Let's talk about .... FOOD, baby !

... Let's talk about all the good things and the bad things, that maybe...

THE GOOD THINGS : My favorite cup noodle

I just finished a... cup noodle, while reading Li Jen's latest entry about life in the USA. Had a good laugh when he talked about the almighty leader of the USA - not for long anymore. Meanwhile I also put some pictures on my last two entries.
My stomach has - to be honest - not recovered to the old state yet, but I kind of get used to it. Or maybe it is because I haven't been eating much except for congee last week. A very strange thing to notice is that my stomach ache disappears when I drink beer or a stronger liquor. And last time also when I went jogging. Maybe I shouldn't been eating cup noodles, but this one is actually a non spicy one and in my opinion the best of the best of all cup noodles : 짜짱 면 'jjajangmyeon' or black bean noodles. Hmmmm... if I leave the water for more than 5 minutes in the cup, the noodles swell up very nicely and the soup becomes a delicious black bean sauce and gives me the most unique sensation of taste that no other cup noodle can ever provide....


THE GOOD THINGS : Lunch at my favorite family eatery
I already had a very nice warm lunch this afternoon at my favorite family eatery - the one where I always go on my own - near my dormitory and I took the Japanese girls of my class to introduce them to some 'jjigae' 찌개. The lady of the house was really happy to see me coming with so many people, because normally the place is empty. Maybe because the eatery doesn't really look appealing from outside, but the food is quite good. And I also feel a lot of sympathy for that lady. She, the 'ajumma' 아줌마, is so kind and generous. She provided us so many side dishes that we couldn't finish all of them and even made a special pork side dish on the house. All the Japanese ladies really liked her cooking and because everybody was eating so cheerfully, the ajumma gave us some kind of 'kumquats' after lunch. She told the Japanese ladies that they get a special treatment today, because I came so often to her eatery on my own. On top of that every one of us got a 500KRW discount on the meal.

I am always amazed how people can get connected to each other. I haven't spoken so much to her except for 'can I still have dinner, goodbye, dinner was delicious, I will come back' and yet there's that kind of bond between customer and host.

THE BAD THINGS : ... here we go : 번데기 beondegi aka SILK WORM pupae
So... I actually wanted to tell this last week, but then I got that stomach ache so I postponed it to not make it psychologically harder on myself than it already was... Hahaha, just kidding.
Friday two weeks ago, I went outside with Heli to get some fresh air and because the weather was nice we took our books with us to study. We went to Yeouido because there's a large public park over there along the Han River where we could find a nice spot to study.

During one of his 'breaks' he just stood up and went buying something. And he came back with a cup of DELICIOUS SILK WORM PUPAE. The sight was actually not really nice, not to even mention the smell of it, ... actually I was not really prepared for this. But I decided to have a go on this 'still technically non meat' meal.... So, I started with one.... without looking to much at it...

How did it look like? Well, like a worm pupae... BWEEEK. I didn't like the sight of it. Because I am afraid of it. Knowing what's inside. I tried to see them as big raisins...
How did it taste? Well the outside of the pupae is quite crunchy, but when you bite through it, you feel some kind of a little juicy fleshy thing on your tongue that you can chew on... it had the fleshy sensation of a little dried shrimp... and while chewing on it ... I tried to think about it as a small shrimp in stead of a wormy little thing... and swallowed it... WITHOUT PUKING :). So that was IT. There you have it... I ate it ! MY FIRST INSECT IN MY WHOLE LIFE !

I was not really fond of it, but to reassure I overcame my fear of eating insects - and especially wormy little creatures - I ate another 5 or 6 pieces. Heli ate the rest of the cup, because his mission was to finish it all. But after a few hand fulls he had to stop to because the taste buds and common sense began the protest, so at the end there was only one bottom left. Mission almost accomplished !!!

Hmmm... to be honest, while writing about it now and having the pictures uploaded, my stomach is getting a bit upset again, so I just let you people enjoy the DELICIOUS images we took that day and ehum...WARNING don't read this while eating... dissatisfaction guaranteed ;p

Guess what I have been up to?

Aaaaah... it's always nice when I have a 'free' afternoon to do some 'homework' like cleaning, vacuuming and... updating a blog. I am already in my 4th week of Seoul and I must say, up till now everyday has been just as interesting as the day I just arrived. Except for the stomach ache of course.

Culture Club on Wednesday
No, this is not a fancy club somewhere in Ghent, Belgium as some of you might think ;p, but I joined a 문화 동아리 'cultural club' that gathers every Wednesday to do some Korean cultural things like visiting a museum, traditional folk villages and maybe there's a trip to the Kimchi Field Museum in Seoul very soon. I actually thought there would be a lot more 'activity' around that 'culture club', but basically it means that the teacher takes us out for an hour or 3 on Wednesday afternoon, after which we are free to stand and go wherever we want. The main reason for joining a club is to meet some people from other classes and to practice our Korean of course. Met some interesting people in that club, most of them were Chinese and Japanese.

