The local supermarket

I went on a little trip this past week to a local Korean grocery store in the city we live in. It was very interesting and below I took some pictures of some unusual and interesting items that they have. 

Watermelon that cost 30 to 35 dollars each. Fruit is very expensive in Korea.

Grass??

A whole bag of garlic. They need this much since it's in their very famous dish called Kimchi.

A jar of very tiny shrimp. 

Fresh fish

This lovely squid was in my lunch the other day. 

Bird eggs...interesting.

This is a college students dream.  There are so many choices of Ramen noodles! 

Whole legs of pigs. If you look closely you can see the hooves. 

Dried Fish. 

When you check out you they do not provide free plastic bags like the states. You either have to pay for plastic bags or bring your own re-useable bags. I know this is how it is in Austria as well and I really think the US should try this out. We could be helping out the environment a lot more just by making this small change.

Korean McDonalds

This week I unexpectedly had my first trip to the Korean McDonalds and let me just tell you that I was not dissappointed. Den came home one lunch in a frenzy and was like get dressed, we are going to McDonalds for lunch today. Mind you, I have been talking about finding this McDonalds in our town since I have arrived in Korea. In my excitement, I think I got ready in record time and was out the door shortly after his arrival. One of his co-workers was driving there for lunch so we hopped in the car and were on our way. It was about a 5 minute drive, if that, and I have gladly figured out that I can easily walk there next time I have a craving. The McDonalds somewhat resembled one from back home except with more of a sleek modern look and much cleaner. It was pretty packed for a Tuesday afternoon and I have heard it's somewhat trendy to eat at the "westerner" food places in the Asian culture. I ordered a Big Mac meal, large, which is more like a regular sized meal back home. Dennis actually went rogue and ordered a Korean style quarter pounder called a Bolgogi burger. The interesting part is that on the actual menu next to each burgers picture is the calorie count of the meal. I think my Big Mac meal was 905 calories....as most of you would know this did not deter me at all from ordering it. We got in the car and brought them back to our little apartment and the food was still more fresh than any of my experiences of McDonalds back in the states recently. It was a wonderful spur of the moment lunch and I do not regret one bite of that wonderful Big Mac and Fries. I look forward to going back and maybe indulging in one of the childhood favorites, some Chicken McNuggets.

No numbered meals on the board.

Plastic cups if you eat in the McDonalds

Delivery scooters! Yes, McDonald's can be delivered to your home : )

Yum! 

Osan Air Force Base

Some of you might not know this but Den is stationed at a small Army Base in Korea called Camp Red Cloud. The base is located in a small city north of Seoul and the is very quaint. It has all the bare essentials like a small grocery store, a CVS like store, a couple of small fast food restaurants, a movie theater, as well as some other amenities. But our small little base does not even compare to the Air Force Base we visited over the weekend. We went down there to meet up with one of Dennis' friends who was flying in for the weekend and I have to say I fell in love. First of all their BX (which is similar to a Walmart) is HUGE! They sell every sort of American item that you would need while stationed in Korea. I even can buy some Clinique make-up, brand name perfume, or even some PINK lotion. Obviously those are the things that are important to my taste but they also sell flat screen TVs, clothing, shoes, and even brand new American cars. Our little BX does not even compare to what they have down in Osan. On base they have a little restaurant called Checker tails that is open 24 hours and serves breakfast all day along with other American meals. They also have two pools, one indoor and one outdoor. You can walk right off base into the little town and buy custom made suits and football jerseys for a very reasonable price and get some amazing food. But the best thing about the Osan AFB is that they have a Chili's. I walked in and felt like I was at the Chili's right back home in Florida. I got the chicken crispers (surprise, surprise) and couldn't be happier with life. So not a bad weekend but I am definitely a little envious of the people stationed down in Osan. They have it made.

I hope you all had a great weekend as well! It's raining over here since a tropical storm hit China but it always seems to be raining here so it's really no different then the usual. At least I have gotten a lot of wear out of my new rain jacket and rain boots though...which are super cute! I love and miss you all and I hope you have a wonderful week!

PS-Mom and Dad have fun at the lake house! Aubrey, take care of my boy : )