The month of November has been crazy!
I did so much over-time for three weeks straight that I barely had time to eat or go to the bathroom, from sun-up to sun-down Monday through Friday. Then by the time the weekend showed up?? I was so damn tired from work, I didn't do any sight-seeing...unless you count searching for an appointment.
So.
After a couple of weeks of searching frantically for an apartment in Samseong-dong (which was close to impossible to find) because it is one of the most expensive and desired districts of Seoul to live in.
I finally found my little apartment!!!
It is super small but very cute. It has faux hardwood floors, a renovated kitchen, brand new cabinets, and a bathroom with a shower stall (and a washer machine) as opposed to the shower head over your sink found here in Korea. Which means no more showering in the middle of the bathroom floor!
I mean....what else can a girl whose is a germaphobe ask for here?
Not much else!
I am completely satisfied with what I found. Maybe, not so much with the price. But happy nonetheless with my little treasure....that might I add, is also only a ten minute walk to work for me!
And let me tell you someting, some of the places I looked at with my Real Estate Agent were disgusting!
Old, dingy...smelled like cat pee. Some had dead flies sticking to the walls. While the bathrooms looked like a dirty molded dungeon.
It was disgusting.
I moved into my apartment this past Thursday (Korea Time for me, Thanksgiving day for you) and just finished cleaning it from top to bottom this evening....even though maintenance did a pretty good job cleaning it.
Nobody can do a better job of cleaning this place than me.
Not to mention, I could not have felt completely comfortable until I did anyway.
Some of the pluses about apartments like mine in Korea:
1) Just about every single one has a key-less entry. So, you enter your apartment by typing in your private number.
2) They all have floor heating instead of central air heating. Apparently, your place heats up faster this way and it is needed....Korea's Winters are comparable to Wisconsin's 'it's so cold it hurts' Winters. So, what Korean people often do when it gets below zero is sleep on a floor mat on the floor to stay warm and cozy.
3) A majority of them have balconies like me as well. This balcony has multiple purposes too. Many people use them to hang their wet clothes out on throughout the year. Because there aren't many dryers within apartment buildings (my temporary housing had one though) and there are zero laundry mats.
4) Most of the apartments here have relatively new appliances too, since the location is within the LG and Samsung capitals of the world.
5) A lot of the apartment buildings have full length mirrors. So you can look at yourself on your way out of the door and I really love this, since I don't have a full length mirror inside of my place.
As soon as I 'personalize' my place a bit more. I'll add pictures for everyone to see! I have this awful wall paper near my bed that I need to problem-solve how to hide.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Why I Love My Students!
For starters, they are adults like me!!
And although, a few barely speak English. I can still communicate better with them, then I can with kids who have the vocabulary and fluency to do so.
Second, when I am sick...like now. They send text messages, telling me to get better soon. And not to worry about our classes. And if I need anything to call them, and they will translate for me. <----- This equals awesome!
Third, I have so much fun teaching them English!! They always give me tips on foods to eat, places to visit, and areas to live in permanently. And while I should be teaching them about corporate branding. I'm really sharing stories about where I grew up...and what cities I like...what my family is like...what do I eat...what hobbies do I like...why do I look so young...did I ever do crazy stuff as a kid.
It's just hard to stay on topic in class! Especially when they have so many questions...and you like sharing stories!
And fourth, they are the warmest people ever! Which is odd because rumor is Koreans show very little emotion and this is pretty common here.
Don't believe it!
A couple weeks ago on the subway a Korean lady in her 60s sat down next to me. I looked disgruntled and unhappy because I was shivering from being poured on by the rain. Then out of nowhere, she started stroking my wet leg with her hand. I was a little startled at first too, and although her little hand didn't make my pants dry. It was the most comforting thing a stranger could do. When her subway stop approached, she squeezed my leg and gave me a look that said, "You'll be okay." Like how a grandmother would do. I really did feel better too.
Another time on the subway, a Korean lady in her 40s sat across from me and my friend and just smiled at us. We smiled back and the next thing we know, she's walking over to us and giving us chocolate fudge cookies! Oh, and they were really good too. Like so good, you wouldn't want to share them good.
So.
I don't buy no one shows emotion here.
It ain't true and don't believe it til you see it!
Find out for yourself.
