Spirit of Korea 2012

Spirit of Korea (SOK) was upon us!  The rain decided to do its thing in the morning, but the tents put up as a precaution were there just in case it rained again.  The girls for my dance met in Lilly's dorm room before SOK began just to make sure we were there on time and in our costumes.  There were a few booths around the clocktower before the performances began, and I walked around to see what was going on with a jacket over my costume, but I felt pretty silly running around in high heels.  :D

Jeff is so cute here!  Looks like a pikachu :3  Pika pika~

Stella manning the calligraphy booth.  She wrote my name in Korean!  ^^

Ooh what's Hanju making? :O

He's not actually *making* it.  They're pigeon patties, freshly collected and mixed with sugar.

I shared a piece with Daniel, and it was delicious.  My first time eating bird poop!  :D

...

Just kidding!  It's not bird poop at all!!  XD  Do you think WashU would let students be eating unsanitary things like that?  Plus, bird poop is usually white, and I wouldn't be adventurous enough to try something like that.  Although in China, there is currently a new, super expensive tea.  The tea leaf blend has panda poop mixed in, and somehow that makes it all worth it and better.  The logic lies in that pandas don't digest much of the nutrients and the nutrients are concentrated and just pass through the digestive system.  Not lying here, Google it and read about it!  :)  *can just imagine Elaine cringing at bathroom references*  I'm only saying this because I like news about pandas!  ^_____^b

(Also, that picture is of me from the week I had corn rows in my hair!  I'll talk a bit about that in another post.)

Dagona-- a Korean street candy!

Basically it's melted sugar dried into a crispy wafer.  It has a slight burnt, carmelized taste, but very cool to try a street food here at WashU-- and made by my friends too ^w^

I just had to take a picture of this guy's glasses.  SO HEAVY LOOKING! 

Meanwhile, all the dancers were going over their moves and formations before SOK performances began.

House boys!  Phil is so silly~

Eat You Up kiddos checking out the stage

And then SOK began!  The bands played a bit for the crowd of pre-frosh and current students before the first dance began.  That was "The Boys" by SNSD that I was in :)  It was really funny, because at the part where it goes "G. G." in the beginning, the audience screamed and yelled "GEE GEEEEEE!" and I almost laughed while I was dancing.  (Don't tell Lilly that though!)  You can probably see me grin for a few seconds ;)

Dancing with D.O.C.  was next, and it was such a cute and happy dance :D  I like the fishie move!  *strut strut*  Anna and Sean choreographed "Love like Oxygen," but I didn't have a good camera angle for the movie :(  I filmed all the dances that we were all in, so not many pictures here.  Debra took my files and will be uploading the dances somewhere sometime, so I'll post links then so you can relive some of SOK ^^

It was so cool, because it was the first time that we were all in different dances instead of teaming up for one dance.  I loved that, because I get to watch and scream for all of the performances!  I lost my voice actually.. but ya know~  All part of the deal ;)

D.O.C.

Love like Oxygen

Korean Fan Dance

Salmanori

MC's with a poster cut out of Hyuna

Daniel's Supermagic team

An unflattering picture of The Boys!   Tee hee~  but we're missing Jen, because she ran away~

What a fun SOK!  It seemed really short, because ALL the dances were just SO GOOD.  I hoped the audience enjoyed it as much as I did.  ^_^b  Also, I realized this was my first full SNSD dance.  I bet hyung would be proud ;)

Bahamas- Last Day 6 (Departure)

Catching up on my spring break?  Start with the Bahamas- Day 1 post! 

It was our last day!  And it was early.  =___=  Book wanted to catch the sunrise on the beach, so we woke up early.  Daniel wriggled deeper into his coccoon of blankets, so we just left him in bed.  Haha~  Sleepy head.

The feeling of being on a beach in the morning is so different than during the afternoon when there are tons of people frolicking around.  It was quiet, calm, and cool.  Two seagulls danced in the air above us.

Elaine taking out her camera

Photographer at work

And when the sun rose, it shared its warmth with all who were awake.  What a sight!  ^^

:D

It's the start of a new day!

