First Day Shopping ￦ith ￦

 

So we needed a few things for the apartment, and the school had organized a shopping day for new staff. We would be bussed into town, dropped off at a store, and then have our purchases transported back to our door. Although there were items I urgently needed, I was both curious to get out and see more of Jeju, and meet some of my neighbors.  Many of the other staff had arrived earlier and were a good source of information for Jon and I as we ventured out for the first time.

The bus headed towards the coast, past the tea plantations, plastic film greenhouses and small businesses offering stonework. Our first stop was a budget chain where everything was priced under $5 (￦5000). Surprisingly we found everything from wine glasses to cloth hangers and extension cords. The place was packed with stuff laid out over 3 floors. I had soon filled my shopping basket and was now using a laundry hamper to carry mops and cleaning supplies.  At the checkout I saw other shoppers with huge bags the size of a small child. We filled this, and then some, and packed it into the bus.  I did feel a twinge of guilt about the amount of cheap stuff each one of us was forced to purchase, knowing that it would all end up in a landfill sooner or later. But the truth is that it just wasn't practical to ship all our kitchen over to Jeju. I hope I can find someone to donate it to when I leave.

The bus then took us to an up scale supermarket near the World Cup soccer stadium. Brazil played here in 2002 and it certainly looks out of place on the southern coast of Jeju. Before doing our grocery shopping, we had lunch at McDonalds. Yes, I know that doesn't sound very cultural, but I was curious to see what was on the menu at a Korean McDonalds. I ordered a snack wrap from the electronic board, thinking it would be chicken like in the US. It turned out to be a crab cake. More interestingly, we shared a table with some school proctors, who take care of the boarding students. They answered all my questions and shared a bit of what it is like to be at a boarding school on Jeju. 

E-Mart is more than a supermarket: it carries Apple products and other electronics as well as several imported items.  I added a Nespresso machine to my cart and headed towards the bakery. We had been warned that Korea did not sell bread and that cheese products were rare. Here I found whole isles of breads and cheeses, although many were imported and very expensive. Much of the other items where frozen goods, all labeled in Korean.  So I used Google lens to translate the packaging. This helped me identify the chicken and pork sausages. I felt a little self-conscious using my phone to read all the labels, so I stuck to the more obvious foods.  I bought a bottle of what I think is soy sauce, but I'll have to taste it to actually find out.  Although we will probably eat out regularly and experience Korean cuisine, it is nice to have a few familiar tastes that remind us of home, like a cup of coffee in the morning. More importantly, I can now do laundry... if I can figure out the Korean washing machine.