Korean food!

My writer friend Annie got me thinking about Korean food on both Twitter and my blog. I absolutely LOVE Korean food -- it's one of the things that I miss most about being away from home and at college. 


I grew up in Kansas, where finding Korean ingredients or Korean restaurants was impossible. My mother had a garden where she grew peppers, sesame plants and cabbage. But when we moved to the Washington D.C. area, I was SO shocked to see 1) Korean restaurants and 2) Korean grocery stores.


Lotte (롯데) is one of Korea's largest conglomerates. They have department stores, hotels and fast food chains. They also make electronics, gum and provide financial services -- they're HUGE. They also make amusement parks. When I visited Korea, we went to Lotte World, which is like an indoor theme park, although there are some "outside" rides, too.

Anyway, they own a chain of grocery stores all over the world, and one of them is only a few minutes from my house.

"Grocery store" is a bit of an understatement. They have a live seafood market, selling everything from flounder to shrimp, squid to sea cucumber. They sell clothing, makeup and accessories. They have several restaurants inside,  and a bakery. The fresh produce section includes perennial supermarket wares like apples, oranges, etc. But they also stock durian and kelp.


Anyway, it absolutely blew my mind the first time I walked into this place, and now, I honestly can't imagine my life before international grocery stores like Lotte. 


That's why being in Charlottesville can be super tough for me, eat-a-holic. The tofu at Harris Teeter just doesn't measure up to what my spoiled taste buds are used to. LOL. Spring break is finally coming to a close, and I'll be going back down tomorrow. Sigh. While I'm ready to get back into the swing of things, I'm not looking forward to bad dining hall food and my worse cooking. 


Farewell, spring break (and yummy food!) It was nice knowin' ya.

Why do I suck at blogging?

So I totally forgot about this until now, when good ol' Jay gave me the Honest Scrap Award. Of course, the irony is that I'm supposed to be revealing my carefully crafted lies referenced in my last blog post.

So let's start with that.

1. I've actually had several names. Rachel, which I go by now, isn't my real birth name. Nope, that's what I was born with, although I did have a few name crises in high school. 
2. Although I'm Korean-American, I can't stand Korean food because it's too spicy for me. Bleck. Another lie. I am absolutely obsessed with Korean food, and I LOVE spicy dishes.
3. My shoe size is 8.5. Sorry, Jay -- I'm not big foot! Actually, my shoe size is 7.
4. Out of all the household chores to do  (laundry, doing dishes, vacuuming), my least favorite is doing dishes. I actually don't mind doing dishes all the much. I hate picking things up, though. Once I've scattered everything around, I like it to stay there.
5. To date, I've claimed fourteen books as my own from various public libraries. Ding ding ding! Usually what happens is that I lose the book, end up paying for the book (and for the library fees), and find it three months later under the bed. A few titles that I've claimed from this method include Ender's Game, Into Thin Air, and The Belgariad: Pawn of Prophecy.
6. I hate Girl Scout cookies. They're overpriced and don't taste all that good, in any case. Anyone who follows me on Twitter knows that I'm obsessed with them. Um, yeah. I think I've gained ten pounds over the last few days ...
7. I have to have everything neatly organized (a bit anal retentive).  Going back to number 4 -- I'm a messy, disheveled person! I'm constantly forgetting to do things (like  update this blog). If I forget something that I'm supposed to do for you, just send me a gentle nudge. I won't grudge it at all.




Okay, so now it's time for me to reveal several truths about myself. Um, let's see. What else beyond the stuff stated above?


1. This semester, I'm taking six classes: a literature seminar on American culture, American Poetry, Korean 102, Spanish Composition, Computer Science,  and Basso Continuo Playing (Baroque harpsichord and organ.)
2. I don't really watch T.V. Major exception: the Olympics.
3. Like Jay, I really, really, really want to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. For those that know me in real life, I'm a little bit obsessed. I can slip in Harry Potter references, any time, any day. I also can complete the Harry Potter games on Sporcle at amazing speed.
4. Oh, and aforementioned Sporcle is how I waste a good amount of time. Bubble Spinner is another time-consumer.
5. I read The New York Times Book Review religiously. 
6. I still haven't declared a major, although most likely it'll end up being English.
7. I have a twelve-year-old dog named Smokey. He is a miniature poodle, and he is precious and smells bad. I am in love with him.

Smokey.

Currently Reading (it's spring break!):

   

The Mists of Avalon in appreciation of my long-standing love affair with Marion Zimmer Bradley; The Girl Who Played with Fire in preparation for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest and The Wild Things because Vintage/Random House sent it to me.

Currently Listening to:

Currently Procrastinating on:

* Completing my American Studies application,

* My Spanish presentation, and

* Practicing piano.

Oh, how I love procrastinating.