Friday, March 18th

I actually chose the background of this blog prior to coming here, but I apparently chose an appropriate one.

Today I got a cell phone! I’m not sure how to call or text the US directly, but I was given this “magic number”. I dial the magic number and then a recording comes on and I can dial the US number. I guess it makes it cheaper to call the US than it would ordinarily. Also, from what I hear, incoming calls within Korea are free. The cell phone is pretty high tech and I haven’t been able to figure out most of it yet. Hopefully I get it down after a while though.

I got my health check back and I am free of diseases and ready to get my ARC card. Then internet! Wahoo! I decided to walk back from the hospital today because I actually paid attention to where the taxi driver drove me and it was a really nice day. I stopped at this other mall and got some dinner. I did some more pointing to what I wanted, but after I ordered I realized there was English written really small under the Korean words. Oh well, I like to judge things by their pictures anyways. The food was good. I got some rice with beef, potatoes and carrots in a curry type sauce. I actually liked the soup too since it was just sort of a plain broth. It is maybe the second soup I’ve actually liked here. That’s one thing I’ve been struggling with. Like yesterday at school they had this horrible soup. Ellen told me it was kimchi and tuna. I was gagging just looking at it. Gross! Although I have never liked seafood in my soup. I’ve liked a lot of the food here, but I haven’t come around to kimchi yet. Unfortunately that’s one of their main staples. Oh well, I’ll survive.

These hearts are in front of the mall.

I also found out that I love Pepero. I’ve tried two different kinds, one filled with chocolate and one with chocolate and almond bits on the outside. The kind I like best are filled with chocolate and taste like a cross between a cookie and a pretzel. So delicious and addicting! Pepero Day is a holiday that occurs on November 11^th. It is like Valentine’s day in the US where you give candy to the people you love. 11/11 is the date and Pepero are long thin cookies with chocolate in or on them that look like the number one. Pepero sure beats conversation hearts! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepero

Ok, well, I’m getting really distracted by the sign in this coffee shop that says, ‘Pretzel: Parmesan, Plain Hot, Apple Cinnamon.’ On that note, good night.

Here are up close pictures of the mosaics by the school. They are pretty.