to market, to market

As we were walking through the traditional market the other day, I thought about how we no longer think twice about sights that originally seemed so strange. Okay, I will admit that some of them are still strange. I'll add that we don't do most of our shopping here. We buy produce occasionally, but mostly come down for beans (pinto, black, etc.) that we can't find elsewhere and the little foreign food shop that has good prices.

Matthew & Liam exploring


fairly normal produce


dried fish (anchovies on the bottom, with squid strips and shrimp above)


and more dried fish


fresh seaweed


and dried seaweed


many varieties of kimchi


not to be confused with..."Korean freezer food"


and more "freezer food"


salmon


the dried squid for which Sokcho is known


and, finally...outside a butcher's stall...I'll let you figure out what it is:

The Korea Top Ten Lists (originally posted 28 August 06)

[Note: Looking back through these old blogs that I posted on MySpace during my first sojourn in SK has really brought back memories. Some are good; some are at least amusing. Since I'm planning to delete my MySpace account soon, I wanted to preserve them here.]

I've compiled the following lists of things that I expect to miss and things I believe I will happily leave behind. I've excluded things that are completely obvious or things that are lacking (i.e. variety of food).

Top 10 things I will miss about Korea (kind-of, sort-of in order):
10. the occasional thrill of getting to use my limited vocabulary and phrases
9. coffee vending machines everywhere -- 30 cents for a small cup
8. a free apartment
7. cheap knitting needles and other domestically-made goods
6. cheap and readily available buses and taxis, which eliminate the need for a car -- also, the extra money saved on car insurance, gasoline, and maintenance
5. the amusement of reading ridiculous English sayings everywhere (t-shirts, menus, walls, etc.)
4. meeting and working with people from different countries and backgrounds -- we're all some kind of crazy!
3. living 5 minutes from the beach and 20 minutes from the mountains
2. noraebang (private singing rooms)
1. kids who crack me up on a daily basis and really want to learn English

Top 10 things I will NOT miss about Korea:
10. air-drying all the laundry, including towels (ugh...crunchy)
9. my feet being the only "average-sized" thing about me
8. smelly kids who shower once a week (the minority) and/or don't want to learn anything
7. crowds and people getting into my "bubble" far too often
6. soju- and kimchi-tinged body odor (not mine, because I don't imbibe -- other people's)
5. humidity
4. mosquito bites
3. not-quite-right food: whipped cream on a baked potato, maraschino cherries on nachos, etc....
2. the sewer and fish smells that pop up randomly on the street
1. being stared at constantly and often talked about as if I am not there or cannot understand (which I sometimes can)

Shopping fun (originally posted 20 June 06)

24 oz of Heinz Tomato Ketchup: W2,850
500 g. penne pasta: W1,480
Questionable Korean-made hotdogs: W1,500

Listening to "Shut the Fuck Up" by Limp Bizkit being played throughout D-Mart while purchasing the above, and probably being the only person in the store who found it the least bit amusing: PRICELESS

Sometimes I love Korea.

Butchered, I tell you! (originally posted 25 January 06)

Sunday, I finally decided to get a haircut. My last one had been sometime in October. Matthew and I went in together, this being his third haircut in Korea. In anticipation of a hot, muggy summer, unlike anything I've experienced before, I have been planning to grow my hair longer. I'd like to have it at least long enough to pull up off my neck.

I missed the first warning sign. While my hair was being shampooed, the stylist presented MATTHEW with a photo book...asking HIM to pick my new hairstyle. Knowing better, he refused and told the stylist she needed to ask me. Unfortunately, I didn't know about this until after my hair was already gone.

Next, I was shown the book. I kept pointing at longer styles and indicating that I only wanted a trim. Yeah...so imagine my surprise when she just started hacking off my hair. Yes, I am exagerrating, but it's much shorter than I wanted. She also thinned it with the razor-scissor dealy-bobber, which is actually pretty good -- that's the cut I had before -- but it means it will take that much longer to grow out again. It's not a tragic event, but I'm still a little upset. I'm really apprehensive about getting another haircut. Maybe I can just wait until I'm home in December!

I think I'll also have to wait until December to buy any pants. In the same shop where I saw the anti-Bushy sign, there was a table of really cute pajama separates: drawstring pants and camisole tops. I was looking for a size on the pants, when a very helpful salesgirl tried to help. She pointed to the sign listing the price. I explained I was looking for a size, and she told me they were "one-size-fits-all." I held up a pair and saw there was NO WAY IN HELL those were going to fit me. She commented, "Face is small." I wanted to reply, "But ASS is big." However, I stifled this comment and explained, with the help of some hand gestures, that Korean women are very narrow-hipped, while I am simply not. Maybe I could buy two pairs and sew them together. I'm the short-haired, big-arsed white girl. Peace out!