Living Seoul

Elephant Mart was the first thing I noticed when I arrived in Bangbae. I’d only been inside a couple times until tonight because I was so intimidated. I already dislike grocery shopping but this is a whole other level. Behold, a frazzled Melinda after a solo trip to Elephant Mart!

EDIT: The peanut butter cookies are so SO delicious. The gum sucks, flavor doesn’t last at all. Made a *majestic* egg sandwich for dinner. Cooking eggs in the microwave is totally genius. :) Total cost of groceries was about 30,000KRW…a little under $30USD.

1. So many coffee shops, but they’re almost all chains–The Coffee Bean, Starbucks, Angelinus, Tom N Toms. And the coffee is expensive!

2. High heels everywhere. So many band-aids covering blistered heels.

3. I’d heard of soju, but makgeolli tastes much better. It’s like a sweet, milky wine made from rice. Instead of the vodka-like flavor of soju, which is made from sweet potatoes.

4. Everyone watches TV on the subway. Cell phones have long antennas sticking out of them.

5. I can’t say enough how impressed I am with Seoul’s subway system. I always notice how clean it is.

6. Cars never yield to pedestrians! I witnessed someone get hit this weekend. (It was minor.)

7. Drunk business men. I thought it was just a joke. Nope.

8. Kimchi. The whole city smells like it.

9. Most women carry expensive looking bags. Sometimes men carry expensive man-bags. Also see many men carrying their girlfriend’s purse (and shopping bags).

10. So many restaurants where you grill meat at the table. It’s a novelty in the USA, but here almost every other place I go to has a grill at the table. Pork is common so you’ll see many signs with cartoon pigs wearing chef hats or something.

This past weekend I was able to move into my permanent apartment. It’s tiny…as I heard and imagined it would be. At first I was apprehensive, but I want accept it for what it is and make it my own. Two days after moving in my friend’s sister came to stay with me. She normally lives with her parents in a city south of Seoul, but she’s staying with me for a month while her parents are in the USA visiting my friend. She takes English classes in a part of Seoul very close to my apartment so it’s convenient. I am glad to have a native Korean to help me transition to the culture. And hopefully teach me some Korean. My apartment will seem twice as big when she goes back to her parents house in September, haha.

The bathrooms here are different than in the USA. Mine is extra small, kind of like an airplane bathroom. Instead of a tub and shower, the shower head comes out of the sink. You take a shower in the bathroom. Water goes everywhere. I’m beginning to enjoy it. The first time I drenched the roll of toilet paper and shaved off part of my fingernail. Things have improved since then.

My kitchen is also small and contained in a closet. There’s a sink and hot plate. Most teachers say that they do very little cooking. I will most likely do the same.

This weekend I also explored more of the city with friends. I continue to be impressed with the subway. It’s so easy to use and CLEAN. I rarely see dirt anywhere. No one speaks very much. People that ride are well dressed and polite. An old lady even offered me a seat and picked lint off my skirt! My favorite part is crossing the Han River. I live south of the river, but most of the “downtown” destinations are north. The subway comes above ground (obviously) to cross and you see a wonderful skyline and cityscape. Night or day it’s amazing.

Briefly:

-Friday evening visited a restaurant with flowing Makgeolli river (Korean rice wine)

-antics in Hongdae, club on top of a building, interior with fake rivers and grottoes, exterior Gaudi-esque rooftop that made me nostalgic for Barcelona

-stuck outside in downpour on Saturday afternoon while going to the subway, should ALWAYS bring an umbrella during monsoon season, but I still don’t do it

-visit popular English bookstore in Itaewon (part of town that targets foreigners, close to military base)

-go to obnoxious bar close to Itaewon with lots of foreigners, DNW

-night improves when I eat Cookies’n'Cream ice cream bar from convenience store :)

-Sunday visit Insadong area, stroll along outdoor market that reminds of of Las Ramblas

-towards evening catch subway to Namnaemun with lots of shopping, street food, outdoor stages and a violent carnival ride

-explore further into city center with friends and pass tons of stores selling motorcycles/scooters and then tons of stores selling pets

***PS: (what I have noticed) cars NEVER yield to pedestrians, everyone on the subway watches TV on their cell phone, at least 80% women wear high heels everywhere

Tomorrow will update about teaching adventures!

“BIG TIME SLOBS”

I’ve been telling people at work it’s World Nutella Day. It’s surprising how many people don’t know what Nutella is. It’s a hazelnut-based sweet spread that was developed in Italy. Very chocolaty. I like eating it on bread. There are tons of recipes on the World Nutella Day web site though. Might have a Nutella cooking adventure this weekend.

http://www.nutelladay.com

Go eat some!

Fake Nutella advertisement from The Brand Builder Blog . Yummmmy!

Is Trader Joe’s just a slightly less yuppie version of Whole Foods/Central Market?

I’ve never been. I’ve heard about it for years, friends rave about it; they even tell me I’d like it. I came close to entering one in Palo Alto, California but it never happened. So what’s all the fuss about?