Since no one was around, I walked towards the other end of the beach, each of my footprints making a new indention in the untouched portions of the shore.  Then I started singing random tunes which escalated to hollering my head off.  XD  Hope no one was near!  A few joggers ran past and I quickly shut my mouth and watched them disappear into the distance.  He he >_>

Elaine went back to the hotel to sleep, and Book and I walked to the port to buy some conch fritters to take back for the sleepy heads.  But they didn't sell fritters until 11am, so we settled with Bahamian breakfasts!  We weren't sure if Elaine and Daniel would want to eat them, since it was sort of a savory breakfast of grits and stewed fish.  Sounds weird, but I liked it a lot!  ^__^  More of a lunch than a breakfast though *very cereal biased*

We took the boxes of food back to the hotel to eat, so we could grab other breakfast foods from the eating area.  I tried *European* plain yogurt, but it was so plain that I couldn't take another bite.. D:  I like plain yogurt in China though! 

Where we bought our breakfast

Bahamian breakfast-- grits and mackerel!  OM NOM NOM

We headed back, and I took a nap when we got to the hotel room.  When it was time to go, we took a cab to the fish fry area at Arawak cafe and bought an order of conch fritters, since Elaine wanted a serving so badly~  And we finally tried what the Bahamas was so proud of.  Pretty good ^^  I couldn't taste any of the conch though, haha :P

Conch fritters jiggling around in the car :)

At the airport, we bought lunch!  Always eating right?  :D  I ordered a cheeseburger from Wendy's for the first time ever and was super excited.  The boys finished their burgers in 2 minutes before we hopped on the plane, but I ate mine on the plane to take up some trip time.  Did I ever tell you that when I was on a 5 hour plane ride to Boston, I took 1 hour to eat an airline meal of a hot pocket, mini-salad, and a Kit Kat?  Really taking my time there-- I wonder if people thought I was strange :)

Noshing

Yeah that's right.  XD

When we landed in Charlotte, North Carolina, there was still some time to spare, so Daniel and I forced Elaine and Book to buy Cinnabon, since they've never had it before! @___@  I remembered Cinnabon to be gooey wonderfulness, because my friend once worked there and gave us a box.  But I was slightly disappointed because this time it was a bit on the hard side.  ._.  I feel bad for hyping it up so much for Elaine and Book.  I must find a *fresh* ooey gooey Cinnabon cinnamon roll for them!  ... or I should just make cinnamon rolls again ;)

Elaine's first cinnabon!

Book's first bite!

And... not Daniel's first experience, haha :P

We landed in St. Louis when it was dark, and Josh picked us up with BB.  He was picking up two other people during the day at different times, so he was probably making 923982 trips back and forth to the airport.  Thanks Hyung-- really appreciate it!  :D  The weather was cold and rainy, super contrasted with the sunny weather we had in the Bahamas.

It was a good break from the brain-crunching of school, and it was also my first time to travel with friends!  I'm really happy for having ventured out of the States with them; I now have memories that will last a life time ^^  

Summer break is within grasp!  Hang in everyone~  It'll be a break to remember :)

Piccadilly and Thai Pizza

Whew!  I just organized all my photos this morning, and it took 2 hours, since I hadn't taken them off my camera in forever!  x_x  Okay time to share my adventures at Piccadilly, an American grill tucked away on Manhattan :)

A homey look

The restaurant is pretty much in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.  So be sure to look closely, or else you'll miss this cute little restaurant.  They had indoor patios and seating areas, and there were so many people inside that we were whisked away to the back patio!  I kind of liked the bustling interior though, because it makes everything seem super exciting, but we would have had a tough time hearing another shout across the table ;)

David, Book, and Elaine are my eating buddies!

The patio was heated by indoor lamps, but we sat near an open area in the wall, so there was a cold draft near us.  I need one of these heating lamps in my room!!  So warm!

Nearby, the patrons at the next table received a HUGE plate of ribs.  All of us were amazed, and Book wants to come back and try them sometime in the future :P  After a bit of chit chat, our food came!

My salmon, "gourmet greens" and mashed potatoes

Gourmet greens apparently mean salad.  :P  I'd rather had broccoli or something, but it was still pretty good.  Also, the salmon originally comes with mac 'n cheese, but since I had it that week, I opted for mashed potatoes.  For future potential patrons, choose the mac 'n cheese!  It's a generous portion for a side, and it's piping hot and DELICIOUS.  (David got it as a side order!)

