Some new stuff....

Got a cell phone! It's quite a nice one, actually. Remember the bicycle purchase? Well, again the first place we went to get a phone was the perfect one! Us foreigners get a used phone and pre-paid minutes instead of a new phone with a contract deal-- it's the easiest way to go when you don't know the language =) This place only had ONE used phone. It had been returned earlier in the day but never used (all the plastic was even still on it!) So although new it would cost hundreds of dollars, I got it for just under $100. Cell phones get pretty fancy around here, so this one is really simple by Korean standards, but I'm impressed with all the features! It can do tricks: phone, camera, menus/texting in both Korean and English, dictionary, MP3, planner... it even has a subway map, but that part isn't in English.

Went to a new section of Seoul yesterday and experienced the gigantic, year-round garage sale =) Of course, the prices they quoted the white girl were quite high and they weren't really interested in bartering (yes, Dad, bickering =) but I got back at them by not buying anything =) I know that normally they do barter, but I'll have to go back with more Korean vocabulary under my belt to be deemed worthy of speaking to.

I ate some spicy stuff-on-a-stick at a street vendor and the lady told Sylvia that I eat Korean food well, for a foreigner-- so I guess I am fitting in quite well when it comes to gastro-intestinal prowess. The stuff we were eating deserves a little mention. It's made of fish, but has all kinds of flavors depending on how it's prepared. It's about a quarter inch thick and kinda spongy. It's cut into strips and used in soup, seasoned&stir-fried, rolled up in gimbop, or cooked on a stick (boiled in broth or simmered in red-hot sauce). I'm sure I even eat it when I don't know I'm eating it in other foods too. I thought it was tofu until recently.

Climbed a mountain today! Really! I'll post the pictures to prove it =) 6 of us headed out for a hike at 10am and returned at 6pm. Some of that time was spent on subways, in lost taxis, and at a local watering hole to take a breather before heading up our hill. While sitting outside resting our bones (...and muscles ...and tendons ...and that little spot on my foot that I'm sure will develop a blister by tomorrow...) we met a group of hikers also just returning from a trek up a different mountain: 4 Koreans and a very outgoing grad student from Prague. We asked how he knew these hikers and he said he just met them on the trail; English is not his first language, he doesn't know Korean and his new friends had a little English vocabulary, but overall the communication was good-natured guessing! His new guides were giving him a taste of the post-hiking formula: sit at a table outside, drink (soju, beer, or a fermented rice drink they insisted we try at our table too), and eat the wonderful things Korea has to offer. They brought kimchee, side dishes, and were working on a Korean pancake when we left. This is an amazing country and it was good to be reminded of how it feels when you first get here.