Day 27 - 10 interesting observations about Guangdong

It rains quite a lot here in the Southern Canton regoin. And I don't mean just tiny drops, it's straight heavy downpour for hours.

So far I've been caught in the rain while tomb-sweeping, while buying groceries, while picking watermelons, and while riding on motorcycles. Rain ponchos don't even do much here since the rain is so heavy and the wind is so strong. Apparently though this isn't normal, and it's just our luck that it's been raining half the time we've been here.

While I'm free today, and I finally have no more relatives or village neighbors to visit, I'd like to share my list of interesting things that I've noticed about the people here in Guangdong from Jiangmen City. FYI, for those who don't know, Guangdong is a province (similar to what we call states in the U.S) and it is home to many of the Cantonese people in China and overseas, and Jiangmen is one of the cities located in it. Guangdong is also one of the few provinces in China where Cantonese is more wisely spoken than the national language, Mandarin. So if you can imagine, Guangdong is quite a distinguished area compared to the rest of China. Kind of like Scicily is to Italy.

So here we go, 10 interesting things I noticed about Guangdong:

1. People here have extremely high standards for food. I haven't sat through a single dinner where we didn't pick apart all of the dishes and figured out exactly how things were cooked. Everyone seems to have an opinion on whether something tastes better steamed or boiled or poached. I just eat.

2. People rinse all their tableware with tea before eating at restaurants. Even though most of the utencils come prewrapped with the word "Disinfected" on it, people still go at it with tea before eating. I know this is a uniquely Guangdong thing because when I did it at the Shanghai dinner table, people looked at me real funny.

3. A cheap tank top here costs about $3usd, similar to if you went to Forever21 in the U.S. Yet it only costs about $.33 cents to ride the bus here compared to $2.75 in NYC. Why?

4. People smoke everywhere. I even saw ashtrays on airplanes, yet there's a sign that says you cannot smoke. Did they just recently change it so people can't smoke on planes?

5. People are really scared of the sun. They'll carry umbrellas with them everywhere to avoid the sun. At first I thought it was really silly, but the sun here indeed is quite strong, and the risk of being burnt is much higer than in the U.S. Well, unless you live in Arizona.

6. There are $2 dollar stores here instead of .99 cents stores! In usd terms, that would be a .33 cents store.

7. You cannot buy contact solution in drugstores. You buy it at the glasses store. Makes sense.

8. People take siestas here! My cousins get two hours for lunch and nap, AND they still get off work at 5 or 6. Whaat? We need to start a petition for this in America.

9. Cantonese and Mandarin speakers can somehow mutually understand each other here. This is NOT true anywhere else in the country. My mom was looked at real cray cray when she spoke Cantonese to people in Beijing.

10. People really like fresh meat. You've heard of people liking fresh fruits and vegetables, but people in Guangdong really like restaurants and markets where you can pick your own live fish, duck and chicken. Yup. You simply pick a chicken, they give you a tag, and you come back in 10 minutes to a freshly slaughtered chicken, defeathered, washed, and wrapped for you.

11. BONUS! There's a LOT of propaganda on television. You turn any TV on in China and you'll see ads promoting China, songs about China, and even on talent shows you'll see foreigners (who I suspect are hired) singing about how much they love China. All of this is just a little creepy to me.

So that's it, my 11 observations. Hope you found that interesting! The anthropologist in me just couldn't help but share these "field notes," haha.

Rain, lots of rain!

Day 25 - Weary and tired.

So it's been almost a month of traveling for me. How do I feel and what have I learned?

I feel tired and weary to be honest. When I told all my friends and family I was going away to travel, I think many people thought I was going to a five star hotel to lay down and soak up the sun. But that's not my case, and I wanted it that way. Not that I have anything against the finer things in life (I do enjoy being a beach bum once in awhile,) but to me that's not really traveling.

If there's one thing I've learned so far from my trip, it's that the world is becoming more and more similar. Globalization is true and real. In all the cities I've been to so far, from Denver, Colorado to the tiny town my parents grew up in China, I recognize similar strives and advances. They all want to be one thing: to be a big modern city.

