Saying Goodbye

Today was my last full day in China! I thought I would take it easy and have a restful day before traveling... but it was not to be. First I was running around all morning trying to input grades and turn in paperwork (I'm still not done). Then I went downtown with some students to eat hotpot... after which we spent 4 hours shopping. Whoops. I made it back just in time to get paid and then go to the market with other students to get ingredients for dinner.

My student, Lancer, cooked a giant feast for us!

And then afterwards, as we were all saying goodbye, we were all standing around and the students started looking a little emotional, so Betsy said, "It looks like we're about to do trust falls."

So of course, we did.

And then finally I went around and hugged everyone, and they left, making room for Adam and Laurie to come in and say goodbye! WHEW! What a crazy day, but no better way to end my stay in China :)

Spicy Chinese egg noodles recipe

Because I am leaving in two days, one of my closest friends/students here who cooks at my house almost once a week has been trying to teach me all of her Chinese recipes so that I can cook it for my family and friends back home.

The great thing is, they're all REALLY EASY.

Let's take this spicy Chinese egg noodle dish, for example.

Ingredients:
-iceberg lettuce
-thin egg noodles
-soy sauce
-vinegar
-chili oil
-regular oil
-salt
-egg
-green onion to garnish

Step 1: Boil some pieces of lettuce. Put cooked lettuce in a bowl.
Step 2: Boil noodles until soft. Put in bowl on top of lettuce.
Step 3: Add a little of all the rest of the ingredients! You can make it as spicy or salty as you want. It's up to your tastes!
Step 4: Fry an egg and put it on top.

THAT'S IT! YOU'RE DONE! It's so quick and easy that I don't even have pictures for the steps. And it's so delicious! There are no measurements because it's up to you how much you want to put in. I would probably start off with putting more than a teaspoon of each ingredient, tasting it, and then adding more sauces/spices until I like it.

I seriously make this almost every day. Let me know if you want me to cook it for you when I get home! :)

My Favorite Things: Tokyo

I'm back with a recap of my Tokyo trip from ages ago!

So here are some of my favorite things:

1. Harajuku

During our first full day in Tokyo, Richard and I headed over to the Shibuya area to see Meiji Jingu, Yoyogi Park, and Takeshita Street in Harajuku. Meiji Jingu and Yoyogi Koen were great nature-y areas in the middle of the busy city. It was actually quite a nice break from all the people rushing to do their own business. However, as it was the middle of winter, the scenery was a little dry and dead.

The not so vibrant scenery of Yoyogi Park in winter.

Takeshita Dori in Harajuku, however, was full of life! Harajuku is world famous for being the center of crazy Japanese fashion, and Takeshita Dori is just a long street for people to walk through lined with clothes/shoes shops down both sides. A lot of the shop owners will bargain with you, which, although a given in China, is not so common in Japan. Richard bought these crazy shoes here for 8000 yen, bargained down from like 140,000 yen or something like that.

We had to go meet a friend for lunch, so I didn't get time to look around longer and shop :( but I definitely recommend checking this place out!

2. Akihabara

If you are familiar with Japanese pop culture, you probably have heard of Akihabara (or Akiba). It is known for being the geek center of Tokyo. Seriously. This place is famous for its electronics and its anime. This is where they have the Gundam cafe and the AKB48 cafe (and maid cafes, which I didn't go to, but I did run into a maid in the bathroom).

If you've heard of Akiba, you've probably also heard that it can get sketchy. This is truth. There are a lot of strange and most likely unholy things going on here, so don't go around walking down too many dark alleys or stores with creepy men. However, DO wander around the malls connected to the subway station and the Yodobashi electronics store! You'll find all sorts of unique and interesting gadgets. The 6th floor of the Yodobashi is just a huuuuuuuuge floor completely dedicated to children's games, and it kept Richard and me occupied for a couple hours at least, before meeting up with another friend for dinner. We bought a lot of our souvenirs here actually.

Hello Kitty section of the toy floor of the Yodobashi electronics store.

3. Speaking of all these meals with friends, one of my favorite things is definitely the FOOD. The first thing Richard and I did was hit up a ramen place.

