Hot hot hot in mid October

The weather has been too warm for October! I don't know whether it's the beginning of summer or the middle of it.

It's nice during winter because our South facing window soaks up all the heat - but the unusually warm hot weather is puzzling, frustrating, and even worrying the beheevies out of me especially when just a few posts (weeks) ago I was unknowingly claiming the breezy cool start of autumn.  Again, I am wrong.

It's been going on for the past 2 weeks now.  The pm2.5 level pollution hovers around 80 - 100 range (normal is 20, China is around 400) and sometimes higher in my area.

It doesn't help the added frustration of just wanting to see the clear blue clear sky - not a hazy yellowy grayish depressing blue that looks cloudy - when I spot lines of chemtrail spraying right above us.  The boldness to be spraying chemicals in the sky when air pollution is way above normal!  The audacity!

I deeply worry about Korea.    I've been here since 2007 and I have never seen such horrid sky days, unpleasantly warm weather for October, and killer air pollution when days of clear days are the rarity.

I try to pay attention to our diet nowadays by eating cleaner and drinking more water.  Better to help yourself than complain complain and whine.

Ignore that gray dull sky and murky warm weather in October - that's the best you can do at this day of age.

The government here doesn't seem to care much about the situation - politics aside - more and more society all around the world shows who's boss.

Helping yourself is the best solution!

Diy: rubber gloves into useful big bands

If you're an avid pink glove user, you might just might have felt too guilty to throw away the worn pair (the right pair always seem to be the one that wears out first because I am right handed) while you're in the midst of finishing up your dish washing session.  I have.  Felt too guilty to throw a good pair just because I couldn't stand trickle of dirty water penetrating my index finger.  

To lessen this first(second) class world problem, just grab a pair of scissors and cut away!  

You can make little or big or stretchy or tight bands, for different uses and occasion.   

I use the looser band for big bags like pet food or beans, and tigher bands for closing up frozen food bags. 

It's very useful to have different bands for different occasions.  Now you can feel less guilty of throwing that almost good pair away.  

These are the fun little things house keepers like myself can come up and feel good about (patting myself on the back) when you do a chore many occasions enough.  

Bonus:  you can cut a big wider piece to help you open up jars!  

After chuseok - fall weather

The weather this chuseok wasn't as pleasant as it should have been - no blue sky in sight, but pale gray polluted air.  But that's no more!  

Ironic how the weather turned inside and out upside down after Chuseok.  We can see the ever so pretty blue sky and cotton candy clouds.

Fall also finally landed its path to stay - probably not as long as everyone hopes it would because autumn is one of the prettiest season in Korea.  Cool air, falling foliage leaves covers the streets makes you want to stroll and skip along with your favorite person hand in hand - and did I mention sweaters?  Hoodies?  It's my favorite time of the year!

The library in city hall had some books on sale in front.  I go giddy seeing books.

As pretty and colorful as they look - they were way too expensive for their condition - looked as if they were all thrown in a storage room 5 years ago only to be recovered and sold now.  

I hate to see books waste away and hope these find happy owners.

It was a lovely day to stroll and clean our lungs.  I felt relieved that the air cleared up. 

Cheonggyecheon stream still had people who enjoyed their river feet soaking - it felt too chilly for me to even try that.  The weather cooled off as the day went on.

There are plenty of restaurants and cafes around Gwanghwamun nowadays.  We love checking out what's new. 

We love this area.  Still have so many places we have yet to check out and eat.

What's your favorite place?

It's moving day! - Our experience using professional movers in Korea

Every 2 years we have to make a "stay or move" decision.  For some it's every year, which is even more excruciating. However easier it gets over time, it never gets easier on the bank account.  Usually if you decide to stay, the landlord will ask for a bigger rent(Wolse or jeonse) - and whether you accept or not decides whether you move or not.  It's not a fun game to play (no, it's not a game).  

This experience is a year old - when we finally decided to move out of the apt that gave us so much agony (location, neighbors, noise, etc).   We also lended the skills of professional movers to move us a few blocks down the road.   

It costs us roughly $1400 to move a whole apartment with 5 or so movers (don't remember the exact head count now).  To require that many people to move a less than 900 sq ft apartment shamed me.  I couldn't believe I had so much stuff!

