I had dinner tonight with my friends Jamie and Jenny. We went to a place that specializes in fried rice. We ordered a spicy chicken fried rice dish. They cook it for you right at the table. It was so good and really cheap! One serving is just over $4 (4,500 won).
Korea has come a long way in a short period of time. It’s a very developed country, but some things about Korea are so bizarre to those of us from western countries. Rather than large trucks, people pull carts around to collect trash and recycling. You can click on the picture above to get a better look at this man and his cart.
I saw this place last night on my walk home. I wasn’t sure what it was, but the Christmas tree has been there for as long as I can remember. The sign says “24 Hour Men’s Only Resting Room.” at first I thought that was kind of creepy, but JuHye explained that it’s just a place men can go to eat snacks, smoke or rest.
Saturday I went to PNU to do some shopping with Jamie and Jenny. I bought 3 shirts and a skirt for 24,000 won ($21).
This is the play area in front of my school. It’s usually full of children playing when I’m leaving work, but not today. Even though the weather was crappy, I had the best Friday at work that I’ve had since I can even remember.
This is an example of movers in Korea. This truck has a built in lift and things are moved in or out through the window. There’s a platform that goes from the bed of the truck up to the window.
It took me a year to fill up this piggy bank. Today, I was finally able to go to the bank and deposit it into my account. It’s amazing how it all adds up. That little pig was holding 71,190 won (about $62)!
After school I met up with Jamie and Shanna for dinner. There aren’t many restaurant choices in our neighborhood. Basically, there’s the oven baked chicken place and 2 kimbap places. Kimbap looks a lot like a sushi roll. It’s rice, ham, crab, cucumber, pickled radish and egg rolled up in dried seaweed. There are several varieties available, but I don’t know much about it because I don’t like seaweed.
Kimbap places serve a large variety of foods. You can get soups, dumplings, stir fries and even fried pork cutlet. These places are cheap and fast.
This is what our favorite neighborhood kimbap place looks like from the inside. They are usually hole in the wall types of places…Jamie and Shanna actually walked right past it today and we have gone there several times. The menu is posted on the wall and it’s all in Korean so you either need know how to read Korean and have a basic knowledge of what various Korean foods are or go with someone who does.
I took this photo on my walk home today. I’ve been watching the blooms on this tree everyday. I am so excited that spring is here. I cannot wait for everything to turn green again!
One of my favorite things about living in Korea is being surrounded by randomness. It’s hard to explain, but I can’t help but smile when I see murals like this.
Life Outside of Texas 