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It is raining - pee-gah oh-neh-yo 비가 오네요
Carpe The Hell Out Of The Diem |
Candace Kimi Sakamoto
캔데스 키미 사카모토 カンデス きみ 坂本 |
I am finally paying for all the gorgeous weather I enjoyed during my stay here in Korea. It began raining yesterday afternoon and when I woke up this morning it is still pouring rain (and is forecast to still be raining tomorrow) /sigh. Since it was raining I slept in then bundled up to go fetch breakfast from somewhere outside. Dunkin Donuts is a HUGE chain here in Korea for some reason. My friend even said she had originally thought DD was a Korean chain haha since it's so popular here and not so much in America. It's like Starbucks; they're everywhere! I finally caved and got breakfast there (I've been trying to avoid chains I can find at home and try new Korean places). I got a jalapeno bulgogi ciabatta roll, an almond mocha donut, donut holes (Bavarian cream and oreo chocolate crumble!), bagels, and a walnut pastry cake. Since it's so rainy I wanted to stock up for lunch too, so I don't have to suit up to go back out into the rain again :) I also got a green tea latte. I will SERIOUSLY miss the wide availability of green tea / sweet potato lattes when I return to the States :( I had some thank you letters and postcards to mail so I asked Jessie to find me a post office on her phone yesterday. Turns out there a large one not far from my hotel so I ventured out to find that as well. It was HUGE. It looked like one of those huge business towers, with lots of floors and two sub-basement floors. After wandering around lost for a bit I located an information desk and she directed me to the correct floor and station number for my needs. Hilariously, they have a ton of GLUE STICKS on the packaging tables! They glue the package flaps closed and the stamps on. It was so fun haha, and different from the US. I plopped my mail stack in the 'International' mailbox and went on my way! The rain was only getting harder and it was starting to get windy so it wasn't as fun walking around in the rain as it had been when I first set out :/ I passed a bunch of street vendors on my way back and one caught my eye... Probably the BIGGEST thing I had a desire to try when I came here was the popular hot dog on a stick deep fried in batter or french fries. They eat it with ketchup here or mustard but I hate both so I got it plain. Somehow in Gangnam they didn't have street vendors with this so I had never had it! I can't even explain my excitement when I got back to my room to eat these haha; it was an EPIC moment ladies and gentlemen. FOR REALS :))) They were so good! Just like how I imagined they would taste, all warm, crispy, and delicious...ah heaven on a rainy day. ![]() Bottom left: I've noticed that here in Korea, every single hotel and resort I've seen has towels with their name woven on it. I don't know if I never noticed or what, but American hotels don't do that lol. They are usually just plain white towels...while here, ALL the towels, from hand, to washcloth, to bath towels have the names neatly on them. It gives a nice little professional charm to it :) --- Also, the room slippers they gave me ALMOST FIT. This is novel. Usually (like in Vegas) when they give you room slippers they are always massively huge haha because they are accounting for the tall males and its one size fits all. Here however...the one size fits all is roughly a women's size 8 apparently haha. I feel like a Big Foot giant. I had planned to go to Myeongdong (the central area) to do some sightseeing and exploring today but the rain has effectively put a damper on that...so I'll kick back, drink my tea, and watch movies today. It's a shame because I am leaving Korea so soon, but I don't have an umbrella and don't want to buy one since I can't take it with me. Ah well. I'll be back :) Post office - oo-cheh-kook 우체국
It is raining - pee-gah oh-neh-yo 비가 오네요
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I had such an incredible day with Jessie 언니 today! We used to work together at Sushiya back in Santa Barbara while she was doing a year study-abroad program at UCSB. Today we planned to meet up in Shinchon (she attends Yonsei University, just like Yeji!) to eat KBBQ. I had scoped out my neighborhood yesterday to familiarize myself with subway entrances in the area, so I THOUGHT I knew exactly where I needed to go. Although my hotel is called Hotel Cozy Myeongdong, I'm actually closer to the Hoehyeon subway station. Once I left today to meet Jessie though, I realized the Hoehyeon station entrance I had noticed the day before was actually the entrance to the Hoehyeon Underground Shopping Center -.- Wrong part of the Hoehyeon underground. I speed-walked all over the area, using various underground shortcuts to get across multiple streets without waiting for lights, and managed to get wholly lost haha. Needless to say, I was going to be late at this point so I called Jessie to let her know. Somehow after wandering around for awhile I managed to find signs to point me towards Myeongdong station and just walked a long ways aboveground so I wouldn't get lost @.@ New areas are so confusing... I eventually got to Shinchon and found Jessie. Upon hearing that I hadn't made it to Hongdae yet she decided we could go eat KBBQ in Hongdae just as well as Shinchon, and then I could check off the last destination on my list of places I had wanted to go in Korea :) Yeeeeeeee Hongdae was so much fun!! It was so lively, with lots of people (especially young) and colorful shops lining the walks everywhere. What was notable was the type of shops there; Hongdae is known for their young crowd so almost all the shops were ones that catered to my generation. Shops and eateries we passed were all playing familiar music to me, and there were lots of nice in-building shops as well as street set-up shops. Hongdae in general is known for its clubbing, shopping, and nightlife; I've heard famous celebrities are often seen partying here haha. As we wandered, I picked up some warm thick arm socks and some stuff at Innisfree and SkinFood that I wanted to stock up on before I came back to the States. Shopping here in Korea is literally everywhere you turn, I have no idea how all the girls here don't go broke. I actually asked Jessie that, and she just laughed and said they were used to it. So it didn't have the same effect on them as on me, and they don't really notice the shops and goods everywhere in your face. Amazing... It had begun raining while we wandered around, just lightly at first. It eventually turned into a gusty pelting kind of rain so we stopped by a convenience store and Jessie bought an umbrella. We had a good time chatting while we got lost and turned around several times trying to find the gosh darn BBQ place in the rain (lol), but once there it warm & dry. We ate samgyupsal and had plum wine to go with it. I am in heaven here lol, I LOVE KBBQ. It makes me so happy inside, literally and figuratively :D Jessie was so much fun to hang out with and so sweet! All my friends here have been so so good to me... I am lucky to have such friends :) She also said my Korean is very good and natural-sounding as did the cashier at SkinFood! However this is starting to depress me at this point, because I am getting good only to leave Korea :'((( Then I have to start all over in Japan, and unlike Korea, I can't read the signs in Japan. In Korea, I can read everything; even if I don't understand it all, I can at least recognize names, stations, or cities. In Japan though, they use kanji their signs and I won't be able to understand the kanji mixed in with the hirigana and katakana :/ I smell trouble looming... After our delicious dinner we wandered around in search of coffee for dessert and we ended up at a place Jessie liked, called Rabbit. IT WAS ADORABLE INSIDE. It was also huge, wide and two stories tall. It's somewhere I would love to come and study or crank out essays because it was so comfortable and pretty inside. Think like the kind of atmosphere of Starbucks, but bigger and cleaner. Funny story: I was sitting on the subway heading back to my hotel when a nice older Asian gentleman sat down next to me. He had a big backpack on and looked like he was either from out of town or a traveling hiker or something. Being my normal self I smiled at him as he sat down and thought that was that. He kept looking over though and eventually asked me which stop we were at in Korean. I showed him on my phone's map which stations we were at and replied in Korean. Funnily enough, he was super happy and reached into his pocket bag of peanuts and offered me a handful! What the heck?? :D This has got to be the most unique thing that's ever happened to me with a stranger here...actually that's the strangest thing that's happened to me with a stranger ANYWHERE lol. If this had happened to me in America I would never have eaten any and thrown them away immediately...but since this is Korea and people are still nice, honest, and trustworthy here I felt okay to eat some. They were yummy :) I thanked the gentleman and then we proceeded to have a conversation half in Japanese and half in Korean. He seemed to think I was Japanese so he spoke in Japanese but that made ME think he was Japanese hahah, so I was trying to respond in kind until I asked him if he was Japanese in Korean @.@ So confusing. He was in fact Korean so I clarified I was American. He was so cute and funny! He then thanked me for some reason and his stop was the next one so he got off. You meet all sorts abroad... It was still raining when we left Rabbit and Jessie walked with me to the Sangsu subway station entrance before leaving for a meeting she had. Thank you so much Jessie for taking me out, I had such a good time!! :) It was getting late by now so the subways were quieter than usual (still busy of course, I just mean it wasn't Jurassic Park in there like it usually is). Upon exiting Exit 7 of Hoehyeon Station and reaching aboveground, I realized I knew EXACTLY where I was in regards to my hotel. If I had only turned RIGHT instead of LEFT earlier today on my way to meet Jessie, I would've reached the correct subway station entrance and NOT gotten lost for 30 minutes and been late -.- I. Am. A. Fail. That is all. ![]() Entrance and lobby area with elevator of my hotel. It's really cute!! The walls following the stairs u have this cute palace mural on the glass with a Welcom(e) to Korea message along with the hotel logo. Those stairs are death though, there's 2 and a half sets of those I took a picture of and I almost cried when I arrived and realized I had to lug both my giant suitcases up them. Taking them down isn't going to be that fun either, come to think of it... Pretty (informal) - yeh-ppoo-dah / yeh-ppoh 예쁘다 / 예뻐
