Cooking class - Seoul Trip Day 7
27/5 21:17
Last night was a bit stressful, I was up at 3am messaging my bank (they're cancelling my card at the end of the month and I was stupid and only realised yesterday) and writing down questions to ask my airline for my flights back, but I slept enough and woke ready for my cooking class! In the description of the class it said we would be paired up with others but I received a message from my host about an hour beforehand saying I was the only person today so I was going to get a private lesson! Pretty good.
I made my way to the subway station indicated in the class description and met with the host. He was a really nice Korean guy who spoke English really well so we got along nicely. The class was preceded with a little bit of history, as the class was taking place in the Korean Cuisine Culture Center. After learning about what Korean food is made up of and when it is eaten the cooking began! The instructor was an older Korean woman and my host translated everything to me. We made mung-bean pancakes, silken tofu stew and bibimbap. They were all super delicious! I'm not sure what level of cooking the instructor is used to dealing with but she said I was a really good cook! I guess my vegetable chopping impressed her...
I received a cool canvas tote and some post cards and a cook book as a gift from the cooking class which I wasn't expecting! It's so nice I'll have a memory of this day with me back in Edinburgh.
After eating and having a chat with the host I headed back to Hongdae to do some looking around. It's such a huge area I have only seen a tiny bit of it so far. I got a few more souvenirs and finally found melon flavoured milk! It came in a square bottle (it's called melona in a bottle, melona is a popular Korean melon flavoured ice cream) which is cool. I ended up outside of Hongdae in a less busy area and began to search for a cafe. There's so many cafe's in Korea that it's difficult to choose, but for me I don't want to go into anywhere too busy on my own. It would just feel like people are staring. I found one called Tarr Tarr that specialised in tarts and seemed super empty so I stepped in. It was all white and marble with halogen lighting, and half of the seats were tiled with small white tiles. Very aesthetically pleasing. I chose the most colourful tart with fruit on top and ordered a pink berry latte. Let me tell you, this tart was the single most delicious dessert I've ever had. The toppings were fresh and juicy and the tart shell soft but crumbly. The inside of the tart itself was creamy and just sweet enough. Just writing about it makes me want to go back. The pink berry latte was also super delicious though I can't pinpoint what flavour it was. It was the flavour that I assume the colour pink has, kind of sweet but also kind of milky. Anyway, after leisurely finishing my tart I looked up the instructions to head back and went on my way.
I don't know what I did wrong (once again) but the trip home took twice as long and went through a lot of creepy alleyways. I swear most of the walking I do is because I get lost. I'm sort of used to it by now so I always head back earlier than I ever would back home so I won't get stranded somewhere in the middle of the night.
Starting to really miss my friends back home, striking the balance between my introvert and extrovert sides has been a real issue on this trip. At home I quite like being on my own a lot but here it's just too much knowing there wouldn't even be anyone if I wanted to hang out. I'm enjoying it to the best of my ability despite this. I keep thinking to myself, I have to do things now that I would regret not doing when I get back. That gets me to do things like go into the cafe's I'm scared of going to or buying the cool shirts I want to, because I know that I would regret not doing it when I get back home. Even though this is a great philosophy for me, I can't utilise it always. I'd love to just make this trip a 'treat yo self' thing, but I have a week's trip in Athens with my flatmates a week after I get back. If I spend all my money here I will have none left for Greece! Trying to strike a balance there too, with spending so I don't feel like I'm forcing myself to be cheap but not being so cheap that I'll regret not using my money here. Oh man, no one told me adulthood was gonna be this way.
Tomorrow I think I'm gonna go to the Ewha Womans University shopping district for some bits and bobs (read: loose and short clothing for the heat of Greece) and then take a book and read outside somewhere. It doesn't feel like a whole week has passed since I got here, but I'm glad I got myself another week and a bit before I leave. Maybe that'll be enough time for me to get my head out of any anxious thoughts and I'll stop being hesitant about as much!
Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Cheers,
Becks
Last night was a bit stressful, I was up at 3am messaging my bank (they're cancelling my card at the end of the month and I was stupid and only realised yesterday) and writing down questions to ask my airline for my flights back, but I slept enough and woke ready for my cooking class! In the description of the class it said we would be paired up with others but I received a message from my host about an hour beforehand saying I was the only person today so I was going to get a private lesson! Pretty good.
I made my way to the subway station indicated in the class description and met with the host. He was a really nice Korean guy who spoke English really well so we got along nicely. The class was preceded with a little bit of history, as the class was taking place in the Korean Cuisine Culture Center. After learning about what Korean food is made up of and when it is eaten the cooking began! The instructor was an older Korean woman and my host translated everything to me. We made mung-bean pancakes, silken tofu stew and bibimbap. They were all super delicious! I'm not sure what level of cooking the instructor is used to dealing with but she said I was a really good cook! I guess my vegetable chopping impressed her...
I received a cool canvas tote and some post cards and a cook book as a gift from the cooking class which I wasn't expecting! It's so nice I'll have a memory of this day with me back in Edinburgh.
After eating and having a chat with the host I headed back to Hongdae to do some looking around. It's such a huge area I have only seen a tiny bit of it so far. I got a few more souvenirs and finally found melon flavoured milk! It came in a square bottle (it's called melona in a bottle, melona is a popular Korean melon flavoured ice cream) which is cool. I ended up outside of Hongdae in a less busy area and began to search for a cafe. There's so many cafe's in Korea that it's difficult to choose, but for me I don't want to go into anywhere too busy on my own. It would just feel like people are staring. I found one called Tarr Tarr that specialised in tarts and seemed super empty so I stepped in. It was all white and marble with halogen lighting, and half of the seats were tiled with small white tiles. Very aesthetically pleasing. I chose the most colourful tart with fruit on top and ordered a pink berry latte. Let me tell you, this tart was the single most delicious dessert I've ever had. The toppings were fresh and juicy and the tart shell soft but crumbly. The inside of the tart itself was creamy and just sweet enough. Just writing about it makes me want to go back. The pink berry latte was also super delicious though I can't pinpoint what flavour it was. It was the flavour that I assume the colour pink has, kind of sweet but also kind of milky. Anyway, after leisurely finishing my tart I looked up the instructions to head back and went on my way.
I don't know what I did wrong (once again) but the trip home took twice as long and went through a lot of creepy alleyways. I swear most of the walking I do is because I get lost. I'm sort of used to it by now so I always head back earlier than I ever would back home so I won't get stranded somewhere in the middle of the night.
Starting to really miss my friends back home, striking the balance between my introvert and extrovert sides has been a real issue on this trip. At home I quite like being on my own a lot but here it's just too much knowing there wouldn't even be anyone if I wanted to hang out. I'm enjoying it to the best of my ability despite this. I keep thinking to myself, I have to do things now that I would regret not doing when I get back. That gets me to do things like go into the cafe's I'm scared of going to or buying the cool shirts I want to, because I know that I would regret not doing it when I get back home. Even though this is a great philosophy for me, I can't utilise it always. I'd love to just make this trip a 'treat yo self' thing, but I have a week's trip in Athens with my flatmates a week after I get back. If I spend all my money here I will have none left for Greece! Trying to strike a balance there too, with spending so I don't feel like I'm forcing myself to be cheap but not being so cheap that I'll regret not using my money here. Oh man, no one told me adulthood was gonna be this way.
Tomorrow I think I'm gonna go to the Ewha Womans University shopping district for some bits and bobs (read: loose and short clothing for the heat of Greece) and then take a book and read outside somewhere. It doesn't feel like a whole week has passed since I got here, but I'm glad I got myself another week and a bit before I leave. Maybe that'll be enough time for me to get my head out of any anxious thoughts and I'll stop being hesitant about as much!
Thanks for reading my ramblings.
Cheers,
Becks
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