Jimmy Choo!

Many of you probably remember my excited blog entry after the Queen's Birthday Ball, where I (we) won the 500,000 Kw gift-card to Jimmy Choo (feel free to refresh your memory as needed...:-) Chris was hoping JC (that's what I'm calling them now...haha) also made men's shoes. I honestly believe that every gal who speaks English in Seoul knows about my certificate or knows someone who knows about the certificate! :-) Please don't think I was bragging...just very excited! I gained most of my initial information regarding the' general' location from some nice British gals from Pro- Nails....then I consulted with Bev and Joanna...then they consulted with their buddy Peck ...she contacted her husband's personal assistant to assist with locating the boutique (it had to be the flagship store...not from the various malls)...Peck called the store and put the info in her car navigation system...whew...it took a village to get me there! :-) The expiration date was 9/30/08 and there was no possible way I was going to let those little stilettos slip through my toes! Chris was also trying to locate the store through his navigation system and offered to search it out on a weekend. All of Seoul rose up to help me get these shoes....it was almost half the fun! We picked the day and Peck offered to take us across the river...near the Galleria Mall...down a back alley...I would still be walking the streets without assistance. Peck even contacted the store regarding parking...and we parked right in front of the entrance...I mean 2 feet from the door! Peck also brought a nice buddy who cracked us up calling her husband and friends giving them the 'Jimmy Choo' update! The two gals in the store did not speak a lot of English but they understood the 'language of footwear' I guess...:-) After much discussion...and examining my feet...they determined that my foot was 'big size very big"...I am an 8 1/2 (38 1/2) narrow...that is the largest size carried by Jimmy Choo in Korea. I was literally praying the shoes would fit...my backup plan was a cool red purse or evening bag. Maybe the 'larger' shoe size was a blessing in disguise...because only 8 pairs were available in my size...a little less overwhelming. The gals positioned themselves on the very 'mod' curved couches and enjoyed the trying-on and modeling process...almost as much as I did (maybe more!) :-) We really had a ball. Bev even brought me back to reality when I decided the $1,700 boots 'fit like a glove'....then we all discussed the benefits of 'classic' versus 'trendy'....I am sure Chris was thankful I had a full support team(and rational too) with me.... coming home with those stunning boots 'might' have been a tough one to explain.....but in all honestly....I absolutely LOVE the shoes. Everyone was so patient as I re-tried the shoes and discussed how/when /where I would wear them.....:-) After the big fun we headed to a trendy little restaurant just across the street. The booths were huge over-stuffed leather sofas with low coffee tables....another one of Peck's friends joined us for the continued "Jimmy Choo" celebration. We even decided the shoe bag was stunning! :-) I don't believe I've ever experienced a true 'runner's high' ...but this day had to be close...I must say this day went a long way in helping overcome some of my feelings of homesickness....plus I have some really, really nice buddies from this outing! O yes, one side note. Since 'clubs' seem so popular over here...we have decided to start a 'Jimmy Choo Club"....we are the only members...and you don't have to actually own a pair to join in on the fun...hahaha. Now to wear them!! ( I will blog the maiden voyage of the Jimmy Choo's). :-)

Incheon Pottery Village

The two pictures attached to this post were taken several weeks ago. It was an outing to the Pottery Village about an hour from Seoul. We were fortunate to have the services of Bev's driver for this outing. There were 4 of us....Peck is taking the picture...Bev to my left and Joanna to her's. Most of the vendors actually fabricate and fire the pottery right there. They also supply many of the local pottery shops....of course...we believe the prices were better going directly to the source! The funny thing about bargaining....they always seem to say "O, those prices are only for the Japanese...not you!"....I'm not so sure about that...but a pretty good sales technique. I found 2 really nice pieces and a Soju set for Chris' birthday. It was interesting watching them work with the pottery design and glazes. The traditional type of pottery is green in color...and called Celadon. www.metmuseum.org/explore/celadon/html/startpage.htm We could have stayed all day I believe! Between shopping we had a great Korean barbecue lunch with LOTS of garlic. I even assisted with manning the grill and cutting the meat with scissors. It was a traditional restaurant with floor seating (grab a little pillow). The Kimchee was really fresh and tasty. After eating we journeyed back to the village to complete our shopping. I found a few gifts and hope to return again before Christmas. We told Bev we might need to hijack a ride with her husband and his driver some morning....his office is in the same area as the Pottery Village!

