My new Korean Vocab Words

So I've learned like no Korean since coming here.

I have learned:
-Loner: 왕다
-Homesickness: 향수병
-Fat (not like 'i am fat', because every korean american knows how to say that but 'fat on a label' type fat): 지방
-left/right (the fancier ways of saying it): Right: 우회전
Left: 자회전

the most useless words ever. Ugh why didnt I spend my time here more wisely?

Final Post

There will be some reflections on my experience here. Let's start with the negative.

What I won't miss:
-Koreans who can't hold their liquor which includes most Koreans. Take blackoutkorea.com for instance. For a country that drinks so much (as much as Russians and Irish), they really don't know how to keep their shit together.

-The limited nightlife, the number of hot clubs here can cover half a block in the Meatpacking district. Also will not miss how said 'hot' clubs here always play house music. I am American, we don't do house music.

-The screaming to get waitstaff attention. Convenient as a diner yes, but seems a tad barbaric to be screaming for someone to get your water.

-The crowds everywhere. Parks to see foliage-packed. Beaches during summer-packed. Caribbean bay/lotte world/Everland-packed. Korea needs more stuff or less people.

-Fashion. Yes, I miss shopping in Seoul. Do I miss the outfits that Koreans put together? In a word, no.

-Fake bags. Your shoes are from Dongdaemun and your shirt is from the bus terminal, we all know your Louis ain't real.

-People not knowing how to
1) stand to the right, walk to the left despite the line of paint dividing the sides on escalators. They just don't get it.
2) hold open doors, not really considered rude here to slam a door in someones face behind you
3) let people out of the subway before you get in. Do they not realize how inefficient this is?
4) move into the subway cars when you see 100 people trying to get into said subway car.

-Kimbap. I never want to eat kimbap again. I never really loved kimbap. Growing up I just thought of it as poor man's sushi. In Seoul, I ate it every other day because Kimbap Heaven is the McDonald's of Korean food and I just had no time to eat anything else between class. I am not touching kimbap for another 3 years.

What I will miss:
-GT Black Bean Soymilk. They sell it in the states, but I will miss drinking 2 a day and being able to buy them everywhere. Also, warm GT Black bean soymilk in the winter=heaven. I was really hooked on this stuff.

-Manners (besides ignorance mentioned in thethe 'What I won't Miss' section). People are well mannered here and very polite. It's just the way it is.

-The bus. The bus system is amazing. I havent taken the subway in 3 months. The bus will take you anywhere and everywhere for 90 cents. Extremely thorough and comes much quicker than the subway.
*Not that the subway is bad. The subway is extremely clean however the system is flawed. You really take the NYC street grid for granted. The Korean subway sucks in that you always required a transfer. Really they need a line that connects Gangnam, Sinchon, Hongdae, Sinsa, and Apgujeong. Because really, no other neighborhoods mater.

-The bus+Manners=Bus drivers yelling to the exit in the back 'goodbye and have a nice day'. This is priceless, this does not happen in NY. If I get a hello, that is a big deal and worthy of NYTimes Metro Diaries.

-Constant reminders of my grandma.
My grandma passed away when I was 16. I know it's not suppose to be a big deal since that is what grandparents do-they die when you are young. But I took it particularly hard and it was a big turning point in my life because up until that point I saw my grandmother more than anyone else in my family. My parents and grandfather worked at the dry cleaners and it was just me and the granny all day, everyday.
It took me many years to get over it, and living on my own in NYC, I was getting good at not thinking about her all the time. It was a new city where I didn't have any memories of her.
When I moved here I was surprised at how many things reminded me of her. When I saw rock candy at Insadong, I remembered her bribing me with it and it being the reason why all my baby teeth rotted (I was that cute kid with all black teeth because I was spoiled literally rotten). I once cried over a bowl of knife noodles eating dinner alone because I remembered my grandma's knife noodles. Hers was so superior to the bowl in front of me. It hit home that I would never get to eat her version again. I will miss these moments of thinking of her at unexpected times.

-Shopping. The shopping is unbelievable here. End of story.

-The food. The food is unbelivable here. End of story. And cheap.
Notables: Duck BBQ and ChoonChun Chicken BBQ

-Proust moments:
When I tried a watermelon ice cream bar, I thought it was new to me until I bit into it and had a Proustian moment where it instantly took me back to my childhood. Memories of playing near the Han River and biking around my apt complex flooded my brain.

-NB. Listening to BigBang and Biggie hits in one venue sounds like a great friday night.

-Karoake/norebang for super cheap 24 hours a day.

-7-11. Even though my bougie friends would call this a 'commoner' activity, I am a commoner so I will miss eating cup ramen and drinking Cass outside a 7-11.