Without being too political, obviously there are pros and cons to urbanization. More jobs, security, structure, better schools, ect and ect. I see this in my own family with my aunts and uncles leaving their farms and big houses to live in apartments in the city so that their kids can go to better schools. I see it with the young kids working hard for money to buy and afford the same things as their friends. I see it with people who ask me questions about my life in America. They're curious and they're are hungry to see more. But the thing is, is urbanization really good for everyone?

I don't have a problem with people striving for better lives, but what if you have it good already in your big house and tiny town? You're well fed from the fresh fruits and vegetables that you grow on your own farm. You can take off from work whenever you want, and you're actually in better shape than the city folks from breathing in fresh air instead of smog and pollution. Your kids are even going to better schools now that transportation is better. Why then would you want to move to a big city where people constantly compare themselves to each other. Anyone seen The Joneses?

In China, I've noticed one thing. For the lack of better words, there is a lot of crap and junk being sold everywhere. It doesn't matter if you're at an upscale mall in Beijing, or a small market in a tiny town. Everyone and anyone is selling and buying a lotta unnecessary stuff. What do I mean? Miles and miles of handbags and shoes. Clothing with all sorts of bizarre writing on them attempting to imitate American brands. There is a lot of emphasis on owning material things, no matter if you need it or not. That's why even my 10 day tour of China was 40% shopping.

It saddens me that the process of becoming more "modern" depends so much on buying material goods.
But enough of me and my negativity. I've also seen many positive things. Old ladies running up to me to tell me how much I've grown, and joyfully hand over things they grew with their own hands. People who are happily choosing to live in their small towns, people who are making money in their city jobs and investing that back to the towns they came from. People who are retaining the unique things in their families and towns that many have forgotten.

Maybe I just have a bad case of nostalgia, but I'm afraid the world is becoming more and more alike, and I'm not sure I like it. That's why I like to travel the way that I do, outside of the resorts and hotels, before it all becomes cookie cutter malls and houses. It's not luxurious nor comfortable, and I DO miss my home, my comfy bed and pillow, but so far it's been an exciting and unforgettable journey, and I wouldn't trade any of it.

Day 19

China craziness ensues.

So in my last post I mentioned how Chinese tour guides tend to make shopping part of their secret agenda along with sightseeing.

This is all true. I don't want to discredit any of the tour guides, who've all been wonderful and funny, nor scare anyone who wants to go on these tours, but I want to share my experience and make it clear what you are getting into.

First, these tours are dirt CHEAP. For one person, 10 nights, all meals, ALL transportation and activities are included, and it was only about $380usd. That's right. And I'm talking about 4-5 star hotels not sketchy motels or hostels. So how the heck are these tour guides making any money off of us? Simple. They rely on the commission they make from us buying overpriced souvenirs and goods.

What kind of goods?

$200usd tea packages, pearls, jade, ruby (mostly fake), pottery, silk and medicine. Over the last 5 days we've been brought to a different place known for each of these products. These settings have varied from museums, to herbal shops, to jewelry showrooms.

Now I don't have a problem with learning, and I did really learn some interesting suff through some of these places, but there was one place that I must mention so anyone who goes does not get tricked. All the places we went to before this one were pretty plain about selling us things, and if you didn't want to, they can't make you. They won't look happy but they can't force you. However this last place was the WORST.

This place was called Tian Mai Jewelry. It's located in Shanghai and set up as an antique/jewelry collection store. When you enter, one of the "students" of this place comes out to greet you and begins to give you an introduction to jade. Then out of nowhere a gentlemen named Allen posing as the "owner" of this shop comes and apologizes for not knowing we were there, and coming to give us an introduction himself. He then stays for an hour (even though he said he's very busy) telling us how he just happens to be at the shop today and how happy he is for this "coincidence." He then proceeds to give each of us a piece of jade as a small gift, and tells us it's not much to him since he has so many. Then he told us how he was born in Hong Kong and took over this business for his father and never thought this business was so lucrative and how blessed he feels to have been so fortunate to find so many precious antique pieces. He even brags that he is only 42 and about to retire. At the end of all this he shows us some of his most prized pieces including a lot of ruby rings and necklaces, and then he says since he feels so fortunate and happy, he will sell each of these peices, normally a few hundred dollars, to us for $50usd. At this point, if you didn't know any better you would feel like you won the lotttery and you would be more than happy to buy a piece or two.

