"Teacher, you should be a queen for halloween. If you are a queen you will be more pretty."
This is why I love kids :-)
This is why I love kids :-)
One kind of food that I have missed terribly since I left America is Mexican food. We ate some version of Mexican food pretty regularly at home and when I got to Seoul there was no Mexican food in site. This caused me to go in search of Mexican food in Seoul and here is what I have found!
There are four main categories of Mexican food I have found here and I’m going to tell you where to find each and every one of them!
The first category is expensive Mexican: On the Border
The only nice "sit down" Mexican restaurant here in Seoul is On the Border. Yes, I know that is an American chain restaurant and in America we would totally pass it up for something way more authentic but hey, you get what you can here in Seoul.
There are two On the Border locations that I know of here in Seoul: Coex Mall and Sinchon. I have been to both and both are good. I find you get more generous portions at the one in Sinchon and the service is a bit better. The best thing about On the Border is the all you can eat salsa and chips. This is the only restaurant here in Seoul that has that. The other nice thing about On the Border is that the menu is the most extensive you’ll find here in Seoul, at least in my limited experience.
Then there is the cheap category of Mexican food: Taco Bell
Just this past summer the very first Taco Bell opened up here in Korea. Located in itaewon across from the Hamilton hotel, Taco Bell is my recommendation for cheap Mexican here in Seoul. Hard Tacos are 1,500won a piece and there are several different combo meal options. I’m not going to lie, this really hits the spot but I was a fan of Taco Bell back in the states as well. Yummmm.
T&S
K.C.
There are four main categories of Mexican food I have found here and I’m going to tell you where to find each and every one of them!
The first category is expensive Mexican: On the Border
The only nice "sit down" Mexican restaurant here in Seoul is On the Border. Yes, I know that is an American chain restaurant and in America we would totally pass it up for something way more authentic but hey, you get what you can here in Seoul.
Next up is a more medium price option: Dos Tacos
Dos Tacos offers nachos, soft tacos and hard tacos. However, they are most known for their wide range of burritos. You can get everything from a bean and cheese burrito to a fajita burrito. I usually get the hard or soft tacos and a set of three will put you back 10,500 won before getting a drink. Dos Tacos is located in Gangnam and Hongdae. It’s not really my favorite but it’s a quick fix for a craving.
Then there is the cheap category of Mexican food: Taco Bell
Just this past summer the very first Taco Bell opened up here in Korea. Located in itaewon across from the Hamilton hotel, Taco Bell is my recommendation for cheap Mexican here in Seoul. Hard Tacos are 1,500won a piece and there are several different combo meal options. I’m not going to lie, this really hits the spot but I was a fan of Taco Bell back in the states as well. Yummmm.
Lastly is the do-it-yourself category!
I have done this as well. Recently soft taco wraps have become available in grocery stores, such as Lotte Mart and Home Plus. As well as a “golden medley” shredded cheese, which is a combo or white and yellow cheese, perfect for tacos! I recently made my own for the first time here in Korea and it turned out quite well. I bought ground beef and made my own taco seasoning. Then I used left over taco bell sauce packets for the sauce! They were really good! I also made my own salsa :-)
I have heard of some other Mexican food places but have yet to try them out. If I get a chance and they are worth writing about, you’ll probably be seeing a part two to this blog. However, for now, this is what’s what in the Mexican food market here in Seoul. I hope it helps anyone who craves Mexican food as much as I do!
K.C.
So yesterday my school took a field trip to Dream Forest in North Seoul. I’ve driven by a billion times to and from my way into central Seoul but I’ve never gotten a chance to go! Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get to go and see what it was all about!
So we headed out in the morning and got there, took a walk around the grounds (also known as the hour we take pictures to market the school….) and then we headed over to this open space to do a sort of field day with the school’s gym teacher. Sanggye ECC also came on the field trip so of course it was Junggye team and Sanggye team all day. Lol.
The Sanggye ECC students and teachers had put this huge orange star on their backs before they got here, probably to tell the students apart, but it totally looked like a scene right out of Dr. Suess’s Snitches… You know, “stars upon thars” Yeah, it totally was.
If you have no clue what I’m talking about… check it out below! Lol.
Anyways, back to my story.
We had a sort of field day with racing, obstacles and lots of different games. The kids had a blast!
Then it was time for lunch. Ever wonder what a Korean mom packs for her kid? Check it out!
After lunch we headed up this huge hill to get to the observatory tower.
We had to go up this long hill, then steps inside the building
then a slanted elevator then a normal elevator…
but hey, we made it!!
It’s really nice, living in a HUGE city, to have so much nature surrounding me. That is actually one of the things I like the most about Seoul: The fact that they have incorporated so much nature into the city that you can always find a nice retreat. Places like the dream forest allow me to escape the concrete city and helps me to relax. And seeing how it’s not too far from where I live, I will be going back very very soon!
T&S
K.C.
Ok, so something I used to do, before even getting to Korea was music of the month. Well, when I got here it got put on hold (ok, ok I got busy and lazy, sue me) but now Music of the month is back!
I mean, how could I NOT bring it back with all the amazing music coming out right now??
Each month I will showcase both a female singer/group and a male singer/group that have songs I’m totally digging at the moment.
And for this month I will show case two in each category because I’m so behind and such a failure! Lol.
First up is one of my all-time favorites! BoA!
