Julie's Final 52 | Episode 4

Julie's Final 52 | Episode 4

Hey y'all !

Week 4 out of 52! 

I wish I could say the weeks have been flying by since I started this.

 But I'm still going haha

I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! To everyone who has been watching and supporting me while I do this! It's been really therapeutic for me to just talk. 

Again Thanks everyone!

Love y'all

xoxo 

Buy Rose Market - Central Park

Buy Rose 

Central Park Dongtan

Directions:

It's right across from Central Park at the first intersection

The store will be on the side not facing Central Park. It's a small shop so you could probably miss it pretty easily.

This is the view from the Park side. So it's directly across from the park but still it's hidden from the front. So you just have to look closely. 

So I apologize I forgot to take a clear picture of the front of the shop! But this is what it looks like from the inside! ^^

As I said pretty small on the inside  but they have a decent assortment of cheeses! I bought some bacon here! The good American hickery smoked. YUM

They've got your chocolate needs covered as well. 

CAMPBELL'S SOUP! Needless to say I went to town on the tomato soup! Also they have a nice Japanese section. 

Here is the cracker/cookie section. Nice little variety good on.

CHEESE AND BUTTA ... and drinks

Beer!! The good kinds too! haaha blueee mooon~

Teas, jams, sauces oh my!

cookieeeess

Better view of the good stuff! Cheese, meats, sausage, butter! My mouth is watering!

This is what I bought! I spent so much he threw in some honey butter chips! haha He was super nice! 

Overall:

Not a bad place for foreign foods, even though you can find some of the things are home plus. This was a bit expensive but what foreign food isn't expensive here. It also sure beats going to Itaewon! 

I will definitely be back for other goodies! 

What's one thing you wish you could have at the foreign mart?

xoxo

J. Greene

Edu farm!

EDU FARM!

 This was our first field trip of the school year! Since Dongtan is located outside of Seoul it's easier to do things a little more country. haha 

The inside was actually super pretty and there was a lot of things to see! 

They had all kinds of flowers and an assortment of things planted around and lots of photo ops! Because it's not a field trip without some quality photo's to show to the parents! ^^

After wandering around on the inside and taking LOTS of pictures we were led outside to plant potatoes!!! 

They each got 5 spuds and got to place them into each hole. After the planted them the farmer came around and covered them up with dirt and the kids got to pat it down. 

Time to wash up!

The view was country and it was silent all around!

After we washed it was time to get up close and personal with the farm animals. 

This frisky little bird was wandering around and getting really close to the kiddos. We kept the bird at bay as some of our babies freaked out. 

There was a turkey, two donkeys, and a mysterious looking dog. We didn't go near the dog. 

Overall the kids had fun looking and planting their potatoes! It would definitely be a great place to take your kiddos on the week end or just fun to check out! 

Here's all the info:

Edu FarmWebsite!

Happy exploring y'all~

xoxo

Julie 

Felice Piatto

행복한접시 Felice Piatto - Dongtan

So the first week end we moved here it was pretty hectic and there was a lot to do in a short amount of time.

Sunday we ventured out of our Metapolis bubble and across the major road into a whole new world of delicious looking restaurants and boutiques. I don't know the exact name of the area but the map at the bottom can provide some help!~ 

Here's the intersection.. a blurry version the restaurant is behind the white sign in the background. So we walked around and the restaurant is next to Baby Guiness... if that helps at all haha

We walked in and the restaurant was pretty empty so we got our choice of where to sit! 

There interior is cute and very clean and well organized. We ordered a pasta dish each and a margherita pizza. 

This was my chicken carbonara ! I am very picky when it comes to cream sauces in Korea. It's always very runny and the consistency of soup, but this was perfect! It was thick and velvety and it left me wanting more! 

This is what my boyfriend got. He prefers red sauce and anything spicy enough to set your bowels on fire. His was called Arrabbiata and it was pretty delicious. I only tried a bite but he gave it rave reviews. He practically licked the plate. 

 

The pizza may not look like much but the crust was nice and thin. The sauce didn't over power the pizza and it was delightful! I highly recommend it! 

The presentation was nice and clean and we pretty much left the plates clean. haha I cleaned mine with the pizza crust. 

I thought the meal was over but all of a sudden FREE dessert came out! We got to choose between chocolate cake and cheese cake. The chocolate was pretty delicious! 

Since it was late I opted for the free orange juice and my boyfriend got tea. 

This is the entrance to restaurant, I am a sucker for a lemon painting. haha 

This is what it looks like from outside! Sorry it's so dark, we went spur of the moment Sunday night! 

Overall 

Atmosphere:

4/5

Quality of food:

4/5

Service

3/5

Value

4/5

Overall experience

5/5


Overall I can't wait to eat there again and try out some new dishes! The prices are moderately priced. Definitely not cheap, but it's about 10 bucks a plate, which isn't bad for the portion they give you. If your in the Central Park neighborhood check it out and let me know what you think. 

Here's a map of the location and the address in Korean. 

Friends

Friends.

As simple as the title may seem this word comes with a lot of complicated feelings and situations.

I am not stranger to home sickness even on the brightest of days. Being millions of miles away from your friends and family can take a huge toll on your heart. 

Last Sunday I went into full out fetal position because I was on facebook seeing all my beautiful friends getting married, buying houses, and having beautiful children. 

The thought that echoed through my mind was:

What if they forget about me... I'm so far away and they only see me once a year, it just seems like I will slip away from their new adult life. 

I went immediately into panic mode and just started bawling. 

Sometimes being here makes me feel lonely and lost in translation. When I see my friends doing well, I am absolutely over the moon for them, but secretly jealous and questioning my own life choices. 

I know before I came to Korea I had some critics saying, 

"What are you running from?"

"You can't live there forever."

"You should be an adult and start your life here"

Without a doubt it hurt hearing those things, but ultimately I got here and I'm actually pretty proud of myself and the life I have chosen. sometimes.

Let me get to the point:

The point is I've been personally struggling with friendships here (in Korea) and my friendships at home (in America). 

The way I see it is, in Korea there are different categories of friends; work friends, party friends, and actual friends. 

Sure the same applies no matter where you are from in the world BUT making friends in a foreign country isn't as easy and some people may think. 

It's absolutely true when people say,"Foreigners judge other foreigners." Hell I'm guilty of it. But here to find genuine relationships that will last forever is difficult. Different circles of friends, gossip, and constant 1-ups on people becomes childish and dull. 

Lately the pressure of putting a smile on and being tight lipped has really gotten me down. 

The point of having friends is to enjoy their company and to foreign together. 

Lately I've been keeping to myself and hanging out with my boyfriend and just trying to work on myself. 

I have to admit going home in July in always bitter sweet. Last year it felt great to see everyone and I realized I wasn't missing much... but this year I may feel different. 

Life abroad isn't always rainbows and butterflies and there are some personal hardships that come with it. 

I just the moral of the story is to stay true to yourself and have fun. Find people who uplift you, instead of tear you down. 

To all my friends I love you and miss you. I don't tell y'all enough but you guys mean to world to me. At some point I will come home for good....

For now I'm not done exploring. 

xoxo

Julie