Week 2: Orientation, City Tour, Ehwa Women's University

I know it has been a week since I updated my blog. As I see it, it will be more difficult for me to update all the time with school in the way but I will try my best to record all the interesting places and food here in Korea. So, orientation hosted by Korea University Buddy Assistant (KUBA) began on February 26, 2014 and ended February 27, 2014 with a city tour! On the Seoul city tour, we went to Gyeongbokgung Palance, had a traditional Korean meal for lunch, shopping at Insadong, and ended the day with a Nanta Cooking show. I don't know much about the Korean history and the place was quite loud for me to hear the details so I took a lot of pictures that will tell me about the lifestyles of Koreans in the past and how they revolutionized into the present.

I learned that in the Korean culture, meals are mostly communal, meaning that food is always shared. I don't know the name of the restaurant we went to at Insadong, but we had lunch on the floor with our shoes off, and shared three dishes for each table. 

At Insadong, I had the chance to taste the most interesting form of ice cream stuffed inside a cone that's shaped like an elephant nose.

Insadong definitely made it to my go-again list. There are many unique gifts and affordable bags and clothes on sale. I feel like I haven't seen the whole area yet. After shopping at Insadong, I watched the most amazing, jaw-dropping show. They wouldn't let the audience take pictures and record during the show so I will try my best to describe the experience. The show is called Nanta Cooking and consist of 4 actors trying to prepare a feast for a wedding before 6PM. Throughout the show, they ran into a lot of  hilarious mischief and troubles. What amazes me most is that they are able to make really good music with the props they have, were able to cook live on stage, interact with the audience, and yet maintain a good plot for the audience to engage in. Words cannot describe such an experience, so I really recommend anyone to come see the show if they ever visit Seoul.

The following day, I went to Ehwa Women's University with my new friend. She has most of the pictures because her camera is better but I took some pictures of the food we ate. For brunch, I had this thing that tastes like a korean version of french toast with an egg on top. After some serious shopping, we went to a Kimbap place for Kimbap and rice dumplings. Another name for the area is called 이대, and this area is a paradise for the ladies. Loads of shopping (and haggling), street foods, salons, beauty boutiques, and cute stores. I bought a winter jacket at a nice deal (about $40) and a few sweaters for $10 each.

As for yesterday, after doing some more exploring around Anam, my friends and I ended off the day with Fried Chicken and walnut cake.