simplicitea

Purging

2012-01-25T14:49:00.000-05:00

One of the great things about moving is the opportunity it gives you to get rid of stuff. I did so when we moved in June, and I did it again when we moved to Denver. This time, I even got W to part with some of his things. It's funny, he's such a simple guy - wears the same 2 fleeces and jeans every day - but he doesn't like getting rid of stuff.

This year I'm trying to get into the practice of owning a few simple, quality items that I love and will get a lot of use:

Clothing: I've come to the realization that for me it's all about comfort. I'm trying to limit my closet to things I will wear regularly, and not buy the occasional use clothes.

Kitchen: I'm refraining from buying ingredients (oils, spices, sauces, canned goods, etc...) that I will not use regularly. If a recipe calls for something I don't have, I try to use a substitute. I want to cook simply but start with fresh ingredients. What we use regularly is: soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, mirin, salt, fresh ground pepper, olive oil and peanut oil. Right now our refrigerator is filled with mostly produce and I want to keep it that way.

Books: I haven't bought books for personal use in a few years. Most of the books on the shelf belong to W. I love borrowing books from the library, and recently began downloading them onto my phone for free from the library. I rarely read books twice so this works for me.

Above is a photo of one of my favorite kitchen items, a pour over ceramic coffee dripper - we use it almost every day. I love its simple design, and it makes the best coffee.

Hello Denver

2012-01-12T19:39:00.000-05:00

We've moved to Denver! We arrived Sunday night, and have been settling in. I will update more later, but meanwhile, enjoy these pics from the last few days here.

Images from left to right: Afternoon stroll at Washington Park, view from our bedroom after the snow, view from our bedroom before the snow, view from our living room.

2011-12-09T22:19:00.000-05:00

Dona Nobis Pacem by Yo-Yo Ma

2011-12-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

By Sufjan Stevens

Soondubu

2011-12-01T08:19:00.001-05:00

A lunch from last week. It was perfect for a gloomy day.

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-30T20:57:00.001-05:00

This year we invited some good friends over for Thanksgiving, who also don't have family nearby. All of the food was delicious and we went around the table sharing what we were grateful for. Afterwards we played Settlers. Not pictured here are the stuffing and the pumpkin pie W made. A picture of the pie is here.

This year's menu

2011-11-21T22:02:00.001-05:00

We put the finishing touches on our Thanksgiving menu tonight! This year we're having a few friends over for dinner. There is a nice combination of repeats from last year and new recipes we're trying:

Turkey (12 lb Bowman Landes turkey from Weilands)
Apple-pecan cornbread stuffing
Gravy
Roasted purple yams
Green bean salad with almonds
Pumpkin pie

Friends are bringing:

Mashed potatoes
Cranberry sauce
Wine

I'm excited! W is handling everything except the salad, which is my job for the night. ;)

Egg salad

2011-11-11T13:05:00.001-05:00

And I thought there was no food in the fridge.

2011-11-06T22:34:00.000-05:00

I started a new blog with photos shot on W's phone. Enjoy!

Farm flowers

2011-10-29T19:32:00.000-04:00

We met a new friend last night, and he happens to work on a farm. So we drove over there today and got to pick a bunch of produce including different varieties of lettuce, tomatoes and bok choy. We also bought some fingerling potatoes, heirloom tomatoes and a pie pumpkin. I got to pick some flowers and take home this mini pumpkin. There's nothing like picking produce and then taking it home and eating it for lunch. Yum!

Good morning

2011-10-28T09:17:00.000-04:00

Homemade granola with oats, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, pecans, golden raisins, flax seeds, cinnamon, salt, almond extract and olive oil. Served with greek yogurt, topped with strawberries, fuji apples and chia seeds. Side of green tea.

We've been trying to eat healthier these days, cutting down on sugar, meats and fats in our diet. Thus, the meatless meals I've posted lately. W has lost 7 lbs. I made this granola without adding any sugar, honey or maple syrup, but I realize I don't miss it because the fruits add natural sweetness. The ingredients listed above are all that I put in it!

Personal pizza

2011-10-27T13:57:00.000-04:00

I mixed bread flour with wheat flour for this pizza. Toppings are green bell peppers and shitake mushrooms. Side of water and a mini Fuji apple.

Healthy & delicious lunch

2011-10-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

Nooroonji rice, egg, cucumbers, radish kimchi and bibimbap leftovers.

Saturday breakfast

2011-10-08T11:20:00.003-04:00

I made breakfast this morning for the first time in awhile. Omelettes with red bell peppers from Lynd's Fruit Farm, and fresh basil and onions from Jaclyn's garden; honeycrisp apples from Lynd's, and whole grain bread from La Brea Bakery. Fall is here!

Fresh produce

2011-08-01T22:33:00.005-04:00

We just got back from Jaclyn and Brian's place with a handful of goodies from their garden. I wish I could've taken a photo in daylight, but I wanted to grab a shot before W started cooking stuff up. From the left going clockwise: basil, chives, bell peppers, potatoes, onions, garlic, swiss chard, purple beans and tomatoes. It was so fun to see their garden in full force and to get fresh produce. I love it!

New home

2011-07-06T10:43:00.000-04:00

So we finally moved! It's been almost 2 weeks since we've been here. Some info about our new place:

1 bedroom, 1 bathroom
10 miles from W's work and my school
9 miles from my work
No washer/dryer
No microwave
We rented 2 covered parking spots (necessary for winter)
Our rent with the parking is $807/month.

We cut our commutes in half, so it takes me 15 minutes to drive to school or work. We live behind a Walmart, to give you a sense of the neighborhood. It's also geographically in between the two places I shared about in a previous post.

To be honest, at first it was a difficult adjustment, downsizing from a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage, with washer and dryer. We used to live in a newer single standing home, and now we live in an apartment unit. Things like the noise of neighbors, a smaller space, and the lack of amenities is taking some getting used to.

BUT, there are some things I'm really enjoying. Mainly, simplifying our lives. In terms of furniture, the only new thing we had acquired was a $75 desk from IKEA, so all of our furniture came to the new place. But I got rid of a bunch of kitchen stuff, clothes, books, and random stuff because we don't have space for things we don't use on a daily basis. It's amazing how much we had accumulated in the last year. We got rid of 9 large shopping bags of stuff.

Also, we don't have a washer/dryer in the unit (or in the building), and we don't have a microwave. And you already know we haven't had a TV in 2.5 years. We contemplated renting a w/d for $35/month, but decided against it. And I didn't think we could survive without a microwave but so far we've been able to (we'll see what happens in the winter).

It has been very freeing to simplify life, save on rent & utilities, drive less and even live in a smaller space.

More herbs

2011-06-27T18:13:00.000-04:00

Spicy oregano, spinach, chives, dill and tarragon, from my friend Jaclyn. On Thursday she gave me fresh picked mulberries, swiss chard and other goodies that we're enjoying. Also, we've moved! More on that later.

Public transport

2011-06-11T08:13:00.002-04:00

This post summarizes so well the reasons why I heart (and miss) public transportation.

P.S. We're still looking...

