So it's been almost two months now, and I'm really starting to enjoy myself :) Most important things first: The food is definitely starting to grow on me.. haha. Even the kimchi has become appealing (the radish kimchi - not the cabbage. I'd rather not eat spicy, soggy, fermented nastiness...) I've found a couple dishes the I really enjoy so far, one of which is called Sundubu (soon-doo-boo, fun to say, and delicious!) This one is a fiery cauldron of soup that is brought out scalding hot and literally still boiling in the bowl. It's got tons of soft tofu in it, as well as some onions and a cracked egg and one (yes one) clam. Served with rice and the ubiquitous kimchi, it makes the perfect meal on a cold day... now to find something to eat now that the weather is warming!
The weather has actually been really beautiful as of late. Actually it's quite reminiscent of Southern California, but just a tad more humid. It's been really great outdoorsy weather - I played Frisbee in the park with my neighbor about a week ago which was super fun, but definitely got us some looks from the locals. I plan on going hiking soon too, hopefully the weather holds up for it. May 2nd is Buddha's birthday, and I plan on hiking to the nearby temple (Beomosa) to see the festivities. AND you get free lunch... BONUS!! haha too bad I don't like Bibimbap... the veggie dish they serve 'cuz all the monks are vegetarians. I wish it would stay like this longer, but apparently we're in for a rude awakening come Summer time -.-
We've also been using our free time to get a little healthier. John just bought some workout equipment: a bench and a bunch of weights. And, I have joined my yoga class where I take 2 classes a week. I'm taking it with my Korean coworkers, who help translate the class at times lol. It's actually pretty cool to hang out with them outside of work, but man did I underestimate the difficulty of stretching! I don't think I've ever been this sore... and I took ballet for 5 years!
We also FINALLY got furniture!! A little shop directly across the street from us decided to close it's doors, so we got to reap the benefits. It was a little "game room" which meant you could rent out board games for $2 an hour and just hang out and play with all your friends. Kind of a bummer that it closed, 'cuz it was really fun. So they had a whole bunch of furniture they had to get rid of, so for a small donation we snagged 2 couches, 2 chairs, and a table (super score!) John even bought a couple of pretty sick speakers from her too. I also found a twin size bed frame in our hall that I've converted to a bed-loungey-couch dealy. It's pretty friggen sweet... hehe.
The kitchen/dining area. Those chairs need to be covered with something... yuck 4/25/09
View of the stairs, they are so hard to walk up! That's John lookin' into the tiny fridge. 4/25/09
The giant window that takes up the whole wall. 4/25/09
Our mini entertainment zone... John's computer in the corner (the one spot in the house that gets good internet access) and our TV that we hooked up our new speakers to :) 4/25/09
One view of our bedroom/loft, the bed. Haha. The rail to the right is so I don't fall to my death at night. 4/25/09
The other view of our bedroom/loft. We're storing our extra furniture in the corner... Ugly couch huh? 4/25/09
Our "living room" complete with furniture! Hurray! I tried to get John in ever shot of the house.. haha 4/25/09
Work is still going well also. All of our coworkers are super nice, and we are even becoming friends with a couple of them. The kids are also getting more used to us, so in turn they are slowly starting to warm up and open up to us. There are still those few classes that just DON'T want to do anything... that is still taking some getting used to.
As far as adventures go, things have been pretty mild thus far. We just got home from our first Korean baseball game, which was pretty fun. If it hadn't been so flippin' cold we could have stayed through the whole game! But we left when the giants (Busan's team) were down by 7 points... so we figured we weren't missing much :P It's pretty funny to watch the crowd though - each player has their own chant when they're up to bat, and somehow EVERYONE in the stands knows it. There's also a really animated cheerleader type guy in a full white suit that leads everyone in the chants. Funny stuff :)
John and I freezin' our butts off at the baseball game. 4/25/09 Sajik
The sun setting over the mountains behind the stadium. 4/25/09 Sajik
All in all things are going really well. I really love the location and layout of our apartment, so going home is really relaxing. The area we live in is really nice too. It may be far from the nightlife, but that's nothin' a 30 minute subway ride can't fix. With all the trees in bloom, and the sun out, the area is really beautiful. Even the street vendors seem somewhat picturesque. So yes... for now, things are splendid... ^.^
Thanks for reading! :D