Cool/handsome (informal) - muh-shee-suh-yoh 멋있어요 Special cup used for drinking wines and such (looks like a small teacup or short round shotglass) - chahn (I think, can't remember lol Jessie correct me!) 찬 ![]() Round 1 & Round 2! I only took a little bit the first time around because I didn't know what a lot of stuff was or how spicy it was. I found out I really really liked the spicy sweet & sour fried tofu cubes; they were my favorite dish! The nice waitress passing by was laughing at me because I was tentatively poking my tongue at the tofu chunk at first, totally absorbed in my spiciness testing :D
Whoa the restaurant here is FANCY. I utilized one of my free breakfast vouchers this morning and went to Restaurant Maybee on the 10th floor. A sign pronounced that it was still in its Grand Opening phase so it must be new! It was gorgeous inside, all glass, light wood, and chic colors. It was a buffet served catering style in separate dishes. There were separate dishes with pastas, seafood like calamari and giant prawns, broccoli and squid dishes, bulgogi, fried rice, sliced meats, etc. I was in awe. All the dishes were plated SUPER fancy, like the cooking shows you see on tv lol. I was scared to touch them but my stomach decided otherwise (I didn't get to eat lunch or dinner yesterday what with all my traveling hassle). I just took a little at first because I didn't know what some stuff was or how spicy it was. They served me a fancy little coffee as soon as I sat down. I wish I could've taken photos of all the food but I thought that's be pretty weird in such a nice place so I refrained haha. The really friendly host talked to me for a bit after I sat down. He studied in America for junior high he said, which explained why his English was so good! I had brought along my Genki 1 Japanese textbook to read over while I ate so he noticed it and said he was studying it too. In fact, he was holding a sheaf of Japanese study questions right then lol. He asked if I could read them but I sadly couldn't read it all. Gosh darn kanji.... A quick aside about my room: dude. Whatever this room lacks in size it makes up for with the World's Coolest Appliances!! I already waxed poetic about the toilet and room accessories. However, the sink and showerhead duo are literally the coolest thing I have ever seen, including the toilet. I've never seen something like it so it took me about 5 minutes of poking, turning, touching, switching, and pulling in the bathroom while freezing my butt off before I figured out how to turn the shower on. The showerheads are linked to the sink! There is a level on the sink that turns it on and hot or cold depending on how far you push it up or down. I finally located a twisting section on the end of the sink spout that was in Korean but I twisted it anyway. It closed off the sink the sent the water to the top showerhead! I twisted and pulled out another knob on the showerhead thing and that split the water so it flowed to the second (removable) showerhead as well. LITERALLY THE BEST SHOWER I HAVE EVER HAD. That includes all the fancy hotel suites I've ever stayed in in Vegas and the old luxurious ones in Mammoth (my family will remember those). I have sort of a pet peeve with showers so I'm going to ranmble on about this for a bit. Unlike most hotels these days that have 1) dinky little showerheads so nothing comes out, 2) decent showerheads but water-savers on them so only a trickle comes out, or 3) no hot water, once I turned it on I was literally drenched in a deluge of hot water that came out of the wide showerheads. You know when you're in a shower and you can face front and have your back cold or put your back towards the showerhead and have your front cold? Well the removable showerhead solves that for you and you're warm all over, all the time. It was HEAVENLY. Then when you put the removable showerhead back on the wall post, you get a DOUBLE deluge of warm water all over. And the top showerhead is realllllly high up too for all you tall people (I know Dad's had issues in some hotels because for some reason, they always put the showerheads really low in a lot of shower. Even I have to crouch sometimes to wash my hair and I'm only 5'3. Come on now hotel architects!) Restaurant (eating place)- sheek-dahng 식당
Water - mool (but sounds like bool) 물 Japanese (language) - eel-bohn-uh 일본어 Breakfast - ah-cheem 아침 It was again a terrible, exhausting, and somewhat scary experience trying to get to my new hotel. I got off at the Euljiro-2 drop-off from the resort bus, then needed to somehow hail a taxi to take me to Myeongdong. Euljiro was the closest drop-off to Myeongdong, but I still can't exactly walk there when I can barely move 10 steps with all my luggage without collapsing lol. I hailed three different taxis and showed them the address on my phone, but either because I was a foreigner or they couldn't be bothered to read the damn address on my phone, they waved me off saying they didn't know where it was. I had heard taxis often won't stop for foreigners or refuse to take a passenger if the destination is too close (for some unfathomable reason they would rather drive around passenger-less and fare-less...). They probably only bothered to stop because I'm Asian and they didn't know I was foreign. The entire time it was freezing outside and darkness was falling, so I was getting panicky. Finally when it was pitch-black outside I called Yeji for help. I didn't want to because I've already imposed on her so much that I felt bad, but I was out of options :/ She is the BEST you guys, on the real. She's always willing to help me however she can, and is so sweet and patient about it. I even interrupted her at the library when I called her tonight and I felt terrible :( THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU YEJI. I don't know what I'd do without you haha. I will spend my last five days in Seoul shopping for a thank you present and I just sent you a text about dinner maybe this week? We brainstormed together and finally landed on her talking to the taxi driver for me again. By some unconcious miracle I had sent her my hotel address earlier before I left the wifi of Kensington Resort to check if the Korean on it was correct. While the taxi drivers couldn't read it still, Yeji was able to tell the driver the address in Korean and he punched it into his GPS. He was such a nice taxi driver putting up with me and all my luggage. He even drove me all the way up a tiny tiny one-way street packed with clothes, shoes, and food vendors (more on this later) and endured the yelling of a security adjusshi who didn't want him to stop and let me out. He let me out anyway and yelled back while I unloaded all my stuff in a hurry haha. Some cabs here are SUPER expensive and the charges go up practically with every breath I take. It's ridiculous. This one however was very slow-charging and he was a good driver (no stop, jerk, accelerate, slam on brakes, jerk, accelerate, slam on brakes, etc. to endure). The fare was less than $5 by the time I got there which was stupid cheap. I gave him 10,000 won (about $9) for his trouble and patience in 1) agreeing in the first place to take me when everyone else wouldn't, 2) taking me all the way up the cramped street to my hotel front when he could've just dropped me off on the corner, and 3) stopping to let me out in front even when the security adjusshi with a stick up his you know what was yelling at him. They often don't accept tips because they don't know they are tips and try to give you back your change. Therefore, I paid him then hightailed it out of there with a cheerful "Byebye adjusshi!!!". Two women standing nearby had been present for the whole adjusshi-screaming-contest and asked me concernedly if I was okay and everything. They were so kind :) I hauled everything up to the Hotel Cozy Myeongdong (which looked super cute from the outside, all modern and white), then my heart dropped because I saw...stairs. Dun dun dun duuuuuuun. Remember those stores and