Monday, October 29, 2012

Wifi

I just wanted to make a post that was dedicated entirely to the fact that I now have wifi in my apartment.  This doesn't seem like a huge accomplishment... But for a girl that can't read Hangul or speak Korean, this was quite amazing.  Most foreigners pay extra to have someone come and connect it, or wait for a Korean friend to stop by and do it. NOT THIS GIRL!  

So cheers to Wifi and being competent enough to do it yourself!!!

Being connected to the world rocks.

One-Room


This place is starting to feel like home.  I am slowly adding things to make this experience that much better.  So finally, after almost three months, here it is:
 This is a one-room.  Literally what it's called, one room.  What I would call a studio apartment. 

This is the entrance to the apartment.  As you can see I also keep my shoes here.  I have no actual closet or armoir, so I stuck them here.  Easy access, especially since no one wears their shoes inside.

 This is what you see when you walk in.  Immediately is the kitchen area followed by where I sleeep.  I'm lucky to have such a big fridge and a toaster oven, microwave, and toaster. 

My "closet" and "desk" area.  In Korea I spend half my time on the floor working on my computer or sitting down crossed legged eating.  See that TV, it doesn't work.  I refuse to pay extra for a monthly cable bill lol.
 My bed!!!  The first month here I slept on the floor.  Now, I have a bed and comfy blankets to make this my escape.  It's so my style too... No pink, no bears, no hearts, no flowers... Just warm colors and candles. 


 Part of my kitchen area that has my appliances.  Two feet away is the actualy area where I prepare meals and wash dishes. 

 My fun-sized kitchen.  

And here is the area I get ready every morning.  Complete with my mess of makeup, hair products, jewlery, my lamp, candles, jump rope, mirror, and whatever random things I can put on my little table. 

Homemade Cookies: Fail

This was the day Angela got a toaster oven.  We were so excited to try it out and make something that we had both missed from home.  So we decided on chewy cookies.  Needless to day, this was a learning experience for the both of us.
 The batter.  We bought it from a box.  Mistake #1: too much oil.
 Neither one of us is good at baking things...
 Our first round.  They were pretty horrible.
After about three tries, this fourth batch was the best.  Still kinda tasted like chalk, but we ate them. Hahahaha.  #KoreaProblems 

Fat Girl Post

Every once in a while it's only fair that I show everyone the food I'm eating... So here goes.
 Lemon Table Cafe.  First legit cheeseburger I've had here.  Also, the BEST fries!  Cutest place ever.  If you ever find yourself in Korea, come here if you ever want the comforts of home. 
 Let's get more traditional now.  These are the BEST dumplings I've ever had.  They're from my small town of Muan.  It's a small family-owned place. SO GOOOOD.
 Want dumplings in a convenient pouch?  BAAAAM. 
 Figs.  My local farmer didn't want to sell them to me because she thought they would be too exotic for my taste buds.  Lucky for me I had my friend Angela there with me to translate.  Figs are one of my favorite fruits.  Didn't think Korea would have them!
 On some nights you just want a homemade meal.  For this one in particular I have to thank Angela.  She's seriously my best friend in Muan.  She's the sweetest person with the biggest heart.  I'm also incredibly lucky that she cooks and invites me over.  Love this girl!
 Homemade Samgyeopsal, courtesy of my dearest Angela.  So freaking good. 
 We've discovered the BEST chicken place in our little town of Muan.  Crispy on the outside and so incredibly juicy on the inside.  Yummmmmmmmmmmm.
I made a trip to Gunsan and was taken here: a Mediterranean restaurant that serves delicious lamb, awesome hummus, pita, unlimited beer, and hookah.  I was in heaven.  Thank you Ava, Matt, Taylor, and the random Koreans I met that night... I had a blast! 

Chuseok Holiday Continued...

Day Four: Gunsan

So Gunsan is where my wonderful friend Ava lives.  She took me and our other friend Irene to see Eumpa Lake which is near the university there.  Seriously one of the cutest, most relaxing places to take a walk, sip on some coffee and just  enjoy the scenery. 

