I went to downtown today to buy frozen chicken breast, my husband ate boiled chicken breast as part of his work-out meal. I have to go to downtown because they’re not available at the supermarket around us, while waiting for the bus going home I decided to walk inside the World Food (Asian Store) beside the bus stop. I have thought I would just buy Filipino foods for my weekly supplies rather than buying the same food all over again in NongHyup Supermarket.

I have enjoyed looking around and I didn’t notice that I already have a lot of food in my basket but still I went to the vegetable freezer to check if they have Filipino vegetables and I was happy to see that they have string beans, water spinach and bitter melon. It means I don’t need to go to Seoul just to buy these vegetables.

When I pay in the counter the owner handed me free pork noodles which I am thankful with.

The other night at the gym while putting my shoes on one of our acquaintance  started a conversation with me on what I am doing on my free time, if I have Korean friend, what do I do at home and etc., I simply replied surfing the net on her first question and no for having Korean friends because on my four years of existence in Korea I only met other people when I go out to shop and work out in the gym.  Well she asked me if I want to come with her, at first I am rattled thinking it is going to be  a church program but it turns out it was not. She asked me if I want to read history or probably story to the kids, if I want to teach English to them. I immediately say no and told her my English is not good but she insist that she thinks my English is good. Lol

[Icheon Elementary School Taken in 2010]

When I told my husband about her invitation my husband immediate reaction is “but you’re English is not good” which I seconded and informed him that I declined her job invitation. It could be fine if I know I am fluent in English and I can work legally in Korea but as a dependent visa I am not allowed to work.

The weather today is very hot so I decided to put sunblock  before going out. I have to go to the bank to pay our internet, electricty and gas bill. I also need to go to downtown Icheon to buy cans of kidney beans and frozen chicken breast in the supermarket at the back of Lotte Super.

There’s kidney beans at the Lotte Super in Shinha-ri but it wasn’t good like the one in the red cans, and their frozen chicken too are bit expensive than what we usually buy when we are still living in Changjeon-dong.  I took bus #8 going to downtown and went out in the bus stop near the terminal. I walked a little and it is already the supermarket, I went in and went out.  I saw group of women talking out loud at the next street I am sure they are not local, anyway I just walked to the street where I came from I could get to the bus stop near the World Food Mart.

[한국유통]

We are now shopping at this mart because it less expensive than Lotte Super, I think we already shop to all the supermarket around Icheon downtown of course except for Happy Mart which is way too far.

While waiting to cross the street to the bus stop the group of women came, I am not sure if they are my countrymen or not so I just take a quick look to them I think nobody even notice me except for one of them, I am about to cross the street when I heard them talking in our local langauge.  They are Filipina indeed, was bit too late because I already run to safety, I mean to the next street because cars and delivery trucks are already coming.

Less than a minute the bus came and that’s how my short trip to Icheon downtown ended,  before going home I stopped at Paris Baguette to buy garlic baguette.

[ Tagged In ] Icheon, Korea Distribution, Korean Supermarket, Supermarket in Korea, 한국유통

I went to downtown yesterday to buy frozen chicken breast and kidney beans while waiting for the bus I saw this orange truck cleaning the street, it was so dusty while the truck is blowing the dirt in the road, it was very loud too.

I translated the Korean word 우리국토 아름답게 printed in the truck and it means  “Our beautiful land” while 우리교통 편리하게 means “Our Convenient Transportation”.

When I wake up this morning I heard a loud sound coming from the school nearby so when I went to the bathroom to pee I opened the window and peep and saw that there are some tents in the school playground of Shinha Elementary School. It looks like they are celebrating an affair,  I have no plan of checking what is it, I already took some photos from hallway and I think those are enough.

When my husband wake up blurted that he needs to listen to the loud music the whole day and tease me to check it because he said I am nosy, I didn’t listen and told him that I am not interested though there’s something on me that saying I have to take pictures. Well it happens that we have no toothpaste anymore so I went out and before going to Nonghyup Supermarket near Shinha Elementary School I took some pictures first at the gate.

I saw some men wearing an orange shirt probably their uniform, I didn’t walk further anymore I just zoomed my camera and took pictures of the tent, I was a bit shy for being nosy. Haha

When I translate 신히조등학교 종동문 it turns out they are celebrating alumni, I am not sure but it looks like it was alumni of male students.

When I report my new passport in Suwon Immigration I also went to postal office in Icheon downtown to mail our travel documents to the travel agency in Busan. After mailing our documents I go home and passed by in the shopping street and decided to went inside the Naughty Cat shop to buy some key chains, I am planning to included them when I  mail post cards to my friends.

