• EXPAT LIFE | GRRRL TRAVELER

Korean Love Story #1: Where’s my Yellow Dust face mask?

Filed under Korea, Survival Issues by MyCrazyKimchi on April 18, 2010 at 5:28 pm {5 comments}

Updates: I’ve been quiet for some time and major apologies. I’ve been very busy handling my shock and culture shock. Here’s what’s been going on a) So the sun hasn’t been out in like, FOREVER since winter and even as we’re sliding into Spring, all is still gray, depressing… and COLD; b) This leads me to take weekly weekend excursions in an attempt to snap out of a depressing “I’m alone, having a hard time” funk and back into “travel adventure” mode; c) I love my students (my 4th graders especially, as I have boys that “squeal” like little girls when they’re excited) and the job of teacher-taining; d) I’m learning that while you should respect a culture and its systems, there are times you’d be at a gross and unfair disadvantage unless you occasionally pull out your “foreigner/’waygook‘ card”; d) …which brings me to the lame co-teacher thing & how I’ve been patient and nice up until now…; e) My survival and dealing with my funk in Korea rests solely upon me.

Sexy, no; but cute? Yes. My face mask, ironically called “Love Story”…
is not what I’m feeling for this place now.

Seeing face masks on my students in class or on passing pedestrians in the subway and on Daegu streets have become a norm for me. Face masks are commonplace here- many of them even have a cute or color design to them (animal faces, Hello Kitty, you name it…) to make them more appealing, stylish and friendly to fun.

Before moving to Korea, Asians wearing face masks was something I just didn’t understand. On my recent JAL flight over here, seeing people (more…)

Getting a Korean phone (when you don’t know the language)

Filed under Just Show Me Pictures!, Korea by MyCrazyKimchi on April 18, 2010 at 3:56 pm {5 comments}

: My new phone. Many Korean phones come with a Korean-English word dictionary
& subway maps for the major cities in Korea.

Warning: This is not a “How To” on getting a Korean phone…

After what I’ve gone through, I’d probably call it a “How not to get a Korean phone”.

Being new to a country, the last thing you want is extraneous stress and confusion when dealing with important things, like cellphones and phone plans. Still, when the one person (i.e. my Korean co-teacher), whom you were told could help you set up the necessities of your brand new life, can’t lend simple advice or avoids helping you outside of work hours, what do you do?

Whatever it takes. (more…)

What to Bring to Korea: A Costco card!

Filed under Daegu, Korea by MyCrazyKimchi on April 8, 2010 at 10:54 pm {5 comments}

Hello all, Been having some difficulty with this post’s visibility so hopefully this has been corrected. Thanks for your patience

Before I came to Korea, I scoured various online expat and info sources for advice as to “What to Bring if You’re Moving to Korea”. Frankly, these lists only helped mildly- when I arrived I was both, OVER & UNDER-prepared. In fact, the things you think Korea wouldn’t have, they do and if they do have it, it either takes a bit of a search to find or you pay a tad more for it than you normally would in the U.S. (more…)

Loving Hut: Finally, Love for Vegans & Vegetarians in Korea!

Filed under Cool/Veg Restaurants & Bars, Daegu by Christine Ka'aloa on March 30, 2010 at 9:16 am {10 comments}

What does a vegetarian do when they find a vegan restaurant in Korea? (gasp!)

They fall to their knees and thank the Korean Christian god- I have never been so grateful for a restaurant in my life! A block and a half away from Kyodae subway stop & the Daegu National Education University, there it was- my first vegan restaurant in Korea. To look at a menu with both, pictures (so that you can see exactly what you get ) and dishes without veggie restrictions is enough to make you jump up and down and squeal like a little boy with excitement, while foreseeing your year filled with food again. I immediately (more…)

Being a Vegetarian in Korea (Part II): Weight-loss in Korea

Filed under Fear Factor Foods, Off-beat, Weird... Reality! by MyCrazyKimchi on March 25, 2010 at 4:32 pm {6 comments}

A Popular Snack in Korea: Cooked Silkworm Larvae

I’m not sure how weight-loss works with Koreans, but let me shed light on how it works with foreigners. During my orientation, two girls I knew claimed to drop pants sizes within their first week of arriving. Not possible, right? Not without some major medical operation… but feeling my pants hang off of my body last week at work, the word “belt” comes to mind.

1. The Traveler’s Diet

As a traveler, I always feel like there’s something in the food of a different country, that despite how fried, oily or creamy something is… you lose weight. I take great groans in keeping fit or at least “looking it”. In Thailand, I lived on street food and almost everything I ate had a level of “deep-fried guilt” to it (even the bugs!) Yet upon my return, I was pounds lighter ! How’s that possible? Many who travel to Asia claim the same experiences. I understand the stress of navigating a foreign place or the constant movement to get your sightseeing in. Maybe all of that burns calories… (more…)

Being a Vegetarian in Korea (Part I)

Filed under Survival Issues, Vegetarian Life by MyCrazyKimchi on March 25, 2010 at 4:25 pm {13 comments}

So how hard is it for a fun-loving vegetarian travel gal to acclimate to Korea? I’ll tell you- friggin hard! …

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What is The Korean Crud?

Filed under Crazy Korea, Korea by MyCrazyKimchi on March 14, 2010 at 12:49 pm {16 comments}

1) Finally found western toilets (in the Grade 1-3 bldg behind our bldg)- it’s a bit of a walk and the toilet paper container is always empty; often you’ll see me – in bundled coat, scarf, Korean sandals- quickly shuffling between classes with a roll of t.p. under my armpit; 2) My CT and I aren’t “best-ies” as some other folk are with theirs; I’ll give it a bit more time before giving up; 3) How To Navigate Being a Vegetarian in Korea is my new formidable wall (and you will hear from me as quickly as I can say “starving”); 4) What is The Korean Crud?

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Korean Cold

Filed under Crazy Korea, Korea by MyCrazyKimchi on March 4, 2010 at 11:36 am {7 comments}

The words cold and Korean are synonymous… it’s winter here and the buildings in Korea don’t have central heating. Instead, buildings get “selective heating”…

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GRRRL Goes Whimpery in Her New Korean Location

Filed under Just Show Me Pictures!, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on March 2, 2010 at 3:33 pm {35 comments}

I’m gonna start my Korean blogging with my first “real” GRRRL whimper… the moment when “yours truly” turned girlie whiny and wanted to book the first flight home!