Krista vs Korea

...go figure.

Jeanette and I went to the Jeju Stone Park (eye roll) to experience a boring jaunt through some old stones. Basically, someone on Jeju thought it would be a good idea to corral all the weird looking stones that can be found throughout the island in one place and call it the Jeju Stone Park. Along with some grave inaccuracies (i.e. a 'traditional' stone sink, with a hole for plumbing). There was also this hall full of odd looking stones that you could touch. And a place for stone art, where almost all of the entries looked somewhat like shit. Literally like pieces of poo. Anyway, it was a beautiful day and provided for some really great laughs and a lot of 'Only in Korea"'s. That should be a thing- Only in Korea. OiK. OK. Whatever.

I don't even remember what this was, it was so boring. I think its a map of Jeju.

"Look at all these Stones! So Stoney!"

"It really is CRAZY how many stones there are!"

cutest part of the Jeju Stone Park- this mother daughter hand holding combo. MELTING HEARTS.

typical.

Just a typical parking spot in Korea. Cars come and go in any direction and just pull over wherever they please. It makes biking around the city a different kind of dangerous. Its almost like a game- you neeeeever know where the car will go, if it will break suddenly, forget to signal, or pull over and park like this. Street or sidewalk are equally unsafe.

Korean BBQ is...well...amazing. It's the kind of meal that you leave from feeling super satisfied but not stuffed with carbs and over fed. It's all about the meat, really. If you are vegetarian, you could eat BBQ-ed kimchi, which is just phenomenal and tastes wildly different than raw kimchi.

I've never ordered it without a Korean present (except one time in Seoul but it was sub-par in comparison to the BBQ I've had on Jeju- which is a destination known for its amazing pork- even though I've never seen a live pig anywhere...?). I imagine that it would be kind of difficult. Anyway. There is this pork that comes marinated in soya sauce and a little sugar. You put it on the grill and cook it, and when it's done you cut it up using scissors. Yes, scissors. You can see them in the picture above while Minji prepares to cut through that slab of pork. Koreans love scissors.

Another thing that really makes the BBQ amazing, aside from the meat, is the side dishes. It's also all about the side dishes. I've had a few different variations, but ideally you get some onions and seaweed to eat with the meat, kimchi (obv), pickled cucumber or radish, a sauce to dip in that is a mix between sweet and spicy, bean sprouts, and pieces of lettuce and sesame leaves (which are amazing) to make little wraps. There's also this cold noodle dish that you can order and it is delicious. Sort of like glass noodles. I should never try and be a food blogger. This is horrendous, but the point of this post is to say: I love Korean BBQ. Korean BBQ is the best. It's delicious and I feel privileged that I get to eat it in the mother land. Bless you, Korean BBQ. You might be my favourite part of Korea.

interesting visor with the cape made me feel like i was on my way to an intergalactic battle

the face of extreme disappointment and defeat

An interesting Korean experience: dying your hair. I'm not sure why I thought they would understand or have the same products that we have back home...but they did not and do not. Kevin, my hairdresser, said I couldn't go as light as I wanted to, which I was expecting, so I told him to tone it. Just keep it as is, but refreshed. Well....that turned orange. So then I sat there, fighting tears (I know it's just hair...but ugh), for the better part of an hour....in discussion with him. "Just strip it, bleach it" ... "are you sure?" ... "no. not sure. I don't want straw for hair." ... and so on. So the end result is this black look, which I've done before so it's cool. I'm an edgy wanna-be goth again. So be it. At least from the back I can maybe be mistaken for a Korean...?

Riding the subway in Seoul- Asian selfie in full effect a mere two days in.

Initially, I didn't want to start a blog about my time in South Korea. Mainly because I felt like my closest friends would hear what I have to say about the experience, but also because it's been done. Overdone. But alas, here I am. I don't want to use this space as a place to convince you to come to Korea, nor as a place to write of my travels, which I have done in the past. Those things may sneak in here and there, but for the most part I want this to be about my everyday life in Korea. The good, the bad, the weird, the food, the sexist, the rude, the the the... So here goes nothing.

I've made it to the 2 month mark and I already have ample stories that would make a Westerner audience raise their eyebrows. Despite trying SUPER hard not to have any expectations, Korea is nothing like I thought it would be. Coming from a month in Thailand, I felt like I could handle anything. Life in Korea is not like life in Thailand, despite both being part of Asia.

A few things that stand out, from the first 2 months:

• extremely not foreigner friendly
• little to no english in most places (I've been caught saying "korea is just so....korean")
• exclusive
• I fucking love kimchi 
• Korean BBQ is my new favourite food. screw Thai.
• the kids are very sweet and well behaved...for the most part.
• sexism is real
• so is racism 
• avocados are expensive
• ramen is the most popular snack food
• the dentist is a very scary place in Korea
• it rains.... a LOT. 
• the ocean is magnificent and calming
• stop signs don't exist. pedestrians DO NOT HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY!
• NO TALKING EVER ON PUBLIC TRANSIT. EVER.
• budding in line is common if you're a foreigner. no respect.
• god bless convenience stores!
• Jeju is a small island. Seogwipo is the smallest city here.
• Asian melon is delicious. I'm hooked.
• there is a mould problem on this island.
• ...and around every corner there is a scene so beautiful it takes your breath away. or at the very least, makes you appreciate your surroundings and this sweet place called planet earth.