Why I have been MIA since October Part 1

First, I need to write a short apologetic note. It has been months since I wrote a proper blog, so for at least my family who had been following along, sorry. I got too caught up in doing things to feel like writing about them. In the months I've been MIA, I done many things and went many places:


1.)  I celebrated Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, and went to Seoul, Masan, Andong, and Jinju. There I celebrated the Andong Mask festival and feasted on Jjimdak (which is mouthwatering and delicious) and saw the Jinju lantern festival.

Temple my friend and I stumbled upon in Seoul near
Insadong while playing Pokemon Go.

At the Jinju Lantern Festival

 The firework show was great, but it decided to rain very hard. The show went on, but my friend and I got extremely soaked in the process and everything shut down afterward because of the weather.

There were so many gorgeous lanterns!

Woryeonggyo Bridge (월영교) - Korea's longest wooden footbridge - Andong
Seriously this area was so beautiful, I loved it. The air was so fresh and clean; it is a beautiful place to hike. 

Andong's food specialty... Jjimdak.
SO DELICIOUS - 맛있다
And only sold in portions for multiple people...I ate as much as I could on my own though.
Had to taste it, but couldn't waste it!

2.) I celebrated my 23rd birthday in Seoul with my friends; it is the first time I have celebrated a birthday abroad and I had a great time.

 Went to Itaewon the Burger for lunch with friends...may be one of the best burgers I've had in Korea. Not to mention their shakes are extreme! Extreme but delicious. I highly recommend this place to anyone looking for their burger and shake fix!

Dynamic Maze in Insadong - So much fun. As a girl who grew up watching 'Legends of the Hidden Temple' this is as close as I have gotten to that sort of experience. Most of my friends thought going somewhere like this was ridiculously childish, but I had so much fun. My only regret is that for what you pay, it seems somewhat short. I wish it would have lasted longer. 

 I went to a cat cafe and loved up some kitties, at least, the ones who wanted love... My favorite part was the sign that read, "Don't smash their ass, it is bad for their health." LOL. It meant to please not pet the cats behinds, as if done repetitively all day, the arching of their backs isn't good for them. As a native English speaker though, I couldn't help but laugh at the strange wording. I also tried silkworm larva (seen on the right). This I do not recommend, as I thought it was kind of terrible and dirt tasting. I don't care how good it supposedly is for your skin, you won't see me eating that ever again. I tried it, and that is enough. I can say I've eaten it now.

What a wonderful birthday.

 3.) I went to Jeju Island for a weekend and saw the beautiful volcanic shorelines and picked myself some sweet delicious tangerines to feast on.

 The volcanic, rocky, black cliffs of Jeju were a sight to behold. It was my first time seeing black sand as well, which was awesome. I collected a lot of tiny little abalone shells from along the rocks.

YUM

I watched a horse show at The Ma Park where the actors not only do stunts but also re-enact ancient battles. This show was really well put together and exciting to see. Every moment of it was interesting. I heard their shows sell out quickly. The day I was there, there were many schools and other groups there to see the performance also. 

I also saw another performance on Jeju called live action painting by The Painters. This was also extremely interesting to see, and is exactly what it sounds like. The paintings they drew were awesome to see done live and the 4-member painter team all had great personalities and characters. They all did a wonderful job making the audience included in the show.

These two photos show very accurately what my favorite parts of Jeju were. The delicious tangerines that we picked, and the beautiful, sandy beaches. 

Lastly, as seen below, I went to a museum which showed the past of Jeju Island and Korea itself. It was more of an interactive museum, which made it more exciting. It had real shops and towns recreated to see all aspects of Korean daily life from many years ago.

My personal feeling is that school classrooms don't seem to have changed all that much, except for electronics that is. Obviously we have a TV, computer, and some have smart boards now, but the set up looks pretty similar.

4.) Traveled to Daejeon and tried the outdoor hot springs and ate too many delicious breads and cakes from Sung Shim Dang Bakery (성심당). 

The cakes and breads were all so delicious that I wanted to eat them ALL. I spent so much money at both of their stores. Yes, stores. The cake shop and bakery are in separate buildings, but very near one another. On both mornings I spent in Daejeon, this is where my breakfast came from. Delish.

Korean Natural Science Museums continue to deeply impress me. Oh and look! It is Archaeopteryx! Science nerd alert. 

Ahhhh Daejeon's Yuseong Hot Springs (유성온천지구). It was hot, but it sure felt nice. These springs are said to contain many alkaline metals in the water which are good for your health. When my friend and I went, there were many elderly people soaking their feet despite the cold winter temperatures. With the air being much colder than the water, it created an enticing steam effect that made the hot springs call to our weary feet.  