It is costly to move.  Time consuming to say the least.  How unnecessary things can pile up and take so much effort to move.  I was housing things instead of the two of us!  Oh the lessons. 

My own petty lessons aside, I was pleasantly surprised at the job well done with the movers.  

To describe the movers is like having a military of professional stunt actors do an action movie in 10 minutes. Nope, not literally though, but at the end of the day, I just felt like I was thrown in a hurricane and left at peace - moved to a new location.  

They came in at 8am - emptied the house - loaded the huge truck by noon.  Drove to our new apt down the road.  We paid them for their lunch in cash which was not discussed - and some 30-40 minutes lunch break.  By 3-4pm everything was unloaded and in place.  My dishes were placed nicely by the nice ajumma.  My 30some pots of plants all survived and were handled well.  No damages.  The only iffyness was having to pay for their lunch (50,000won or so) which I didn't know we had to do - but as told by our Korean friend that it's customary to either pay for their lunch or tip them at the end.  

The apt was emptied.  Stuff piled into the truck.

Good bye old apt.

Emptied kitchen.

We handled our kitties.  They hid in the closet while the movers came in the new apt for the final placements. 

As you can see, my plants were handled well.  The details they took to lessen any damages surpassed our expectation. Every furniture piece was wrapped up in cloth and handled carefully.  

Again, I couldn't believe I had so many things...

How did I end up piling all these things.  

Never again I said to myself. 

They installed our bamboo blinds and curtains.  Pretty much anything to put the apt back together to what it was before was done.  

I decided to shelve the shelf myself since I had so many knick knacks I wanted to get rid of.

After they left - we were so relieved to be done with the big move.  It was our very first time hiring professional movers.  The experience was overwhelming to say the least.  They work so fast and hard.  I understand how Korea built their country from nothing from war time to what they are now - by hardwork and sweat.  I really appreciated the many lessons that day.  

Had some early dinner after the move.

I reminisced how I started from a suitcase in Korea to having to hire movers to move a whole apt.  I don't want to do that again.  

Thankfully, after that ordeal, I haven't bought one single piece of furniture or any big home goods.  We minimized our overall purchase (no bulk buys, emptying the fridge and pantry before buying more food, no new clothes..).  We are still downsizing.  Still ongoing.  

I don't know why it had to take that much effort and man power to put me back to my place, but better now than never.  

As for the prof movers in Korea - I would recommend them if you want to save effort and time - consider what's important to you.   However, perhaps consider just getting rid of half of your things before moving.  Maybe you'll only need a small truck or two for the job.  

I certainly wouldn't want to do it again.  It's not just the cost I want to spare, but the effort and time spent on moving stuff just doesn't seem all that of importance.

Quinoa and rice - Korean style (with side dishes)

Instead of just plain white rice, I added some quinoa - No waiting time needed unlike when adding other grains, which typically requires some soaking before cooking it with rice.  

The little bites of quinoa provide a nice texture.  And knowing the additional nutritional content that goes in every bite makes eating a bowl of rice even more interesting and enjoyable.  Sometimes plain white rice gets very stale (if you eat it almost every day) - so I've been adding lentils (soaked for half a day) and now quinoa that I found just sitting in the pantry.  

We try to eat simple - these days with ready made side dishes which makes life so much easier especially when cooking in the summer with the suppressed appetite that accompanies the weather leaves one much to prone to eating more unhealthy junk and processed food.  And the secret of that is to buy ready made side dishes! 

There are individual stores in Korea that sells just side dishes (banchan).  I love it love it.  It tastes much fresher than the ones in the the grocery stores which are packed up laden with preservatives. 

There were extra pears sitting out in our counter top because our fridge is too full, or too small, or the pears are too big... 

I cut them in slices and mixed them with the spicy "doraji" banchan to lighten it up.  The sauce on the doraji banchan was so strong that I didn't need to add anything.

Pears are really great with spicy dishes by the way.  You can probably add them to any spicy dish to give it a "salad" taste.

Korean pears are too die for! They are in season right now and taste their best.  I say stock up on them and eat them up before it's too late!