Yesterday we went with the whole 'bunch' to the Korean Folk Museum and the Gyeongbok Palace 경복궁, but I think I am going to go there again one day, because I didn't have enough time to see everything at ease. It took us about 45 minutes to get there by subway, so there were only a 2 hours left on our schedule. I sometimes feel a little bit sad when I don't have enough time to visit everything. Anyway, I am here for another 2 months, so still lots of opportunity to go.
I was accompanied by a young Chinese guy - Zhou Fei - who's the same age as my younger brother. He's calling me 'noona' 누나 meaning 'older sister' all the time. I feel a bit strange, because my own younger brother and sister haven't been calling me 'older sister' for a long time :). His level of Korean is way much better than mine, but he's has been here for more than a year. By the time we got out of the museum, we lost track of the others of the group so we just wandered around the Palace area.

Around 6 he joined me to Myeongdong 명동, not for real shopping of course : I wanted to buy some Duc d'O Belgian chocolates at the Lotte Department Store - you can find all kinds of foreign products there, do you know they even sell Jules Destrooper and Lotus cookies there as a delicacy? - for the brother of my Korean teacher in the USA, because I was going to meet his family the next day. Because Zhou Fei never tried Belgian chocolates before, I bought a small box of Guylian seashelves.
We took the taxi back to Anam-dong and opened the box of chocolate to have a taste. I asked the taxi driver 아저씨 if he wanted to have a try too, and he didn't refuse at all :)). I was really happy to share some Belgian 'heritage' - hahaha - with Korean people. The ajeosshi really liked it so he took another one :)). Arrived at Anam-dong, I said goodbye to Zhou Fei and I bought myself a take away congee. Third time in a row.

And guess what : I WENT JOGGING IN THE EVENING
... yes I did. Most of you know I don't really do sports, except from a little bit of cycling on my folding bike in the USA and some hiking, some skating... but as for the rest, I think I am quite a lazy person as concerning sports. I especially don't like running, I prefer walking in stead. But because I don't like to go to an indoor gym and because of lack of other physic activities - except from finger exercises aka 'typing' - I convinced myself to have a try again.
The reason that I don't like running is because I remember being so exhausted once during that horrible 'Cooper Test' in high school and some other time during uni I had to run an estafet at 3 o' clock in the night resulting in lung ache because of the cold night air.
So, I just decided to give it a try again... And because Heli was going to show me the place where he was told to be a good running place. I must say, I don't know why I have been hesitating to start running again for so many years. Maybe one of those strange mind-twists of me again.
Hmmmm... it really felt great. Especially after the long hike of Saturday, I really wanted to do something more active besides window shopping in Seoul. Running really eases your mind and body. I felt myself reviving again after these few days of stomach ache and while looking at the lights of the surrounding apartments, I felt amazed by the beauty of a metropolitan city at night. Am I really here, right now, in Seoul?

Meeting with the family of 구 선생님
Today after class, I met with the family of my USA Korean teacher. My teacher asked me to take a present to her little niece who became 1 year last month : a very nice pink 'princess dress'. I met with my teacher's younger brother, his wife and child. They picked me up after class to have lunch together at some fusion Japanese restaurant. We ate some Californian sushi - yeah I know, I shouldn't be eating American style food here in Korea - salmon salad, a 'udon' noodle soup and they also ordered a very spicy kind of fried rice - that I skipped of course. Although my Korean is still at a very basic beginner's level, I do notice some improvements in my communication comparing to 3 weeks ago. So, I am glad that I go forwards :)). But still a lot to learn. The brother and sister-in-law of my teacher, and also their cute child, are very kind and warm people. Actually I find this of most Korean people. They invited me to come over some weekend to there house if I have more time. Yeah, I am looking forward to it. Another reason to be more motivated to speak Korean more :).

Today was a good day. The sun was shining, I transfered the present to my teacher's brother and my stomach is getting better. But still feeling some strange things stuck in it, or is it just because I am hungry all the time because I haven't been eating much lately except from the congee? Anyway, I am gradually going to leave my congee diet to have a less 'spicy' normal eating habit.

And talking about eating habits... last week, I tried something ... ehum... VERY STRANGE AND DIFFERENT... but that's for the next entry ;p.

Worst feeling ever - 배가 너무 아파요

From my 'one to two men' euphoric trip to Dobongsan ... to the worst feeling ever... How can things just change so suddenly?
I am not really the kind of girl (or should I say 'woman' by now) that is really afraid of having pain. When talking about psychological pain, I have learnt within time to deal with it by writing it 'off' my mind or by talking about it in stead of cropping it up. When talking about physical pain, I don't really mind bumping my head of other parts of my body to some object, wall or floor - colorful body as a result - because I already accepted long time ago the 'clumsy' genes I inherited from the male part of my family ;p. But there are a few kinds of pain left that I really can't bear, and of which I am really afraid of : having needles in my body, having cramps in my feet or legs or having stomach ache.

I have been suffering from a strange stomach ache since Saturday morning. I just woke up with it and it lasted for 2 hours and just disappeared like that, otherwise I would not have gone hiking on my own. That would not be wise at all. So I didn't really pay much attention to it. Sunday, I had some minor aches during the afternoon, but I thought that was because I was hungry so I ate some bread with milk because I was going to have dinner with a friend anyway in the evening. But as from 5pm Sunday on, the stomach ache became a continuous one, up until today.
I still went to dinner that evening though and had some light noodle soup. I actually wanted to study for my Korean class because we have test on every Monday, but I didn't manage to do so. I just got my test results back and I wasn't so happy about it.