restaurants I blogged about back in Gangnam that have a storefront on street level but right when you go in there are stairs going down or up to save space? This was one of those places... Maybe the Korea gods were apologizing for their cranky taxi drivers and my awful travel experience because the kindest women came out of the elevator at the top of the stairs just as I was hauling my first gigantic suitcase up the stairs, one step at a time. She "omo omo-"ed and rushed to help me carry it up. I thanked her and turned to go down to get my second one, but she walked down with me and helped me carry the second one up too!! With lots of "aigoo"s and "omo"s we got it all up the stairs, where the elevator was located. I thanked her profusely, she was so nice!! Hotel Cozy Myeongdong is ADORABLE. If I could, I'd run around the room squealing like a little girl but the room is quite tiny haha. Its the cutest little cupboard I've ever seen though, with such high-tech and pretty appliances all clean, nice and modern. They even include free room slippers, free water bottles- tea- coffee that they replace daily, and a voltage changer (since in Korea the voltage is 220V, much higher than the US). I encountered this problem when I first arrived and had to find a plug adapter to fit the shape. Luckily Apple chargers will adjust and use only what voltage they need, so I don't need a voltage adjuster). Steven this picture is dedicated to you hahah. The coolest double showerhead shower...thing I've ever seen, with matching coolest sink bowl thing I've ever seen. Also, THE TOILET. It's one of those super high-tech fancy toilets I've only seen on tv!!! I have no idea what all the buttons mean because they're in Korean (nor WHY you would need FIFTEEN different buttons for a TOILET...come on now). However, do you see that red circle on the seat of the toilet? Yea, that's a butt sensor. A BUTT SENSOR. I can't believe I just typed those words haha. But apparently it senses when you are seated on it or not, because it beeped when I sat down and again when I got up. It didn't flush itself however, so I don't know what it's function is as of yet...will post about it once I solve The Mystery of the Uber-Advanced Toilet. I'd like to see Nancy Drew take on THAT one haha (yes, I was a Nancy Drew nerd as a child. In fact, there are few books I WASN'T a nerd about when I was a kid lol). The people at the front were so nice again. As usual, the man thought I was Korean, then when I spoke English next guessed Japanese and I finally corrected him to American. He said my Korean was good!! You guys don't know how happy that makes me haha, I couldn't understand all of his sentence so he just said "your Korean" then thumbs up-ed me with a smile :) After so many rude taxi drivers and random rude passerby, the friendly desk people were such a sigh of relief for me. They have laundry here, and give you a bag in the room that says "Bring to front desk". So they do your laundry for you too?!? Where have you been all my stay. I have a newfound love for washing machines (and respect) because I've been having to wash all my clothes in the shower by hand. They also gave me 2 vouchers for breakfast on Sat and Sun and a free drink voucher! And not one of those lame continental breakfasts, there's an actual nice restaurant attached to my hotel that the vouchers are for :) I LOVE SEOUL.
In front of my hotel there seems to be some sort of street shopping center lol. I don't know if its just on Fridays or what, but the entire street has food vendors, clothes kiosks, shoe displays, etc. Its like the kiosks I'd see on my nightly walks in Gangnam except on a bigger scale. I guess I AM in Myeongdong :) Shopping shopping shopping. Good night all. As a side note, this is the first bed I've slept in while here in Korea that is soft!! And by soft I mean NOT like a cardboard box. Seriously, the Koreans love their hard beds don't they? It's like sleeping on a rock -.- This one however, I actually SINK like a millimeter into lol. Amazing. It's still hard by American standards, but as I've adjusted to the Flintstones-era bedding here, this will be quite soft tonight :) I finally made it out to the beach today, after having some fun climbing around on the rocky bluffs on the sides of the resort. It's freezing cold today and very very windy, but I bundled up best as I could and wore glasses to keep the sand out of my eyes. It was gorgeous being down where I had been looking from my balcony for the past week! There's nothing like the brisk, cold, seaweed smell of the ocean spray, up close and personal :)
As you can tell, I had a reallllly good time down at the beach haha. I felt as playful as a little kid, running around everywhere with the waves crashing and my hair flying everywhere.
Farewell Seorak Beach; thanks for the stunning views, peaceful days, and fresh breath of sea salt air in between stays in Seoul :)
All the nights I've been here I've seen and heard fireworks going off on the beach below. I wrote briefly about them previously, but it's seriously so cool watching from the balcony. It's like a private mini-fireworks show every night! The fireworks are the white exploding type and are mini, since they only explode not far over the heads of the people launching them on the beach. They must be safe, since it's usually families with kids that are launching them. I wonder if they are expensive... I'm finally getting settled in here and I have to leave again soon. This is the problem with traveling haha. At least I was not here long, so packing will not be the day-long process it was back in Gangnam. Now I just need to eat all the rest of my food here in the next day!! Quiet - cho-yohng-hahn 조용한
Outside - pahkk (eh) 밖(에) --- "eh" is the "place" marker, like "de" or "ni" in Japanese. Waves - pah-doh 파도 After the horrific nightmare of the last two days, some peace, calm, and quiet was all I needed. And that is exactly that I get here. It's possible I could get bored soon, because it's so quiet here compared to the city. But for now, it's just what I want. The bright sunny skies and sound of the waves crashing reminds me of Santa Barbara; it's really the most beautiful place out here. If I need some fresh air, I just walk out onto my balcony (I always have the doors open to catch the nice breeze) and watch the ocean. The temperature is just right too! It's remarkably warm for end of October, since it should be full on-autumn right now, and starting to dip into winter soon. I'm just in a light long-sleeve and jeans, and I can stroll around comfortably all day. I wish you could all feel the cool wind on your face and smell the fresh, salty air with me...maybe if you try reallllllly really hard my thoughts will reach you :) After three weeks of nonstop people around me, people in the subway, people in my hotel, people at the restaurants, people asking directions, people in the malls (you get the picture), it's really strange to have such an absence of people right now. It's neither worse nor better than when I was in the city, it's just...different. You know? I hear children playing on the beach all day, and families lighting fireworks on the beach at night (apparently here, fireworks are totally legal for recreational use! I saw some by the Han River the night I went there with Dajeong. SO COOL. I suppose Korea's residents must be more responsible with such things than Americans lol, otherwise they wouldn't be allowed). Eating curry and rice for dinner was the awesomest thing ever. I feel like I haven't eaten a solid meal in a week, but really it's only been two days lol. It's really nice having a stove and sink for a change. I made do in my last hotel, but this is much more efficient. Also, is it weird that I am now cranky that I have to walk so far to the bathroom? In the last hotel, the room was a single room with bathroom attached (like usual hotel rooms). But this is a resort unit, so it's more like a mini apartment. I now have to walk through the living room, through the kitchen and into the bathroom...this feels so far for some reason hahah, maybe I'm turning into a true Korean used to limited space. I spent my afternoon and evening watching movies on my laptop and drinking tea out of my nifty new teapot. I really love this thing, it's well-made and such a cool design. It also doesn't drip at all, a problem that I have found with a lot of teapots I've used in the past. Once you pour your drink, it drips from the tip of it's spout so I have to keep mopping it up or keep a towel under it. This one is drip-free :) Today while I was sitting in the lobby typing this up, about 5 or 6 adjummas and halmonis (grandmas) came by and sat around me. Unlike most that I have thus encountered, these ladies were really friendly and very nice. The grandma sitting down next to me said something in Korean and then sat really close to make room for her other friends. I can't understand her but I knew enough to happily move over to make room for everyone else. They were staring fascinated while I typed on my blog and when I finally got up, all finished, they tried to say something to me in Korean. I apologized similarly, also adding that my Korean was not good. They went "ahhhh" and kept looking on with interest so I felt obligated to say more lol. I told them I was 23 and I was from America, at which, they all went "Ahhhhh" and looked at me with MORE interest and lots of smiling haha. It was the funniest thing. I bowed plenty of times and then said my appropriately respectful goodbyes in Korean for their age group, and made my exit. Usually the adjummas that I have encountered here in Korea are NOT friendly and not nice to me. I don't know why they hate me so much, but it really feels like they do. Most of the young people I have tried to interact with are friendly and try to help, as well as the adjusshis (middle-aged men) and grandpas I have met. Lots of them think I am a gyopo (a native a Korean who lives in America), so I have to set them straight by telling them about my lineage on my father and mothers sides (which includes zero Korean lol). Many of them even try to help me further than my one question I was asking, curious about me. But my tourist experience with adjummas is not good, not good at all. Lots of them just turn their back on me, or stare at me like I'm a bug and then curse about me to their adjumma friend (or that's what it sounds like anyway lol). Meh. I'll stick to the young 'uns and grandpas, thanks. rice - pahb 밥