Don't be fooled, friends who have never had ramen in a restaurant before. This is no Top Ramen. This is the real deal. The way ramen is supposed to be cooked. And it is awesome.

Also hit up an izakaya if you have a chance. This is a more traditional Japanese restaurant, where you  take off your shoes and sit on the floor. And often there are private rooms or at least partitions that section you off from the other tables. These places get more expensive, but Iino-sensei, my Japanese TA from my freshmen year, was kind enough to treat us to this izakaya in Akiba.

The room we were sitting in.

So delicious!

Aaaaand on the other end of the dining spectrum, don't forget to hit up a konbini (Japanese for convenience store). 7-11's are so much better in Japan. They have awesome snacks, and really cheap options for lunch, if you are looking to save cash. Just pick up a few nigiri (rice balls) and you're good to go! Richard and I bought various flavors of bread buns and juices from the convenience store near our inn every morning for breakfast. I love the apple juice :P It tastes like real apples! I know that sounds stupid, but really, if you think about it, I have yet to taste an apple juice in America that actually tastes like a real apple.

Also try McDonalds. They have stuff on the menu they don't have in America. Like shaka shaka chicken!

4. Ueno Zoo

I know you might think that zoos can't be that different from country to country.. and for the most part, that's true. BUT I just think zoos are fun. AND it is really interesting to see what kind of animals are popular in different countries. In America, you always see tigers and lions and elephants being featured in all the promotional stuff, but in Japan, you'll see capybaras and red pandas on all the souvenirs. I bet a lot of you don't even know what a capybara or a red panda is!

I don't have a picture from Tokyo, but here's a capybara from Osaka!

Red Panda!

Anyway, the Ueno Zoo just happened to be really awesome the day we went. All the animals were super active. Plus, it was only 600 yen per person (bring your passport to get the tourist discount). Also, even though I love how huge and awesome the San Diego Zoo is, I always get super exhausted by the time I've finished seeing all the animals there. The Ueno Zoo was the perfect size to go around and look  at all the animals, but without getting your feet all sore. Be sure to get yourself a red panda souvenir before you leave! I bought Richard a red panda hand puppet.

So those were some of my favorite things! Other things worth mentioning:

1. Tokyo Tower

This is pretty much just like every other observation tower in every other big city, but if you're going for the touristy landmark places, might as well stop by!

2. Staying in a ryokan

A ryokan is a traditional Japanese inn. Ours operated kind of like a hostel, with shared bathrooms and towels we could rent, but we had to bring basically all our own stuff. Our room had tatami mat floors and we slept in individual Japanese futon instead of a western bed. A futon in Japan is not like a fold out couch, which is what futons seem to be in America. A futon in Japan is basically like a thick mat and blanket set on the floor that you sleep on at night and then roll up during the day. Thank goodness our room had a heater, but still, bamboo is not a great insulator. Basically, it is way less comfortable than a nice hotel, but it feels very homey and cozy. If you want a cultural experience, I definitely recommend it.

3. Trains/Subway

IT'S KINDA CONFUSING. Richard and I actually never got lost, but still.. the subway is convenient and easy to get places, but the hard part is just figuring out which route to take. Our advice: Buy a suica card (the local version of like a metro card) and figure out how you are getting to places before you leave. Japan has many different railroad companies, each with their own set of lines, which means to get from one place to another, you will have several options, and the railways don't always connect all nicely. You may transfer several times and walk in and out of stations, so just make sure you know where you're going.

4. The Scramble

The Scramble is a famous landmark in Tokyo... there are tons of photographs of it and it's been plenty of movies. It's basically one huge crazy crosswalk. If you're going to Shibuya station to go shop, eat, or walk around, you'll see the Scramble. We had coffee at the Starbucks overlooking the Scramble, which was pretty cool.

See the Starbucks?

5. Tokyo Disney Sea

Tokyo Disney Sea... where to even begin with this one. First of all, the detail put into the aesthetics of this theme park is just mind blowing. Starting from the tram ride, with Mickey shaped windows and handlebars, all the way to the Mermaid Lagoon, this place is just beautiful. Their Mediterranean section was really romantic and pretty, and even though I've never been to the Mediterranean, it vaguely reminded me of being at Olive Garden, so they must've gotten something right, right? They also had an Arabian Coast section, complete with a two story carousel. I rode the camel.