5.) I went to the Kimchi Festival in Gwangju (held at Kimchi Town) and made my own kimchi, which I have been eating since...it's a lot of kimchi for one person, but definitely worth the price.

After paying, you are given your materials. You should wear your hat, apron, and mask (I really don't like wearing the masks...). Then they give you pre-fermented kimchi and pre-made sauce, so really all you need to do is apply it. You squeeze the sauce out of the bag and onto your tray, then apply leaf by leaf onto a head of cabbage. When you start, start with the outermost leaves first. You want to make sure that each leaf is evenly coated with a fair amount of the sauce mixture. When you pay to make your own kimchi, they give you two whole heads of Napa cabbage, so for me, who is living alone, it was a LOT of kimchi. Months later and I am still eating away at it. The whole process goes quickly. I think it only took us maybe 30 minutes total, to dress up, be instructed on what to do, apply our sauce, and have the volunteers wrap our kimchi up for us. It's tasty kimchi!

Kimchi Town's Official Website (Korean Only)

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DropTop Cafe

DropTop Cafe is one of the endless cafe's that a traveler will come across if they are in South Korea. With so many cafes it is a wonder that they all successfully operate. How do so many cafes maintain enough business to enable themselves to stay open? Well, I think it is how well each cafe caters its own atmosphere to its customers. Some cafes are great for being social, others for getting work done, and others for that delicious drink, toast, or dessert.



Upon my move to Naju, DropTop Cafe became my go-to place for all of these things. As I adjusted to my life in Korea, I found myself visiting this cafe consistently. At first it was because of the free WiFi, since I had not set up a phone yet, had no WiFi in my apartment, and was starting the life of an English teacher: an Internet connection was something I could not live without. As time moved on I realized that the atmosphere of the cafe kept me coming back. It was always clean, relatively quiet and relaxing, and the staff always tried just as hard to communicate with me as I did with them. We worked together to get over the language barrier so that I could order their delicious drinks. Sometimes it took some embarrassed laughs and apologies, but I was never disappointed in my service. Their service was beyond expectations, or maybe it just seemed that way to me because I am a foreigner...

Every time I get up to leave and throw out my trash, the staff comes, takes my tray, and disposes of everything for me. This is extremely kind of them, but I think it boils down to the fact that they don't trust me to properly separate and dispose of things considering Korea's extensive trash/recycling protocols. Either way, the fact that those types of things occur to them just goes to show how dedicated they are to their job.

I also like the design of the cafe. I love how the walls are glass, and that in the summer the walls fold and open nearly the entire cafe up to the summer breeze. Or if it is too hot, they can keep them closed and simply crank up the air conditioning. They also have an assortment of seating, from bench seating, tables, bar-style seats, and several larger tables. They even have a patio with tables and umbrellas on the rooftop for customers to enjoy the weather and the view overlooking the park nearby. The decoration of the cafe is simple and classy, with some rustic murals on the walls, woodwork, and a bookshelf for a dividing wall between areas of the cafe.

Wall Mural

I go to DropTop to use their free internet. I go there to sample all their drinks and toast. I go there to chat with friends when I should be lesson planning. I study Korean there. I watch dramas there. I lesson plan there. I see a vast majority of my students pass by as they head home...as the knock on the windows just to get my attention and wave at me. It is my place to both escape responsibilities and to dive into them, based on my mood.

Of course, with each visit I attempt to try something new from their menu. They have quite the span of drinks available, with everything from coffee, tea, fruit juices, ades, and more.

Here are some of the things I have tried:

First there is the Honey Almond Toast with whipped cream on top. By far some of the most delicious toast I have eaten in a cafe so far. The toast was already cut, allowing it to be easily eaten. The outer crust was nice and crunchy, while the inside was soft and sweet. The light whipped cream added that extra layer of texture that tied the flavors together really well. The green tea lattes were also delicious. I have ordered their green tea lattes countless times. They are probably my favorite thing to drink if I want something simple. The green tea lattes is of course, green...but it also is great for people who prefer their green tea sweet. I never liked green tea, until I discovered the sweetened version. The taste of green tea is fantastic once it is not so bitter, yet it still has that healthy and natural taste. It isn't overpoweringly sweet.

Sweet Potato Latte

This was the second drink that I tried at DropTop, a sweet potato latte. When it arrived I was really surprised, because it was purple. It was a really pretty color. It was not one of my favorite drinks, but I did like it. It was refreshing, and tasted starchy. Since it is a latte based on a starch, it also did taste healthy and more natural than artificial.

Vanilla Latte

The vanilla latte offered at DropTop is delicious as well. It had good vanilla flavor and was nicely balanced. 