So what did my stomach do? From Sunday 5pm on, non stop, my stomach just went crazy and I felt all of the energy being sucked out of my body making my face so pale that even most native Asian women would envy me because of that temporary perfect pale complexion ;p...
I have tried several things to ease the pain, like rubbing some Chinese esoteric spicy oils on my tum - giving a temporary nice warm anesthetic feeling - I have been drinking a shot of Jägermeister to ease the burning - strong liquor is also used as a 'digestive' - I have been drinking lots of hot water and sleeping on my stomach.

But nothing really helped. It just felt like something being stuck, burning, but I really have no clue what I have been eating wrong. Maybe it's just of the gradually changed eating habits from having neutral home cooked meals in the USA to mostly spicy Korean food everyday. Not to even mention the amount of delicious cup noodles I have been devouring, and kimbap and ready made sushi bun. But I still think it's because I am not used to eat spicy everyday.
And then there's the bread : I not used to eat industrial bread because I have been making my own bread everyday since 2 years with my bread maker... That can also be a reason.

Anyway, I just went to school on Monday, did a bad test, went for lunch with people of my class although I didn't really felt like it, came home, studied for 1 hour and then just laid on my bed because it became unbearable. By that time, I really felt miserable.
Being alone and sick in a country that is not your home, is the worst feeling ever in my opinion. You don't really know the language, don't know where to go, there's nobody close near you to comfort you, it's just on your own. Meanwhile, you just hope it will get over soon. And hope it will not get worse in such kind of state that you have to be hospitalized.

By Monday evening, I knocked on my neighbor's door, she's a Korean Canadian with whom I can talk in English. I asked her if she knew a student doctor where I can go for a checkup. But she advised me to got the pharmacy first to get some medicine based on the description of illness and then maybe go see a doctor. It was really kind of her to join me to the pharmacy and doing all the talking, because the only thing I could say to the pharmacist was : 배가 너무 아파요 (My tummy or stomach hurts a lot). The pharmacist advised me not to eat bread, ramen or spicy food for the following days and gave me some medicine for one day. Best thing to eat when the stomach is upset, is eating 죽 (rice congee).

My neighbor took me to an eatery where I could order some take out congee. Back at my room I felt much better of having 'healthy' food in my hands and devoured half of it, took my yucky medicine - that looked like granulated dried yeast I use for my bread - and then went to bed. I think that was around 9pm. From then on, I just stayed in bed until this morning.

And now... I just got back from school, with the stomach ache but less worse than yesterday, just had the other half of my congee, so to be short... I am still "half" alive and kicking =). Feeling much better right now, the pain has diminished, but I am not 100% recovered yet. So better be careful with the food from now on. I don't want this happening to me again. Ever !!!

Just took my last part of the medicine and hope I will be fine by this evening. Really want to study right now, because I have lost so many precious hours. 아자아자 Fighting !!!

Dobongsan 도봉산

Today was a very satisfying day. Just got back from my dinner on my own in an eatery after I got back from my day hike in Dobongsan area, at Bukhansan National Park. Right now at this moment, I am still in some 'euphoric dream' state because I still can't believe I went on a hike on my own today. It was just something I really wanted to do, because I have been seeing too much city scape and buildings lately... And today was one of the warmest spring days in Seoul, some places sky rocking towards the 28°C and 30°C - if I understood it correctly from the news on the tv while I was having dinner...

Right now as I am writing this entry, my hands are still a bit dirty and sticky, my hair feels like straw (but I like it because it has more volume now), my face covered with mountain dust (which makes a good facial peeling for my face I think ;p) and my pants are really dirty because of climbing and sitting an sliding down from rocks an soil. Just wanted to type this entry while I am still carrying some particles of Dobongsan - it sounds more exciting I think - but after this very sentence, I will be clean and showered... (So to be continued...)

To Dobongsan
(Back and clean ;-))... I actually don't know where to begin. This week there were plans to go on a hike to Bugaksan - a small mountain north of Seoul - with a group of people from Kyunghee University - friends of Heli - but because of circumstances and mid-terms coming up there were not many interested. I actually was really looking forward to a weekend with more activities than just some city sightseeing and window shopping, although Seoul has some nice parks and some nice green spots near the Han River too. I was so enthusiastic that I already told my class that we were going on a hike - and that was just because we saw some grammar about the future tense and having to answer on questions like "이번 주말에 뭐 할 거예요?" What are you going to do this weekend? Haha, but that was not the main reason. I just really needed to get out of a concrete environment.