Advice

2011-06-06T18:15:00.000-04:00

We've been apartment searching for awhile now, and it's coming down to the wire as we need to move out by 6/29. It's been challenging to settle on a place because W and I have different "likes" when it comes to our home. Right now we are in the suburbs, about 30 minutes from downtown, and for me it has been difficult to be here after living in Chicago. I would like to be closer to the center of the city. I like the quiet here but I don't like the driving and the inability to walk anywhere. W is more of a burb guy, but he's willing to indulge me because I've complained about it so much. So here are our options. Tell me what you think:

"Burbs Option": 2 bed, 2 bath, 1 car attached garage, all carpet
Driving Miles: 16 to W's work, 16 to my school, 11 to my work, 5 to church

"City Option": 1 bedroom, 1 bath, hardwood floors, 1 car underground parking
Miles: 1.1 to W's work, 1.4 to school, 11 to my work, 16 to church
Cost is $192 more per month than the burb option, 83 less square feet
It's a 10 minutes walk to coffee shops and a main road where there are restaurants and shops, monthly art walks, etc...

You can see why I like the city option. But $192 extra seems like a lot. We would save some on gas with the city option, but right now we carpool so I only drive separately to school once a week. What do you think?

Peonies

2011-05-31T18:04:00.000-04:00

I visited my aunt today and discovered that she has two peony bushes. I cut some and brought them home with me. Aren't they lovely? I think I see why peonies are so popular...they're gorgeous.

Long weekend

2011-05-29T18:31:00.000-04:00

Summer has arrived in Columbus, along with festival season. We ate lunch at the Asian Festival today (chicken adobo - not pictured, chicken on a stick, pad thai, quarter watermelon and patbingsu). Then we headed over to North Market and got a quart of these strawberries, which were picked at the farm yesterday. Hope you are enjoying Memorial day weekend.

More pizza

2011-05-29T07:54:00.001-04:00

We've broken 2 pizza stones and have a new one now that we have yet to try. Luckily BB&B has a great return policy. Above: veggies & prosciutto topped with arugula. Below: dandelion leaves from our backyard, and fresh roasted beets.

During my mom's visit I learned that dandelion leaves are really good for you, and they grow all over our backyard. We picked a bunch for my aunt, and when they grew back we tried some ourselves. This was also my first time roasting beets. My mom cooked a Korean soup with the greens when she was here, and then I roasted these. I love beets, and fresh ones are even better! I can't believe I only discovered beets a year ago.

Fresh herbs

2011-05-28T10:46:00.001-04:00

My friend Jaclyn brought us these herbs (chives & dill) the other day, freshly cut from her garden. Last night I put them in a salad. I had never had chive flowers before - they are delicious. They taste like onions in flower form. I loved the texture. Everything was so fresh...I can't wait to start my own garden one day.

Spring

2011-05-22T13:44:00.000-04:00

These are photos I took in front of our house a week ago. It seems that in one week we have gone from spring to summer. The cherry blossoms came and went in April, leaving these beautiful red leaves behind, and now that it's May the lilac bushes are blooming. I'm still in awe of how everything comes alive after a long and cold winter. I love the transitions that take place in the fall and spring.

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-07T07:10:00.000-04:00

Photos from my mom's graduation (top), and from her trip to Chicago in 2009 (bottom two). I hope everyone enjoys a wonderful day with their mothers! I send love to my mom from Ohio.

Mom

2011-04-28T23:06:00.003-04:00

My mom visited us last week and went back to LA on Sunday. I had such a great time with her. We got free veggie burgers at Northstar for Earth Day. Among other things, W, mom and I took a nice walk Saturday morning along the reservoir and discovered some cool new spots that I want to explore more with W.

Cleveland trip

2011-04-28T22:58:00.000-04:00

W and I took a one night trip to Cleveland last month. It was refreshing to get away, even for 48 hours. The highlight was going to the West Side Market, as shown in the photos above. The next roadtrip will be Cincinnati.

32

2011-03-31T14:03:00.000-04:00

Another year has gone by and sometimes I can't believe I'm 32!

Franklin Park Conservatory

2011-03-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago we finally went over to the Franklin Park Conservatory, and I got membership, which means I can go anytime and bring a friend along. It was nice to be among plants and flowers, especially in the middle of winter when there's nothing but snow and bare trees outside. They have orchids in the winter so we enjoyed that a lot.

Late lunch

2011-03-09T15:39:00.001-05:00

Since it's almost dinner time, I'm sticking with a light lunch today: multi-grain bread topped with pesto we made last night and prosciutto. A side of mini heirloom tomatoes and two slices of brie.

Rest

2011-02-28T20:46:00.000-05:00

I went to the conservatory again on Sunday and had a few hours of solitude there. It was refreshing. I think I will make it a habit, especially as I got a membership.

Almost the weekend...

2011-02-24T22:27:00.000-05:00

Here's a little pre-weekend pick me up. After a short lived warm spell, we got cold weather and snow this week. But it rained today so things are starting to look up. This is a shot from our weekend trip to the conservatory.

Cherbourg Bakery

2011-02-19T17:25:00.000-05:00

Today we stopped by Cherbourg Bakery in Bexley after our visit to the Franklin Park Conservatory (more photos on that later). They have excellent coffee for $2 and we especially enjoyed the rosemary cornbread and ginger carrot muffin.

Valentine's flowers

2011-02-16T15:05:00.000-05:00

Some tulips from the hubby on Valentine's. Hope you enjoyed the day with your loved ones.

Tacos

2011-02-15T13:45:00.000-05:00

Our favorite tacos and sope in the city, from taco truck, Taco Nazo. When we first discovered the truck, we breathed a huge sigh of relief and felt like we came home.

Matcha macarons

2011-02-13T08:37:00.004-05:00

I made matcha macarons yesterday using a modified version of this recipe from Tarlette. I think they came out pretty good for a first attempt, but I undercooked them just a little, so they're breadier than I'd like. It was a fun learning experience - my first time using a kitchen scale and pastry bags - and takes lots of patience too. They turned out pretty cute though, didn't they? I want to try them again - I know I can make them better!

Leisurely day

2011-02-11T15:32:00.003-05:00

I'm having a relaxing day today, which feels nice. It's been awhile since I had a day like this. Worked in the morning, ran some errands and fixed myself a nice lunch. The sandwich is multi-grain bread with ham, brie and raspberry jam. Spinach salad with grape tomatoes and beets. With green tea. Yum! I also started this book last night, and really enjoying it.

P.S. Do you like my new look? I realized I wanted to post larger photos. In the process, I changed the fonts too.

Two years

2011-01-27T20:51:00.001-05:00

We celebrated our two year anniversary late this year because I was in LA the day of. A few weekends ago we took a day trip to Athens, OH. We had an awesome lunch at Casa Nueva, a worker-owned cooperative restaurant. How cool is that? I had the tofu enchiladas. Then we went and chilled at a local coffee shop.

Pizzzzza

2011-01-27T20:46:00.002-05:00

We're on a pizza kick! W found the recipe for the crust in the cookbook and we can't get enough. It's so simple. The other day I made bbq chicken pizza. It was pretty awesome. Photo above is from the first attempt.

Snow and more snow

2011-01-24T21:43:00.003-05:00

This is my world these days. Please spring, come soon.

LA food is the bomb

2011-01-14T10:54:00.001-05:00

I already posted some food, but here's more:

Agu-jjeem at Dae Bok for my mom's graduation dinner:

Noshi with W's family and then mine:

Korean dessert from a stand outside Assi Market, filled with red bean. I forget what this is called (Janice, help me out):

Grandma's 88th birthday cake. Cousin Hannah picked it up from Porto's. Red velvet!

Intelligentsia in Old Town Pasadena. Oh, how I've missed you.

