Advertisement
Published: January 23rd 2011
The journal will entail an overview of my weeks journey here in Seoul. Each week I continue to encounter many new adventures. I feel as though I am a rose that is slowing opening as I am surrounded by loving people with a great sense of adventure & humor.
01/17-Mon. Now was the test of trust for a new hairdresser. I had a referral from Monique who is blonde and has experience here in Seoul with various hairdressers. My appt. was at the the Sophia Beauty Shop in Itaewon. Brian did a fantastic job with the coloring and cut. If you plan to go this shop just note it's all about the hairand talent, not the cleanliness nor the modern accessories in this shop.
01/18-Tues. Great lunch with Ms. Bae and Ms. Yoo. They are both adorable and are such a hoot to spend time with. I have to tell you, I once again entertained them with my development in Korean customs. The tea came and I proceeded to offer a refill to each of them. Then, oh my, I picked up the tea pot with just one hand, opps once again forgot to use two hands when initially pouring for Ms. Bae. In the midst of pouring I remembered and then placed the second hand on the pot, at this point in time my concentration is solely on how to hold the teapot, not the amount of tea going into her cup. Just as her cup was about to overflow, I regained my composure of concentration on the task at hand, the timing was almost to late. She ever so gently placed her cup on the table, we began to laugh. The ladies shared my face was turning beat red. Yes, I must admit I was embarrassed and once again apologizing. This made each of them giggle even more. Ms. Bae kept saying, "it's okay, we say in Korea this is love overflowing" when the cup is to full, as she was slurping her drink without picking up her cup. Oh my....such fun!!!!
01/19-Wed. Joined the Seoul International Women's Club (SIWA) today. I have registered for a 10-wk Culture & Language Class with Sunok Moon (Academy of Korean). We begin meeting this Thursday, each class is 4 1/2 hours long. The other 2 Korean voyages I registered for was a Hanji Painting & Home Sketch Class with Sungsil Im and Bikram Yoga classes at Yoga Palace. I met the National Champion who teaches Yoga classes. He has recently toured in various places in the U.S. teaching at some of the Bikram studios. Austin, TX was one of his stops along the way. He assures me I will not regret this adventure. I watched his video wondering how I will bend like a pretzel for an hour in 104 degrees. This one should be interesting, I will keep you posted. Had a great time joining some new friends for lunch at a wonderful Greek restaurant in Itaewon. Phyliss lives here in Somerset, so we rode the subway together. Tonight I met a special lady who took me to a place of business here. The headquarters for this company is based in WI. The purpose of my visit was to help evaluate the English writing and speaking skills of staff. I enjoyed meeting them and conducting the evaluation. They have requested for my return in Feb. to provide some helpful tips on how to improve speaking English. I also will be visiting another business in Feb. to help them as well. Got home around 10 pm. Productive day I must say.
01/20 Thurs. Met Pam and Monique at the Coffee Bean across from Hamilton Hotel in Itaewon. Together we are planning a fun event to be held in March. Slippers, Jewelry & Purse Accessories will be a part of our ladies party. Should be fun.
01/21 Fri. Returned to immigration to pickup my passport and Korean ID. It's official, I am now considered a resident of Korea. After that I caught the Subway to Yaksu where I met up with Monique and Pam. Off to Gangnam we go for a shopping adventure. I believe now I truly respect the term 'shop until you drop'. We only scratched the surface of our visit in Central City Market. Got an awesome deak on a Spring jacket and a nice shirt with a sweater cover up. Thanks to Pam and her Korean bargaining skills which helped in getting some great deals. Monique, Pam and enjoyed a great lunch in Shinseagea (not sure which floor as the escalator just kept on climbing). These places are truly amazing. Got home around 4:30 and crashed!
01/22 Sat. Matt and I met with Pam, her husband Pierre and another wonderful couple with a child for breakfast at the Flying Pan. A memorable breakfast for sure. French toast topped with fried bananas. My hubby drove around the streets in Mapo-gu, unknown to us where we would end up. We found the Digital Media City, parked and decided to take a look around. The shops offered a variety of light fixtures beyond my imagination. We also entered an electronic mall and found some great looking furniture, phones, Korean navigation systems, TV's old and new stereo equipment, phongraphs and a really cool theatre attached you will see a brief video of this adventure. Those into electronic devices, modern furniture styles and antiques would be in paradise here. I must say our drive was an adventure in itself my hubby was searching for a shortcut.
01/23 Sun. Snowing the most we have seen here since our arrival. We stayed in today to enjoy the warmth. Went to the gym for a 1-hour workout and then relaxed for 20 minutes in the hot dry sauna at 100 degress. Enjoyed our Skype visit with our dearest friends Charlie and Pam in SA which made our day!
Hugs to all of you, PS we are moving next week so I will update on the move in my next journey journal blog!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.078s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 46; dbt: 0.0524s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Carolyne
non-member comment
Looks like fun!
Karen-So glad you are meeting people and having fun! I'm so glad you found a hair salon- I will definitely remember that one! Glad to hear that you got the City Park apartment. Looking forward to seeing photos!