Sheep Mountain Neighbourhood: The Top Ten
We live in an area of Gwangju called Yangsan-dong, which, when literally translated, means Sheep Mountain Neighbourhood. It's a pretty compact little place, but due to the absence of a sense of direction in my brain, Brian still had to draw me a map to carry around for the first week or two after we arrived. Jump forward five months or so and I'm now a Yangsan-dong expert and could probably find my way around our little corner of Gwangju blindfolded, especially to any of these places, which are, in no particular order, our top ten:
1. Our coffee place: Pascucci. After my coffee sampling tour of Yangsan-dong when we first arrived, Pascucci came out on top of the pile. I really don't think they had me in mind when they thought up the reward card system though...
2. Our supermarket: Super Mart. Or Soo-pah Maaa-te if you say with a Korean accent. It's close to our apartment and very cheap (although the fruit is horrid), but it was a little tough to get used to at first. The butcher and the fishmonger have microphones to roar out their specials, but when two new foreigners started to frequent the place, they started directing their attention at us and roaring any random English word they knew. I am happy to say that we're old news now and thus completely ignored.
3.Our bakery: Paris Baguette. This place is the home of all things 'French' in Yangsan-dong, if French means hot dog pastries and red bean paste EVERYTHING. The bread is delicious though and the staff wear berets, so we'll let them off.
4. Our convenience store: Ministop. There are about five other convenience stores within two minutes walk of our apartment, but this one is 100 metres from our front door and so it wins the pleasure of our business. It's run by a very nice family. For some reason, the granny is permanently stationed behind the counter on an upturned crate. She never serves anyone though.
5. Brian's post-work snack joint: Dunkin' Donuts. Dunkin' is right across the road from our school and sometimes impossible to pass by. Boston Cremes are just too hard to resist...
6. Our fruit guy: I visit this fruit cart every Monday for apples and mandarins. I know the exact amount of Korean necessary to procure said apples and mandarins and not a word more. Doesn't stop the owners chatting away to me though! For monetary reasons, Brian no longer goes fruit shopping. Last time he went there, he got 9 mandarins for 5,000won. When I went I got 17. Enough said.
7. Date Night Destination #1 - The Samgyupsal Place. This is where we go on Wednesday nights (if we're not at Destination # 2 that is) for dinner. It's a barbecue place and we've been there so many times now that we don't even order anymore, they just bring the food to the table! (Pork belly with all the trimmings, a bibimbap, a beer and a coke. Just in case you were wondering.)
8. Date Night Destination #2 -The Galbi Place. This was one of the first places where we managed to order food correctly in Korean (albeit with a little bit of miming) and we've been regular customers ever since. The food is unbelievable and the staff are really nice. One of the ladies even sits at our table and cooks our beef for us (I think she's convinced we're going to poison ourselves if she leaves us unattended). We've also started getting free stuff now, so the chances of this place slipping out of the Top Ten are slim to none. And slim is out of town...
9. Our local Kimbab Nara (Korean version of a fast food joint, but the majority of the menu won't give you a heart attack), otherwise known as the home of the best bibimbap in town! I like it because lyrics from John Lennon songs are stenciled on the walls. I also like it because the lovely ladies who work there allow me to try out my atrocious Korean on them.
10. Last, but not least, our school: LangCon English Academy. It's the blue place on the second floor. There are so many school stories that I shall have to save them for another time...