Adventures in Korea - learning to subway!

Yes, I know subway isn't a verb, but I am making it one lol. Anywho, I had a nice outing with Marti, who was kind enough to show me around the basics of using the subway. I didn't actually go anywhere, but at least I now know how to get into and out of the subway as well as some of the basics on how to get where I want to go.
We also took a turn through the many many many floors of D-Cube department store. I checked out one of the basement floors which is a food court in heaven. I found some places with macaroons. Oh my...this could be really bad for the diet. I also picked up a super cute headband and a couple stones (don't ask...they were just pretty).
Separate from my outing with Marti, I did my first dirty clothes wash today using this so called drying washer. It really doesn't dry. The clothes aren't dripping wet though, just need a little air drying, so hopefully it won't take too long. I would rather not having laundry hanging when Kendra gets here. Worst part is that I washed black pants and shirt with 3 white wash cloths. Now I know it generally isn't a good idea to wash clothes with towels and whatnot, but I have never had issues with it before. So, now I have a pair of pants and a shirt full of white specks. Ick. At least it's only two items, I can see the positive here since it could have been a whole wash load of clothes ruined, but it still kinda annoys me.
Well, tomorrow is my trip back to the airport to meet/pickup Kendra. I will be going early so I can look around at some of the stuff that is in that massive airport. Then more adventures to proceed from there.
So, here are some pictures from D-Cube (nothing too fancy): fish from the cute little water display in the floor and a pretty Christmas scene.

My Blogger is in Korean, and...T-money!

Well, I am not sure how to change it, but my blogger is all in Korean (minus what I type). That is slightly annoying. It wouldn't be an issue if I was highly familiar with Blogger, but I am not so it is problematic. Anywho, moving on. Today was another little adventure. I went out and bought a T-money charm so I can use public transportation. I haven't actually attempted to use the subway yet, but baby steps. I felt pretty good though because I finally got to use some of the Korean I have learned. So far, up till purchasing the t-money charm, I had only managed to say simple things like Hello and Thank you. Today, I got to say, "sago sipoyo" (I butchered that romanized spelling, I'm sure) when explaining that I wanted to buy the t-money card. That felt good, and the woman at the counter l ooked infinitely more relieved that she didn't have to try to work it out in English.
After, I went for some tofu stew with ddeok (rice cake). It was really good. I am pretty much working my way down the menu at this one particular tofu stew place. First I had kimchi, then mandu (dumpling), and now the rice cake. Next I want to have the ham (looks like spam). I also went grocery shopping. It was a small haul of items; nothing too big, bulky, or that I really have to cook just yet, but I did pick up a few tasty things for dinner and a snack or two. While there, I spotted another foreigner. I guess he could be a native, who just so happens to have a white parent so he doesn't look Korean, but I don't think so. I didn't quite get up the guts to say hello, but it was nice not feeling like I was the only foreigner in the store (E-mart in Sindorim Techno Mart). On my walk back home, I saw yet another foreigner. I didn't talk to him either (damn my shyness!!). It was just odd. I have been here all week and I hadn't seen a single foreigner at all, and all in one day I spot 2. I guess it is likely because it is Saturday, and they are out doing their weekend thing (where they would have otherwise been teaching classes or working while I was out previously in the week).
Well, that's been my day so far. Perhaps there will be more to happen, but I will save that for another post.

Snow in Korea

Yep. It is snowing in Seoul. This is only cool because I haven't really ever seen real snow before. Closest thing I have seen to snow before has been more slush and ice. I might not go out in it, but I might have to for dinner. I don't know how long the snow will last, but I will enjoy it while it is so pretty. Also below I have included a photo of some Christmas decorations from D-Cube department store here in Sindorim.

Korea...I have arrived

I finally made it to South Korea. It has been a rough couple days as i try to adjust to this new place, new people, and new weather (I am used to weather that rarely goes below 40°f on its coldest days). I am doing.fairly well though. So far so good. My friend Kendra will join me in about a week, so i look forward to having someone to bum around Seoul with for a couple weeks.

Heading to Korea!

Well it has been quite a while. I haven't really had a whole lot to talk about, though I have been taking 3 Korean classes and having many a Korean meal and snack through the last couple of months.
BUT now I have something to talk about. I'm going to Korea! Like, literally, tomorrow I leave from Los Angeles heading for Seoul, South Korea on Korean Air. I will be there for a month as a tourist, doing the typical tourist stuff, then I return again in February to stay for a year as a student (study abroad at Konkuk University). I am very excited, and I plan to document my trip (both vacation and study trips).

