BUNDANG, KOREA. I have been in Korea for three days now. I always try to compare my experiences here to my time in England and Europe, but the two are completely different. For one, being in the UK and Europe felt like more of an adventure, a challenge and a time of growth for me. Korea, on the other hand, is a getaway, a time to relax, spend time with my friends, and soak in my surroundings. Last summer, I learned how to live on my own and take care of myself. This winter, I am always around Monica and Jamie and they take such good care of me-- taking me everywhere so that I don't even have to look at a map, planning activities to do everyday, taking me to the best places to eat and paying for my meals, translating everything for me so that I don't even have to say a word to anyone. The two experiences are utterly different and I love them both.Basically, to sum up my days so far, here is what I've done:
1. Eat twice as much as my normal intake. Mon and Jamie both eat smaller portions ever since they got to Korea, but it's just the opposite for me. (So basically during every meal, I'm always the last one eating everyone's leftovers...) The food here is delicious and I had so many dishes that I've never had back in America-- Korean cuisine has so much variety that I never knew about.
Labokki (ramen and ricecakes in spicy red sauce)
Ddalk jjim (chicken and noodles in soy sauce).. this was really, really good.
Iceberry bingsu (shaved ice), I love this dessert place. I want to eat here everyday.
The best katsu I ever had in my life.
Dduk mandu gook (rice cakes and dumpling soup) and kal gook su (like "Korean udon")...and many more!
2. Walk around. I think the two top things I've observed about Korea so far are the extremely well-dressed people (I'm talking about girls in mini skirts and high heels in 30-40 degree weather!) and the many lights... everywhere. Like this:
COEX, the largest mall in Seoul. (It really is huge inside...)
A mall in Dongdaemon, where Jamie took me night shopping.
Bundang, the city Jamie lives which is about 20-30 minutes south of Seoul. A way to describe this I guess is... Bundang is like Irvine (safe, wealthy area) and Seoul is like LA (really busy and crowded). I've never seen Seoul at night but I heard it's two times as bright as this.
3. Try to get in touch with my (nonexistant) Korean roots by...
Chilling at Korean cafes. I love cafes... and Korea has many cute ones. Every morning before we eat lunch and Jamie goes off to work, we go to this cafe called Angel in-us Coffee to journal and do devos. I'm not a morning person usually, but I look forward to this so much every morning!
Visiting Korean palaces. This one is called Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Waiting over three hours to see some Korean movie stars that I don't even know. I shook one of their hands though! And Monica is crazy about one of the guys, Jo In Sung. She got really emotional when he came near us...
Going shopping at Myeungdong, a shopping plaza geared towards young people.
Trying to learn the Korean alphabet. I didn't know this at first, but I guess it's supposedly kind of easy to read Korean... however, since I have a memory span of approximately two minutes, it has been a huge challenge for me. I'm going to study some more before I sleep.
No comment...
I'm so tired now, I need to get some sleep.
Ahn nyung ee gah sae yo! :)
COEX, the largest mall in Seoul. (It really is huge inside...)
A mall in Dongdaemon, where Jamie took me night shopping.
Bundang, the city Jamie lives which is about 20-30 minutes south of Seoul. A way to describe this I guess is... Bundang is like Irvine (safe, wealthy area) and Seoul is like LA (really busy and crowded). I've never seen Seoul at night but I heard it's two times as bright as this.3. Try to get in touch with my (nonexistant) Korean roots by...
Chilling at Korean cafes. I love cafes... and Korea has many cute ones. Every morning before we eat lunch and Jamie goes off to work, we go to this cafe called Angel in-us Coffee to journal and do devos. I'm not a morning person usually, but I look forward to this so much every morning!
Visiting Korean palaces. This one is called Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Waiting over three hours to see some Korean movie stars that I don't even know. I shook one of their hands though! And Monica is crazy about one of the guys, Jo In Sung. She got really emotional when he came near us...
Going shopping at Myeungdong, a shopping plaza geared towards young people.
Trying to learn the Korean alphabet. I didn't know this at first, but I guess it's supposedly kind of easy to read Korean... however, since I have a memory span of approximately two minutes, it has been a huge challenge for me. I'm going to study some more before I sleep.
No comment...I'm so tired now, I need to get some sleep.
Ahn nyung ee gah sae yo! :)