But let me tell you, all of these pieces are fake. They're actually made of quartz stones. And if you don't believe me, simply type TianMai jewelry in Google or Baidu and you'll see that this place has swindled people's money over and over again. The story that the "owner" told us has been retold over and over again, word for word, except he is sometimes from Thailand, sometimes from Taiwan. I cannot laugh any harder. Read: the moment you step into this place, everything is part of an act. An act written to trick gullible housewives and retirees, or just people who feel bad that they have to go to this length to earn our money.

So that's my story and experience of this tour so far. It's not all shopping, I don't want to give you the wrong impression, I've seen lots of wonderful things and met some wonderful people. But if you do go on these tours, please EDUCATE yourself and do some research. Decide for yourself what you are willing to spend and buy, because it's not all fake, there are some things worthy of buying, but you have to be smart about it.

Other than this, the tour guides have been incredibly informative and helpful. However just know that it is also part of their job to persuade us to buy stuff, and take it with a grain of salt. If you don't want to buy anything, just make sure you give your tour guide a generous tip at the end. This should turn their frown upside down.

Onto Beijing!

Day 18

Has it really just been 18 days since I left home? It somehow feels a lot longer, probably because I've been to so many places in the last few days.

So what have I been doing? Well after spending about a week at my aunt's place, my father, my mother, my grandfather and my aunt boarded a plane to Shanghai for a 10 day tour of China's most famous cities.

Currently we are on day 5 and we've already been to 5 cities. Shanghai, Hangzhou, Wuxi, Nanjing and Suzhou, all of which are beautiful cities.

Before this I've never been to any cities in central or northern China so it has definitely been interesting to see how it differs from the South. The biggest difference I've noticed so far? The cuisine.

In a typical meal, people in the north eat a bigger grained rice, but the vegetables are much smaller. They like to cut then up, whereas in the south I noticed they like to leave veggies whole with stem and leaves together. There are also a lot more pickled and radish things up north. Meat wise, things don't look too different, but I can't really comment since I don't eat much meat anymore. I have noticed however that some places really like fish, and other places like Nanjing really love duck. Fortunately for me there has been some type of tofu dish everywhere we went.

So what are the cities like?

Shanghai is an interesting blend of new and old. The juxstaposition is actually quite beautiful. I'll never forget the moment our plane flew directly above all of the skyrise buildings. One of them actually peeked out of the clouds into the sky.

Hangzhou is a very serene place. It's known for it's beautiful trees and scenery. I get the feeling that everyone there prefers a slower, quieter lifestyle. It is also home to a lot of poets and scholars from ancient history.

The third city we went to is Wuxi. Wuxi has a lot of beautiful lakes, one of which is Taihu, and Taihu produces some of the world's most beautiful pearls.

Next was Nanjing. This is a very historical place in Chinese history. Once invaded by the Japanese leading to the atrocities known as the Nanjing massacre. However today it is a thriving city rich on history, and one that really loves duck. In my one day there I've seen signs for duck noodles, duck feet, roast duck, duck eggs and duck buns. Curiously, someone also pointed out a shop that sells donkey pancakes. Not sure if he was kidding though.

Then finally today we arrived at Suzhou. Suzhou is beautiful. It is a water city much like Venice with houses built next to rivers amd streams. It also features many beautiful gardens which I love to look at. Definitely a nature lover kind of place.

Keep in mind please everybody that I've only spent one day in each of these cities so what I've seen are probably very narrow views of the places. However I'm very happy to say I now have a much better understanding of China than I ever did before. I'm getting to practice my Chinese a lot more, and I am picking up a lot of new words. I definitely want to continue to get even better.

As for the tour itself, some of you may be wondering how it is. Well if you know anything about tour guides, especially the ones in China, they're notorious for pressuring their clients to shop. Is that true?

Yes. So far shopping has been about 40% of our tour. Some of the things they sell us are complete rubbish and some are actually good products but are higly overpriced. I have more to say about tthis, but I'll save it for another post.

Time for pictures!

