Beanies, I am the type of person that is scared of a lot of things, but I’m especially terrified of heights, tight/packed places, and the ocean. I’m so sensitive to movement, so I get dizzy easily, and my stomach cannot handle food that tastes good very well. Thus, why travelling anywhere is a very far, faaarrrr of dream. And since South Korea is across an ocean from me and the only way to get there is an airplane full of people flying miles high, the closest I can get there is the Korean supermarket which I got to visit last Saturday. It’s long for the fan wall, so go to the reply if you want to see me try being a storyteller😀.

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    My life right now is pretty boring. Well, more like repetitive and full of routines. Mundane. Sundays are for church. Mondays through Thursdays are for my babies I take care of. Fridays are for going to work with my mom or catching up with the chores and laundry around the house. Saturdays should be my relaxing day, me time you know, but I live with needy people and somehow I’m the one they always need (btw, this is not a diss to my family since they know they are needy😂). Therefore, in my eyes, I live a very non-exciting, non-spontaneous life. That is why a trip to the supermarket was an adventure. Beanies, I am the worst at shopping! Or going anywhere in general. I get dizzy so quickly (please do not take me to a Target because the huge amounts of red and their glossy floors knock me out in minutes😭). I usually go to the same stores and I go only for the things I need first and, then, if I’m having a good day, I’ll browse the aisles. There’s more I could say on why I don’t leave my house a lot, but it requires a lot of explanations so let’s skip over that. I can say though that I am a very anxious person. Like in my head, I’m like: I’m good, girl you got this. But my body is like: no you don’t, mayday, mayday, girl leave this place now. This year has been different though! I have been feeling better, both physically and anxiety-wise and have been hanging out with my family and friends outside of my house! Beanies, to me that is a big exclamation point! I still live following routines, but now, if I’m feeling good, I can plan for mini trips with my loved ones. Keyword: plan. I’m still a little far ways from spontaneity, but I’m slowly getting there.

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      All of this background was to tell you guys of my trip to a Korean supermarket (well, it was actually two Korean markets and one Japanese stationery store). I don’t know about you, Beanies, but it’s hard for me to make friends. Dramabeans is my only online presence, but I’m still pretty shy. I’m grateful to all of you that have conversed with me! I really want to talk to all of you more, but I hesitate a lot and get tongue tied. Since I don’t leave my house a lot, real life friends are harder to make. So guess how excited I was when my brother’s girlfriend turned out to be a really awesome and friendly person! We share many hobbies and although she doesn’t watch Korean dramas, she entertains me by listening to me ramble about them. Ever since I started watching dramas in late 2016, I’ve been wanting to visit a Korean supermarket I know of, but to be honest I don’t like going places alone. I have a driver’s license (how I was brave enough to get one still shocks and surprises my fam and me), but I don’t have a car and I rather be co-pilot since I can give pretty good directions and my dizziness might be calm riding shotgun. Anyways, when she heard I wanted to go there, she took into consideration my many quirks and planned a trip there for the both of us. Last Saturday I was having a good stomach day, so guess which girl went through all the aisles of the market😀. Everywhere I turned I recognized something I had seen only on my TV. Tteokbokki, tubs of kimchi, gochujang, huge bags of popcorn, the famous ramen pots, all of the ramen, makgeolli, banana milk, the little rice bowls they give in restaurants, the pink water pails, the pink dish gloves, even the ever popular Melona in banana, mango, melon, coconut, and strawberry flavors, they even had its knockoff Melon. (Sadly, I couldn’t taste them because lactose! But do I still get admittance to the kingdom by just seeing them?). All these things that would come of as strange when you visit another country, were very familiar and I didn’t even have to leave the county I live in. I was very much happy just looking at everything up close and seeing its packaging and ingredients. There were many people there buying their own groceries and I didn’t want to come out as rude by pointing at everything, so I just slowly walked through with my friend and quietly explained all the familiar things to me in a pretty non-spazzy way. You know just two Mexican girls casually strolling through the Korean market as if they were regulars and knew what they were looking for. When we were done going around the aisles, we walked towards the produce section were there were a lot of people and, since we had other places to go, we decided to head out. I did see that there was a little snack stand in the corner of the market that sold tteokbokki, but it wasn’t open yet. We paid my things and explored the rest of the shopping space.

