Author Archives: sarahbee

The Korean Washer/Dryer Combo!

I was able to Skype with my mom this morning! She like others have been asking and are curious to know about the Korean appliances. I decided I would specifically blog about our washer/ dryer combo. . . (I KNOW HOW EXCITING!)

We have a washer/ dryer combo, it’s a little machine that does both all in one. How fantastic, right?! Yeahhhh… that’s exactly what I thought too. I think the concept is a great one but overall it doesn’t quite work out the way we would like it to. Typically for our household of two we in the states we would do maybe two or three loads of laundry a week. Plus I am sort of impatient and would shove a ton into the washer and dyer hoping and thinking it would help speed up my laundry chore.

Typically Korean’s do not have dryers at all. I am told this is due to the high electricity cost to run it. We are lucky that the place we have came furnished with one! The machine is smaller in size so than what we owned in the states. Obviously, we cannot cram what we might have into a load back in the states too. If you do decide to cram in a bunch of stuff it doesn’t get washed properly and to dry everything takes even longer only adding to the three hour process it already has! Also, the lint… that is another issue in itself! The lint ends up on most of your dark clothing creating more work in the end as well.

So how do the Koreans dry clothing? I have included some pictures below that you can check out. Clothing is hung to dry. Alot of apartments feature an enclosed balcony, or what Koreans call a veranda (pronounced “beh-lan-da”). This is and area where they hang clothing, gain extra storage, or where people do miscellaneous chores.

This is what the enclosed balconies look like from the outside. You can see there are clothing hanging to dry (Shown below).

Our veranda can be accessed through a sliding glass door acting as a window/ wall in a bedroom ( Shown below).

This is what our veranda looks like once you open the two glass doors. Right now we are using it as storage for some of our larger items (Shown below).

Thanks for baring with us as we take you buzz you through the excitement of the Korean washer/ dryer combo!

Korean Elevator Moving Trucks….They Really Do Exist!

Today at lunch I could hear some commotion outside so of course I had to see what was going on. I was SUPER excited when I finally got to see the Korean elevator moving truck moving the neighbors stuff out of their place. Larry had told me about these and I thought it was some sort of joke not really believing him….(Sorry Lar!). Much to my surprise these trucks really do exist and really do elevate your items into your place instead of having to climb endless stairs or cram into the elevator.

Sorry the video quality isn’t the best. I just quickly grabbed my iphone to shoot some footage. We will definitely post what it’s like when we obtain our shipment in a few months so stay tuned.

On a side note: Family & Friends who have helped us move in the past… where the heck were these in the states when we needed one?!

Little B Joining Big B!

Hello! Or as you say formally in Korean “Ahn-Nyeong Hah-Seh-Yo”! Most of our friends and all of our family know that Sarah and Bean have made it safely this week to South Korea.

Before leaving the states for the most part friends and family would ask what I thought or felt about having to take the 14-hour trip on the plane. Well, who would want to be stuck in a seat or cage for that long?! Honestly, I have to hop up on my soapbox for the very first official blog post and tell you that Korean Air is an absolutely fabulous way to travel!

First, I will take you through the very important details of the flight. The food… ha-ha just kidding! The flight crew was so calming when it came to shipping Miss Bean in the cargo area of the plane. They were incredibly welcoming and attentive through the entire process of arrival at stateside airport, in flight, as well as working my way through customs with Bean and the baggage. When I was stateside arriving at the airport with my in-laws for departure I had so much anxiety about how the flight was going to be for my animal and the fact I had never been on a plane for such a long trip.

Once on board they provided you with some pretty neat comforting amenities. The amenities included a pillow, nice sized blanket, slippers, toothbrush & paste, a little clear plastic travel case, and headphones. They also had the screens inside the headrest in front of you loaded with your flight itinerary, new movies in Korean & American, music, video games, and historical/ tourism facts for South Korea.

This is also one trip that you don’t need to worry about being hungry on. I of course was worried I’d be hungry on the flight so I grabbed a very nutritious cup of Dunkin Doughnut munchkins. I was delightfully surprised that they keep you fed and well hydrated on the voyage. Oh and I must add it was actually really yummy too!

I snapped some pictures of the Bibimbap they served for lunch as well as the chicken and rice dish for dinner to share with all of you.

I am sure my family is thinking what in the world is Bibimbap?! Basically this traditional Korean dish has rice, zucchini, spinach, shittake mushrooms, doraji, bean sprouts, ground beef. They provide you with a packet of sesame oil and a little tube of gochujang (red-pepper-paste). Then you mix it all up! With the Bibimbap they provided you a seaweed soup that you can add into your bibimbap to moisten the rice and mixture a bit more. All and all I have to say it was pretty delish! Another side note I must add is that they serve you the bibimbap in a porcelain bowl instead of some crummy foil or plastic one along with metal utensils!

So now I know our friends and family are thinking how did our Sarah become so well versed in the terms of the food and how it all works together somewhere over the international date line. Well, I had the pleasure of sharing my flight row with two sweet little Korean girls who schooled me in everything that was going on with the flight, food, and pretty much everything else in between. They were flying with their mother, father, and adorable little brother. I had to snap some pictures of my adventures with them! After a 14 straight hours flight they basically adopted me into their family!

So the moral of our entire first blog post is FLY KOREAN AIR! We promise you will not be disappointed!

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