Ulsan Living... Its like a fine wine, it gets better with time

Ulsan living is getting better. Especially since I'm learning the bus routes, learning the city, trying new things and finding out there are a few things around that can remind me of home. One of which is a bar called Purple Haze, although come to think of it, I don't recall there begin a bar like this back in BR. Check out the leaf and guitar player tho... So weird to see this here, lol.

 Anyhoo... the bartender was so nice that he gave Wally and I a free shot of our choice since it was our first time at purple haze. Hey, service... We'll take it!! Its a saturday night and we're going back to the dorms, why not throw one back?? lol. 

 Today after church we decided to go venturing out for dinner before we were doomed to a week of cafeteria food. This place was awesome and this isn't even our food yet. This is just the starters!! Nice (in  my fabolous voice)

some fried fish (thanks harmony for identifying it) and zucchini and peppers

Mmmmmm.... THE BEST chicken soup you'll ever eat!! Its called samgyetang and its a chicken stuffed with rice and ginsing root in this savory broth!! It was just the change of pace I needed from eating so much korean bbq... Sigh... I gotta go back again. And the crazy part is... the whole meal is only ~9 USD or 9000WON. Bananas!! We were stuffed!!

The chicken in this soup was so moist and soft, it fell right off the bone. Yum!!

 Here's Wally getting ready to eat a pepper from our ban chen... only AFTER the lady told him it wasn't hot!!

 Melissa and Harmony... our two new US friends. 

 See!! Told ya that soup was good!! I made a happy bowl (almost, you don't actually eat out of this bowl... you spoon it into another, lol). On another note, culturally I believe its bad manners in Korea to clean your plate so I was glad that while this plate was empty, my actual bowl still had some soup. I dub this one of my favorite Korean dishes!!

 After dinner we decided to stop by a local store to pick up some stuff before heading back to campus. I guess its the top mart for that, lol

Ok, really?? Spam?? Who THEE hell eats this?? Apparently they eat it here in Korea. What exactly is spam btw?? Yuck... don't wanna know on second thought. Oh and then they have the nerve to charge 4980WON for it... That's damn near 5 bucks US. Please!!

 This is what you find in the grocery store?? Silkworm pupa?? To eat?? In a can ready to take home?? lol. I'm done. Oh and don't EVER let me know they put this in my food. Please and thank you, lol. I'm adventurous and willing to try some stuff... That however, pushed the envelope. 

On that note guys... Monday morning soon awaits me... Enjoy your sundays!! 'Til next time :)

Random... Let's make a deal and Service...

Aloe juice with a rice and seaweed triangle filled with a meat surprise,  lol

Ahhhhhh the breakfast of champions!! lol... No, seriously. This is my breakfast some mornings, which is actually pretty good. Also, its easy to get because its sold at all three 7-11's here on campus. lol. And just fyi... the campus... not that big. Anyhoo... welcome back to my blog. I've been MIA a few days and I'm proud to say its cause I have a little bit of a life brewing here in Korea. Who woulda thunk it?? lol. Also, you can see that I've had to contend with the elements as we are in MONSOON season. WTH. Oh and a hurricane or as they call them here, typhoon, is making its way inland today. Oh joy... the hurricanes follow me  all the way from Louisiana.

Nonetheless, I've decided that I can't let rainy season keep me more isolated than I already am, so to hell with it. I'm not scared of you rain!! (Well maybe my hair is) Out into the pouring rain I must go!!

Luckily, we caught a break before the sky really opened up and I noticed this Curves sign. I thought to myself. "Wow, this must be how Korean girls stay so rail thin". LMAO, just kidding. My real thought was, "who in the hell HERE uses a Curves??" I haven't seen a BIG girl yet. But hey again... Curves may be the reason why, lol.

So, we ventured out to a grocery store thats MUCH closer than the hour long trip we took earlier to Foreigner town and E-Mart. The funniest part was out of NOWHERE this store clerk gets on the PA system with a mic shouting the store specials!! I thought for a second I was on the Korean version of Let's Make A Deal or Supermarket Sweep!! I was ready to get my cart and run down lil Korean old ladies to stock my cart with Seaweed, Kimchi and Dried Squid for the win!!

He let me take his picture between ads, lol

 Venturing around we found this bar/restaurant and I thought it was hilarious to see the blues brothers out front. Was this how Americans knew to come there?? Dunno... I assume they must have seen the movie tho.

Blues Brother... although he's a lil creepy

 After walking in to view the menu's of several places we finally decided on a Vietnamese place. It was really good and full of flavor although I still don't quite know what exactly I ate, lol

my delicious food although I can't tell you what it is and frankly, I don't wanna

 Swathi, a grad student from my lab here, was so wonderful to let us come along with here so we could get to know the area. She was prepping to spend the summer in California so we had to get a pic with here at the bus stop. 

