I have never been a high-maintenance kind of person. I love make up but hate doing my hair. My hair is naturally very thick and pretty frizzy so I usually just put it in a bun or pony tail. Back home I got in the habit of leaving it in a bun overnight and taking it down the next day (less frizz, more curl). But I never felt like it looked that good.
After a few weeks in Korea I got my first hair cut here. It was the best haircut I've ever gotten. She layered it just right, thinned it out so it was easier to manage, not to mention how ridiculously cheap it was! Shampoo, conditioner, cut, blow-dry, and style was only 10,000 won (that's less than $10 USD!).
About 10 months later I started researching the "Magic straight" which is very popular in Korea. It is a way to permanently straighten your hair. All you have to do is walk in to a salon and say, "Magic Pahm-uh" (Magic Perm). It takes a while, so make sure you have a few hours on your hands. So about four months ago, I decided to get it done. I really like it! If I had to do it over I would get the "Volume Magic Perm" because I feel like my hair lacks some body it used to have.
Pros:
Saves time! I can just shower and leave the house, no need to blow dry or straighten every morning).
No more frizz! Besides for a few fly-aways, my hair is straight as can be.
Consistency. It's more rare these days to have a "bad hair day."
Cons:
Sometimes I miss my thick, wavy hair.
Damages your hair. My hair doesn't feel as healthy as it used to (but actually not that bad).
Can be expensive. I paid 120,000 won for my Magic Perm (about $100 USD). But I thought about how much a permanent would be in the States and it was a no-brainer.
Here are some pictures of my old hair:
I was looking for a good picture of my new hair but couldn't find much... Incidentally, my camera was stolen recently after I got the Magic Straight. Here's one:
It's economical, it's fast, it's delicious... it's Korean delivery! There are several reasons why delivery in Korea is pretty much incredible:
There is no delivery charge
The food arrives quickly
No dishes or trash to deal with
No need to tip (It's not customary in Korea)
The most popular kinds of food delivery in Korea are Pizza, Chicken, Chinese, and other Korean (Pig's feet, and stir-fried chicken). My first time ordering was from a Korean restaurant recommended to me by my school. My experience: The delivery man knocked on our door and gave us a huge plastic container with all our food in it. All the food was on real dishes that were tightly wrapped with plastic wrap. It even came with an array of side dishes for free! When we were finished eating, we put all the dishes and trash back into the container. We put the container outside our door, and the delivery guy picked it up later. That's it!
So, in this post I will explain how to order food and get it delivered to your home in Korea. First things first, you need to either know how to read Hangul or have someone write everything down phonetically for you.
You need to know: 1) Your address 2) The name of the food you want to order 3) How many you want 4) The phone number of the restaurant (and your area code)
Ok, let's say you have one of these: You're going to need to know your area code if you want to call this number. I googled Korean area codes and found "31" for Pyeongtaek and it worked. So I would dial 31-667-4510. Someone will answer and I would say, "배달주세요" (pay-dal-joo-say-yo) which basically means, "Delivery, please." Now, I'm not sure if this is what a Korean person would say (actually, I'm sure it's not) but it always gets my point across. Then I usually hear a "네" (yes). Then I say my address.
Without getting overly technical about addresses in Korea, I will just show an example: 459-813 경기도평택시 송탄동 200-3 시뉴빌라 108동 403호
Ok, I just made up this address based off the format of my own. Here it is in English: 459-813 Gyeonggi-do Pyeongtaek-si Songtan-dong 200-3 Shinyoo Villa 108dong 403ho
So you really only need the last line of that. 200-3 is your 반지 (sounds like Pun-jee, it's like your street number). So you would say, "ee-baek dashee sam pun-jee, Shinyoo Billa, Baek-pal-dong, sa-baek-sam-ho" Ok, that might not make any sense to anyone...
Then you can ask for what you want to order! With the menu above I could say, "생선까스 하나, 하고새우까스 하나 주세요" (Sang-sun ka-suh hana, hago say-oo kah-suh hana joo-say-yo). Which means, "One fried fish order, and one fried shrimp order, please." Then you can just say Thank you! You should see your food within the next 3o minutes!
Another cool thing is that they save your phone number and address. So if you ever call again you shouldn't have to say your address all over again.