Day 13

Jiangmen City, Guangdong Province

I've said it before and I'll say it again: China is a different kind of place. It's chaotic, it's orderly, it's rural, it's modern, it's old and it's new. It's all of the above and none of it. It's confusing as hell.

At least that was my impression of it when I rode the bus from Hong Kong to mainland China. Within an hour we went from huge skyscrapers to small farming villages, and then back to cities. I kept wondering, while I was on the bus, when will I ever get to the city that I spent half of my childhood in? Surely enough three sleepy hours later, the city that I kind of remember started to appear, except none of it looked familiar.

I was dropped off at one of the main hotels in the city. Right away I was bombarded by motorcycle taxis asking me where I needed to go. I didn't know. I sat by the stoops where my father told me he'd meet me and just observed my surroundings. It's hot, it's humid. There were palm trees everywhere. Am I in Hawaii? South Korea was still kind of chilly when I left, and now I was dripping with sweat, sticky and hot. I started to feel itchy just thinking about all the mosquitoes I'll face the next few days.

Out of nowhere my uncle and my father appeared, just as sweaty, and scooped up all my luggages (which is really just my backpack and purse) and told me we were just 2 blocks away from one of our old apartments.

At the apartment I was greeted by my grandparents, my aunts, my uncles, my second aunt and uncle, my third aunt and uncle and cousins. You see, in Chinese culture,  each of your aunts and uncles have their own honorifics titles, and I'm still learning them all. You cannot call your mother's sister the same thing you call your father's sister, nor can you call them by their names. I told you, it's confusing. And did I mention my father has five siblings and they're all married with kids?

The next few days I spent reaccquanting with all my aunts and uncles and cousins. All of whom told me I looked the same. They all thought I was joking when I told them I just turned 26. Then I regret telling them because the next question that follows is always about marriage.

It's kind of funny, everyone seems to have some sort of assumption about me since I grew up in America. For example, they're surprised I can still speak Chinese pretty well, they're suprised that I can still use chopsticks. They said, "But I thought everyone in America uses forks and knives!" Then I have to tell them some "Americans" can use chopsticks better than me. They're astounded but not sure if they believe me.

On my third, fourth and fifth day (that's today) we went tombstone sweeping (grave sweeping? Burial sweeping?) Anyway it's when the whole family goes and cleans up the area where your ancestors are buried, and offer incense and food as gifts. Then once you do that you ask for their blessings and protection from evil doings.

This was an interesting experience to me, as I don't remember any of it from the last time I went. And I'm intrigued by how many rules there are. Things have to be placed a certain way, things have to sound a certain way, and things have to be done in a certain order. Spiritually  speaking I guess you can say I met my great grandparents and great-great grandparents these past few days.

As fun as that was though, now I'm exhausted from all the walking and climbing. These graves are not set up on nice flat grounds, they're up hills and mountains with no real paths to them. You literally walk into bushes and trees to find these burials. I'm amazed that we can even find half of these places!

Finally though tomorrow I can rest a little bit, and explore the city a little. Then on Tuesday I'll be heading to Shanghai, which I'm excited to see!

Day 09

Last day in Seoul

Onwards to China!

I can't believe it but my time at South Korea has come to an end. Before I move on though I'd just like to give a big thank you to my friends, Daron and Sun, both of whom I met during my university years. I'm SO glad I decided to take the chance to have someone that I didn't know as my roommate TWICE. I swear I was so nervous I was going to get some crazy smelly chick, but turns out that was the best decision I've ever made! And also thank you to Daron's sister, Ahron, for so graciously agreeing to extend your apartment to me. I feel like that it has became my home and I really can see myself living there. 

And of course to all the cats, Cookie, Toki, and Yomi! They provided me with hours of entertainment especially when I was sick. I was planning to go to a Cat Cafe while I was in Seoul, but there was no need to when you guys have three! 

And lastly a special shoutout to Chang Dae, for being such a great sport and storyteller! I'm sure Daron DID make the first move like you said. Mm hm...

Thank you all for making my time in Seoul so enjoyable, and coming out to celebrate my birthday with me. I feel so blessed to have had friends that made effort to make me feel special on that day even though I'm halfway across the world! Kamsahamnida!

Now I only have my next leg of the trip to look forward to. Time to spend some major quality time with my grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles that I haven't seen in over a decade, and of course the parents. 

