My dad had a request for more photos of me to be included in my blog, so here it is! i'm usually behind the camera so i had to steal this one from tracy. this pose is becoming somewhat of a habit for tracy, nikki, and i it seems.
A little while back my friend, Andrew and i ventured to Namdaemun to explore. we dove into a random street stall and snacked on sea cucumber, octopus, and clams. all were fresh and diced on the spot including the octopus which was squirming in it's tank not more than 2 minutes before this picture was taken. it wiggled all the way down, too.
While walking to work i took this photo of the river that runs along my apartment building. This park follows the entire river and is speckled with basketball courts, playgrounds, golf courses, fountains and other random equipment to entice one outdoors. i recently bought a bike and enjoy spending my mornings riding alongside the river. it definitely makes living so far out from the city so much more worthwhile.
The cherry blossoms came and went. i didn't realize they only last for 2 weeks or so. my head instructor said that this year's blossoms were piddly compared to most seasons. the weather has been a bit fickle so the cherry trees couldn't really get it together. they still were nice to look at.
Close up!
Dunkin' Donuts has taken over Korea so i have ventured inside several times and partaken of their doughy goodness. Cacao Honey Dipped Munchkins?? how can i say no?
Here's Nathan "posing" in front of the Deoksugung entrance. We were out taking photos for our scavenger hunt and paused for reflection outside of this little palace.
Here's the ceiling of the gate. I've noticed that i've taken a lot of photos of ceilings out here...
Here's our team in front of Cheonggyecheon, a man-made river that slides throughout Seoul. It's full of fountains, random statues and lazer shows. It's nice a nice walk to escape the cacophony of the city.
From a distance this appeared to be a big slide similar to those at county fairs... oh, how disappointed i was to discover it was just a giant shell statue...
Seoul!
In a Kyobo bookstore, Tracy and I took a ceiling mirror photo. It turned out much better than i initially thought. yay
One of the items on our scavenger hunt list were Beondegi, or silkworm larvae. After purchasing a cup for 2000 won we HAD to try it... i look a bit maniacal in the photo, but one really needs to be in order to eat these bugs... their texture is similar to a lima bean, but their taste is slightly similar to their smell... which is pretty much the worst thing in the world.
After consuming our fill of silkworms (1 each and we were maxed out) we moseyed into a house-turned-restaurant establishment. after being escorted into a private room with our own tv and bathroom i took this photo to document the great deal we were getting... or at least thought we were... turns out the price that we thought was for all of us ended up being individual. this picture is now documentation of our horrible korean skills.
Oi, a common subway stairway. i feel slightly less bad about not going to the gym when i remember i have to climb these things almost daily.
mmmmmm, bulgogi. We had korean bbq at our hwe shik, which is a dinner paid for by our company. Everyone stuffs themselves and drinks more than usual since we're not paying. I liked that the grill is in the shape of a turtle, unfortunately i didn't photograph how the grease slides down the shell and out the tail hole... all the pork on this grill was meant for only Kay and I, buuuuuuut we decided to share.
Couples are a big fat deal out here. There's a huge market for couple-items or activities that allow pairs to properly proclaim their love for each other so that all the world can see. these things vary from wearing couple-rings to dressing exactly the same right now to their skivvies. i like this spiderman sweatshirt set and wouldn't mind wearing it with someone... but i want the left one.
Namsam tower! little did i know that i would be venturing up there with michael so i'll save my description for the next blog.
Gather round, children, and let me tell you a little story about voltage. In the US, we use 120v for most of our appliances, but Korea is the land of the 220v plug. Andrew is a good example of what happens when you combine these two inappropriately. in the middle of shaving his head his electric razor exploded. it was hilarious wandering around trying to find someone who would finish the job. i like that you can see me laughing in the reflection
street food! fried potato strings, dried squid and fish are pictured at this particular stand.
Pretty much every dish in Korea is hot but this was the spiciest meal i've had yet in Korea. Sundubu is a korean soup filled with veggies and seafood and eaten with rice. This scorched off my tastebuds and tonsils and left my lips throbbing. Man, that was good stuff.
Here's a window display near my apartment. A samurai watermelon completely owned the other two watermelon men. the other half of the display has a single red heart with 'Happy Valentine's Day" written across it hanging within. While i can understand the association with a st. valentine's day massacre (or at least the urge to put a sword through someone), i don't see what that has to do with watermelons...
Kay and i have trekked to costco twice since we've been here and blew nearly 400,000 won on various items. We OBVIOUSLY had to eat the pizza while there! it tastes almost exactly the same is actually cheaper and bigger than in the states!
Here's the costco menu. Hot dog set, pizza and chicken bake are staples... but a bulgogi bake? tried it and it was pretty good. it tasted similar to a philly cheese steak sandwich. You can also get clam chowda' here.
I had a request to get some grocery store pics, so here's E-mart, Korea's version of wal-mart.
soooooooo much space!
I took this while walking home from work one night. My building is the one with the little yellow sign a couple buildings down. i can understand how highrises alongside a river could diminish the natural beauty of such an area but i never spent much time in a metropolitan area so i find it extrememly fascinating and beautiful at times.
Well, that's it for now. No worries, family, i am healthy and having a wonderful time although my last few weeks have been tinged with homesickness. I think about you all often and miss you