Sometimes it seems sugar is in EVERYTHING in Korea. Things you would never imagine putting sugar in. The spaghetti sauce here is sweet, even garlic bread from Paris Baguette. The first time I saw black beans as a side dish for my school lunch I almost literally jumped for joy expecting the savory Mexican spiced beans I'm used to from California. I took a bite and --what the?? Sugary, sweet black beans. Sigh. It happened the first time I bought yogurt here, too. I bought some yogurt labeled "plain" only to bring it home and find something that tasted like the yogurt from the Fruit 'n Yogurt Parfait at McDonald's. So, I had to take my chances until I finally found a couple brands that are actually plain. So plain in fact I could use them as a sour cream substitute in burritos (because we all know how hard it is to find sour cream in Korea). So, without further ado, here they are:
Be careful with the Activia one... They have a "plain" and a "Non sweet Plain." Look on the side to make sure which one it is!
After 2 weeks in California and 2 weeks in the Philippines Steve and I were very excited to hear that we had another week off for "Spring Break" (Huh? Last time we checked it was still the middle of winter...). Nonetheless we decided to use these days off to explore Korea. Our first choice was Gyeongju (foreigners can get a free bus to Gyeongju, Jeonju, and Busan in 2011 by using this service) but we realized Seoul would be an easier trip since we already know our way around for the most part. We also knew many things we wanted to do in Seoul but have never gotten the chance to do. We saw the changing of the guard at Deoksugung (a palace near City Hall), went to the National Museum of Korea (the 6th largest museum in the world), and saw Seoul Tower where we followed a tradition of locking a padlock on a fence to forever mark our footprint in Korea.
Deoksu Palace
Waterfall near the National Museum of KoreaBosingak BellFront of the National Museum of KoreaSeoul Tower during the daySeoul Tower at night
Fence of padlocksNamdaemun Market"Queen 21" hotel in Sinchon
So a lot has happened since my last post. Steve and I spent 2 weeks in California, came back to Korea to teach for 2 weeks, then went to the Philippines for 2 weeks. Unfortunately, my camera was stolen right before leaving to the Philippines (before I could upload pictures from the last few months). But we were able to take a few pictures in Boracay while we were there. Boracay is a gorgeous island with a lot of activities available. Steve and I were happy to be beach bums... Almost everywhere you walk you will be asked to try different activities (sailing, scuba diving, snorkeling, helmet diving, island hopping, cliff diving, etc.). Steve and I went sailing, helmet diving, and rented a "buggy car" (like a go cart) and drove around the island in it. Highlights for us were Puka Beach and helmet diving (it's like being an astronaut under water!) Now we're back in Korea!
Let's see, what's happened since our one year mark: -Halloween -Friends leaving -Bought a Wii -Thanksgiving -Flaming Lips in Concert -Korea's first snow of winter
And since I'm lazy, here's a link to a very informative blog about public schools in Korea:
Exactly one year ago, Steve and I stepped off a plane at Incheon international airport, waited for our luggage, and found a Korean man holding a sign with our names written on it. This year has been life altering, fun, stressful, exciting, and full of new experiences. Overall, it's been an incredible journey.
For this blog, I have decided to make a list. The top ten things I have enjoyed about Korea.
10. KPOP! Korean pop music will always have a special place in my heart. Sometimes I'll hear a song that makes me want to dance, other times the blatant rip-off of American pop music and nonsensical "English" makes me laugh uncontrollably. The song "Chocolate Love" by Girl's Generation was the popular hit when we first arrived:
The band Shinee was also popular this past year with their song "Ring Ding Dong."
This one is pretty ridiculous. The English is cringe-worthy but the complete rip-off of "I Got a Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas is the funniest part.
And this one is just sexy. :) Singer "T.O.P." from the band Big Bang came out with this single, "Turn it up."
9. Free Stuff! In Korea there is a thing called "service" or "service-uh" as the Koreans say. When we first came to Korea and were exploring the area we walked into a 7-11. We were looking around the store and suddenly we see the guy behind the counter looking frantically for something. When we made our purchase, he handed us a small box with a 7-11 mug inside and says, "Service-uh!" From that point on we've gotten so many things: dish towels, lotion, bottles of coca-cola, make-up, and more.
8. Ajummas and Ajoshis Ajumma (아줌마) in Korean translates to older woman, or married woman. Her male counterpart is the ajoshi (아저씨). It's hard to explain to someone who hasn't seen it for themselves, but these Korean "characters" have been inspiring, and also a source of great entertainment at times. I'll start with ajummas. When you see her she might be hunched over pulling a cart of cardboard boxes. She has a perm, most likely has tattooed eyebrows, and will be wearing the biggest, flashiest visor you've ever seen. She is strong, tough, and refuses when you attempt to help her carry something. She has also been spotted yelling at her drunk husband, the ajoshi. She stares when I walk by, no shame involved. She is very interested in my foreign body, my curves, the strange way I dress. She loves hiking, and be careful! She will shove you if you are in her way.
