Keyless doors

When I asked for the keys to my first apartment, I was told that there weren't any.
Keyless locks are amazing for the simple fact that I never have to scramble for a key in a dark hallway.
You just slide the upper plate up, type in your four digit code, listen for the chime that means it's correct, wait for the tumblers to slide open, then tada! You're inside :)

One con: If you are home alone, you should deactivate the power. This way it'll act like a deadbolt, and no one can try to get in. I had a couple random "service" men try to get inside on a couple occasions. So to get around this, I would just turn it off.

Anyway, it's a good thing for those who hate juggling keys (like me!)

A cool treat on a hot day

If you're hot and you want a cool treat, head to the patbingsu vendors. You can usually find them by their big, colourful umbrellas and the sound of ice being shaved.

The original version is very simply composed of shaved ice and sweetened, red azuki beans (known as pat). Red beans are what makes it happen, according to a friend of mine.

However, if you're not into the ever-present red beans (I'm not crazy about them), then there are many other varieties to choose from now. You can get green tea or fruit bingsu. Coffee is also another alternative seeing as Koreans love all things coffee or mocha flavoured.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm not much of a baseball fan. I've visited the Skydome (sorry, Roger's Centre) in Toronto a couple times for games, but I found it lacklustre at best. The fans were bored, the seats were empty, and the game was uninteresting. So when my husband asked me if I wanted to go to a baseball game, I declined...
...
I got a look. It was a look of pure shock and horror that I would ever say no to such a thing. In fact, I got the exact same look from his brother when he repeated my answer to him. So my curiosity was peaked ever so slightly. Was this just because they are die-hard fans? Or am I missing something??

Well, to make a long story short, I agreed to go. We were armed with umbrellas to protect our delicate faces, whole roast chickens from a street vendor, and 1000 won kimbap rolls. We were ready. Except we weren't. We didn't have newspapers.

I was confused.

They were adamant about the newspapers. We had to search high and low for them. I suggested playing a Korean game instead of reading newspapers. This was rejected.
So, we got the newspapers and headed into the stadium. It filled up FAST. By the time the game was about to start, the place was packed. There wasn't even any standing room anymore. I was starting to feel excited.

So the newspapers: they shredded them and made pom-poms! And everyone had one :)

The game started and it was one of the best times I had in Korea. Everyone was dancing, shaking their pom-poms, and sing one of about 20 different songs and chants. It was FUN!

Most random part of the day: When the stadium staff handed out orange garbage bags, everyone immediately inflated them and put them on their heads. I'm not lying. It was the strangest thing ever. Suddenly I was in a sea of orange bags :)

I highly recommend going to a Giant's game in Busan. I've heard that it's not quite the same in the other cities. Let me know if it's just as good!

Galbi - Korean BBQ at it's best

I'm absolutely addicted to samgeopsal (pork belly bbq) but that's a story for a different day :)

I love these restaurants with the raised, heated floors. You can eat and chat for hours on end!
And the whole concept of cooking your own food is fun.. which I suppose you could do at home, but it just wouldn't be as fun now, would it?? And you and your friends can take turns cooking. Although, if you're invited out for dinner by a Korean, they will expect to do the cooking for you because you are their guest.

A tip for the kitchen: Having a pair of "kitchen" scissors kicking around is so handy! I use them for meat (as seen in the picture), or cutting up chives/green onions, cutting up gim (dried seaweed), etc! I don't know why we don't routinely use them in Canada!

But anyway! Back to the topic on hand.
Galbi is marinated beef ribs (apparently it can also be pork ribs, but I don't think that's as common). They are marinated in a soy sauce base with garlic and sugar and then grilled to delicious perfection.
One of the best parts is wrapping a piece of meat with rice and ssamjang (a sauce made from fermented bean paste and red pepper paste). Things tend to get very awkward at this point when you try to stuff it all in your mouth at the same time! :)

As you'll notice in the picture above, the people are not wearing shoes. Remember to take your shoes off either in the restaurant entranceway (they usually have cubbyholes for them), or before you step up into the eating area. At this particular restaurant, the shoes are tucked neatly under the doorway where you see my husband in purple standing.
It would be considered very impolite and embarrassing if you were to wear them into the dining area.

If you're out and about and looking for something to do, I highly recommend galbi bbq. Grab some friends and eat until you're stuffed! :)

I'm back!

A million apologies for not maintaining this blog! chae-song-hamnida!!!

Now that my husband and I are fairly settled, I can now get back into this blog again.
AND, I now know more about Korea than ever before.. so it'll be a bonus for all :)

If you want me to answer a specific question, or fill you in on something you don't know.. just ask!

Talk about neglected....

Sorry for the major neglect. I shouldn't have let it get this bad.

:(

But anyway..

I went to a wake last night with the guys. I found out yesterday morning that Jennifer's grandfather had passed away, so I messaged Eric and asked what the custom is.
First.. dress up. So I rushed home and put on some nice clothes. Then I met up with the guys.. (which resulted in some really really bad tie-tying for Charlie's tie. we eventually asked a random man standing in the entrance of the funeral home. FOR THE RECORD --> on the bus home, we learned how to really tie a tie. Apparently it's in one of Charlie's textbooks.. haha. I can now tie a double windsor! woo!)
But anyway!!
Then, we went inside. There were flowers everywhere.. smelled so nice. And there were 2 rooms across from each other. In one room was the casket.. 2 family members were in attendance. The other room looked like a dining room. I was told to be loud and happy. Funerals are supposed to be a happy affair. So we went in, and were served more food than we could possibly eat. (I was told to eat as much as possible.. no problem seeing as I hadn't eaten dinner yet)
Everyone was in good spirits.. and the family wore grieving garments. The garments were different, depending on the relationship to deceased man. They were made of simple linen. His daughters wore a headband of sorts.. his sons wore a tall hat of the same material. His grandchildren wore very simple outfits.. similar to housecoats only two pieces (top & skirt) and more fitted for the girls.

There are more ceremonies, but I'll probably end up missing them because I work late for the next few nights.

Interesting how their funerals are opposite from ours, eh?

Having some fun at work..

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