Once in a Blue Moon

Highlight of the week:

I got cable television!

I ordered the package that cost just under w10,000 and has about 60 channels but for some reason they actually gave me the 75 channel package instead.  There are about 5 or so English channels at any given time and most of them are terrible.  I watched the show Numb3rs for the first time in my life. Eh.  I also watched the movie While You Were Sleeping.  Nothing all that great so far, but it's still nice to have the TV to keep me company at night.


Highlights of this weekend include:
1.  Now Bar
2.  Itaewon
3.  Once in a Blue Moon
4.  What the Book?

1.  Now Bar
I didn't take many pictures this weekend so you'll have to pardon me on that one.  As always, I stayed out way later than anticipated.  The Now Bar has some way of making me lose all concept of time and it's 3am before I know it.  At Now Bar I played darts and it turns out that I'm really good at darts!  I may have to start being a dart shark.

2.  Itaewon
Thanksgiving is coming up this Thursday and I'm very excited.  Thanksgiving is my absolute, hands-down favorite holiday.  Koreans don't really eat turkey but they are available -- at a hefty price.  A turkey that would only feed 3 people costs around $80 or so.  My brother, Natalie, and I decided that we will have chicken instead this year since you can get chicken for just $8.

Some other things that are necessities for Thanksgiving are also not readily available in the regular grocery store such as cranberry sauce, pumpkin puree, jello, and pie crust.  I was able to go to a foreign food mart aptly called Foreign Food Mart and buy all of the aforementioned items sans pie crust.  I may have to just buy a pumpkin & pecan pie at the Paris Baguette.

 
The Foreign Food Mart is located in Itaewon and sells mostly Indian food but some American foods too like Kashi cereal and Pop-Tarts.  I wouldn't make shopping there a regular habit though.  The store is messy and there was food spilling from the aisles onto the floor.  Additionally, I think everything had a slight layer of dust to it.  But, when you need your Jell-o...






Paris Baguette is a Korean bakery that likes to think it is French.  Don't be fooled.  It is not.  But, they do regularly sell Pecan Pie.  If my microwave pumpkin pie fails, there is alway the Paris Baguette to save me.








For dinner I went to a Thai place that, honestly, had better decor than it did food.  It was called Buddha's Belly and it is located on the second floor of a building in an alley off the main strip of Iteawon.  I'm a big fan of eating atmosphere.  Sometimes food tastes better just because of the restaurant's decor.  In this case the decor was what I would call luxury-industrial.  The chairs all had a velour covering to them and the colors were all in rich grays, reds, and blacks.  I felt stylish and elegant eating there.  I was slightly disappointed in the Pad Thai with Tofu that I got though.  While it was fine, it wasn't really delicious either.  


3.  Once in a Blue Moon

After Thai food it was off to Apgujong which is an area of Gangnam and is like Seoul's Beverly Hills.  They even have a Rodeo Drive Street.

This area also has the best jazz club in town.  With the exception of the ridiculously high drink prices, I loved it.  The people that I was with, Jennifer and her two friends, reminded me that the w14,000 glass of wine I had was really not that bad since there was no cover charge to enter and if you think of it like that then it's not so expensive anymore.  Well maybe, but I would have gotten another glass of wine if it was cheaper...    

Anyway, the jazz was great and I'm glad I got to go!

Getting back home to Suwon, however, was not so great.  I got totally disoriented on the main street in Gangnam and couldn't figure out which direction I needed to take the bus back home.  I walked up and down and up and down for close to an hour before I spotted my bus-- naturally going in the opposite direction I was convinced I had to go.  It was 1am when I got back to my house.

4.  What the Book?

While in Itaewon on Saturday I also stopped by the bookstore, What the Book.  It was just a building or two away from the Foreign Mart.  It's known to be the best English bookstore in Korea but it was a lot smaller than I had expected.  Still, it did not disappoint and I found a book that I was looking for, The Glass Castle.

I spent my Sunday afternoon at Tom N Toms reading my new book, drinking a latte, and eating a pretzel.  Tom N Toms makes great soft pretzels.









Back to school on Monday...!