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        Half of the space was the market and the rest were small shops that catered to Korean speaking people, such as a travel agency and money exchange place, and food shops. We were there early in the morning and almost all the food places were closed until lunchtime. There was a little kpop shop there too, but I only saw it coming into the market, and forgot to check it out on the way out since we were in a hurry. On our way to the second Korean market, we made a quick stop to a Japenese stationary store where I demonstrated a lot of self control. I had never heard of the second Korean supermarket, but my friend found it while looking up directions to the first one. When we got there, the parking lot was packed. Somehow we found a space and as we walked to the front, we saw many people going in and out of it. To our surprise, the day before had been its grand opening, so everyone came to check it out. You know those flower arrangements that people send wishing you good luck on your business, those were there. As soon as we walked in, our noses were pleased since the food court was in the entrance and it was packed, I guess it was lunchtime already. There was a little beauty stand as well, and some special offers going on, but remember how I don’t like packed places. I soon started to get a little worried. People kept coming in and there wasn’t a lot of room to just casually walk around the store. We decided to leave, since all we wanted to do was stroll while other people needed to actually shop. Regardless of that, it was fun and now I really want to go back and see it calmly, but maybe in a couple of weeks when the newness of it wears of.

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          So, I told you what I saw, but what did I actually buy? I’ll be honest, not much. The thing is, as much as I want to buy a lot of things, my financial situation is not so good right now. In other words, I’m broke😅. This was more of a reconnaissance trip though. I went to find out the prices of the things I want, so I can go back with more money and a list one day. Also, remember how I said that my stomach doesn’t like things that taste good. I’m not lying, all the food I eat is plain, simple, and with no strong flavors. I get really bad stomach aches easily so I’m very careful to what goes into my mouth and in my belly. I’m allergic to shrimp, also I’m lactose intolerant, and sensitive to gluten, plus I avoid many other things make me have what I call big baby heartburn. Its difficult to eat out and I even have turned my back to the delicious Mexican food I grew up with, sorry enchiladas. Thus, I ate with my eyes (No I didn’t. More like couldn’t because the food places open at 11am and I was there at 10am T.T). I only bought a little tub of kimchi, that I can’t eat because of the shrimp, but I gave it to my brother and his stomach of steel (he finished it already and wants more). The other thing I bought was a little jar of Yuzu Tea which is just yuzu fruit concentrated with sugar and honey that you can add to hot or cold water to make tea. I make hot tea every night with it and, aside from soothing my throat, its delicious of course. For me, this was a very fun trip and throughout I wondered what my friend was thinking about coming with me. Two things stood out for her. The first was how pretty the packaging was. She said everything looked nice and appealing. She wasn’t sure what it was, but she wanted to buy it and find out. The second thing she noticed was that in both supermarkets, aside from the Korean/Asian staff, there were also a lot Hispanics working there. We live in a pretty diverse city and in our own town we have a lot Asian shops in which the owners speak some Spanish, so this is not strange, but it’s always nice to see that we foreigners help each other out. Overall, she said she enjoyed her time browsing and would come with me again, but this time with more research so we can try some of the food out and hopefully find something I could eat.

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            I had such a great time just strolling through the store! It probably sounds pretty lame because it wasn’t a great or grand adventure, but you know they say that it’s the small things that count. I don’t think I’ll ever get to travel. I have so many things in the way for that to happen. And part of me is sad, but the part that accepts it realizes that my travelling dreams will just have to be different. I live in a beautiful city in California that I haven’t been able to explore thoroughly. Now, it’s just up to me gather up the courage and go see more of it. If you read this far, thank you! This is a side of me that pretends to be a good storyteller so please forgive her, she’s wordy and doesn’t make sense sometimes😊.

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        I do allow lactose intolerant people into the Queendom if they wanted and could’ve had one but didn’t, yes. You’re admitted hehehe

        Now we’ve got that out of the way,
        This was such a sweet story and I’m so glad you shared it and it made perfect sense!
        I know a little something of how your body can resist you doing things even if your mind tells you you’re fine so even if I don’t know you very well I’m so proud of you for this little adventure!
        And it’s so cool to see that you enjoy the little things.
        Hwaiting!!! Here’s to many more little adventures. 🖤

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          Aweeesooome! Thank you for allowing us into Queendom. You are most gracious!

          Also, thank you for your kind response:) I might’ve blushed a little because you know its hard to get people be proud of you the older you get. So thank you for that!

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        Hey if @sicarius knows you completed a Quest of Coconut Melonas, you may get knighted.

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          Maybe. Maybe you”ll just get a medal or a piece of paper with fancy writing on it.. I have to work out how this decorations and honours system works and I may or may not have spent like an hour getting sidetracked and researching military medals the other day exactly for this purpose.

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          I hope so! I saw all five flavors too!