grandpa - hah-rah-buh-jee 할아버지 grandma - hahl-muh-nee 할머니 ocean - teh-yahng 대양 tea - chah 차 I woke up at 8am this morning, feeling a little disoriented but better. My room in Gangnam had been dark (if I didn't turn any lights on) in the morning, with the only window being shuttered. That's why I affectionately referred to it as my cave :) I could usually hear cars honking in the distance and some random chatter from streetwalking pedestrians. Here though, there are curtains and sliding glass doors, so some soft light filters in. The sound of the waves is also very loud and soothing, with the occasional child laughing or shouting on the beach. Whoa. Totally different morning experiences lol. When I got up, the next thing I noticed was that I was sore ALL OVER. Looks like I pulled quite a few muscles lugging my 5 heavy pieces of luggage everywhere yesterday. I had picked up a really nice teapot with cups in Insadong the other day (still have to post all my stuff I bought. Later though), so I made some tea and sat down to write down everything that had happened since I left Gangnam. The only place with wifi here is the 1st floor lobby, so I will go downstairs to post this and put together my pictures once I'm done. I sent you a message last night Momma, when I went downstairs to get food, but I don't know if it sent. The wifi even in the lobby is spotty I think... Because we are out in the countryside and I have no wifi, I think I will take today and just relax. I had planned to explore the beach, venture downstairs to find the Library I saw posted on the direction board, find a coffee shop, and check out the OceanSpa they have here, but they can wait. This no wifi things is the hardest thing for me to handle. The rest is fine, it was just a little shocking when I first arrived because I had been used to Gangnam. If I had arrived here first when I came to Korea, it'd wouldn't be so strange. But having no wifi takes away my only means of communication with anyone really, because I can't call and have no 3G network out here. So in the meantime...there is a rice cooker included in the unit here, along with pots, pans, cooking utensils, and dishes. For the first time since I have arrived here in Korea, I'M GOING TO COOK. I have never been so excited to cook again haha. For that, I need to head downstairs to the convenience store to get ingredients. Side story: while I'm sitting here in lobby typing all this up, this tiny tiny little Korean baby boy bounces us next to me and jumps (I'm talking flying-squirrel-style jumping here haha it was SO FUNNY) onto the couch next to me. I smiled at him and said annyoung and his little face just splits into this giant grin. BABIES ARE SO CUTE. He was the little bright spot in my confusing morning haha. Little Korean babies speaking halting and grammatically incorrect Korean is so cute too. It makes me think about American babies and comparing if they sound as cute when speaking baby English words. Maybe I just don't notice lol.
Anways, annyoung to my new home for a week! The next morning we had to wake up at 7am to catch a taxi to the Apgujeong tour bus station. Thank you again Yeji for offering to take me this morning!! Not only did she have to wake up early but she had to wait with me in the pouring rain for the bus!! Because yes, of ALL DAYS, it chose to pour rain alllll dayyyyyy today. She found the right bus for me and talked to the driver. I would KILL to be able to speak Korean fluently these days, it makes my life downright difficult not being able to communicate. Yeji was my Korean Guardian Angel this trip haha, I don't know how I will ever repay her. I am so blessed in life to have good friends around me :) Once on the bus I felt calmer, but still anxious because I didn't know if I'd be able to recognize the stop and because of the enormous amount of luggage I had with me that I now had to carry alone. Everyone else on the bus was, of course, not international so they all had normal little duffel bags and such. Roughly 4 hours later, we arrived in Gangwon-do, a coastal province of Korea that is more countryside than city like Seoul. The change is extremely obvious; it was fascinating to watch the streets and signs morph into lush greenery and streams. Still raining (unbelievable timing you tricksy Korea weather god), we pulled up to Seorak Beach Kensington Resort, the second to last stop for our bus. I was the only one who got off, so I pulled all my luggage along with me to the front doors. There were STEPS. God help me. I had to unload all my bags, drag each giant suitcase up the stairs one by one, then go back for my bags and put them back on the luggages. Checking in was quick, since Yeji had already checked me in by phone yesterday and all I had to do was show my guest certificate and get my room key. God bless you Yeji again haha, I would have been lost without you. Even when she's not physically with me she's still helping me. I LOVE THIS GIRL. Lugging all my things to my room was again, a chore in itself but once here I could finally relax and unwind. At least as much as I could, with my nerves complete on end and utterly frazzled. I didn't even feel like myself. I was extremely stressed, lonely, and confused. I wanted to go back to Gangnam and my comfortable Noblesse Yeoksam hotel. This feeling only intensified when I got inside my room and found out there was NO WIFI. SERIOUSLY?!?!? My unit was very spacious and quite nice. The view is INCREDIBLE; I had luckily been given a room with an ocean side view and on my wide balcony I could see ALL the way up and down the beach and far out into the ocean. It was lovely, and one of the few things that calmed me down upon arrival. I also found out there there are no tissues here (they use rolls of toilet paper in Korea), no shampoo and conditioner (I had been spoiled by my stay at Noblesse, where they provided giant things of shampoo, conditioner, AND body wash for me everyday), and only one size of towel...hand towel. Good thing I'm short and don't have much body to dry off, or I'd be seriously screwed... The unit itself has a nice little kitchenette with table for four, a living room with a giant TV (apparently bath towels and tissues are not necessary, but the giant flatscreens are always key here haha. Another difference in culture!). The bedroom is also really nice, with a separate sliding door to go to the balcony and a vanity set off to the side. The doors in here are really cool, like a double paned double sliding door (to keep the cold out of the bedroom I assume). Fancy! Also the sliding door in the living room boasts this cool little handle/locking mechanisms in one. If you pull the handle to the left and up around, it unlocks and opens. To relock the door, you simple close the door and pull the handle left and down around and it relocks. So efficient dude, why don't we have these?? No separate locks to deal with or fiddle with they get stuck! Yes, I'm looking at you Palm Desert Marriott Villas... The showers here are something I touched on during my review of my room at Noblesse, but now more than ever I am realizing how Americanized Noblesse was (when I thought it was already super Asian and shocking to me lol). How naive of me. Due to space issues I presume, Korean bathrooms and showers are one and the same. There is a drain set in the center of bathrooms and the shower is usually not partitioned at all. You shower standing in front of your toilet. In this hotel, there is a small glass divider though. In Noblesse, there was a whole tub you stood in to take your shower, so the only real difference was that there was no shower curtain. That is why they give you shower sandals...because once you take your shower, the bathroom floor is now all wet and you can't go in without sandals on. I have not gotten used to this yet, although I really like the no curtain at Noblesse for some reason. It made the bathroom feel really big, light-filled, and less claustrophobic than with a curtain. I am just chalking this shower/bathroom thing up to a learning experience though, and treating it like an adventure -.- I don't know how to explain the weirdness, you cant really understand unless you are standing here and having to use it like me lol. It's REALLY REALLY STRANGE @.@ I don't mean that in an offensive way, it's just not what I'm used to haha.
