzzzzzz.
Well, I think that finishes it for me - I hope you enjoyed my alphabet list that I had more fun creating than usual because it effectively putting off studying...I have to get back to it now. Have a wonderful rest of your week and weekend everybody, I probably won't post until the middle of June due to my study needs! Take care!
