More photos Wednesday

Today is ESL mid-term exam day. That doesn't mean anything much very exciting, except I'm going out with work afterwards for dinner, which should be fun. Here's another half-hearted update because I don't feel like typing :)

First - this is the Dongdaemun fabric market. It's really huge!

This is the building from the outside. 6 or 7 floors of fabric and fabric crafting stuff.
Awesome and totally overwhelming!

This is in Myeongdong. These guys freak me out.

Traditional Korean dining.

Traditional fermentation of soybean paste

Pork galbi!

Bugs. They taste like bugs.

Drawers are finished! Kinda funky :D

Cherry Blossom Sunday

Spring has sprung!

Back to five things Wednesday

Yes, I've been slack again :) I'm not *that* super busy, but somehow all my time goes... somewhere!
This past weekend I found a gym I want to join, bought some shoes for hiking, went to a wedding, worked on my trash-drawers, watched some Grey's Anatomy (AKA: best show on Earth), and just about strangled Andy. Not really his fault, he's just a naturally annoying person.

But, anyway, some photos:

Funny warning on the back of the knife I bought. hehe "keep the scissors out of children" :D *stab stab*

My drawers 'before'. Stay tuned for an 'after' one day soon.

Fittata in a rice cooker

Dark chocolate almond banana

My new shoes

All dressed up for Andy's friend's brother's wedding.

And now, back to five things so far this week that have been awesome:

1) Having Monday off is amazing

2) I found a gym and will be joining this week

3) I'm having a lot of fun redecorating the drawers

4) I made a lovely carbonara over zucchini for dinner last night

5) It's been really sunny - I hope it holds out until Saturday, I'm going hiking again :)

Got my hair done Monday

Oooh, two posts in one day :)

I went to Dongtan on the bus this moring (I love Dongtan) to go to 'Blue Ocean Hair Salon', which had been recommended to me by another foreigner here in Osan. I booked in last week for a perm! Yeah, the permanent curly kind. It's been on my bucket list for a while, and I finally got up the courage to get it done.

Well, it took a good 2 hours and involved these funky plug-in hair rollers and a lot of waiting, but $65 later, I was curly! It's a lot messier than I wanted, but I think that's just how they styled it for me. They put some wax gunk in it, and to me it just looks like my hair is dirty. We'll see what happens on Wednesday when I wash my hair :D

And, without further ado, some pictures:

'Before'

After!

It's growing on me the more I look at it :)

Hiking update Monday

I'm being super slack about keeping up with my blog, I know. And then, when I do feel like updating, I get overwhelmed thinking I have to write so much, but it's my blog, so I can write little if I want to :D

So, on Saturday I went hiking  It was supposed to be an easy beginners hike, but conditions changed and we had to hike a different way and it was very steep - scaling rock faces and climbing up and down very steep paths with ropes. It even started to snow at the end of the hike! It was a really awesome day, though, and something I'll definitely do again.

Here's a video one of the group made of the hike (not me!), followed by my photos:

Frittata Monday

So, it turns out rice cookers are not just for rice. Do you know what you can make perfectly in a rice cooker? That's right! Frittata! I just made one for my lunch this week and it came out beautifully. I'll be experimenting more with using the rice cooker as an oven.

Today didn't end up being what I wanted, but it was a great day. I was so excited about going to the fabric market and getting started on some projects, but when I woke up this morning I discovered that while my cold was a whole heap better (thanks to doctor mirror head???), I've pulled a muscle in my back. Probably when I carried the chest of drawers from the trash with Andy. BTW, they are awesome and I have BIG BIG plans for them. So, I didn't go to Seoul - hours on a train with a spasming back didn't seem like a great idea.

Instead, Andy (who took the day off work to do stuff with his building) came with me in the afternoon and helped me get my phone hooked up and my bank account sorted. I also got paid today! So now I've got a phone, a bank card, and money to spend - life is just a little bit simpler now.

Yesterday I made an appointment at the hairdresser in Dongtan that someone recommended to me. On Monday I will be getting a perm! Awesome and true. The totally lovely hairdresser trained in NZ, and when I told her where I was from she gave me a huge hug and we talked about Auckland a bit. She was so, so, so nice. I'm really looking forward to going - and I've seen the results of what she can do, and I'm keen to give it a go.

I've also signed up for a beginners hike on Saturday on a very easy trail south of here and by the sea. I was feeling like it was time to get out and get going with life in Korea, so here I go.

The craft will just have to wait a couple of weeks. But those drawers are going to be so much fun :)

Surprise on a Sunday

It's Sunday today and my cold is feeling not so bad. Either it's just not a truly awful cold, or the weird experience from yesterday was actually beneficial. Either way, I'm having a good day today. I started off with a lovely chat with mum, on Skype. It was so nice to see her and hear about what's going on at home. They recently got stranded in Vanuatu for nearly five days, so she had some stories to tell :D

After that (and playing the computer a while), I decided to go for a walk. I checked the mail on the way out and my ARC has arrived! So, tomorrow = credit cards and cellphones! Woohoo! I also checked the rubbish pile for promising looking furniture to redecorate and there's a mid-sized chest of drawers out there I want. Hopefully Andy will help me get them when he gets home. I'm not sure quite why, as the stuff is in fine condition, but there's just something vaguely shameful about taking things out of the rubbish. But, I have plans for these drawers. I'm going to a huge fabric and craft market/centre tomorrow in Seoul, and I've got about three projects in mind to buy for. I'm excited!

But, my biggest surprise came when I decided to explore the complex where I live. I've only even walked from the entrance to my building (there's a few different buildings - 5 or 6? Any way, I walked in the other direction around the parking lot and came across a dirt path leading through some farm patches and up onto a hill. I walked up there along a really pretty little trail and eventually came to a flat, mown area with benches, exercise equipment, and a wee pagoda. It was lovely! There was sun and sky and grass and trees. Very nice.

I was planning on going hiking this weekend, but who wants to go hiking with a cold? So, while this wasn't 'proper' hiking, I'm going to count it :)