So let me give you a quick rundown on what's happened so far:

At the end of November I finished my Korean language class. I retook level 1 (I'd done quite well last semester with level 1, but I wanted to retake it to lock in the information) and took level 2 as well. Additionally, I took level 3, but that was far too advanced for me to fully take in so I mostly just picked up additional vocabulary. I finished level 2 with high scores, so I was quite proud. I am still very nervous using my Korean though. It is almost like it all just flies out of my head the moment I am around any Korean speaking people. It is sad really. I can completely relate to Korean students trying to learn English and why they may be nervous when having to speak English.

I started my TESOL/TEFL certification class. It is a 100 hour certification, with 60 of those hours being in-class/hands-on training. So far I have completed the in-class portion. Now I have about 3 months (little less now) to complete the online component. I learned quite a bit so far, and I plan to take an additional 40 hour component (specifically geared toward teaching small children) once I am done with this initial online portion. When I actually take that additional portion will depend on how busy I am through the Spring with my classes in Korea.

I applied and was accepted into the ISA study abroad program in Seoul (as mentioned above). I still need to get my visa, but the ISA rep seemed confident that I would be able to get it once I was back in the US from my vacation. I will be living in (actually on the outskirts I believe) of Gangnam. My place is really cute (according to the pictures) and decorated with Hello Kitty things. I am a big Hello Kitty fan, so that's why I chose that particular place to spend my year. It's very close to the subway line that goes directly to the school, and it is supposedly only about 15 to 20 minutes to the school by subway. I am close, but not surrounded my school 24/7. I also have my apartment/flat all to myself, so no roommates to be underfoot. If I had been younger, and a little less accustomed to living by myself, I might have lived on campus in the dorm, but I really wanted a kitchen and no roommate, so off-campus it was for me.

There have been a number of other things happening since my last post, but these are the only Korea-related things. Look forward to future postings, as I post about the place I am staying for my vacation and lots of pictures and stuff of stuff I do while I am there. First step is tomorrow, when I leave at 11am on Korean Air (prestige class)!

Another H Mart Shopping Trip - Yay Korean Food!

I am being lazy, but let me tell you about my recent H Mart purchases.

First, these rice cookie things - yum!

 

Yeah, they were really yummy. It's a light sweetness and just the perfect amount of crunch. 

Second was something rather simple - pomegranate hard candies:

They ended up being rather yummy too. I really love pomegranate flavored things though, so I assumed that would be the case. There are a whole lot of them in the package too, so I don't think I will run out any time soon.

Lastly, I got a rainbow rice cake, and well... it was gross.

Now, to be fair, I think I left it too long (in the heat for a little while too) and it just got hard. If I'd eaten it when I bought it, perhaps my opinion of it would have been different. I think I will try again another time to test this theory. There are other little rice cake things that I've had that are really tasty, so I have faith!

So that's it for this week. If you have any suggestions of things I should try, let me know!

Adventures in Korean Cooking plus more language learning.

So I wanted to post my pictures of my wonderful adventures in cooking ddeokbokki (떡볶이). This was an adventure indeed, but it still came out pretty good - in my opinion. Let's start with the set-up:

So I had the ddeokbokki, gochujang paste and powder, fish cakes (that had onion and carrots in it), green onions, carrots, mushrooms (just because I love mushrooms), salt, pepper, soy sauce, and some sugar. It was all cooked in a shallow pot/pan using instructions from Simon and Martina's cooking demonstration of the same meal. And the final result was:

Overall it was a success though there are some changes I might make next time. First, I think I cooked the sauce down too much, so as you see it wasn't very saucy. I also think it could have cooked a little longer because some of the ddeokbokki wasn't quite done. I would also most likely make less of the fish cakes or slice them up smaller. The taste was pretty good. I haven't ever had it by actual Korean cooks though, so I could have been way off without even knowing it. It wasn't too spicy but I put a heaping spoonful and a half of the paste, so I don't think I would put any more than that. I did learn that substituting almond milk instead of regular milk (to reduce the spicy burn) is a TERRIBLE idea, not to mention completely pointless since apparently it's the lactic acid in milk that gets rid of the burn.... almond milk is lactose-free. >.> Yeah, you live and you learn.

