So, I think I've only told a handful of people as of now but here goes..
I'm staying in Korea!
Not forever, no, just a few extra months. But since I'm staying as a teacher for a while longer I have to give up my couple-week trip to the Philippines where I was looking forward to soaking up some sun in El Nido and Cebu. I'm okay with my decision, I just know I'll have to come back to Asia soon to follow through with those plans!
Now that I'm staying for an extended period though, I've gained a new perspective for my remaining time. I'll use it to see new areas and explore more of this country I have come to know and love! What's better is I've decided to be more on the ball with sharing all of my experiences with you!
If you want, of course.
가자! Let's go!
Thursday, February 15, 2018
It's vacation time for Sasha Teacher in Korea! It's the weekend of lunar New Year which is celebrated in many Asian countries- in Korea it's called 설날/Seollal. Just a long weekend but definitely welcomed especially since the Olympics are here,too! (More on that tomorrow)
I wanted to get out of the house (and away from my very slowly disappearing pile of report cards), so I decided to pay a visit to Seoul and go to some of my favorite areas to enjoy the beautiful blue sky day.
Bukcheon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)/ Insadong (인사동)
I really like this area! It's usually full of tourists since it's covering some essential bases for a short trip to the city. It's got
traditional houses
you can rent traditional korean clothes (hanbok)
it's near 2 palaces
and finally, my favorite part of all..it's got some dope ass Korean food.
My first call of duty when emerging from the subway station was to feed myself. I was looking for a specific food though so I had some work cut out for myself and my hangul reading skills. Since its Seollal, many of my students and coworkers told me it's tradition to eat tteokguk (떡국), which is rice cake soup! They eat this soup and it symbolizes getting one year older!
I found a hole in the wall restaurant off of the main street and after using my extremely polite but limited Korean to order, I happily settled in to my steaming bowl of dumpling soup (만두국)!
Awesome. Now I'm a year closer to 30. Sweet. WOAH did I just say 30 HOLY. That's old. Anyways.....
I'm stuffed now- can't handle a bowl of soup like I could when I was younger! Time to walk around a little!
I wandered through the streets of the hanok village which seem to show me something new every time I visit! I found a quiet street this time and took the opportunity to take a selfie.
The traditional houses here are so beautiful. And what's neat is that it's not just a tourist site but people actually live here!
It's a preserved 600-year old area within the extremely modern city of Seoul and it's where the high ranking government officials used to live during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897, thanks Wikipedia). It'll keep you busy with photo ops and trinket shopping for hours!
These are some beautiful teapots with handpainded cherry blossoms. I couldn't refuse taking this photo!
My favorite part as I said earlier though- food. Now that the soup has settled it's time for my number-one-main-dish-best-dessert-in-the-world (drum roll please...) hotteok!
You guys I'm not kidding I love these so much. It's a fried pancake that is filled with brown sugar, honey, chopped nuts, and cinnamon. The places they're made a far from glamorous as it's usually from an old man in a truck, but lemme tell ya you forget that as soon as you bite into this delicious,crispy, warm snack. I'd eat these everyday if I wouldn't develop type 2 diabetes.
Yum!
I followed this up with a visit to Myeongdong for some beauty product shopping, then Hongdae where I sat with a beer and watched some awesome street dancing! I'll show you those spots in another post!
Thanks for coming with me! I hope I didn't ramble too much. If you liked hearing a little about my day in Seoul, let me know what you'd be interested in seeing next!
I'd love to share bits of this beautiful country with you!
Until next time!
안녕! 😊