Paulette's macaroons, Janice's favorite.

Yummy Korean fried chicken with the Kwaks from OB Bear:

Breakfast made by W's mom:

Breakfast I made at the cousin's trip, and some fruit we picked from the backyard there:

New Year's breakfast made by W's mom and Janice:

That's about it! I hope you're all enjoying 2011 so far.

11th annual cousins trip

2011-01-14T10:46:00.000-05:00

I can't believe it's been 11 years! We went to an awesome house in Palm Springs this year. It was the most relaxing time...

W and Jacob playing Kinect. I got addicted to this game. It's so fun.

Karaoke. Me bumming while Jacob and Tim sing their hearts out to some cheesy love song.

Annual gift exchange. This year was white elephant themed. Lots of laughs. W's gift won for best gift (meaning most hilarious).

More friends

2011-01-14T10:36:00.001-05:00

My brother and I hung out with Chris & Laura, friends from college and their puppy Pau. The cutest dog ever. With the cutest name.

With W's friend from from college and his family. Their daughter Jace is the cutest:

Girl friends are the bomb

2011-01-14T10:26:00.002-05:00

I miss all of my girl friends in LA. They are such quality people. Thanks for a great time of eating and catching up.

With Helen at LaMill in Silverlake:

Jiyoo let us borrow her car. Thanks Jiyoo! I think she looks so cute here:

With Dianna at Starbucks. We found out that Starbucks does not allow you to take photos inside their stores, so we had to do this fast.

With Margaret at her place. We look like this because we walked out in the rain and were drenched. The walk was worth it though because we had yummy food at Europane.

With Diane at her pad in k-town. She cooked me a yummy dinner. She was all insecure about her cooking but it turned out great.

With Janice at Joan's on Third:

More Janice:

With May and her dog Mochi at her home:

Congratulations to my mom

2011-01-14T10:01:00.001-05:00

After taking classes part time for 7 years at APU, my mom graduated and received her masters in theology. I'm so proud of her and she's an example to me as I go back to school. This break, I had to a chance to remember what an amazing woman my mom is. She's so gifted, loving and generous. I have a lot to learn from her. Congratulations, um-ma! I love you.

18 blissful days in LA

2011-01-14T09:57:00.001-05:00

I finally have some spare time to post photos from my LA trip. It was such a blast to see family and friends. I wish I had time to meet up with more people but the trip was packed. I made a point to take photos with people this time.

Hanging out with Allison...

Breakfast at Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock:

Hanging out at her new pad. We have like 10 stop motion photos of us. I accidentally put it in the mode where it takes 10 all at once. Here's the one somewhere in the middle of it:

Cupcakes at Lark Cake Shop in Silverlake:

My Year in Cities

2011-01-01T12:33:00.001-05:00

I saw a blog posting the year in cities traveled and thought I'd do the same for 2010. The rule is that one or more nights must be spent in each city:

Los Angeles, CA
Chicago, IL
Columbus, OH
Kansas City, MO
Seoul, Korea
Namhae, Korea
Hanoi, Vietnam
Hoi An, Vietnam
Danang, Vietnam
Sapa, Vietnam
Krabi, Thailand
Phi Phi Island, Thailand
Bangkok, Thailand
New York, NY
Park City, UT
Palm Springs, CA

16 cities in a year is probably a record for me, with the extensive travel we did in Asia. I'm looking forward to seeing where 2011 will take me.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-30T08:32:00.005-05:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving this year. We thoroughly enjoyed cooking the big dinner and it turned out well. We mostly stuck to our original plan, with some changes:

Small turkey (10 lb cage free turkey from local farmer)*

Gluten-free apple pecan cornbread stuffing*

Brussel sprouts w/ lime & honey

Raw butternut squash salad with cranberry dressing

Baked purple yams*

Pumpkin pie*

Bottle of Jacob's Creek Reserve Shiraz 2007*

Holiday-Spiced Vegan Creme Brulee

Garlic mashed potatoes*

Friday:

Pear-ginger cranberry sauce* (from my cookbook)

Garlic mashed potatoes*

Kabocha squash soup with mochi balls*

We tried some new recipes, and I put links to them above, with a star next to the ones I would do again. The stuffing was amazing and I highly recommend it. Janice baked Paula Deen's pumpkin pie recipe modified, with less butter and less cream cheese, and it was really good. The pear-ginger cranberry sauce was great too - I put less sugar, and the ginger and anjou pear adds a lot.

The photo at the top of this post is the centerpiece I made from twigs and branches in our front yard. And a photo of the dinner below is courtesy of Janice's iPhone:

Janice carved the words "give thanks" out of butternut squash leftovers. My aunt recently gave me a set of china as she had 2 sets, and we didn't have one, so we used plates from the set. It was a nice touch.

Also, I started watching the first season of Glee online over the holidays. I'm kind of late, I know, but that's how things roll in a TV-less household. I LOVE it. It's bringing out my inner orchestra geek.

Thanksgiving Menu

2010-11-24T14:46:00.001-05:00

Janice is coming into town and the 3 of us are going to enjoy a quiet dinner on Thursday. Then we'll head over to my aunt's for a bigger dinner on Friday.

Our tentative plan for Thursday:

Small turkey (10 lb cage free turkey that W bought from a local farmer)
Stuffing
Brussel sprouts w/ lime & honey
Raw butternut squash salad with cranberry dressing
Baked purple yams
Steamed corn
Pumpkin pie from local Smith Farm Market
Bottle of Rex-Goliath Cabernet Sauvignon

And I may attempt this Holiday-Spiced Vegan Creme Brulee.

It looks like a lot but it's actually going to be pretty simple. It's our first time preparing the entire spread as a couple. I'm excited!

For Friday we'll contribute:

Pear-ginger cranberry sauce
Garlic mashed potatoes (both recipes from my cookbook)
Kabocha squash soup with mochi balls

Happy eating!

Two grandmas

2010-11-24T12:27:00.002-05:00

I saw the cutest thing shopping for Thanksgiving groceries at Costco today. There were two little old ladies in front of me at the check out line. They were probably in their late 70s, with full blown white hair. One was an old hand at Costco shopping, and she had brought her friend to experience the goodness of Costco for what I think was her first time. She was giving her tips in her little old lady voice, like "Don't put your receipt in your wallet! Keep it out, otherwise you'll have to take it back out again at the exit." Spoken like a pro.

After they walked away the cash register dude, probably a blonde 18 year old and I smiled at each other and commented on how that just made our days.

I hope that when I'm at the ripe old age of 80 I'll have friends to run errands with and friends who are hip enough to teach me the ways of the young 'uns.

Today I'm grateful for friendships, old and new. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Video chatting

2010-11-04T23:37:00.002-04:00

Video chatting through Skype or Gmail has been the best. Especially when I always drop calls on my cell because I only have one bar with Verizon at home.

Skyping with Allison (above) and Jiyoo (below). Oh man, they're so gonna kill me for posting these photos of them all scrubby. Heheh. They have no idea I screen captured them.

Helen below:

And her dog Georgie:

Enjoying Fall

2010-10-30T13:38:00.001-04:00

Thanks for the comments and encouragement on my last two posts. I'm part of a group at church for women who just moved, and I shared about my frustrations there on Wednesday. I'm glad I did, because I felt better after talking about it.

