Shopping, Power, X-rays, and Safety

Monica and I decided that our fridge was a bit empty this week and we should get some food shopping done. Our first mistake was going on a Sunday, it seems that every Korean in the city goes shopping on Sundays. Shopping for food in Korea is an experience and a meal. On the end of just about every isle is a girl in a short skirt cooking a particular brand of food for you to try and they will call out to you and get you to try their product. In the cleaning isle, there are women pushing for you to buy their brand of soap/detergent. Monica and I were bargain shopping and we found a cheap bottle of detergent, but we were accosted by a women trying to sell her brand, which was more expensive, and we had to flee from the area empty-handed. Now we desperately need to do laundry. Monica went on a quest to find pasteurized milk, which she was able to find only after writing down the Korean word for it on a notepad that she showed around to anyone who would help her. We also found peanut butter, but we were disappointed to discover that it was w7,000 (=$7) for a small jar of Skippy. An amazing thing about buying Korean alcohol is the difference between beer and liquor prices. The price of beer is more expensive than the price of Korean liquors. A bottle of Soju, which is a 20.5% alc/vol liquor similar to rice wine and the national drink, that can be found in 99% of the restaurants, is about w1,000 (=$1) per bottle. Korean beer is cheap, but as far as we have found it is not sold in bottles less than 40oz. Imported beers, such as Heinekin, can be up to 15,000 (=$15) for a six pack. A good thing about Soju is that it mixes well with just about anything. Monica has taken a liking to Cass which is the equivalent to Budweiser, while I am finding out the best ways to drink Soju. I also plan on learning more about the Korean drinking culture which occurs 24/7 and it is common to see business men having a liquid lunch.

I have also been on a quest to find a proper converter for my Playstation 3, which I brought with me, much to Monica's dismay. Monica brought a step down power converter with her, but 3 blown fuses later I decided I needed to find a new one. So on our trip to the Lottemart (similar to Walmart) I found a converter that looked right and had the proper power conversion written on it. I plugged it in and everything went fine, for a little while. The PS3 turned on and I was excited that we could now rent movies and play some games in our down time, but disaster was looming. We were chatting for the first time with my parents when we heard a pop. Panicked, I turned around and saw the power converter smoking and sparks were flying. After some very speedy unplugging, the converter remained hot to the touch for about an hour after, and I am still looking for a new power source… to be continued.

After getting to the country, Monica and I have 90 days to register with the Immigration Office. Once we do this, we can then get cell phones, a bank account, and other things that require monthly payments and such. In order to do so we needed to get some tests done at the hospital because Koreans are paranoid about foreign disease. Off we went Tuesday morning to go to the hospital, where we pointed at a piece of paper Monica had received on her passport from the LA Consulate which mentioned something about our tests. We were directed to the clinic where someone spoke limited English and we had our blood drawn, blood pressure taken, eyesight tested, urine tested, and a chest x-ray. I am still a bit unsure about the x-ray as I don't usually enjoy being needlessly dosed with radiation. The tests went smoothly even though we couldn't understand 90% of what was being told to us.

We also needed to get a better lock on our apartment because we couldn't lock our deadbolt from the outside. We went to the Lottemart and found the locksmith, these stores usually carry everything you could ever need in one place. Not only can you buy your food in the supermarket, but also pet lizards, laundry services, and so much more. The locksmith had a wide range of key pad locks from pads that have screens like an iPhone to cheap and simple button codes. We went with the latter. The problem arose when trying to communicate where we lived and how we were going to get there because the lock guy needed to come install our new lock. Monica and I made the question of "where" difficult because we didn't actually know where we lived or the name of our building. (We know where we live, don't get me wrong, we just need to physically show you). We understood that the locksmith told us he would drive us, but we didn't understand much more than that and the price of the lock, but we did find a way to tell him we would come back the next day in the evening. Jordan was kind enough to come with us and help with the communication aspect of our transaction. If Koreans do one thing right at all, it's service. You order food and you have it within minutes. We got a lock and it was installed right away. The locksmith also found that the door knob of our apartment could get stuck and strand us within the apartment, which he demonstrated. Fortunately, that had not happened to us yet, or we would have been stranded in our apartment, with limited food supplies, waiting for Jordan to eventually come looking for us. Luckily the lock guy had a new door knob in his car and in 10 minutes he was finished switching them out. Now Monica and I can feel safe when we leave our valuables at the apartment, whether it be for the day or overnight trips throughout the country.

That's all that's new with us. Love, Kyle