Eff THis...

This St.Patrick’s Day I did not spend the day drinking...

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 08:00:00 -0500

This St.Patrick’s Day I did not spend the day drinking Guinness, green beer and overeating, I spent it eating Black Noodles* and comforting my Korean co-teacher. Per South Korean tradition when you are single you celebrate Black Day on April 14th. You eat jajangmyeon (black noodles) and drink with your friends. I guess the same goes for when there is a break up. Elle had her heart broken so we went to sob a little and eat black noodles to comfort her.

*Jajangmyeon is not really black noodles, as you can tell, it’s white noodles covered in a yummy black bean sauce. The sauce usually is mixed with with onions, pork, and zucchini. We added mussels and shrimp to ours to liven it up a little ;)

photo taken by stuartSpivack

I had to re-blog this, the tags for this photo are “Tina...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:52:26 -0500

I had to re-blog this, the tags for this photo are “Tina Fey, esquire, bathroom, drinking champagne, friendship, been there” ha Ha! Hilarious because haven’t we all? And the best of the best are there to help :) You gotta love it

[via quellequaintrelle]

My Favorite, YumMMM!! That still doesn’t beat the day I...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 23:48:11 -0500

My Favorite, YumMMM!! That still doesn’t beat the day I unknowingly ordered a $16 Guinness here in Seoul.

[borderlinephil:I swear there’s a beer tax in Chicago today. 2 x Guinness in a Dixie Cup = $13 @ Corcoran’s. I never did like math class.]

GPOYW: Last St. Patrick’s Day edition. Nadine and I met...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:34:58 -0500

GPOYW: Last St. Patrick’s Day edition. Nadine and I met her cousin and spent the day drinking at Irish Eyes. Eventually we got food from Salt & Pepper Diner and then went to Lucky’s for sandwiches. We crashed hard on my couch and ordered Dag’s, even though it was a 2 min walk, and then went to Brownstone to finish out the night. A lot of drinking and a lot of eating ;)

It was only supposed to rain today but it turned into a snow...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:33:52 -0500

It was only supposed to rain today but it turned into a snow storm, it snowed until after midnight.

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow :) I made this for my...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:33:51 -0500

A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow :) I made this for my classroom with my students. It’s weird how the smartest students are the worst at coloring and the ones who learn a little slower are excellent at it. Make you think.

Happy St. Pattys Day everyone :) Looking good dear city, looking...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 10:24:38 -0500

Happy St. Pattys Day everyone :) Looking good dear city, looking good

[via streetsofchicago]

Good Morning :) I don’t know if you can tell what’s...

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 04:13:03 -0500

Good Morning :)

I don’t know if you can tell what’s going on in this picture, but it’s an intersection of three coffee places. The Coffee Bean, Tom N Toms and Starbucks- behind me were two more! Koreans LOVE coffee. In 2009 Koreans consumed more coffee than rice, it moved from the #3 spot to #1! Coffee is King.

I will make these Cookie & Cream Cheesecake cupcakes as soon...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 12:12:50 -0500

I will make these Cookie & Cream Cheesecake cupcakes as soon as I get back to the US and I have an oven again. Yum

[via misswallflower]

“Hipsters” are just ugly people who still get...

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 09:59:35 -0500

“Hipsters” are just ugly people who still get laid.

[via catchstars]

The Big Guy just sent me a pic of him and his Championship...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:46:43 -0500

The Big Guy just sent me a pic of him and his Championship shirt, from his indoor soccer league!!! They just kicked ass!!! Congrats Jared :) That’s what 2 championship shirts now or 3??

This looks like the escalator situation in Seoul. Not only are...

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:31:20 -0500

This looks like the escalator situation in Seoul. Not only are a ton of people waiting for the escalator but the subway is so far underground that there are 2 and sometimes 3 sets of these!