I haven't done any photos in awhile. So I thought I'd share some of my fall decor around the house. I put most of the stuff on the mantle. Here's the overall look:

I got these mini apothecary jars from my aunt, who was about to get rid of them in a garage sale. I filled them with some twigs from a bush in front of our house, and a dried up hydrangea from the backyard:

This vase is also rescued from my aunt's garage sale. I cut a long twig from another bush from the front yard. The bright red leaves of this bush are gorgeous, and it adds a nice touch inside the home:

These yellow leaves are from a tree on our street. Most of the trees have no leaves left, so I'm glad I got some from this tree before they're all gone. The vase is from my cousin Jane's wedding:

Another view:

I got these gourds at the farm market where I picked Fuji apples. They were on sale 3 for $1.25. The milk glass candy dish is a find from a garage sale in my aunt's neighborhood, for $1. I put them on the coffee table next to my african violet plant:

We also have a medium sized pumpkin that W picked up at the local grocery store for $4. It's sitting next to the fireplace.

Total cost of fall decor: $6.25

My transition

2010-10-24T21:04:00.000-04:00

I haven't talked about it much, but I thought I'd follow up on my last post to talk about my transition from LA to the Chicago version of the midwest to the Columbus version of the midwest, because I need a place to extrovert my thoughts. Moving to Chicago was one of the easiest transitions I ever made. I fell in love with it almost instantaneously. After a few months of struggling, we found a community and made a tight-knit group of friends. I loved having seasons for the first time. I loved not having a car. I loved living close to work, church and friends. I loved how many different unique areas the city had. I loved the park, concerts at the park, the lake, running by the lake, and all of the free events around the city. I was only there for 1.5 years but I felt like I made a life there. I spent my first days of marriage there, and the people who got to know us got to know us as a married couple. This is all stuff you know because I've written about it again and again.

Then we moved to Columbus, Ohio. The land of the buckeye nation (OSU). The real midwest. It's not very diverse here. The thing that I have the hardest time with though is not the lack of diversity, but rather the narrow life perspective. Most people were born and raised in Ohio, went to college here and never really left. Many have never been to the land of Hollywood, as LA is often seen here. There are many, many stereotypes of LA, I have found, in the midwest. It is nearly a foreign country to some people.

Which leads me to the topic of my last post. I can't begin to count how many times W or I or both of us have been asked what country we are from. It drives me nuts. Or I'll meet someone and they'll tell me about a Japanese woman they met yesterday who plays two instruments beautifully (literally happened today), or they'll make some Asian reference, or recall the only other Asian person they know. It happens at church, at the gym, wherever. Sometimes people stare. Our yoga instructor is a doctor and has taught yoga for 10 years, and is also Asian. She was telling us today that they gave her a really hard time during her application for the position. And she's the best yoga instructor at our gym. I don't know. Sometimes I get so angry. Today at church we were targeted for a specific ministry by someone sitting in front of us at service because we were Asian. She just introduced herself, asked us if we were new, asked us what country we were from, and then talked about what she wanted us to do for 15 minutes straight. Thankfully, W was much more gracious than I was. (Midwestern spirituality is another issue which I will not get into.) I realize how spoiled I am. I'm used to white people who eat dim sum in the morning, drink boba or froyo in the afternoon, go out for Korean bbq at night, and then do a late night taco truck run.

OK, so now that I've vented, to the good parts. I do love the open spaces, the access to locally farmed or locally made products, organic products at a lower cost. I love that I can go apple picking 15 minutes from home, get chestnuts from nearby farms and all of those farm-y types of things. The cost of living is cheaper here, taxes are lower, homes are affordable and schools are good. There's actually some really good ethnic food here. I am loving the fall season. The foliage is absolutely amazing. Despite all of my issues, I told W today that I think I could settle down here if it came down to it.

We have definitely had our ups and downs. Some days I do better than W, and other days he does better than me (like today, when I was about to go ballistic). I find myself missing Chicago a lot. Sometimes we wonder what in the world are we doing out here? I still don't have an answer to that question. It also doesn't help that I can't find work. But I'm grateful W has a job, we have a roof over our heads, we have food to eat, and we have our health.

That's all for today. Thanks for listening.

To the people of Ohio,

2010-10-24T14:49:00.000-04:00

Please stop asking us what country we're from.

Fuji

2010-10-22T18:39:00.000-04:00

I went Fuji apple picking today. Sort of.

So here's the run down on apple picking, for you big city folk. The farms have a calendar of dates that show when certain varieties of apples will be available for picking. My aunt and I checked the schedule online over a month ago and saw that Fuji apples would be picked this weekend, and begin today at 9am, at the farm where she's been doing this for years. We mark it in our calendars. $16 for a 25lb bag that you can pack to overflowing. My aunt insists that arriving at 9 sharp is a must.

This morning I get over there and apparently the picking happened last week, not this week as planned. So they had the Fuji apples in bins, already picked. I have to say, they still looked amazing and super fresh and non-store-bought-like. But it was a mad craze, because there was a whole lot of people who were planning on doing their annual Fuji apple picking, who were all scrambling for apples (think Black Friday). Some people took work off for this special event. That's how good these apples are. It was a good thing I came at 9 because those who came 15 minutes after me had the bottom of the bin to pick from. So I left with 50lbs of Fuji apples (2 bags). Last year my aunt picked 9 bags, I think, and she was sharing them with me and W in May when we were house hunting.

So that's the story of the Fuji apples.

Hello, and Autumn

2010-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have not had a chance to update this blog with so much going on. I was out of town and then my aunt here in Columbus had surgery last week. Anyways, I hope everyone is doing well!

I've been enjoying the fall. It's such a great season and so many things to savor. I love the autumn leaves, the bright reds and oranges, apple picking, the variety of squashes to eat, the cloudy days and rain, flannel sheets, making my coffee, cozy sweaters and scarves, wearing my boots, lighting candles.

Which reminds me, I'm going apple picking this week, for Fuji apples...

Yesterday

2010-09-23T14:39:00.001-04:00

I prepared some food for chuseok. But before that, we had a tornado warning. I heard the siren and saw the tree in front of our house almost uprooted by the wind. So I looked online and there was a tornado warning and severe thunderstorm warning which said to take cover in the interior-most part of the house and stay away from windows and flying debris. Which freaked me out! So I hid in the closet with a book and my ipod so I could check weather updates until it passed. Fortunately, nothing crazy happened, and I came out and cooked dinner.

Happy 추석

2010-09-22T10:24:00.001-04:00

Happy Korean Thanksgiving, or Mid-Autumn Festival! While each Asian culture has its traditions, a big one for Koreans is to eat a type of rice cake called songpyeon. Here's a photo I took at a wedding I shot last year, to give you an idea:

추석 (Chuseok) is a time to celebrate the harvest. I plan on making bulgogi and chapchae, typical foods eaten on this day. I actually have some songpyeon that I'm defrosting right now from my cousin Jane's wedding. Also, fresh fruits from the harvest are eaten, so I'll make sure to cut up some asian pears that I picked a few weeks ago.

After dinner, hubby and I will look at some of the photos I took in Korea this summer, and then take a walk at night to enjoy the full moon. He doesn't know it yet, but this is the plan.

Tunnel scarf

2010-09-22T09:56:00.001-04:00

I started this scarf about 3 years ago, and I finished it yesterday. I had run out of yarn and it was short so I didn't know what to do with it. I considered unraveling it because it's a nice alpaca wool and I wanted to make good use of the yarn.