So I decided to go to another destination, Dobongsan on my own, also because it's very reachable by public transport. And I heard that it's safe to go on your own too. Korea is a safe country to do those things on your own as a woman, especially by daytime and Dobongsan is also a very popular weekend destination by Seoulites (people of Seoul :)). My pre-hike already started out very interesting because I transfered to the wrong subway / train but luckily I asked the way every time I am doubting my orientation. The map I had was a little bit different than the map in the 'Lonely Planet' that I borrowed from a friend. After about 45 minutes I think, I finally got to my main destination and just followed the crowd of people whom I suspect to go hiking at the same place as I was planning to. You must know, Seoul people are really one of the most best-dressed hikers : "... check out those red waistcoats, black ninja outfits and Darth Vader sunvisors" (dixit Lonely Planet). Especially most ladies have HUGE sunvisors, at least as huge as the cap of a welding visor or clear laboratory visor - reason for this is the fear of becoming tanned because in Asian countries being pale and white is still the way to go. Again I felt a little bit under-dressed with my jeans and dotted T-shirt... at least I have my fancy Timberland hiking shoes ;p and a cap I bought somewhere at an underground market (I managed to bargain 1000 less than the original price, which is actually ridiculous nothing, nada, zip, zero, but I managed to try at least ;-))
I brought my shorts to wear at the beginning of the hike. Although it was very hot, I couldn't get myself to wear my short, because really nobody was wearing a short, or let's say even with these temperatures of almost 30°C around noon, most people were still wearing long sleeves and long pants. Especially long pants. I saw 2 or 3 men wearing shorts up till the knees. But no women. Because of this social dress code, I didn't wear my shorts but I really wanted to. It was so hot... I just don't know if it's offensive to walk around with naked female knees - still with a slight bruise coloring purple, red and yellow from Kyunghee Sports day.

The entrance of the Bukhansan National Park was crowded with eateries, beverage stands and shops selling hiking materials for very reasonable prices. I just felt like being around the city markets again. I didn't buy anything yet, but now I have a list of things in my mind for the next hike : finger topless gloves, hiking stick and a backpack with airflow at the back - my back was really soaked during the day because of dehydration.

Up to Jaunbong (Dobongsan Peak)
The beginning of the itinerary that I had in mind, was more the kind of park-walk accompanied by colorful lanterns. There goes my idea of a hike ! Not that I was really disappointed, but it just didn't feel like a hike... at least at the beginning.

Passed a Buddhist temple but I didn't really bow or prayed at the Buddha statue neither at the statue of the Guan Yin, because I sometimes don't know how to act. I don't want to do something wrong that might offend the people in and around the temple, so I just kept silent and showed respect in my thoughts. Although back in Belgium I quite often went with my mother to pray and show my respect to the 'Guan Yin' - the bodhisattva of compassion. I really like most Korean Buddhist temples, because of their wood carving and especially the colorful wood painting. And most of them are constructed without using one single nail - if I understood it correctly - but using special wood binding techniques.

After the temple the road became a bit steeper, but still very walkable and wide because of the stairs carved out of the rocks. There was a small stream on my left and some people descended to have a rest close to the water. Although it was very walkable, I was already tired after the first half hour, maybe because of the heat and also because I was in a bad shape. Haven't been doing some intensive sport at all during my three weeks of stay in Seoul. Actually I don't really sport, but at least back in the USA we like to do some day cycling in the weekend or just walking from our home to downtown. (Still have to try out my inline skates on Californian ground.)

I actually find climbing up stairs more exhausting than just go up on a steep road without stairs. And because I was alone and had nobody to talk to, time didn't really go fast, as well as the distance seems further than in reality. I did ask myself several times : "Why am I doing this? It's just crazy going on my own... " But I didn't find the answer. I just knew, I really wanted to go outside of Seoul today.

Eventually, the itinerary became a bit more interesting because it involved some climbing using a bit of 'handwork'. Don't get me wrong, I am not a good climber at all, but I like some challenges on my way. But doing this on my own, was less fun as I thought because there was no partner giving a helping hand. Some older men 아저씨 and women 아줌아 were surprised to see a 'young' lady on her own, because most young ladies were at least accompanied by their boyfriend or husband... But I was thinking, if I can do this on my own, I can definitely survive a lot of more situations on my own. Just the hearing of sighs and puffing of the many 아저씨 and 아줌아 on their way to the top, really gave me a feeling of not being alone. We were all puffing together :).
The last part to the top was quite steep and there was a metal rail where you can pull yourself up. Right before that steep part I got a cramp in my feet, what usually happens 2 or 3 times during a hike. Don't really know why this happens, maybe because my blood gets stuck somewhere... And it happens too when I go swimming. When I was little, I happened to have cramps in my legs while swimming in deep water, so you can guess what happened many times : panic and blub... blub... blub... That's why I don't like swimming so much. I just sometimes become a submarine ;p.
If I am lucky, my cramps only last for one minute and then everything goes back to normal. So the last steep part was quite an experience but the effort to got all the way up is nothing compared to the tremendous view once you reach the top.

