There are so many beautiful places to take pictures in Seoul. My favorite thing to do has been to cafe hop, and I’ve gotten so many pretty photos of the different drinks I’ve tried! Both at home and at school there are cafes that have delicious coffee, but the presentation and environment aren’t the best to take photos of. It’s interesting to see how photogenic places and food displays are here in comparison. I’m guilty of getting a soda and taking several minutes to take photos of it, causing the ice cream that was on it to melt quite a lot.
One drink that I found especially interesting was peach iced tea mixed with an espresso shot. I had ordered it on a kiosk at a coffee shop not realizing that it wasn’t just a peach iced tea, but when I tried it I wasn’t upset. It has such an interesting flavor profile, and if it was just a bit sweeter I would’ve loved it even more. After talking to a friend that I met that has been living in Seoul since February, I found out that it was a thing here!
Although there are absolutely gorgeous cafes, I do also enjoy the budget coffee chains. In no world would I be able to get a decent coffee at school for $2 USD. I stop at Mega Coffee every morning on the way to work, and it hasn’t broken the bank! I quite enjoy The Venti as well, and I’m currently addicted to the low-sugar iced cafe mocha. I walked up to the kiosk the other day to place my order, and when the employee saw me she started making it before the order even went through. I found that quite funny.
I get so many recommendations on places to eat and cafes to go to from TikTok and other social media platforms, but I can’t help but want to try popular fast food chains here, too. I tried Taco Bell (since I’ve been craving it badly), and although the menu items were different, it was really good. Instead of nacho fries they had nacho chips, which I wasn’t expecting. It satisfied my craving, though, and it’s so interesting to see how the menu differs from places I’m familiar with back home.
I got my hair cut at a place in Seongsu close to where I work, and the stylist did a fantastic job at getting my hair to look like I picture I showed him. I also paid extra to do a head spa, which involved some scalp treatments to help with dandruff and other products to help repair my damaged hair. I’ve been dyeing my hair for over a year (not stopping anytime soon), and the change in texture after the head spa was amazing. My hair felt soft instead of dry for the first time in a while. It was definitely worth the money.
In the workplace, it has been difficult to adapt to how feedback is given. My direct supervisor gives me feedback whenever we have our weekly meetings, but I also occasionally work the taproom at the brewery I work at alongside doing data analysis. When I work the taproom, I feel like I sometimes get in the way of my coworkers during rushes, which is completely understandable considering I am still learning. At my food service job back at home, having to train someone while it’s busy can be difficult, in which case it is easier to just do everything myself at the time and catch my trainee up later. However, I am never told if I am slowing them down in that moment by asking questions, so I am unsure if its better to try and help or to take a step back.
Learning to read how my coworkers are feeling regarding that has been the most challenging part. If I was in their shoes and overwhelmed from a rush, I would tell my trainee directly to take it easy while I handle everything. But since I’m not receiving that kind of communication, I’m left to guess what’s the best course of action as a trainee. So, I’ve been only helping when I’m completely comfortable doing something and don’t have to ask questions, but otherwise I’ve just been stepping back and observing. I’m hoping that it’s making things smoother, but I am still unsure.