Apartment hunting and signing the contract - Seoul, Korea

This was our second apartment hunting in Korea.   This experience is over a year old - but I thought I'd share this finally.

Let's just say I hate don't particularly enjoy the process.  I am not one to enjoy shopping and choosing between unlimited options.  I even despise shopping for necessities like grocery.  Maybe I've been spoiled - because shopping takes too much time and effort when I can just rely on experts to pick the best apples and eggs through an app.  Gosh I love Korea, emart, and technology for this. 

Again going astray.

First of all, apartment hunting in Korea is like a game of get it or it will be gone tomorrow.  The truth is that half of it is true.  Things go fast here, especially if it's a good apartment.  But you gotta trust instincts. 

We set our eyes on this apartment complex because I don't know why - it just had everything - a Paris baguette downstairs, connected to the subway, and a 24 hours kimbap place.  

Sometimes we go all out on a plan, but one month before having to move out, we decided the hell with it and look at what looks good.  We picked a random realtor from the building and luckily she was diligent enough to show us 10+ apartments without appointment. 

We saw some places with great views of Han river.  

Emart online grocery delivery is the best

The weather is oven hot and who wants to go outside (not me) to hull grocery from the store.  We don't have a car and are thrifty folks that despise riding in stale aired taxis.  I usually just like to walk 20 minutes (free workout) to go to emart on a good day, those are the days when the sky is blue and the air is breathable without having your lungs over worked.  But on days like this, even a frugal health conscious me cannot get myself to get out to sweat like a sauna fanatic to save a few thousand wons and get a free workout.

That's when I wait for the emart sale days.  I diligently check my emart app to see what offers they have for the day, the best ones are the 12% off over 70,000won purchase with a 5% discount on using your KB card.  That's a pretty good deal.  It comes maybe once a month.  I couldn't wait any longer for the KB card discount, so I went ahead and got my online grocery for 12% off!  Almost 10,000won saved.  I usually get the very essentials - like the cookie my cat is standing next to for a photo opt.  He knows what mommy prizes.

Emart is not the cheapest, but if you use the coupon deals they have with free delivery, then say no more. 

That's a good deal. They are always on time too.  You choose a time slot between 2-3 hours time frame.  For example, you will select a time slot of 1-4pm delivery, and it will get delivered within that time.  They drop your goodies in your house, usually on the door step inside.  They used to drop each item one by one, but now drop it in big plastic bags.  I like this system very much!  

One of the many good reasons Korea rules!  

I can order big heavy items without lifting a finger, well a few fingers to click on bottons to make my order online. 

They also always deliver the freshest items.  I haven't had a problem.  A few cracked eggs came in one time, but I let that slide because I've ordered so many times and this was pretty minor and would only costs me less than 1000won loss and complaining and phoning them would cost me more time.  Some things aren't worth the effort.

Overall, emart delivery system is the best.    Pair it with coupon sales and you'll be saving 10% in groceries easily!  

Hurray savings and efficient system and technology!

www.emart.com

Monsoon season in Korea

It's the end of July and it's that time of the year again.

Rain and lots of rain.

Thankfully, the weather has been cool and breezy! :D

View from 28th floor

It's amazing what a difference a house makes.  Or even a subway station away makes.

We moved only one station away and our lives are SO much better and happier already!  There are so many things to list to why things are much different and better now.



First of all, I don't feel "stuffy"!   at all!  I can look out our living room and see the blue sky and clouds.  No building blocking the view.   I don't feel "cooped up" now.

two:  
Our neighborhood feels humbler, more people friendly from the "high nosed" community we were living in.

Just because we were in a "famous name brand" apartment complex, our old neighborhood felt so snooty!  You can just feel it in the air.  FYI:  I am an empath that feels energies.  Look it up online if you are one!

The difference in our new place is that, since our apt building houses small to very large homes (differ in prices), nobody acts like they're better than the other.   I haven't gotten that feeling or felt the energy.  There's a mix of classes (not that it matters), but you can feel the "variety" and somehow, it feels much warmer here.

I hate to say that the environment makes a difference, but it does.  Sure, you can live somewhere not so great and feel great too.  But it makes it so much easier to feel a "happier warmer energy" where you are living.




