Sunday, August 30, 2009

Koreatown Galleria, re-visited

It's worth noting that when Uncle Fog and I were at the Galleria in Koreatown, I was taken aback by the abundance of kimchi and its many varieties. I'm including a photo which depicts only part of the massive display on hand. No sense in fighting it, kimchi is about to become a very real part of my diet.


One product particularly amused me, and while I'm sure there's something comparable in the States, I loved the direct messaging of this item:

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Consulate Interview


Has it really been a month since my last post?! So much has happened in these last few weeks, but I'll try to summarize the highlights for posterity's sake.

When I awoke last Thursday, I had an email from Rosa (HR manager for my new school) with my visa application number. Success! I'd been approved, which was also a major relief. I dashed off to Los Angeles where I interviewed with the Korean Consulate and submitted the requisite paperwork. The interview itself was quick and to the point. Essentially, it was an opportunity for the Consul to verify that I was who I claimed to be and that my motives for moving to Korea were appropriate. After answering a few questions regarding my health and education, I received a thumbs up (literally) from the Consul.

I returned to LA on Monday to pick up my official visa and spent the day being a tourist with Uncle Fog. We visited Koreatown's Galleria -a massive supermarket chock-full of Korean food and merchandise. It was a completely eye-opening and got me thinking more seriously about how drastically my diet will be changing in just a few weeks. We sampled various foods, and then I was approached by a woman who asked if she could take my photo. I thought I was getting into trouble for eating cookies that I'd not yet purchased. Instead, the woman turned out to be a reporter for KoreaTown Daily, and she was writing a story on the globalization of Korean food. I checked in with her today, and she sent me a link to the story:


Classic!

Sunday, July 26, 2009

First Foray into Blogging

Rather than wait until I arrive in Seoul - which is still 6 weeks away- I thought I'd get a jump on this blogging initiative (Kudos to Google and Blogger for making it so simple!). I've never blogged before, but I'm determined to do it because I'd like to:
  1. stay in touch with family and friends
  2. chronicle the adventures and challenges that await
  3. become a better, more disciplined writer
I won't pretend -I'm completely nervous typing right now. The endless minutes spent deliberating as I mentally try out different words; the fear of typos, or worse: sounding silly or boring. Ugh. Clearly I have some issues to work through, and these initial entries will serve mainly as practice. Ideally, I'll grow comfortable with the idea of journaling (and publishing) my experiences and thoughts, so that when I get to Seoul, I can spout observations from the onset.