Changdeokgung Palace

During the Chusok holiday we decided to take advantage of having less crowds here in Seoul. This is the biggest holiday of the year and most people travel to visit their families and/or places or birth. Our Korean friends say it is a bit like Thanksgiving in the U.S. It is tied to the full moon so the actual holiday varies in month and day each year. Many people take this holiday to travel out of the country also...many went to Vietnam and Thailand. Next year we will have a better idea of how things run and where to go.

The photo with this post was taken at the Changdeokyung Palace Secret Garden. It was really beautiful. A French fellow with a very high-tech camera took the picture. He looked at my simple Kodak with almost confusion....haha. I hope to 'upgrade' soon. My Dad sent the camera edition of Consumer Reports...so we are doing our research!

A little background regarding the palace. It was built in 1405, the fifth year of King Taejong's reign during the Joseon Dynasty. As is the case with most of the palaces and temples...it was burned during the Japanese invasion . It was rebuilt during the reign of King Kwanghaegun (1608-1623), and functioned as the main palace for the longest period in Joseon history. www.cdg.go.kr We took the English speaking tour so there was quite a variety of people. I have included a few additional photos.

After the tour we walked around Insadong for a bit but quickly realized that most of our favorite places to browse were closed for the holiday. We called Chris' buddy Rogelio (he lives near the palace) for dinner. As we were leaving 'Somerset' where he lives, we walked through a revolving door to exit. We were right behind a German group and we spotted a Korean woman standing at an angle to the door. All of a sudden she rushed the glass encasement and actually broke her glasses and cut her face. It was the loudest 'thud' I have heard in quite a while. We felt so sorry for her. Her family rushed to her aide so they didn't need further assistance...but now when I wear my glasses I do a 'sweep' of the area to make sure I'm not walking into a glass panel! :-)

Asian Flower Design Class

Well, it has been an interesting day. The flower arrangement in this posting was designed by me (with assistance from our teacher). I am thankful that Bev mentioned that I may be having my class today....at OUR apartment! I had it in my mind that the class would start next Wednesday....7 students arrived to our place ready for some learning...and I am really glad that it worked out. You should have seen the bundles of flowers, containers, tools and general equipment that the teacher and her daughter brought! Of course when purchasing our trimming tools...I had to pick out the fanciest and brightest pink tools! Today the goal (I think) was to understand the triangle shape for your arrangement. We performed a lot of prep to the branches and flowers prior to placement in the container. You avoid the same height flowers and maintain that triangle shape throughout. Openness in the arrangement is encouraged. Our instructor brought handouts with the exact angles for each part of the triangle. It was amazing. She did a little critique and "tweaked" the arrangement for each student. There was quite the variety of students...Michigan, England, Nigeria (I think the Ambassador's wife), Brazil, India and England. Everyone was very nice and did not seem to mind that I wasn't fully prepared for the 'hen party' as Chris called it. All in all it was a good learning experience and I was pleased with my arrangement. I took pictures of everyone with their creation. To be honest, I almost cried when they all showed up...but decided the show must go on...and it did. :-)

After the clean-up I filled Chris in and headed to Itaewon....yes, to the Turkish Kabob place (Sultan). We tried to go yesterday (Tuesday) but they were closed. When I arrived it was like a homecoming! :-) My favorite gal was there and really seemed pleased to see me. She is deaf and mute...but for the first time she made some sounds and tried to say some things to me. She wanted me to write my name...so I wrote it in English and Korean (I wasn't showing off...I wasn't sure if she read English) then she wrote her name in Korean! I believe she is married to the owner...she also wrote both their names in Korean . When I first walked in she brought her husband from the back to say hello...she then proceeded to tell/sign to the fellows working the Kabob stands (her husband had a phone call) to make the Kabob's BIG! All of the workers are Turkish except for her...she is Korean. She made me laugh signing that her husband can eat 7 Kabobs and appears to be getting chunky (that's my interpretation of her signing). The one guy asked me if I wanted spicy and what items....she looked at him... and made a motion like "I know exactly how she likes her Kabob's...just follow my lead!) I would have to say she is probably one of the kindest people I have met....there is something truly special about her. I wish I could communicate better with her...but it is amazing how much info you can gather just with hand gestures. Visiting with her today was probably the highlight. I almost felt choked up as I walked home.....

Vietnamese Tea Ceremony 9/1/08

I hope everyone enjoyed their Labor Day Holiday! I enjoyed a Vietnamese Tea Ceremony lesson. I almost missed the class due to over 24 hours of continuous rain. I need to remember to leave extra-early if I hope to catch a taxi. Every taxi was filled...then I spotted a nice gal who offered to share her taxi with me! I was so relieved. She is a banker from New Zealand. I tried to pay for the taxi...but she 'wouldn't think of it' . I will chalk that up to another nice person in the world! (I did send her an email thanking her and that I made it to the tea class on time...she emailed back and we are going to meet next week!)

The photo was the instructor Kim-Hoa Teague. She lives on the US base and her husband is with the Embassy...and originally from North Carolina! ( So I am sure he is nice!) She was six years old when they escaped from Vietnam. Her Father was a diplomat and they actually lived in N. Vietnam then to S. Vietnam then to Charleston, SC. Her story was so interesting and colorful. I loved it. She not only is a good story-teller but a real tea expert. She served us as you would serve guests in Vietnam. Some interesting points- the most honored guest sits directly across from the server and is served first (always with the flowers or decorative part of the tea cup facing the guest). The next person served would be her Mother (sitting to her right) then to the person directly to her left. The tea tray had a slide in the bottom to catch in stray water or tea. Her husband bought it for her on one of his trips...the home was full of beautiful pieces that really told a story of their lives. I especially enjoyed viewing their wedding photographs. Although they married in Washington, DC...she wore a traditional wedding gown (made by her Mother and sisters) and they had a big engagement party (in the Vietnamese tradition) ...the only person missing was the groom-to-be..he was stationed in California at the time.

I attended the lesson with about 8 other ladies from all walks of life (through SIWA). Marina (Russia) is the coordinator for these outings and does a super job. I cracked up when one of the gals said she was from Royal Oak (MI). I told her I would be happy to introduce her to another new comer from Berkley (MI). Well, a lady across the room yells "You mean Bezerkley!!!"...I think she thought I meant Berkley, CA...hahaha. I told her their could be some beserks in the Michigan Berkley also...I wasn't sure...:-) She was from Virginia...so I'm not sure where all this came from. haha. She was busy chatting with a gal who wanted to get married in Borneo..."Or somewhere super exotic"...I actually came to learn about tea....so I tried to block them out of my mind. :-)

After sampling at least 7 different teas plus her personal mix...we went to the dining area for all homemade treats....lavender tea cookies, Earl Grey cookies, rice cakes covered in tea and the best part....crunchy snacks made from Lotus flowers...addictive! She brought out some beautiful gowns from Vietnam and spoke more about the different tea cups/tea sets. These pictures are from a nice German gal that also attended...plus she gave me a ride in her new Mercedes. As we left, each of us received a little coin purse (I picked red...she said that was her favorite color) filled with cute little candle and a flower bulb that opens into a beautiful flower when placed in water. I think the flower also contains green tea and a string to hold it together (remove after in water). She said these are very expensive...but in Vietnam a few cents. She places them in beautiful pieces of crystal or glass stemware and uses them for decoration. She will do another class later in the Fall...I hope to go!

