Life in the R.O.K

Yesterday, after reviewing my blog to find if anything would be offensive to my new audience/my family, I realized it took alot to get here. For a while, all I had been talking about was going home. I wasn't even really enjoying Korea as much. As I returned from the COEX mall today and walked down the back alley(most definetly a back ally. It is so hood) to my home,


I realized no matter how simple or whatever my life in the R.O.K (Republic of Korea)has been, I'm living my dream. A part of it. No it hasn't been very foreign, life altering, or really anything dramatic as I expected but,here I am standing in the middle of an opportunity to do whatever I want with my life and I'm going to take it. Not many people find thereselves in a position to do what they want, with all there ducks lined up in a row. Like I said before, I use my blog also for clearing my mind.
So...on to the next topic. Today I stumbled across the COEX mall. Well, I don't really think you can stumble across it. This mall is gigantic. It is the mall of malls. I was going to meet my friend for sushi and she told me to meet her at Samseong. When I got there she casually pointed and said, "That's where the rich hang out." Then we walked inside. I was definetly thinking WTF are we going in there then.lol but, I kept my mouth shut.


I should have taken pictures of the meal display but, I've eaten sushi before so I really didn't think about it. We went to this place that had Sushi plates on a moving display that went from the back of the kitchen and around the table. You simply grabbed the plates of the belt, and stacked them to your left. At the end of dinner. The woman added your plates up by color and your out. It was quite filling and mashi suyo/delicious! Then we walked around the mall.Oh, I stopped and made a wish at the wishing well too. It took me back to my childhood when I deeply believed in wishing wells. The mall overall took me back to my preteen years in the late 90s. They had so many American places in there. Even better they had American sizes in shoes and clothes, which is virtually impossible to find in Korea. They had Bennigans, that went out of business in the states amongst a few others. They also had Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Burger King, On the Border, Dunkin Donuts, KFC, and a whole lot more that I didn't make it to because I was so tired from walking around. They also had Nintendo, FUBU (WTF Americans don't even like that anymore and isn't it For Us By Us meaning black people?)
,a music store with old school artists(Method Man, old Mary, 50 Cent, etc), and some other oldies but goddies that I can't remember. I was constantly like, " oh wow, they have that here?".I'm going back again, when I can buy something other than a face mask. Face mask are heavily worn here in Korea. It's supposed to protect you from outside germs, even though it's cloth, or your germs from the outside if you're sick. I bought one because when it's cold, it keeps you warm with your breath(I know how that sounds.lol).
Until next time, anyong hi kaseyo/Goodbye!

Live Everyday Like Its Your Last!

Well, I figured that I'd name this post that because at early dinner, or should I say snack, one of the women said that I seem like I was acting like I had one day to live because I wanted to do everything in the same day. I told her I live everyday like it's my last!Yhis blog would be better named things I love about Korea. As some of you know, I had been extremely homesick over the last month and was doing nothing but sitting in my room pouting on the weekends. Last weekend I snapped back to my old self that would say,"Go hard or go home! Give everything your best effort!". I realized that I was not trying to enjoy myself and decided that if I'm going to be here I need to give it my best effort. So after posting a request to hang out on a group wall on facebook. one of the lead members invited everyone to try Ethiopian food in Itaewon. I had never tried Ethipian food and you know I'm always down for a food adventure and meeting new people, so I went. We all went to club zion.
The food was slamming but the plates were small you had forgotten you had eaten a minute later.It was even more slamming because it was all paid for by the lead group memeber who had invited us, sister Sha.
Needless to say many of us were dissapointed, but it was so nice to be out with a group of educated black women traveling the world for various reasons. I mean I really enjoyed myself. We sat there for about two hours talking and laughing before we decided to cross the street to an american restaurant with bigger portions.

I couldn't even capture everyone with my camera.
By the way at the restaurant across the street, we crashed someone's birthday party and had our own party complete with drinks and hookah. Whats hookah you ask? Well the first time I heard it I though someone was saying hooker wrong. Since drugs are extremely illegal in Korea, they go to little cafe's and smoke Hookah out of a bong.Hokkah is a flavored tea that gives you a nice buzz or believe it or not. It has grades of how strong it can be too. Its fun and relaxing at the same time. Have Koreans not thought of everything! A few of us pretended to be bad asses though and take pictures like we were really doing something. Good times, Good times. I only have like 3 pics but I think like 11 people followed over to the second restaurant.














So after about two more hours ,2 hookahs, and a Tokyo Iced tea later three of decided to go to a Noraebang. Now I had never been to one but had heard about them. Its Karaoke with popular english american songs in a small secluded room with tv's, snacks, and drinks. Now talk about good times! I think Noraebang is for sure my most favorite place now. We sang our hearts out for...yup...you guessed it...2 hours! Eating popcorn fruit, drinking soju and Pepsi. I did not want to go home, but it was getting late and the fun had to end at some point.Plus I needed to get up so I could buy a webcam at yongsan market the next day.
do you notice the tomatoes on the fruit platter next to the grapes! I mean we all no it's a fruit but in Korean they stand by it! They even put it in Ice cream!
eeew!
keigh sing

kathleen sing

me sing

noraebang

me close

3s company

So yeah Yongsan is this electronics market with blocks and blocks of electronics. i had one very specific thing to buy, which was a webcam so my boo could see me while I'm away. So i kept it limited to the mall portion only which was still 7 floors jampacked with every electronic thing imaginable on sale. You can compare and ask around. i took a picture of a portion of the bottom floor. Like many malls in Korea, The techno mall is attached to the station at Yongsan station. At first i thought maybe I stumbled upon an airport but nope, It was just another train station. Coming from atlanta its a little fascinating because there is not even a vending machine inside the Marta station but here in Korea they have everything in the train station! For example the station that i take from my house (which is not a major station. Omokgyo) has a mall, a movie theater and a few restaurants in it!



yongsan station

yongsan mall

Speaking of Atlanta, some of my Atlanta readers can appreciate my need to take a photo of Mrs. Winners chicken in Korea! It's a chicken chain all opver the south and now I have spotted one in Korea! You got to love them!
chicken

Um... completely unrelated but let me finish. I finished my weekend at Emart which is like walmart. I figured it was the perfect way to end such an exciting weekend though I haver yet to tell you about my Friday, That'll be a later post some other time. Too much writing for one day. Anyway, I remembered about being amazed that the walking sidewalk is geatured everywhere in Korea, not just airports like at home. So i took a photo for you to view everyday life in the fast, convenient lane! Until next time. Anyong hi kaseyo!
emart