See you all in China!

Day 08

Definitely had my "Not in New York anymore" moments today.  

First, I got hopelessly lost looking for a bike rental place. I took the train to the station that was instructed and exited to the correct area, and then the directions said walk 2km but didn't specify which way. So I tried left, right, up, down and still couldn't find it. Then I was exhausted so I decided to go to the supermarket instead and prepare dinner for my hosts.

Supermarkets in South Korea are pretty much like the ones in America, except shelved with well, more Korean products. The supermarket that I went to was called Home Plus, and it's this gigantic supermarket with everything that you need. It kind of reminded me of a Target but with a produce section. 

For dinner I decided to make something more "American," since those are thought of as special foods here. I quickly googled some recipes and decided on pasta with pesto and vegetables, and guacamole, because my friend had mentioned she tried to make guacamole a few weeks ago but it didn't turn out right. 

The pasta and pesto were found in the "International foods" section, and everything else I pretty much found with ease except the avocados and lime. Avocados, I think are considered an exotic fruit here. After circling the produce section a million times I finally gave up and asked a supermarket employee for help, and she immediately went "Ah! Ah-vo-ca-DOS!" and brought me to this hidden corner with four of them. Avocados are quite expensive here. They were 3500 won each, so that's about $3.50 each. In the U.S, they are normally between $1-$3 each depending on the size. But I suppose that price tag comes with the expensive import tax, because I don't think avocados grow in South Korea.

The next thing that I could not find was lime. They didn't carry it at all, but I did find lime juice so at least that works. Can't make a good guacamole without lime juice! Other things that I noticed were missing in this supermarket were jalapeños and red onions, but it's not a big deal. I just prefer red onions in guacamole because they're sweeter, and Koreans are not short in supply of spicy peppers. There were PLENTY, just not jalapeños specifically. 

After lugging all of this home, I decided to take pictures of them. I found the packaging quite adorable hehe. That's the other thing I noticed with South Korea, people not only like their things to be functional but good looking and orderly. I wish the U.S would take some notes on that. 

Ingredients for Pesto Pasta with Vegetables:

Ingredientes for Guacamole:

The end result...tada! 

Bon appetite!

If anyone would like the recipes they're here:

Pasta

http://thecocinamonologues.com/2012/08/04/easy-weeknight-dinner-pesto-pasta-with-spinach-asparagus-and-cherry-tomatoes/

Guacamole

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/guacamole-recipe.html

Day 07

It is Sunday here! And since my host graciously took me to so many places the day before, and because we were so tired from all the walking, we decided to take it slow today.

After a night of drinking, my friend decided an appropriate lunch would be Gamjatang, which is a meal that Korean people often eat after drinking. My friend asked me what we Americans would call this and I said "Hangover food" and she "Ahhhh, that's right" haha. But I assured her in America, our hangover food was nowhere as delicious or cheap! I got all of this for 7000 won, which is less than $7!!

So good. Drool.

After we filled our tummy, we hopped on the trains for an hour ride to a place called Surisan. I had told my friend I wanted to see some nature after a few days in the city so she decided to bring me here for some flower viewing. Unfortunately though when we got there, we saw that most of the flowers had already fallen. :( This place was suppose to be filled with purple and white Azaleas! Kind of a bummer, but we still managed to have a good time taking pictures and laughing at the elder Korean singing party next door.

This is what it was SUPPOSE to look like but we just saw a few patches of it when we went :(
Image courtesy of Google

To redeem the shortcomings of the last stop, my friend brought me to another park nearby in an area called Guil. Guil seemed like a very family oriented place. Our train left us directly down a path to a park where we were greeted with a playground with lots of kids. We also saw a family set up a tent by the river and another group of campers huddled under the overpass enjoying some home cooked food. I was tempted to join them. 

My friend and I walked about a mile of this park following the stream next to it, and took some nice pictures of all the flowers here. She somehow got a really nice shot of me standing next to one of the yellow daffodils fields. :) 

Well and alive!

Meanwhile we also found some gym equipment randomly places underneath the overpass so we decided to "workout" or really play. They were unexpectedly a lot of fun, and we had a good kick trying them all.