I ate my lunch - whole wheat bread with dark chocolate and a banana - while enjoying the splendid views with background music of people getting excited and taking pictures. I asked an old man of about 60 - how did he get there anyway? - to take a picture of me. It was quite funny, because he really did his best focusing on pushing the button of my camera without really framing the view, but I like the picture =)

New encounters

After lunch I continued my itinerary towards east, but I got a bit lost on my way because I didn't find the road I was looking for. I asked an old man how to get to Mangwolsa Temple and he explained very patiently and detailedly, but of course I nearly understood half of it. I could deduct from his attitude, that it was a bad idea, because it was already 16h / 4pm and the road was not easy according to him. But I was in the middle of my trip and I didn't want to take the same route back anyway. He told me to be careful. There is one Korean word that I find very charming, which is 아가씨 agasshi, meaning 'young lady' or 'miss'. "Young lady, be careful; you can go first, miss; you better go up at this side, miss". Although I was alone, there were a lot of elder people on my way. Hearing those advices from elder people really makes my heart melt for them. I just find elder people, especially Korean elders, very charming and friendly.
I think I was a bit disorientated after my lunch. I asked the way several times because I didn't find the road signs. Eventually a middle aged old man asked me where I was going, so I told him my final destination. He told me it was better to head west in stead of east but through a different trail. So he kind of offered me to follow him back to the entrance of the park.
I didn't know if it was a good idea to follow him, because you just never know when you meet strangers on your way, but I really had a 'gut' feeling that this 아저씨 should be fine. Actually I didn't really had a choice. Trusting people is not easy, but I just did it. And I am glad I was not afraid or superstitious : I still tend to believe that people that offer to help are really nice people. Maybe that's a bit of a naive thought, but that's just the way my mind works. I also trust my instincts and my sixth sense :-).
On our way he asked me if it was okay to show me alternative routes to some other mountain peaks in the park with tremendous views. At first I hesitated a bit, because it was already getting darker but I decided to trust him. And I am glad I did.

His name is 남진우 Nam Jin-wu and he's lived in this area all his life. He knows the park as the back of his head because he goes hiking here every week. He used to do rock climbing when he was young, but now because he's older and gaining a +50 belly, he just does some hiking. Being an expert of this park, he took me to some places where not so many people go and through itineraries that were different from the main hiking trails. I must admit I was afraid at first, because he knows the area so well he just hops from one rock to the other, some involved some climbing without rope or metal bars, but I did well I must say. Maybe because I trusted his experience. It's strange, when you are with someone, you extend your borders of fear and are able to push your limits. Sometimes he just got a bit too enthusiastic about an itinerary that I really had to hold back, because we were really not going to the subway station at all.

I have no regrets at all. To have met this nice 'uncle'. The last part of the hike really lead me to tremendous sights at some of the mountain peaks of the park. Sometimes there are really no words to describe the thoughts that go through your mind when you are in such a beautiful environment of mountains, forests, pink spring blossoms, a sun and sky turning warmer and orange red as evening falls. It's beyond words. Standing at a peak while he's pointing out some other mountains in our sight saying that we have been there just one hour ago. I was always amazed that distances seem long at sight, but the perception of time is different when you have a companion to talk to.

On our way back we passed some old ladies and I heard them saying something like "Look, there's a father and child still going"... Yes it did came on to my mind too, an older man and a younger woman hiking together do look like father and daughter... I found out, that he was 51...

So... I am quite done with talking about my impressions of the hike, so I'll just let the pictures do their work. I got back at the subway station around 20h / 8pm - so it was already dark when we got out of the national park - and I thanked him for the beautiful walk he guided me through.

My not so lonely dinner
I really craved for some doenjang jjigae 된장찌개 on my way back to Anam-dong. And I exactly knew where I was going to have it : that very small family eatery that looks like a living room. The father of the eatery was outside welding something, making some very flashy stroboscope light that didn't really suit the sober atmosphere of the eatery. When I entered, the lights in the eatery were already out except for the kitchen. I asked if it was still okay to have dinner at that hour and the mother of the house invited me friendly to come in and asked me what I wanted to eat.
I really enjoyed just sitting there, that living-room like eatery, I just like that kind of sober home-like atmosphere. The lady went back to the kitchen while I was watching the news.
I had dinner on my own, but I didn't feel like being lonely at all. I really like the mother of the house. She remembered that I don't eat meat because she gave me all vegetarian side dishes, while as the first time she gave me a meat side having it switched to a veggie dish. The father of the house came in silently and joined for dinner at the table next to me, but he didn't say anything. It was nice :). I thanked the mother of the house for the nice dinner and I think I will be back in few days.

Blessed
Today was a day I will be remembering for a long time. Today I felt really blessed. Because I met really kind people, because I went to some beautiful places. It's just, high up on a top, surrounded by silence and nature, you can think of nothing else but the beautiful view in front of you. Breathtaking. The chaos in your mind comes to a rest. High up on a top, I sometimes feel so close and connected to my late father. I sometimes feel like he's watching over me, especially when the sun shines. I just feel blessed and happy =).

