Feast Your Eyes On Trickery

I heart the Trickeye Museum.

Trashed

This looks like quite the party spot.

Things That Make Me Happy

Anne of Green Gables with Korean subtitles.

Dumpkin

You know what happens when you stuff a duck inside of a pumpkin and cook it for five hours?

Pure Bliss. 

The Hallelujah Chorus IN YOUR MOUTH.

Ooooh la la

Chamel! Straight from Itary!

#thegoodstuff #definitelynotafake

Nazi Free since '93

In South Korea, this means Buddhists, not Nazis.

Even though I know what it means, it still startles me every time a jewelry clerk

 tries to sell me a swastika necklace.

Things That Are Creepy

This motion-activated robot girl who bows and tries to sell you chicken when you walk by.

Creepy, I tell you.

Please?

Can I have this for Christmas?

Heart/Pizza Full of Love

Our favorite exotic Korean pizza place likes the ladies, and isn't afraid to say so.

If you need any remodelring done, I know a place. . .

It's ok little bear, I miss my cheese too.

More Cute Animals, Begging To Be Eaten

I tell you what - if any South Koreans travel to the US, they will be mightily confused by Chickfila.

A COW asking us to eat CHICKEN? 

WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?!?!

Shame On Me

For neglecting you, my precious little bloggy blog.

My husband has been a computer hog the last few weeks, and even though I am home alone all day, I will blame him for using it two hours every evening.

Dr. Fish

This video isn't too impressive, but those fish were chowing down.

Also, my feet really do feel way softer!

New Socks

I needed them.

My New Fav Website:

http://kikinitinkorea.tumblr.com/

Picture > Words; Video > Picture

That thing I said earlier? It also applies to eating live octopus.

Although, if I had to describe eating live octopus in one word, it would be "chewy".

Nomnomnomnomnom.

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words, And A Video Is Like A Thousand Pictures

I could try and describe how awesome it was to see Psy live in Pyeongtaek, but instead of me gushing words that don't do it justice, behold: pictures and video.

Also, I can pretty much die happy now.

Waiting. . .

Floor Caste

In Korea (well, I'm sure it's like this everywhere, but I've never been high-rise apartment hunting anywhere else, so I don't know for sure) apartments get more expensive, the higher in the building you go.

When someone gets in the elevator and hits the button for a lower floor than us, we hold our heads up proudly and feel superior. 

When someone gets in and hits a higher number, we hang our heads in shame, like the peasants that we are. 

When someone hits the 23 Penthouse button, we back into the corner and don't even make eye contact.

Mom Was Right

I love how even the toasters here have positive messages:

"Mom was right. Eating breakfast keeps you healthy. 

He who has health has hope, and he who has hope has everything."

An Odd Sequence

Whoever does the programing for channel "Olive" needs to be fired. 

They just followed up a heartwarming "Yo Gabba Gabba" with a Mythbusters-type show on ancient Roman torture devices. 

On the upside, if anyone makes me a Gamemaker in a Hunger Games-type scenario, I now know all kinds of fun things to to do enemies of the Capital.

God help the children who didn't change the channel.

Desperate Times. . .

I may or may not have just stood in my kitchen and watched an entire episode of "Yo Gabba Gabba" featuring Sarah Silverman and Weird Al, because it was the only thing I could find on tv in English.

Things That Aren't Cool

When your bus driver abruptly says "bus line over" and leaves you on this corner alone.

A Post About Trash

Today I would like to devote a post to taking out the garbage.

In Korea, you recycle everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.

After nearly two months of practicing the trash, I'm practically a pro.

The city "encourages" recycling, by only picking up trash in specially marked "City of Pyeongtaek" garbage bags, that also happen to be quite pricey. Therefore, in an attempt to save on trashbag purchases, we sort cans, hard plastic (packaging), soft plastic (bags), glass, paper/cardboard, and food waste. After that's all sorted out, we have a city garbage bag that takes 2-3 weeks to fill up - my dad would be so proud.

The food waste bins smell just as good as they look.
- fun fact: the first time I dumped my food waste, 
I also upchucked some food waste. It was just that nasty in there -

Trash/recycling pickup happens once a week, between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. If you miss out on that, your garbage just marinates in your tiny laundry room for another full week, and smells more delicious every minute.

Also, if you murder a little girl and put her bloody uniform in your regular trash instead of the food waste, the trash inspector will find it by the smell and confront you, and your only option will be to throw him down the stairs to his death.

I saw it in a Korean movie.

Tasty Cakes

Someone gave me this box of delicious little fishy-shaped cakes, and told me they would "change my life." I decided to break into them at tea-time this afternoon. They are most definitely delicious, but taste suspiciously like rum.

Nomnomnom

 Brandon loves burgers, but you know who loves burgers even more?

Barack Obama.

High Tech Hotels

In Korea, this is pretty common sight in hotel rooms - a slot next to the door that you place your room key in. Once the key is inserted, the power in the room goes on. No key, no lights. It's a pretty nifty energy saving idea, but is terribly inconvenient when you want to go downstairs for a coffee, and your husband wants to stay in bed and watch television. 

(You also have you use your key to travel in the elevator).

This, however is a first. This sink can raise or lower itself a good eight inches, and sounds like a whale giving birth when it does.

Caution: You Will Be Eating Something Cute

Korean restaurants seem to have the odd habit of adorning their signs with adorable cartoon pictures of the animal you will be consuming inside.

 Chicken Little gives his spicy cousin a thumbs-up

I can't wait to find a restaurant with puppies on the sign.

Lessons Learned

When ordering the BLT at "Handel and Gretel", always ask for them to hold the peanut butter.

Today I. . .

. . .went straight from THIS

to THIS

Citations To Reliable Sources Are Essential To Quality Sweatshirts

Typical

No sir, don't mind me at all. Go ahead and park on the sidewalk, right where I'm waiting to cross the street.

Dude, Where's My Phone?

Part II of our big weekend in Seoul started out with a lost cell phone (we left it in a cab on Saturday night), and as a result most of Sunday was consumed by frantic searching.

We tried everything from "find my iPhone" (which does not work in Korea) to calling the (wrong) cab company forty-five times trying to get someone who spoke English, to having the front desk at our hotel check the surveillance tape to try and find the cab number.

Shopping in Itaewon (which is FABULOUS) isn't quite as fun when you have the knowledge that you're about to have to drop $300 on a new iPhone looming over your head. Fortunately, (for our bank account,  unfortunately for me) it kept my husband from buying me a $250 jacket.

At 5pm, we gave up on the search and started to head home. On a whim, we called the phone one last time, and actually got an answer. After tracking down a random girl who spoke Korean and English, we were able to set up a meeting spot with the cab driver to get the phone back.

Naturally, we felt rich for saving $300, and went straight to the market to buy fake designer earrings.

My first Korean clothing purchase.

Detail

 Fancy earrings

First purse (more to come, I'm sure)