Poster sign of the popular 2007 K-drama, The Coffee Prince
I was in Seoul for my birthday weekend with my friend, Chance, when the urge for Sunday morning brunch struck. We were starvin Marvins and in the mood for a lazy meal at cafe. Our cafe requirements? “Funky, trendy, Seoul-ish” (we were being girlie). But then the same conundrum that always arises around food, did. What to eat?… no, WHERE. There’s something about being a traveler in Korea that’s always a bit (more…)
I rarely regret the choices I’ve made, except for maybe now…
It’s no secret that I’ve made every effort to travel on the weekends- Seoul, Busan, Cheongdo, Geongju, Jinhae, etc… Aside from my inexpressible gasping-for-air-need to get out of Daegu, brought on by the culture shock I underwent my first months here, I actually think Daegu is- to put it bluntly- (more…)
I realize that certain honeymoon periods can arrive late. So, I take back what I said about Daegu Costco being “Eh“- I’m glad I’m a Costco (pronounced: Co-su-tu-co for your taxi cab) member! Don’t get me wrong, Daegu Costco didn’t grow a larger imported foods and produce sections since last I visited, so why am I changing my tune?
My transition into expat life feels more settled by month #4
And now it’s sinking in- the foods and products I’m starting to miss (no, crave !) easy accessibility towards or any accessibility at all. It’s like that ex-boyfriend you recently broke up with and thought you’d be fine without, only to realize later, you miss the reassurance of a past life and its comfortable habits. For me and expat translation, this means (more…)
Summer warms up and with that a handful of things follow:
- the heat (Daegu is known to have the hottest weather in all of Korea– not looking forward to this!)
- mosquitoes (I’ve heard that at some point, I’ll need to invest in a mosquito net)
- Summer English Camp at my school and one other (and the last-minute notice I will undoubtedly be given to plan and give a 3-day lesson plan for both)
- planning my summer trip to Vietnam in August!
Houston, we have hummus!
While a large chunk of Korea was rooting on their team in the Argentina match, I was busy celebrating the fact I found a hummus sandwich shop in the maze of Daegu’s Bandwoldang! Even better– its next door to a low fat yogurt shop! Obviously, these are two foods that are not synonymous with Korea (more…)
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. As a vegetarian undergoing culture shock, discovering CostCo was my personal god-send. Costco was a neutral nose zone for me with enough “American Costco” products and familiarity to make me feel a little “Home-Safe-Home”.
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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…)
A Popular Snack in Korea: Cooked Silkworm Larvae
I’m not sure how weight-loss works with Koreans, but let me shed some 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…)
Updates: 1) Whether I got the Korean Crud or not, I don’t know but I did get a cold vs. a stomach virus and I think it had to do with 2) the onslaught of Yellow Dust season which i’ll be blogging soon, along with 3) the annual Cheongdo Bullfighting Festival and 4) buying a phone/plan when you don’t speak Korean.
Having dinner with an old and dear college friend... & not knowing how to navigate my issues with non-vegetarian, mystery food. On the table: fish, egg, silkworm larvae, snails, mystery sushi.
So how hard is it for a fun-loving vegetarian travel gal to acclimate to Korea? I’ll tell you- friggin hard! …
Being a Chaeshickchu (Vegetarian) in Korea
Chaeshickchu means vegetarian and I don’t want to be a whiny Chaeshickchu who complains about not being able to eat the food here. Korea does have food I can eat; my choices are just narrower and finding new veggie options to live my year by, when I have limited knowledge of the country foods, can feel rough. Well, more than rough…starving!
Living Language Korean
Two weeks ago:
Vegetarian Mouth to Language
It’s hard to imagine that food and learning a foreign language can feel so intimately connected, but right now it does. To learn a word is to chew into it and digest it; and when you’re a vegetarian moving abroad to a foreign country like Korea, to eat you’ll eventually need to learn to read a restaurant menu, food ingredients or be able to ask the waitress about vegetarian options. If eating is important to you…
Which brings me to- learning survival phrases. Mastering survival phrases are great for a short-term travel band-aid and may even get you through the course of a year of living abroad. But I think- being able to read bus schedules, store/street signs and to communicate in a more modes, than mute, giggle, or grunt all help to create an easier road into expat life. Right now, my dangling carrot for focusing on Korean literally starts at food. (more…)
