Settling In!

Okay, to begin, I'd just like to let everyone know that I (along with everyone else in Seoul) am fine. The big Earthquake was, of course, in Japan- and we're on the opposite side of Korea, to boot.

Now, with that said, I'm happy to note that things are going pretty well here in Korea! To begin, I finally got proper internet access- after a bit of badgering and cajoling, yes, but still. The important thing is that I actually have a wire to plug into my laptop, which is far more reliable (and faster!) than mooching off of unsecured wireless networks.

Also after some cajoling, I got a TV, too! I didn't watch too much TV at home (except for Netflix binges...) and I don't imagine that will change too much, given most shows are in Korean. However, they DO have some shows in English with Korean subtitles, which is neat. They've even got Castle, one of the few TV shows I watched regularly back home. Yes, I'm a little bit of a Nathan Fillion fanboy. Me and about fifteen percent of the rest of the internets.

However, here's the thing. I have a TV...but I don't have anything to put it on. There's only the one cable jack in the apartment, and it's a short cord...so right now, I have it sitting on the floor. Classy. My co-workers tell me that I just need to keep an eye out for people getting rid of old furniture, and I'll be able to claim it if they throw it away. Curb couches (or, hopefully, some sort of end-table) for the win.

Probably the biggest thing I've done thus far to get settled, however, is grocery shopping. It's a bit of a challenge, given that most of the labels are in Korean. Still, once I verified my credit card worked at the grocery store, I made it a point to start stocking up on essentials. Olive oil, garlic (Koreans LOVE garlic), some dry pasta, ketchup, orange juice, and I even splurged on some kinda pricey beef. Still, I'd say it was worth it, as it was pretty easy to make the pasta, then combine it with the meat, some olive oil, and some of the spices my sister sent over with me. 

Simple, but tasty. And it was nice to actually eat something I made myself that was more advanced than a sandwich. Just this morning, I made my own improvised garlic bread, but I didn't snap a picture of that. I'm a pretty at food photography- or just photography in general, so you're not missing much. I will have to think of other cullinary endeavors for my teeny little kitchenette, however. Any suggestions?

Finally, I've been finding a lot of resources for expats living in Seoul- Groove magazine, for example. Or this website called the Korean Gig Guide, which is a resource for looking into Seoul's music scene. I'm particularly excited about that last one, as I loved to see live music back in the states. And it's also encouraging to learn about music that isn't K-pop.

One of the things I learned about in poking around these websites was Craftworks. It's American style brewpub in Seoul, which sold microbrew beer made in Korea. Naturally, I had to go. I'm tired of Cass. As an added bonus, they were having something called a 'Fermentation Celebration,' which had a bunch of people giving out samples of their various homebrews- or even stuff like pickles, home made kimchi, cheese, and makkoli. 

But damn if it wasn't crowded. I heard somebody describe it as 'this is the most white people I've seen in one place since getting to Korea.' I talked a little in passing with some of the homebrewers, and got some cards & contact info. I even found out about something called the 'Brewluminati.' 

Best secret society ever. Also, not very secret.

I wound up at the bar, whereupon I had some full-sized beers. First proper pint I've had since getting to Korea (well, second, if you count the Duvel I had awhile back). Delicious- and cheap, too! I had their dark ale, and a kolsch. Which, combined with the various beer samples I'd had before (I'll say it was a pint, pint and a half's worth?) got me buzzed a little early. I had meant to get some food, but the place was so busy and crowded that I didn't bother.

I bought myself a pintglass. too, as I wasn't able to find any in my preliminary poking around in Ilsan's stores. Though the one pictured is actually the second one I had- and it eventually got to the THIRD- as the bartenders kept seeing an empty glass on the table, so whenever I would turn my back, it would disappear. Efficient service, if a bit frustrating.

There was a pair of older (I believe the polite term would be 'weathered') Aussie ladies sitting next to me at the bar, and talking with them was a riot. Of course, they kept telling me I should've just STOLEN the glass, but I refused to do so, on a matter of principle. That, and the bartender was a cute girl from South Africa, so I didn't wanna make a bad impression.

And thus, I meandered home. I stopped briefly at an English language used bookstore nearby. Didn't see anything that really leapt out at me- if anything, the thing that really got me was how many books they had stuffed into that tiny store. I should've taken a picture. There were even bookshelves mounted on rails so you could slide them out of the way to see MORE bookshelves behind them. Impressive!

A train ride later, I made it back to my pad without too much trouble, clutching my pintglass to me like the most precious of macguffins. Since then, I'm afraid I haven't done too much of consequence, but having a day to just sit around and take care of things is nice. I still need to do some laundry, take out the trash/recycling, and generally tidy up the apartment- but that stuff's trivial and boring.

More interesting stuff to come in the future, however!