*I heard the meanest Korean people I will encounter will be the older women. Like these women will push you out of the way, elbow you, etc. Yet, the older women on the subway were the most affectionate people I've met in Seoul.
And although, a few barely speak English. I can still communicate better with them, then I can with kids who have the vocabulary and fluency to do so.
Second, when I am sick...like now. They send text messages, telling me to get better soon. And not to worry about our classes. And if I need anything to call them, and they will translate for me. <----- This equals awesome!
Third, I have so much fun teaching them English!! They always give me tips on foods to eat, places to visit, and areas to live in permanently. And while I should be teaching them about corporate branding. I'm really sharing stories about where I grew up...and what cities I like...what my family is like...what do I eat...what hobbies do I like...why do I look so young...did I ever do crazy stuff as a kid.
It's just hard to stay on topic in class! Especially when they have so many questions...and you like sharing stories!
And fourth, they are the warmest people ever! Which is odd because rumor is Koreans show very little emotion and this is pretty common here.
Don't believe it!
A couple weeks ago on the subway a Korean lady in her 60s sat down next to me. I looked disgruntled and unhappy because I was shivering from being poured on by the rain. Then out of nowhere, she started stroking my wet leg with her hand. I was a little startled at first too, and although her little hand didn't make my pants dry. It was the most comforting thing a stranger could do. When her subway stop approached, she squeezed my leg and gave me a look that said, "You'll be okay." Like how a grandmother would do. I really did feel better too.
Another time on the subway, a Korean lady in her 40s sat across from me and my friend and just smiled at us. We smiled back and the next thing we know, she's walking over to us and giving us chocolate fudge cookies! Oh, and they were really good too. Like so good, you wouldn't want to share them good.
So.
I don't buy no one shows emotion here.
It ain't true and don't believe it til you see it!
Find out for yourself.
*I heard the meanest Korean people I will encounter will be the older women. Like these women will push you out of the way, elbow you, etc. Yet, the older women on the subway were the most affectionate people I've met in Seoul.
The Korean Crud
After expressing how much I love Korean food in my last post, I got the Korean Crud aka Viral Gastroenteritis a week later.
Now.
I'm not saying that beef dishes cause the Korean Crud, but this is exactly what I ate on Thursday evening before I starting vomiting the next day...nonstop. I won't mention which part of my body the vomit was exiting either.
The 'Korean Crud' is the nickname my friend made me hip to describe this virus. He said that mostly every foreigner new to South Korea comes down with it.
So, yeah.
My girl's boss was right after all about not eating everywhere. I feel sort of bad calling him a character too. Because apparently, he's a character who knows what the hell he's talking about!
To sum up the virus, I have....it's like the flu. The symptoms are a fever, chills, body ache, headache, vomiting.....and to make matters worse, since feeling these symptoms alone aren't enough. Add diarrhea to the mix!
I seriously thought I was dying yesterday!
I could barely get up to use the bathroom and vomit. When the bathroom is only three footsteps away from my bed, yet every time I picked myself to use the bathroom. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest just to get there.
Every time I drank a little bit of water, I was on the toilet five minutes later. TMI! I know. Then I stopped drinking fluids, so I didn't have to move, and I could sleep and shake off the fever chills.
The good news: I broke my fever!
I still have stomach cramps and diarrhea. But man, I can move around more and my body doesn't ache! Which is a major improvement from yesterday.
Oh, and I can't believe I slept for 20 hours!!!!
I hadn't eaten any real food in three days. Just nibbled on crackers and drank Gatorade with my nasty tasting meds that made me go to the bathroom anyways.
So I sent my work husband/grown son out to get me toilet tissue and a large pepperoni pizza to eat.....by myself.
But he wanted some too, so we ended up sharing it.
It was SO good!
I was in the bathroom rejecting the remains of it an hour after eating it.
But let me tell you something, every slice I ate was worth the discomfort later.
Sigh.
Moral of the story: be very careful what you eat and drink in different countries. Don't eat from stands, you have no idea how long the food has been sitting for or how it was prepared. Never ever drink tap water. If you clean a cup with tap water, dry it with a towel asap before pouring a beverage into it.
Now.
I'm not saying that beef dishes cause the Korean Crud, but this is exactly what I ate on Thursday evening before I starting vomiting the next day...nonstop. I won't mention which part of my body the vomit was exiting either.
