Travelog #2: Sunday Mass at Hyehwa Catholic Church

It's Sunday, and since my mom is not here, no one was around to wake me up on time for the 9:30am English Mass at Yeoksam Catholic Church. So I decided to hear the 1:30pm Filipino Mass at the Hyehwa Catholic Church. It was in 1992, when a Filipino priest started to hold Filipino masses at the Hyehwa Catholic Church, that Filipinos in Seoul began to gather around the place.

Hyehwa Catholic Church

I was an hour early, so I decided to eat lunch first, my first meal of the day, since I was so lazy to fix myself some breakfast. I went to the nearby food stall that served Filipino dishes like Paksiw, Bopis, Pinapaitan and Chicken BBQ. I got myself Chicken BBQ and Paksiw, 1 rice and 1 can of Coke for KRW 6,000 (Php240.00). I wasn't able to take a picture of it; it disappeared in about 10 mins. :P

I still had 30 mins before the mass starts, but since it was so hot outside, I decided to go inside the church and join the novena.

30 mins before the mass. The seats were all filled up just right before the mass started.

It was a very beautiful mass. For one, all the songs were in Filipino, and the choir sang beautifully. Another thing is that, the priest gave a very nice homily. I was very glad that I decided to attend this mass.

Right after the mass, I walked down the street to what they call 'Little Manila'. It is a 'market' right beside the road, just outside the Hyehwa Catholic Church. Sold in the market are all sorts of Filipino stuff, from vegetables like Ampalaya, Sitaw, fresh, LIVE tilapia, Safeguard soaps, vitamins, etc.

There's even sinigang mix, toyo, suka, bagoong, Milo! They don't sell Milo in supermarkets here. 

The one buying was a Korean lady, and she got Ampalaya. She was asking the vendor what it was called, and I heard her saying Am-pa-la-ya.

J and J products and call cards!

You can also find cooked meals, like longganisa, lumpiang gulay, BBQ, isaw and balut! This is heaven for some Filipinos in Seoul, like me, since we can't cook at our place, plus the fact that I don't know how to cook! Heehee.

The market is not only popular among Filipinos, but to Koreans and Caucasians as well. You would often see  Koreans trying out Filipino food. They must be tired of eating Bulgogi and Bibimbap. =)

On my way back to the train station, I passed by this cute little shop called 'I Love Flat'. They are now having a sale and a pair of pretty flat shoes costs KRW 19,000, around Php 760.00.

Aren't they adorable?

I also saw this funny sculpture/bench near a bus stop.

That's all for now. Got to eat my dinner and finish my readings for the day. <3 Oh by the way, to get to Hyehwa Catholic Church, take Line #4 to Hyehwa Station, exit #1

It's just a short walk once you exit the station. You'll know you are in the right place when you hear people speaking in Filipino. You'll know that the church is near, when you start to smell the scent of inihaw na BBQ. :)

<3

Kudos to all new doctors!

Congratulations! *clap clap clap*

“

Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment.

”

Eric Butterworth

Today, a lot of my friends achieved their dream of finally becoming licensed physicians. Congratulations! (again, and again, and again).  I received the same news around the same time a year back, and I vividly remember feeling relieved, excited, overwhelmed, dazzled and confused all at the same time. It was surreal. I read my name one letter at a time, to be very sure that it was really my name. Haha. 

I wanted to call every one I knew that passed, but my roaming service wouldn't allow me to make outgoing calls. Hmmp! What a great time to be miles and miles away from home. I bet most of you are celebrating now. Go party! You all deserve it!

And to our friend who unexpectedly had HIS 'Preterm Labor' that turned out very well, Congratulations to you, again! I never doubted your capabilities. I always knew that you could get that 99. :)

“

We can do anything we want to if we stick to it long enough.

” -

Helen Keller 

Thank you Lord for such a beautiful day!

Buzzz!

For the past few days (or weeks, I should say), I have forcefully locked myself up in my room, my butt basically glued onto the chair, trying to chew and digest all the medical information that I possibly can. But there's only so much that I can take. I decided to go down to the nearest coffee shop, and study there, as I usually do in Manila. The nearest (and cheapest) that I found was Krispy Kreme. 

