Laura Princess

Hello everyone! Happy February...wow

In two weeks it will be the 6th month mark of my time here in Korea! I honestly cannot tell you where the time went. Believe me, I've looked everywhere! February is proving to be just as cold, if not colder than January, which is just delightful. It has kept most of the extra activities outside of work indoor and preferably including a heater of some kind. I realize that I am a few weeks behind with regards to blog posts, so here I am to catch you all up to speed! 

A few weeks ago, my Papa turned the ripe old age of 90! While I was super bummed to not be involved in the big surprise luncheon (including a cameo appearance from Mark all the way from San Diego!), I was able to skype into the grandparent's dining room to chat with everyone there! Ryan also skyped in from San Francisco. Papa was surrounded by loved ones who wanted to celebrate his incredible life and thank him for how much he has given us. Love you Papa! xoxo

The clan minus Mark, the photographer

Last weekend, Shanna, Katrina, Seol and I made our way to Itaewon for an "Epic Food Adventure". Basically, Katrina and Shanna had a list of foods that they miss from home or have always wanted to have in Itaewon and haven't had the chance to eat. I offered my services as photographer to document the trip. We had our list and just planned on wandering around eating and checking out the shops all day long. The weather wasn't too unbearable, so we could walk around outside without losing appendages due to frostbite.

Our first stop has popped up in a previous blog somewhere; The Flying Pan. An absolutely delicious brunch place with HUGE pancakes, sandwiches and other drool-inducing plates. A great place to start the day we ordered our food and discussed the plan for the rest of the trip.

Before

After

After the heavy brunch we walked it off by visiting What The Book, a local English bookstore where they sell both new and used books. I could spend all day in there and was tempted to pick up a few paperback books because I miss them (sorry Kindle, I love you too I promise). I then realized that I wouldn't feel like carrying them around for the rest of the day. I will just have to go back on my own at some point! Oh darn...

After the bookstore the next stop was "Ankara Picnic" for a kebab sandwich.

I did try a few bites of Shanna's. It was delicious! I'm glad I offered to join them on this trip so I could make my own lists of food to come back and try. After kebabs, the next stop was supposed to be Rocky Mountain Tavern but unfortunately it was not open yet. The walk was not wasted however, as we passed by a place called "Ben's Cookies"...the long line waiting for these freshly baked, chewy, melty, chocolatey cookies was enough to tell us to add this stop to our list later on! Plan B instead of Rocky Mountain Tavern was TomaTillo, a Mexican restaurant for chips and salsa. For those of you who are turning a slight shade of green based on the list of food that has already been consumed during the trip, don't fret. All the stops involved small dishes to share among 3 (or 4, if I joined in) people! Just a little taste for everyone. 

After Mexican we headed back to Rocky Mountain Tavern (of course stopping by the cookie place on the way there) and set up camp for a little with some wings. I tried one...not my cup of tea, but hey to each their own!

Not the most enthusiastic cookie maker

So let's make a check list shall we? Flying Pan (check), Kebab (check), Chips/salsa (check), Cookies (cheeeccckkkkk), wings (check). Next on the list was a blooming onion from Outback Steakhouse. There are surprisingly several Outbacks around Korea. It is seen as a fancier dining experience as opposed to the commercial chain restaurant that it is at home. Therefore, pinkies up! Blooming onion (check).

By this point I think everyone was pretty much stuffed (hopefully!). The next and almost final stop was Prost, a fancy shmancy bar nearby. Here we settled down and enjoyed a few drinks while discussing the success of the great food adventure. Of course we couldn't call it a night just yet. We had to go to the Grande Ole Opry and sing the American National Anthem at midnight as well participate in some good old line dancing. We danced the night away and eventually made it back to our beds in a daze of good food and even better company!

Back up to the present; this weekend is Lunar New Year or Seollnal (설날).
As well as New Years, Korea celebrates the beginning of the Lunar calendar. This holiday is all about spending time with your family and enjoying traditional food, games, and customs together! About 99.9% of my students said they were driving to their grandparents house for the weekend. My coteachers also had long journeys ahead of them due to the heavy traffic that would plague the entire country. One of my older students said she had to wake up and leave at 4am this morning to head to her grandmother's house! Anyway, I mention this holiday mainly to discuss a very important tradition. This weekend, Koreans will wear the traditional hanbok dress and bow to their elders to receive pocket money as a gift for the new year. We spend a class on Friday teaching our students the correct way to bow and accept their gifts. I was given the opportunity to wear a traditional hanbok and give out my student's pocket money gift (a nice crisp dollar bill)! Tina Teacher brought in her gorgeous dress and helped me put on all the layers, ties, and tassels. Hanboks are usually bright colors and include a vest or jacket over a empire waist dress. I was so excited to get this opportunity! When I had the entire ensemble on and went out to see my students so many of them came up to me (mainly my girls) and said I looked like a princess. Maybe I can get them to call me Laura Princess instead...I'll work on it. 

Accepting the gift with two hands

covering their eyes and bowing

I loved being able to wear the hanbok! I was really nervous I would do something to it though so I took it off before anything terrible could happen, like a whiteboard marker disaster or kindergarten sneeze shrapnel. I was told to buy my own hanbok while I am here. While I do think they are beautiful, I am not exactly sure when I would ever wear one every again. I will cherish the pictures I took in this one day and maybe I will get another chance one day!

I am still working on my Korean using Rosetta Stone, other vocabulary websites, as well as Tina Teacher, my private tutor. I have begun to be able to pick up words and phrases as I walk around the city now that I have a little bit of grammar under my belt! I'm looking forward to having real conversations in Korean with my coworkers and other people I meet here. At the moment I can tell you what color your shirt is and ask you how many bowls you have. So if all the Koreans I meet happen to be wearing single-colored-Tshirts and carrying several bowls (between 1 and 10 of them preferably) I will be all set!

For now, anyeonghi kaysayo, goodbye!

Korean phrase of the post:
내가 장갑을 잃어요 (naega jangkameul eelhawyo) I lost a glove...


xoxoxo