Birthday Love from Canada + a trip to High Street Market

Yesterday, after two months of eager anticipation, I received my birthday package from Canada!

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There were a ton of cards from family members, winter gloves, smoked salmon, Straight Sexy Hair heat protect, Healthy Sexy hair soy wheat treatment, and a mickey of Crown Royal! So awesome.

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Mmm… maple salmon… I’m going to save one pack until the exam period for late night snacking with my roomie, and another pack for Christmas.

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Canadian whiskey!

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These gloves were super popular during the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. They sold out everywhere because they were so comfy and warm! They look super great too.

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Because of the salmon, I decided to buy rice crackers and chive & onion Philly cheese dip (my preferred flavour is the low-cal herb & garlic cream cheese, a cheaper and less-fattening version of Boursin, but I could only find the plain and chive & onion ones!).

Anyways, I had to make a special trip to the foreigner district of Seoul (Itaewon) for these “speciality” products. I actually haven’t been to Itaewon too much. As one of my other foreigner friends described it, it’s basically like Korea’s “Americatown”. I took a trip to the famous High Street Market there, which is the most popular foreign food shop in the city.

High Street Market - photo from jseseoulsearching.blogspot.kr
High Street Market – photo from jseseoulsearching.blogspot.kr

The prices weren’t too bad; the crackers and cheese were about the same I’d pay at a Thrifty Foods in Canada, and I was excited to see that they sold Reese cups! However, these were most certainly not cheap – I’m talking like $20 for a medium-sized bag (something that would probably cost $5 in Canada). I love Reese, but I don’t love them that much!

High Street Market
High Street Market

This photo is from their facebook page. HSM has a deli section and also sells frozen meats, baking supplies, pastas, snacks, import beer & wines, among many other things. HSM is also sponsoring a fundraiser I’m helping plan with Justice for North Korea (a local human rights NGO based here in Seoul) so they’re obviously a socially-concious business! HSM was actually a bit smaller than I’d expected, just based on the hype, but there were lots of goodies that I’ll likely by back for… But couldn’t find any Kraft Dinner. Bummer!

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How to Play Pub Golf in Hongdae, Seoul

A few weekends ago I got together with some friends to play a round of “pub golf”. None of us had ever heard of pub golf before, but our friend Christian had come across the concept online recently and decided to organize a tournament for us. Here’s a step-by-step how-to guide for anyone else who wants to try their own game!

Step 1: 

Have your meticulous and detail-oriented German friend draft a score sheet.

DISCLAIMER: This challenge was in no way, shape or form officially associated with Chung-Ang University. It was just for fun. Logos used were not done so officially. Now, continue on with the Pub Golf guide!

 

Step 2:

Choose a teammate of similar drinking abilities. Choose team name. (“Team Sexy” seemed only fitting in our case).

In consultation with your teammate, select desired drinking course. Standard course is recommended; approach Austrian course with caution.

Step 3:

Begin the challenge at your first stop – Ho Bar 2!  As Ho Bar seems to always be conveniently “sold out” of the cheapest beer (Cass: Korean – $2.50), no matter what time of the night it is, opt for the next cheapest brew (we chose Budweiser: American).

Step 4:

Complete the next couple holes on the list. Find a Korean old lady (ajumma) in an elevator at one of the bars. Party hard with her. Attempt to get off elevator, only to have the doors open on a brick wall (yes, this actually happened). Get off at the correct floor and continue on with the drinking!

Step 5:

Continue onto Ho Bar 1 for the “One cocktail + one beer” challenge. Can’t go wrong with a Jack & Coke!

Step 6:

Pose with some friends at one of the later stops on the tour. At this point, everyone should be very, very wasted!

Step 7:

Finish off the remaining holes. Celebrate with some dancing & drinking at Hongdae’s Club Mansion!

Photobomb a Swede photobombing an Austrian photobombing a German.

Step 8:

Find this photo posted on your facebook a week later. Think to yourself “so that’s where all those weird black marks on my arm came from!”. Make futile attempt to recall where the photo was taken.


Step 9:

Have your  meticulous and detail-oriented German friend tally up the scoresheets. Find out that your team won! (A win is still a win, even if most of the teams just forgot to write down their scores during the night).

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Feel free to alter guide to fit your individual drinking preferences! Perhaps we will have another tournament in Gangnam or Itaewon.

Special thanks goes to Christian, my German friend who organized everything! What a pal.