- It’s a pretty green city. By which I mean, they’ve got a lot of those basic ecological principles figured out. The heating systems are super efficient and comforting (hot water runs under the floor). Recycling and composting are routine and free, but you have to pay for each bag of trash. We take out the recycling and (sometimes stinky) compost bucket much, much more often than we empty the trash, and it always makes me feel good. Plus, all public trash cans have a green recycling bag attached. See:

Lastly, clothes dryers just don’t really exist here. We hang all our clothes out to dry, which not only saves energy, but preserves the life of the clothing, too. That means less clothing that needs to be replaced, and a lower ecological footprint overall. What a great cycle. (Though I admit, it took a few tries to figure out how to handle adequate circulation in the cold winter months.)

- Korean babies.  Seriously. Have you seen them? Fat little faces, running around saying “Anyong!” and, sometimes, even at age 2, “Hello!” Here’s a little peanut I snapped at the Aquarium earlier this year:

- KIMCHI! Or, more specifically, kimchi jjigae (kimchi soup). The little restaurant below school makes delicious kimchi jjigae, and I’ve ordered it so often, they no longer hand me a menu when I walk in. They just look at me quizzically, I nod, and a few minutes later, out comes my hot, steaming bowl of deliciousness. I’m trying to recreate the dish at home, and think I’m getting closer. The trick is to start with aged kimchi, not the fresh stuff. Here’s a picture from my attempt a few weeks ago:

In addition to the kimchi, it’s got oodles of mushrooms, tofu, ddok (rice dumplings), onions, garlic, and pork, which can obviously be omitted for a vegetarian version. Once I perfect the recipe, I hope to guest post on my dear friend Melinda’s super inspiring recipe blog. It’s chock full of mouth-watering, healthy dishes, punctuated by the occasional can’t-resist-and-oh-so-worth-it indulgence.

- Shabu shabu.  This meal stole my heart when I first arrived, and has held my attention ever since. I wrote a post about it (and some other classic Korean meat meals) way back in June, available here.

- My students. Of course there are times when they drive me nuts or insult me right to my face, but for the most part, I love them to bits. How many people can say they leave work in a better mood than when they arrived? The smart, darling teenagers I work with every day are the reason that happens. And in what other job can a student, on their first day in class, ask you to please stay after because they have a question about your lecture on two factions of empiricism. His query? Under the second principle, which states that empiricists try to use their senses to prove something false when they really want to uncover the truth, could I help solve this dilemma: “If I spend time with someone, and then when they go away, I realize I’m sort of empty on the inside, does…does that mean I like her?” Love it! (And my answer: since you’re trying to prove a situation false, you have to ask if that means you don’t like her. All we can deduce is that you do not not like her. So you probably do like her. But it’s not a strict binary situation.)

- Konglish. I know I haven’t posted a konglish in a while, but I recently found some on my toothpaste, picture pending. I use the 2080 brand (though as soon as it runs out, I’m ordering some Tom’s of Maine through iHerb. Can’t wait.), which has the following (translated) slogan: Keeping the 20 healthy teeth for 80 years. That’s all well and good, but I have more than 20 healthy teeth. What happens to them? I mean really, that’s quite the sales pitch.

- Cost of living. It may not be glamorous, but it’s a big reason I’m here. That amazing kimchi jjigae mentioned above? W4,000, or about $3.25. Our monthly utilities? About W125,000, total — cable, electricity, internet, gas, water, etc. That’s roughly $100, split between two people. Amazing.

- Drunk compliments. I don’t know why, and I don’t agree, but Korean men who are so drunk they can barely stand like to tell me I look like Sophie Marceau.  Ok, ok, it only happened twice, but still! Again, I disagree, but I still like it. Here’s Sophie Marceau in Seoul:(image: http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/2QkLN0x87LX/Sophie+Marceau+Promotes+Shaumet+Seoul/-iedhC91lvl/Sophie+Marceau)

And here’s me in Seoul (at hogwan, just after my haircut on Monday):

(And yes — I searched for the most Sophie Marceau-esque photo I could find. This is what I came up with.)

- Last, but not least, my fellow expats–and a few awesome natives. I have met some amazing people since moving here, and they make the many, many miles away from my friends and family much easier to cope with. Here are some of the lovelies I’ve gotten to meet:

Laughs with friends on Thanksgiving

(A very dark picture of) Thanksgiving Drinks with Friends/Coworkers

Goodbye dinner with Julian and Kathy -- last time together in Seoul

One of my first outings in Seoul -- Mr. Kim's in Apgu

A favorite indulgent meal (Mercado) with some great people

So there you have it. A nice assortment of some of my favorite parts of living here. Next week, part iii.

I was pretty sure what I thought he meant to say, but couldn’t let him off the hook that easily.

“Oh?”

“Yes, very shiny. Very…beautiful.”

Ah, yes. The ol’ shiny/beautiful mix up. I quickly explained that telling a girl she looks “shiny” is usually taken to mean that either her skin looks very oily, or she’s very sweaty. I went on to clarify that most girls do not see these as compliments, and he should stick to words like “beautiful” or “stunning.” Just trying to help the kid out.

Dear: White Witch

Hello! You’re bad witch! The Narnia is peaceful and Happiness country.  You make a Narniathat covered with white snow. I think you have to learn the manners.  You have to come the Korea, Seoul in Apgujeong. [Apgujeoung is one of Seoul's nicest neighborhoods.] Do you want to know correct address, you have to call in 010-xxxx-xxxx.

Your problem is bad manners. You tricks people, poke the Asian and froze the land. WHen you follow this artcle you can be a kind witch.

First, [ran out of time]
————————–

To: The White Witch in HELL

Hey, you sour old prune! You Double wide backsided women! You D-ltned person! Do you know that what did you did is very cruel for the people of Narnia? Also, did you knew that you are very selfish…??? You won’t unerstand it because you was born like that!!! I’ll tell you why.  Firstly, you killed many lifes just because you want to make them in your side, and make your shrinked body on the chair of the honor!  Just one person, you will be happy but billions of lifes will be feel gross…!  Next, you was very vulgar to make Edmund a betrayer, you devil!  You could’ve do it in 2 other way, not making Edmund a bad person! And also I can’t understand why you are using your damn power [ran out of time]
————————-
Dear, White Witch,

I know that you are black-minded, but you shouldn’t let your servant (the dwarf) to whap at other animals. I don’t like the part, when you make the dward tied Edmund, and whap him. He came to you to just…have some Turkish Delight! [ran out of time]

Here is the first installment of some of the most entertaining examples.
-vulnerable
-butterfly
-celery

Let me know if you have any other good ones…

Ah, yes.  Fairyland English: “The place where is full of joy.”  Just where I’d send my little ones to master the English language.

Sadly, it appears Pizza Etang recently went out of business — or is closed for remodeling.  With promises like that, you’d imagine people would flock to their tables, no?

“This is a wonderful turtle that has in one body.  Being born itself is very new, and even more difficult to grow up. We wish all of you who met this rare and precious turtle get double luck!”

Disclaimer: This is infinitely more fluent than anything I would try to say in Korean, so I appreciate the effort.  It’s still funny.