Impulses

A short one before I go to class... I am still running after for about a week to update some photos about my first week in Seoul. But I promise to make this up... very soon.
These last few nights, I haven't been sleeping well. Don't ask me what exactly is going on, but I think I can't get asleep because there are too many impulses surrounding me. Being in one of Asia's largest city, still a lot of to explore, my language to be improved, and hell yeah... I also read some pages in the lonely planet 'Korean phrase book' before I go to sleep, just in case I might need some assistance when I get lost again or to avoid me ordering some food I am not supposed to eat.
But I am also thinking that one of the reasons I can't get asleep is maybe because of the following : every time I touch the metal door handle or my metal bookshelf I get a minor to a major electric shock through the first part of my hand - at least not my whole body ;p - and sometimes it does hurt. The reason for this is because I wear rubber flip flops in my room and the room's floor is synthetic. The air in my room is very hot and dry and it even gets worse when I wear synthetic pants... And once a week, I see a minor blue sparkle between me and the metal object.
Of course, I try to 'unload' consciously once in a while so that I don't get a too big shock effect every time... but still...
Speaking about electroshock therapy ;p, ghegheghe. There's so much TENSION in the air ;)). Have to get ready for school now...

Third impression

I just got back to my room from a very interesting afternoon. Seoul's weather has been quite nice up till now and this week Wunderground is giving a nice +20°C without rain...
We had our first test today in the morning. We have test on every Monday morning about the things we have seen in the previous week. It wasn't very hard, but it's good to have a test, at least you get to study for it during the weekend. Although I also like to revise some things during the week. That's what I am here for, to study, but at the same time finding a balance with meeting new and interesting people.

Our class has changed since last week : two students have left for another level - a Chinese guy and a Japanse girl, and two new students joined our class at the end of last week - a Mongolian guy and a Japanese guy. I am quite glad there were some movements in our class composition, because the teacher asked us last week who wants to be the 'class representative or president' and she asked me if I was interested, but I can't speak Korean that well to be the contact between the school's secretary and the class for announcing new things. I actually don't even know why the teacher asked me anyway, maybe because she thinks that I look assertive, which in certain circumstances I am not at all. So eventually, the Mongolian guy who can speak Korean very well, volunteered to be our class president. Pfeeew, I was quite relieved :-). But anyway, I volunteered to help him with emailing around our class mates' contact information after we asked everybody to sign up a paper.

And so today, after class we went out with a few people to have lunch together at the uni's student restaurant. I should have done it earlier, they provide very good basic meals there at really low student prices and most of it is vegetarian anyway. I am quite sure I am going back there a few times. Joining us were : the Ukrainian guy, 4 Japanese ladies, the Mongolian guy and a Mongolian female friend of his. Because the Mongolian guy can't speak English so well, he talks in Korean all the time, which is interesting so that we can learn communicating in Korean anyway. But still it's hard to follow sometimes, but I like it :). And of course I try to do my best to speak Korean too. But still there's a lot to learn.

After the meal and the interesting conversations, 4 of the group went out for a coffee together. I just discovered that two of the Japanese ladies were the same age as me, which made me really happy and feeling some kind of bond together. At least, some people are the same stage of life and age as I am. Not that age really matters anyway, but still... It's always nice to meet people who are born in the same year. The two ladies are Scorpios like my husband. I get along well with Scorpios :).
We had some interesting conversations about languages, culture, movies, and lots of other things you talk about when people of different background and culture meet each other. For me it was especially interesting, because I would like to improve my Japanese a little bit, even though it's just refreshing some words that I have forgotten because I haven't used Japanese for a long time. Anyway, I really enjoy speaking. I really do. Especially in other languages. I always feel so alive when I am somewhere else and meeting people of different countries. I feel alive and happy. Of course, I know, people come and go, but still I hope to keep a few of them as friends, especially if you feel that it 'clicks'. Okay, still have to put my both feet on the ground, because I tend to be over enthusiastic every time I meet nice people. But generally, I like to discover the good side about them, how annoying they at first seem to be. Yeah, I am glad, I got to know a few people of my class better. I discovered I opened up more to people than my time being in the USA. I just don't really know why... Maybe because of a different environment and having to go out everyday for class and having to interact with people all the time. It's good for me.

And tomorrow, we are meeting up with our 'buddies' of Korea University. Still don't know which Korean volunteer student is going to help us out during those coming weeks, but I hope it will turn out fine, like things today. Try to keep up the good spirit here. It gives me strength and courage to study and learn more :).

Shopping !!!

Huh? Shopping? Yeah, I just got back from shopping. As most people know about Seoul, Korea or just Asian countries in general : THIS IS PARADISE !! for fashion freaks :)). I must admit, I am not good at shopping, sometimes I find it a waste of time to shop, especially if you don't really know what you are looking for. But being in Seoul, fashion town where you can really find everything, EVERYTHING, as long as you have the patience to shop, I found myself a bit obligated to do so. So I have worked out a tactic : I do some research first about the things I like in clothing and fashion and then I go out for shopping, with certain style of clothes in my head.
I have been asking around to people where is the best place to shop in Seoul, but actually it's a ridiculous question, because you can practically shop about everywhere in Seoul downtown and vicinity.... The places to be, are Dongdaemun, Myeongdong, Apgujeong and also Namdaemun and Itaewon. But actually, like I said, you can shop about everywhere. The city is crammed with department stores and malls and markets.