 The night before... We were total fatties.  We had a traditional, girly sleepover with lots of food.  Korean junk food, baked goods, hazelnut spread, Spanish wine, and candles.  So fun to do something completely "normal." 
 Walking up to the Lake.
 "Lover's Bridge"
 The trails were awesome...
Friends in new places.

Chuseok Holiday Continued...

Day Three: Jinju

We bused our way to Jinju after a relaxing time in Muan. This was the first day of the Jinju Lantern festival.  I am so happy we got to see this celebration.  It was truly a magical experience.  The lanterns, the people, the fireworks, the street food.. It was awesome.  
I walked down to the river where the lanterns were.  First thing I see is this wonderful bridge lit up.  
 The entire thing was lit up.  
 The entrance.  Also a lantern.  
 Cool shot of the bridge and a tunnel made entirely of red paper lanterns.
 Once inside the lantern this is what I saw.  It was so cool looking! 
 Dragon lantern.
Lanters in Lover's Alley.  I don't need to explain these.... Hahaha. 
 Lover's Alley...
 Rocky!!!
A roasted pig food stand.  Awesome. 

Chuseok Holiday Continued..


Day Two: Discovering Topmori Beach

So on the second day we decided that we would get to a beach.  We stumbled upon this specific one that's a fifteen minute cab ride from my apartment.  We couldn't find it on any maps and were super lucky to hear about it from some locals.  It truly made me appreciate my small little rural community even more.  This is what we saw:
 Me and the girls.  We've arrived in my little town of Muan.  This is the main street aka "Onion Street."
 Fifteen minutes later we've arrived.  Topmori Beach.  Happiness in a $12 cab ride.
 It was so beautiful!
 Families were out enjoying the holiday.  I was such a creeper snapping pictures of random people.  
 Me at Topmori Beach.
Cool picture I got of Ava and Emily.

Chuseok Holiday


September 29- October 3
Chuseok is known as Korea’s Thanksgiving holiday.  Families get together, eat lots of food, and pay respect to their deceased family members by building “altars” and visiting gravesites. Since I’m not Korean and have no close ties to the holiday, I decided to take this as a traveling vacation.  I’ll split this up into four sections: Gwangju, Topmori Beach, Gunsan and Jinju.  Here goes, I’ll let the pictures to do most of the talkingJ.

Day One: Gwangju, Korea
I've been to Gwangju plenty of times.  But on this occasion I had two friends come visit me from up north.  We decided to conquer Mudeung Mountain 무등산.  Here are some sweet shots I got.
 Teacher Emily... Working our way to the top.
Ava and Emily.  The colors in this were so beautiful!


 This is me at the top!  We made it.. The view was gorgeous.
The sun began to set as we were about to leave.  This is one of my favorite shots from that day.
 On our way down I took this.  Gorgeous lighting. 




Weekend in Wando


September 22-23
I have a friend who teaches in Wando, Korea.  All you need to know about Wando is that it’s super far from ANYONE and ANYTHING.  Luckily he’s a great sport about it and finds pleasure in where he’s living for the duration of his teaching contract. It’s in the southernmost part of Korea and he lives near a beach that’s a three hour bus ride away from my small town.  So in order to make things a little easier for him, about a dozen of us teachers traveled down to Wando on the same weekend and had a blast. 
 Mokpo and Muan peoples on the bus.  Did I mention we travel by bus EVERYWHERE?
 Reunited and it feels sooooooooooo good!
 Cheesy. But we HAD to. 
(It says K-O-R-E-A-! just in case you were wondering.)
 Leaving the beach.  What a view. 
 We love to eat.  All the time. Samgyeopsal always hits the spot.  My friend's mentor teacher owns this restaurant.  It was delicious!!!
After a long week of teaching, we all needed to unwind.  Cheers to a wonderful weekend in Wando.