Last winter I got into tunnel scarves because they are comfortable and hassle free...which gave me the solution to finishing off this scarf. I like how it turned out, and it's perfect for fall.

By the way, it took me about 30 tries to get a decent photo of myself wearing this scarf. I don't know how people are so good at taking photos of themselves through a mirror.

Over the weekend...

2010-09-20T10:09:00.001-04:00

- Friday dinner at the back of an Indian grocery store.
- Saturday trip to Yellow Springs, Ohio.
- Sunday lunch at a Laotian/Vietnamese restaurant.
- Sunday late night taco truck run. Taco trucks (& food trucks in general) are definitely up to par here.

We've been surprised by how much good, cheap, authentic ethnic food there is around here. Yay.

Oh, and here's breakfast I made on Saturday:

Eastern time

2010-09-18T09:39:00.000-04:00

Yes, although Ohio is in the Midwest, we are on Eastern time. It's amazing how significant a 3-hour time difference is compared to a 2-hour time difference. Like phone calls and jet lag.

Ideas?

2010-09-17T09:08:00.000-04:00

Every year I have an annual gathering with my cousins over Christmas. We have certain traditions such as playing flag football, singing carols and chilling in the hot tub. The other thing we do is have a gift exchange. It's done white elephant style with numbers handed out and stealing, and there's always a theme. In the past we have done themes of movies, gift baskets, books, board games, under $5, gift cards and others that I can't remember. We're trying to think of a good one for this year. The only thing I can come up with is Christmas ornaments.

Do you have ideas from gift exchanges you've done in the past? Or any you've always wanted to do? Please share!

Kimchi

2010-09-17T08:59:00.001-04:00

I made kimchi yesterday! I've officially become a Korean housewife. I'm already planning for future kimchis: radish kimchi, cucumber kimchi, buchu kimchi (don't know the english word). The possibilities are endless.

I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

Holga

2010-09-16T11:02:00.007-04:00

I got my first roll of film shot on the Holga back yesterday. It took me over a year to take 12 shots. The first shot on the roll was from back in June 2009 when my mom visited me in Chicago. I took a couple shots here in Columbus to finish off the roll so I could finally develop it. I love the look of it. Here is our current home:

Goodies

2010-09-15T10:13:00.004-04:00

My aunt brought these over this morning:

Organic eggs straight from the farm. Some of her friends went to the chicken farm over the weekend to pick up eggs and she requested a carton for me. I've been loving getting local food here in Columbus. It's much easier to do so with so many farms nearby. The asian pear farm I went to last week was actually in the city - about 30 minutes away from where I live.

Some grapes...she's always bringing me things like a few potatoes, cereal and now grapes because it's just her and my uncle but they still buy in bulk, so they share with us.

And last but not least, this belt that she's worn for 30 years. It's an antique. She thought I wouldn't like the lion buckle in the front, but I love it, and I love that it's something my aunt has had for so long. It's definitely a keeper.

Pear Picking

2010-09-14T10:03:00.003-04:00

My aunt invited me to go pear picking last week. Asian pear picking! It was my first fruit picking experience of any kind. I was so bummed last year when I realized it was a thing to do (most Chicago people go to Michigan to pick apples), and I was 2 weeks too late. So I was excited to go. We went on a weekday and had the farm to ourselves as my aunt knew the lady who was working there.

I came home with 2 large bags of Asian pears. They are the sweetest Asian pears I've ever had. Fruit picking made me realize how artificial the perfectly shaped fruits at the store look. In reality, they are all shapes and sizes and colors.

Enjoying the juicy sweet pears at home...

Fall Blanket

2010-09-13T11:51:00.000-04:00

Fall has officially arrived here in Columbus. There is a slight chill in the air, and the house has cooled down. We switched out our summer blanket with a warmer one that we bought in Korea over the summer. It provides just the right warmth for fall weather.

Roses in Bloom

2010-09-08T09:24:00.000-04:00

I noticed these roses at the front of the house on Friday while getting the mail.

I was surprised (and happy) to see them as I haven't done any sort of maintenance.

I Heart NYC

2010-09-06T12:33:00.006-04:00

We had such a great time during our short trip to New York. Friday night we got in and had late night pizza at Lombardi's. I love thin crust pizza.

Saturday morning we had an unexpectedly good complimentary breakfast at the cafe next to our hotel.

Then we headed off for New Jersey by train for the wedding. My first Jewish wedding - it was awesome.

The groom is W's friend from grad school. They had a Jewish ceremony on Saturday and an Indian one on Sunday. We decided to just pick one, but I'm sure Sunday's celebration was a blast.

After stuffing ourselves at the wedding, we met up with Janice for dessert at Cha-an Bakery, which was delicious. It reminded me of cafes in Seoul.

On Sunday we went to Hoboken, NJ to visit other friends we made in Chicago. Then we met up with Janice and bought her Korean groceries at H-Mart, had a quick meal at BCD and then took off for the airport.

I loved NYC. It reminded me of the cities we visited during our Asia trip, especially of Seoul and Bangkok. It's amazing how different life is just a one hour plane ride away. I can't wait to go back and explore more of the city. Our time was so packed this time that I felt like I barely touched the tip of the iceberg.

Breakfast Lately

2010-09-02T18:57:00.001-04:00

toast: with almond butter, honey & sliced banana

fruit: honeydew, blackberries, blueberries & strawberries

hot drink: green tea, genmaicha or coffee

Happy September

2010-09-01T07:59:00.002-04:00

We've been in Columbus for a month now! Last night W and I took a walk around the neighborhood and I asked him if the time has gone by fast or slow. He said fast, and I said slow. :)

In other news, some goodies arrived yesterday, and I was beyond thrilled:

My mother-in-law and sister-in-law sent these over. Thank you!!! -

new heat induction rice cooker
electric water boiler
kitchenaid mixer
small clay pot
3 kinds of beans
ginseng extract

Not pictured -

W's hair wax
a bunch of geeky finance books for him
a green suit of his

The mixer is on loan as Janice (sis-in-law) just moved to NYC for school. I can't wait to start baking, especially this winter when it gets cold.

I'm especially grateful for our new rice cooker.

But before I talk about that, I would like to write a little tribute to my old rice cooker, a basic Zojirushi 5 cup cooker. The current rice cooker was a housewarming gift from my cousins back in 2001 when I graduated from college and moved to Westwood. Countless pots of rice have been made and many people have eaten rice made in that cooker over the last 9 years, including myself, who eats rice almost daily. When W moved to Chicago two years ago, it was dropped during transport from the car to the house. It got cracked and a piece of plastic fell off near the area where you push the "cook" button, but we continued to use it. It was never quite the same (sometimes rice-liquid would seep out of the hole that releases steam), but it chugged on. Two weeks ago, we had 25 members of my family over for a BBQ after my cousin's wedding and we served rice from that cooker. One of my aunts asked my mom why the rice was so hard. That is because we now mix our white rice with brown, and like to add beans or seeds, even though that rice cooker is not meant for cooking brown rice or beans. :) I want to say thank you to my cousins who so thoughtfully bought me my old rice cooker years ago, and I'm grateful to have had a great rice cooker that served me and others well.