After that we headed home for some more good food and retired for the night. I've been meaning to show you guys what the Korean train stations look like by the way. SUPER clean and efficient and affordable! I've only had about $10 in my card since I've been here, and I've take the train numerous times already over the last 5 days! Why can't the MTA be like this?? -_-

Gum-less floor

Subway art

The view from train when crossing Han River

Day 06

I'm finally feeling like myself again! Yay!! So as soon as I was able I headed out to explore downtown Seoul.

View of mountain from one of Seoul's main streets.

The first place I visited was called Itaewon. This area is famous for internationl shops and restaurants since a large numer of expats live in the area. There I saw a lot of antique shops, hip coffee houses, and really beautiful houses with elaborate gardens. This neighborhood was perched on a steep hill so it reminded me of San Francisco quite a bit.

Lots of antique shops!

My next stop was the Namsangol Village Houses, which is a series of traditional Korean houses located right in the middle of the city. It was a big but fairly simple coompound. Once you walk through the huge gates, you'll see a huge courtyard with two guys weaving traditional straw goods, and you just wander around different houses peeking into the ones that interest you. There were SO many students here though on their field trip, I felt like I was at a huge playground. 

Next I visited the famous Namsan Seoul Tower! It's interesting to me that every country or city has its own treasured tower or building of some sort. I did do something stupid though while I was here. After the tour bus dropped me off at the furthest point cars were allowed, I climbed up the steep hill to get to the tower. But when I got there I took the wrong cable car and went back down to where I came from, canceling all my hard work. -.- Ater what felt like eternity I was finally able to go up the tower, and the view was amazing. You could see just how big Seoul was and it's big! I only wish it was a clearer day but I managed to get some nice photos.

My last stop on the tour bus was Insadong, and I love this place! Imagine one big street with many art galleries and shops, WITH secret passageways stemming off of both sides filled with many interesting-looking restaurants and guest houses. I literally felt like I was walking around in a maze, but one that I really enjoyed getting lost in. The shops here featured a lot of handmade goods.

One of the many passageways in Insadong

One of the shopping centers at Insadong

After that it was off to dinner with my friend at Samcheongdong. Samcheongdong reminded me of a more upscale version of Itaewon (the place with many expats). Everything from the sidewalks (yes, actual sidewalks!) to the lampposts to the facade of the shops looked nicer. For dinner my friend brought me to a restaurant called House, which is literally what it is, you go into a house and they serve you Korean home cooking, which I thought was really cool and delicious. 

House

Between us we shared a leek and cuttlefish pancake, a Pollack (some type of fish apparently) and kimchi mandoo (Korean style dumplings), and a cold, spring type of noodle in a creamy bean soup, and of course lots of yummy banchans (side dishes!) After that we went to a cafe nearby and I got myself a Purple Sweet Potato latte! And that was especially interesting to me because I've had taro flavored drinks before, but never sweet potato and it tasted just like it! Definitely one of my highlights.

Our meal at House.

By now it was almost 10:30pm, and I was pretty darn tired from all the walking plus I was having major food coma, but I had told my friend I wanted to experience a jjimjilbang (or gingerbank as I call it), which is a type of Korean spa/sauna type of place that people can go to for relaxation and sleep overnight. By the time we both got there though, we were both so tired we only wanted to shower and sleep. We sat in one of the hot water pools for less than 5 minutes and went to sleep. The sleep however was terrible, because they didn't give us anything except a thin straw mat on the floor and a tiny pillow. So for 5 hours my friend and I just tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position. I was SO tired though I actually managed to sleep 5 hours, but my poor friend on the other hand said she felt like she was being tortured the whole time. So at 5 am when I woke up from tossing and turning some more, my friend grabbed me and we fled the scene. We caught a cab and laughed all the way home at the misery we just put ourselves through. Maybe next time if we go on a less tired note, we would've had a better time. 

So that concludes day 5. Day 6 I toured the city some more with both friends. We went back to Insadong for lunch and went to visit one of the palaces nearby called Gyeongbokgung Palace. These palaces were HUGE, we weren't even able to get to all the buildings.

