On Baby A's birthday, the c-section surgery went as planned. I walked into the OR around 9:30am and was pushed out around 2 hours later. W was instructed to wait outside while the team was getting me prepared for anesthesia. He then got invited to come in and sat next to me while the team worked on getting Baby A out of me 😂. W was a good DJ and Baby A was born while Taylor Swift's Shake It Off was being played. So...did I feel any pain during this life-changing surgery? No, I didn't. I had a spinal block. I never felt any type of pain during the surgery. Getting the anesthesia injected - however - was the most uncomfortable part of the surgery. There was a lot of pressure. I felt my back being pulled or pushed, or something. It just felt very uncomfortable, not painful, but very uncomfortable. It was also hard to try leaning toward the source of that uncomfortableness. Learning to relax while being uncomfortable was a very hard thing to do. But it was necessary. Once it...
One of the things we looked forward to, even before buying the plane tickets, was to try street food in Korea! During this trip, we tried several popular street food and Korean snacks in markets, food courts, and pop-ups on the side of the streets in Seoul and Busan. My personal favorite place to "hunt" and enjoy these, no doubt, was the street in front of our hotel in Myeong-dong! That street was filled with food stalls and carts! It reminded me so much of the scenes and vibes of night markets that I enjoyed so very much growing up in Taiwan. And and and, so so so many delicious-smelling-looking things to try! Things I couldn't even pronounce but got so pulled into LOL!
在買機票之前, 其中一件我們兩個都期待的事情 就是嘗試各種路邊攤小吃! 這趟旅行中, 我們在首爾和釜山的市場, 美食街, 路邊試了各式各樣的路邊小吃. 而我個人最喜歡尋找小吃的地方 無庸置疑的就是當時位於明洞的飯店前面的那條街! 那條街充滿了一大堆的小吃攤! 有讓我回憶起小時候在台灣長大時 很愛的夜市場景和夜市的氣氛! 還有還有, 真的是超多看起來美味又可口的東西, 叫不出名字 但對我超有吸引力 哈哈.
Getting swamped by food stalls, and immerse ourselves in the local culture and flavors of local eateries, it's an experience that we embrace and find joy in. I truly believe food is part of culture. Food and culture are intricately intertwined. Eating something foreign in a foreign country is a great way to get to know another culture. It can provide insights into history and way of life in that area. For example, we didn't realize how used to "Americanized Korean food" we had gotten until this trip. Sometimes an enthusiastic ahjumma/ahjussi (auntie/uncle - the venders/restaurant owners) gave us tips on how to eat something, and we always appreciated their help, because after all, we're not locals, but we definitely appreciate their guidance! Plus, it was always fun to watch the vender prep/make the item we ordered and I tried to take mental notes so I could, maybe one day, try replicate it at home. 😂
被小吃攤包圍, 融入在當地文化和當地食物裡 是我們很樂然很愉快的體驗. 我真心相信 食物是文化的一部分. 食物和文化 兩者是不能分開的. 在異國品嘗異國食物是很棒的一種了解另一種文化的方式. 可以提供一些當地歷史跟日常生活的見解. 舉個例子, 若不是這趟旅行, 我們完全沒意識到有多習慣"美式韓國食物." 有時候 攤販或餐廳老闆 阿姨叔叔也熱情的介紹怎麼吃什麼東西, 我們也很欣然接受他們的幫助, 因為 怎麼說我們都不是在地人, 但我們超感激他們的指點! 而且, 每次看賣家準備或煮甚麼東西的時候我都盡量使用腦袋來記筆記, 總想著哪天也許可以在家也變出來.
This post is dedicated to the the memory we have with Myeong-dong's street food since that's where we began our taste bud adventure in Korea (even though W has been to Korea before this trip, it's the first time we went together!)
這篇是特別紀念我們在明洞的小吃相關回憶, 因為我們整個韓國的味蕾冒險就是從這邊開始的 (雖說W在這之前已去過韓國. 但這是我們第一次一起去!).
左上照片是 從我們住的飯店一出來就看到的樣子. 街的左右兩邊都有很多攤販和小推車. 有些事已經先作好的食物, 有些是現點現做.
That lobster reminded me of Boston, just because it's lobster lol The sausage was very yummy, we got our second one another day.
那龍蝦讓我想起波士頓, 就因為他是龍蝦.
香腸很好吃, 我們之後有一天又回去再買一次.
Also, aside from eateries, Korea has lots of stalls and carts that sell fresh juice! They were so so so so cheap as compared to what they'd be charged for in the states at places like Jamba Juice. Sure, places like Jamba Juice are chained and usually have space for dine-in and let you add "boosts" and whatnots, but they usually cost like $5-6 before tax. Did I try fresh juice in Korea? You bet I did! Every day of this trip, I had 1-2 cups of fresh juice from the street vendors and they cost just around $2.50 to $3 per cup, oftentimes I saw fruits that are less likely to be found in grocery stores (or just cost more) in where we live.
還有哩, 除了吃的之外, 韓國有很多的新鮮果汁鋪! 他們比美國的果汁店像Jamba Juice還便宜很多很多. 雖說Jamba Juice這類果汁店是連鎖且通常提供內用又能加一些有的沒的, 但一杯也要$5-6還要再加稅. 所以我有試試韓國的現榨果汁嗎? 當然有! 在那邊的每一天我都喝了路邊買的1-2杯現榨新鮮果汁, 每杯只要約$2.50-$3, 而且還有一些我們住的地方很難能看到的水果(或有賣但特別貴)
So what's our impression of street food in Korea? Most of what we had were very flavorful! Sometimes we did end up with something that we...uhh found to be too spicy or too bland, for food we've never tried before, of course it could be a hit and miss. But don't let that scare you! I still recommend trying something new!
所以我們對韓國的小吃印象如何呢? 大部分我們吃到的都滿好吃的! 有時候確實吃到一些...有點太辣或者口味太淡, 對於從沒吃過的東西來說, 當然有時候也是要碰運氣的. 但別被嚇到! 還是很推薦去嘗試沒試過的東西!
Also, I highly recommend slurping more fresh juice when in Korea, especially if visiting from places wherein fresh fruits are more expensive. I can't emphasize enough these juice are so affordable and so readily available in Seoul and Busan (probably applies to the entire country of South Korea)! From inside of a metro station to right off a bus stop, or even packaged ones at convenient stores give nutritious drinks at an affordable value. If we visit Korea again, I will definitely drink more fresh juice there because fresh fruits are pretty expensive in where we live (other than apples, oranges, pears, and strawberries that are common in grocery stores). I crave for guava and starfruit! 😐
還有, 很建議在韓國多喝新鮮果汁, 尤其是從新鮮水果較貴的地方去. 我強調 這些果汁在首爾和釜山真的很便宜又很多地方買的到(大概整個南韓都很普遍)! 從地鐵站裡面到公車站旁邊, 甚至超商裡已經包裝好的 可以不用負擔太多就能喝到營養滿分的飲料. 如果我們再去一次韓國, 我一定會再多喝現打果汁, 因為住的地方的新鮮水果都好貴(除了蘋果橘子梨子草莓這些超市常見的). 我想吃芭樂跟楊桃!
Until next time!
下次再見!
💗CM
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