Namdaemun Market

August 27th was a 'welcome back coffee' for the SIWA ladies group. www.siwapage.com It is a really helpful group, with ladies from all countries who come together for cultural exchange, socializing, community education, classes, tours....very beneficial and fun. The speaker this week was a British fellow who coordinates the Seoul Global Center http://global.seoul.go.kr The Seoul government actually supports this organization to foster good relations with the expat community here in Seoul. There are usually tours to sign-up for and I was happy to register for the Ginseng Tour. I will post that story for sure...it was a lot of fun. After the meeting/coffee we had some lunch...I tried out a few of my 'newer' Korean phrases with a very sweet Korean gal who joined us for lunch...she seemed entertained by my phrases...but the Korean people are very polite in that way...so I hope she really enjoyed it. :-) After lunch the real action began! I have two faithful readers of my blog...Bev (S. Africa) and Joanna (England). I promised to give them a 'shout-out' in my next writing and due to the delay in posting this story...I truly hope they haven't given up on reading! :-) I was really glad they invited me to experience the Namdaemun Market. I cannot take credit for this picture..I borrowed it from another gal....someone who remembered HER camera! Anyway, we were dropped of from the taxi and immediately Bev helped identify landmarks so we could figure out where we were . It was truly amazing. You name it...you can probably find it here. The very first stand we came upon...a University of Kentucky hooded t-shirt. Bev spotted it...I can't believe I missed it...my head was probably still spinning from all of the excitement. Of course for 5,000 Won...I bought it! I haven't quite learned how to say ...'how much?'....hopefully soon. I'm still saying phrases like 'I'm an American" "Where is the British Embassy?' 'What is that?" "Who are you?" "Whose is this?" "This is mine" and my new favorite...my teacher asked me..."What does 'Yikes' mean?" (I must say it frequently and not realize it.) I explained what I think 'yikes' means...she laughed and said it would be "I go" so now I say "I go" :-)

Back to the market....beautiful flower market and all kinds of things you would need for a wedding reception (very popular here in Korea). I must return to the area with rows of gift bags, wrapping paper, ribbon....if I can remember where it is. We went down into a basement area with all types of liquor. The most interesting to me....and entertaining...the shaped bottles of cognac....dragons, lions, statue of liberty, sharks and of course seeing all of the "Couvoisier". This cognac was made quite popular in several 'rap' songs. Brian, Sam, and Rob....my former cohorts from St. John ...know these songs very well.....:-) Anyway, I got a real kick out of it!

The Namdemun Market is located in Namchang-Dong. Open Daily 10-9/midnight-4am (m-f). It was established in 1414...oldest and largest traditional market in Korea. About 10,000 stores offering about anything you could be looking for...I'm learning that you must buy it when you see it...locating the store again could be a challenge (for me at least). Bev took us to her favorite 'fruit man' and I bought some good Avocados and Chris made some tasty guacamole...we were really missing that! After shopping we stopped for a cool drink. We all had lemonade. It is different than lemons/sugar/water. It contains lemons with a peel, Chilsung Cider and possibly a sweet syrup (not sure about that). It was very refreshing....and we were able to continue our journey. As we exited the restaurant we were met with thousands of Monks coming up the street...literally. The interesting thing about these Monks...they appeared quite angry. (Again, where was my camera???). We just happened upon a Buddhist Protest March...protesting what they deem discrimination against Buddhist's. (Later I read a bit about the issue...and I think a few temples were mistakenly omitted from a map and it spiraled into shouts of discrimination.....plus the President of Korea is Presbyterian...so I think they are making a bit of a reverse-discrimination against President Lee Myung-bak...for being a Christian. From what I can tell...he is doing a good job. They would also like the Police Chief to resign his post. You may have seen the demonstrations on the news. Check out the Buddhists March pictures on http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,411541,00.html And just think...I was there...without my camera.....:-)

Once we realized we were in the middle of some 'not so cheerful Monks' we walked toward a very large Department Store...Shinsagae. This was the same place (I believe) where I attended the Beef cooking class (Joanna also attended that event). Beautiful shopping area....even the food area was spectacular! I picked up a few things for dinner....stood wide-eyed at the great looking pastries/cakes...smelled the fresh bread....yum! One thing to realize while shopping (I didn't really think of it)....what you buy...you must carry home...lesson learned. Joanna was taking the subway, Bev the bus...and thankfully she tracked a taxi down for me...there was no way I would be able to stand on the bus with two bags of groceries....and you know from my previous blogs...sometimes I don't stay upright very well...if the bus driver is speedy! http://maryeats.com/2006/11/10/shinsaegae-food-finds/ Click to check out the food section of Shinsagae! We also noticed the Dior ads contain large photos of Sharon Stone. I guess they removed her from the Chinese Dior campaign...but not the Korean.

I had a great day and hope to return again for more adventures!