Yay!! We have a new buddy. too bad she's going to cali

To celebrate Swathi's last day in the lab all the foreigners go together for indian food!! Here is Helen, Brendan's wife, and I posing after dinner. 

Helen and I!!

 The foreigner crew at dinner for Swathi!! Who would think I'd come to Korea and be able to eat Indian and Vietnamese food... That's more diversity than that what I can eat in Baton Rouge

The Foreigners 

 Here are the fellas checking out the street food carts... Ehhhhh... I think I'll pass. You guys can play, "what the hell am I eating tonight" by yourselves, lol.

 WA Bar!!  We decided to stop here and have a few post dinner drinks to finish up Swathi's going to Cali-forn-ia dinner. Lets just say we had a hell of a time!! 

Cheers!! Or since we're in Korea... Gan Bae!!

I, not being a big beer fan, decided to go with this South African grape alcoholic beverage.

 I thought it were fitting to pose since my drink came with a wine glass even though it was in a beer bottle. O_o Guess thats how girlie drinks are served??

 We decided to attack Brendan with our "service". Where here, "service" is anything thats given for free and at bars they give these corn pop cereal like ring things. It could be thought of as the peanuts they serve at bars in the states.

Attack of the ring things!!

 So as with all pictures here, Wally decided to do the traditional Korean peace pose. Didn't quite look believable tho... I think he's too white, lol. 

 On the other hand, the gesture is done seemly perfectly when Brendan does it EVEN THOUGH he speaks english, he's canadian and his parents are chinese... NOT Korean. Believe me... He's NOT. A Korean chick asked us if he was Korean like 3 times, lol. 

 Nonetheless the "foreigners" had a ball!! And there are more adventures to be had!! 

Who gon' check me boo??

So... I, unlike some of my peers and like most kids nowadays (with the exception of the South), grew up under the concept of yes ma'am, no ma'am, no sir, yes sir and it is safe to say that this practice is becoming more and more obsolete. I don't judge or question one's parenting because what's good in one household isn't good in another, but I love the fact that I was taught to have respect for my elders and to have good manners in general. Respect customs abroad are a different story... and I can't lie that foreign customs for respect for your elders seem to push the boundaries, in my opinion... at least in comparison to western beliefs. So... case in point:

This morning I get up to take a shower... I have my towel, I'm in my robe getting ready to step in (mind you this is after I have sprayed with shower cleaner after my previous roommate has finished and pulled a big wad of hair out of the drain, gross)

Out of nowhere one of my roommates shows up, kinda gives me a half sleep bow and gestures as if I'm blocking the way. I move thinking, "this is a narrow space maybe she wants her towel or tooth brush".
Not the case... Instead she walks into the shower. Huh?? Excuse me?? Did you not just see me about to step in?? I scoff and she stops and gives me the standard deer in headlights look I get here all day, everyday... I mean, ALL DAY.

"You wash??" Ummm... NO!! Cause you just stepped in... I say "No"
An even more confused look... Let me tell you something sweetheart, I'm hip to the game. You know what I'm saying because your classes are taught in English and you had to take an english exam to get into this school. But whatev's... act like you don't understand me... Take the damn shower. I'll wait but this will NOT happen again.

So I write a nice lil note and place one on each of my roommates door with my email address requesting that we have a meeting where all of us can talk some things out. All day not a SINGLE email from any of them.

I get home and 2 of the 3 notes are gone but one remains. She comes in shortly after I do and I notice that she stops to read it. Then she comes to my door... " you want meeting?? Group meeting??" I say yes... she says, "I'll think about it"... I'm thinking, what is there to think about?? Whether or not you'll have a meeting with me?? Ok, its your world... but then...

She leaves and comes back and says "How old are you??". I say... 26. She says "I'm thirty"

I started to say B#$^%$ I don't frankly give a damn if you're 100. What the hell is that supposed to mean?? I'm not kissing ur a$$ cause ur four years older. Last time I checked I'm grown and a 30year old get their a$$ checked too!! 


I had to whooo sa cause I KNOW that age plays a large role here in Korea and it is natural for her to have (in her mind) superiority to me, but Man... I did NOT think this concept was going to be something for me to have to deal with in this manner. But, I can tell you one thing for certain, yes this is how Korea works and I will do my best to respect it BUT don't think I won't pull yo' muffin cap back blue, bish... 


Cause when its all said and done, you don't want none and WHO GON' CHECK ME, BOO??


Gotta let 'em know...

Friends... How many of us have them??

