Not that I dislike my life here or anything. Life just always gets harder in the winter.
But this morning I went out to Itaewon in search of an English bookstore. I got breakfast at a place with okay pancakes but wonderful blueberry topping and a cup of Earl Grey that was easily the best tea I've found in Korea. The bookstore was great and I bought more books than I really need, especially considering how many I have left on my Kindle to read, but BOOKS. Then because there was extra time, my friend and I hit up this shop that she passed last time she was in the area. It was a wonderful decision - I got a ton of baklava, and when I got home and tried it I just about cried because it was so delicious. At work, one of the other classes had an open class today and one of the parents brought cake for all of us, so there was a random cake in the staff room. Very very tasty cake. My box from my grandma arrived today with warm pajama pants and socks (I'm wearing some of them right now because they're waaaaarm), and I've been anticipating it for a while now. Plus I bought flour yesterday, so I finally forced myself to make potato soup for dinner tonight. My first thought was why didn't I do this earlier. I love love love a good potato soup. I guess it seemed like a lot of work...but I tend to keep most of the ingredients around anyway. I was out of bacon, too lazy to defrost the one box of sliced ham I have, and couldn't find cheddar cheese, but a slightly heavier hand with the spices gave the soup plenty of flavor and cheese slices work just fine if you chop them into strips first. Plus I had part of a carrot left over from my chicken noodle soup the other night, so I threw that into the mix...and it is just too perfect of a fall/winter dish. It even has that touch of home.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to have another mug of tea, finish my chocolate and walnut baklava that has an absurd(ly delicious) amount of honey in it, and start reading one of my new books.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
Friday, November 21, 2014
Seoul Lantern Festival
I accidentally ran into this festival while I was out studying (and waiting for Ingrid to finish her walk-a-thon that I managed to worm my way out of by saying I needed to study) and got restless. I left the cafe I was in and wanted to get some fresh air, so I wandered down to nearby Cheonggyecheon (one of my favorite places in the city) and stumbled on an event that I completely forgot was happening.
Other than that random moment of good luck, I have had terrible luck with this festival. I got some great pictures the first time around despite the crowd, but I really wanted to head down again to try to get a few more.
Attempt number 1: I went out with Ingrid late one night after work and dinner because we both wanted to see the lanterns without all the crowds. It was below freezing, and when we got downtown it was raining. It was around midnight when we got to the stream, and all of the lanterns were either turned off or gone. We froze and took a bus home, disappointed.
Attempt number 2: Ingrid and I went out right after work, got dinner together, and headed downtown...but accidentally took the wrong train and then missed our connection once we got going the right way. We got there around 10:55 and found out the hard way that they shut everything off at 11. I did get a few really nice pictures of the fish lanterns, though.
Attempt number 3 is going to be tomorrow after I do some studying and find out where on earth my exam is. I'm not sure yet if Ingrid will be joining me - she's going to a concert with another friend and might be too tired to make another attempt.
Other than that random moment of good luck, I have had terrible luck with this festival. I got some great pictures the first time around despite the crowd, but I really wanted to head down again to try to get a few more.
Attempt number 1: I went out with Ingrid late one night after work and dinner because we both wanted to see the lanterns without all the crowds. It was below freezing, and when we got downtown it was raining. It was around midnight when we got to the stream, and all of the lanterns were either turned off or gone. We froze and took a bus home, disappointed.
Attempt number 2: Ingrid and I went out right after work, got dinner together, and headed downtown...but accidentally took the wrong train and then missed our connection once we got going the right way. We got there around 10:55 and found out the hard way that they shut everything off at 11. I did get a few really nice pictures of the fish lanterns, though.
Attempt number 3 is going to be tomorrow after I do some studying and find out where on earth my exam is. I'm not sure yet if Ingrid will be joining me - she's going to a concert with another friend and might be too tired to make another attempt.
