Chilbo (Korean Enameling) Class

 I got to spend chilbo class this week with a friend.  I met her when I worked with Nan (my teacher) at a festival.  She has been stopping by regularly when I was at chilbo to say "hi".  Now she is taking the class and creating some fantastic chilbo. 

Here is a close-up of what she was working on.  She knows a little more English than Nan so she tries to be our interpreter.  She always makes sure that I have coppee (coffee).

I was working hard on my charms.  This week I did the front side.  I had soooo many to do.

                                                    These are pictures of the charms before firing.

                                  Nan wanted me to get a picture of the two of them.

Here are the charms after firing.  I am going back on Saturday to work on the lettering.  She also wants me there on Monday but I had changed my hanji class to Monday afternoons because of the miniature classes so I'll need to reschedule with Nan. 

At a local shop, I found this guy sitting on a toilet.  He bobs his head up and down when there is light in the room.  Rocketman took him to work and he said he bops like crazy.  He loved it.  It's still raining here and we are off to Seoul tomorrow.  Rocketman has a final fitting for his suit so he took the day off.  Next week he goes to Taiwan and the following week he is back in the States.  I'm not going along, the plane ride is too much since we only just got back from our visit.  Poor guy.

Korean BBQ for Dinner

 Last night we decided to eat out and went to a local Korean barbecue place.  We had been there a few times and they always treated us so well.  You do have to sit on the floor which is not always easier to do the older we get.

 This photo is of the side dishes.  I look forward to the side dishes more than than the main course these days.  The staff kept a sharp eye out and were quick to replace empty plates.  Usually, you have to ask to have a side dish refilled.

 Rocketman had trouble ordering again.  We thought we had it figured out the last time we were there but we got something a little different but it was still delicious.

 We do know how to use the scissors to cut up the meat but the waitstaff always does it for us.  We don't mind at all and they seem to really want to help us.

                                   Here is one of my bites and yes, it did all fit into my mouth.

I also stopped back at Etude House to pick up these cute handcreams.  They fit perfectly in your purse.  Aren't they cute?  I'm going to refill them with my our handcream when they run out.  It's still raining and doesn't look like it will stop through the weekend. 

Lights, Camera, Action!

 A camera crew from a Korean cable television station was at our apartment last night to interview me.  Rocketman left work early so he could be there and Jennifer and Vanessa from our relocation agency were also on hand.  I really wasn't nervous except for the fact that I wasn't sure what they wanted me to do.  They didn't speak any English so the girls took turns translating.

 The first thing I did was do a one minute talk about how much we like our relocation agency.  I had no idea what I was going to say but I did it in two takes.  Rocketman and the girls thought I did great.  I can't even remember what I said but I sure missed Ian from the Carol Duvall Show days letting me know how much time I had left.  He was the stage manager for her show.

 I was told to look at the guy sitting there and just start talking so that is what I did.  That's Vanessa on her phone.  She was having so much fun.

Next we grabbed a bunch of my Korean crafts for them to film.  They also took a copy of my maedeup book, "Elegant Knotted Jewelry."  Then they wanted me in my craft room. 

They really liked my maedeup cording hanging on the wall.  They wanted me to sit on the floor with my small Korean table and do some maedeup while they taped.  Rocketman was suppose to be following me around and getting pictures but as you can see the only picture I have is the one I took of my maedeup wall.

The final thing was they wanted to record me and Rocketman talking.  It wasn't going to have any sound so it didn't matter what we said but they we should keep talking for a few minutes.  Rocketman FREAKED when he heard this, he's a behind the scenes kinda guy but he quickly agreed since he really didn't have any choice. So we sat on our sofa and just talked, awkwardly but it was fine.

That was the end of it.  They were here for an hour, packed up and left.  I had some Indian rice and curry cooking all day and it was easy to talk the girls into staying for dinner.  It was a great experience and I have no idea what will happen with it.  Vanessa is going to keep in touch with them.  I'll keep you posted!

Bojagi Class

 I had bojagi/chasu class today and found out that I had indeed made my pincushion wrong so my teacher started a new one for me.  I did manage to finish one of my bojagi tablerunners.

                                                         Here are two closeup pictures of it.

                                                        This is how the back looks.

I am also getting nervous about the interview tonight.  Jennifer told me that they will be asking one or two questions so it shouldn't be a big deal.  But in Korea it's best to expect the unexpected because you just new know. I better get back to my primping, they will be here in an hour.