A week after my aunt's comment about the stiff rice, W's mom called saying she was sending us a new rice cooker for his birthday. You can imagine my excitement. It arrived, a nice, new and shiny Zojirushi 5 cup heat induction rice cooker. It really just looks like an upgraded and more high-tech version of the old one, with fancier buttons, prettier curves and more functions. It can cook white, brown, sweet and mixed rice. I think even porridge. And to top it off, they gave her a free Zojirushi electric water pot when she purchased the rice cooker, which I will probably use every day for my tea or coffee.

I'm so grateful for our new gifts. I feel spoiled.

Korean Groceries

2010-08-30T11:11:00.002-04:00

After some dismal attempts at finding good and cheap Korean groceries, I got a recommendation from my aunt to check out the Korean video store. We had already checked out 2 regular Korean markets so we thought, what the heck, let's try the video store and see what they got.

Surprisingly, the Korean video store, actually called "Han Kook Video", has the best Korean groceries in town. It's about the size of our living room and packed with groceries, household items and shelves lined with Korean DVDs. And nothing has a price tag on it. We bought a few things and were pleased with our new find.

I learned from my aunt that new goods come every Thursday, so this past Friday I went over there. The place was swarming with Korean ahjummas and halmunees. I think about 10 of them. And there was a lot of good stuff. I thought it was the funniest thing.

So now I have the inside scoop on Korean groceries in town.

W's Birthday Weekend

2010-08-30T10:37:00.005-04:00

Hubby turned 32 this weekend. My mom sent a package with some gifts for him and this bag for me. You can fold up the bag real small, button up the eyes, and stick it in your purse. Thanks Mom!

For W's birthday we went to the zoo. I had planned on doing a food truck adventure but in the end, being the animal lover that he is, he wanted to see the animals. My favorite were the penguins:

I must say that we were pretty impressed with the zoo here. Having been to the Lincoln Park Zoo (Chicago) in June and the LA Zoo in July, we thought the Columbus Zoo animals were much more lively, and the zoo was set up really well. We topped it off with dinner at our favorite vegetarian Indian restaurant.

On Sunday we had dinner with his co-worker and her fiance at their home. It was delicious:

The menu was cous-cous (with lamb, goat cheese and dried cranberries), asparagus, kabocha squash, and a salad we brought. This salad is becoming one of our favorites. I had it once at our friend Karen's home back in Chicago. Here's my adapted version:

red leaf lettuce

watercress

beets

garabanzo beans

red onions

anjou pear

avocado

heart of palm

{served with Brianna's poppyseed dressing}

27 cents

2010-08-25T17:41:00.002-04:00

i got this milk glass vase for 27 cents at a thrift store in the area. the flowers are from my cousin's wedding. i played cello at her wedding and was returning the cello i had rented. on the way back, i saw a little thrift store. i went in and found this. when i took it to the counter, the lady told me it was a quarter plus tax. yeah!

in other news, i'm going to new york city for labor day weekend. w's friend is getting married. i'm so excited! please leave a note if you have any recommendations for things to do in nyc. i'll be staying in tribeca.

i think fall is coming. the weather this week has been significantly cooler...

food!

2010-08-18T21:08:00.001-04:00

i was pleasantly surprised to learn recently of a thriving (and growing) food truck scene here in columbus. not only that, but there are taco trucks. you don't know how excited i am. chicago only had one food truck that i knew of, and it was a cupcake truck, which to me only partially counts as a food truck.

w's b-day is coming up next week and i'm planning on doing a food truck adventure with him to check them out. i think he will love it. shhh...don't tell him. he doesn't read this blog.

btw, here's another photo of our place. i love the multi-colored cloth on our coffee table. when we bought some blankets in korea, the lady threw that in for free. i think it adds a nice punch of color to the rest of our whites and neutrals.

progress

2010-08-14T10:00:00.008-04:00

things accomplished in the last 2 weeks:

got all household knick knacks such as cleaning supplies, basic foodstuffs, bathroom rug, etc...
got my ohio drivers license and plates
signed up for the gym
got a library card
got internet set up
got the boxes and debris from our move picked up
found some asian grocery stores, marinated bulgogi
got the place ready for guests

not bad, eh?

btw, those flowers are from our neighbors overgrowing butterfly plant (i think) at the front yard in our yard. so pretty!

settling in

2010-08-12T08:00:00.003-04:00

we have mostly settled in and are getting used to our new place and surroundings. i cooked nearly every day this week, which helps to make our house feel like home.

my cousin is getting married on saturday here in columbus so my extended family has begun to fly in, which is really nice.

the hydrangeas above are cut from a bush in our little backyard area. aren't they nice?

in columbus

2010-08-05T11:28:00.001-04:00

and finally online!!! i gotta run out the door but an update on the new life in cbus to come soon...

last day of travel

2010-07-26T06:59:00.000-04:00

we arrived in seoul at 7am. w did not sleep a wink on the plane, so we checked into a hotel at the airport (very convenient!), as we had an 8 hour layover. after taking a nap, we left the airport and met up with w's cousin for lunch. then we picked up the rest of our luggage from my cousin's place and went back to the airport, where we had just enough time to take a nap and quick shower before getting on the plane back to LA. our 12 hour flight back was brutal, but the food was really good - asiana is awesome, i highly recommend it.

we are now in LA spending time with family before heading to columbus to begin a new phase of life. i'm jet lagged right now - it's 4am and i've been up since 2:30am. i'm sleepy all day and then at night i cannot sleep!

the weather in LA is gorgeous.

thailand: day 7

2010-07-26T06:55:00.001-04:00

we were exhausted from doing so much the day before, so we slept in, packed our stuff, then went back to the korean restaurant for lunch. we met our friend troy in the afternoon. troy started a non-profit called speak up, which is something like ijm. he showed us the university where he teaches a criminal law class, and a new office space for his non-profit near the university. his vision is to get thai students interested in justice issues and have them work on those issues. we met one of his students, and his summer intern.

then the three of us went to get middle eastern food. we ate till we were stuffed. then we parted ways with troy and went back to the hotel. from there we took a cab to the airport for our red eye flight to seoul.

thailand: day 6

2010-07-21T01:09:00.000-04:00

we got up early and called our friend troy, who lives and works in bangkok. he gave us some recommendations for the day. we went to the robinson's food court for lunch, where we ate basil chicken with rice and egg, a papaya salad, watermelon and a taro pastry.

then we headed for the grand palace, which is where the thai king used to live, and is the national jewel. bangkok has a subway system, which was nice to be back on after cabs and boats. we took the train to the river, and took a river boat to the palace. we noticed all the tourists took a tourist boat that cost 150 baht, per person but w found the boat the locals take which cost 15 baht per person.

the palace is pretty amazing. it's huge and you could spend the whole day. we took a quick walk around as it was really hot, then left for lunch. we ate lunch at the koreatown plaza, which holds about 20 korean restaurants. it was pretty good. i was impressed that the korean lady who owned the restaurant we ate at spoke thai pretty well, from what i could tell.

we went home for a nap. then took off again for siam, where we went shopping at the street stalls of local thai designers, although i found many clothes made in korea. then we went to mbk, a mall. we were pretty overwhelmed and didn't end up buying much. then we went to the suan lum night bazaar, where we ate fish with ginger and walked around - they have traditional stuff there.

i think one more day in bangkok would've been good. we were exhausted at the end of the day trying to cram everything in.

thailand: day 5

2010-07-21T01:01:00.000-04:00

after breakfast at the hotel we packed our bags and got on a speedboat back to ton sai, the main pier on phi phi island. we dropped off some laundry, ran some errands and picked up lunch. after getting our laundry back we got on the boat to krabi. our diving instructor, champ, is thai and he happened to be on the same boat. w had a good chat with him about life in thailand and his upcoming marriage.