So I went out to Dongdaemun today, it's already my fourth time to that region, to shop. With some specific items in my head after doing more than 2 hours of research on the internet, I was brave enough to hurdle myself into the crowd of 80% shopaholic women. I went to a small 'mall' where a lot of middle aged women where shopping around and being there was quite agreeable, considering my age, hahahahaha ;p. Had a nice strolling around without having to bump into too many people and shopkeepers kept quietly observing you passing by without being to persistent to have you buy something or to take a look. But then I went to Migliore Mall where I tried to find something nice, but my head started spinning because of too many people, to many alleys where I got lost and too many things. So, there goes my tactic. I just can't shop. Don't really have the patience for it. Especially when it's for myself. I really need someone close who can assist me and give me some advice, like my husband. But even then, it's hard to shop. So being in that mall didn't last more than one hour, so I decided to leave Dongdaemun and head for somewhere else.

Climax of that trip : I bought a really yummy hot steamed green tea bun filled with sweet red bean paste, somewhere on the street. Eating that bun felt like heaven :)). Too bad my camera was out of batteries, the bun was really good.

Next destination : Gwanghamun, location of Korea's largest bookstore Kyobo. I kind of got a real adrenaline kick at the sight of so many books, the feeling of so many written knowledge in the atmosphere. I directly asked the directions for English books on Korea and Korean languages. For more than one hour I have been looking at so many course books not really knowing what to buy. I helped out some guys from India who were looking for a good book to start with and recommended the course book I used in the USA. As for myself, I bought 4 volumes of course books of Sogang University, so that I have some other references for learning the Korean language.

So, my urge for shopping was over and completely satisfied with new knowledge to explore, I went back home. I just found out, I am not really made for shopping clothes, but clothes are necessary sometimes, you can't walk around in lumps. But books, books are forEVER and make me happy all the time :)))

Election day : sports day at Kyunghee University

On Wednesday this week we had the day off because it was a public holiday due to the elections for the Korean parliament. As in many countries in the world people here have the right to vote in stead of having the obligation to do so - in Belgium we HAVE to vote, at least I don't because I have the citizenship of the Netherlands :p. I didn't really follow the elections here in Korea - neither was I really doing this with the president's candidate elections in the USA - but I read that the parties in Korea do not differ so much from each other, having most similar programs.

I did took a picture of the most important party heads. Anyway, cut the crap about politics, so I was saying we had a day off on Wednesday. Yippiehey!!!

Heli asked me to join the sports day of the 'International Friendship and Culture Club' at Kyunghee Uni, located just a few bus stops away from Korea University... Because I still don't know many people at Korea Uni, I tend to hang out more with people of Kyunghee, especially the exchange students, all through Heli en Jen who stay at our student home. And I must say I am glad I was there that day.

Although I didn't know most people, the atmosphere was very 'studentikoos' and fun. Lot's of kind and friendly people : Korean students, students form Japan, China, Russia, Germany, Austria, Australia... The day was well organized : we gathered at the sport hall of Kyunghee Uni and got a Tshirt with emblem and had to draw a colored string deciding what team you were in. I was in the RED team.

We had lunch at the stairs of on of the main buildings and took some pictures. I got into a nice chat with a Korean girl (Eun-seon) and two girls from Japan (Ami and Hae-young) who are studying in Seoul. (The group pic is taken by Eun-seon).

After lunch we went back to the sports hall to find our team members and the competition between the 4 teams could start. It was quite funny because I haven't been in a 'school team' for ages ago and I felt like being in high school again ;). We played a lot of games like limbo dancing, dodge ball, some kind of charade (Yeay, I really liked this, reminds me of playing Cranium) and some dancing.


It felt good being part of a team although you don't know each other so well. The cheering in Korean "Aja aja 아자아자, Fighting. Team Red fighting" was really fun. It really made people bond and winning was even more fun sharing the 'high fives' and laughter with each other :)). I had so much fun during the games I didn't even feel my bruises when I fell on the back of my head during limbo dancing - not so bendy any more like I used to be in the good 'young' days - or when I fell on my knee to avoid a ball during dodge ball. My knee is know going to have all the colors of the rainbow for the coming week, starting with a beautiful fleshy kind of blue ;p.

We ended the day with some kind of dance in a circle where you had to switch partners every time. Fun fun fun. A bit like folk dancing, khekhekhe. Ah yes and not to forget the mention : the RED team came out as the winner of the day. We all had two stamps on our arms, meaning that we had won two games.

After the activities I joined a few Korean and Japanese girls and a Russian guy called Nikolai to an eatery near the campus where we had a 'budae jjigae' 부대찌개. It was a big metal bowl in the middle of the table on a stove with kimchi 김치, other veggies, sausage, rice cakes 떡 and where transparent noodles and ramyeon 라면 are added. And we were all eating of that same bowl. Very cosy and warm.

We talked in English and in Korean, but when it was in Korean it was sometimes hard for me to follow, but I didn't really mind. On the contrary, I try to understand and pick up as many things as I can, for that's the only way to learn it.

After dinner I went back to Crimson House to study and bumped in to Jen on the bus back. She's had coffee with Heli and some others. When it was time to get off, my T Money card didn't want to check out so I didn't get off the bus in time. A bit in panic I asked the bus driver to stop, but he was saying he will just stop at the next stop... I think. So I walked my way back home, in the pouring rain, without umbrella.... There was no nice Korean guy that offered his umbrella or coat to a 'young' - ahum ahum - lady like me like in most romanticized Korean dramas :'(... Hahahaha, but there was someone waiting for me : Jen !!
Wet but not completely soaked when I got back in my room and already feeling a minor cold and snotty nose coming up. Hope I won't get sick here. But it didn't kill the nice memories of good team spirit and bonding I felt during that very day :).

