Day 3: A bad habit that you wish you didn’t have

I should say “not blogging when I should” seeing as my 3 days of blog challenge has not gone off without a hitch. But the whole time difference makes the emails come to me at odd hours, at which time I forget about them.

I should also say coffee drinking, but I guess that was yesterdays post.

and SO!–here it is. The bad habit that I wish I could break: saying yes to things when I know I really don’t want to do them.
This often causes me to become wishy washy, and cancel at the last minute, even though I’ve known since the beginning that I didn’t actually want to do the plan.
Example: An acquaintance asks me to go out to dinner on a week day…far in advance. I say yes, even though I know that going out late on a week day is not my cup of tea, and definitely not for a person I don’t really know, or like. So the day before (even though this dinner has been planned for quite a while) I chose to tell the person that I can not make it…and will be too tired. I probably could have just said that in the beginning…but for some reason don’t. I guess you could also call this bad habit: spreading myself to thin, as I often do.

And some other habits I should break: my obsession with one certain Korean boy. the amount of time I spend on facebook. The amount of times I listen to one song over and over again in a day….

Day 2: A Photo of something you can’t live without

When thinking about what I can’t live without many things ran through my head…. My family, my friends (both boring and cliche answers), beast, Justin Bieber, Wall-E…. and so I decided on what takes up at least half of my thoughts, half of my conversations, and 3/4 of my time in Korea…. the search for the perfect cup of coffee–something I really can’t live without.

A word to the wise for all of those coffee lovers that are planning or thinking about coming to Korea…. the coffee here sucks. I mean, we have starbucks, and coffee shops, but by and large, the coffee is horrible. Korea has yet to discover the “coffee maker” and chooses to drink “coffee mix” aka instant coffee with bunches of sugar that you put into hot water. It is far from a good cup of coffee. Upon getting off the plane, I think the only thing I pined for, and complained about to my boss was Korean coffee… fixed by him giving me my very own coffee maker, and my wonderful friends and family at home sending me coffee all of the time. I still have yet to find the perfect cup of coffee in a coffee shop here, but as far as coffee at home goes, it is fine.

And so, the thing I can’t live without: coffee, with a little milk, and a pack of splenda.

The Meat and Potatoes

So, I’m sure you all want to know one thing, and one thing only…. what have I eaten so far–so here’s a list of things in order of importance.

1. I JUST bought dinner for 1 dollar and 3 cents on my way home from work. AND I ate pork, yes, I have changed my ways since arriving in Korea and finding that pork, and beef are readily available, and chicken and turkey are not.
2. I ate the Korean version of a corn dog (without my knowledge) and it was more like a desert than a dinner. The outside was very sweet and rolled in sugar! (cost about 40 cents)
3. On my first day here I went to a restaurant that had a picture of a chicken on it (as most of them have smiling cows and smiling pigs: translation: not Jessica friendly).. This meal of chicken ended up being pretty expensive, about 8 dollars, and I was confused as to why. When I actually received my meal I realized that it’s because it was chicken for at least 8 people, and ate it for at least a week.
4. Everything is spicy. As far as I can tell, there are 3 flavors in Korea, 1. Spicy, 2. Sweet, 3. Spicy/sweet all of which are lovely.
5. Rotisserie Chicken- This past weekend my director offered to take me shopping, and I agreed. I assumed that he would be taking me to my first open door market, and I would have a true Asian experience. Instead, we pulled up to costco, sigh. I bought a rotisserie chicken for about 4 dollars and have been eating that for lunch everyday almost.
6. Coffee- I know not a food, but coffee is definitely one of MY food groups. As far as I’ve seen here, the only coffee is instant. Also, it’s not just instant coffee, but a mix called mocha mix gold, or something of the like, that is instant coffee, sugar, condensed milk, and hot chocolate mix all in one…needless to say, I am going through real coffee withdrawal.

That’s pretty much all I’ve eaten, but I’m sure will have many updates later. Pictures to follow later, as my computer isn’t uploading now.

A Little Bit of Present Awareness With Your Morning Coffee

Today when I was reading while having a cup of coffee, I came across a passage that really interested me. I started reading Peace in Every Step, by Thich Nhat Hanh, where he discusses bringing peace to our everyday lives. The passage that I read said “Even non-sounds such as a ray of sunlight coming through the window are bells of mindfulness that can remind us to return to ourselves, breath, smile and live fully in the present moment.”

This was a nice reminder that little things that you do, and that you silently appreciate can brighten your day, and bring a small amount of peace to your life.