payday adventures

Yesterday was payday and the final day of midterm exams at work. I planned a ladies manicure session for my young, fun, and outgoing co-workers to introduce them to my favorite nail shop in Seoul. Coco Lounge is run by two Korean-Canadian sisters from Toronto. The facilities are incredibly nice, prices are very reasonable, and it's fun because all the girls who work there can speak Korean and English. I can't recommend it enough! My friends were impressed and said they want to go again and try to speak in lots more English next time. ^^

Sora and Yeonhui getting their nails done first.

The finished results!

Afterwards I met Lauren and Justine in Noksapyeong to try out this Moroccan sandwich shop that everyone always raves about. The owners are two brothers from Morocco that came to Korea to study Korean and ended up staying - there are so many cool people in this city, I tell you. I ordered the lentil soup and Moroccan chicken sandwich. Both were delish but next time I want to try the vegetable one.

Inside Casablanca.

After dinner, we tried to go to a pub for quiz night but it was so full that we ended up scrapping that idea and heading to a nearby lounge to drink some wine and discuss some big news. 

All 3 of us have decided to leave Korea when our contracts finish (2 in August, 1 in February). Lauren and I commiserated on how much reverse culture shock sucks, something I am NOT looking forward to. As bittersweet as it will be to leave, we all have exciting and big steps for our future. Lauren is looking into long-term volunteering/NGO/Christian non-profit work in Southeast Asia. Justine will go to Guatemala for a few weeks to visit another friend before going back to Canada. 

I have some pretty awesome girlfriends! I'm planning to go to Thailand, Cambodia, and (possibly) Laos for about two weeks (give or take) before heading back to the States myself. Our Singapore trip will probably not happen because of conflicting vacation schedules. :(

Round 3 included checking out a Korean rice wine bar (Damotori) that Lauren had heard about. We ordered 1000mL of the strawberry makkeoli. Next time, we will try something different.

Cheers to friends for life, making big decisions, and new adventures!

neighborhood mundanity

I took these pictures of my neighborhood about two months ago when I got back from India and Vietnam and life was cold and dreary. Lots of stuff in East Asia is just plain quirky - from mailboxes and advertisements to abandoned phone booths in a land where smartphone usage is the highest in the world. I won't miss Korea's Siberian winters (they are much worse than anything I've experienced in the Midwest, trust me) but I will be nostalgic for these little things.

My mailbox - top left.

A mysterious door outside of my apartment villa (right) leading to somewhere. 

Teal telephone boxes that haven't been used for a decade or so.

A little "no parking" sign.

A little dried chili pepper shop just across the street from a grocery mart. Amazes me every time!

My street. Quiet and close to running trails - just the way I like it.

Abandoned classifieds I never take the time to actually understand.

Part of my daily 2-minute commute/walk to work.

Korea: land of the apartment high-rises. LG air conditioners are definitely a ubiquitous symbol of South Korea.

Treats from Japan

In the past two weeks two friends from Japan came to Seoul and luckily I had time to go meet up with them once or twice. It's been nearly three years (I can hardly believe it) since my semester in Japan. The first to visit me was Aki, one of the first Japanese friends I made. During our week of orientation, there was an Introduction to Japanese Language module and Aki was a volunteer there to help us out. We exchanged phone numbers and she helped me with my Japanese during free time between lectures. I have many dear memories with Aki. Last year when I went back to Japan to visit some friends, we met up again. So much bittersweet nostalgia!

Aki brought Choi and I some omiyage from Hokkaido (our region of Japan). Omiyage (souvenir) is a Japanese custom of bringing food with you whenever you travel. By food I mean cute, pre-packaged boxes of assorted goodies that are sold everywhere. It's a huge part of Japanese culture and any airport in Japan will sell thousands of omiyage on any day (although they can be bought outside the airport). Every time we went on a trip somewhere in Japan, we picked up some local pastries or sweets and brought them back to share with people. It was very kind of Aki to bring me omiyage all the way to Seoul!

Ramen for Choi, chocolate-covered mushroom-shaped biscuits (one Japanese study session together revealed I  LOVE these things), and some cookies from a famous local bakery for me. She also brought my souvenirs in the bag of one of my favorite cafes in town - I will have to make something out of it.

The next person to visit me in Seoul was Kyeonghwa, an energetic then 7-year-old that I tutored in Japan. I met her dad at an international party at a bar one time. He is a big businessman in Otaru and is definitely a tiger dad that insists on his daughter going to an Ivy League school some day. Kyeonghwa has been going to English daycare since she was 4 and speaks English perfectly. I would say she is maybe one year behind native speakers in terms of her speaking ability, which at 9 years old is so cool! She wants to be a pediatrician and I've talked with her parents a few times about her living with me in the States when she is a HS student for an exchange program! 

Last year when I visited Japan, Aki dropped me off at Kyeonghwa's house for a surprise visit. Imagine someone from halfway across the world showing up on your doorstep one day. It was one of those moments that brings you big smiles and makes you marvel at how awesome traveling can be.

(Kyeonhwa and I last Friday night)

Kyeonghwa is seriously SOO FUNNY, she reminds me a lot of Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. The tiniest thing with attract her attention and she will focus on it and show it to everyone in such a random manner that it just makes you laugh. 

Kyeonghwa and her dad also brought me some Japanese omiyage - I'm so spoiled these days.

The white stuff is mochi - rice cakes. Kyeonghwa's mom used to always have these ready for us at the start of our lessons. You put them in the toaster oven for a few minute until they are brown. Then put a little soy sauce on it and wrap it in seaweed. A true Japanese snack! Sounds weird until you try the real thing. The other bag is mini packets of spicy crackers and peanuts, Kyeonghwa's favorite snack.

I'm so blessed to have people in my life that come visit me in Korea and bring me lots of yummy Japanese stuff. Thank you Aki & Kyeonghwa. I hope we meet again someday.^^