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      Hey Jellybn! Thanks for sharing your story. It felt as if I was visiting the Korean market again for the first time. I’m glad you had a good time exploring and I hope you’ll get a chance to go again soon.

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        I hope so too! Who knows, I might bump into a Beanie there one day?!

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    We don’t have any korean shops here. I am so envious of you right now. That actually sounds like so much fun but now I’m hungry…

    I recently found a korean brand ramen at a local Asian supermarket, and I got so excited like I know that so 2 whole stores 🤩🤩😍

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      Aww, I hope you get a Korean market around you soon! You know what, Korean products are so popular now you never know where you are going to find them. I actually saw some Chocopies the other day in this retail store next to the checkout line and I would have never expected to see them there. Hopefully the ramen you found is good though!

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        Yes hopefully that happens soon. That must be like having your online world & real life crossing paths.
        I actually didn’t like it but every time it comes out in a show. I’m like oh yeah that one. I’ve tried it.

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    Thank you for sharing your adventure with us, jellybn! You are a great story teller!
    I am so glad you have someone to go exploring with. It is fun to visit Korean stores when you can’t go to Korea…
    I hope that you can go on more outings soon.
    Fighting!!!

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    I love going to the Korean supermarket just to look around too! If you can go on a weekday morning, there aren’t very many people. And if you’re in CA, was the Japanese store Daiso? If not, you should go! Everything is $1.50 and so cute.

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      Yeah, hopefully next time I go during the weekday because they were both packed. And Yes! It was Daiso. I loved it! I like to scrapbook and make cards and such, so I literally could’ve bought every thing in the store because it was so cute. I refrained myself so hard, but that just means I have to go back right?! Hehe.

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    Your trip to the supermarket sounds very fun! Thanks for sharing 🙂 I didn’t realize you were a fellow Californian! Are you NorCal or SoCal?

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      I think the Asian market will be as close as I ever get to Korea too so I can understand the excitement 🙂

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        I am in SoCal:) Think close to the border. I can’t wait to go back and hopefully find something yummy to eat.

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    Thank you for sharing your story jellybn~ To many more adventures, small or big. Even a small step can be an adventure in itself 🤗.

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    Thank you for sharing this Jellybn! That sounds like such a fun day and I’m glad you and your friend had a good time at the shops. There’s something special about little adventures like this that you can have right in your own neighborhood.

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      Yes, my city in general is really pretty, now I just need the time to explore it! Wishing you many adventures in your neighborhood as well.

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    I loved reading this and I’m so glad you had a lovely day!
    You’ve reminded me to go out and try to do something new.
    Let us know when you take another visit 🙂

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    Thank you for sharing! I’m happy that you are able to take small steps at your own pace in order to try new things. I can relate to this.

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      I’m pretty good at keeping my own company, so it was nice to go out with my friend and seeing something new. I hope that you can do something new and exciting at your own time as well:) Fighting!

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    Congratulations on your cute little adventure! I’m struck by how transparent you are about your social anxiety and I have two people in my family who are lactose intolerant and have horrible acrid reflux (my hubby and daughter). My daughter is just now really symptomatic and is having to adjust her diet as well—she’s my child who loves to eat, so it’s a challenge. She was also the one that slept a in a swing for the first 3 months of her life, probably because I refused to give up kimchi while I was breast feeding her—poor child. But speaking if lactose intolerance, have you tried Digestive Advantage Lactose Defense? It’s a great over the counter product that allows both my husband and daughter to eat ice cream! I know! You may even be able to eat Queen sic’s Melona bars! I saw that your quest included identifying that ever elusive coconut Melona. That is a rare feat! They are not in my city (I do live in the US). I also live in a town of about 200K, so it’s not so surprising. We’re lucky to have a Korean store—actually two! Looking forward to your next adventure!

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      Hi Ally. My heart reaches out to your daughter. I’ve always had a sensitive stomach and in 8th grade I was diagnosed with GERD which means I basically must take Tums with me everywhere I go. I hope she finds her triggers quickly so she can avoid them and feel loads better. I have tried a lactose pill before, but maybe its me because I still get an upset belly. But I found some Lactaid ice cream in the store and I get all the tub to myself so I do try to get some when I go food shopping!

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    Awww, Jelly! I didn’t think this story was boring, at all. It felt nice and peaceful, like I was strolling through the place with you. You’re a splendid storyteller. 💖 I’m glad you had fun exploring, and in such good company! I hope you can go and explore some more, in different places, and perhaps travel in your own city, just to see what you can find. 🙂 And maybe find some delicious food and friends along the way.

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