감사합니다-giving and More Masks

Happy Thanksgiving! With training, we didn't have much time to even recognize, let alone celebrate Thanksgiving. My roommate and I were just going to grab something, but I was persuaded to go to a Korean bbq a few blocks from the subway so that we could actually have some sort of meal. It ended up being really delicious, marinaded beef and thick strips of pork. Korean bbq basically never gets old because it is always different. The side dishes are ever changing and delicious.

I've had a number of different types of foods, so why I keep choosing to only document barbeque is beyond me. It's hard to remember, and in many cases not at all socially appropriate to whip out my camera. Although, I'm sort of past that point.
I went to a spa-type place the other day to buy some nailpolish and ended up going a little crazy; throwing all sorts of crap I don't need into my basket. I go up to the counter to find out my total was 12,000 KRW, which is about $11! Whoa, I have never spent that little of money anywhere. Plus, the woman behind the counter loaded my bag with all sorts of sample goodies, one of which just read "mask" on the front. Thinking it was some sort of mud mask, I opened it, and found it to be another creepy mask...

My roommate prompted me to pose this way saying that I would look "asian" in doing so. I cannot take credit for her artistic genius. PS check out the sweet vintage sweatshirt I snatched at the subway.
Seoul is said to be one of the most expensive cities in the world, next to London, New York, and Tokyo. But I have to say, I have not found that to be the case at all. Apparently the real estate is really the only pricing that is inflated. Food, clothes, alcohol, toiletries, etc are all priced extremely reasonably. I ordered a bowl of bibambap for lunch the other day which is a compilation of seaweed, rice, fried egg, mushroom, sprouts and all sorts of goodies. It was under 3 USD.

This is not my image, hence the copyright logo in the corner, but just to visualize how much food we are actually talking about here. Grocery stores are not readily available, so most people, in Seoul at least, eat out for the majority of their meals which most likely explains why it is so cheap. Plus, no sales tax, and no tipping, what a steal!