1. I am finally mastering the art of microwave cooking! Microwavable kimchi and rice,Microwavable kimchi and rice with chicken, Microwavable kimchi and rice with pork, Microwavable kimchi and rice with tuna, jjajang bap (rice with black sauce), jjajang myung (noodles with black sauce), jjajang myung with shrimp, etc.!
2. tomorrow is pepero day in Korea. It is the only special day that I know of anywhere in the world where girls give each other chocolate covered cookie sticks in order to wish each other luck in growing tall and thin! I love Korea's crazy holidays that usually occur around the middle of each month:
pepero day-Nov.11-give each other chocolate covered cookie sticks
valentines day-Feb 14-similar to American valentines day but a little different. Here on valentines day, women give their men (or whomever they want to be there man) chocolates
White Day- March 15-men give the ladies hard candies and stuffed animals (I would prefer the chocolate though with stuffed animals!)
Black day-April 16- those who have not found lovers by this time dress in black and gather together to eat jjajang myun (noodles with black sauce). This is usually the day for me!
may 20-rose day-where lovers give each other roses
June 15-kiss day-no explanation necessary!
even Christmas is different here. In the US Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Christ and being together with family and friends. Not mention the decorations that start selling in August! Here, they start selling Christmas decorations around December 20 and Christmas is a time for lovers. The most popular Christmas song is WHAMS "Last Christmas"! Terrible!!! :)
3) Walking in Korea- when you walk anywhere in Korea, you literally take your life into your own hands! Because, not only are you walking on the streets, but there are also parked cars, moving cars, street vendors, motorcyclist, bicyclist and other pedestrians. Going and coming to/from work I have to cross a major street. There is a crosswalk but no crossing light so you have to step out in front of traffic and pray that they will stop! I usually try to find a group of Koreans who are crossing at the same time and cross with us-I figure there is safety in numbers! The few sidewalks are not safe either because they are shared with parked cars, bicycles, motorcycles and are paved with uneven stones.
4) Walking home in the rain- tonight as I was walking home in the rain- I started thinking about how happy I am that I listened to my dad! Before I came to Korea, he told me not to buy a nice expensive umbrella, but rather get a couple of cheap ones. After being here for 15 months, tonight I final realized why. The wind was so strong that I felt like I was trying to walk in a tropical storm! As I walked I had another dilemma: do I take the back steps to my complex that is well lit, close to my building, covered in wet leaves, broken, and unevenly spaced, or do I take the side steps that are also near my building, dark, covered in wet leaves, evenly spaced but made of uneven stones, or do I walk around the complex to the front gate in the cold wind and rain without a jacket on-only a hoodie, t-shirt, jeans and black flats? I opted for the most dangerous-the back steps because i was cold, wet, tired and they were the closest. I just grabbed onto the rusty gate next to the steps and pulled myself up-praying that I wouldn't fall!
5) The rain-I really dislike rain-I always have. It is cold, wet, boring, depressing gives me a headache and makes me want to sleep. The problem here is, that my kitchen and balcony are made of tin walls so all night long while I am trying to sleep it sounds like my apartment is trying to blow apart then I hear a constant plink, plink, plink all night-then people wonder why i am cranky the next day! I love my apartment though when it is not raining! I have a beautiful 180 degree view of the mountains out of my kitchen window and a lot of storage space. The enclosed balcony is the perfect size for my dog "baby" to have his own room.
6) cold-the weather in Korea has been really weird lately. Two weeks ago it was in the 20s and 30s and snowing in Seoul! Last week it was in the high 70's! Today it is back down to the low 50s. The heating system here is in the floor. You turn it on before bed then by the time you get up in the morning the air is comfortable but unless you wear slippers, your feet will feel like you are walking around on hot coals. I do not have heat in my kitchen, bathroom or balcony so keep those doors closed so that i can get the full heating effect in the living room and my bedroom. When turning on the heat, I have to be careful not to turn on the hot water also-otherwise my boss will get a call from the apartment manager and gas company saying I am using to much hot water. When I moved in, they told me to fill a bucket up with hot water then turn the gas off-otherwise it will be to expensive. I don't do that though-I just try to remember to turn it off immediately after I finish. To cook, shower, heat anything using gas-the gas has to be turned on and off every time. I hate washing my hands at work because they never turn on the hot water-even when the weather is cold!
I do love it here-I am not really complaining as much as just making general observations and laughing at how things are so different yet can be so similar!
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