Little Stories That Make Up Life

Life is an interesting mix of American and Korean...people, language, currency, food, advertising.

One day we went to Beartree Park to see, well, bears and trees. 

The website had both English and Korean options; They had two sets of brochures as well. After walking through the park we went to the park restaurant for lunch. The menu posted outside of the restaurant had English headers for types of food but all the foods listed in each category were written in Korean. When we went to order we found out they didn't have a menu in English. It was time to make a random choice by pointing to a word under a section. We ended up pointing to 'Combination Pizza.' We kept trying to ask how big it was and would motion with our hands. The waiter kept telling us it was thin. Alright then, sounds good. :) Here's what we ended up with:

So what's on the pizza? The normal stuff: pepperoni, bacon, olives, green pepper, onion. The new stuff: potato (strips) and 'fruit cocktail.' From what we could tell there were peach and pineapple type fruits, though not quite the same. The clear/white fruit was the most interesting to me. I think it's longan, which translates to 'dragon eye.' This site has a neat overview of them. Overall a tasty lunch.

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One day we picked a restaurant that had both big pictures of their dishes and some English and Korean writing on the outside. After going in we found out that it is a more traditional restaurant, as you remove your shoes and sit on the floor. I was so excited about the whole experience! 

And then reality kicked in. The floor was nice and warm to sit on but our legs were a bit squished trying to fit cross-legged under the table. During the meal both of us had feet fall asleep. After getting settled in I realized we were never brought a menu. We tried asking for one and they pointed to a large menu written on the wall, in Korean. So we ended up getting up from the table and pointing to a random picture of a dish that was posted in the window. The real life version wasn't quite the same as the picture but we ended up with some sort of pork-in-bone stew. It was a little spicy for me, but overall a decent meal. 

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You know the huge 'Hollywood' sign in LA? Apparently Pyeongtaek has one too, but it's really hard to get a photo of all the letters!

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Here's a video of our GPS-it's not the best for showcasing all of it's sound effects and interesting comments but it's all I have right now.

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I got a haircut! I didn't actually want to get a haircut as I'd been enjoying the length but after not trimming it at all for months it was quite damaged with lots of split ends. Since I was invited to go along to a salon I figured I might as well cut a few inches off and have healthier, albeit shorter locks and do a better job of growing it out. Here's the before and after shots:

The salon that was chosen was a high-end place and I've only been in that salon so I have no idea what of my experience is typical and what was specific to that company. But it was an experience! 

One of the biggest differences that stuck out to me is that there were always two to three people working on my hair instead of one stylist as I've always had in the past. They definitely had a hierarchy in place among the workers. The top lady spoke English well and she's who I told what I wanted done. The other two spoke a little English but mostly just followed directions spoken in Korean by the top lady. The second girl had quite a bit of freedom but even when they'd speak in Korean I could see she was put in her place by #1 sometimes. I felt bad for the #3 girl. She mostly stood and observed, but also had jobs like straightening the cord of the blow dryer.

The two girls who spent more time with me were so very precise and gentle. I was given a lap cushion and magazine immediately and during the stay was brought a plate of snacks and offered multiple beverages. During the haircut process I was  even given a second lap cushion so that I could continue reading undisturbed while allowing them to cut my hair. Ha!


After the shampoo I was given a lengthy head massage over the sink. It was sometimes gentle, sometimes intense and unlike anything I've experienced. The massage went along the hairline, the entire head, neck and even to the shoulders. I'm still not sure if some of it hurt or felt good! 

The hair cutting process was interesting to watch. Normally a stylist will clip your hair up in a section or two, comb and cut, then release more hair from the clip to cut the new section. Not here! This is where having three people came in handy. Instead of using clips, girls #2 & 3 would have to hold a section of hair up in the air while lady #1 cut the part she wanted to. Sometimes the lower girls would hold a clear face shield by me so I wouldn't have anything drop on me. And if some clippings did get on my face they'd wipe it away with a little sponge. Ridiculous. I'm not one to be picky about my hair so had a fun time observing and am happy with how it turned out.