My Apartment

Holy cow, it's snowing! SNOWING! It was 64 degrees on Saturday! I had heard that the weather here is as fickle as Chicago, but now I've finally seen it for myself.

Anyway, that's way off the topic. Today I want to write about my apartment. I've been here for three weeks now, so it's about time I post some pictures. I live in Seoul, but just like Chicago, Seoul has different areas. I live in the area called Gangnam and my section of Gangnam is called Seocho because it's near Seocho Station. I actually live about 200 meters from Seocho Station, which is fantastic! It's a very convenient station. Gangnam is also a wealthy area, which could have meant two things for me: 1. an apartment the size of a matchbox or 2. an apartment that was super fabulous. I am blessed to say that I have the latter.

When I first walked in, I was amazed by the size. It's not large by American standards, but I had heard that most apartments here are the size of a single-occupancy hotel room. That's not at all what I have. The apartment that I'm in is in a newer building and in a business district. I live on the seventh floor. I have a guard that loves to greet me with, “Amandaaaaaaa, where you is go?!” and then correct me once again because I lack the skill to have a clue what he's telling me when he points to garbage cans and says things in Korean. There are tons of coffee shops, including a Starbucks that opened next door, which I have yet to visit, and Ediya down the street which I frequent due to the people, many restaurants, and interesting people-watching opportunities.

As far as blogging, I'm still having issues with the pictures and text ending up where I want them, so I think I will just explain the pictures here and post them all as a group underneath. Hope you don't mind! Enjoy!

1. My building: S.R. Tower. To the left of this picture is the convenient Seocho Subway Station.

2. What I see when I walk in the front door. This is the main living space; office/living room/ dining room.

3. The bathroom. There is no shower door. The whole room is the shower. I have to squeegee the water into the drain under the sink when I'm done and use shower shoes until it's all dry.

4. The quaint little kitchen. Yes, that's a washing machine under the stove top. On the left is the fridge and on the right is the pantry. I already had plenty of dishes and cookware, which is way more than most had.

5. The view from my window. This is southern Seoul. On clear days, I have a view of the mountains, but now that it's Yellow Sand season, I'll have to wait a while.

6. The view from my window looking back. Above is my loft. It's an amazing space creator.

7. The loft. Cute bedding, right?! Yes, that is a crucifix above my bed; one of many reminders in my apartment that I work for a Catholic school. To the left is a great storage area. Storage!

8. The main light fixture. I really like it.

9. The front door. I feel very safe at all times due to the triple lock which locks automatically when I enter and exit, and the video-activated doorbell so I never have to open the door to see who's there.

10. Oh, and I have a walk-in closet.

11. This was the clock that was already in my apartment. I started to learn that slogans here sound very strange in English. This is just one of many examples. “Happy to you” doesn't make sense, the elephants, bear, and food doesn't work together. And since you probably can't read the center, allow me to quote it for you. It says, “About our story: I can make you happy to make you feel my love.” What?