City Life in Seoul part 1

These past few months I have been collecting information, thoughts, and stories to tell so I can wow you all with awesome information on my life in Seoul. I've been working hard at all this data collecting that I now feel like I can write a truly amazing post. (It hasn't been, as you all think, that I have just been too lazy or busy to write. Watching TV and taking naps are very important to my new life in Seoul.)
So, I think I will start with City Life. Most of the people in my life live in the suburbs. Some live in small towns and others live in Dallas. Now, no offense to Dallas--- but if you still have to own a car in order to function in your life, you don't live in a real "city." I hope that has been clarified. Let's move on.
I've been to New York City. Seoul is much like that, except for the fact that Seoul is in South Korea. There are different things that come with living in a city in the states but pile up some whipped cream in the shape of a foreign non-english speaking country on top of it, and you have life in Korea. Is it bad? Nope. Is it amazing? Nah. How would I sum it up? Weird. (Please keep in mind that "weird" is a perspective thing and is in no way a reflection of Korean people, customs, or cities--- food on the other hand- that can get weird.)
First thing to tackle in a big city-  FOOD.
Now, my friend Sarah and I made a video of the first floor of our apartment complex (which is actually an officetel because we live about businesses). I can't get it to upload, but I'm working on it. It is quite long. But, it will give you an idea of how many places there are to eat without really stepping too far outside my building.
 There are two things you need when you go out to eat in Seoul- bravery and a sense of humor. It is very easy to eat at the same safe places that we know and love-- there is a McDonald's nearby-- but that just isn't practical, nor is it healthy. I have found that when one first lands in a new place, bravery just comes out of necessity for eating.
I believe Aristotle said, "We need to be fed; therefore, we need to be brave and walk into the place that smells the least funny and has pictures we can point to."
Expats in Korea live by those very wise words.
One such place nearby is the Korean BBQ place.

 I used to hate this place. I would leave smelling like meat and smoke. The meat was mostly fat. The sauce you put on the meat was gross. And it takes too long to eat because you have to wait for it to cook. (I have noticed I'm a bit impatient when it comes to food, but I promise I'm working on it.) However, I (and by "I" I mean my friend Elaine) realized that the meat we were ordering wasn't the only option! There was a much better meat to grill, I don't HAVE to use the sauce, and I really like pickled radishes (Who knew!?).
Wondering where the bravery and sense of humor comes in? Here it goes-- even at a the BBQ place that we have been to several times, there are things that we were hesitant to try. Such as the crab. I didn't know what to do with it, so we just left that little crab (the size of my hand) to sit alone in his poor little bowl. (The crab is dead, by the way... just wanted to clarify-- I eat dead and cooked things. Yes, even in Korea.) One day, as my friends and I were leaving, we saw a small child put the crab on the grill to cook! You would thing we would put that together the first 5 times we went to this restaurant, but no. I happened to remember the child's genius move when Sarah and I went the next time. I bravely placed the crab on the grill-- (I say brave because the Korean ajummas tend to yell a little menacingly when we do something wrong). It cooked for about 3 minutes when our ajumma (a Korean woman who is about 40 or older) came back and gasped with horror. Apparently it is wrong to put the crab on the grill. She, of course, calls all her friends to our table to laugh at what the stupid wangook (foreigner) did. And what did Sarah and I do? We got up and left because of her rudeness.......
That's not really what we did. We laughed! They laughed, we laughed, and we learned not to do that again. Now, you may be wondering-- "What are you supposed to do with the crab then?" Your supposed to suck the gelatinous, uncooked innards out and eat them with rice. :) You're welcome.