we arrived at the port in krabi, and took a taxi to the airport. we had time to kill so we got thai massages there. then we got on a plane to bangkok. from there we took a cab to our hotel. we were hungry but too tired to go find food, so we slept early.

thailand: day 4

2010-07-19T01:56:00.000-04:00

we had breakfast early and w went diving in the morning to complete his open water certification. he said he saw a shark and 2 barracudas. he also learned more skills. meanwhile, i took a nap, read a book and got familiarized with the area.

when he returned we had lunch and went snorkeling around the island. then we went swimming at the pool, went back to our room, washed up and relaxed until dinner time. we had a pasta buffett dinner and regretted not getting thai food instead.

random trip photos

2010-07-17T23:44:00.000-04:00

i finally burned a CD of some of the images. here are a few...

my favorite meal in korea (icheon, famous for good rice)

sapa, mountain country in vietnam

w picking veggies from my aunt's garden in namhae, korea

i was going to post more but i'm running out of time on the internet. more later.

thailand: day 3

2010-07-17T23:32:00.000-04:00

by now we were wishing we had planned more time in thailand. the weather is slightly cooler than vietnam, and everything is a little nicer, but still different. the food is amazing.

we got up early and got on a boat to go scuba diving. we were to do 2 dives that day in two locations. i was feeling nervous. the boat was rocky and i started feeling a little nauseous. we went down for our first dive. it was pretty amazing - saw tons of fish and a barracuda.

then the not so fun part began. we came out of the water and breaked for lunch. before eating, we were to do more tests: swimming around the boat twice and floating in the water for 10 minutes. i completed the swim but during the float i started feeling nautious. i got back on the edge of the boat and began puking. i puked until all my breakfast came out. the fish loved it and all came to eat the "food". sorry, i know this is tmi!

i didn't eat lunch. i wasn't going to go back down but the instructor encouraged my to go down just for 20 minutes. i reluctantly agreed and went down. we ended up staying down there for 40 minutes. i'm glad i went because that second dive earned my completion of the PADI scuba diving certification.

we got back to the island and chilled. we ate gelato, did some shopping and ate phad thai. w went back to the school to continue on with the Open Water certification, which i decided not to get. this means you can dive alone, but i don't think i'd ever want to go down without a guide. w loves scuba diving, because he loves animals and you really do get to see a lot of cool stuff down there.

while he finished class i walked around, got some gifts and chilled at a bookstore. lots of used bookstores here where travelers buy and sell their books.

w and i ate a grilled fish for dinner, then took a long boat to our second hotel, which was about a 30 minute boat ride.

thailand: day 2

2010-07-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

we got up early in the morning, had breakfast at the hotel, then got picked up by a truck to head to the port. from there we took a 2 hour boat to phi phi island. immediately we headed for the diving center to sign up for scuba diving.

we had classroom instruction while enjoying really good fried rice and pastries from local vendors, and then went into the water for skills learning. i panicked at first but was able to complete all of the skills. then we went back for more classroom instruction.

then we checked into the hotel and explored the town. had dinner (green curry, chicken and papaya salad) at a place called papaya. the food was really good. we already started falling in love with thailand.

we went back to the hotel and went to bed early.

vietnam day 11 / thailand day 1

2010-07-17T23:22:00.000-04:00

so the night before we took a van from sapa to laocai. then we took the night train from laocai to hanoi. we took a taxi to the airport. we then waited 5 hours at the hanoi airport for our flight. i saw 2 rats at the airport. by this point we were tired and ready to leave vietnam. we finally got on a plane from hanoi to bangkok. we waited 4 more hours at the airport, then flew from bangkok to krabi. then took a cab to our hotel.

after checking in we went to the night market where we had really good phad thai, mangosteen, honey chicken on skewers and durian for the first time. we went back to the hotel and went to bed.

already we could see a big difference between vietnam and thailand. thailand is much more developed and even the street food is cleaner.

vietnam: day 11

2010-07-15T02:16:00.000-04:00

we slept in, enjoyed the complimentary breakfast at the hotel. we lounged around all day and got errands done like booking our bangkok hotel and laundry. at 4pm our guide and driver arrived to take us down to laocai station. we had dinner down there. we ordered a vietnamese sandwich because we hadn't had one yet but it wasn't what we expected - just meat inside the baguette.

we said farewell to our guide and got on the night train back to hanoi. this time we had australian travelers as our cabin mates. we exchanged stories and tips with them and went to bed.

vietnam: day 10

2010-07-14T02:56:00.000-04:00

after a quick breakfast we took a 3 hour drive to visit the market of another ethnic minority group. on the way back we stopped by the former house of the king of that group, which was built in a french architectural style. after lunch we stopped by a pagoda, and outside our guide and driver bought tons of vegetables and fruits. apparently they were selling at a really good price.

we returned to our hotel, found a local laundry service and dropped off our laundry. after a nap we went out for dinner at a place called emotion.

i think my stomach is fully recovered now. w's was hurting a bit but he's getting better too.

vietnam: day 9

2010-07-12T10:23:00.000-04:00

we arrived at laocai at 6am. w didn't get any sleep on the train, as he's a light sleeper, and i got some. our guide and driver picked us up and drove us up to sapa, a mountain village that contains 5 ethnic minority peoples. we checked into our hotel, ate breakfast and took a brief nap.

we went to silver falls with the guide, whose sister is on summer break and came along as well, which was nice. we had some sticky rice which is cooked in a bamboo stick, sweet grass tea and sweet potato at the bottom of the falls.

after another nap, we met up again to visit the village of the black hmong peoples. they use the indigo plant to dye fabric black or blue, and many of them still live an indigenous lifestyle.

in the evening we walked around the sapa town market, and had hotpot for dinner.

i forgot to mention one very important fact. the weather is much cooler up here, which is awesome. i think it's about 20 degrees cooler here than in hanoi. i couldn't stand 5 minutes outside in hanoi without drenching myself in sweat. it's so cool here i have to wear a long sleeve shirt!

vietnam: day 8

2010-07-12T10:18:00.000-04:00

after breakfast we went to the mall with w's cousin's family. no one bought anything, we just kind of walked around. then we went across the street and chilled at a coffee shop. his family is coming to LA a day before we arrive so we planned out a tentative schedule.

we went home, took naps, and then got ready for the younger niece's end of school concert. afterwards we went out for dinner. i had some good rounds of hangman with w's niece. then we went home, packed, picked up some kimbap and went to the train station.

we got on an overnight train from hanoi to laocai, which is in northern vietnam. we were in a 4 person sleeper cabin and grateful to be sharing the cabin with a couple from spain. i used my broken spanish to communicate with them and we shared travel stories and tips, then went to "sleep".

vietnam: day 7

2010-07-11T07:59:00.000-04:00

we had a very relaxing day. after eating breakfast we took a nap. then we played some wii with w's nieces, who beat us both in everything. w's cousin in law called the manicure lady and us 4 girls got our nails done. my hands and feet were done for $5, including floral designs - very vietnamese.

that night we went to w's niece's end of year concert, where each class performs a dance, song or skit. it was interesting to see the international school culture.

w's cousin came home from work (he works about 2.5 hrs away from home). they chatted while i did origami with the kids.

