My weekend/the longest post I will probably ever post

I left my USB cord at home so for now pictures will have to wait, before I go into my weekend festivities, yes I managed to do laundry and I am quite proud of myself.

On Friday my co-teacher and her best friend (soon to be office mate) took me to a traditional Korean meal at a place called Pig House. That's right they spell it in Korean letters but it is an English name. The Pig House.

Its kind of like the Strip Club downtown where you cook the meat yourself, but its WAY different as in the waitress came over like three times to flip our meat because we forgot and she didn't want it to get overcooked.

So first you cook them meat, then you cut it (yes cut, with scissors) into smaller chunks cook a little more. Then you take a big lettuce leaf put a big mint leaf on it put some chopped veggies (like a coleslaw...not really spicy but more flavors than just mayo), then you put a slice of raw garlic, some sauce (like a chipotle kind of but not as bbqey), some onions marinated in soy sauce. and the meat. Then you shove the whole thing in your mouth and try and chew and swallow..oh yes this is NOT a date food, unless the person already knows and loves you.

So basically you make little lettuce wraps. I had them with pork (the korean word for the part of the pork translates to fat back...I don't cook so I don't know what part it corresponds to but it was delicous) and beef (kolbi, kolby?) overall quite tastey.

We had cold noodles (which was you guessed it cold noodles, in a soupy thing with a cold egg and mustard...I'd eat it but I really don't know who comes up with these things. I guess it is like their gazpacho as they eat it in the summer.

Then there was one food...I really cant describe...it was like eating soap...but not all together unpleasant. ..I guess Koreans really dig it I'll ask Gaeul sometime to spell it for me.

We also had some spicy crab which was delicous but hard to eat with chopsticks. What else? Oh a really good desert that was kind of like a snow cone, but with beans and marshmallows (kind of like what dad gets from the pho place every once in a while)

OK, so that was enough food to kill a small army, but I wanted to stock my fridge a little so I went to homeplus (like a super walmart/target but a little more expensive and LOTS more staff...yes StAff not stUff, people are yelling at you left and right about promotions and deals and thank goodness I don't understand a word of it and can easily ignore them...the food sample ladies are always nice though, they say "HOT" very loudly and slowly whenever giving me food and then they smile). I bought, cups, mugs, bowls, a strainer, some pasta, pasta sauce, cheese(like kraft singles but korean...their cheese slection is either...erm...simple plasticy lunch stuff or gouda...no just block of cheddar) , tortillas(no corn just flour :-( ) and bleach :-) My bathroom is supposed to be white and it WILL be white gosh darn it...plus some mold killer that I think is just bleach but it says mold killer and thats what I want to do so yeah I bought that.

When at homeplus one of my students saw me, I have no clue who she is but I am the only white person at the school so she has a one up on me, "Tacher, Miss English Teacher Careesa Pick" Koreans are like Mexcians as "I" means "EE" so I am CAREESSA Pick...a very short fast e for Peck almost like Pick.

Me: Hello how are you
Her: I am fine how are you
Me: I am good (three second pause) I am getting silverware
Her: Oh....Good Bye!

So yes that was my lovely exchange.

I then took the wrong way home and about...the entire legally blonde soundtrack later, was home. Once home I could not open one jar of pasta sauce luckily I bought two...the other will just have to wait.

Watched some really bad movie that wasn't that bad (I bought it for about $3) and fell asleep. Woke up and ... there's smoke outside my window...FANTASTIC!

Turns out some building near me burnt...sirens and lots of fun stuff. I stayed inside and made my bathroom whiter, made some pasta and overall had a very unproductive day....oh I watched a James Bond marathon always good times :-)

Sunday, woke up, made eggs (I have a stove...I have no idea how to use said stove, but I figured out how to poach, and scramble eggs, make pasta, potstickers and...ok so far thats it in the microwave) realized I have no bread or mustard and I forgot to buy a cutting knife.

Walk back to homeplus, NEVER AGAIN will I shop at homeplus on a Sunday. I almost died! It was so crowded!!! And everyone had shopping carts (I prefer the handbasket) and I was like darting and dodging and jumping and leaving aisles/getting stuck because I couldn't fit and it was NOT FUN! I don't usually get claustrophobic but this was BAD! However I managed to buy mustard, pepper, more silverware, bread, veggies, knife, bottle opener, can opener, and other fun stuff picked up a bottle of white wine that looked ok (by the way my college friends will probably be more amused than the family but a bottle of boons farm is like $5 over here...and why would they even import that stuff???) Yellow Tail runs about $12.

Figured I'd pick up a bottle of water near my house as I want to get a six pack but don't want to carry 12 liters of water home. Walk home (yep I took the wrong way again) nope can't stop by the store, why? Its filled with smoke! It is not on fire, but the same building that was the day before is and is filling the street with smoke. Unlike the San Diego fire however this smelled like candles or cinnamon, like a spice shop or candle shop had burnt actually quite pleasant. So I have to double back, the long way get home and put veggies away, put wine in freezer, take cold shower and open the bottle of wine...it is not awful, but it doesn't change the fact that I don't speak Korean. My apartment has a...PA system (I guess) and every once in a while the guy comes on and announces something...I never have any idea what he's saying and I assume its things like, "We're painting the stairs" since the stairs were recently painted etc. But when there's a huge fire a block away I just hope its not, "Evacuate the building". So ignorance is bliss and I go to sleep.

I wake up and hey! Smoke is gone, fire is gone, everything is good...YAY for sleeping.

Today I go get my drug test and AIDS test from the hospital, if I pass I stay if not...see you guys soon :-)

Then, once again assuming I pass, I go to register myself as a Alien Resident.

Payday is the 25th(only 9 more days, but hey who's counting), and I guess we have a spring break May 1-5th so that'll be cool.

OK, I think thats it for now :-)