While I use the term loosly in this particular post, I, by no means take the term lightly, but life in Korea I find is definitely sweeter when shared with "friends" and guess what?? I finally made some!! YAY!! lol, no seriously... I'm a lil siked. Anyhoo... Of course my friends here I'm finding, are none other than my labmates!! They are really sweet, asking me to join them for lunch (my korean labmates... eating culture here is family style) and bonding with my english speaking labmates because we can have fluid conversations that don't require gestures, sounds and full on acting out descriptions and looking totally ridculous, lol.
I looked totally crazy gesturing with my arms to mimic flapping wings just to describe a bug to get "bug spray" because I couldn't figure out how to say it. Come to think of it, thats probably why people here stare at me all day. lol... No, I know why but thats a different post. Anyway... Believe me... we feel each other's pain. But none the less, Korea gets better and better...

The Roommate

Roommate situations are always something to get used to and thank the lord I've had mostly wonderful roommate experiences.... but for this summer experience I had to re-embrace the dorm concept.  Shared Living. Ok. No problem. Or so I thought....

I get to my dorm and honestly its a lil disgusting but I shrug it off because first thing in the morning I'm getting bleach and scrubbing that damn place down. Frustrated, I unpack and get settled in and just as I'm watching a movie in bed one of my roommates comes in.... Expecting to say hello I look up at her to say "Anyong haseyo" and instead she gives me this crazy death stare as she walks past my room. Kinda like the look Hatsumomo gives Sayuri... SN: Of course I'm in Korea which is different from Japan but focus on the look not the geography or ethnicity... Memories of a Geisha is a GREAT book btw :)

The DEATH STARE, lol

So I'm like... okay, my bad.... I'm all up in your room. A migook. An American. Foreigner. I get you... I guess (not really but whatev's). We can get acquainted later. Next day.... No sign of her. I clean the bathrooms, toilets, sink, shower... top to bottom cause I wasn't showering otherwise... end of the day still nothing. I leave to go to dinner earlier today and when I return, guess who's home?? She's using the newly cleaned bathroom, so I wait with my door open ready to speak... She comes out.... NOTHING.... She makes a mad dash to her room faster than I can say kimchi with not so much as a GLANCE in my direction.... I'm I invisible?? I close my door to change into something comfortable and two seconds later she's gone.... Dunno what its all about... although I do get a lot of stares here... American/Korean relations are strong and supportive. Why do I get the cold shoulder??

Exploring Ulsan

I get up yesterday for a fun filled exploration of Ulsan, which I am definitely looking forward to after my meltdown the day before. We get up at 8am and hit the ground running. Oh, did I mention my campus is about an hour bus ride from the inner city of Ulsan?? No?? Well, I was surprised by this too... So as a SN: I will be virtually isolated at my Uni until I want to head out... Guess that means I'll get a lot of research done :)

My Breakfast.... Paris Baguette

Once in Ulsan City we go to E-Mart for essentials... hangers, detergent... necessities. But, we couldn't help but explore the many "interesting" things you can find in a Korean grocery store.

A king crab the size of a pick up truck... naw, jk... but it was HUGE...

Fresh octopus that you can select for your culinary enjoyment

Prepackaged octopus for those less picky or in a rush

Large one's for those with a hearty appetite 

To be quite frank, I don't know what the hell this is... but its prepackaged and ready to go... 

Our small basket of items that took us hours to find...

Lovely E-Mart... Where you can get an octopus, clothes, jewelry and even a pet hamster

We went to "foreigner town" yesterday which is essentially a store that is supposed to have great deals for Americans who want temporary Korean phones. The lady was super nice and even gave us the minutes on our phones for free. The only issue is my phone isn't entirely in english like I thought and had to spend last night translating part of my menu into english to send a text message. Its safe to say I know know yes, no, and send in Korean but now my charger dies. WTF?? I only paid 20,000 for it so no matter what I'm still #winning

Where all the folks like me go for phones and a few groceries

 The Ulsan bus station that I hope to become accustomed with by being able to travel around other parts of Korea while I'm here... Work starts soon so who knows when I'll see it again.

 We were really siked to find this information center just to get to it and it was closed.

 Note to self: Don't ask for 2 of these before realizing that 1 order  alone comes with 5 in it. The lady who runs this place will NOT be happy. Otherwise they are decent pastries but not my fave.

 Ah, the #733 bus... We will become very acquainted before the end of this summer. Back to campus...

In the Beginning....

Ah... so.... my first day blogging. Welcome to my adventure... I've been in Korea a week and honestly, I was okay until it was time to separate from my EAPSI group. The shock of being in a country where the first language ISN'T english was much more of an adjustment than I thought. Especially since I spent my first week here eating a mixture of Korean and Western foods and speaking to Koreans who speak great english... Can you say false since of security?? Sheesh!! Anyhoo... I'm elated nonetheless about my opportunity and even more excited... and scared to see what life in Korea has in store. So, this account will allow me to document and share my experiences... Good and Bad... Welcome to A Day in the Life: South Korea EAPSI Edition