3)
Already, we are loving our new home.  We haven't heard any neighbors talking next door (yes, we used to hear our neighbors talk, not that we were trying).

This building we are in was constructed in 2004, which most Koreans know, the older apts have better, thicker walls.  hah!  Our previous apt was built in 2011..and you could hear pretty much everything (babies crying, fighting couples, calling their dog,...etc etc..).

BIG LESSON:  live only in "older" apts.  I'm not sure what the cut out year is.  I heard that the recent govnt allowed a huge leeway on regulations on wall thickness, building law, etc... etc... so the newer apts aren't always great.




4)
I haven't had the need to cook!  We have restaurants in our lower floors!  So much variety and cheaper too!  I couldn't describe how awesome it is.  And they're not just "blah food" places either.  So thankful.



5)
We have grocery store in our building.  And they have great fruit selection and decent prices.


6)
Our building is connected to the subway.  No walking, busing home.


7)
Our neighborhood has great restaurants just behind our building is the "restaurant street".



Because of this new home, we are appreciating Seoul more and more.

Amazing how my perception changes just like that.

I tell ya, the only constant thing is CHANGE.




namaste

Emart card is a joke (Shinsegae)

I gave up my "emart point card" long time ago.

We spent a good amount on it (30ks+) and received a measly 30,000won store credit.  We bought things at Shinsegae mall, Cartier, Emart...

Seriously, a big scam.


We are just giving out our information on what we're buying(..etc) for the company to better rip us off.

I gave up on those points card like I gave up on Facebook (same concept).

I shop at Emart (Shinsegae chains) without their card now.  And I always get asked if I have a point card, as if I'm missing out!  They may want you to feel like you are, but believe me, it's better not to bother with it for its measly small points. 

But I am soft on Lotte point card and other cards that actually DO rack up good points.  For now, Emart (Shinsegae) is not getting my shopping info.

F4 visa renewal & change of address & number

As of 2015,

You can renew your F4 visa only 2 months before it ends.  So you can't renew it 6 months before your visa expires.

Also to change your address, you just have to go to your nearest "gu-chung" (city or district hall) before 14 days after moving. 

Toll free number is 1345.

You can get to a rather friendly voice with different languages.

Hope that helps anyone.

The story of my life

For a long time, I had a hard time figuring out where to put myself.  I am half Korean and Filipino  + American (KoreanFilipino-American??).

I was raised in the jungle (playing under huge papaya trees and delicate star fruit trees) in Philippines (amazing memories), studied Korean culture when I was in grade school in Korea, and grew up in the states as a rebel (trying to figure who I was).

 

Everyone makes their own experiences from the same thing.

I came back to Korea because partly I didn't really know who I was.

I didn't fit in America - I graduated with a 4 year degree and didn't feel like I was born to work a 9-5 job and do what everyone was doing.  I left the states to find myself.  

I had no relatives in Korea (long story)  - but I knew that I needed to be alone and figure things out on my own. 

I hated being asked why I came to Korea when everyone wants to be in America.

I would get asked about my real heritage - I was an American, but not quite Korean looking... Koreans were damn curious.

It's a love and hate relationship, like your family/relatives.  You love them, but sometimes, you just don't want to...  It's like that.  Korea is that to me.

But I've come to accept Korea for the great things.

I have an easy life here because I am Korean blooded (they keep my Korean name in my ARC btw as a reminder?).   My visa is 3 years and I can do what I want (kind of). 

I am also very fortunate that I don't have to work at a 9-5 job because I don't have to have a car/house(=tied down).   I feel almost sick to my stomach thinking how that concept is the success platform of a college grad.  

I can do what I want here (thanks also to my husband who supports my many dreams).  Korea is a good place to start a business if you know what you're doing.  Many Korean-Americans are changing the food scene for one.  It's exciting to see the changes. 

I've traveled well and seen a few countries being in Korea.  I probably wouldn't have traveled much being in USA (media/money/life style?).



It's funny how it's just a perception.  It took a while for me to get it.

I hope everyone makes the best out of everything given to them.  Or just do what they want and be happy.


You know just be happy.

photo credit: Watching telly, drinking wine... photo credit: one daisy, two daisy via photopin (license)via photopin (license) photo credit: 212/365 Wash Away the Past via photopin (license)

The cost of moving in Korea

wow, it's expensive to move in Korea.

