Do they have fabric/sewing stores, Walmart, western clothing stores etc.
Walmart attempted stores here, but for some reason they didnt' work here. Maybe because they are so self dependent. They do have Emart which is a cross between the style of Walmart/Target/Kmart and a department store. They have a huge grocery section, clothing, appliances, electronics, books/movies, home, jewelry, pharmacy, etc. The set up is very similar to our stores at home except that it has 2 floors. They have makeup counters like at a department store - mostly Korean brands, but I think I saw Loreal. We can get a few of American brand items there - Oreos, French's, Listerine - I'm trying to think what else. Right now we have to go to Gwangju - although rumor has it they are building one in Naju. We are hoping!
I haven't been in any of the fabric stores. I'm not sure how they work here. I know there are some that sell bedding and also the traditional dresses the hanbuk. They wear those to special occasions. If you look it up online you probably will see one. I need to take a picture of one. I may buy one. The bedding is different here - they don't use the same kind of sheets we do. Its hard to explain. I haven't seen a traditional bed in a house yet so I don't know how they make them up. In the windows they look similar to ours, but I know they don't use sheets or pillow cases.
The dress here is very similar to home. The styles are a little different. They tend to stay very fashion forward that we have heard. Very trendy. Sometimes it looks as if anything goes - as far as matching and so forth. The young people are very western and Hollywood driven - short skirts and they wear heels with everything. Lots of leggings with skirts or long shirts or sweaters. I like most of the styles. They also have some preppy stuff - Beanpole and Teenie Weenie :o) I like the store NII - it has Snoopy and Peanuts everything - shirts, jeans, purses, shoes, bags, watches -but it is on the pricey side - I only have one t-shirt from there. I've noticed that the fur on jackets is all real. I don't think I've seen much at all in the way of faux fur. Fur seems very popular this year - with lined hoods, coats, and even on sweaters. We ventured into 2 of the name brand malls/department stores. All I can say is Yikes! The only things we bought were shoes - Nike and we got Cameron a pair of jeans and Polo. That will not be a habit - he does not fit into the Korean style jeans - most of them are very thin. We will be avoiding those stores unless absolutely necessary - lets just say most everything is $50 plus and that includes t-shirt and even some of the accessories. I'm thankful that my parents taught me to be sensible. We went into Shinsegae (a kind of department store 7 floors) yesterday - they have all of the top brands - Anne Klein, Armani, Polo, Louie Vitton, Coach, Guess, United Benetton, Banana Republic, Hilfiger, and a whole lot more, the sports brands, even some of the thing that run lower in the states were expensive. They are supposed to be getting a GAP - but it will probably run outrageous. We were trying to figure out how the Korean's pay for this stuff. I told Cameron probably the same way they do in the states - they don't - its all on credit. At least I know a lot of people do it that way at home. But we don't know that for sure - we will have to find out.
Send us your questions. I will try my best to answer them.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
I forgot!
I forgot to post about our Thanksgiving!
It was a blast! Toting our food to Gwangju was a challenge, but we succeeded without breaking anything. I made sweet potato soufle' with korean sweet potatoes and a tossed salad. The sweet potatoes were a hit! Defnitely different than home, but they were still delicious. I'm definitely going to make them again soon. I'm hoping to make a ham for Christmas if I can find one - if not then I might have to do turkey.
We also had turkey, of course, stuffing, creamed corn, carrots, fresh veggies. There were also some Korean and Philippino dishes. Since I could - I stuck with the American dishes. It was so good! We had a great time of fellowship. I took a bunch of pictures.
Please pray for our friend Beth. She has been sick off and on since she got here. They haven't been able to figure out what she has. She has been pushing through. The craziest thing about us being friends is that she went to Taylor the same time we were at IWU. Taylor is in Upland which is about 30 min. from IWU. It is such a small world.
Our Christmas tree is a little cheery part of our apartment. I decorated it with blue, gold, and silver garland with gold and red balls. I also found a few ornaments at Khumo world. They are really cute. I might get a few more, but I'm not sure. It also has a silver star on top. I wanted to get a little nativity, but I haven't seen one that is very nice. I might get the one we saw at Emart even though its kind of cheesy looking. There really aren't many places to get decorations - just random places here and there. Emart has a little section with some ornaments and trees. Really not much and the ornaments look really cheap. The silk flower shops/stands are where to find the nicer ornaments. Some of the stores downtown Gwangju have decorations. There are some sections with lights as well. Shinsegae department store/mall has a huge light display all around it. Its very different here! Its hard to remember its Christmastime at times.
I think that is it for now about Christmas and Thanksgiving. Let us know if you have any questions regarding anything we have forgotten. I'm going to do a post on some questions my aunt asked me.
It was a blast! Toting our food to Gwangju was a challenge, but we succeeded without breaking anything. I made sweet potato soufle' with korean sweet potatoes and a tossed salad. The sweet potatoes were a hit! Defnitely different than home, but they were still delicious. I'm definitely going to make them again soon. I'm hoping to make a ham for Christmas if I can find one - if not then I might have to do turkey.