One of the most difficult thing to do in Korea is to order. Good thing, the cashier understood what I wanted when I said, "Mocha (Moo-ka), Iced, Tall" as I point to the 'Tall' sample plastic cup on the counter. Iced Mocha Latte at Krispy Kreme costs around KRW 4,500.00 (roughly Php 180.00). I didn't order any donuts since I just had my lunch. *burp* I try to cut as much calories as I can. Hehehe. Then he gave me this...

I looked at it, and didn't know what to do with it. What the hell is this? Written on the sticker was: Please wait while we prepare your drink. When the buzzer is on, please bring it to the pick up desk (in 3 languages). Whew! So this is their own version of our stainless steel order numbers back in Manila. And they didn't have to use a microphone to call out your number or your name (that would be a little more problematic, since not all Koreans can speak English) as this little thingy will just tell you that your order is ready. 

I nearly jumped off my seat as it vibrated and started to light up. Haha. I tried to compose myself before I stood up and calmly handed that thing to the barista in the counter. 

My Iced Mocha Latte and my study tools. I miss my study buddies back home. :(

Travelog #1: Coffee Prince

photo from Wikipedia

First shop of Coffee Prince is a romantic-comedy koreanovela, based on a novel with the same title, about a tomboyish girl dressed as a man and a young food empire mogul. I bought a DVD of this a few months back, but never really got the chance to watch it. During one of my lazy days, I decided to watch the first episode via mysoju.com, which by the way has a good collection of Korean Dramas. The moment I clicked on the play button, I couldn't stop. It was so nice. And since I am now in Korea, I decided to go and visit the actual Coffee Prince Shop. :)

The coffee shop is exactly the same as in the drama, although it looked somewhat bigger on screen. This is the Coffee Prince logo as you enter the main gate. On the wall below the signage are autographs of the show's actors. 

I just got to have a picture showing the door :P

Upon entering the shop, you will see the table where Han-Kyul, played by Gong Yoo, sits and work on his laptop. We wanted to sit on that table, but the one and only server said that this table is reserved. Boo. 

On the wall, you will see the paintings done by Yoo-joo, played by Chae Jung-an. It is really just a painting of flowers that, in my opinion, is not that nice. Maybe due to old age, the paintings are now replaced by stick-on flowers. As you can see, the edges of the stickers are already peeling off.

This door leads to the kitchen where Sun-Ki, played by Kim Jae Wook, would spend most of his time in the drama, making his famous waffles.

Coffee here was kinda expensive compared to Starbucks. But because  my mom and I needed to sit down and rest our tired legs (from all the walking!), we decided to order some iced drinks: Iced Mocha (KRW 7,000 ~ Php 280) for myself, Iced Caramel Machiato (KRW 7,000 ~ Php 280) for my mom and a slice of Tiramisu (KRW 7,000 ~ Php 280) to share. As we enjoyed our refreshing drinks, I gave my mom a short synopsis of the story, since she hasn't seen the drama.

The coffee shop was filled both with locals and foreigners, all very eager to take photos of the place and maybe reminiscing some scenes from the drama. There was a Singaporean couple, guessing based on their accent, who took pictures of almost every corner of the shop. Good thing we still got a table, after the server asked us to vacate the first table shown above. Hehe. 

The second floor was closed to the public. Too bad. That balcony is where Han-Kyul and Eun Chan would often quarrel and eventually make-up.

View of the coffee shop from the front porch

Being a fan of the drama, I was so happy that I decided to go see the place. It's definitely one of the must-sees in Korea for koreanovela fans like me. 

“I want to live with you. For the rest of my life, I want to eat together, talk together, sleep together, be together. Do I need any other reason?” – Han Kyul

How to Get There: Take Subway Line 2 to Hongik University, and go out of Exit 4.

Turn right at Seven Springs corner and walk straight all the way to the end until you reach a round-about. Turn left and walk about 100 meters until another round-about. Turn right and walk uphill about 500 meters until you see the coffee shop on your right.

First Time

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

This is the first time that I open a part of my life for the world to see. This is not the first blog that I made, I started a few in the past. But this may the the first one that I intend to keep, I hope. :) So there, welcome! I am a board certified Physician, who has yet to find her place in this world. This space would mostly contain my adventures, where ever my wandering feet would take me. :)