I follow this online community/forum about Austin-related stuff. The other day someone posted that they’d heard a Trader Joe’s was coming to Austin in the 183/Mopac area. The post immediately exploded with comments. I’m pretty sure it’s just a rumor, but one of the comments said they’re supposed to inhabit the Whole Foods space at the Arboretum and Whole Foods is moving to the Domain. Isn’t this store a lot like a Whole Foods or Central Market anyway? Austin is already flooded with epicurean/gourmet/organic/health type grocery stores. Based on comments it seems like Trader Joe’s must be cheaper than Whole Foods. It would surely become more attractive to me for this reason alone.

Another commenter posted a link to a NY Times Freakonomics column about Trader Joe’s from about a year ago. It’s owned by ALDI, a huge German discount grocery chain. (Um, German Wal-Mart?) Actually the article says Aldi “is so good at selling cheap goods that Wal-Mart couldn’t compete with it in Germany.” But I guess it’s because they try to sell their own brand in their store, which is apparently the same thing Trader Joe’s does. It’s the same concept for both stores, but aimed toward different demographics.

(SIDE NOTE: There was a time when I was a kid that an Aldi opened up outside Chicago, close to the suburb I lived in at the time. My mom wanted to see what it was all about. My sister and I were really young. I remember that we were all so disgusted and irritated because you had to leave a deposit (like $$$) to use a shopping cart. My young mind could hardly understand why a person would have to pay for a cart. The store was also weirdly small. We never went back.)

I checked out Trader Joe’s web site…it’s a little unfortunate looking. Not that I could create something better. I just read on Wikipedia that they prescribe to a “South Seas motif”. Hahaha, I thought I was at the wrong web site at first. And they use Times New Roman on the home page. Maybe their site is trying to be more about content than design.

So, is Austin getting a Trader Joe’s? My guess is probably not any time soon. There was one last comment I just noticed on the original post saying that, indeed, they probably won’t open a store here until they build a new distribution center somewhere in the vicinity. Currently the nearest one is all the way the California.

(Following up from January 14 post “Bunches of Lunches”)

Today I called the firm that designed the restaurant. The architect laughed when I asked about the creepy mirror…he knew exactly what I was talking about! He didn’t have any real explanation; it’s just what the owner wanted. Uh, weird. All of the Mighty Fine locations have a creepy mirror. I told him about being able to see a sink faucet through the mirror as I was eating and he said something about having to keep the lighting levels “just right” so people can’t see through the glass, hahaha. I might have to take this to the owner. My co-workers tell me that the people who own Mighty Fine are the same people who own Rudy’s BBQ. Hmmm…

This is the most I’ve ever enjoyed lunch. Rather, going out to lunch with my co-workers. It allows me to try new restaurants while escaping the confines of my cube. Almost every day the conversation between Nickie (friend/co-worker) and I turns to food. We can schedule places to eat lunch based on our weekly cravings. It’s also helpful that we spend the day researching construction in Texas, which means it’s not uncommon for us to find out about new restaurants opening in Austin.

Last week we went to the new “Cajun Pizza Place” at McNeil & 183. What seems to set it apart from any other pizza joint in a strip mall is that many of their pizzas come with shrimp, jalapeños and/or Cajun seasoning. Steaming out of the oven it was delicious. Our pizza was “Andy’s Favorite” with shrimp, hamburger, pepperoni, onion and jalapeño. However, the next day the leftovers were kinda raunchy. It probably didn’t help that I ate it for breakfast. I’d go back, but sparingly.

Today I tried “Mighty Fine Burgers“. Eh. There wasn’t really anything wrong with it, but nothing really stood out either. I had the junior cheeseburger. The meat seemed really fresh; there were lots of fresh vegetables on it too. I liked that. The burger alone came to $4.30-something. I thought it seemed a little overpriced. I mean, it’s probably better than a Whataburger (love them) but it wasn’t any better than P. Terry’s. And a P. Terry’s junior cheeeeezeburger is less than $4.30-whatever. Right??? I didn’t get any fries because I heard they’re bland-o.

Another thing about Mighty Fine…but not related to the food…they have an extremely weird mirror situation going on. We sat next to this huge mirror. It was next the to the entrance to the restrooms. But it was a two-way mirror. I could vaguely make out the shape of a sink through the glass. My co-worker went in and told us he could have looked through the glass at us while he was peeing. Why? Why would you design a restaurant like this? At least the men are facing away from the dining area when they’re at the urinals in there, but GROSS! I want to know what the point is. The mirror is also a little upsetting because if you’re a woman in a short skirt sitting or standing too close to that perv mirror someone could totally see things. Maybe tomorrow at work I’ll try to look up which architect designs the Mighty Fines and give him/her a call about these awkward mirrors.

Friday we’re headed to the NEW Torchy’s Tacos location in NW Austin. For months Nickie and I had been wondering why there wasn’t a Torchy’s location up north. I think we actually squealed when our boss told us the new one was opening close to the office. I’m know I’m going to have a taco stomachache on Friday afternoon. Yum.