Bravo your well being life with green tea!

Taste buds can change! Since coming to Asia I’ve tried all sorts of foods and still tasting things for the first time. I remember how fussy and picky I was when I first moved to Hong Kong as I was exposed to textures that I never knew existed and tastes that were either extremely bland or just explosive. Or that one and only first class flight that I took from Osaka to Seoul and being served sushi made me wish I was in economy class, but now I can’t get enough of it as I’ve gotten over the texture and in love with wasabi!!! Tonight I had a craving for green tea ice cream, which is my favourite flavor coming from a girl that was chocolate, chocolate and all about the chocolate!!!

I have to tell ya, Haagen Dazs makes the best green tea ever, the others don’t compare also I do love green tea latte from Starbucks but I don’t like green tea in everything. There’s a trend in Korea to call healthy food “Well Being” and everyone here knows the benefits of green tea so they’re adding it to everything even to pizza, yep pizza. I was unfortunate one time to eat a slice and let me tell ya, it was not a pleasant experience. Not only was the dough made with green tea it also glowed a nuclear green color, it was topped with the usual things and some piped yellow stuff which turned out to be sweet potato! My fellow teachers told me that its “Well Being” any way I think it’s really healthy, as I won’t be eating it again!!!

I was looking around on some Korean websites and there are some great recipes for green tea ice cream however they’re in Korean and they do have pictures.

Happy Birthday Irene!

Just wanted to give a shout out to my wonderful friend and parnter in crime as we're notorious in certain restaurants and bars seeing that we are that frequent. Our trainers know and hate the fact that we hang out, eat all the bad things and drink beer to be merry!!!

Love you :)

And the lucky winner is...

I finally found my new place after seeing scores of interesting apartments varying in different degrees of quality, dirt and darkness! No more climbing up and down hills in search for a place in fact I'm leaving my beloved steep hill that gets everyone's breathing heavy and swearing as my new place is in the flatlands! Oh I should mention that the shops are up the hill, lol!!! One place I saw I just couldn’t see the apartment as I was more concerned about where I was stepping due to the pee and crap on the floor as the tenants included two cats and three dogs, I have no idea how people can live like that!

My new place is a little dark in comparison to my current home I’ll have to say goodbye to the lovely view and my wrap around balcony but the apartment itself is really cute with it’s own character. With wood flooring I no longer have to worry about the damage my sofa makes to the lino, as the thing seems to travel around a bit. There’s space for a dining table, which is great, as I’ve been eating on the floor with a Korean table for over a year. It has built-in closets so let’s see if I can be more organized, he he he!

So the move-in date is March 24th, I would love as well as NEED the help, nudge, nudge, wink, wink ;P

Yet Another Hong Kong Trip

When in Hong Kong the first thing that I need is the food and drinks. Let me present my favourite franchise in Hong Kong that has a wide and interesting menu ranging from my choice of mango with mango jelly, coconut milk and sago to turtle jelly drink which I have tried!‘Tis the year of the pig!
Looking up is important there’s so much to see!
Cherie’s apartment has some sweet views I think I would be barbecuing a lot up here.
And lastly, the FOOD! Yeah, no Hong Kong trip is complete without Dim Sum that I managed to get at the airport. I highly recommend Maxim’s which is the same franchise in the city that has those horrid hour long line ups just like all great restaurants on a Sunday!

Catching up!

This is not a clear picture but I really like it. I'm at Cheong-Gye-Cheon 청계천, a stream that has an interesting history as it was recently reopened after a couple of years of renovations as well as the disappeareance of a detereating highway. Now it's the place to be.
I took part in a show in January along with my friends, Nado, Irene, Hee-jeong and Hee-joo.
My family here in Seoul :)

Searching for apartments is an adventure or a nightmare?

I’ve been waking up early which is great as all of a sudden I have more time on my hands and can enjoy my mornings without the rush. However there’s a reason for my early mornings as I’m constantly thinking about where I am moving to.
Friday after work I met Maryon (a fellow teacher in another school within my district) and Irene a friend that is able to speak Korean to see some apartments that my co-teacher had set up with a realtor. Off we went walking past numerous mom & pop shops selling all sorts from dried fish hanging on the side streets to juicy strawberries in little plastic bowls. We came to the building where the realtor pointed to the view for us to enjoy; so far we were satisfied however down we went into the basement to see the two-bedroom apartment. And oh my! The space was tiny and musty, sure there were two bedrooms but one was only two shoulder widths wide, the bathroom had the washing machine a toilet and a shower head with little space forcing one to shower over the toilet. The living room was an awkward space maybe big enough for a small love seat at one end with the kitchen at the other. The realtor had nothing else to offer saying that this was the best that he had, as the others are worse. We left the area feeling rather disappointed however we had a little adventure as we decided to go to our favorites Nepalese restaurant in Dondaemun however we ended up in Russia town and bought some yogurt pancake wraps that wasn’t so great.
Saturday Maryon and I went off to meet another realtor close to where we both live. Let me tell ya, this man was a little strange with a really slow speech. He kept reminding me that he doesn’t normally work on Saturdays and that his office hours are until 6 in the week, which leaves me no time. I have no idea how this guy makes money! He showed us one apartment that is similar to my current place however it was on the ground floor in between an access road and another apartment building meaning that people have to walk past my place to get to theirs. That was all he had to show, however Maryon and I were not ready to give up so we walked into another realtor place and my Korean was put to the test. This time we were shown five apartments, which were more promising than the other places with landlords that seemed great even the realtor, was cute with tons of energy. However at the end my moving date is about five weeks away, which is too far for them to do anything so I have to wait and hope that some of those places are still vacant. Aargh!

Ride the wave!

I seem to be stuck in this drama series just as Truman Burbank was with non-stop cliffhangers that leave me in yet another situation to which I now just sit back and laugh as I ride the wave! So, last week a friend asked what I was going to do with Philipp’s room, yep that spare room of mine is forever named as such. I was thinking that I should try to live with another male roommate, as it would keep the costs down as well as help me out with saving for my brother’s wedding. However those thoughts were soon crushed by a phone call from my realtor who told me that I have 4 weeks to move out as my landlords have sold the building to be torn down and built into some fancy apartments. Great!



Well I’m not the only one as the area is up for the highest bidder as it’s underdeveloped in a city that has no space. I am desperately seeking new accommodations and I’ve been really lucky to have people around me to help. The teachers in my office all took a role in searching online. One teacher insisted me to stay near my school, which I refuse to do so, and tried explaining many times why I don’t want to. My social life happens around where I currently reside which is close to the city and the foreign neighborhood, okay I know I’m in another country and I should experience everything that it has to offer but seriously I get to do more from being here than the area where my school is. Besides it’s no fun going places to have kids scream out your name ~ one has to look good all the time!