The 'Korean Crud' is the nickname my friend made me hip to describe this virus. He said that mostly every foreigner new to South Korea comes down with it.
So, yeah.
My girl's boss was right after all about not eating everywhere. I feel sort of bad calling him a character too. Because apparently, he's a character who knows what the hell he's talking about!
To sum up the virus, I have....it's like the flu. The symptoms are a fever, chills, body ache, headache, vomiting.....and to make matters worse, since feeling these symptoms alone aren't enough. Add diarrhea to the mix!
I seriously thought I was dying yesterday!
I could barely get up to use the bathroom and vomit. When the bathroom is only three footsteps away from my bed, yet every time I picked myself to use the bathroom. I felt like I was climbing Mt. Everest just to get there.
Every time I drank a little bit of water, I was on the toilet five minutes later. TMI! I know. Then I stopped drinking fluids, so I didn't have to move, and I could sleep and shake off the fever chills.
The good news: I broke my fever!
I still have stomach cramps and diarrhea. But man, I can move around more and my body doesn't ache! Which is a major improvement from yesterday.
Oh, and I can't believe I slept for 20 hours!!!!
I hadn't eaten any real food in three days. Just nibbled on crackers and drank Gatorade with my nasty tasting meds that made me go to the bathroom anyways.
So I sent my work husband/grown son out to get me toilet tissue and a large pepperoni pizza to eat.....by myself.
But he wanted some too, so we ended up sharing it.
It was SO good!
I was in the bathroom rejecting the remains of it an hour after eating it.
But let me tell you something, every slice I ate was worth the discomfort later.
Sigh.
Moral of the story: be very careful what you eat and drink in different countries. Don't eat from stands, you have no idea how long the food has been sitting for or how it was prepared. Never ever drink tap water. If you clean a cup with tap water, dry it with a towel asap before pouring a beverage into it.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
The Food Experience in Seoul
I'm not a picky eater and I like to try new foods.
So.
It's really a matter of opinion when I say, "Korean food is delicious and healthy!"
One of my best friends put her boss on the phone to speak to me about Korea before I left the States. He said the food was awful! It was like diarrhea waiting to happen. Stay away from basically all of the food sold on the streets. He really scared me for a moment. Then I realized, he may be a character......and by character. I mean. One of those people who are overly dramatic....a little extra acting over things.
Ah, and well too bad his words did not phase me. Because naturally what I like the most....is the street food here!
Oh, and about the food sold at stands!
Eating at a food stand is an experience alone. The vendor literally sets up like a tent on the corner of a busy street. Cooks all the food behind him and then puts it in small sections on displays, like a buffet. Then people walk up to his tent, pay, and eat right at the stand because of the ledge provided for them.
I have never seen anything like it!
But I dig it, because I eat standing up all the time.
During lunch I like to eat these triangular shaped seaweed wrapped sticky rice cakes filled with either spicy pork, spicy tuna, or chicken. They remind of sushi hand rolls, only they don't stuff everything in the middle, it's sort of in the bottom middle part of the rice cake. They are really delicious and good for if you're on the go. Especially for only 1,000 won or $0.88 each, I eat two for lunch and I'm good until dinner time!
My favorite beverages of choice are aloe juice and water. Aloe juice here doesn't taste like the nasty aloe water we drink in the States either. The aloe juice Korea sells tastes like grape drink and the aloe pieces that float around in your drink. Taste like the inside part of a grape.
*on a side note: I asked my mother how come her skin always glows and looks so good. She tells me, water! So, it's all I drink now...and she's right about water! It really is the key to healthy skin, despite what doctors say about it only helping a bit. If you drink at least three 500mL bottled waters. I guarantee you! You'll notice the difference in your skin within two days.
For dinner I've been chowing down on lots of kimchi (I like it warm, not cold). White sticky rice and various soups dishes that usually include beef, spicy pork dumplings, egg, noodles, and seaweed in a chicken broth. I can eat a full hearty Korean meal in Seoul for 5,000 won or $4.39 and still have food left over for lunch or dinner the next day.
Not sure what's up with the sticky rice here either. But it's seriously the truth.net!
No joke.
It doesn't need butter, salt...nothing. And it usually compliments every Korean dish you eat too because everything is so spicy.