Etude House

 After visiting the dermatologist, I decided to stop by Etude House for some beauty products.  Etude House is one of my favorites places to shop for lotions and cosmetics.  They even have a shop in our Home Plus and that's where I stopped.  The gal that helped me out spoke very good English.

My dermatologist wants me to wear sunscreen whenever I go out.  I know all my Korean girlfriends don't leave home without it so I'm joining their ranks.  I also bought some other products for my face.  Their prices are really reasonable.

                               I also picked up this perfume.  The bottle was just too cute.

She also gave  me a bunch of freebees.  I just wish trying to get a pedicure had gone as well.  I've tried for days to get one and I've struck out each time.  The first time was on Friday.  I walked in the rain and my sandals to Home Plus where there is a nail salon on the 5th floor.  It was about 10:30 am and a gal was working on someone as I entered the shop.  She was the only one there and she understood what I wanted and told me to come back at 1 pm.  I wasn't going to hang around until then and my jeans were damp up to my knees so I took a taxi home after doing some shopping.

I had seen that a nail salon had opened up in our complex so later that day I went down to see if I would have better luck.  I entered the door where it said in English "manicure" and "pedicure."  A lady came to the door and I said pedicure and she said, "other side."  So I went to the street side which was a real estate office and asked there.  They sent me through a narrow hallway and a nondescript door.  I entered and saw a room to my left with a naked woman in it getting a massage.  The door was wide open.

I was shocked and took a few steps back.  I heard a voice from the room asking in English what I wanted.  I said, "a manicure."  I walked further in again thinking it was the lady giving the massage answering me but actually the lady getting the massage had grabbed a towel and was covering her unmentionable parts.  She told me to go out the door and to the left.

I did that and never did find the nail salon.  Why would you put that on a door and have it not be a nail salon?  I just don't get it.  Then today we were at Home Plus and I decided to try again at the same nail salon I had tried a few days ago.  Today there were more girls working but she gave me the X sign which means no.  So I'm still without a pedicure but I haven't given up yet and I'll keep you posted.

I have some exciting news to share.  Last week, Vanessa called from our relocation agency and asked if I wouldn't mind being interviewed by a Korean cable television station.  It sounded great and they are coming tomorrow night at 6 pm.  I have no idea what they will ask me but I think it's about living in Korea as a foreigner.  Rocketman is going to get home early from work and will take pictures.  I can't wait!

Bojagi Class

 Bojagi (Korean quilting) class this week was to make a pin cushion.  These are the samples my teacher brought for me.  See the garakji maedeup in the center.  My teacher bought the maedeup premade.

 This is how mine turned out.  I'm not sure if it is right and I'll find out on Monday.

 We also decided to go to Costco today.  Not a good idea.  The one we go to in Seoul opens at 9 am and we were there at about 9:20 am to find a line of cars around the building.  Rocketman dropped me off to start shopping while he waited to park the car.

It took Rocketman 46 minutes to get into the ramp and parked.  By that time I had finished the shopping and was waiting for him in the restaurant area.  He was soooo angry from the whole ordeal and I didn't fare better.  I could not believe all the self absorbed people I found inside Costco.  I continually ran into people who felt the aisles were only for them and placed their carts in the middle so no one could get by.  Costco aisles are wide as it is but the carts are too. 

I also had a guy ran his cart into my achille's tendon as I was waiting in line for the escalator to the food floor.  I turned around with a disgusted look and he was quite embarassed as his wife slapped his arm.  I mean I was standing in a line. 

The food section of Costco was a zoo.  I don't know if this is a normal Saturday since we usually have always gone on Friday or if people were buying in preparation for the typhoon that is supposedly coming tomorrow.  I had never seen Costco so busy.  I did talk to myself a lot during my shopping, mainly complaining about the rudeness of people.  I would think with so many people about, you would be more aware of yourself and your dang cart.

We always get a hotdog afterwards so I paid and packed up by myself and made my way to the tables to find a seat.  It was packed and I had to wait about five to ten minutes for a table to open up.  When Rocketman came, he immediately got in line to get our hotdogs.  Then we took turns getting catsup and mustard and our sodas filled.

