After the Inkigayo debaucle (see previous post), my friends and I were feeling kind of blue, and we just couldn't shake it. So some of us drowned our sorrows the proper way:
Not just one Oreo bingsoo...
But two. We don't mess around. Actually, they only allow you to share one between 2 people, so since there were 4 of us, we got 2. Makes sense, right?
This is the name of the cafe. It's located in Sinchon, but near the Edae side north of the U-Plex.
This artwork was right above our table. It's a pretty accurate map of the surrounding area around Pop Container Cafe.
This cafe is located near Ewha Women's University, so it makes sense that they only hire young, good-looking guys. The term in Korean is translated to "flower boy", meaning a pretty boy. The one behind the counter caught my friends' eyes, so under the guise of a selca, I stealthily tried to take a picture for them. I failed miserably.
While doing laundry one night, I saw one guy staying in shape in an interesting way:
Don't know if you can tell, but that's a blue hula hoop he's sporting there.
I also tried a new snack:
It says it's "Extreme Barbeque Taste", but the only thing extreme about it was its sweetness. It tasted like sweet bbq tortilla chips, which = not good. Sorry Doritos, I never thought I'd live to see the day when you were nasty...
Michelle and I went to the language exchange meetup in Hongdae again, but after being super lucky the past 2 weeks, we were bound to be disappointed at some point, and this was the day. Unfortunately, it was also right after our kinda crappy weekend, so the timing was impeccably bad. We were still dreaming about some of the food we had at the restaurant we went to the previous week with friends after the language exchange, so we found it again.
Nurungji (scorched rice), veggie and seafood pancake. I can't even begin to describe how perfect it was...not pictured: grilled ddeok (rice cake) with honey sauce. This helped a little.
Several people from Michelle's and my class at Sogang last year are here in Seoul again for part of the summer (not necessarily attending Sogang though), so we organized a meetup for dinner on Tuesday night.
Special 불고기 (bulgogi, marinated beef), and loads of side dishes
From l-r: Dolly, Michelle, Cody, Melinda, Chackie, and me. The waitress was so kind and ended up taking loads of pictures - none of them turned out great, but she went above and beyond.
One of my favorite parts of the week was Wednesday, when our friends Changyong and Jiwoo invited us to come visit their section of Seoul, farther from the center - it felt like the real Korea, and we were the only foreigners in sight. I'd been there the week before and I quite like it. We ate dinner and walked around, and ended up at the coziest cafe called Cafe Da. Quite small, but very nice.
I tried taking a group selca, and was mildly successful. l-r: Changyong, me, Jiwoo, Michelle.
Thursday night was yet another meetup for Michelle and I, this time with one of the student TAs from the Sogang KIP program, named 수진, Soojin. We met on the day of the placement test, and always said hello, but hanging out outside of school was long overdue. She took us to a nearby meat-grilling place called 팔 사익 (Pal Sa-ik, or 8 flavors), and it's one of the best meat-grilling places I've been to.
You get loads of meat and vegetables, and a pot of seafood stew cooked right before your eyes.
That's 8, count em 8, different kinds of marinated samgyupsal, which includes things like ginseng, garlic, curry, and pine.
On Friday, one of my classmates had a birthday, so my first teacher brought snack cakes and candles and we sang happy birthday to him in Korean. I love my 선생님 (sunsaengnim, teacher).
Happy birthday, Pablo!
My other classmate shared something she got at Paris Baguette: sugar toast. It tasted like sweet croutons. I'm torn, but then again, I'm torn on Paris Baguette as a whole.
On Friday, we had a little more time for lunch since we were going to a musical performance for culture class a little later than usual. So we met up with Soojin again for lunch, since the other TAs who were going to come bailed on her at the last minute. She wanted to go to a nearby buffet called VIPs (pronounced like a word "vips", not the acronym). She's really cool and fun to talk to, so I'm glad I've gotten to know her better.
Girls' lunch out
Pablo took this in the subway on the way to the musical. I'm peeking above a head on the left - could I be any creepier?
After the musical, I met up with a couple, Lauren and Nick, that I'd never met face-to-face, but they know some of my family, and we've been in contact for about 2 years. They teach English in a small town between Busan and Daegu, but they were up in Seoul for the weekend to go to the Seoul LDS temple, so I took them around Sinchon, where they were staying, and had them try new things they've never had before.
부대찌개 (budae jjigae, or army stew) is a mix of almost any ingredient you can imagine, so you'd think it'd be strange, but when it comes together, it's in another dimension.
Since we'd talked online for so long before, and kept up with each others' blogs, it felt like we were old friends. Also, Lauren and I are both dessert people, so it's like we're bonded for life. And since she's a chocolate person, of course I had to introduce her to Oreo bingsoo at Pop Container. Yep, I sure did go twice in one week. No judging here.
Everything she hoped and dreamed of in a pyrex measuring cup.
On our way back, we saw the same dance group I've seen perform at the U-Plex a few times before, so we stopped to observe. Although I was not able to capture it with a camera, one of the guys came and danced with Nick a couple of times - which Nick gamely danced along and got applause from the crowd for - but I'll keep that memory in my mind forever. I think Nick's just glad I don't have physical proof on the internet.
These guys are the best at getting the crowd involved and into it. They're all-around entertainers rather than just dancers, and it's appreciated.
They call out some audience members occasionally, and dance around/with them. Embarrassing as crap, but so funny.
Everyone who comes to Sinchon has to take a picture in the U-Plex big red mirror thing once in their lives.
A special exhibit in the basement of the U-Plex in Sinchon. There was a reality show called "Grandpas Over Flowers", which is a parody of a famous korean show called "Boys Over Flowers". In this show, they recruited 4 elderly famous actors and 1 younger actor to travel to places abroad, and give them a budget and watch them struggle and have fun. I love this show, so seeing this exhibit makes me happy :D
At the front gate of Sogang University on my way home
5 comments:
Sounds like a fun week mixed in with your studying. I want food (your food) and I just finished breakfast! Glad you got to meet Lauren and Nick--can't wait to tell their parents. Fun that you got to meet with old friends and make some new ones. Way to get on the right side of the TA!
Oh yes! That was a kinda creepy picture of you peeking over somebodies shoulder. It wouldn't have worked that good if you had been trying to do it.
That picture in the subway is so funny. I didn't even see you until you said where you were creepily hidden! So funny! Also-you know I don't judge on the same dessert in one week! I wish you could bring one of those home on the plane! I'm glad you got to meet up with that couple that you like!
We made the blog!!! You made mine too!! Love reading your stuff!
Here's the link to your post if anyone wants to check it out. I love it!
http://l-and-n.blogspot.com/2014/08/nicks-hidden-talent.html#comment-form
Post a Comment