Konglish - Lemote Con

HEY! Pass the Lemote Con! This show is horrible!

I'm still trying to figure out why they chose to shorten the long English words "remote control" to simply "remote con." I definitely prefer the shortened English version "remote." It's faster, easier, and makes more sense. But this is Korea, where people do things all the time that don't make sense. For example, just a while ago, a friend told us about this older man he saw walking down the street with a surgical mask on his face to filter the pollution out of the air. Strange you think? Not so much, the air is pretty bad here. No, the strange thing is that he had the mask pulled down under his chin so he could smoke a cigarette! I guess he wanted to choose his own pollution.

I saw another guy, a westerner this time, walking down the street with a cigarette in one hand and a Coke Zero in the other. He doesn't mind dying early from cancer, but he'll be darned if he doesn't fit into his own coffin.

Yes, this is a wondrous country we currently live in.

Do you have any ironic stories? Have you seen any contrary people lately?

Just Watching Some T.V.

It seems that Snickers is a fan of watching T.V. This is the only furniture she is allowed on and she is quick to join whomever is sitting there! Especially if it includes watching T.V.

Lin-suh

The short and sweet of it is that "lin-suh" is a word they use for conditioner - the kind women and some men put in their hair after they wash it with "shampoo" (which sounds the same in English and Korean). Last year, Jen had me look at a bottle of something and tell her what it actually was. She had previously gone to the store to look for Lin-suh but had accidentally picked up shampoo instead. So THIS time, she had me read the Korean (I sounded out Lin-suh and told her it was conditioner). When she got over her excitement she noticed the bottle was a little dirty and traded it with the bottle that was beside it. You guessed it ---- when she took the bottle out of the bag at the house, she read the Korean "shampoo!"

Needless to say, we haven't bought a bottle of shampoo in long time. We DID have to go back to the store for a bottle of conditioner.

That's all for today, enjoy the next question.

Weekend Getaway

We were able to take a few days and travel about an hour and a half outside Seoul with some friends last weekend. We have tons of pics to share, so we won't bore you with a lot of other unnecessary comments, though I'm sure we could!

Mary, Jen, & Jessica

Jen enjoying the colorful azaleas that are EVERYWHERE this time of year!

Jen also got all excited when we found these greenhouses of strawberry plants ... but they weren't open for the picking, just the gawking, apparently. We didn't even get to taste any!

This is essentially WHERE we went. It's called Yangpyeong, southeast of Seoul, where the South Han and Bukhan Rivers meet. With several mountains in the immediate area, it was beautiful country.


We took a ride up through the mountains to "see what we could see."

We were looking for and FOUND Sonagi Village. It was one of the most impressive facilities we have ever seen ... and totally EMPTY. Apparently, it's not finished. To not see another soul was so rare that we not only walked around, but sat awhile and enjoyed a peace and quiet like we have never experienced here in Korea.

We still aren't sure what these huts are for or why they litter Sonagi Village.

A view from the village of what we only assume is a private home. Jen enjoyed a plethora of visual stimuli on this trip - homes, gardens, and sights we'd not seen much of in Korea.


As you can see, Cory is TOTALLY enthralled with my idea of setting the camera on a rock to snap a picture of US. What else can you do when there is NOONE else around?!


Another shot Jen took to show the brilliant colors we enjoy this time of year.

We somehow managed to spend some time in a Botanical Garden on the way home. Apparently you were supposed to have reservations, but being foreigners again paid off, and we were ushered in quietly to enjoy some beautiful Korean landscaping.

An interesting fountain built using Kimchi Pots.

An indoor garden path.


Another interesting fountain appearing as a gigantic ceramic vase.



Jen had to take pictures of these Bleeding Hearts for her mom ... they will always remind her of their home in Maryland and the beautiful gardens her mom and dad have always grown.


Sorry for the length of this post, but we wanted to give you a glimpse of the blessed weekend we had!

Konglish - Clashic libingtel

WOW! I am so impressed with the number of voters this week! You all get an A+ for participation. The correct answer for this week's Konglish quiz was "a cheap apartment." I saw a sign that had the words written on it in Korean last weekend and the place looked like a dump. It was right on the edge of downtown Seoul. Congratulations to those of you who picked the right answer. Have some Kimbab on me! Enjoy the next Konglish Quiz - "Lin-suh."