Myoeng-dong

On Sunday, Heather and I ventured into Seoul to check out Myeong-dong and Insadong, two neighborhoods in the city. I'm going to split this into two posts for y'all. We had some yummy sandwiches at Kraze Burger to fuel up for Myeong-dong, the big shopping district in Seoul.

It was wild. There were tons of people, shops, and restaurants. In many parts of the city, you can peek down a side street like this one and see mountains, which is very magical.

Chelsea and Amber, I'm sure you will be excited to get down on some bacon wrapped meat snacks.

Lindsey, lace for your face doily boutique! It actually turned out to be one of the best stores I've ever been inside. Heather made away with two adorable dresses.

Shop window

We took a break at an Italian place for some wine (pretty sure it was Sangria) and tasty little seedy flatbreads and olive oil. When we were finished, it had started to rain, so we headed for the subway to see Insadong.

P.S. I recommend clicking on any and all of the photos to see them enlarged.

Beomgye and Seoul!

Last night, we went to Beomgye with our co-worker, Samantha. There is more of a nightlife inBeomgye, with lots of restaurants and bars. The first place we visited was a Korean restaurant. We had to take our shoes off to go inside and every time we went to the restroom, they had these fancy slippers for us to wear (picture above). I think my mom wants me to stop talking about drinking so much, but if you want to hear about the most killer kiwi soju, just shoot me an email.

Next, we hit up a Norebong, those infamous karaoke places. I was weary of this popular pastime, but it turned out to be tons of fun.

Heather singing Kelly Clarkson

Our new friends Sam and Monique. Monique is from San Diego, Poway to be exact. We are pretty much in love with her.

Today, Heather and I headed into Seoul for a couple hours and had some great Sushi. There was sashimi on one of those plates too, and the whole thing cost $18. Steal.

We're going back to Seoul tomorrow. I am in desperate need of a salad, so my main goal is to make that a reality.

Love,

E

Tut tut, looks like...

Its been raining for two days in Sihueng. We had to move apartments on Wednesday and this is a preview of our new place. We are currently sharing with two Korean male teachers, but they move out this weekend and we will have a large 3 bedroom to ourselves.

Wednesday was our first day of classroom observations. Most of the students were very engaged and comfortable speaking english, except for a few shy ones. The vibe is pretty casual, teachers where jeans, chew gum, and students filter in and out of the staff room playing with teacher's phones and mp3 players. Our co-teachers invited us out wednesday night for drinks to check out the scene in Sihueng. Even though, there are tons of bars, there is absolutely no scene. They took us to a Korean place that was small, but really cool looking and super cheap. Drinking is an important part of Korean culture and it is common to go out drinking with co-worders and your boss. Sylvia, a Korean co-teacher, insisted Heather and I drink more and she would just explain to Mr. Lee (our Director) that we wanted to go out drinking. What?!?

Thursday morning we woke up hangover free (word is, soju and beer hangovers are fierce). After walking around forever trying to find some breakfast (nothing opens here till after 9:30, and those are the early places), we got some Sukbong toast (picture above). It was delicious and the store owner, Arnold, was very friendly and spoke english. Our second day of observations was just as boring as the first, and both of us are anxious to start teaching our own classrooms. Then, the funny funny stories will be flowing I'm sure.

Cheers,

E

Day Two, Elisse and Heather kick it in Siheung

Day one consisted of landing in Korea, heading straight to our school at 8pm, no one having any idea where to put us and all of our luggage, then finally being pawned off on a Korean teacher and put in her apartment. So, I'm going straight to Day Two: Above is a picture of our school. Directly below our school is Paris Baguette. They have coffee and delicious pastries. We've decided the employees at Paris Baguette should be our friends, and so I make them all uncomfortable by saying hello and thank you in Korean at least 3 times a visit.

After breakfast, we visited Oku Park, located directly behind our apartment. It is pretty awesome to be in such close proximity to open space, with bike trails and everything. This park is probably beautiful in the Spring.

A mountain sits behind Oku Park that you can climb and take in the view. We decided that endeavor could wait for more appropriate mountain climbing outfits.

Korean Heather

Then we found a stunning rock garden. A few older Korean gentlemen were taking casual strolls through the garden and it looked so tranquil that we decided to give it try.

Rick gardens = less tranquility, more torturous. I tried to stay on the smooth borders.

After the Oku Park adventure, Heather and I went in search of a couple afternoon cocktails and lunch. Apparently people here don't drink in the daytime, but we managed to find a place called Cheers and the owner was unlocking the door as we walked up. Heather tried to order a whiskey and soda. When the woman came back, she had a tray with an entire bottle of Imperial Whiskey, four glasses, and various mixers, the oddest being milk. After explaining to her that we did not intend to drink a bottle of whiskey at 3pm, Heather ordered a Guinness. Bar snacks included dried fish, pepper paste for dipping and fried fish tasting balls disguised as honey roasted peanuts. I tried all 3, Heather tried none. I'm not bragging, it was disgusting.

We ended the day with four episodes of the L Word. Heather is already peeved by Jenny, which I think is hilarious.

Until Next Time,

E