Monday, November 17, 2014
Baby steps
Becoming a "real adult" is a slow process. I don't know why I thought it would be quick once I got here...maybe because adapting to a new country seemed much more difficult than learning to live outside the dorms or function outside of college.
Staying on top of my chores is really hard. I used to have a friend who would frequent my apartment so I felt a need to keep it presentable, but we've grown apart and now I don't feel like I need to keep up appearances for anyone. I've gotten super lax about doing the dishes and putting away my laundry, and I was never exceedingly on top of those things to begin with. Dishes seem like such an ordeal, and laundry is just so much more convenient on the drying rack than on my clothes rack. I sweep my floor reasonably frequently and scrub my bathroom often enough to keep it from looking gross, but that's all I really keep on top of as far as housework goes.
I am trying, though. I forced myself to wash all the dishes in the sink tonight, not just the ones I need or the half on the left or right side of the sink. I took my trash out last night as well, which is impressive because even though we have three trash days in a week I always manage to forget to take mine out until the next day. However, living by myself does mean that my trash doesn't pile up super quickly, so it's not really a disaster until my food trash bag gets too full for my freezer. I even have a load of laundry going right now, and it's really important to stay on top of laundry here because I don't have a dryer. The only way tonight could feel more adult-y would be if my dinner hadn't turned out ridiculously bland despite the two full spoons of curry seasoning I threw in, but I guess I can't have everything.
The only thing I feel like I'm doing reasonably successfully is my budget. It's a bit tight, but I'm putting away a decent portion of my money every month toward savings and another decent chunk toward student loans. Dad may not have been able to make me into someone who can't stand a messy living space (sorry), but he has managed to teach me decent spending habits pretty successfully. I have had a couple conversations with him since getting here that basically started with me going "DADDY HOW DO I BUDGET ON A NON-STUDENT PAYCHECK HAAAALP PLZ" but I think I've settled things reasonably well. Finally.
So, like the title says, I'm just focusing on baby steps. Tonight, the dishes and some of the laundry. Another night this week, I'll tackle the pile of clean laundry and notebooks that have accumulated on the side of my bed I don't sleep on. In my free time, I'll work on crocheting my window decoration to make the place look less like a generic apartment and more like home. Maybe eventually I'll be able to get things to a state where I can take pictures to send home/post here.
Staying on top of my chores is really hard. I used to have a friend who would frequent my apartment so I felt a need to keep it presentable, but we've grown apart and now I don't feel like I need to keep up appearances for anyone. I've gotten super lax about doing the dishes and putting away my laundry, and I was never exceedingly on top of those things to begin with. Dishes seem like such an ordeal, and laundry is just so much more convenient on the drying rack than on my clothes rack. I sweep my floor reasonably frequently and scrub my bathroom often enough to keep it from looking gross, but that's all I really keep on top of as far as housework goes.
I am trying, though. I forced myself to wash all the dishes in the sink tonight, not just the ones I need or the half on the left or right side of the sink. I took my trash out last night as well, which is impressive because even though we have three trash days in a week I always manage to forget to take mine out until the next day. However, living by myself does mean that my trash doesn't pile up super quickly, so it's not really a disaster until my food trash bag gets too full for my freezer. I even have a load of laundry going right now, and it's really important to stay on top of laundry here because I don't have a dryer. The only way tonight could feel more adult-y would be if my dinner hadn't turned out ridiculously bland despite the two full spoons of curry seasoning I threw in, but I guess I can't have everything.
The only thing I feel like I'm doing reasonably successfully is my budget. It's a bit tight, but I'm putting away a decent portion of my money every month toward savings and another decent chunk toward student loans. Dad may not have been able to make me into someone who can't stand a messy living space (sorry), but he has managed to teach me decent spending habits pretty successfully. I have had a couple conversations with him since getting here that basically started with me going "DADDY HOW DO I BUDGET ON A NON-STUDENT PAYCHECK HAAAALP PLZ" but I think I've settled things reasonably well. Finally.
