My western style weekend!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ok, I've finally sat down to write. I've been wanting to all week, but have had this nasty cold that just won't go away and haven't felt up to it. I've been told it hits most people shortly after they get here and I've been one of them. It's a combination of the poor air quality, being around kids all day and some questionable hygiene practices here (the subject of a future post). I think it's getting better, I found some Robitussin cough syrup today, and it's really helped. This leads to the theme of today's post - all things western in Seoul. And by western I mean all things North American, not all things country and western! I wanted to start by going over my first few weeks here, but now I'm just going to start where I'm at and maybe do a post later on about the rest of my first month here.

I've really been enjoying the Korean food and culture, but somehow this past couple of days became very western!

Last night, after a long week of teaching, I went with Manda and Alysa, the other girls I teach with, to Starbucks to have a coffee, or in my case a chai tea latte. I don't drink caffeine and discovered shortly after I got here that decaf is not available at most places, so I've had to adapt! It's a good thing I love the chai tea latte. So anyway, we had our coffee/tea and a good vent about the work week and then headed home. Once there Alysa and I walked to Papa John's Pizza which is conveniently located on the same block of our apartment building! We ordered pizza and then the 3 of us went back to my place to eat. It was sooo good. I was happy to discover some great pizza here.

After the pizza it was time to go to a movie. We went to see 'Music and Lyrics' at the CGV theatre close to where we live. They don't dub over the English here, they just add Korean subtitles which is nice for us! It was a good show, some of the humour doesn't translate, so at some points I think it was just Alysa, Manda and I laughing which made it even funnier.

After the movie we decided to go for a coffee (hot chocolate this time for me!). So we took the subway to Jong ja which is 2 stops away. In Jong ja they have a street that is all cafes, it doesn't feel like you are in Korea. All of the buildings on the street are only one level, not 20 or more floors like most. We went to this great place that makes all kinds of bread and cookies.

Today Manda and I went into Seoul for some foreign foods. We took the bus in and first stopped at a market just outside Itaewon where I found the previously mentioned Robitussin and bought some granola cereal. Most of the cereal they sell in the Korean supermarkets is very sugary, and I didn't realize how much I liked cereal until I couldn't find any! Then it was into Itaewon where I bought licorice and the newest Oprah magazine.

Next we met up with Yuna and Jee and went to Apujong for dinner. We went to Mad for Garlic, which I didn't realize is part of the Tony Roma's chain. Needless to say we ate a lot of garlic which I'm hoping will help with my cold! It was very garlicky and very good. After dinner we went for a coffee/tea, this time at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Then it was back on the bus home. Once home we decided to go have one drink for St. Patty's day and a western style bar across the street from our place. And this brought the western style weekend to a close. Tomorrow it will be back to Korean food!

I promise more about Korea soon. I've added new pics to Ringo, including some of my apartment, the recent snow here and Insadong, a traditional area of Seoul that I went to last weekend. I met up with Jeong hee, she lived with my Uncle Al and Auntie Mindy in Regina while in the UofR ESL program. It was great to see a familiar face.