[nikhak: HAHA- Amazing. I’m totally that person on the stairs (except for moments when I have a sprained ankle, which was recent!). I gave a speech once on how simple it is to improve your health by changing your normal routine - like taking STAIRS instead of an escalator or elevator. It’s easy folks! do it.][via inhll]

Awhile ago JessicaKim post a super sweet note titled...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:33:00 -0500

Awhile ago JessicaKim post a super sweet note titled “Props to Love Done Right” she said, couples like these are what keep her from growing jaded… After reading about this couple I could not help but write the same message about them, Props to love done right :) Couples like these are what keep me humble and remind me that love isn’t shallow, it isn’t perfect, and it isn’t always rainbows- but that’s what makes it real.

bippityboppityboo: Speaking of love.

If you’d like to see what true, honest, unconditional love looks like … you should visit THE NIENIE DIALOGUES.

Stephanie Nielson first started blogging whens he was 23 years old. She blogged about her handsome husband Christian and her beautiful children.

On August 16, 2008, Stephanie and her husband, Christian, were flying across Arizona when the small plane they were on crashed into the desert. It exploded on impact. The crash left Stephanie burned over 83 percent of her body. The fire seared the skin from her face, her legs, her arms. It burned her hands to the tendons. Christian was burned over 35 percent of his body. The flight instructor died.

However, despite her tragedy, Stephanie has continued to blog. For months she refused to post pictures of her new appearance. She blogged about her frustrations, her sadness, her constant physical pain, but mostly about her incredible, loving husband who bathes her, supports her, and is a wonderful father. She also blogs about her beautiful children. Stephanie and Christian have a love that people search a lifetime trying to find. Stephanie is still adapting to her new life. But with the support of Christian & God … she remains positive & her inner beauty shines through her scars.

[nikhak: wow]

Month 4 Update: On March 3rd I started my 5th month in Seoul, if...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 14:31:48 -0500

Month 4 Update:

On March 3rd I started my 5th month in Seoul, if you’ve been following along I like to take that time to reflect on what I learned in the month before. (Month 1, Month 2, Month 3) I know last time I said I wouldn’t let most of the month go by before updating but I got side tracked. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking future and I just didn’t have the time to sit and reflect on the past.

But I did and it’s a long one :)

Reduce- Reuse- Recycle: The only thing Korea doesn’t have down is the reduce part. From my experience everything is over packaged. You think you’re buying a box of cookies but inside are individually wrapped cookies. Mc Donald’s even has a card board ring around the burgers to keep them straight and a plastic bag just to carry your to-go soda. Very wasteful.
I will say though for what they waste, they make up for it in reusing and recycling. As you can see in this picture the vending machine was in need of a straw holder. Rather than buy one for the machine, someone took the time to make one out of a water bottle. I see examples like this every week, I appreciate how crafty and resourceful Koreans seem to be.
Recycling here is taken very seriously. I like to call Korea ‘The Land of Sorted Trash’- among other “The Land of” nicknames I have. When taking out the garbage there isn’t just “trash” and “recycling” there is “Plastics, Glass, Metal, Paper, non-food trash and food trash.” It’s required by law to do this. I got stopped on my way to work for not sorting my trash and I had to go back and do it by hand, while my security guard stood there and watched. You’re even supposed to use different trash bags for the different trash… I do not partake in this.
I’ve noticed that Koreans have much ‘smaller personal bubbles’ than Americans do. I feel like every time I am out or even at school I have some one standing right next to me. It’s not because there isn’t enough room where ever we are, it’s just the personal space we give each other, Koreans don’t even think of giving.
A different note on space is apartment space. My one room apartment is fairly large for just me and maybe could fit a significant other, but my next door neighbor has the exact same apartment and 4 people live there!! Like I said their personal space bubble is much smaller than ours is.
They are curious people. Koreans ask very personal questions upon first meeting you. Are you married, Do you have a boyfriend, Why not- Should I set you on a blind date, Are you in love, Which stop do you live off of, Which apartments do you live in? Are your eyes naturally that color? The list goes on with things you would not want to be asked in the first couple minutes of meeting someone.
I waited 4 months to post this one. I was waiting to see if it was just a coincidence or just the places I was going- nope, it’s not. Koreans chew with their mouth open, not just open but smacking. What’s weird that that I notice mostly women doing it. I’ve seen men chew with their mouth open but women smack. It’s disgusting.
When going out for a meal, the person who invites pays the bill. When two people who know each other are dining, usually the younger person pays for the older person. I like this.
Koreans are very vague- not just when making plans. This way if everything is indirect there is less of a chance that they will be criticized or contradicted. And “yes” does not mean “yes we are doing that” it means “I’m trying to avoid saying no because I don’t like saying it.”
Gift giving is a little odd. Since being here I’ve had a few instances where someone was told what the wrapped gift was even before opening it. “Oh it’s a _____ if you don’t like it you can take it back.” Why even bother wrapping it??