Aside from buying key chains I also bought few earrings so I have new accessories to blog.  When I went out the shop I look for the couple that I saw outside selling strawberries and persimmons I thought they were gone when I can’t find them to where I saw them but actually they just moved. So I went near them and buy strawberries, I handed 5,000 won and took one container but the man gave me another container he is saying two for ocheon won. As I already forgot how much is 5, 000 won in Hangul I just said I only want one believing ocheon won is 10, 000 won.

The strawberries are sweet that I don’t need to keep them in fridge with water and sugar but as I cannot eat them all at once though I’d like too I keep them in the fridge, what is left is almost one container.

It was almost two months since we moved in Shinha-ri from Icheon downtown and it was been two months since we are working out in this new gym.  Yeah, right before we moved here we surely check if there’s a  gym nearby so when our membership ended on Life Change gym we didn’t renew anymore, it was good too because when the new owner told us that there is no gym in Shinha-ri we know that there’s one.

You heard it right, Life Change has new owner since last year when we returned from vacation on Chuseok the gym has new owner already, we said it has a new owner not just because of the new guy but also because all of those plants you can see in the gym adorned by colorful sash. Probably the old owner sold the gym.

Anyway  we signed up for six months membership in M2 Gym in Shinha-ri, the first week is life changing I mean we are still looking for the comfort of Life Change, the familiar faces and working equipments.  We worked out in Life Change for almost three years and surely we established a bond with the equipments, haha joke!

M2 Gym is just few steps away from our apartment building which make it convenient for us, I would say they have more equipment but they only have few heavy plates, and most of their gym equipment are older than those in Life Change.  The good thing is M2 gym has a separate rooms for aerobic class if you want to attend one unlike in Life Change there’s none but they have small space for fitness enthusiast to do the stretching and etc.,

I just can’t get enough of Filipino foods so when my husband and I went to downtown to look for knee support that he could use while doing squats in the gym I asked him to visit the Asian store while waiting for the bus home.

When we went in there are lot of Asian customers probably because it was weekend and it is off day.  Unfortunately there’s no other Filipino around other than me, in my few years of existence here in Icheon I seldom see Filipino and I am just going to notice it after they started speaking in Tagalog.

Anyway I bought two pack of coconut milk powder, longganisa, tocino and a can of Bicol Express and Sizzling Sisig.

My title is misleading but the store actually does not sell only Filipino Foods but also other Asian Food like those from Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Indonesian, Cambodia and Vietnam. The store was just newly open this year, the other day I finally went inside to look around, see what Filipino foods they sell and buy a few.

World Food have plenty of Filipino foods and other Asian foods compare to Lotte World Mart at the back the Icheon Bus station, their store is spacious too compare to the first one. This store is beside the bus stop #8 going to Shinha-ri, it is also few meters away from the bus station (back) this is where normally the buses going to Seoul and other city passed by and across World Food is Vitamin House.

As there no bus yet I decided to finally went inside the store, there’s Korean man standing in front of the glass door,  I was in hesitation to come in because I thought  the entrance was in the next one (white decking) but it turns it was where he is standing, when I came in I am expecting that the owner is Thai or somehow not a Korean but it turns out the store is owned by a Korean Family, a friendly family. The mother and her daughter is busy preparing food for cooking when I came in I greeted them and I went directly to aisle where Filipino food was displayed and before carrying them with me in the counter I look for the expiration date first because the first and last time I bought noodles in Asian store they are two months before expiration and I just saw them at home.

I bought few items and I was amazed to see “tuyo” dried fish so I also bought them without thinking that my husband doesn’t like the smell of fish inside our apartment. When I pay in the counter I saw the pamphlets so I asked for one but the owner didn’t give me just pamphlet but a biscuits too, the Sunflower Cracker above was given to me by free.

[Address and Location of World Mart in Icheon]

I also asked permission to take photo from the outside so I can blog it, anyway the man outside who show me the way is probably her husband or part of the family.  The store owners are kind and entertaining, their supplies too are all new and fresh. I am going to buy supplies soon I return to downtown.

Before my husband accepted the new offer of the company he is working with, we visit first the school and the neighborhood to see if it is okay to live around like if there are shops, gym and other amenities around. We found a lot of luxury apartment in the neighborhood and we are hoping we could stay in any of them as the the company directors asked my husband if what type of apartment we want, is it house or officetel or what they called condotel.

So when we found that the neighborhood is friendly in terms of open access to everything my husband accepted the job and few days after his old contract expired we move to Shinha-ri.