Image courtesy of hellotravel.com

After that we went and got some patbingso (Korean shaved-ice) to cool us down and omg this stuff is amaaaaaaazing. The ice was sooo fine and powdery, it tasted like fairy dust and made me feel 5. And I was told there are some even better ones out there. :O

And thats how we ended our sightseeing day. Afterwards we just went and did some cosmetic product shopping at Myeongdong, which this place was filled with. But man those sales people were pushy! One of them literally pushed us into the store. Interesting thing I noticed too, a lot of the sales people were able to speak Chinese, I guess that tells you how many Chinese tourists like to come to South Korea to shop!

Okay, that was a long post. Hope you guys enjoyed!

Day 04

Sick

Hot floors

Ginseng chicken soup

It's official, I'm sick. When I first got off the plane, I blamed my runny nose on my friend's three cats. Turns out I actually have a cold. Sorry kitties! So when I woke up at 4am again last night (sick and insomniac, perfect combo!) and feeling like a hot potato, my plans to visit Seoul went out the window. 

I'm not happy about this but I just have to give in and listen to the body. Afterall my last three days in NYC only consisted of me running around like mad to meet up with people and pack at the same time. I barely had any rest. So now I guess I'm paying for it. 

But with all things considered a cold is not too bad. I had expected to be sick sometime during my trip, afterall it is life, but I guess I didn't expect it to be so soon. But if this is it I'm glad to get it out of the way. 

While in bed cuddling with my roll of tissue paper I spend some time studying the map of this area, and noticed a restaurant that sells gingseng chicken soup, which I heard Korea is famous for. So after my friend got out of work I sped over there as fast as possible. Anything that can help make this cold away I'll do right now.

The verdict? This soup is friggin delicious.It comes with a whole chicken inside STUFFED with rice. Yum yum and you can really smell the gingseng, or I was told because I couldn't smell nothing. After that we went to eat Sashimi! Mm.

By the way I just learned today that in South Korea a lot of the houses are heated through the floor. This means when they turn on the heat, heat radiates through the floor! I didn't know this was even possible and thought the  electronics I left on the floor were constantly over heating, and I literally thought the reason I was feeling so warm at night was because I had a high fever until my friend told me she turns on the heat everynight before we sleep. The things you learn.

Off to see Seoul tomorrow!

Day 03

Churros
Hongkik University
Grocery shopping
Cats
Airplane cold 

Hwa-jang-sil

Happy belated cinco de mayo everyone!

There is actually an odd fascination going on here in South Korea with churros. They have them in chip form, in their convenience stores, and they're sold on roadside food stalls. I wonder how that got started.

Anyhow my third day here was a relaxing one but I had to take it slow because I am feeling a bit under the weather. I think it's from the low humidity on the airplanes and the time difference. I woke up at 5am once again and cannot sleep.

During the day I walked around the neighborhood that I'm staying in and just pretended to be a local. I even went to the market to get food. The area that I'm staying in by the way is the Hongkik University area, and because it's one of South Korea's top art schools, this area is jam PACKED with artsy coffee shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and shops. It is the hip place to be. It is also where a few of those cat cafes and dog cafes are if you've heard of them.

So it makes sense when I was walking around I noticed a lot of young Korean college students, as well as foreign exchange students and tourists. Korean students here by the way are really well dressed and I know why! There are shops and stands EVERYWHERE here selling tons of cute clothes for very reasonable prices. I was really tempted but had to stop myself. Maybe on my last day here I'll pick up a few items.

See, no sidewalks,

While that was fun it was also a bit overwhelming for me. I walked around for about 1.5 hours and I was exhausted. After that I went back to my friend's place and made myself a little salad with the food I bought earlier on and took a nap.

If you're curious, the price of food here is pretty comparable to the U.S, but it does vary a lot too. For example, strawberries and lettuce were the same as U.S prices, but bananas for some reason were quite expensive. I think I bought 1.5 lbs for like $5 dollars? But things like water and eating out seems a little bit cheaper on average. 

                                       

Useful Korean phrase #2 is hwa-jang-sil, which means bathroom! I had to learn that after eating at a restaurant and couldn't find the bathroom in there. I am also passing off as a Korean person exceptionally well, almost too well, because when I buy things everyone greets me in Korean and then because I don't want to be rude I smile and nod. But they're probably thinking I am rude because I don't say anything back. Dilemma.