This is our first "real move" here.  With all the stuff we accumulated over the years and having a much bigger place for 4 years..  We hired a mover.

It costs 1,390,000 won.

::: we will have 4 men and 1 woman over around 8am and work until 4~5pm.  It also includes the "elevator truck"(?) used in apartments here and the end of the month is "expensive" and not to mention the Spring season (high season for moving).  And we are only moving one subway station away.   I was expecting somewhat around it, but it's not so bad that they are going to clean and put everything together (installing blinds, frames etc).  We won't have to do anything - except just to take our valuables separately with us. 


***The process of hiring a mover is to call a few ones, have them come over and get an estimate, set up appointment and pay a down payment (we paid 100,000won) for the date.  They will give you a contract and make sure to ask everything you want to know. 

The nice thing is that these movers guaranteed that they would wrap things well with its own covers (mattress/sofas..etc) and move everything with caution.  I just heard horror stories on the internet about the movers here breaking things and scratching up the floors even with a reputable name.

I will keep posted on how the move goes.


If you want to move well and without sweating, you have to pay a good amount.  But we are thankful for these services here so we are not complaining.  Renting your own truck is actually difficult in Korea - you supposedly cannot rent/drive the trucks without a separate license for it - it's no wonder you don't see "U-hauls" around here.




photo credit: Books in Hall — So Many! via photopin (license)

Korean superiority complex

You know what annoys me about Koreans?  They think they're above all the other asian race/countries.

You can see this ignorance easily in "naver" comments/forums/discussions, commenting on a Korean celebrity, like SNSD's "suyoung" or a new upcoming star on how she looks "south east asian!" ("Dong-nam-ah") as if it's an insult.  They poke and make fun of even their own celebrities when they look dark skinned, bigger eyes/lips..etc.. they label you as, "dong-nam-ah". 


It's so disgusting and sad.  I know this is not just in the internet, but deep down ingrained in a lot of Koreans.  They were born into thinking that they ARE indeed the superior Asian race.

Personally, I am half Filipino and Korean.  I lived in Korea in the 1990-95.   It was a rough, but memorable time.  For the bad stuff, I got discriminated for having a different skin color/face.  To share one incident, I had stones thrown at me when I was walking down a street (I was in grade school).  It wasn't easy.  So I know and went through this whole issue. 



Things haven't changed much since then unfortunately.

I saw and felt this energy when I was just in Cambodia and Vietnam recently.  The loudest and most snobbish group of tourists were ---- Koreans (with their flawless makeup, sunglasses, outfit.. - like do you really need to look like that in angkor wat?).  They couldn't be any louder!  Grouped in 20+ folks, they didn't even look like they wanted to be there - speaking with their loud Korean(language) and obnoxious demeanor as if they owned the place.  I never felt so disgusted and embarrassed for them.  The sad thing is, they wouldn't even know how nasty they are.

Koreans heavily focus on looks - the cleaner, the whiter the better.  Frankly, they don't care what you are deep inside.  You're dark skinned - you're a "dong-nam-ah" and of lower level than them - they label you that immediately.  I'm not saying that ALL Koreans think this way - but it's very real and true about Korean mentality - somehow they are better than Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia...etc. 

As for beauty and Korean women, they are looking like Frankenstein nowadays, I couldn't tell who is who on TV or in the streets.  Korea doesn't value natural beauty.  When actually some of the more beautiful women I've seen are from Vietnam.  They have some delicate features that mixes around Asia. And to me that's beautiful!  A standard "look" doesn't beat a mix of this and that - every beauty is different.  I think it's so robotic to label as one standard as beautiful.

It's a shame how Koreans see these so called "south east asian countries" as "'lower class".  I don't think any scale of GDP or whatever, marks a country any better than the other. 


I just had to spill my beans here about this on going "we are Korean, we're better" attitude.  I really despise it.  I hope one day, some day, Koreans will learn a thing about inner beauty.

Just because someone is dark skinned - you don't label them as, "dong-nam-ah" and put them down with your nasty energy.  For those that do that are only reflecting what they feel about themselves.





photo credit: TheMalt via photopin cc