Worlds Collide!

My sister Amy and Stella (my co-teacher from last year) met up for lunch yesterday in New York!  Amy lives in Brooklyn now and Stella is only about 30 mins away -in New Jersey, so I gave them each others phone numbers and wala, they met for lunch yesterday!!  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous!  Stella got to see my sister, and my sister got to see Stella... and I didn't get to see either of them :(

  

Amy said they went shopping in Soho and Stella went wild in Forever 21!  But really, who wouldn't?!  As they were walking through the city, they came across this awesome graffiti wall, so Amy snapped a pic of Stella!  I was so happy to see this, because I've never seen Stella smile this big for a picture!  It's obvious that she's relaxing a bit outside of Korea, and enjoying herself in the US!  

Then they went to a cafe for coffee and said their goodbyes!  Amy said she's sure they'll hang out again! I couldn't be happier seeing my 2 worlds collide! 

I made it!

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't proud of myself today!  I made 돌솥 비빔밥 (Dolsut Bi Bim Bap)  It's my favorite Korean food... and I made it from scratch!

  

... and yes Amy, I will make it for you when you get here!!

I'm a korean housewife!

I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I've been cooking Korean food - from scratch!  I've never been one to bake or cook, but it seems I've been hit with the cooking bug and I like it!  Tonight I made a korean inspired dinner for Aaron and I!

Tonight's Menu was:

* Dwenjang soup

* Brown rice with oats

* Spicy pajung

* and chicken, potato, garlic, onion, carrot, and go-choojang stew 

(As a side note, I bought an entire raw chicken at the open-air market after work tonight and watched the lady chop it into pieces and throw it in a bag!  Then I cooked with it when I got home!  Best part was, it was only $2.40!  NO JOKE!)

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Baby Clemence!

Two of my dear friends, Jeremiah and Shelly Sazdanoff, who I've known for the past 7+ years are some of the most gracious, caring, compassionate, artistic, socially passionate, and wonderful people I know!  This is a picture of them that I took years ago, when they first began dating and everyone was so excited they had found each other!

They have been married now for 4+ years and I am beyond ecstatic tonight, thinking about the fact that there's a baby inside Shelly's belly that's a MIX of the 2 of them!  God is probably having a hay-day creating this one!  

I knew that I wanted to send something special to baby Clemence as soon as I heard Shelly was prego.  I had a hard time thinking of just the right gift for such a special girl... and then it dawned on me: a Korean Dojong (name chop)!  I've blogged about these before, and how much I love mine... so I decided Clemence needed one of her very own!  Why? Well, because, let's get real - with parents like Jeremiah and Shelly, she's bound to be creating art from a VERY young age!  So, now she'll have her very own signature stamp to stamp in the bottom corner of her masterpieces!  Heck, she can use it before she even knows how to write her name!

So, last night I went on the search for a dojong stand and found this kind Korean man in the center of downtown Seomyeon! 

I wrote out Clemence's name in Hangul (Korean language), picked out the stamp that I liked, and 20 minutes later, her name had been carved into it!  

There's not another one like it - in the whole world, which is why I think it's so perfect for baby Clemence!  It's one of a kind... just like she'll be!

Can't wait for you to get here baby girl!

Love you!

Auntie Jillers!

Trip to the gyno!

I had heard horror stories of foreigners visiting gynecologists in Korea and have been terrified to book my yearly exam!  Did you know they only make you take your undies off, and you're not given a gown?  So, if you're wearing jeans, pants, shorts (you get the idea) the doctor will walk into the room and you'll be naked from the waist down! haha In Korea, you're always supposed to wear a skirt or a dress to the gyno!  Who knew?!

I did a little research online and stumbled upon a medical tourism agency called Medina, who offers a completely free service to English speakers!  They set up a doctors appointment for you, meet you at the appointment, and translate everything the doctor says!  All for FREE!  How awesome is that?!

So, I e-mailed the company and received a response from Shinji, their company translator, within about 5 minutes! (Free and quick!  I like it!) 15 minutes later, my gyno appointment had been booked for the following day, and she was telling me where to meet her!  We ended up totally hitting it off!  She's a native Korean, 26 years old, cute as a button, and speaks english more fluently than any other Korean I've met to date!  I felt completely at ease at my first ever Korean gyno appointment because of her!

For anyone living in Busan who would like an english translator to help you with a visit to the doctor (any kind of doctor), contact Medina!

Thank you Shinji!