The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

Moving into a nicer apartment, although tedious and stressful, has really made me enjoy my life in Korea even more.  When I lived in Prague I rented a room from an old flat, the location was incredible (just a block from the Vltava River), I lived with one of my best friends and an sweet older Czech woman who was full of life.  But the place was old and I put little to no effort into making it my own.

When I came to Korea, one of my priorities in getting settled in was to decorate my place and make it feel like “me”.  I did a decent job of that in my last apartment, but my new place really does feel like my home.  It’s important to invest in some decor I think, even for those people who come to Korea only for a year…..because your home should be your haven, right?

Ok anyway, the house-warming party was lots of fun.  I made Mexican food, tacos complete with guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo and Mexican rice (thanks Molly for bringing that!).  It was sooo delicious I couldn’t believe it, haha.  So we just hung out and laughed, listened to music, etc. until evening came and then we went to the busy area Cheonho and had a couple beers.  It was perfect.

My building was made in 2003 I believe….so it’s fairly new.  I think I’ve said before that my location is a bit farther away from work, but there are so many more things to do and see here in Gangdong.  I’m anxious for it to warm up a bit so I can go exploring more.  All in all, I’m very pleased with the new place and will be staying here again if I decide to renew my contract after another year (wow, that’s a long ways down the rode though), one thing at a time.

If you’d prefer to watch a video tour of me showing the apartment, you can click here.  Be warned I had just woken up and am in my PJs, haha.  Also here are a few thumbnail pics below:

So my Valentine’s weekend was pretty eventful and fulfilling to say the least.  It all began early in the morning Saturday.  It was gray, not too cold.  I was meeting Molly at the fabric market in Dongdaemun because she had never been, and I also needed to get some fabric for my new place (which by the way is completely finished and I will post about next time).

I used to enjoy cruising down the aisles of Joann’s or Hancock Fabrics back in the states.  Inspiration was something you searched for in the textiles, and hopefully you found it on sale or in the new arrivals.  Shopping for fabric at this place is an entirely different experience though.

Little did I know, that in the 1970’s this building was the largest market in all of Asia.  You can believe it though when you’re walking around the place.  It has about 7 or 8 floors, each consisting of different textiles like bedding, traditional Korean prints for hanboks, two floors of just fabric, a level of only beads, buttons and ribbons.

The building is huge, small pathways with different fabric spilling over, vendors eating lunch, people who look like they’re in the fashion industry buying and collecting samples.  Creativity and inspiration is everywhere at this place.

I found my favorite booth (D-247 if I remember correctly) and ended up buying some pinstriped corduroy and a dark navy blue that go really well together.  You’ll see soon enough.

Molly and I were troopers though, we shopped around that building for a while but eventually surrendered to how hot we were getting (still wearing our winter jackets and all) and decided to call it done.  She threw a fondue and wine party at her apartment later that night, which was absolutely spectacular.

Once again I found myself encircled with people whom I love, laughing and having a great time.  Not a bad Valentine’s Day at all.  On a separate and random note, I was being ambitious Saturday morning and wanted to take 20 pictures throughout the day to feature in a blog entry.  I didn’t quite make it to 20, I’ll do that some other time.

I DID want to share this random tid-bit about the sidewalks and all pedestrian walkways in Korea:  they have raised lines which lead blind people all around….sometimes they’re circled or striped or rectangular depending on whether there are steps coming up, etc.  

So…you can feel the pattern under your feet and it will guide you, with instructions!  It’s a pretty cool system that I’d never seen anywhere else so I thought I’d share it.

Here we go, an entry just about what’s been going on in my life lately.  Sorry folks, no insider tips about Korea or its culture this time.

So I had my birthday party in Hongdae with a big group of friends, we all ended up having SOOO much fun.  It had been a while since I’d been out (or at least it felt like it), and everyone was in such a good mood I couldn’t have asked for a better party.  You can see a cool video of the evening if you click here.

It’s a nice feeling to look around you on an evening like your birthday, and be surrounded by people who love you and care about you….even if they are relatively new people in your life (all but one of them I’ve met over the past year).  So I had a warm and fuzzy feeling inside all night.  Unfortuntely it didn’t last the rest of the week.

I’m moving into a new apartment tomorrow.  The place I’m in now is ok, I have no complaints…..except one.  The air conditioner is temperature controlled throughout the entire building, and since it’s an office building….it shuts off after 6pm or so in the summer.  I am left sweltering, trying to crack open my small window and blast the fan on high in hopes that I won’t pass out.  I do not like the heat, and the summers here can get hot….Florida hot.

So, I complained to my boss and she said they would indeed move me into a newer and nicer apartment when I renewed my contract (they were willing to move me right then and there, but I declined and said I’d rather just wait it out).  I’m moving four subway stops closer to Seoul (which isn’t a lot), meaning I’ll now be a 10-15 minute ride to and from work, as opposed to the 1-minute walking distance I’ve enjoyed this past year.

The plus side is that my new apartment is evidently VERY new, has all the modern amenities, it’s bigger, and is located in a much more bustling area.  This is good.  I’m just anxious to see the place and get settled into it already.  (The picture here is of my new building, although it is actually surrounded by many other buildings….this is a promo shot I guess so they photoshopped them out.)  It has been stressful this week trying to deal with my boss and get things ready for the move.  I send an e-mail asking one question, and a day later I get a response totally unrelated to what I had asked.

Somehow I am not worried in the least….I chuck it up as a ‘weird Korean thing’ and just trust that everything will work out ok.  It always seems to.  Packing has been stressful though, and I’m still not even totally finished.  It’s really amazing how much stuff a person can acquire over the period of just a year!  I plan on being here for the long haul though so I wanted to get settled in nicely and have everything I need/want.  Indeed I do.

So, this weekend I’ll be nesting in my nice new place.  Since its my second year with the school, the real estate market isn’t doing well, and the school feels bad about the A/C issue, I’m hoping/thinking that they went in for an even nicer place than normal.  I have high hopes of a Penthouse Suite overlooking the river, but I should probably be aiming a bit lower, haha.

Anyway, all else is well.  I’ve been working out a lot lately and eating super healthy, visibly lost my belly fat and am putting on muscle.  Must keep it up!  Until next time….much love.

Oh, I also posted another video on teaching in Korea because I’ve gotten ridiculous amounts of emails and questions for more information.  If you want to see that video, it’s here.