Moldy and Messy

Lately life has been moldy and messy. The bedroom closets were infested with mold because of the difference in temperatures between inside and outside, the back side abuts an exterior wall. As a result we had to vacate the master bedroom and sleep in the baby room, clear out the closets, wash everything, navigate around mountains of stuff that used to be hidden away, get mold removal estimates, have the closets and the interior wall rebuilt and try not to become hypochondriacs for weeks. Needless to say I learned some Korean, gompangi/곰팡이 (mold) and saengi-da/생기다 (to form).

 

Snow Day

Woke up this morning to serious amounts of snow.

Tree branches look strained under the thick snow.

Hubby attempted to drive to work but couldn’t find the street. The only functioning mode of transportation today is the subway, which is packed.

 

Merry Christmas

We wish you a Merry Christmas!

Here’s a picture of our little tree (less than 22 inches tall). It was purchased at Daiso for 3,000w, the silver and gold balls came in a pack for 2,000w, the candy canes are handmade, the garland is a re-purposed styrofoam pouch, the star was made using part of  a kitchen sponge, and the tree skirt is actually an artfully clipped pillow cover.

 

Lady Cab Driver

The one day we venture outside in the cold we actually hailed two lady cab drivers. The first one drove fast and furious, trying too hard to keep up with the “guys.” The second one was dressed in hanbok, traditional all the way down to her shoes. I had to take a picture to memorialize the day (not a holiday) and the outfit.

Lady cab drivers are rare, probably accounting for less than 10% of taxi drivers in Seoul.

 

Christmas Trees in Korea

Christmas trees have popped up all over Seoul. I’ve noticed that there is a lot of blue used in Christmas displays here. Blue lights, blue ornaments, blue garlands…which I would instead associate with Hanukkah. Oh well, at least it’s festive.

 

Technical Difficulties

The technical problems began about the time of my last posting. I could not find my digital camera charging dock for about a week. Then, the computer kicked the bucket. The error message read “NTLDR is missing” and professionals had to be called in for repairs. Hopefully, technology will work next week. Sorry for the silence.

 

Glove Trick

Learned a trick of the trade from our cleaning lady ~ glove within glove. Putting on cotton gloves before putting on rubber gloves means no struggling to get wet rubber gloves on and off.

Skeptical at first, it took me a while to become converted. The glove trick makes it more likely that I might actually wash the dishes or scrub the floors on days without hired help.

 

Sidewalk Winter Kimchi

On my way to Korean language class I saw kimjang/김장 or winter kimchi being made on the sidewalk.

Quite a sight at the community center.

 

Cold in Korea

This week has been very cold in Korea. Weather forecasts snow today. It’s hard for me to leave the warmth of ondol/온돌 floors to step outside into the freezing air. Managed to make one trip out to pick up things to beat the cold ~ or catching one that is.

Gyool/귤 have lots of vitamin C, are tasty and practically free this season. I got a 4kg box for 5,000W ~ that’s less than $1 per pound.

Also required this winter is a face mask to guard against the H1N1 flu. Just about every other person on the street is wearing one. Not quite sure if a mask is effective since I keep having to remove mine to keep my glasses from fogging up.