Ahn-nyuhng-hah-seh-yo! ("Hello" in Korean)
We have officially been in Korea for a week. It has been a very busy week full of learning and new experiences.
Yesterday we ventured out on our own for the first time. Destination: E-mart. We were told that the best way to get there is by taxi, so we started walking down the street looking for an available taxi. It took us a while to find one, and when we did, we were relieved and slightly anxious at the thought of having to tell someone where we needed to go when we don't speak there language. Alas, we got in the taxi, said "E-mart," and thankfully that's all he needed to hear.
E-mart is to Korea as Target is to America.
When you first walk in, you have two choices: go left or right. We chose to go left and totally missed out on the whole grocery section, but no worries, we'll be back. We rode moving sidewalks that go up and down like escalators without the stairs. The purpose: So people can take their carts to the second and third floors. It was pretty cool.
Once we had walked around the second and third floors, found the items we needed, and paid, we ventured back outside to find a taxi. We had successfully gotten to E-mart, but now we had to figure out how to tell the taxi driver where we lived. I tried saying apartment in Korean (ah-pah-tu) and then what is written on the side of the apartment building, LH (l-achee), but I was met with a confused look and a bunch of Korean I didn't understand. So, thankfully, Teaven and I thought to take pictures of our apartment building as well as the road we lived on just in case something like this happened. It worked! We made it back!
Later that night, we wanted to try a little pizza shop not to far from our apartment. Ordering pizza wasn't too difficult because they had pictures of all the types they had, so we just had to point. Their pizza is a little different than American pizza. One, the sauce is much sweeter. Two, if you don't want just pepperoni, you're likely to get things like sweet potatoes, shrimp, or corn. Three, Koreans always have side dishes when they eat, so they must have something to go with pizza.. Guess what it is? Sweet pickles. Yes, when you order a pizza, you will always get a side of sweet pickles. lol
Well, today was an adventurous trip to the supermarket. Teaven has been sick this morning, so I decided to go get him some sprite and other things we needed for dinner. When I opened the door, I realized it was pouring rain, something that happens often here, but I'm not quite used to this much rain. Well, in our apartment building, the floor and stairs outside the apartment are made of marble or some other type of stone that becomes very slippery when wet. So, picture this, I'm headed to the grocery store, umbrella in hand, Old Navy flip flops on my feet. When I get off the elevator, I know to walk very carefully because it's wet and slippery, which is only made worse by the fact that I'm wearing Old Navy flip flops, shoes with no friction at all.
Anyways, I made it safely past the marble stairs and quickly went back to listing what I needed to get at the store so that I wouldn't forget anything. As I was watching a young Korean woman try to cross the street without stepping in a puddle, I slip and almost bust my butt. You see, on the edge of some of the sidewalks is that same gray marble. Unfortunately for me, I didn't even think about it until I slipped and caught myself from falling on my butt. So, I quietly laughed it off and looked around to see if anyone saw. The young Korean lady was walking my way, but she didn't let on that she saw anything. So I walked on as if nothing had happened, and when I got back to the apartment, I told Teaven. He laughed, of course. :) Then, I realized I forgot bread and begrudgingly headed back out into the rain on the very familiar path to the grocery store. This time I didn't slip.
