Everyday she writes words to spit out the thoughts that keep floating inside

Anyeong Haseyo! Oto kay jee neshimnika? (Hello! How are things?)

I am so grateful for the weekend! This past week went by like papers floating in the wind - too fast for me to see what was written! It was good though.

I realized this week that this whole year is going to fly by. I can't believe that I've lived here going on three months now. It seems impossible. While I'm still very green and my eyes are open wide at all the new things I discover on a daily basis, living in Korea is starting to feel "normal." For example, my evening schedule is quite predictable these days and my bed is actually starting to feel like my real bed.

This past week was Thanksgiving in the US. Koreans don't celebrate Thanksgiving, though I am looking forward to Chuseok, their equivalent, which takes place next year. Being vegetarian puts a limit on the food I consume on Thanksgiving, but what I really missed this year was being with family. I love Thanksgiving for that very reason!

Anyway, this morning I woke up around 10am. It was wonderful to sleep in. Goguma was sleeping on my head and purring when I opened my eyes! She really is so sweet. I walked to the grocery store to get some things for a late breakfast. I also stopped at Dunkin Donuts to buy a donut for David and a bagel for myself. While I was there I saw these cute little cream puffs. After the cashier rang up my order I saw them but had to have them. I knew they'd make the perfect photo shoot.

I came home excited and set up a little table with a pink cloth. You can say I went a little snap-crazy. Goguma was quite intrigued and decided to see what I was up to. I'm not sure what she was more interested in - what I was doing or the cream puffs! Anyway, here are some photos from the shoot.

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That's all. <3>

There's a beautiful mess inside

I'm listening to Yael Naim's "Lonely" right now. I think the words are so beautiful and the melody takes over your soul. Yael has a great way of pulling you into her music. Each song is like a personal performance just for you.

"So I'm coloring my face
While I am here with you
Imagining the landscapes of your sorrow
Is it yellow or blue?
Coloring the sky and the trees
and the clouds and the moonlight
I'd color your heart if you didn't hide it."

Just a short passage. You should take a listen.

Anyway, I've been on a writing spree lately. I wrote a story for WakeUp NapTown (WUNT) called The Car Bailout: What it is and What We Should Do and also another for lovely Amber Renee's website Miseducated.net. That piece is fun and flirty. Check it: Holiday Cocktails.

That's a lot of links in one paragraph! :)

Oh, fun news. Last weekend David and I went to Dongdaemun, the biggest shopping center in all of Asia. There are 4 mall-type things in one area (and by mall I mean 13 story buildings filled with anything you could ever imagine buying). In addition to the 4 buildings, there is street after street after street just filled to the brim with shops, stands and people selling things!

It was quite crowded as you can imagine. I was a little overwhelmed by the mass amount of people - walking on the streets in some areas put us shoulder to shoulder with passers-by! I told my co-teacher about our trip there and she said, "These days it is not too crowded there because of low economy." I can't imagine what it's like during a great economy!

The purpose of the trip was to a)find me a winter a coat and b) get presents for people back home. We were successful on both endeavors. Last night David and I wrapped and organized gifts. We have some more wrapping to do tonight. We bought cute bows (David even picked some out!) and wrapping paper and then treated ourselves to some delicious kimbab and mandu kimchi. We've become quite obsessed with this little stand near our apartment that sells the food for super cheap. People crowd around the stand and gobble it up! 10 kimchi mandu's and 2 kimbab rolls is less than 5000 won (about $3.50USd).

(I didn't take this pictures...but I need to take some like it soon!)

kimbab (not sushi - it's Korean kimbab!)

Mandu Kimchi (steamed noodles with spicy kimchi inside).

Anyway, here are some photos from our trip to Dongdaemun.

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The food court in the Dootah! building (dootah means listen in Korean, by the way). The way it works is you order at that window and they send the order into the place you order food from. Then you wait for your number to be called.


Our food!


Some clothes -- the mannequins are wearing pots on their heads!


a cute display...with mickey mouse and all


these next few shots are just from walking around the Dongdaemun area










The canal. I could be wrong, but I think this is the Han river.


This is one of my favorite shots of the day. David and I noticed a few men doing this and then realized they were homeless. They just keep their heads down the entire time. Clearly they act much more subserviant than US homeless tend to which was interesting to see. I'm not sure what leads to homelessness here.




This is "sparkling rosebud/forget-me-not tea." It is not only beautiful but also tasty!


A cute store called "Etude House." It was quite crowded!


Etude House nailpolishes :)


Earrings I couldn't resist buying. There were so many cute earrings...I need to go back! :)


My new gloves! So cute!

That's all for now. Check back later for more goodies!

Pills and thrills and daffodils

^ those are two random pictures that are there for the sole purpose of cute-ifying my blog :D

Hello. Today was an adventure. We went shopping for winter gear and bought lots of goodies to send back home for Christmas! Hoorah! I took some pictures - I'll edit and post them later so stay tuned.

Speaking of pictures, I took these a few weeks ago. There is a delightful cafe down the street from our apartment that is so chic and fun to be in! The desserts are fabulous-looking (as they are in most shops around here!). I dragged David along (actually I bribed him with the idea of getting treats at the shop - so long as I could take pictures).

Here are a few of my favs:

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(I'm pretty sure these treats were made especially for Pepero day (Pepero is like Japanese Pocky).

<3>

The lion sleeps tonight

We got our new kitty last night. She thinks she is ferocious but in reality she's a big ball of fluffy love. Her name is 고 구 마 (I totally just typed that by myself). Clearly it's a Korean word and it sounds like this "Gko-gku-mah." In English it means "Sweet Potato" which is quite fitting considering her color and personality!

Anyway, here are some pictures. She's adorable!!

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<3

i've never met a bike i didn't want to ride

oh hi!

Today has been lovely. I lounged around in my pajama's until about noon and then threw on some clothes to get some groceries at the local market. On my way (okay, it was out of my way, but only by 5 minutes) I stopped at the stationary store and bought 30,000 won worth of goods. That's a lot to spend on stationary but I assure you it was entirely worth it. Most of it was gifts, anyway! And I also bought a seat pillow while I was there which was 1/3 of the cost!

Anyway, as I said in my last post I'm obsessed with the cosmetics store called The Skin Food. I'm a major fan of fab packaging and the idea in itself is just novel, really. I already decided that my favorite people will be receiving some of these goods for Christmas.

Here are a few pictures to whet your facial appetite:



Black Sugar Mask Wash Off


The Gold Caviar collection (made of caviar and real gold flecks).

I can't stop drooling!

Anyway, in other news, David and I are getting a kitty. We are very much animal-persons and we miss our kitties from home very badly. After doing some research on the internet, I realized that Korean bunnies purchased from pet stores usually die within a few weeks. I think this is because they are taken from their mothers too young. They aren't supposed to be away from their momma bunny until 7 weeks, but the bunnies at the pet store are so young they still aren't walking very well.

It's very tragic really, and I know that even sick and/or dying bunnies need love too, but it is incredibly heartbreaking to watch a loved pet die in your hands. I wish there was something more we could do.

But like I said, we are getting a kitty. We found her on AnimalRescueKorea.org. She was a lost kitten who was found and brought to a veterinary clinic. Her profile was posted on Animal Rescue and David and I found her! The clinic is about 1.5 hours away or so, but the woman who found her is driving through Hanam-si (where we live) on Tuesday and bringing her to us then! She is 3 months old, spayed, vaccinated, playful and curious.

Here is a picture (taken by Macro Vet Clinic). I can't wait to take some of my own!


eek!

That's all. <3