vietnam: day 6

2010-07-10T00:24:00.000-04:00

after my stomach ache filled day i wanted to rest so i stayed at the hotel while will went with a guide to see bach ma mountain. but he returned early due to road closures. he worked out and got a massage while i read a book. on the way to the airport we stopped by pho 24 again and split a bowl of pho. we arrived back in hanoi, had dinner and hung out with will's cousin's family. they are ending school here in vietnam in a few days so bringing home projects and photos from school. then we watched korean dramas together and went to bed.

i don't think i mentioned this, but there is a small ex-pat community here in vietnam. usually the husband works for a company from another country which has been hired to do some major project here in vietnam, like build a factory or a bridge or other major infrastructure. the wife stays home or works part time and watched the kids, and the kids attend international school. seeing the kids here makes me wonder what i would be like if i had grown up in vietnam.

vietnam: day 5

2010-07-10T00:21:00.000-04:00

we woke up early in the morning and my stomach still hurt, which was not a good thing. we had been careful about drinking only bottled water and not taking ice at restaurants as we had been advised, but my stomach was uneasy. we had set up a tour to hue that day so we got picked up early by the driver and guide and took off. we went to the citadel, pagoda, had lunch and then went to the tomb of the late king khai dinh. i was not feeling well but had congee for lunch and felt better after that. it was kind of miserable. i was stuck in the car, or forcing myself to go out, dry heaving and just in pain.

we got to the hotel that will's cousin reserved for us. it was a 5 star hotel. by then my stomach was feeling much better. we went swimming at the beach and the pool, and went jet skiing for $20. then we went out to eat pho and a chain called pho 24. really good stuff.

vietnam: day 4

2010-07-10T00:17:00.000-04:00

still in hoi an, we had a really nice complimentary breakfast at our hotel in the morning that consisted of lots of fruit: dragonfruit, papaya, chinese apple, mango, rambutan and a few others. then we walked into town and took a one hour ferry ride around the lagoon. we came back to the hotel, had lunch and then will went to get a massage while i watched a korean drama in the hotel. afterwards we took a half hour bike ride to the beach and i took a swim. the water was really nice - pretty warm. the bike ride was crazy - it gave us a taste of driving in vietnam. there are no rules driving here. people drive on the wrong side of the street and the horn is used without restraint to communicate almost every minute. there are motorbikes everywhere, sometimes up to 4 people on a bike. will almost got in an accident on the way home.

we cleaned up at the hotel and went out to dinner at cargo, but i couldn't eat because i started getting a stomach ache.

vietnam: day 3

2010-07-06T12:03:00.000-04:00

we went to get massages in the morning. it's for women only but they made an exception and let w get a facial massage. the place is run by a korean woman and employed by vietnamese women. the head vietnamese manager there spoke pretty good korean - it seems that most of the customers are korean ex-pats. i got a 1.5 hour full body massage for $8. they had jazz style hymns playing in the background the whole time, which tells you how korean this place is.

we went home, had lunch and then went to the airport for our flight to danang, which is a beach area. we took a cab to our hotel in hoi an. the hotel is great and $60 a night. i highly recommend it. the hotel had free bikes so we rode around all night, got some mangosteen from a street cart, had dinner, bought a tie for will and came back. it was my first time eating mangosteen. so yummy!

today was better and i felt more adjusted to vietnam. also, i like it here in hoi an. we can get around on bikes or by foot, which is nice.

my updates in vietnam may be sporadic as i have limited internet access. nice thing is i have access in the hotel right now.

vietnam: day 2

2010-07-06T11:56:00.000-04:00

we got up pretty early and had breakfast at home. then we went to daewoo hotel to change money, and then to hanoi towers for lunch. after that will's cousin and wife dropped us off in the old quarters of hanoi. we walked around a bit, but it was super hot and humid. we went to the ho chi minh mausoleum and tried to go to the museum but it was closed. so we went back to the old quarter, had ice cream at fanny and then went home.

vietnam was really a shock for me that day. it is a pretty poor country, so it is very cheap for americans. it was such a change from seoul that it took me a day to get used to it. also, there's no subway here, so we take the taxi everywhere, and we usually negotiate an amount ahead of time so as not to get cheated. and the hardest part for me, is that it's really really hot. i cannot emphasize how hot it is here! and humid. it completely drains me of energy.

anyways, after that we went out to dinner with will's cousin's wife and two daughters. will's cousin works for hyundai out here and his kids go to international school. i've learned there is a small community of koreans and other internationals in similar situations. the kids are fluent in korean and english, and the older daughter (12) is very curious about america, and also about bi-cultural identity. we had a good time talking with them as they opened up towards the end of the evening. oh yeah, lots of seafood and stuff at dinner - like frog legs and turtles.

korea day 11 / vietnam day 1

2010-07-06T11:44:00.000-04:00

we walked over to my uncle's place and had breakfast. health is a big thing in korea these days. everyone is eating healthier and gyms are popping up all over the place. we had a really healthy breakfast. we talked about the world cup, family news and said our goodbyes.

we met up with will's cousin saejong again, and went out to lunch in apgujeong. i had momil guksu (soba) and donkasu. we also saw a once famous korean music group, dj doc there. we rushed back home, and got our luggage. will's aunt and uncle took us to the airport. i cried after we said our goodbyes as i was going through security. i remember i always used to cry when i left korea, and i did it again.

i had a great time in korea, but i think the trip was especially significant for will. will had not been to korea in 20 years. a lot has changed since then. also, i think the trip was really healing for him on two levels. first, in terms of identifying as a korean american and being proud of the korean part of himself. secondly, in reconnecting with his family and gaining a larger perspective on his own family, especially his father. i feel really grateful for the time we had in korea as a couple, and that i was able to meet his family. it was very cool to see how great the trip was for will too.

//vietnam//

no one in korea could quite understand why we wanted to go to vietnam. all of our relatives told us it was dirty, really hot, and not much to do. still, i think i had a bit of a shock when i arrived at the airport in hanoi. it was a lot smaller than i had expected. and it was hot. will's cousin picked us up and we went over to his home. he is married with 2 really sweet daughters. we planned a general itinerary and went to sleep.

korea: day 10

2010-07-06T11:35:00.000-04:00

we folded up the laundry we had done and started packing our stuff. then we went to shilla hotel for a goodbye buffet lunch with all of will's family in korea. afterwards we went with sae jong, will's youngest cousin to namdaemun to buy gifts. he was really impressed with our bargaining skills. afterwards we rested for about an hour and then met up with another of will's cousins in yaksudong. we went over to his place and chatted for a couple of hours about will's family history and life in general. it was some really good conversation. then we went out for a late dinner at a bok (blowfish) restaurant. afterwards we went to dongdaemun because will's cousin's wife wanted to buy a gift for will's sister. slept at 2:30am.

korea: day 9

2010-07-02T09:52:00.000-04:00

we got up, chatted with my cousin and then went to namdaemun with w's aunt to get glasses done. i got mine for about $25. we also picked up some girly hairpins for will's sister. then we met up with w's uncle and had lunch at a restaurant in one of his commercial properties, and then visited his office.

we went home, and then went back to namdaemun and got some blankets. the blankets are different in korea - they are much lighter.

we quickly went home, changed and then met up with w's uncle, aunt and cousin, had korean style hot pot, and then went to a coffee shop, had coffee, tea, cake and more red bean shaved ice.

our time in korea is coming to an end. i'm getting sad about it. :(