Elaine's meatloaf

The next two pictures were taken by Book, and I guess he is too used to his professional Cannon camera, because these turned out so blurry!  Haha~  But hopefully you can kind of see what the entrees look like!

David's chicken pot pie and mac 'n cheese in the background

Book's steak and potatoes

The portions were pretty small for an "American" sized appetite ;) and slightly on the expensive side.  I paid $20 total, including tip.  But the experience in such a cute restaurant with a few friends was worth it.  Be sure to check it out, and tell me how the ribs are :D

Piccadilly

7201 Piccadilly Ave
St Louis, MO 63143

Our next stop was Wizard's frozen custard!!  It was Elaine's and my first time at the original frozen custard location.  We were planning on going to Ted Drewe's sometime before we graduated and had never heard of Wizard's, but Book and David both recommended it.  

We got to stand outside the little shop and order at the window.  How exciting!  ^^

Various facial expressions :D

Book ordering his frozen custard

Trying his Wizard (frozen custard with hot fudge and brownies) = yummy!

:D  He he, so cute!

David's not a sweets person, so he just ordered a can of coke instead.  We ate out in the cold, and I kind of liked that because my frozen custard didn't melt :)  

Vanilla frozen custard with Oreo mix in.  It is SO good!

Instead of driving far to Ted Drewe's, why not give Mr. Wizard's a try?  You can watch your frozen custard order being made from the side windows, and it's such a cool shack thingie.  :P  Despite the strange name, their frozen custard is really good (although it was my first time, so I can't compare, haha)!

Mr. Wizard's Frozen Custard

2101 S Big Bend Blvd

Saint Louis, MO 63117

~*~

Before the actual performance, SOK had dry runs / rehearsals, and we all got to watch the performances go through their runs.  Although I got to see these more than once, it was still fun to watch!  :D

Standing drums practicing

After dry runs, Michael, Derek, Vicky, Daniel, and I had dinner at Thai Pizza Co. on the loop!  It was rainy, but we got to the restaurant relatively dry.  

Derek ordered another pizza (as he did last time), but this time it didn't taste like Pringles :P

Derek and his Thai pizza!

Derek and Vicky being goofy

Michael is excited for his Tom Yum !

Daniel and his pad thai with lots of bean sprouts :)

Michael and I actually ordered the same noodle soup.  It's funny, because the soup is only $5, but having the noodles inside the soup ups the price to $10!  We joked that we would just bring our own noodles next time.  I wonder if that's legal XD

My first Thom Yum soup!

The soup is very yummy~  I'm not a huge fishball fan, but I enjoyed the warmth and noodles while the rain started to pour outside.  Daniel had actually never met Derek or Vicky before, but we were all chatting away about classes and random stuff.  ^_^  Yay for friend-making!

When we opened the door to go out, the rain was falling pretty thickly, so since we only had one umbrella between the five of us and Daniel was driving, I thought it made sense if Daniel went to get the car with the umbrella and picked the rest of the group up.  But I would've felt bad for making him go alone into the rain, so we left Thai Pizza together and plopped through the rain.  By the time we got to his car, my shoes had become to water logged that it was basically like walking around in a pool!  It was actually pretty fun getting soaked though, because I hadn't been that soaked since being in Houston!  :)  Whee~

I took off my dripping shoes in the back of his car and it was the best feeling ever.  I love being in cars when it's raining, because it suddenly gets very quiet, and you can see the rain slipping off the windows on the side.  Also, Daniel's car has two moonroof thingies, and it was cool to lay in the back side and watch the rain falling right above me ^^

We went back to Thai Pizza to pick up Michael, Derek, and Vicky.  Daniel dropped us off at different places: the Village, the S40, the S40 Eliot garage area, and my apartment.  He must have felt like a bus captain :P  Thanks Daniel!

Friend dinners are fun :)  I especially like when I meet new people (this time it was Daniel and Derek and Vicky meeting one another)!  :D  Yayyy~  *happy*

~*~

Last week, Book had a photo studio project, and he invited me to help him at the studio.  Even though I'm at the art school a lot, I never realized that one of the doors led to an actual legit photo studio!  It was kind of cluttered inside @_@  but it was pretty cool to see all these lighting things everywhere :D

I'll be posting about SOK and Night Market sometime in the future, so keep an eye up for that~  :3