By 4pm, I had not eaten since a muffin this morning and I was tired, irritable, and lonely. I figured the best thing to do was eat and go to sleep. There's two restaurants here but they look pricey, so I just dropped by the convenience store on the 1st floor and stocked up on snacks and tea. I ate, showered, and went to bed by 5pm. Once at Yeji's apartment, she consoled me and then we set to work calling my resort to explain why I wasn't checking in today and to reserve me a spot on the bus tomorrow. After that, she took me out to lunch at her university's cafeteria. Now, when I say cafeteria most people would think oh, lunch ladies, trays, bland food, boring, shabby decor...this newest culture shock phenomenon hit me with the force of a frying pan lol. it's GORGEOUS inside her university, all glass and modern colors and decor. There's a hair salon (YES A HAIR SALON) inside her university, as well as a cobbler, flower shop, glasses shop, etc. Going back to the cafeterias (yes plural), there are multiple cafeterias on each floor it seems like, depending on what you want to eat! We checked out one cafeteria that specialized in Korean food Yeji said, then checked out a second one on the opposite side of the 1st floor from the Korean one, which seemed to specialize in pastas, pizzas, and gratin. I chose this one, since I hadn't had pasta yet here in Korea.
Everything here is so new and fancy!! You order at the front desk of the cafeteria when you first walk in, and then they post your number on a board when your food is ready. You go pick it up from the various stations SO COOL I AM SHOCK. I was like beside myself when I saw the students eating at sparkiling clean tables out of elegant ceramic bowls among such cute, chic decor (sorry if I keep going on about the decor in various places, I wanted to be an interior designer remember? Bear with me hahah, it's always the very first thing I notice when I walk into new places). Everything here looks like a cute little coffee shop in how it's designed! Another minor culture shock for me was the realization that I can leave my purse, with wallet in it, unattended and it will be fine until I am back. When our numbers were posted, Yeji stood up and indicated I should come too, leaving my purse behind. I gaped at her, and asked if my purse would be okay while we were gone, expecting it to be missing altogether when we returned. She laughed at me haha, silly American. Lo and behold, when we came back, it was still there. Why is America so screwed up that you can't leave a freaking travel mug unattended for 10 seconds without it being stolen, much less an iPhone, wallet, or purse?? Or we can go with the WHY IS KOREA SO AWESOME bit instead. I like that one better anyway...
It is midterm week here Yeji informed me, which is why so many students were running around in the Yonsei University jackets. A HA. I had a minor hit of nostalgia as I remembered all those nights spent slaving away until 4am (or later) in my UCSB hood and UCSB sweats at the library, because I wanted to be comfortable. I even got a Yonsei University hood for myself in the University store! It was so warm and pretty, and I didn't bring any sweatshirts to sleep in, what with the weather getting colder now. I have plenty of cute peacoats and trenchcoats I've bought though :) We went to the library also, so Yeji could go inside and pick up a bag from her friend. Watching the flow of humanity coming in and out of the central library was amazing. I miss college already. Students in other countries may speak different languages but they are still all the same students. It's midterms week right now so the library is packed with harassed looking students with coffee, and all are in sweats and comfy clothing. Yeji and I laughed about how students at UCSB were the same, everyone wearing glasses and no makeup.
We got drinks also for dessert from the convenience store outside one of the cafeterias. The bottles were so cool! They were half clear mini-soda liter bottle, but the top was like a metal can. They were called Mojitos but didn't have any alcohol in them, just juice. They tasted very authentic...a little too authentic if you catch my drift lol. Nonetheless, we took them outside and began a tour of her university. We decided that we would view this day today as an extra surprise day in Seoul in my vacation itinerary! A day in the life of a student at Yonsei University :)
The campus is beyond beautiful. It reminds me of the East Coast Ivy League kind of schools I've seen pictures of. Very historical and picturesque, especially with all the fall leaves coloring the various landscapes. She showed me the main administrative buildings, the sciences, the English and linguistics buildings (where her classes are!), and all around. I had so much fun! It was like being in the shoes of a transfer student here, wandering around amidst the buildings with Korean signs directing you where to go.
Yeji had class that afternoon so I took a nap at her place. I was weirdly exhausted, probably because of how early I woke up that morning and how stressed I had been all morning. She returned at 6pm and we went on a walk in search of dinner. She took me to one of her favorite places, called the Frying Pan. IT WAS THE CHICKEN PLACE IVE BEEN WANTING TO GO TO SINCE MY FIRST TRIP TO ITAEWON. They serve you chicken on a long bed of homemade potato chips with two different dipping sauces. It was DELICIOUS. The chicken was crispy and tasty, and we had it with garlic and ranch dipping sauces (although they called it something else). The chip so good, I was saying they could totally package these and sell them lol. We walked back to her place, where she packed her stuff to go work on some homework at the library. As I've mentioned before, students here are so diligent and hardworking; it's incredible. She was saying it is not uncommon for students to take 6 years in college, unlike the usual American 4 years. This is because of numerous reasons. One is that men are required to do their 2 years of military service before they finish university, so they often have to take a break and come back later. Another is that internships here are generally around 6 months and cannot be done during summer break. Students need work experience to graduate, so they must take a leave of school to do the internship. Intense. Finally, sometimes their studies simply require that long to finish. While Yeji left to go study, I made my bed and did some research on the Japan Airlines baggage restrictions for flying (since I will be flying them when I go to Japan on Nov. 8). I wanted to make sure I could bring all my stuff. Luckily the baggage restrictions are about the same as Korean Airlines, so I am safe!
I took a taxi to Jamsil Station exit 4, where I was supposed to catch a resort bus to Gangwon-do. This was easier said than done, since I can neither speak Korean to call the taxi nor tell the driver where to go. Nor have I ever ridden a taxi that didn't already know where it was going (e.g. yesterday when the Tour agency got me a cab) and needed me to pay the bill. Luckily though I have friends! Jungho-oppa was at the front desk this morning, so he called me a cab and helped me put my luggage in. Yeji-unni translated where I needed to go into Korean and Jungho-oppa read it then spoke to the cab driver. Such a mission lol. $13 later, the cab dropped me off and I sat down to wait. I was still waiting when I saw a car drop off two young preteen girls who were off I'm assuming to shop or something around this area. It reminded me of when my mom would drop off me and a girlfriend at the mall or something, and how free and exciting it was for us to be on our own. It made me think my mom must have worried buy rationalized that as long as we had each other we'd be okay :) Those girls looked so young to me sitting here on my bench with all my luggage alone in a foreign country. Not going to lie, it made me nostalgic. Most of the time I like being on my own here, exploring the way I want to, but sometimes there are moments when it IS scary and it IS hard to be all by myself. When I'm lost or doing something simple like riding a taxi for the first time in my life, I wish I had someone with me to guide me through it or at least someone to be scared with. I figure thats why I'm so uncomfortable sometimes. I'm totally winging it out here. I'm a girl who likes to always have a plan and know what and where and when I am doing it, but I am totally going by the seat of my pants here. I've never done all this before and I have no idea how its going to turn out. Isn't that strange?? I like it most of the time, its exhilarating. But it's still scary having no means of communication once I leave the wifi of my hotel, and no way to communicate with anyone for any real help (I can ask in Korean, but can't understand their responses -.-). I've never experienced that before, having never left the US and always having my 3G Internet whenever I needed it. That's one of the hardest things for me to adjust to; I never realized how much my spoiled self relied on my 3G connection to get me to places, look up information, and contact people en route. I was STILL waiting for my bus when SIX more tour buses came and dropped off busloads of little Korean kindergarteners. They were epicly cute but only added to my nostalgia lol. Scrambling in line to be next to their friends and fixing shoelaces and twisted backpack straps. Holding hands with their buddy in line, playing clapping games, and bobbing anxiously, ready get going. Must have been a district field trip because the little guys were EVERYWHERE. So I was supposed to catch the 9:30 bus to Seorak Beach Kensington Resort. But in my delusional newbie traveler state, I didn't realize the resort bus I was supposed to catch wouldn't be just for my resort, it'd be for a bunch of resorts. So while I assumed the bus would have Kensington Resort on the side or something, it was in reality (I found out later) just a regular purple tour bus that was chartered to take people to the various resorts. So I missed it. 9:30 came and went, and I was beginning to panic. I had left the safety of my hotel and people who knew me and would help me. Nobody around me could understand me, my phone could not call Korean numbers (except cell phone numbers I also later found out), and I was stranded alone by the tour bus area with my thousand pounds of baggage. So I couldn't even move very far to go find a payphone or something because of all my luggage. I tried over and over to call the tour bus company to find out if the bus had already come and to ask what it looked like, but my phone couldn't connect with the Korean phone number.