The next one needs to conquer in a foreign city- transportation.
I travel by four different modes here- subway, bus, taxi, and my own two feet.
I'll start with the subway
The subway is nice and clean compared to New York. The city of Seoul has about 12 Subway lines. And if you know anything about me or how I know my way around any city, this next bit should not surprise you---- 90% of the time I have no clue of where I am going and I follow the lovely friends who came with me. I have been on the subway twice by myself and, though I didn't get lost or go the wrong way, I may have been suffering from a mild and consistent panic attack. I have a great app on my phone that helps me get around, but that is only a guide. I, myself, have to be alert enough to know when to get on and off and follow the signs to transfer to the other line. Most of the time, I just follow the person or group of people that I am with. It's safer for them and me that way.
The subways are nice, but different. It's not my first choice of transportation, but it is cheap and efficient. It's about a $2, one way ride to anywhere in Seoul.
The second way I get around is the bus. I have been taking the bus to school for most of the year. It is efficient, but I have no clue of the routes the buses take and where to get off. I've twice been on the wrong bus and that has freaked me out so bad that I stick to the bus that takes me to and from school-- and it happens to be the bus that takes me into Nowon when I need it. The buses are okay, but it's hit or miss on the bus drivers. I have not yet fallen over, but I've come very close. The starting and stopping is not my favorite thing in the world, but the bus is pretty efficient.
My favorite way to travel is by taxi. With the horribly freezing weather we have been having, I have a little taxi group that take a taxi to school. Split three ways, the taxi is cheaper and quicker than the bus. The key is to be able to pronounce places in Korean correctly. Sometimes this doesn't happen so we have to know how to say, "left, right, straight, and stop here" all of which I know how to do. 90% of the time, taxi drivers are nice and friendly. Some know a little bit of English and ask where we are from. There have been taxi drivers who won't stop because we are foreign or who will yell at us for one reason or another. We have no idea what they are saying when they yell, but it doesn't matter what language you are yelled at in-- it makes you want to yell back. I have restrained the urge to do that, but I have slammed a door or two when I got out. I enjoy most of my taxi rides. They are pretty honest (the ones that yell are usually the ones that want to take us the long way and get angry when we tell them where to turn) and like to try to engage us in conversation-- but we just say "yes" in Korean no matter what they say. They laugh, we laugh, and we go on our merry way. We could have just said "yes" to saying we would like them to murder us-- but whatever.
My second favorite way (until South Korea turned into the North Pole-- Santa lives here, I'm sure of it) to travel is walking. Walking home from school was really fun during the fall weather. It takes about 30 minutes to walk home from school and it's a nice way to see our neighborhood up close.
Sarah and I have a favorite game to play when walking in Seoul. We call it: City Chicken. It's much like the dangerous driving game Chicken, but with people. If you need a refresher, watch this clip from Footloose circa 1984.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwGQDtC-h18
 So, City Chicken is when you are walking along a sidewalk with a stranger walking toward you. The person who gives and moves to the side loses. This is mostly played with teenagers, 20, 30, and 40 somethings. Any older and I move as a sign of respect per the Korean culture. If moms, the blind, little kids, or any type of handicap are in front of me, I don't play. How am I faring so far? Well, I am losing. Mostly because if I don't move, the Korean people generally run right into me and shove me out of the way. So, I chicken out.
I am determined to have a winning score by the end of the year.
Another walking game I like to play is: Smile for the Wangook! Korean people don't generally smile at strangers. I set goals for myself to get one person to smile at me (young children don't count) per day. It is very hard. I have only met my goals twice. 
In addition to the previous two walking games- I play Name that Smell. Now, there isn't really a way to verify what the "phantom smells" are when they slap you right in the face, but I think I'm better off not knowing.
That's all I am going to write about now. Next time I will talk about grocery shopping, more walking games, and city randomness.
On another note- I am VERY excited to be home in two weeks. I can't wait to hug my mom and daddy. I plan on going to see Rebecca and pray that I get to go see her at her house and not in the hospital. I get to see my nieces and nephews. I'll hug my brothers and sisters-in-law. And I will get to catch up with more family and friends.
Please keep Rebecca in your prayers. She is so sick and it is so not fair. I know God is in control and has a plan, but it is hard to understand why she has to suffer so much. Pray for healing, no more pain, wisdom for her parents and doctors, and peace for her family.
Love from Seoul,
Sara