Next comes ajoshis. An ajoshi's favorite hobbies are drinking soju, smoking cigarettes, watching construction sites, and hacking loogies...usually all at the same time. Picture this: some construction workers are working on the street and have dug a huge hole in the ground. 3 older men are watching carefully, holding their hands behind their backs, and hacking spit into that hole. Yup, I see it every day. The ajoshi can also be spotted on a Monday night passed out in front of their favorite bar. Lying on the concrete. There's even an entire website dedicated to documenting it: http://blackoutkorea.blogspot.com/ Okay, so they're not ALL ajoshis, but you get the picture. On the subway the ajoshi will be the one wreaking of soju and yelling at foreigners because they are talking too loudly.
They can be funny, rude, and drunken, but you gotta love 'em!
7. Natural Beauty I've been to many metropolitan areas of Korea and they all pretty much look the same. I could be 4 hours away and see the exact same buildings, Family Marts, Dunkin Donuts, and Paris Baguettes. But when you explore beyond the city, you will find Korea has some really gorgeous sights to offer. We still haven't done all of the sightseeing we want to do in Korea, but what We've seen so far has been awesome!
Hiking at Byeonsanbando National Park
Taejongdae, Busan
6. Busan Really? A city gets it's own number? Yep, Busan is amazing. It's Korea's second largest city (after Seoul of course) and it's right on the coast. It's the only city I've been to in Korea so far that actually feels different. It's beautiful, fun, and there's lots of culture! 5. Culture It has been really amazing to learn about a culture I knew almost nothing about before I came. Most of the things I've learned will be with me forever. I've learned how to read Hangul (Korean written language) and a few Korean words and phrases to get me through the day. I know to take things with both hands, turn your head away from an elder when you are drinking, and how to tell someone you are grateful for their hard work.
4. My Students Obviously, teaching takes up much of my time in Korea. Most days I have 2nd graders screaming at the top of their lungs, running around the class, on top of the tables and crawling out of the windows. I have 1st graders pointing to my stomach and saying "baby?" or "teacher, it's big." I have 6th graders flipping me off, and simply not paying attention to a word I say.
But then there are other moments when my students brighten my entire day. A 5th grader "Chris" visits me at lunch time and tells me, "Teacher, when I am 10 years old I don't like English. Now, 11 years old... I love English! Because Melinda teacher." A 1st grader "Susie" walks into the classroom, doesn't say a word, just smiles and sits in my lap. She plays with my hair and tickles the back of my neck. When I tell her it's time for class she doesn't want to leave my side. Those are the days I love my job. 3. The Food I had never had real Korean food before coming here. I had heard of "Korean BBQ" which in California means a bowl of rice with meat on top and hot sauce... definitely not traditional. And I had also heard that kimchi is supposed to smell pretty bad. When I got here I tried everything. Some of my favorites include:
Japchae (잡채밥, glass noodles stir-fried with vegetables)
Tteokbokki (떡볶이, chewy rice cakes and fish cakes in a spicy sauce)
Bibim nang myeon (비빔냉면, cold buckwheat noodles mixed with vegetables and spicy sauce)
Bibim bap (비빔밥, rice with vegetables mixed with spicy sauce)
I also recommend dak galbi (닭갈비, chicken and vegetables cooked in a spicy sauce) for those who eat chicken.
But I have to say, my absolute favorite Korean dish is kimchi jigae (김치찌개, spicy stew with kimchi, vegetables and tofu). This stew is perfect on a cold day and I know I'll crave it when I leave Korea.
Kimchi Jigae (top left) and side dishes (This all is for one person!)
Japchae Bap (A Korean-Chinese dish)
Dak Galbi
2. Traveling Ok, so this isn't technically something I love about Korea, but it is a major benefit to teaching in Korea. Lots of vacation time! In one year we have traveled to Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and Thailand. It's been freaking awesome! I can't wait for this next year's adventures.
1. Friends The absolute best thing I've enjoyed in Korea is the great people I've met. In Korea, foreign teachers are usually in the same boat. We come here not knowing anyone. But with a little networking on Facebook and elsewhere, you can quickly find some cool people to hang out with in your area. We realize how much in common we have: love for travel, a readiness to embrace Korean culture (or complain about it- hehe), and open minds. I have had some amazing times with really incredible friends from all over the world. Some have already finished their contracts, others will leave Korea very soon... I am sad to see them go but something tells me I've made at least a couple life long friends. I hope this next year will bring more awesome people into my life!
I was looking for a good picture of my new hair but couldn't find much... Incidentally, my camera was stolen recently after I got the Magic Straight. Here's one:
