Nightwalkers

Eating bread in the streetz

 Karyn and I went on a little mini adventure around our neighborhood after work one evening. We experienced a part of our immediate living quarters that we didn't know existed and are happy to have discovered. I can already imagine the drunken nights out staggering through these streets ahead of us.

We started off walking down the market street. Most of the stalls were closed and the few that were open had small groups of people crowded around eat and chatting and enjoying their evening, trying to sell what they had left of their goods. Fruits and veggies and things boiling in huge pots that I had never seen before. Teenage boys sitting at my favorite Tteokbokkistall eating their dinner and chatting with the friendly ajummas. 

I wanted bread, naturally, so we made a stop at the market to visit my friend. I need to figure out this man's name. I am always greeted with a big ole' two handed high five and hugs. I always leave with baked goods that I don't need, but a smile on my face nonetheless and a little bit more practice with Korean - something I desperately need.

 We decided to venture off and ended up walking down a street filled with bright lights, loads of chicken and beer establishments (chimek), norebang for days (karaoke), people drinking outside convenient stores, and traffic. So much traffic. There were cute little Korean men walking up the street holding hands and the younger crowd walking with their faces in their phones. The ability they have to not get hit by a car or scooter while walking down theses wild streets continues to amaze me,.

I've walked down this street several times during the day and was surprised to see how different it is at night. Everyone is always so bust during the day working, and usually working HARD. At night is when most places around here come alive. Kids don't get out of school until 10pm sometimes, adults work shifts as long as 12 hours. Work hard and play harder has never been more applicable than it is in this country. 

If you wanna see more pictures I've added some of my favorites to a photography page for your viewing pleasure, enjoy :)

Worst part of my day

                             

...is eating my last bite of food. Any food. Mostly gimbap though. I always want more. More more more. Idk what's wrong with me, but the food here is too good. I just ate a whole roll of gimbap and I already want to devour another one. 

Although, my live baby octopus meal didn't have the same effect of my monstrous appetite. It wasn't horrible. I chewed the slithery little pieces enough before they ever got the chance to latch on to my throat and suffocate me, no worries. But really it just tasted like the sauce I lathered in. Luckily our tentalicious meal came with a counterpart. Some random fish the market guy picked out, cooked with onions and mushrooms and a yummy sauce. I'll say my first visit to the live fish market went about as good as it could have :)

Bread, yukgwa, and beer - is there anything better?

                            

Bread houses. Man, those are hard to pass up. There is even one that goes by the name of "Eat Bread". They turned my life motto into a bakery, what more could I ask for?

One of the markets I go to (frequently) has a bakery attached to it, and there are ALWAYS discount - and I am reminded of this fact everytime thanks to the cutie who mans the stall. He is always way to happy to see me and eager to use the little amount of English he knows. Which includes the aforementioned "discount" along with other words; hello, very good, pretty, goodbye, and I love you. The last one is my personal favorite. He always cons me into getting bread. Always. How an I deny a little Korean man confessing his love to me, even if it's because that's all he knows how to say in English?

 

One of my favorite parts about life is how much exploring there is to do. With so many new things in my life, it's hard to get bored. I visited Ulsan Grand Park before work one afternoon and rode around the same area of the massive park for an hour on my bike rental trying to find the butterfly conservatory. It was a massive fail, but wandering around was a blast. I ran into a few cool parts of the park and am looking forward to exploring it more.

  



And friends. So many new people, from all around the world. Foreign and Korean. I am so excited to get to know these people and to create and share memories with them. It's been so easy to get into the swing of things here. I've felt welcomed from day one. 

                                

Makkoli and banchan, YUM

Sandcastles at Ilsan Beach, Ulsan

Rediscovery

Alright. Before I left the country, it was pretty safe to say I absolutely hated Las Vegas. I didn't like the industry and the type of person it bred. Club promoters, aspiring DJs, models and photographers. Money. Boobs. Party. The people who come to Vegas also typically come for the same reason - to get hungover. To get so irreversibly drunk that morals and responsibility are thrown out the window. Because, it's Vegas... right?

But this post isn't supposed to be bashing Vegas, so I'll stop :)

I learned so many things throughout my experiences abroad. Most of these things I am just realizing now, in retrospect. That will happen a lot, and goes to show why it is so important to always reflect... in every aspect of your life.

Taking a step back to look at something, changing your perspective, helps to see it in a new light. I could have easily came back to Las Vegas in complete misery to be back in such a sucky place compared to the loads of cool European places that I just frequented. That would of been silly though, because Las Vegas is actually pretty darn cool.

There is no other place like it in the world. No where. It is so unique in its culture, location, and really just that fact that everyone knows about it and EVERYONE is confused when I tell them I was born and raised there.

Do you deal blackjack?
Which casino do you live in?
No, no you don't. You can't BE from Las Vegas.

I literally had someone argue with me.

Anyways, considering I am not even to the point of this blog, I am going to sum up the fact that I came home with a huge appreciation for Las Vegas. And, well America as a whole really. I'm over here, chilling in a destination that countless people want to visit and all I want to do is get out. Guarantee you there is a girl in Barcelona wishing she could get out too, when ALL I could ever dream of is living in Barcelona. Or anywhere other than here. So. Perspective.

That's why I have been treating these past few months as opportunities to explore my home before I no longer have the chance to call it that. I'm looking at Vegas as I never have before and taking an chance I get to go to California, Arizona, and Utah. I've always taken these things for granted, but that's a waste of time. There's a lot of explorin' to do!