My nose runs constantly after every meal, no lie.
Korean sweets are to die for!
They aren't too sweet but instead have the right amount of sweet in them. I am obsessed with these almond cookies with almond bits in them.They also have these flaky sweet (but not too sweet) cookie like crackers filled with a light cream on the inside.
They are heaven!
On the street you can buy 6 of these donut balls for like 2,000 won. To best describe how they taste: they're like funnel cakes with confection sugar. Only they look like balls and they're not thick like funnel cake, they're actually really thin.
When I first saw them at the stand. I was really scared to try them, because I had no idea what they were or what was on the inside of them. All I knew is that they smelled like dough, sugar, and cinnamon! So, I dared my friend/work husband Ted to try them. When he bit into one of them, said they were good, and was still breathing...then I decided to try one. And well, the rest is history!
Another item that's really popular here is this 'go to brand' for instant coffee! They sell these little coffee packets everywhere! I can buy them in the store, or drink them at work since my office puts them out on a tray for everyone to drink in the morning. They're not watered down and they have just the right amount of coffee, cream, and sugar in them!
I'll create more posts about the food here because the options are endless!
Maybe, by then I'll know how to pronounce some of these foods in Korean too, smh.
So.
It's really a matter of opinion when I say, "Korean food is delicious and healthy!"
One of my best friends put her boss on the phone to speak to me about Korea before I left the States. He said the food was awful! It was like diarrhea waiting to happen. Stay away from basically all of the food sold on the streets. He really scared me for a moment. Then I realized, he may be a character......and by character. I mean. One of those people who are overly dramatic....a little extra acting over things.
Ah, and well too bad his words did not phase me. Because naturally what I like the most....is the street food here!
Oh, and about the food sold at stands!
Eating at a food stand is an experience alone. The vendor literally sets up like a tent on the corner of a busy street. Cooks all the food behind him and then puts it in small sections on displays, like a buffet. Then people walk up to his tent, pay, and eat right at the stand because of the ledge provided for them.
I have never seen anything like it!
But I dig it, because I eat standing up all the time.
During lunch I like to eat these triangular shaped seaweed wrapped sticky rice cakes filled with either spicy pork, spicy tuna, or chicken. They remind of sushi hand rolls, only they don't stuff everything in the middle, it's sort of in the bottom middle part of the rice cake. They are really delicious and good for if you're on the go. Especially for only 1,000 won or $0.88 each, I eat two for lunch and I'm good until dinner time!
My favorite beverages of choice are aloe juice and water. Aloe juice here doesn't taste like the nasty aloe water we drink in the States either. The aloe juice Korea sells tastes like grape drink and the aloe pieces that float around in your drink. Taste like the inside part of a grape.
*on a side note: I asked my mother how come her skin always glows and looks so good. She tells me, water! So, it's all I drink now...and she's right about water! It really is the key to healthy skin, despite what doctors say about it only helping a bit. If you drink at least three 500mL bottled waters. I guarantee you! You'll notice the difference in your skin within two days.
For dinner I've been chowing down on lots of kimchi (I like it warm, not cold). White sticky rice and various soups dishes that usually include beef, spicy pork dumplings, egg, noodles, and seaweed in a chicken broth. I can eat a full hearty Korean meal in Seoul for 5,000 won or $4.39 and still have food left over for lunch or dinner the next day.
Not sure what's up with the sticky rice here either. But it's seriously the truth.net!
No joke.
It doesn't need butter, salt...nothing. And it usually compliments every Korean dish you eat too because everything is so spicy.
My nose runs constantly after every meal, no lie.
Korean sweets are to die for!
They aren't too sweet but instead have the right amount of sweet in them. I am obsessed with these almond cookies with almond bits in them.They also have these flaky sweet (but not too sweet) cookie like crackers filled with a light cream on the inside.
They are heaven!
On the street you can buy 6 of these donut balls for like 2,000 won. To best describe how they taste: they're like funnel cakes with confection sugar. Only they look like balls and they're not thick like funnel cake, they're actually really thin.
When I first saw them at the stand. I was really scared to try them, because I had no idea what they were or what was on the inside of them. All I knew is that they smelled like dough, sugar, and cinnamon! So, I dared my friend/work husband Ted to try them. When he bit into one of them, said they were good, and was still breathing...then I decided to try one. And well, the rest is history!