Remember in Kingdom Hearts, how you got to go to all the different Disney worlds and walk around and explore and stuff? That's what it felt like.

They also had really awesome snacks! So many different flavored popcorns! Richard and I tried the cranberry and the strawberry.

Richard and I saw a couple shows too, and they were crazy awesome. Like floating things on the water, Mickey disappearing from one float and reappearing on another in a flash of fireworks, every Disney character every coming out and dancing in the crowd, lots of singing, etc etc.

HOWEVER, TOKYO DISNEY SEA HAD THE LONGEST LINES I HAVE EVER BEEN IN IN MY LIFE, with the exception of maybe comic-con, but even then, the comic-con lines might have even gone faster than these ones. This theme park is NOT really focused on the rides, even though they do have some cool ones - Journey to the Center of the Earth, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull or whatever it's called. If you don't have a fast pass or you don't single rider it, I'm gonna say it's not worth it. So basically, this is a great place for older kids/adults to enjoy the shows and the atmosphere and ONE ride if you have the patience to wait that long, but not really a family place.

Our faces on Tower of Terror after waiting for 2+ hours.

One last thing to mention... and that is Duffy. Duffy is a Disney character - Mickey Mouse's teddy bear (Duffy also has a girlfriend - Shellie May). All the Japanese girls I saw at Tokyo Disney Sea were just OBSESSED with Duffy or Shellie May. I am not kidding. I honestly think some of them were a little crazy. They had Duffy necklaces and stuffed animals, carrying them around like babies. They bought little outfits to dress their stuffed animals in.. it was just insane. At the end of the day, as Richard and I were walking through the gift shops, it was so crowded with girls buying Duffy gear that I felt like I was back in China. It was that bad. Of course, Richard and I bought matching Duffy and Shellie May keychains before we left.

I don't know why we didn't take a picture of our Duffy and Shellie May, but here is a picture from Google images.

So that was my Tokyo experience! What do you think?
-Kristen

My Favorite Things: Seoul, South Korea

Welcome back to my second post in my series of blogs about my winter travels. My second stop, after Shanghai, was Seoul, South Korea!

I think I was definitely blessed in that unlike the typical tourist, I had many native Korean friends who were gracious enough to show Richard and me around. My lovely friend Semi even let me stay at her apartment in Hongdae. Without Semi and BoYoung and Ran and Luigi and all my other friends, knowing where to go and how to order probably would've been much more difficult, but here are some of my favorite things from Korea anyway, and if you go, you can do them too!

1. Shopping in Kangnam

I love this area. The subway station at Kangnam has a HUUUGE underground shopping area, where Richard and I stocked up on BB creams at just a few of the MANY cosmetics stores. I'm not kidding about the "many." Literally every other store was a cosmetics store.

Richard buying his cosmetics.

Above ground there is a whole street of shops and boutiques, including popular department stores like Uniqlo. I bought a nice coat at one of the boutiques!

There was also a SUPER SUPER CUTE knick knacks store that sold pretty much everything: stationary, house things, makeup, hair accessories... I wanted to buy everything. Richard bought these boot holders for his mom. I don't have a picture of it, but it was pretty much like this picture I found on google images:

Kangnam is also where Ran treated us to a delicious duck BBQ. Yum! Thanks Ran! <3 <3 <3

2. The Teddy Bear Museum at the N Seoul Tower

THIS PLACE WAS SO CUTE. The N Seoul Tower is an observatory tower where you can go up and look out over Seoul. On the first floor of the tower they have a teddy bear museum! It's a walk through museum that displays the history of Korea from ancient times all the way to present day using teddy bears! The bears are dressed as people and even move in some of the displays. I took a picture with every one.

Look! An ancient Korean bear scholar!

I'll spare you and only put up one picture of me posing with life size bears.

The view from the top of the tower was really pretty at night.

Outside, there is a super couply patio area, where lovebirds can go and leave a lock on the fence as some sort of symbol of everlasting love or whatever. I don't know - I prefer the bears.