Second impressions

Yesterday was a good day :). It felt like summer with temperatures - at least if I can rely on Wunderground - rocking the 22°C... The sky was clear, the three blossoms were blooming... perfect.
Of course, I had my class in the morning till 1pm. And I must say, second impressions are better than first ones. Maybe I expected something else of my class of being more international in stead of only Chinese, Japanese and one Ukrainian, but eventually maybe it doesn't matter that much. I still don't know the people of my class very well yet, because they tend to cluster together, the Japanese and the Chinese. And I am a single case of not really Chinese and also not really Belgian, Dutch or American. I sometimes get confused when I have to explain, where I come from. I just say I am European Chinese or something.
I really enjoy taking the classes, if time flies, that's a good thing, isn't it? I especially like the teacher of the last 2 hours, who is so cheerful and enthusiastic. Maybe because we tend to be more active in stead of just learning grammar during the first 2 hours.The teacher is cute and pretty too.... I should take some pictures some day for my male readers ;p.

After class I went to the University bookshop and bought myself some notebooks - the paper versions of course - and did some local shopping for garbage bags. In Seoul we have to recycle. I got a folder at the tourist information office few days ago about recycling and read it through. I am glad they recycle here, just like in Belgium. Back in the States, we do have some garbage cans for recycling paper and plastics and cans, but not many people of our apartment complex are doing that, which I think is very sad. I am not a eco freak, but still, keeping the environment clean and try to recycle to spear our mother earth's resources is good attitude.

Cherry blossoms at Yeouido 여의도

In the afternoon I took the sub to Yeouido, known as the 'Manhattan' of Seoul with it's high rise buildings. It's a small island located in the middle of the Hangang that runs through Seoul. The river is decorated with many bridges that are lit up by night and gives the City it's famous and most beautiful night views.
For the Korean drama fans, here are also the main Korean broadcast stations located like KBS and MBC.

Speaking about drama, on my way to the Yeouido park, I say two people having a word fight in the middle of the road because of a car accident. A good looking young lady in a nice car bumped into the taxi driver and of course both blamed each other which gave great spectator's view :p. They were shouting to each other, I tried to listen but didn't really understand. Yeah, I always like to pick up conversations around me, trying to improve my listening skills. I don't walk around with my mp3 earplugs anymore, maybe because I want to absorb as much of the city's sounds as much as I can.

I asked the way to the 'Spring Flower Festival'. I knew that Japanese are crazy about 'sakura' cherry trees and there blossoms, but it seems Korean like that as well. I must admit, I have never seen so much blossoming cherry trees all together...

It was very crowded yesterday, because of the nice warm weather. There were a lot of couples walking through that tunnel of blossoming flowers, quite romantic. Too bad I missed one person next to me... But I enjoyed it very much. Along the road there were vendors selling small streets snacks or artists taking or drawing pictures.

On my way back to the subway station, I stopped along the Han River where I could watch the late afternoon sun and observing couples riding bicycles, picnicking, kissing - although it was hidden for public I caught a young couple hidden in the high grass along the river bank .... aaaah .... lovely spring vibes in Seoul with a beautiful city scene... Koreans are very romantic people :))


Silk worms
From romantic cherry blossoms to something else now....HORROR. That day I saw at least 20 stands where they sell some kind of cooked 'cocoons' of some kind of butterfly. Beondegi 번데기. I couldn't look at it for too long or my stomach would turn upside down and it didn't really smell nice.

But I heard, it does taste very good so I have decided I have to try this once in a lifetime and to overcome my fear of worms. And it's a good source of proteins, dixit Bear Grylls. And it's not really meat. I have been afraid of worms all my life or everything that crawls like a worm or maggot. I am not afraid of spiders though. So I am going to eat this one day, with my eyes closed of course. Hope I will be mentally prepared by then, within a few weeks or so... hehehe, but as for now, not yet ;p.

Dinner with three
I had dinner again with Heli and Yeong Hon 영헌 at one of Yeong Hon's favorite eateries near our campus. The boss of the eatery was very kind and we ordered three kind of 'soups' like 참치찌개 with bibimbap 비빔밥.

This bibimbap was slightly different than the ones I already had : we got a metal bowl of rice and it was mixed by the owner at the table with some lettuce, seaweed, dressing and hot sauce. It was delicious :).

Pubbing at Crimson's roof
Afterwards we ended up on the roof of Crimson House to have some drinks that we bought at the night shop. The evening view was splendid and we could see Seoul Tower from our place. We could see and hear university students hanging out in the grass fields of the campus, probably also enjoying the nice warm spring evening with some liquids as well. Jen - an Australian exchange student like Heli - and two other Korean ladies joined us. We had some very interesting talks and listened to some music. There was even a small introduction to Austrian Waltz. Aaaaah.... spring vibes in Seoul.... I really felt like going back in time living a student's life. Wish it could last forever :))