He took forever and when he came back he told me that there were two ajummas standing in front of the catsup and mustard dispenser.  They were taking their sweet old time by opening the relish packets and carefully squeezing it onto their hotdogs.  Then they had to arrange where to put the mustard.  They knew Rocketman was waiting because he said he stood inches from them.  They just didn't care.  One did say they were sorry in Korean which is rare.  But he was blazing mad when he got back to the table.

Rocketman ended up having to park on the 6th floor which is rooftop and the only way to get to it was by elevator.  Oh joy!  So we had to get into a line for the elevator which is what you see in the picture above.



Two employees were directing the loading of the elevator by floor.  We got in first because we were on the 6th floor.  The elevator was huge.  It held 8 carts and we all had to stand in the center.  We couldn't believe people were getting off on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd... floor since there is an escalator which goes to these floors and you wouldn't have to wait in a long line.  We just didn't understand this way of thinking.  Wait in line for 15 - 30 minutes or take the escalator with little to no wait. 

We loaded the car quickly since it was raining and we were exhausted from the whole ordeal and Rocketman navigated his way out of the Costco parking ramp which was no easy feat.  Then the fun is always getting the stuff from the car to the elevator and from the elevator to the apartment.  I don't think we will be going to Costco anytime soon and not on a Saturday.

A New Class - Miniatures!

 Guess who I met?  If you were here during my "Amazing Ajumma Week" you may remember the video of this talented lady.  I told Hannah about her and that she was in Suwon.  I also told her that I was very interested in taking lessons.  So off we went!  It is easiest for me to get to her place by taxi and it was about 4200 WON ($3.91 USD).  Her shop is pretty close to a subway station so it's easy for me to tell the taxi where to go.

 This is a sample of her work.  I bought this for Rocketman.  I want to learn how to make miniatures of Korean food and that class is held on Thursdays from 10-4, twice a month.  The next class starts in July and I signed up.  It is a three month course.

Here is a closeup of her amazing work.  This is really a blast from the past for me.  My first experience in polymer clay was making miniatures and my first book was on polymer clay miniatures.  I think she uses air dry clay and colors the clay.  It will be interesting since I haven't played with clay for ages.  She is so talented and I feel lucky to be able to take classes from her. 

I just have to rearrange my hanji class that is on Thursdays.  I think I may go to twice a month with it, the opposite weeks of the miniature class.  Now I can't wait for July!

Hannah's in da House!

 My good friend Hannah came down for a visit from Seoul.  She is starting a new job next week so I won't be seeing her as much I have been.  She came down around lunchtime and we had lunch before I went to chilbo class.  She also took me to a special place which I'll tell you about later.  It's always great fun to go to lunch with Hannah.  I can eat a traditional Korean meal because she knows what to order.   This meal was delicious.
Hannah had also done some last minute errands for me.  Like getting the 30,000+ WON off of my TMoney card.  The card stopped working and you can still get your money back.

She also ran to the maedeup shop to retrieve my bracelets that I had made when I was taking class.  If you remember, my maedeup teacher wanted to keep my bracelets to copy.  It was after this incident that I decided not to continue with the lessons.  She still had my bracelets and I didn't want to go back to get them so Hannah went. 

The teacher was gone but someone knew where the bracelets were and Hannah brought them home.  I was shocked to see what the teacher had done.  She had made a maedeup bracelet (the top one in the picture), removed my charms and placed them on her's.  The nerve of this lady.  I'm so glad I quit.  I still thinking of taking more maedeup lessons if I can find a teacher here in Suwon or one from Seoul that will come to my apartment like my pojagi\chasu teacher.

Both Hannah and Hellena had been to the dermatologist to have freckles removed and I was intrigued with how little it costs and how easy it is to do.  Now that I'm older, I've gotten some age spots on my face and I thought while living here in South Korea, it would be the perfect place to remove them. 
Hannah told me that you don't need an appointment and that it is something many Koreans do especially women.  They like their faces to be freckle-free.  Hannah found a place next to Home Plus and off we went.  I was pretty nervous because it involved lasers and that is something I hadn't experienced before.  The staff was great and the doctor talked to us a lot about the procedures.

I also decided to have a scar I had had since I was 3 or 4.  It was from chicken pox and it was right under my nose and something I've hated having.  He said it would probably take 2-3 treatments to completely get rid of it.