Around 10:00 I was in tears and having a minor breakdown at this point, so I mentally whacked myself on the head and pulled myself together. I tried calling Dajeong's cell which miraculously dialed but she didn't pick up. So I tried calling Yeji, and she did pick up! I'm pretty sure I was somewhat incoherent at this point, my panic was so great, but somehow she understood me and took down the tour bus company number I gave her and called it. She can't call me back so I just called her back in 10 minutes, which is when she told me the bus had left for today already. There is only one resort bus a day because the distance is so great. On a side note, it was somewhat funny cursing loudly after she told me the bus had already left and getting ZERO reaction from the people around me lol. Since its not a curse in their language. That was about the only humor I found in this awful morning though. So I was swamped with panic all over again, but Yeji calmly told me she would book me a reservation spot for tomorrow's bus (so they wouldn't leave without me). When I told her I couldn't do that because I had nowhere to stay for tonight, she said I could stay with her tonight. YEJI 언니 YOU ARE MY SAVIOR. She was so kind and patient with me, empathizing with my situation (like I mentioned before, she had studied at UCSB same time as me so she was a stranger over there too). I am so so grateful to you Yeji, if you are reading this. You have no idea @.@ I managed to drag all my luggage to the curb and hailed a taxi, keeping Yeji on the phone so she could talk to the driver and tell him how to get to her apartment. That in itself was a trial, because she lives in the student quarters by Yonsei University, her school, and it's like a maze in there. If you think Isla Vista is cramped, this is like 4867312879462984673 times more densely populated lol. It's crazy! Like my friends keep telling me; unlike America, in Korea you cannot build outwards...so you build up or down haha. Next stop was Insadong! I really love this little area of Seoul with all the hustle and bustle, and quaint shops everywhere. It was AMAZING getting to see the more traditional and cultural goods of Korea's heritage. There were hand-carved wooden utensils, traditional hanboks (Korean cultural garb, like the kimono for Japanese), Korean candies and foods, pottery, statues, metalwork, and even a traditional Korean paper shop! There was so much to see! I could have stayed for much longer, but we only got about 40 minutes before we had to meet back up. It was still a fun little journey into what felt like the real lifeblood of Korean culture. I also got some great gifts and souvenirs!! I'll post pictures later of what I got :) Next up was the Amethyst Factory. They have a mine right here in Korea apparently. Everything in there was priced too high for my student budget of course, but it was nice getting to look around at the beautiful jewelry and items. All the rest of my tour group was older and primarily from Canada strangely enough lol, so they looked more interestedly than I did (since they could probably afford some of these things). Finally we got to Namdaemun!! I was in heaven; now THIS is what I imagined doing when I first thought of my shopping in Korea during this trip. I imagined outside shops for as far as the eye can see and in every directions possible (seriously, some of these intersections split off into like 7 different little streets haha). In the middle of the thick lines of shops on either side were kiosks selling MORE stuff in the middle of the street. Needless to say, it was very packed and cramped and moving was impossible without shoving into someone or pressing up against someone else. Our tour guide led us around in a quick small circuit of part of the market (since she said this place is so huge, you can easily get lost) then let us go off on our own. It was so much fun wandering among the mind-blowing amount of goods and shops that were there. There were clothes, shoes, bags, watches, wallets, socks, belts, boxers, scarves, warm food vendors, grocery stores, cosmetics, hair accessories,jewelry, fresh fruit stalls, purses, jackets, etc. My head was LITERALLY on a swivel this time, I thought it was bad before in the underground shopping areas. The scale of this market is so impressive, you can't even comprehend how far it goes in all directions haha. Our tour guide tried to explain it then gave up. We came in at Gate 8; she said this ENTIRE thing we just circuited was only a portion of that Gate, and there were 7 more. Criminy. I did a little shopping for stuff I had noted on our guided circuit before, then headed back to the tour bus in time to head home!
I went on my first tour today, an afternoon Seoul City tour. It not only included a hotel pick up for me but also a hotel drop off at the end! Itinerary: Hotel Pick up – Changdeok Palace – Insadong Arts and Crafts Market - Amethyst/Ginseng Center – Namdaemun Traditional Market – Arrive at hotel. Insadong is somewhere I've been wanting to go to for ages! It's a market street area that specializes in traditional and antique crafts and goods. My Korean teacher highly recommended it to me too. There's lots of street vendor food as well, and shops down every alley to be seen. Namdaemun is also well known, along with Dongdaemun, for their shopping! It was also on my list of places to visit when I came here. So now after this tour all that's left on my list are Myeongdong (where my next hotel is once I return to Seoul) and Hongdae (where all the young people congregate for food, meet-ups, clubbing and bars). I want to go but I'm not going to go by myself hahah. There was a mistake with the time they sent me by email on when they would pick me up, so I wasn't at my hotel when the tour bus came. After clearing it up with the agency, they sent a taxi to take me to meet the rest of the group at the first stop, the Palace. Taking a taxi there was the weirdest thing ever. I feel like I haven't been in a car in like a year hahah. Also it's terrifying and not for the easily carsick, because people walk all over in the street and I begin to see why drivers have to be so aggressive towards pedestrians. Otherwise they would never get anywhere because the pedestrian stream never ends! It was also weird seeing the same familiar streets I frequently walked everyday from the view of the car...it was a bit like watching from the other side of the glass, like deja vu but seperated from what I remember. I got MAJORLY carsick in the taxi...like I'm talking on the verge of throwing up -.- My driver for some reason drove the entire way with a tap tap tap puuuush tap tap tap push on the gas pedal kind of driving. You know the kind you do when you're teasing your car mates so everyone's heads bobs back and hit the headrest over and over? I DROVE FOR A HALF HOUR IN A HUMID CLAUSTROPHOBIC TAXI LIKE THAT. I was hanging out my open window trying to focus on breathing by the time we arrived at the palace. I was dry-heaving by like the 10 minute mark. Jesus criminy. No wonder nobody drives here. Additionally, if I hadn't been so carsick I would've been afraid for my life; people drive in the middle of lanes all over the place and cut across and in front of everyone so people are constantly slamming brakes and like 2 cm from sideswiping each other. I have an awesome respect for these Korean drivers who drive in this utter madness and still don't hit the other cars. AND there's motorists everywhere adding to the craziness and people serving and cars driving on sidewalks...yea. Life lesson: don't drive in Korea if you can help it. ![]() Left: This tree going by the original stone bridge leading to the palace was 350 years old!! It has really expensive and rare mushrooms growing on it (you can see the lighter colored discs growing out of the bark - Top right: Our tour guide said that Kyungbok palace loos like The Forbidden Palace a lot, but this Palace is all Korean and so uses different colors and styling. Most notable is the swirling yinyang looking symbol, which symbolizes three colors (meaning harmony of humans, earth, and sky). - Bottom right: Korean houses utilize floor-heating to heat houses, but what do they do in summer? They utilize floor-cooling systems! The holes in the bottom of this building were located on both sides so air could flow through the floor of the building :) Super cool! Floor heating systems were usually connected to kitchen to do double duty and be efficient.
![]() In the main hall/throne room, we had a surprise awaiting us. For some reason, today they were allowing visitors INSIDE the hall! Usually we just get to peek inside and snap photos from the threshold (like I did at Kyungbok Palace), but today after we removed our shoes, we were allowed inside to gaze at the colors, tapestries, architecture and throne. It was amazing inside! Our tour guide was beside herself, all excited because she had NEVER led a tour where they were allowed to do this haha. Lucky us :)
Changdeok Palace was incredible! I will type most of what I learned in the subcaptions of each picture set. The styling of the palace is so beautiful, and the scale on which everything is built is breath-taking. They really paid attention to colors and nature when building this palace. ![]() Top: A special building set aside just for the pregnant queen (whenever she was with child). There was an abalone-shell covered bench foremost in the sitting room of this building. - Bottom: The last two kings who ruled at this palace had cars. Therefore, in front of their main living quarters, they had a driveway! It looked so funny lol, kind of out of place. They also had a garage for their cars, which has since then been converted into a cafe and trinket shop today.
