Figuring Out My Way Around...Kind of

Today, my friends, I had a few minor break-throughs that helped to squash my homesickness. This morning, I felt fairly ill when I woke up at 5:45 a.m. (for maybe the first time in my life!)  Something I ate yesterday must not have agreed with my stomach.  As I said yesterday, baby steps.  A Western-style breakfast of a blueberry muffin and orange juice gave me a little comfort.  I mentally thanked my mom for suggesting to take peanut butter & crackers and meal bars.  Especially during these first few days, when my stomach is in knots caused by unfamiliarity, having a few familiar things to eat definitely keeps me sane.  That is not to say I am not excited to try many new things - just maybe not for breakfast.  I'm sorry, but I'm not sure that gimbap (Korean-style sushi) will ever appeal to me when I wake up.  For lunch?  Sure.  Dinner?  Absolutely.  Just not breakfast.  


Hong and I navigated our way around campus to breakfast, cutting a 20-minute walk to around 12 with a short cut we found.  Feeling successful after that triumph, we decided to venture to the E-Mart in Wangsimni with a fellow ONU classmate, Gabi, and her roommate, Michelle.  Nobody was sure where to go exactly, but Hong and I had a pretty good idea after our tour around town on the first night here.  We took the subway to Wangsimni, and sure enough, we found E-Mart!  


Below, is a picture of a structure that distributes long, thin plastic bags for customers' umbrellas.  These devices are in almost every store I have been in in Seoul.  At first, I thought it was optional, until I watched Scott get chased back to the bags by a salesperson.  Sure, it seems like kind of a waste of materials, but I think the majority of the places recycle the bags.

Now, I bag my sopping wet umbrella everywhere I go!  

After buying some detergent in E-Mart and walking around Wangsimni Plaza, we took the subway back to Hanyang, where we ate some ramyeon, a kind of instant-noodle soup, at Hanyang Plaza.  The soup has Ramen-like noodles, vegetables, and egg in a spicy broth.  I ate the soup with chopsticks in my left hand and a spoon in my right, as directed by Hong.  Watching Gabi and I eat this way was probably hilarious to passersby, as it took us about 45 minutes to eat a bowl of soup.  There is something kind of cool about that, though.  It forces me to not simply inhale my food, but rather, to enjoy it.

Acuvue Define lenses, which make Asian eyes look bigger.

This Acuvue advertisement is posted outside the Korean restaurant.  According to Hong, these contacts are very popular in Asian countries (but illegal in the U.S.)  Apparently, the contacts make eyes look larger and less-almond shaped.  It is interesting how beauty ideals differ across cultures.   

And now, at 5:00 p.m., we are back in the dorm resting.  Tonight, we plan to go to Hongdae to check out the nightlife and find noraebang (karaoke).  Noraebang are very popular in Korea.  Tomorrow, we have a walking tour of Seoul and Monday, we have orientation to Hanyang.  Classes begin on Tuesday!