                                  

                                                             One of my housemates.

I have more pictures but this blogger app doesn't seem to want to cooperate. Will post next time then! 

Day 02 - Seoul, South Korea

Jet-lagged
Lunch by the Han River
Etiquette boxes
Cham-si-man-yo
Sea fish/sea urchin(?) bimpbimbob

So I finally got to ask my friend, D, here what that box I saw in the woman's bathroom stall was in the airport. It was a small white box labeled "Etiquette" with a button on it. I really wanted to press it but I was afraid someone would come running in with toilet paper. You know how sometimes in changing rooms when you go shopping they have buttons for you to press if you need assistance? Well turns out my imagination was running wild, and it's just a box that plays sounds so you can do your business discreetly. Funny how that works and how revealing it is about the Korean culture. I must press it on my way out.

After my arrival, D took me around her neighborhood in Incheon and to a park by the Han River for lunch. The first thing I noticed was how a lot of the smaller streets didn't have sidewalks or only on one side. Hmm I'll have to pay special attention when walking.

On that note too because there were a lot of people out, and walking into me I had to learn my first useful Korean phrase besides hello and thank you, and that is "chamsimanyo" which is excuse me. I'll be saying a lot of that.

Lastly we ended our night at my first Korean buffet and it was delicious. My favorite counter was the one where you can make your own bimpbimbop, which I've had before but never with sea urchin. Or at least that's what I think that yellow yolky stuff was. And also instead of an ice cream machine they have a patbingso (shaved ice) machine! So much funner and healthier than ice cream I think.

Sorry for the lack of pictures but I was too tired to take any and just wanted to enjoy the moment. Next time!

Day 01

A new page, a new leaf.

                                         

Backpack and passport, ready to go!

Finally after years of dreaming, months of deliberation, weeks of planning and a 14 hour flight, I'm finally here on the first leg of my traveling journey- in South Korea! And believe me when I say this 14 hour flight has caused me to reflect on EVERYTHING. But especially the support and encouragement I've received this last week when I told friends and coworkers I'll be leaving. 

I always thought that when I tell people my dream is to travel the world, they would respond by telling me I'm naive, irresponsible, or that I'm just escaping from reality, but on the contrary everyone has told me the opposite. The support that I've received has completely blown me away, and I can't help but think how many of us out there are holding back on our dreams because of what we THINK others will say?

I'll admit I don't know what the heck I'm doing, and I most likely will not get to see the world all in one go. Maybe I'll get homesick and be perfectly content with just seeing a few countries, maybe it will not. But all I care for is that I've taken the first step. This first step was in fact the hardest step. I've known for the longest time that traveling the world was something  I wanted to do but I just ignored it. That little voice in my head telling me to go travel was shut out again and again, so I could focus on getting a job, earn money, and pay for student loans. And in hindsight I'm glad I did because it taught me to be responsible, to work hard, to manage my own finances, and most importantly to be responsible for who I am and want to be. And that meant owning up to the fact that I wasn't doing what I wanted and being who I wanted to be. 

The decision to go after my dream didn't just come to me overnight. It took days and nights of agonizing before I actually did something about it. But that was the key: DOING something. That may sound simple but you'll be surprised how many people say they want to do this and that, and not do anything about it. But I didn't want to be that person. So I began researching airfare tickets and lodging prices just to see how much I would need, then I planned out how much money I would need and how I was going to save for it. And before you know it, I had a quarter, a third, a half, and then finally a amount that I felt okay with. 

I won't get into the whole spiel of how I sacrificed my lattes in order to save for this trip, because I know that everyone has different priorities. Instead I just want to leave you guys with the idea of taking responsibility for who you want to be, and to take that first step towards it. It doesn't have to be big, first steps aren't suppose to be. So whether it is to take a trip, to get your own place, to run a marathon, or to buy a car, just take that first step. Go and find out how much that car is, and I don't mean "Oh you know, A LOT." I mean, go find out how much it really is down to the penny. Go find out how many marathons there are in your city, and where you can sign up. Get a pair of good running sneakers. You deserve it. Whatever it is, make step number one happen and then we'll talk.