So, like the title says, I'm just focusing on baby steps. Tonight, the dishes and some of the laundry. Another night this week, I'll tackle the pile of clean laundry and notebooks that have accumulated on the side of my bed I don't sleep on. In my free time, I'll work on crocheting my window decoration to make the place look less like a generic apartment and more like home. Maybe eventually I'll be able to get things to a state where I can take pictures to send home/post here.
Monday, November 10, 2014
Home base
There's not a whole lot to update on at the moment. I've mostly just been in my work routine and haven't been doing anything super exciting lately. But here's a general update anyway!
The last month has been full of ups and downs as far as adapting to my new home goes. I've had a rough few weeks as far as my language skills go - people have been talking really quickly and I've been unable to spit out the words that I need - and the weather is getting colder, which is really bad for my social life. I can't handle cold very well, so in winter I tend to shut down and not leave my room except for necessary things. I fulfill my obligations, like school or work, but for most of the rest of winter I just hole up in my room and don't go out to do things with people. If I had gotten here a month or two earlier, I would have been able to do a lot more out in the city because I would have been happy with the weather and willing to go out by myself. Now I need the push of an obligation to someone else in order to force me to leave my room.
On the other hand, I've been randomly struck by a desire to go back to London. My first reaction was that I shouldn't be wanting to leave so soon after getting here, so something must be wrong. But I've been forcing myself out into the city more despite the cold, and every time I'm reminded of how much I love it here. I thought about it, and I've realized that I want to leave because I've established that Seoul is my home base now. I have a routine, I have my regular bars/clubs/restaurants/stores, and I'm familiar enough with things that I feel completely comfortable most of the time. The language barrier keeps me on my toes, but it still feels like I've actually settled in. And once I feel comfortable, I feel the need to do something that throws me out of my comfort zone a bit. I don't want to go to London and then go back to the States. I want to go to London and then come back here. I'm going to say that wanting to travel now is a good thing, because it means that I feel like I have home base set up here.
The minor news:
The last month has been full of ups and downs as far as adapting to my new home goes. I've had a rough few weeks as far as my language skills go - people have been talking really quickly and I've been unable to spit out the words that I need - and the weather is getting colder, which is really bad for my social life. I can't handle cold very well, so in winter I tend to shut down and not leave my room except for necessary things. I fulfill my obligations, like school or work, but for most of the rest of winter I just hole up in my room and don't go out to do things with people. If I had gotten here a month or two earlier, I would have been able to do a lot more out in the city because I would have been happy with the weather and willing to go out by myself. Now I need the push of an obligation to someone else in order to force me to leave my room.
On the other hand, I've been randomly struck by a desire to go back to London. My first reaction was that I shouldn't be wanting to leave so soon after getting here, so something must be wrong. But I've been forcing myself out into the city more despite the cold, and every time I'm reminded of how much I love it here. I thought about it, and I've realized that I want to leave because I've established that Seoul is my home base now. I have a routine, I have my regular bars/clubs/restaurants/stores, and I'm familiar enough with things that I feel completely comfortable most of the time. The language barrier keeps me on my toes, but it still feels like I've actually settled in. And once I feel comfortable, I feel the need to do something that throws me out of my comfort zone a bit. I don't want to go to London and then go back to the States. I want to go to London and then come back here. I'm going to say that wanting to travel now is a good thing, because it means that I feel like I have home base set up here.
The minor news:
- Be on the lookout for a post about the Seoul Lantern Festival, which is going on for the next couple of weeks. I'm not sure when I'm going to head out to see it, though.
- I have almost all of my usual tea-making supplies again (why can I not find a good teapot???) and have been very happy ever since my tea order got here because tea is important.
- I've pretty much completely transitioned to PC gaming, but I'll always miss my xbox to some degree.
- I'm pretty sure I have an addiction to notebooks - I can't resist buying one or two every time I go out to a stationery store. They're just so cute! (and useful)
- The TOPIK is coming up in 2 weeks and I'm nowhere near ready for my brain to be that fried.
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