I only saw one picture of Godzilla, but that should be expected when outside of Tokyo. I never had imagined really going to Osaka, but it seems like most Yonsei students go there instead of Tokyo, due to how cheap the flights to Osaka are. In fact, due to the expensive tickets for the Shinkansen (bullet train) in Japan, it’s cheaper to fly from Seoul to Osaka then to take a train from Osaka to Tokyo.

Yea, that’s how expensive Japan is. The train is more expensive than an international flight…

Meeting Sandra!

Pretty much, a lot of my trip was about riding trains (and realizing I can never complain again about Metro Card hikes or the fares on the Metro North…), seeing another Macaulay student who is studying abroad in Osaka (yay MHC meet ups outside of NYC!), and seeing temples and shrines.

And fed deer! (I really liked that…)

Pretty much, Osaka is in the Kansai region. I imagine it like New York City, where Osaka is Manhattan and Kobe, Kyoto, and Nara are the equivalents of the Outer Boroughs. I stayed in Osaka, but went to Kyoto on Friday before Sabbath, then walked around Osaka on Sabbath, then Sunday went to Nara.

Osaka is just like most other cities that I’ve traveled to, except for the fact that nobody really knows English and that children pointed at me. Yup, one day we went to the Osaka Zoo (not really worth it at all…) and because Tokyo is much more tourist-y, the kids weren’t really used to caucasian foreigners so many of them were just staring at me with eyes wide. This is actually expected in Asia, but usually outside of cities, in the countryside, so I wasn’t really expecting it in Osaka. A very interesting experience, to say the least… So yea, as good as Seoul is for foreigners to travel to, that’s how poor Osaka was dealing with foreigners. Even at the Kansai Airport the check-in attendant didn’t really speak English.

But, going to Kyoto and Nara were very different, because they’re huge tourist attractions. In Kyoto, most of the shop stall owners spoke a bit of English, but when my friend spoke Japanese they let out a sigh of relief. But the touring itself went fine, because most places had English pamphlets. In Nara, there was actually a visitors center where there were guides who spoke English very well.

And as for Jews? Yea, nobody really even knew about us. Some of the students I met from the university there had taken a religion class, but I most probably was the only Jew in the city. I had to bring all of my own food, because there was hardly any foreign food to be found in Japan (much different than Seoul.) But, there was one store specializing in foreign food and I was actually able to buy Sakura (cherry blossom) flavored Jelly Belly’s with an OU (most popular kosher symbol)!

I should have bought more… But mostly I just brought Kosher ramen and tuna that I had from Seoul. There is a Chabad in Tokyo, but again, I didn’t go. But it’s not as if I starved — traveling as a Kosher-keeping Jew is difficult because you miss out on part of the culture (Osaka is most famous for its food,) which is a bit annoying, but I would much rather be able to say I traveled the world than staying at home in NY just for the comfort of Kosher food and restaurants.

Midterm week just began and I came down with the symptoms of a sinus infection, something I’ve had once or twice before. I mentioned it to one of my friends and her response was, “let’s go to the 약국 (yakkuk, or pharmacy.)” And so we went. And it was actually the most simple thing ever. My friend, a non-native Korean speaker, merely told the pharmacist that I had some pain in my sinuses and a cough, and he handed me a nasal spray and then wrote 2-2-2 on a box of pills for me, meaning that I should take two pills once a day for three days. I paid less than $9 USD and that was it. I walked out, went to my dorm, and took the medicine. Today, I feel much better.

I’m a bit surprised by the fact that this can happen, since in the US you can really only buy vitamins and maybe some cough-cold medicine without a prescription. Even Claratin now is behind the counter.

L’ag B’omer is coming up, a Jewish holiday that marks the passing between two of our Festivals, Passover and Shavuot (Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot). Pretty much, it means that this Sunday there will be a barbecue at the Jewish center. Finally! A barbecue!!!! As someone whose family barbecues almost every weekend in the summer, I’ve been looking forward to L’ag B’omer for quite some time.

Not eating meat isn’t really an issue, since I get every time I go to the Jewish Center/Chabad or one of the few Jewish families here for Shabbat/Sabbath. (I’m actually invited to someone’s house for dinner tomorrow night -spaghetti and meatballs!!) I eat a lot of tuna, eggs, and do occasionally buy some deli meat from the Kosher store that the Chabad has in their building. But barbecues are one of my favorite things.

Am I starving in Seoul? No way. I have a kitchen downstairs, salads from the small restaurants that are in the dorm, and there is plenty of kosher candy (Hershey’s chocolate and Blow Pops!) in the convenience store. I just found a nearby store that sells several Kosher things, including pasta, which makes life so much easier than having to go to one of the bigger food stores to try to get some pasta.

So, no, I’m not starving. It’s difficult for me, going from New York where I can get everything Kosher, except for pork pretty much. Would I live in Seoul longterm? Not as a Sabbath-observant, Kosher-keeping Jew. It’s difficult. But is it impossible? Not at all.

If you told me last week that I’d go to Lush and spend almost $100 dollars to get some of their weird organic products, I’d probably stare at you.

I have no bathtub here to turn gold with their bubble bath, so what’s the point of going into Lush in Seoul?

Well, when they sneakily have several amazing artists perform at a concert that you can only get tickets to if you spend a certain amount at Lush… Well, let me tell you that I was practically running to Lush to find things I could buy.