Chocolate Latte 

The chocolate latte was one that surprised me when I first tasted it. I expected something that was sweet and chocolate flavored like chocolate syrup. However, what I tasted when I took that first sip was not chocolate syrup, but cocoa. The drink tasted much more like true cocoa and so it was more bitter than chocolate drinks I've had in the past. It wasn't that it was bad tasting, but it was a taste that I hadn't expected. It tasted more fresh and natural than an artificial drink. It was good, but I think it made me thirstier in the long run, longing for water. 

Strawberry Juice with whip and gelato

As you can probably tell, I like sweet drinks. This one was one of those drinks that I liked a lot because it was sweet. The strawberry juice was really fresh and authentic. The gelato was sweet, mixed with light whip cream and all together it was a very satisfying drink. 

Garlic Cheese Bread

The garlic cheese bread has an inside which is soft and buttery while the outer crust is crisp. It is cheesy and sprinkled in garlic, but is sweet at the same time. I found it very satisfying, as I've missed my garlic and cheese fix since coming overseas.

Peach Ade

The peach ade had a surprising tang to it which was refreshing with the hot summer days. It had small peach chunks in it too. I would suggest giving it a brief stir when you first drink it to sort of mix the flavors together more thoroughly.

Black Tea Latte

Creamy, milky, cold black tea in latte form. Yummy.

Not like American lemonade. If you are looking for a balanced sweet and sour lemonade this is not it. The taste is very sour and pure lemon; it was good, but as a lover of sweets it was something I had to drink really slowly. Oh wow was it sour, that first sip made me pucker up real quickly. I was unable to finish off the entire drink.

This was a seasonal cake that they began offering during the winter. It was January when I went and tried it,  it's a red velvet and green tea cake. It was good and the flavor profile was unlike the usual flavors offered. It tasted like a mix of home and Korea together: Red Velvet + Green Tea. I liked it, but I think it is something that I wouldn't eat often. Definitely it was something you'd need to eat when you were in the mood for it, it was fairly rich. I also loved the presentation of it. The employees always make the orders look so beautiful before serving them. So if you are the type of person to Instagram your food, DropTop is an Instagram-worthy cafe. Feed your subscribers. 

Ladies and gentlemen I give you the double chocolate mint Dropucino! Yayyyy. Satisfying all my winter blues with delicious minty goodness topped with whip, this seasonal beverage hit the spot. It was perfectly chocolaty and infused with mint flavor, perfect for a cold and snowy day.

As I try more of the menu, I will update this post and let you know what I think!

For the Korean website click here.

Western Style Bar in Gangnam, Seoul - Kathy's Bar and Pub

I am a bit behind in my posts, too busy living the life to find time to write about it, so I realize this post is coming a bit late. However, towards the end of September I found myself in Seoul, again, to celebrate a friend's birthday. During our time out enjoying the night in Gangnam, our mutual friends took us to a bar called Kathy's Bar and Pub. This is one of the more western style bar's that I have been to, and it made me feel very much like I was back at home having a night out near my university's campus. It was nostalgic and so I wanted to share a bit about the place.

Now, I have nothing against soju, in fact it isn't that bad at all, but it had been a while since I had any western style alcohol and I have a preference for mixed drinks. If I can't taste the alcohol, all the better. I went with five of my friends and they ordered some type of set deal for drinks. I am not sure what the set was, but I do know that it was expensive. Compared to how much it would've cost had I been in the USA though, I think it probably wasn't much different. With our set we got a large bottle of Smirnoff vodka and had various mixed drinks made from it, such as those below:


               


However, what truly made the place likable was the atmosphere.

Kathy's is a rather small bar and pub, with a few tables/booths and two or three smaller tables on a balcony overlooking the street. Decorated with alcoholic paraphernalia, it very much resembled pubs back at home for me. Simple, not too loud, a likable host, and nice drinks made it the perfect place to socialize.

This all considered, it was the owner Mr. K that tied it all together. He was a very people friendly bartender, and he made sure that anyone in his pub had an entertaining evening. He made a show of mixing our drinks for us, right at our table. When our drinks were reaching the bottom of the glass he would be right there to mix us our next one. He didn't let our glasses sit empty for long, so I guess he is quite the business man as well. Our drinks were tasty, not overpoweringly strong, pretty, and overall they satisfied. Since it was my friends birthday he also gave her a birthday shot, which we were expecting since it was a western style place.

Mr. K is also an active Instagram promoter, and often takes photos with the guests and posts them on the pub's Instagram page, so you can find photos of your group's fun night out later. Don't worry, the photos he takes are nice ones.


To see more about this pub, perhaps visit the links below:
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