Another item that's really popular here is this 'go to brand' for instant coffee! They sell these little coffee packets everywhere! I can buy them in the store, or drink them at work since my office puts them out on a tray for everyone to drink in the morning. They're not watered down and they have just the right amount of coffee, cream, and sugar in them!
I'll create more posts about the food here because the options are endless!
Maybe, by then I'll know how to pronounce some of these foods in Korean too, smh.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The Studio
Homegirl was pretty nervous about what her temporary housing would like!
Not even gonna lie.
So, when my cabbie pulled up to my hotel. I was pleasantly surprised by how contemporary and clean the building, lobby, and my apartment ended up being!
My apartment is smaller than my arm pit but I really love it!
Here are a few pictures.
My bathroom scared me for a moment because the minute I stepped in the door. I thought, "Where the hell is the shower? Do they expect me to wash my behind in the sink?"
I mean, seriously. Can you imagine? Putting one leg at a time in the sink to wash yourself.
Not cute at all!
Not even gonna lie.
So, when my cabbie pulled up to my hotel. I was pleasantly surprised by how contemporary and clean the building, lobby, and my apartment ended up being!
My apartment is smaller than my arm pit but I really love it!
Here are a few pictures.
My bathroom scared me for a moment because the minute I stepped in the door. I thought, "Where the hell is the shower? Do they expect me to wash my behind in the sink?"
I mean, seriously. Can you imagine? Putting one leg at a time in the sink to wash yourself.
Not cute at all!
When I saw the shower head in the corner of the bathroom, I started breathing again....until I noticed the three small hand towels hanging on the towel rack.
Then I started panicking again. I like two towels to dry off after showers and I was given hand towels. I felt like I was being punked. I mean. I brought everything else to sheets, pillow cases, a comforter....but no towels. SMH!
I have no complaints about this place at all. I even had enough space to put most of my clothes away.
When I search for a permanent place in two months, I hope to find something just as new and clean....just a little bigger.
Flight to Seoul
My plane ride on Singapore Airlines was quite enjoyable!
I had plenty of room where I was seated because it was the first row before First Class seating.
Everyone was given two meals with wine and three snacks in between with lots of beverages! The man seated next to me enjoyed his meals so much, He practically scraped the plastic plates clean.
I would have offered his hungry self my food too, if he didn't keep stealing my arm rest.
Isn't there a unspoken rule? Like if you have at least one arm rest, you give the other arm rest to the person beside you?
Well, I thought so.
I was just talking to a friend about this too. How we always sit next to people who want to steal all of our existing space on planes and trains.
I didn't sleep at all during my flight either. Thanks to my travel pillow, iPod, and a ton of new released movies to watch for the 12 hour flight.
Not sleeping worked out for me too, because after arriving in Seoul around 8 pm. I went to bed around 11 pm and woke up the next morning at a normal time. I never had any problems adjusting to the change of time either.
On an ending note: every time there was turbulence . I kept thinking to myself, how my mother told me, "You know it's important to say goodbye to everyone before you leave, your plane could crash on your way to Korea...and you could die."
Hmm.
Glad I'm still alive to write about this!
I had plenty of room where I was seated because it was the first row before First Class seating.
Everyone was given two meals with wine and three snacks in between with lots of beverages! The man seated next to me enjoyed his meals so much, He practically scraped the plastic plates clean.
I would have offered his hungry self my food too, if he didn't keep stealing my arm rest.
Isn't there a unspoken rule? Like if you have at least one arm rest, you give the other arm rest to the person beside you?
Well, I thought so.
I was just talking to a friend about this too. How we always sit next to people who want to steal all of our existing space on planes and trains.
I didn't sleep at all during my flight either. Thanks to my travel pillow, iPod, and a ton of new released movies to watch for the 12 hour flight.
Not sleeping worked out for me too, because after arriving in Seoul around 8 pm. I went to bed around 11 pm and woke up the next morning at a normal time. I never had any problems adjusting to the change of time either.
On an ending note: every time there was turbulence . I kept thinking to myself, how my mother told me, "You know it's important to say goodbye to everyone before you leave, your plane could crash on your way to Korea...and you could die."
Hmm.
Glad I'm still alive to write about this!
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