House Tour and Thoughts on Korea

So I tried to give you a house tour last time, but it didn't work out for cause it was too long and too big of a file to load on the blog. Here is a less detailed speed tour. Lincoln is supposed to be napping so aside from my Darth Vader breathing into the microphone, this is a silent film with little commentary (except of course when I busted Lucy getting into the garbage). Enjoy.

So my thoughts on Korea so far are as follows:

It is much like Taiwan and pretty much everything I expected. For those of you have not spent as much time in Asia as I have, it might blow your mind, but nothing has really come as a shock to me.

I have discovered many things that I loved about Taiwan exist here as well including

• Stationery with silly little English sayings on them that are either ultra sappy or make no sense at all
• Asian Pears.... YUM!!!


• Frozen dumplings that are great boiled, steamed or fried and are great for a quick lunch


• Street vendors with great treats
  
• 7-11's
  
• Little yogurt drinks that many people in my mission referred to as "Buddha Milk"

  

Observations about Korea:

• People are ultra stylish (at least the people that are 35 and younger although many older women look quite classy). I've heard that many fashion trends emanate from Korea. I'll try to keep you posted on the latest trends here so you can be the trend setter in the States. As far as winter fashion goes, these items are super hip:

North Face coats or the like with a sheen to them in black, blue and red Fur-lined coats of all sorts. No fake fur allowed! This is the real deal. This fashion goes for both men and women.
Three Musketeer ankle boots in black (a little more wrinkly and lower to the ankle than these) warn with black leggings and a short black skirt or long coat

Fashion tip: Just remember that this season, black is the new black. EVERYONE here seems to love black.

(Observations continued)

• People here seem larger than in China and Taiwan. Maybe they have more beef and milk here or something. I know everyone loves Korean BBQ. Matt can't stop talking about it, but I have yet to try it. In Taiwan, I always felt like a Jolly Green Giant, but when we were at Costco among the swarms of Saturday shoppers, I was towered over by many (both male and female). Don't get me wrong, the average Korean woman is probably still a Size 2 and there are definitely some shorties out there.
  

• They love their Kimchi. It is eaten with every meal. I had my first go at it at a Lingerlonger after church yesterday. I generally have a very open mind and palate, but I have to admit that Kimchi will have to be an acquired taste for me. For those of you who don't know, Kimchi is defined as follows: The staple pickle of Korean cuisine is fiery pickled cabbage, heavily seasoned with garlic and chilies and, in some cases, radish juice. While it is most often made with cabbage, it can include (or be made exclusively of) cucumber or daikon.

  

• People most often back into their parking spots in parking garages. I find that very difficult and will likely not follow suit.
  

• Most cars here are diesel, or so I've been told. To my surprise, despite many of the narrow streets, everyone drives a car and scooters are few and far between unlike Taiwan.
  

• Also unlike Taiwan, many if not most of the major roads are tree lined. I like that.
  

• Apparently red lights are more of a suggestion than a law.




• I'm actually quite impressed with the number of people we've run into that have quite good English or at least know enough to help us on our way. Very nice.
  

• Last but not least, Korean women LOVE little white babies. We seriously feel like celebrities here cause of Lincoln. Everyone oohs and awes when we go shopping. We kinda have to plan an extra half hour for every shopping trip in order for Lincoln to say hello to all his fans. The first day we were here, Matt and I went grocery shopping at a little local market. After we had bought our groceries, I was sitting at a table waiting for Matt to buy some stuff at this food court type place in the grocery store and several people gathered around Lincoln and me and one lady actually took him out of my arms so she could play with him and make him smile (which is not hard as many of you know). Little did I know then that this would be a common occurrence. Several days later at Costco, people were whipping out their cell phones to take his picture and would say in their best English "So Cute-ah!". For whatever reason, 'cute' is always a two syllable word. I guess "E's" are not silent here. Anyway, I can't blame 'em. Who wouldn't wanna just love and squeeze this little guy?