On my final day in Gangnam, I started with some packing, a Skype call with Mom, and lunch at Omuto Tomato again. I have been trying to try new places this whole time and never go to same place twice, but I really wanted something I knew I'd like and would be filling. The omurice here was heavenly and the staff so friendly, so I'm back again :) After lunch I'm afraid to say I splurged at the dessert drinks place I've been eyeing since I first arrived here 3 weeks ago...finally. Better late than never! Incredibly, EVERYTHING on their menu sounds ridiculously appealing. Just look at the names and pictures. Really?? I settled on the Milk Tea Snow Blossom shaved ice with milk tea ice cream and candied nut crunchies. It was unbelievably divine, even though it was super expensive at 8,000 won. It WAS huge though, and the ice was so fine and smooth! The only other time I've had shaved ice this silky was back in Hawaii, where they KNOW their shaved ice :)
This evening I went out for dinner, shopping, and dessert with Yeji! I met her back at UCSB last year, when she was a study abroad student from Korea :) We had linguistics classes together. I'm pretty sure we first bonded when I complimented her on her cute coat as we left a section LOL. I'm such a sucker for clothes. Anyways, we hung out and she was my first teacher in Korean (예지 선생님? 얘지 선생님? I don't know which "ye" you use for your name @.@ 미안!). We even went to eat Indian food one memorable time, when I still couldn't pronounce Taeyang properly haha. Taiyaeng!!! :) Now I'm sitting in Korea! Ah how times have changed...now I am the traveller and she is the resident. We ate samgyupsal at a place near Sinchon station. It is literally "three-layer pork". It was SO RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS that I am hungry again now just thinking about it! You grill the meat (after cutting it up, which Yeji dutifully did haha), then dip it in this red sauce, then dip it in this grain powder stuff. Then you eat it with marinated onions or roasted garlic. It is DIVINE. Omg. Okay I need to stop now, it's midnight and I cannot be getting hungry right now lol. After dinner we wandered around the shops and we went into Etude House & Skinfood to pick up a few things. For dessert, we couldn't decide between coffee and ice cream...so we chose both!! Yeji took me to the cutest little placed called Natuur (which I cannot pronounce for the life of me). They had all manner of attractive and delicious looking plates and goodies, but I got what they called an "Ice Burger" that had a combo deal with an Americano. This Ice Burger was the cutest thing you can ever imagine haha, this round adorable little scoop of ice cream in a curved sliced sugar waffle something cookie (still don't know what it exactly was but it was bomb. Crumbly and sweet!). I had such a good time out tonight!! It was SO much fun getting to catch up and talk our hearts out over yummy food and dessert, I have missed you girl :) We are even green tea-loving twins and spent awhile discussing all the various green teas offered these days (latte, boba, ice cream, cakes, cookies, Frappucino, and actual green tea of course) while we ate/drank our green tea burgers/smoothies haha.
And thank you 언니 for taking me out and giving me all those impromptu Korean lessons (with spelling!). Haha I will try to have more confidence in my speaking sentences and spelling now with your encouragement. 연습 할거야! (I will practice!) Also... 에뛰드!!!!! LOL. For those who are wondering, I struggled with the proper pronunciation of "Etude" from the store "Etude House" pretty much all night and didn't get the hang of it until end of dessert. Apparently people in America (and other places, even Singapore!) pronounce it differently, but the proper way is eh-ttui-deu. Haggling Down a $120 Suitcase to $95 ENTIRELY In Korean = Greatest Accomplishment of My Life :D10/24/2012 As you know, I am NOT the kind of person who bargains or haggles. I leave that to my momma, the greatest bargainer on this planet lol. I'm too timid and I feel bad for them, so I usually just pay up to escape the process. However, it must have been the Korean speaking because I felt like I was role-playing some spunky little Korean schoolgirl (this will all make no sense if you haven't watched a kdrama because they seriously have like a whole personality to them when talking to elders, generally somewhere between respectful pleading and a rude attitude) and played up this whole attitude with "I'm a student adjumma! This is too expensive. I like this one, it's pretty, this is still too expensive, adjummaaaaaa. I'll pay cash" angle.
I hemmed and hawed, looked at other suitcases asking the prices and commenting on what they looked like. I had had my eye on the plaid one since a trip to this shopping area several days ago, and I really wanted it. It's a hard case with fabric over the top and leather around the outside. It also has FIVE wheels on the bottom. I've never seen this before!! My other suitcase has four wheels on the bottom to enable 360 degree movement and I thought THIS was novel. This one has a fifth wheel in the middle of the four wheels for SUPER DUPER movement haha. Eventually I got this shopkeeper (she was a gray-haired adjumma) down from $120 to $95! She thought I was cute lol, and was extremely amused by me at the end. Probably because I had originally asked how much it was in English, then miraculously busted out my limited Korean lol. Yay for kdramas and all they teach.
She made a call to her boss, explaining the situation and finally got the okay for it! Depending on what you are used to, this may seem like a lot or a little, but here it is a LOT. In some places buyers seem to be expected to sometimes haggle, but not in all and usually not for much. In all honesty I have never been more egotistically self-satisfied with myself EVER haha, so don't rain on my parade even if you think this is dumb. Just click this screen closed and back awaaaaay from the computer :D I am 22 years old (23 over here) with little to no experience with the world, and I'm experiencing all this for the first time! Haggling was a first, and it was successful. AND in a different language at that! Good thing I did all that numbers and counting practice with Wona 선생님 (my teacher) before I left. If I was a cat, I would've been smirking smugly all the way home. Oh wait, I WAS doing that... :) Forgive the narcissism. I'm only young once! I wish you all could feel the deep-seated happiness and satisfaction that comes over me sometimes when I'm just leisurely walking around on the streets or stopping to eat a delicious meal. It hits me again and again that I am in Korea, and having all these once-in-a-lifetime experiences. It's humbling to be a stranger in a different country but so rewarding at the same time. Sorry to go all cheesy on you all, but its true :) It's such an inexplicable feeling, like it doesn't feel like real life...but it is. To explain more about the shopping here: Much of the shopping here is collections of tiny boutiques (I'm talking like closet-sized. I'm intimidated to go in a lot of times since I'm the only one in there besides the shopkeeper). Because of that, if you see something one day and go back for it the next day, chances are it won't be there anymore. So it's impulse buy or nothing basically lol. Good thing a lot of stuff is so cheap! Another point I'll expand on is the department stores here. Not only are they very very very rare (I've only been in two since I've been here and I've shopped all over), but they are not like our department stores. Their department stores literally have "departments", not by "womens" "mens" "children", but with individual stores and brands in there. So if you walk around, you see various clearly marked sections with differently styled and branded clothing and a salesperson or two for that brand hovering in each individual section. It's the strangest thing, I was utterly confused the first time I walked into a department store lol. It's really cool looking but intimidating to shop in because the salesperson are litally staring at you or following you around. Not because they think you'll steal but because they are trying to be available to help you. NOMS. No explanation needed. WHY SEOUL. It is 68 degrees, WHY IS THE HUMIDITY 82 PERCENT. --- 2 and a half weeks is NOT enough to acclimate me to the humidity here lol, I'm constantly dying and sweating because it feels cold so I dress warm, but then I start perspiring as soon as I start walking. Everyone else is cool and unruffled. Sweet. I'll just be that sweating, red-faced American over there. I love these beautiful autumn-turning-to-winter days :) Along with my bakery eats, I picked up two chicken kebobs from a street vendor on the walk home. As soon as the vendor heard my English he asked if I wanted sauce or not because it was spicy. A HA, so I am NOT the only foreigner here who cannot handle the Korean spiciness lol. I was starting to think I was alone in this big bad mouth-burning stomach-upsetting city...