But in the end… It didn’t seem to be so difficult. Lush in the United States is a little bit more expensive than most brands that aren’t designer, but mostly reasonably priced. A large bottle of organic, vegan shampoo (according to their website) is $25.

In Seoul it’s $50.

So, yea… It was pretty easy to get tickets!

So Korea… It’s been a week since I arrived and it really just kind of feels like New York. That doesn’t mean that there’s not differences, but let’s be honest, there are a lot of Asians in Flushing. It’s almost the same, except that people stare at me in the subway because I am not Asian. There are a lot of foreigners in Seoul nowadays, but I guess we’re still interesting.

Anyway, this week has mostly been basic exploring of Seoul’s popular areas. Yonsei is in Sinchon, which is pretty much a college town situated between two other college neighborhoods (Hongdae and Ehdae (both short for the titles “Hongik Daehakkyo (Hongik University) and Ehwa Daehakyo (Ehwa University.) So that means that there are a lot of places like bars and restaurants and a lot of shopping. Seriously, this place really likes coffee shops, eyeglasses stores, and make up stores. Kind of interesting. I have been looking for a scarf and coat, but a) it’s almost the end of winter b)I’m too tall for most coats here. Kind of annoying when I’m only 5’6”. I also went back to Itaewon and Insadong, which I visited over the summer when I was on Quiz On Korea. Itaewon is the foreigner neighborhood (where the Jewish Center/Chabad is, and where I celebrated Purim. (See the Daily Show clip: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-february-26-2013/crazy-stupid-dove—the-war-on-purim))

Also, we had to get these really annoying alien resident cards, which took about a hour of waiting to get, although other people told me it takes longer (depending on what time of day you get there.) We have to go back in three weeks to pick them up.

 So I wrote that last week and completely forgot about it.

Since then, classes have begun. History class is boring, Korean Communication and Media will hopefully be interesting, and I placed into Level 1 of Korean because I can’t speak. So, hopefully it’ll all be easy A’s.

I went to Chabad (The Jewish Center) to pick up some food and took a picture of their “store.” It’s in their kitchen but it really has a lot to offer. There’s also a vegan restaurant near Yonsei, in Sinchon, that sells a few Kosher items. I got lollipops!

Otherwise… What have I done this week? Not much… I’ve been a bit sick. But now I’m better so hopefully next week will be more fun!

Well, I’m here. Where is here? It’s the SK Global House Dorm at Yonsei University in Seoul. And they have crappy Internet. I’m gonna go buy a LAN line from the convenience store downstairs to see if I can at least get my laptop to work, but without a phone with 3G or LTE I’m kinda lost. (Since I wrote this post I have gotten a LAN line.) I can’t find the only person I know here so I’m kind of just hoping that she’ll wander into my room while I’m eating one of the cinnamon buns that my mother left me. My parents have been very supportive of me, ranging from waiting with me at the most boring terminal in JFK to buying me an iPad to my mother packing 50 shades of gray in my plane letter. No, not the book.

(Yea, there are 50.)

While I’m waiting to see if the Internet will load (aka finishing my cinnamon bun,) I figured that it was a good time to write my first post for Kosher Seoul. So, what’s up with the name? Well, it’s pretty straightforward. I’m Jewish, keep Kosher, and am in Seoul for the semester.

It’s hard, lemme just say that right away. I was literally sitting in my room for a half hour trying to figure out which protein bar I should eat for lunch because I don’t feel like mixing up tuna or hunting down a microwave for one of the Indian food packets I brought (seriously, they’re wonderful for traveling with!) So, since this is a MHC blog and not just one for my family to keep track of me with (although I’m sure they will) I’m just gonna go through a quick run down of kosher.

1. No pork, but really no meat that isn’t killed by a Jewish erm… I guess he’s a slaughterer? (Weird to think of it a shochet that way… )

2. No shellfish ( These two things make eating even vegan or vegetarian food in Korea extremely difficult if you’re a Jew who feels comfortable eating vegan or vegetarian, because they’ll add shellfish into a lot of side dishes (banchan -augh I just tried googling it but the internet is down.))

3. No milk and meat

4. No bugs (aka M&M’s have crushed bugs as part of they dye in some countries, including South Korea, so I can’t have them while I’m here)

5. No trace of any of those things in food, which means that if there’s lard used in a factory to grease up the tray for cookies, I won’t eat the cookies made. In the US and countries with larger Jewish populations, there are organizations that certify what is Kosher and what is not, but in Korea I’m kinda just going on “if it’s not from the US or the Jewish Community Center (aka Chabad) doesn’t tell me that it’s Kosher, I’m not eating it.) Also, kosher utensils and kitchen. So that means I’m either kashering (to make kosher) the microwave every time I use it or double wrapping my food. I brought knives, forks, and a frying pan.

Thrilling, huh? So you see why it’s so difficult for a Jew to be in a dorm in Korea. I could have gotten my own apartment so that I could make my own food in a kitchen that I make Kosher. But I’m going to make it work! Someone told me that she was on a study abroad with a Jewish girl who just moaned and groaned all of the time about the fact that she couldn’t eat the food, but the thing is I wanted to come to Korea and if I happen to just eat chocolate bars from 7/11 (yes, they’re here and they have ferrero roche) all of the time, okay! Not really. Once I get settled in I’m going to actually buy veggies, eggs, and whatnot, but for now… This is my collection of food:

Chabad here has a lot of food so it’s all good too, after I run out. I’ll be okay! It’s only a few months, so who cares if I don’t have the type of food that New York Jew is spoiled with? It’s an adventure!