If I can sum up my entire experience, I could say my experience in Seoul has been as a happy outsider. I thought I would move to Korea and feel like I belonged because I would be surrounded by people who looked like me. Growing up as a minority American, you never really feel like you belong in your own home. I realized in Korea, as a gyopo, I am more of an outsider in my motherland than I am in my adopted home. I did look different by the way I dressed. I could not speak the language even though I should. My tolerance for spicy food is not as high as previously thought (no really, try the bibimnengmyun in Seoul and regardless how many times you had it in Flushing, you prob will in fact, die). But that is the beauty of being Asian American. You don't really fit in anywhere. And you learn to come to terms with it. And one day you realize maybe that's OK.

Sistar

So For Christmas my 12 yr old got me an Ipod shuffle with her favorite songs on it. So cute.

I learned 2 things from this:
Gaysians have the same taste in music as middle schoolers.
I love this song.

New Blog

So surprisingly, I have an audience of about 4 people who really liked my blog and want me to keep going.

So I got a blog url called Lia Grows Up. It will be my random musings on:
documentary films
music (prob more hip now and less k-pop)
finding an apt
work life
eating
cooking, or attempting to cook
getting peter to ask me to marry him (i kid, sorta but not really)

So stay tunes (brian).

Watch This Now

It's about some Lost Boys of Sudan who got the chance to become American citizens. This documentary is amazing.

I am a worthless spoiled human being who has been through no real hardship and have accomplished nothing. It is truly inspiring but also entertaining.

Picks up Pepsi bottle. "In Africa, we call this Coca Cola." LOL

My Favorite Bartender a Uncle Tom's Cabin

Need to finish this Blog

Will be doing it in Cali this week. Wow, I'm home!

this is why knowibg korean is important

so my usual waiter says to me white guys uploaded youtube videos askin korean girls for fellatio and instead of saying “fellatio is a difficult word” I said “fellatio is really hard.”

My new Korean vocab words Updated for Monica :-)

So I've learned like no Korean since coming here.

I have learned:
-Loner: 왕다
-Homesickness: 향수병
-Fat (not like 'i am fat', because every korean american knows how to say that but 'fat on a label' type fat): 지방
-left/right (the fancier ways of saying it): Right: 우회전
Left: 자회전

the most useless words ever. Ugh why didnt I spend my time here more wisely?

My Last Day in Seoul

And I'm eating...................tacos!

Haha my cousin didn't know there was a taco place in Seoul so I'm taking her.

But on the bright side tonight my last meal is going to be at a grilled intestines place. Doesn't get more Korean than that!

What I miss

Me To Kristen: I haven't cursed out a random stranger on the street in almost a year. I need to come back.

One of My Last Days In Seoul

Today I went:

-to the fortune teller. He was a fail, he says I was born at 6:06 Am based on my life events but I'm pretty sure it wasn't 6:06. Also he didn't say I would be a millionaire also fail. Then he said starting when I am 40 I will be rich and I would have $20,000 in the bank a year. I was like um I'm from NYC, you do realize that $20K will buy you nothing! So basically you are saying I'm going to be poor. He also said my peak career wise is going to be at 40-50 and I was like what? I'm still going to be working when I'm 50? Ugh where is my mega millions? So basically he told me the worst fortune ever. He also said I'm getting married when I'm 34 which is just way too old for me. OK I just sound like a lazy girl who wants to get rich quick and I suppose I am. I just think Im too American to buy into these fortune teller, future in the stars nonsense that Asians believe in. I might as well believe in predestination and be a Calvinist.

-The hair salon- My hair is super fobbed out now. Dyed, side bangs, girlish. I am so Korean.

-to my optometrist to say bye, sad. They were amazing. Def going back on every Seoul trip.

-to citibank to close my account. This was the saddest of all. Citibank in Apgujeong is amazing. I highly recommend if you live here. All the employees know me because my Korean sucks but they are always so sweet and helpful, unlike any bank in NYC. In the summer they have ice cream. I was sold. They gave me a teddy bear to say goodbye, a teddy bear dressed in a green santa suit? I guess leftovers from Christmas?? Um, thanks I guess? I dont get it, do they think I'm 12 or do they think I'm old enough to have a kid?

-dinner with cousins, ugh I guess I have to pay for all 4 of them? I hate this oldest person pays thing. I am not cheap its just that I am ALWAYS the oldest cousin here out of all my family, so I always pay. I suppose I do make the most money. But what is this socialism? Ok fine I am cheap.

-Clubbing later. my last party here in Seoul.

Extremely Frustrating Not Having a Cell Phone

I lost my cell phone 2 weeks ago and decided it was not worth it to buy a new one.

This is not fun.

Strictly Eye Candy

Because the song is one long snoozefest. I guess because it's called Baby Good Night? It just puts me to sleep.

A few notes:
Why do they have a fake Damien Hirst diamond skull? Are GD and TOP contemporary art fans?
G Dragons girl is ugly.
The snake's totally a metaphor for TOP's penis. How subtle.
TOP looks really good in glasses.
They are stylin as per usual.

Sounds about right

I saw this profile on NYU in Business week.