We also had turkey, of course, stuffing, creamed corn, carrots, fresh veggies. There were also some Korean and Philippino dishes. Since I could - I stuck with the American dishes. It was so good! We had a great time of fellowship. I took a bunch of pictures.
Please pray for our friend Beth. She has been sick off and on since she got here. They haven't been able to figure out what she has. She has been pushing through. The craziest thing about us being friends is that she went to Taylor the same time we were at IWU. Taylor is in Upland which is about 30 min. from IWU. It is such a small world.
Our Christmas tree is a little cheery part of our apartment. I decorated it with blue, gold, and silver garland with gold and red balls. I also found a few ornaments at Khumo world. They are really cute. I might get a few more, but I'm not sure. It also has a silver star on top. I wanted to get a little nativity, but I haven't seen one that is very nice. I might get the one we saw at Emart even though its kind of cheesy looking. There really aren't many places to get decorations - just random places here and there. Emart has a little section with some ornaments and trees. Really not much and the ornaments look really cheap. The silk flower shops/stands are where to find the nicer ornaments. Some of the stores downtown Gwangju have decorations. There are some sections with lights as well. Shinsegae department store/mall has a huge light display all around it. Its very different here! Its hard to remember its Christmastime at times.
I think that is it for now about Christmas and Thanksgiving. Let us know if you have any questions regarding anything we have forgotten. I'm going to do a post on some questions my aunt asked me.
It's December
Wow! Time has been flying by.
Things have literally been crazy here. I know sometimes we say that, but it's the truth this time. We finally moved to our own apartment last weekend. We are still getting settled. Its amazing how much we collect over only 4 months. Its mostly food, books, and clothes. We are enjoying our space. Its still sinking in. I just can't wait until we have everything unpacked and in its place. We don't have a huge collection of dishes which isn't a bad thing since that will make me have to do dishes. I've been trying to do most of the dishes since Cameron is so diligent with the laundry and he cleans the bathroom - What a husband I have!!! The most exciting part is now we have an oven and a bathtub! I will post pictures as soon as I find my connection cord, which I seemed to have misplaced. I'm still working on how to use the oven. It sounds like its lighting when I turn the knob - like a burner would - which I have not used to at all. If anyone knows how to use one like that let me know.
It's been snowing! Not much, but it is snow. The way its coming down right now is more like rain. I don't think the air is quite cool enough yet for the big flakes, but there is definitely hope for a white Christmas - I haven't had one in 2 years.
I'm getting better at cooking on the stove. I think it is going to be much easier to cook once we go back to the states. You have to live in another country where you can't get all the premade boxed stuff to really see how easy it is. I'm so glad - I'm really enjoying cooking. I have to plan ahead, but I do enjoy it. Cooking with fresh foods is great! I think we will be much healthier (except we still love sweets). Now I just need to get the oven working so we can make the more fattening stuff.
Prayer requests:
Issues at work - I won't go into details.
Cameron has a cold - and I'm trying not to get one again.
That I will find my camera connection cord.
We will get things (money and visa) figured out so we can go to China for New Years to see Caitlin!
Thank you to all of our regular readers! We are making it here. This past month was a bit tough, but we are hoping things will smooth out as we finish out this year and go into the next. Keep us in your prayers - and thank you for that!
Love and Blessings to all!
Andrea
Things have literally been crazy here. I know sometimes we say that, but it's the truth this time. We finally moved to our own apartment last weekend. We are still getting settled. Its amazing how much we collect over only 4 months. Its mostly food, books, and clothes. We are enjoying our space. Its still sinking in. I just can't wait until we have everything unpacked and in its place. We don't have a huge collection of dishes which isn't a bad thing since that will make me have to do dishes. I've been trying to do most of the dishes since Cameron is so diligent with the laundry and he cleans the bathroom - What a husband I have!!! The most exciting part is now we have an oven and a bathtub! I will post pictures as soon as I find my connection cord, which I seemed to have misplaced. I'm still working on how to use the oven. It sounds like its lighting when I turn the knob - like a burner would - which I have not used to at all. If anyone knows how to use one like that let me know.
It's been snowing! Not much, but it is snow. The way its coming down right now is more like rain. I don't think the air is quite cool enough yet for the big flakes, but there is definitely hope for a white Christmas - I haven't had one in 2 years.
I'm getting better at cooking on the stove. I think it is going to be much easier to cook once we go back to the states. You have to live in another country where you can't get all the premade boxed stuff to really see how easy it is. I'm so glad - I'm really enjoying cooking. I have to plan ahead, but I do enjoy it. Cooking with fresh foods is great! I think we will be much healthier (except we still love sweets). Now I just need to get the oven working so we can make the more fattening stuff.
Prayer requests:
Issues at work - I won't go into details.
Cameron has a cold - and I'm trying not to get one again.
That I will find my camera connection cord.
We will get things (money and visa) figured out so we can go to China for New Years to see Caitlin!
Thank you to all of our regular readers! We are making it here. This past month was a bit tough, but we are hoping things will smooth out as we finish out this year and go into the next. Keep us in your prayers - and thank you for that!
Love and Blessings to all!
Andrea
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