Up next on the cooking schedule is either going to be kimchi stew or kimchi fried rice. Either way, I have to cook that when everyone else is asleep so they won't complain about the smell of the kimchi. As it is, I can't eat it in a small portion when people are around. I can only imagine how it'll be when making a meal where it is a huge portion of the meal itself.

Ah yes, and to the second part of this post - Korean Language Learning!

Below is a white board I have that I put a different word, verb, and phrase up in Korean every day - or every other day if I don't feel I have mastered those completely. 

This idea is thanks to MrJaeGun on youtube, who has been so kind to post up various videos of his lessons as he teaches in S. Korea (among other interesting and informational videos). I don't want to stick the board to the wall, so it is precariously standing with the aid of a full coke can and a bottle of powerade - flanked by a squad of Hello Kitty stuffed dolls and my XBOX 360, but it's in good view of my desk and seems to be helping me a great deal. Along with my other study aids and class videos, it brings be one step closer to my goal each day. 

Yep, that's it. Later!

HMart and Korean Food

So, I have been really super busy, but I have made time to stop at the HMart in Houston and pick up some things. First, let me say that that is the most awesome grocery store ever. I mean... really EVER. They have a cool section in the front like a mini-mall. I picked up some really nice headbands there. The one on the right, I wore to a wedding. It was a nice accessory and added some nice sparkle to the dress.

  

I also had a nice dinner in their food court, which has really good Korean food despite it being "food court" style. I had bibimbap and it was delicious! It came in a hot stone bowl, and came with soup and kimchi. So far, I've had it twice there. It is absolutely repeat visit kind of good.

Anywho, while I was there (I've been twice so far so this covers all of those visits) I picked up a few things to try. Check 'em out:

Okay, these chestnuts were just terrible. Perhaps they were bad, or perhaps it's something you either have to get used to or have to grow up with to like. Either way... they were bad. They tasted more like vienna sausages - which doesn't really fit in with the sweet part of the description on the bag. Don't worry all you Chestnut fans - I haven't given up on them forever. I will try them again when I can get some fresh roasted ones... some that don't come in a foil pouch. I will see if I like them better then. I hope so, because I was rather looking forward to liking them.

Oh, lovely lovely kimchi. This stuff is really tasty. From what I have heard, it isn't quite as spicy as it could be, but I am okay with that. I can add more spice if I want. I got some gochujang and red pepper powder, so there is plenty of spice to be had. Let me also say, I haven't had any kimchi that I didn't like. I did, however, find some in my local (non-Korean) market today and it sort of scared me. It looked really really bland, was full of water in the glass jar it came in, and had no color. It didn't look good at all. I thought about buying it just to try it, but decided to stick with what I already knew was good.

This wasn't something surprising, but I like Pepero. I already knew I liked Pocky, so this one was pretty much a given. I really wanted to get the one that was all fancy and had almonds or peanuts or some kind of nuts crushed into the chocolate but it came in a box the size of my head, so I passed on that this time. My birthday is coming up though, so I might buy it then. :p

And lastly I have some rice cakes. These were Strawberry and Blueberry flavored bean paste filled. Really it might sound weird if you don't already know what it is, but these things were DELICIOUS. It was just really too bad that one little thing was something like 400 calories. I ate 4 of them on my 6 hour drive from Houston to New Orleans, realized how many calories each had, and decided to ration out the rest. Additionally, I should note that these aren't Korean. They are actually wrapped up in a pink and purple Japanese package. That didn't matter. They were good, so I will have them again. There were a lot of other little rice cakes, some of them looked like regular flour cakes too, but most of them looked too messy to be eating while driving so I passed on them. I might get them another time or the next time I have an extended stay there in Houston.

Well, that's part of my haul I guess. I did get some other things that aren't included like ddeokbokki, the before mentioned gochujang paste and powder, and some fish cakes, but I will talk about those things later when I discuss making ddeokbokki for the first time in a later post. I also will weigh in on a kimchi stew meal I plan to make later in the week - but my family doesn't like the smell of kimchi so I sort of have to sneak it in when they are asleep or something. Bummer.

Yup, that's it for now. Let me know what you like to buy at the market and what you like to cook. If you have any cool recipes, let me know. I would like to learn to make more things. 