A nurse came out with some topical numbing cream and put cream on all the spots, counting as she went.  They charged 20,000WON  ( $18.60 USD) for freckles and 30,000 WON ($28.00 USD) for age spots since they are deeper and take more time to removed.  I had to pay in advance and it came to a total of 185,000 WON ($172.00 USD).

This is me with the numbing cream ready for the laser treatment.  It took about 20-30 minutes for him to laser everything.  I was so scared.  It hurt just a tiny bit but I was so hypersensitive that I know I overreacted.  Afterwards, I was sent home with a package of tiny bandages and told to keep everything covered for one week.  I need to come back in a week for more laser work on the chicken pox scar.

I did take pictures of the sores.  Some are just pink and some are turning into scabs but it was kinda gross to show.  This is what I look like when I go out with my bandages.  Rocketman was surprised I had done it since we had talked about it and he really wanted to go along too.  I can't imagine how much this would have cost in the States but I'm so glad I decided to do it here.  If you want to try a dermatologist in South Korea, I would advise bringing someone fluent in Korea.  It makes things so much easier.

Presents from Friends

 As my sister was driving us to the airport to fly back to Korea, she handed me a padded envelope from my dear friend Vonna.  Inside was a beautiful bookmark that she had made for me.  I love it!  She is a wonderful friend.

 Choi, my Korean yoga buddy, went on a trip to Eastern Europe which his wife had arranged.  He brought me back this cream from Austria to help my poor knees.  I didn't have the heart to tell him that my knees will probably never do what they should do in Korean yoga class.  They just don't work in the same way but it was so sweet of him to remember him.  I always bring him and his wife something back from the States.

 Then I was surprised to have my metal guy, Jong-Woo, stop by for a visit.  He was dropping off some chilbo pieces at Nan's.  It was for my Korean charm bracelet.  He had drilled holes on each side of the copper pieces.

 He also brought me this lion ring that he had made for me.  It's soooo cool!

To top is all off, the cleaning lady came today and was so happy to see me again.  She brought me this hair clip.  I had also brought her something from the U.S. 

Rainy season has started as of yesterday according to the news report and the weather is right on track.  It rained most of yesterday and it's rained all of today.  We are also watching a typhoon that is suppose to hit the pennisula on Sunday.  I wonder if we will get a ton of rain with that too.  It's also really humid so I'm pretty much drenched when I go out and about.  Luckily, we have plenty of umbrellas!

More Shopping!

 On Sunday, Rocketman was itching to get to Seoul and I felt better than I had the day before.  Our first stop was Itaewon.  Rocketman likes the store called Hamilton where you can order custom suits and dress shirts for a reasonable price especially for someone as tall as Rocketman.

I had an interesting encounter with a little boy who was about 3 or 4.  He came in with his parents.  His mother was Korean and his father was American (at least I think he was).  The father spoke perfect Korean and was looking for some dress shirts.

All of the sudden, something grabbed my leg and said "eomma."  I looked down to find the little boy looking up at me with his arms around one of my legs.  His father saw the whole thing and so did Rocketman.  We all had a good laugh about it and the little boy quickly ran to his mother.

 While waiting for Rocketman to get measured, I found some maedeup.  They were three garakji maedeups.  I'm not sure what they are used for, maybe cufflinks?

 Rocketman wasn't ready to go home quite yet so we went back to visit the Hope Market in Hongdae.  I still don't have a great way to tell you how to get there but I'll try.  Take subway line 2 (Green Line) to Hongik University Station, Exit 9.  You will see a KFC to the left.  Take that road to the end which is a T intersection.  Take a right and walk a block or two until you find a main road.  Take a left and walk 3-4 blocks.  You will go up a hill and at the top of the hill you will see the university above.

 Take a right and cross the street.  This is what that corner looks like.  Walk about a block ot the first street on your right.

 You will see this street and see the woods to the left, that's the park where the Hope Market is.

                                                   This time we noticed this building. 

 A lady was selling the most adorable hats for kid and adults.  She was doing a brisk business.  I bought this one for Ezra.

                                                   I also picked up a pair of earrings.

 There was also a guy selling these handpainted bottle caps.  They were only 2000 WON ($1.80USD) each.

He was also selling these robot cellphone charms.  The head and body are made with keys (letters) from a computer.  That's my kinda of going green. 

The Hope Market is every Sunday from 1-7pm.  There were only a couple of vendors that we had seen the first time so it's good to go often.  The vendors change all the time.