신당

That says Sindang. It is the subway stop by my apartment and one of three Korean words that I can read. The other two are 김 and 이 which are Kim and Lee respectively. If you can learn those two last names, you will be able to read the last names of 99.99% of Koreans. 11 months in Korea, and I can read 3 words. It's like I have this natural ability for language. Haha. But really I am trying to at least learn to read Korean. I devote about 1-2 hours a week to studying the alphabet. My study time is spent entirely on the subway. The material I study is not a book, but rather the signs for the subway stops. A friend told me that is how she learned to read Korean. So I've been doing it. I actually am getting better. I know most of the consonants, and three vowels. I feel like once I learn to read Korean, things will be golden. Gone will be the days of walking around in my ignorant bubble, wondering what each sign says. Instead, I will be able to point to a sign and proudly proclaim, "That sign says 'hasdogeu gong-geub eobche'" I won't know what it means, but I will be able to read it. Win! And in case you were wondering, according the the read phonetically option on Google translate, "hasdogeu gong-geub eobche" means hot dog vendor.

It's FINALLY starting to feel consistently warm. One day, the temperature even got above 65. The high that day was 66. So I am still waiting for the mercury to reach that magically glorious 70 degrees, but I am optimistic that it will happen in May. But, temperatures in the 50s and 60s are still better than how it was. Plus, everything has started to bloom. Two weekends ago, I went to a cherry blossom festival. It was mad crowded, but I at least got to get up close and personal with the flowers.

And a few unrelated to cherry blossom pictures from the day of the cherry blossom festival

Tower power! In one of the observation rooms of N Seoul Tower, a bunch of cities are listed, with their distance from Seoul. I don't remember how many kilometers away it said that Chicago was, but it's a lot.

Han River! I hesitated to even show this photo, because I feel it does not do Seoul justice. I remember as I was sitting there that day, I was thinking "Wow, this is so beautiful" This picture makes the city look not so pretty.

Yellow flower! I can identify all plants and flowers, just like my mom.

So yeah, things are good. My kids are getting cuter by the day. I'm going to Hong Kong in a week and 3 days, and I'm super stoked. I also just bought a ticket to Thailand for July. I was trying to be prudent on the summer vacation plans. But when I find a ticket deal that good, and my credit card happens to be sitting right next to the computer, I just can't stop myself. Like everything else I do, I've justified it. It's ok. I made a good choice.

1. It will be monsoon season in Thailand. Lame, except that is how I got the ticket so cheap. Not lame. And Thailand is one of the places I had to go before leaving Asia. So my other option was to go in October, when I am finished. BUT, average rainfall for October is WAYYYYY higher than July. Plus, from what I've read, there are parts of the country that do not get heavy rains usually.

2. Even if it does rain, mangoes (the reason I am going) taste divine, regardless of inclement weather .

3. I used my amazon credit card, which I am saving points on in order to get a super sweet discount on a Kitchenaid stand mixer, preferably pink. So really this ticket to Thailand was like an investment, an investment in my future baking endeavors.

4. I've been talking with a friend of mine about going to Thailand. I was going to wait and see if I like traveling alone/where she is going for that time off. But...meh. Vacation is vacation. And I think I'll enjoy traveling solo.

5. The dolla dolla is super low right now, so it's a good time to buy things that are priced in dollars. I don't even know if that makes sense. In my head it does.

With all those reasons, how could I afford not to get this ticket? Yeah. My computer isn't turning on properly most days. So I should buy a new one. My shoes that I wear almost every day have giant holes in them. I should buy new ones of those too. But I can't now. I have to prioritize my spending, and shoes and computers just don't make the cut. Ho hum.