A most awesome discovery... KWOW!

Okay, first... yes I know I am mostly talking to myself here lol errr... O.o;;
That's okay though. I have NEVER been able to keep up a blog and I am doing pretty good so far, so I am just going to keep at it until someone notices and reads along too  =^_^=

With that said, I found something so amazing today in the world of Korean Language learning.

-drum roll please-

http://sweetandtastytv.com/

Tada!

I actually stumbled upon a video on youtube, and that's what started it all:

http://www.youtube.com/user/sweetandtasty

It's funny, fun, and still informative.
There's some "Learn Korean" which is pretty straight learning. They start with teaching the Korean alphabet and there's also the numbers. Then comes Kwow! This is "Korean word of the day" but it's so much more than a simple word then the end. It is: emotions, fruits, colors, holidays, days of the week, snacks, animals, body parts, and the list goes on and on. These are a great vocabulary supplement while also giving a good deal of information on Korean culture. The different characters are also really cool.

If you are learning Korean, are interested in Korean, or just like seeing creative and funny videos - then check them out:

Learning the language~

I am working on learning Korean, as I previously mentioned. As part of that, I've started making some videos (well... not quite vlogs) of the Practice your Korean segments from talktomeinkorean.com. So, let's start this off with my first video, for Level 1 lessons 1 & 2:

I won! Heartstrings anyone?

So, I got some mail in today, and was surprised to see I'd gotten something from Drama Fever (they have a ton of great Korean Dramas if you didn't already know that). Dun dun dun... opened the envelope to see....

How cool is that?!?! I had put my name in for the drawing, but I didn't think I'd win. I know it isn't a million dollars or anything, but I really love the show and adore Park Shin Hye and Jung Yong Hwa. Perhaps they just had a huge overstock and I won that way, but I don't care. I love it. I don't play guitar so I don't have much practical use for a guitar pick, but I still love it. This is actually my first Korean Drama memorabilia, though there are a lot of things I want, so I have to find somewhere special to keep it safe. ^_^

Who wants to go to Korea? I do!!

Yeah, so I originally wanted to do some youtube vlogs but that's not working as planned, so I will start with a blog. Oh yeah! So, what's the point? Here's the low-down.

I want to go to South Korea to teach English. If worse comes to worse, I will just visit, but I'd like to have something actively productive to do, plus I think being a teacher will help me obtain friends a lot easier than if I just go for a few months here and there without having any social connections. That point aside, I do still have to finish school first. *sad face* I am classified as a senior, but I have about a year left to complete my degree. So, the plan is to hop on the EPIK train and try for fall 2013. Hopefully I can make it in before all of the schools decide to follow Seoul's ways and drop the native English teachers.

What am I doing now? Well, for now I am doing a few things:
First, I am researching Korean culture, and starting to learn the language. I am using the supremely helpful talktomeinkorean.com for the language part, plus Rosetta Stone as well. I love Rosetta Stone, but I find TTMiK to be a lot more practical, especially since I can listen to the lessons in my car... something I can't do with Rosetta Stone. I have watched a multitude of videos from past and current English teachers in Korea, to get an idea of what I can look forward to, plus I've also been reviewing cultural and food videos, blogs, websites, etc for more Korea specific information.

Second, I have a recruiter lined up to help me search for a school once I am ready. We aren't on a daily active connection basis since it'll be a while still before I officially need their help, but it's nice to have someone to answer questions about the process when needed. I've started getting some of my paperwork requirements organized so I am ready (like lining up references and making sure I know what I need and when), though it'll still be a while before I need these things.

Third, and perhaps the most obvious, I am completing the required education portion and I will be working on certification... probably over the summer.

Lastly, I've been enjoying kpop and kdramas, perhaps more than is normal... I sort of include this in the first point, but make it separate since it's mostly for entertainment lol

There's probably still more I need to do, but I think I am making good headway to prepare myself. *nods*

That's going to be it for my first post here. Next time I will post about my first Korean food experience, and I may also include here some stuff as I am learning the Korean language. Overall, I will just post things as I think of them, chronicling my year and a half before heading off to Korea... and then some!

If you live, lived, or plan to live in Korea (or even if it was just for a visit), let me know. If you have a blog, vlog, or website about your adventures, post the link so I can check it out!