Hittin the mean Korean streets with Francois

Well where to begin. This past weekend was full of shananigans. Sorry for the lapse in posts but I promise to make up for it with pictures. So.. one of my besties flew half way around the world to visit me.On Friday I hopped on a train to Seoul to pick her up. Excited  I ushered my jet-lagged bestie back to my place.On the bus ride back to Anyang, we both kept looking at each other, me saying" I cant' believe you're here!" and Fran " OMG! I'm in Asia". This was definitely not what we had in mind, when we planned our the first road trip!But we were two girls from Buff State with a love for Art and Travel, here in South Korea! The next morning I wake up and make us an American breakfast then we were off to my school to hand out candy to the kids for Halloween!  " Yes, believe it Fran. We're not in Flushing anymore!"(Yes they have school on Saturdays!)  So as we arrive about a mile from my school I see students on the crosswalk "Tippany!" they yell. Fran looks at me and mouths " Tippany?" " Just go with it" I say. A group of 5 Sungmoon girls come running towards us. " HI" they scream! I introduce Fran and they are eagerly excited to meet her. I ask the girls if they know what day it is. They respond in unison " Halloween Day!" . " Do you know what to say?" I ask "Yes, TlickoTreat" .I smile at the obvious mispronunciation and open my bag of American treats! "Oooh " they giggle! A couple pick candy corn and two say " Oooh Kic ker". Fran corrects them and says" No Kit-Kat!" ( Kic ker being the Korean knock off of Kit-Kat)Fran and I wave goodbye to the girls, they bow and say " Thank you Tippany" and run off, opening their treats.  As we proceed up the block we run into more students and play out the sme Halloween question. Students are yelling from across the street "Hi Tippany!". " Wow you're a rockstar here!" says Fran. After reaching the bottom of the hill I hail a taxi, because it's Saturday and I damn sure dont feel like climbing that crazy hill on the weekend.  We hop in the taxi and the driver begins the ascent up the Sungmoon hill. Fran laughs " You've got to be kidding me! You climb this EVERYDAY?" I told everybody about the hill and, yet you wont believe it until you see it for yourself. After passing out candies and introducing Fran to my co-workers we started the commute home. " It LAINING!" my students yelled down the hill. " Yes it's RAINING" I said as we waved goodbye. Fran and I went for lunch at a near by restaurant for some Tahkturitahn ( please excuse my spelling). Which consists of a HUGE plate of glass noodles, potatoes, what seems like 2 chickens , sweet potatoes, and onions simmering in a SPICY brown sauce. After filling out bellies Fran and I look at one another, then at the enormous plate. Her nose was starting to run, and she was breaking a sweat, while I was pouring water non-stop. We hadn't even made a dent in the dish, while our extremely petite Korean couterparts sitting adjacent demolished their plate leaving nothing but chicken bones . With  smiles on their faces, I imagine them saying " We do this all day, everyday! Take that Americans". After our shameful defeat with the Tahkturitahn, Fran and I headed to E-mart with Ms. Kim.Good times, it's like Target on crack! What seemed like hours of trying to make sense of Korean movie websites. We settled on seeing  New York, I Love You at the CGV movieplex and sat in a theater, in assigned movie seats  while the oh so sweet smell of oyster sauce lingered in the air. Fran played it safe with a Sprite. I ate nachos that could only be explained as cardborad rounds with jalapeno sauce. Never again!

On Sunday we decided to veg out then in the morning and  then explore Lotte Department store and  Anyang Il Bongo ( the restaurant/shopping district). To explain the wonders found within Lotte would take a whole blog in itself. Maybe another time. But in short, if Amercians ever thought they were fashionable or on the for front cutting edge of anything when it comes to clothing... Im sorry my compatriots, you are sadly mistaken. Bloomingdales, Barney's, Macy's, Saks bow down to Lotte. 8 floors of designer heaven...even the Elle bed spreads feel like sex. We had to leave this commerical matrix before we got sucked in. Then on to downtown where Fran and I found Kanye West-esque glasses,and decided to have a photo shoot on the crowded streets of Il Bongo while curious Koreans watched us make a fool.  Then off to the Arcade to whoop her butt in some air hockey. A fav pastime of ours. Getting crazy with the puck!I should get a jersey made. Anyone wanna join my air hockey league?  We then decided to grab a bite of Bulgogi at a restaurant where the manager peer pressured us into eating there... ushering us in the door and seating us at the first avaiable table. But I'm glad we did, the food was great! Oh note to readers: I tried Soju.. and I am sooo not a fan. Weird Korean vodka...sooo not my thing! We paid the pushy manager and went in search of Anyang's only Coldstone for dessert. After wandering around the streets trying to recall how to get to Coldstone, we came across a man peddling roasted baby squid and cups full-o-beetles with a side of french fries! Yummm... nothin says loving like grilled unrefrigerated seafood and bugs in a cup. Fran and I turned down this oh-so-fun delicacy for the creamy goodness of Coldstone! Maybe another time squidman! On our walk home, we stop at Buy the Way! ( thats right! It's not a typo!) I peruse the alcohol aisle and to my surprise in scanning the shelves I come across "That's Y WineAde" . Oh yeah! Gotta love Korean wine coolers. So Fran and I clinked cans and had a Wineade night cap...That's Y! A perfect ending to a fun filled weekend with Francois!

 
Confucius say: beware of alcohol in pretty pink can.... it may put you an your ass when you think you can stand!