Being couply

After leaving the tower, Luigi led us back to his university where we ate jokbal (pig's feet) at a nearby restaurant. It was super delicious, but it looked like the restaurant doesn't see tourists very often. If I wanted to go back there again (which I do), I would definitely need Luigi to take me haha.

It was so delicious we forgot to take a picture before we ate it all.

3. Hongdae

If you are a young adult or want to experience Korean contemporary culture, this is the place to be. It's like a college student's dream. Hongdae is an area just full of little shops: coffee shops, especially, but also restaurants, boutiques, cosmetics stores, etc. Seriously, this place is just PACKED with college-age students filling up every coffee shop on every corner of every street. Semi, Boyoung, Richard and I had coffee at the place where they filmed the Coffee Prince Korean drama.

We also met up with our other friends, Min, HaJin, Emi, Kim, Luigi, and Seulbee to get kimchi jigae (kimchi stew) for dinner.

Yummm

Afterwards Seulbee suggested we go to a more Korean style pub to drink makgeolli, a traditional Korean rice wine that they drink out of bowls.

It was really fun just to hang out here with friends and experience some contemporary Korean culture!

4. Brunch buffet at the Hilton in Seoul with BoYoung.

Okay, this is probably not something most people do when they visit Korea, BUT how could I not mention our fabulous meal?? BoYoung was a great tour guide of Seoul, and on our last day there, her parents treated us to a buffet at the Millenium Hilton hotel right outside Seoul station. It was such a treat! :)

Other things we did:

Of course Richard and I also did other touristy things like visit Gyeongbokgung (the palace), Cheonggyecheon (manmade waterway), Myeongdong (more shopping), Insadong (souvenir shopping), and Bukchon (traditional village), which were very fun and interesting. If we were to come back, though, we probably won't need to do all those tourist things again. We just want to hang out with friends. :)

Food:

Richard and I were really glad we tried the jokbal because it's definitely something not really common in southern California, at least to our knowledge. Semi and BoYoung took us to more places to eat in InsaDong and around SamcheongDong but I can't remember the names of the food, sadly. BUT one other food we really liked, besides all the delicious things already mentioned, was this spicy ddukbokki from Hot Dduk in Kangnam!

But really, EVERYTHING we ate was so good. I love Korean food. I will definitely go back to Korea just to eat and shop.

Whew! And that's my Korean experience! As you can see, I loved it!

Next up: Tokyo!

My Favorite Things: Shanghai

For almost all of February, I was traveling around Asia visiting different friends and exploring different cities. I figured that blogging about every detail of my whole month would probably take another whole month or more, so I decided to just share a few highlights from each place.

So here is the first installment of my new blog post series: My Favorite Things! Today's post topic - Shanghai!

Of course my number one favorite thing has to be seeing my boyfriend after 6 months :)

Richard at breakfast our first morning in Shanghai

But in terms of touristy things and seeing the city, here are a couple things I really liked:

1. Souvenir shopping around the Yu Yuan Garden and Temple of the Town God.

There are tons of shops all selling very Chinese style souvenirs.

The temple was super crowded because it was right around Chinese New Year!

I bought this teapot (and matching teacups)!

Richard, with his Chinese bargaining skills, also helped me buy some tea at one of the many tea shops to give away to friends! And he bought some pretty paintings on scrolls that I don't have pictures of to give to his boss.

One word of warning, though, I thought the food sold around the little shops there was just okay. But maybe that's just due to my American taste buds. Next time, I would rather spend more money and eat at Din Tai Feng :P

2. The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium!

I just think aquariums are cool, and this one has the longest underwater tunnel in the world (at least that's what I heard). Here are some pictures from inside the tunnel.

The aquarium is also a short walk away from the Jinmao Observation Tower... which, okay, wasn't the most exciting thing in the world. Observation towers are nice, and I like getting to see the whole city, but now that I've done it once, I don't need to do it again for a while, especially at a price of 100 RMB a person, which I think is pretty expensive for China.

View from the top. You can see the Oriental Pearl Tower!

At least I can say I've been once, though!

Overall, I really enjoyed Shanghai. There's good food and some fun things to see. I don't know if it would keep me entertained for more than 4 days, and you have to be okay with crowds (this is China), but I would definitely like to go back someday :)

Korea blog post coming soon!