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!