BoA has a whole new CD out and I think her hit “Hurricane Venus” is probably my favorite song she had ever done. However, the song I am featuring this month is her newest song, “Copy and Paste”! Not only is the song good, but the dance moves are pretty wicked. Check her out! :
Next up is 2ne1!
I mean, how could I not… 2ne1 is probably the most kick-ass girl’s group out there. There is no beating them. Although 2ne1 had 3 new amazing song’s come out, I am picking “Can’t Nobody” for my monthly pick because well, it’s just the most bad-ass of the three. Not to mention I like the music video the best. Anyways, 2ne1’s new song “Can’t Nobody” is a must hear! Check it out! :
Now, on the other side of the gender scale we have two fabulous new songs, Taeyang’s “I’ll Be There” and TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”
Now Taeyang’s “I’ll be there” get’s special props from me because I love love love the music video! The dark, almost vampire feel is just awesome and I love the ending! What is also nice about Taeyang is that he is making his songs with English version. Unfortunately his English version change the lyrics and they aren’t as good…but it’s still much appreciated! Anyways, check out “I’ll Be There” below!
Lastly is TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”. Now the first time I heard this song I had no idea who TRAX was. In fact, it was in concert at the SM town love concert here in Seoul that I first saw them. But they blew me away and I was an instant fan! So began the journey to figure out who they were exactly and what they were known for. Well, their very first mini album just came out and “Oh My Goddess” is the main track. What really blows me away about them is their guitarist. He rocked in concert and does an excellent job in the MV. So without further ado, I give you TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess.”
Well, I hope you enjoyed all the music!
T&S
K.C.
I mean, how could I NOT bring it back with all the amazing music coming out right now??
Each month I will showcase both a female singer/group and a male singer/group that have songs I’m totally digging at the moment.
And for this month I will show case two in each category because I’m so behind and such a failure! Lol.
First up is one of my all-time favorites! BoA!
BoA has a whole new CD out and I think her hit “Hurricane Venus” is probably my favorite song she had ever done. However, the song I am featuring this month is her newest song, “Copy and Paste”! Not only is the song good, but the dance moves are pretty wicked. Check her out! :
Next up is 2ne1!
I mean, how could I not… 2ne1 is probably the most kick-ass girl’s group out there. There is no beating them. Although 2ne1 had 3 new amazing song’s come out, I am picking “Can’t Nobody” for my monthly pick because well, it’s just the most bad-ass of the three. Not to mention I like the music video the best. Anyways, 2ne1’s new song “Can’t Nobody” is a must hear! Check it out! :
Now, on the other side of the gender scale we have two fabulous new songs, Taeyang’s “I’ll Be There” and TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”
Now Taeyang’s “I’ll be there” get’s special props from me because I love love love the music video! The dark, almost vampire feel is just awesome and I love the ending! What is also nice about Taeyang is that he is making his songs with English version. Unfortunately his English version change the lyrics and they aren’t as good…but it’s still much appreciated! Anyways, check out “I’ll Be There” below!
Lastly is TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”. Now the first time I heard this song I had no idea who TRAX was. In fact, it was in concert at the SM town love concert here in Seoul that I first saw them. But they blew me away and I was an instant fan! So began the journey to figure out who they were exactly and what they were known for. Well, their very first mini album just came out and “Oh My Goddess” is the main track. What really blows me away about them is their guitarist. He rocked in concert and does an excellent job in the MV. So without further ado, I give you TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess.”
Well, I hope you enjoyed all the music!
T&S
K.C.
On Saturday Gabi ad I decided that we would head out to Seoul International fireworks festival. Now, I should say that I am not a huge fireworks fan. I don’t really like the pop sound they make and I guess I’m just not as easily impressed as other people are by them. I always expect so much from the idea of brilliant lights in the sky and I am usually disappointed. However, I felt that I should at least see one fireworks display while I am here in Korea if for no other reason than comparison.
So Gabi and I headed out to Yeouido Han River Citizen Park. We got there by taxi and got dropped off at the perfect spot. We walked down a little path and were right there! There were tons of people there playing in the water, riding bikes, sitting and eating, flying kites… the whole vibe was just amazing. Not to mention music was playing and there were little performances going on throughout the park.
Well, turns out the show was featured directly in front of the 63 building and bridge by it. While we could see the big fireworks the little ones featured by the bridge were barely visible. This was a pretty big disappointment to me because I’d read about it and was hoping to see the whole production.
It also meant that we had to turn sideways, rather than facing the water, to see the show, making it not super comfortable.
However, the fireworks were very good. They had some spectacular ones that were colored fireworks and cascading fireworks combined. Those were by far my favorites.
One thing I did find interesting about the fireworks show was that it wasn’t one long show but a bunch of almost mini shows. It was like they did the firework displays in sets or bunches, so to speak.
We stuck around for three sets but then we decided we were all fireworked out (and cold to boot) so we headed out before the majority of the crowd.
Overall it was a pretty good show. I can’t say I was blown away but then I never really am from firework shows so that’s not saying much. I do wish I had known where the fireworks were going to be positioned so we could have had a better view but hey, you live and learn right? I did absolutely love the park and plan to go back very very soon! I wished I lived closer because that would probably be a daily visit for me if I did! If you live near Han River Citizen Park and have never been or are just looking for a nice place to relax by the water, you should totally check it out!
T&S
K.C.