So there it is folks, lots of things learned in the 4th month. I noticed from looking at my previous posts that these things are more ‘real’ things about the people here. I’m beginning to understand the culture and even appreciate the ways things are done differently here. I will never get used to the pushing and I will always think somethings are crazy but on a whole- Koreans are pretty great people. :)

picture taken by itsjustjared

I love all the petals the ranunculus has and how simple the...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 12:30:55 -0500

I love all the petals the ranunculus has and how simple the anemone is, they’re such beautiful flowers :)

[via sore-thumbelina]

Ha Ha :) The Big Guy called me right as before he posted this...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 10:30:18 -0500

Ha Ha :) The Big Guy called me right as before he posted this saying, “he feels weird but he’s going to try and get a picture.” What’s hilarious to me is that he was was trying to be so discrete- that is his shoulder in the right hand corner. Smooth babe, I bet they didn’t even notice ;)

itsjustjared:

on my way to work this morning i came across this lovely group of Korean tourists throwing up peace signs and taking pictures around Wrigley… now normally i wouldn’t have know if they were Japanese, Chinese, Korean, or of another Asian origin, but having just spent 2 weeks listening to nothing but Korean i was able to distinguish a few words! hooray for me!

"All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for..."

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:39:44 -0500

“All we really need to survive is one person who truly loves us. And you have her. I will wait for you always. I love you”

- Love, Penelope

LOST s2e23

March 14th is White Day here in Korea. Since Valentines Day is...

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 08:10:00 -0500

March 14th is White Day here in Korea. Since Valentines Day is only for the girls to give gifts, White Day is for the guys give gifts to the girls. Since my main man is back home now, all I got were virtual kisses ;)

Nadine and I went to Italian club this afternoon for lunch and then I went shopping in Myeongdong for some new blush. It was crazier than usual because Koreans love to shop but also because there was some sort of concert. I managed to slip out of there in a little under an hour with the new blush and some other goodies :)

I love this graphic, passport stamps in the shape of the world??...

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 19:28:26 -0600

I love this graphic, passport stamps in the shape of the world?? I love it, I’ve looked at it everyday for the past week wondering where I’d like to visit next. Obviously I can’t tell where anything is on this ‘map’ but every time I look at the stamps on my passport it brings back a little memory. It’s always fun when you’re going to a new place to sit down and look at them and see what you’ve done. :)

It’s even more interesting to look at other peoples and listen to the things they had to go through to get to that country- or get that stamp. It brings a smile to my face without fail.

[chicagoseoulmates][via graphiceverywhere]

I’d like to go to a party like this. Where all my...

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 22:41:17 -0600

I’d like to go to a party like this. Where all my girlfriends get really dressed up and then we eat cake and buy shoes and dress up our puppies like Marie Antoinette. This may also be because I haven’t done anything super fancy (with the exception of dinner with Jared) in a while and love doing it. :)

[via misswallflower]