My Korean Life #52: A Random Thought

A Random Thought

Random Thought: I am not sure if this is just a Korean thing or an if-you-have-young-children thing. But I have noticed that the publishing industry for educational materials (at least in Korea) is huge. Families will buy whole series of educational books for math, reading, grammar, foreign languages, etc. Whole walls in people's houses will be covered in shelving just for educational books (in additional to general children's books, reference, and sometimes other literature).

My parents said they used to have a ton of kids books when I was growing up but I never remember having whole walls in a room dedicated to just books for me and my brother.

--

Anyway, how are things going for you these days?

My Korean Life #51: In which I mess up making cream pasta...but later redeem myself

Cream Pasta Redemption!

I have become more ambitious with my cooking lately and decided to tackle making a cream sauce from scratch. I failed miserably making the roux the first time but my second time practicing it turned out ok!

Practicing the sauce

Practice with spaghetti and peas

Finished pasta with parmesan and pepper

I had invited over friends for dinner to try out my new dish and it actually turned out quite well! I first cooked some chicken tenders, mushrooms, and peas. Next I made the pasta and then the sauce. After the sauce was complete I combined everything together for what you see below. I decided to use fusilli pasta since it seems to hang on to the sauce better than spaghetti. Here is a link to the pasta recipe if you'd like to try it for yourself! I decided to use an Italian spice blend instead of just parsley and I used a little less flour for the rue. Feel free to modify the recipe to your own tastes. What do you think? Does it look good to you?

Dinner party version: Chicken, mushrooms, peas, and the creamy garlic pasta

My Korean Life #50: Wow 50 posts in this series!

Wow 50 posts in this series!

Flag in The War Memorial of Korea

Wow! I have reached 50 posts in the "My Korean Life" series! I have lived in Korea for almost 2 years now and life is quite different from when I first moved here.

When I first moved here, I was lucky enough to live in quite a large officetel with a loft and separate bedroom. I now live in a one-room studio apartment with a small storage area but no separate bedroom. My current apartment is maybe the size of my former living room.

I am no longer in language school. I finished Sogang University's curriculum in August 2015! I now study independently and use a variety of TOPIK test preparation materials.

In addition to the above, below are some things I have been working on lately. What are you working on in your life? I invite you to follow me on social media (links below) and to stay tuned for even more posts in the "My Korean Life" series!

Employment:
-Currently supporting myself on two part-time jobs both of which are great!
-Expanding my skill set via both part-time jobs (content marketing, copywriting, education, etc)

Cooking:
-Increased frequency of cooking at home
-Thanks to the stir-fry cheatsheet by Cook Smarts I can make a variety of dishes easily
-Experimenting with other dishes and recipes
-Wanting to experiment cooking other things than just rice in my rice cooker

Language:
-Continuing to study for the TOPIK exam
-Contemplating learning some more Japanese (I only know a few basic phrases and words)

Social Media:
-Blog improved to include embedded widgets as well as better content
-Joined Instagram to quickly showcase my life in Korea as well as material related to my blog
-Enhancing YouTube Channel with appropriate playlists, tagging, and video descriptions
-Figuring out the best way to utilize Twitter

Follow me on social media here:

Follow @heybrightness86