July 10, 2009
There was this thing in my kitchen that I didn’t know how to use. I found a way to make it useful to a gyopo, it’s a makeshift baking rack for home-baked cookies. Actually meant to be used to grill fish over charcoal, nowadays they are more often used to toast seaweed laver on the stove.
Oatmeal raisin cookies cooling on my what-cha-ma-call-it.
July 8, 2009
Strange but true, I have yet to see a four-pack of toilet paper. Instead all I can find are 24-roll packages. It’s hard to find space to store this much toilet paper in my apartment. Perhaps that is why toilet paper is often used as napkins at hole-in-the -wall restaurants and in some homes. We have twenty -three rolls in a closet with my leather boots.
The standard size 24-roll package of toilet paper sold in Korea.
July 2, 2009
This is the funniest street sign I have seen in Seoul. We had to scramble for the camera and pull over to the side of the road to snap this picture. Thankfully, we didn’t run over any slow moving elderly in the process.
Konglish for elderly is “silver,” as in silver town and silver channel.
June 30, 2009
I have yet to find a decent toy store in Korea. Being a resourceful former Peace Corps volunteer, I have re-purposed ordinary things into baby toys.
A beach ball is a baby exercise ball, he can stretch and balance.
Laundry balls are baby balls that he can hold and chew. Toss them in with a load of baby laundry and they are ready for play.
June 26, 2009
Our fridge is always stocked with ice cream in the summer. Heck, ice cream qualifies as a source of calcium. After tasting just about every kind of ice cream sold in Korea, these are my staples:
The E-Bar on the left is like a Nestle Crunch bar with a bonus chocolate chunk in the center. The Chocolate Bravo Cone is the chocolaty-est treat with chocolate chips and chocolate sauce blended into chocolate ice cream topped off with chocolate drizzle on the top. The Coffee Stick is a nifty triangle of sweet frozen coffee that splits in two for sharing or saving for later, or not.
June 23, 2009
Today is the first day for 50,000W bills. Long overdue since 10,000W bills just make for thick, unsightly wallets and 100,000W notes are a pain to get and use. The woman pictured isn’t a former Korean queen. Shin Saimdang (신사임당 1504-1551) was famous for her paintings and calligraphy as well as her Confucist scholar son, Yulgok. Her respectful nickname was “wise mother.”
June 18, 2009
There are red onions at the market nowadays. They are sold but once a year. Just like the peapods that have shown up lately.
Red onions make for a great salad with cucumbers and tomato (all in season right now) ~ use olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper for seasoning.
June 16, 2009
There is a Korean word for babies that are scared of strangers: nat-ga-rinda/낯가린다. Babies don’t like unfamiliar faces starting at about 5 months. Seeing strangers makes them cry. Reach for the baby and screaming ensues. I hope this will stop strangers from touching him.
Nat-ga-rim/낯가림 can last up to a year.
June 11, 2009
Our son loves looking at mobiles. Because of that we have multiple mobiles throughout our place. Baby related items in Korea cost a mint. Retail stores include baby specialty shops and department stores. For the adventurous and frugal, head to Dongdaemun and Namdaemun for baby bedding, clothes and shoes. Mother-in-law spent nearly a hundred dollars on a mobile at Shinsegae Department Store and then stumbled upon the bargain baby stuff at Namdaemun Market.
The most fun and interactive mobile was handmade.
Baby visitors have been asked to fold colorful origami paper so we can add to this special mobile. Another cool aspect is that you can make it move while holding baby by blowing a burst of air.
 | Kim on Toilet Paper |
 | Flash on Silver Street Sign |
 | Jen on Silver Street Sign |
 | gyopowife on Baby Balls |
 | Elaine on Baby Balls |