This is how NYU students rank NYU with my comments.

B+ Academics
A- Local Atmosphere How is local atmosphere an A-??? It's located in the best city in the world. Living in NYC today is like living in Rome during the roman empire, or Athens when the Greeks were all the rage, or Constantinople during the Ottoman empire. Except the US is not like the roman, greek, or the ottoman empires because the US kind of sucks now. But you get what I mean. Um it should be an A+.
B- Safety and Security
C- Computers
C- Facilities
C+ Campus dining Only freshman eat on campus, so this is irrelevant.
B+ Diversity
B- Guys hahahaha this sounds about right, the girls were def cuter than the guys.
A- Girls
D Athletics
A+ Nightlife
D Greek Life This should be an F, who joins a frat at NYU? No offense, Dan and Winston. :-D
C- Drug Scene really? I must have hung out with a bad crowd.
C+ Campus Strictness
F Parking
A+ Transportation Duh
B- Weather

Living in a Country that is Not Litigation Crazy

So Korea has shoe repair huts everywhere. Which is kind of amazing because Americans just buy new shoes generally. So I dropped off 3 pairs of shoes today to get patched up (lots of dancing at the club=horribly worn shoes) and the guy goes 'come back in 2 hours.'

I panick in my American wired brain, what no ticket? What if someone takes my shoes by accident? What if he tries to take my shoes and give them to his daughter? What if he loses a shoe in between now and 2 hours?! Nooo ticket?!

This also happens to me whenever I go to the dry cleaners, they give u a ticket, but the ticket doesn't say how many items or what you dropped off.

It makes me panick but on the other hand it's kind of nice and refreshing to live in a country where things aren't predicated on the fear of being sued or needing to avoid liability. I just sort of trust the guy that he won't mess it up and he trusts that I won't accuse him of losing my shit. Weird.

Yona Tries Whisky for the First Time in Her Life

I get her a Johnnie Black shot, her reaction:

"It tastes like leather."

I never really thought of it that way but I suppose she's kind of right.

Really delta?

delta is charging me a separate fee for quantity, oversize, and overweight bags but they let you bring christmas trees as a checked item?

from their website;
Christmas Trees
Do you want to bring some holiday cheer to your destination? You can indeed bring your Christmas tree with you. We will accept cut Christmas trees as limited-release baggage on all flights within the United States, including flights to/from Hawaii. However, all Christmas trees will be subject to baggage allowance and baggage size restrictions, as well as some other rules:

• Trees need to be adequately packaged with the root ball or cut base and all branches wrapped and secured using a burlap-type material.
• If you are traveling into Hawaii and checking a Christmas tree as baggage, you must include it on your declaration form and the tree must pass agricultural inspection

I am Now a Duck Person

I never considered myself a duck person. When it comes to meat preference, chicken is one of my least favorite meals, quail is OK, rabbit is pretty good. Duck, I've liked once and it was duck confit (I meas really anything cooked in its own fat has to be good, it's cheating).

But last night changed all that. I had Korean duck bbq and it was one of my most memorable meals of my life. It's up there with:
1) oysters and wine at aquagrill
2) store bought bread and cheese eaten on top of a medieval castle in the South of France (physical labor up a hill with an incredible view makes anything tasty)
3) my grandpa's samgyetang at various times(if you are special you have tried this, and it is out of this world)

Christina asked me where is the ONE place she should eat when she comes to Seoul and I think this maybe my new pick. You can get chicken galbi, galbi, bulgogi, all that in NY KTown. Duck Gui not so much. It is well worth it.

This place used real wood burning fire in your table (not the electric type) to grill rotisserie duck that has already been marinated and slow cooked for hours. The flavor of the duck fat grilled to a crispy goodness was out of this world.

You know when you have a meal and just know that you will be craving it for the rest of your life? This was that moment for me. It makes me want to stay in Seoul for another year. If you come to Korea, come here. Seriously.

Better Blog Post (In Korean) about this place

Map: Go to the original Gangnam Location

Duck and Duck sausage


I am going again the night before my flight. The restaurant is called 33 BBQ Hejanguk (which means hangover soup). Hangover soup is actually a spicy soup with cubes of congealed blood (like think of blocks of cheese or jello made up of blood, that's basically what that is). I always liked hangover soup, so I may need to get both. Will update you!

This is the current state of my bedroom

Started packing, what a nightmare.

I need to throw out 2 hefty bags worth of clothing (sad) and packing 10 months/3 seasons worth of clothes is torture. I don't even like packing for a one week vacation.

I'm contemplating wearing 5 shirts, 2 pairs of pants and 2 hats, on the plane. Bad strategy?

Also, my previous plan to get 56 people souvenirs is out the window. You will get a souvenir if when I was on gchat at 8 Am your time, you IMed me to catch up. You know who you are. Sorry everyone else. I am a selfish bastard and bought myself too much stuff to possible get you anything.