I am in boba heaven over here. I totally just took it for granted because I'm in Asia...but now that I stop and think about it, it's pretty darn awesome that essentially whenever I want a boba I can just swoop into a shop nearby and get one. At home I'd have to drive to Northridge to get any boba at all ( and its not all good boba). For good boba I'd have to drive to the asian parts of LA or Monterey Park. I love it :) Whether I'm traveling on the subway, walking on the streets, or shopping I can always get my boba fix. Today when I woke up this morning, it hit me that I am down to my last few days here in Gangnam... :( This hotel and the staff have become like my home away from home and I got really attached somehow. Perhaps it was because when I first got here, my room was the one place I could return to and be safe (read: not lost and wandering alone on unfamiliar streets all day lol) and have people who liked me and I could talk to everyday. I hope I don't forget anything in this room, I have stuff EVERYWHERE lol. These past weeks went by fast! When I think about it though, I did do a lot. I ride the subways from line to line without a second thought, listening to music or reading a book instead of nervously staring at my phone map and anxiously checking each stop we make with the stops on the map (to make sure I'm going the right way and won't miss my stop haha). I can order in restaurants without being scared and chat with shopkeepers while I'm browsing their stores. I can cross major streets with ease and know how to navigate crowded stations and sidewalks correctly for here (essentially resist from apologizing to everyone I brush by, be quick on my feet and when I see an opening, move FAST). I've made friends and some seriously nice people in malls, subways, and streets. So really, I've learned so much in this time without realizing it; I feel like I'm growing as a person. That thought makes me so happy :) ![]() Left: I eat spicy foods now. I can speak in Korean. I ride subways and even buses. JUST when I think I've gotten used to Korean culture and I'll be okay, Korea's like "NU-UH TRY THIS ON FOR SIZE" when I walked into a bathroom today. To my utter shock, there was no toilet, but this pit thing in the floor. I had totally forgotten reading about some public restrooms having pits instead of toilets here lol, I was so surprised I backed out immediately and ran into an adjumma behind me. She looked at me like I was crazy >.< --- Right: the damage from today
For those who don't know, this Friday (Oct. 26) I will be leaving Noblesse Yeoksam Hotel in Gangnam and going to Seorak Beach Kensington Resort in Gangwon-do for a week using a family timeshare week my parents exchanged to use over here! As sad as I am to leave this busy, beautiful little city area of Gangnam, I am still excited to be heading to a new place for new experiences. From what I've looked up online, this resort looks extremelyyyy restful, comfortable, and has all sorts of amenities...INCLUDING A BOOK CAFE. Yes, it is called THE Book Cafe. Korea is just trying to realize all my wildest fantasies at once.... @.@ I went to the Gangnam Underground Shopping Center connected to Shinsegae again today (where Dajeong took me on Sunday). Probably fueled by the lurking thought of me leaving Gangnam soon, I went on a serious shopping spree down there T.T It was intense lol; SO much fun but a major pain to lug back home. Everything is just so cheap and cute, it's like my head is on a swivel. The shops go down in rows for ages and ages, as far as you can see. Purses, bags, sweaters, pants, coats, shorts, socks, backpacks, hair accessories, shoes, with sales showcasing them as 10,000 or 5,000 (about $10 or $5) ALL OVER THE PLACE. Unbelievable. How do people here deal with these everywhere?? I'd never leave. I got two thick woven cardigans in black and oatmeal (they're the kind with the slits in the side for your arms, so its long sleeve but rather ends around your elbow) for $10 each, two soft, silky dress shirts in taupe and green for $5 each (they were really good-quality material too, I can't get over this; the tan one is long enough to wear with tights and a belt), a striped shirt and tan belt for $5 and $3, a gray shirt with a leather collar and pocket for $5, and 4 scarves for $10. Moving on, I got two pairs of cute comfortable ballet flats for $10 each, a pair of jean shorts for $10, the cutest black cardigan that flares out at the waist like an A-line dress and the sides have slits so it's free moving for $5, and a shoulder scarf with hood I've been wanting forever for $5. It's kind of hard to explain if you haven't seen it before; it sits across your top shoulders like a scarf but has little holes on the sides for your arms to go through and has a hood in the back. Super cute :) Unless I counted wrong, I'm pretty sure I spent $93 in total today for allllll the stuff I got. Impressive Korea, very impressive. I am done shopping for quite awhile now lol; the only thing I will buy after this is my second luggage to bring all these goodies back home -.- There won't be any cheap, fashionable shopping like this anywhere at the beach resort lol. One of my absolute favorite pieces I've bought here in Korea is this coat. I've always wanted one of those cloak-like jackets I've seen women wearing. This one is cream-colored and is made of a nice high-quality material. It's really silky, sturdy, and thick, with buttons on the side to make arm holes. I bought it when I came here with Dajeong. It's AWESOME, I wore it around today :) ![]() Left: One of the cardigans I bought today! Super warm and soft. I bought a skinny belt today as well that goes nicely with it. Right: Imagine the softest, fluffiest, most touchable fabric you can think of and thats what these PJs are made of. They're like those super thick, fluffy, soft socks they sell during winter everywhere. But imagine them in PANTS. Yes, they are mickey mouse lol. They are going to be my sick day and winter time PJs. Do not judge.
Tonight Dajeong took me out again for more exploring! We went to Shinsegae Department Store in Gangnam, the top-selling department store in Korea! It's huge, with 10 floors and offers classes/workshops like the YMCA. We ate an early dinner at a place called Odles on the tenth floor of the department store; it was like an Asian fusion place with noodles, sushi, pastas, salads, rices, etc. Delicious :) As beforementioned, department stores here are not like department stores back home. The very top floor was all restaurants while the first basement belowground level was the "food court". Let me tell you this "food court" is not what you are thinking of with pizza and fries lol, it was like fancy and white and silver and like a market in some areas (packaged goods and foods). Think of like a department store but for food and thats what the food court was like. It was EPIC. After we had browsed through all the floors and eaten, we went down to the basement level floors where there is essentially another HUGE underground shopping mall to rival Gangnam Station's. I flipped out lol. Sometimes I think Dajeong takes me to these places just to amuse herself with my ridiculously overexcited reactions to small stuff. We stopped at a cafe down there and I got a Green Tea Yogurt Flatcino. I had no idea what it was but it sounded good haha; turns out I was right! It was bomb. Next stop was the Han River! She had remembered that I had said I've always wanted to go there :) We walked from the department store and went through some gnarly underground tunnels to get there. Upon arrival, we walked over to the floating island on the Han River and strolled around on it. We also discussed how it's actual purpose is unknown yet it costs billions of dollars to complete lol. Dajeong said because of this, it's collectively known as the "floating trash island" or something along those lines to Koreans, because it's such a waste. The Han River was BEAUTIFUL! All those gorgeous twinkling lights I've always only seen from the train or bus were now right before my eyes. It was crowded in the beginning, because lots of people come to watch the wonderful water and lights show that goes on every 15 minutes or so. They play soothing, lovely music and the water jets rise and fall as they change colors. It slowly emptied out though over time. We walked to the convenience store located along the river and Dajeong said that lots of people come here to have picnics in the summer (because it's cool). In the winter though, its so bone-chillingly freezing nobody can survive down here. She also said the entire area floods often during the rainy season, including the tunnels we had come down through. What a mess that must be, since there's trees and grass and stuff along with playground down by the river that get all covered with water...Another thing she mentioned and that we saw in action, was that a lot of people get food and beer delivered to them here for them to enjoy. Apparently the delivery guy just brings it, calls the person, and meets up with them somewhere there. That's CRAZY haha I love it! Only it'd never work with me cuz 1) I don't have phone service here and 2) I don't speak Korean (T.T) A quick bus ride back to the Yeoksam area of Gangnam led to the next part of our night; the bars! Before leaving the Han River/Department store area though we returned to the underground shopping mall. I was wearing really high wedges and after all the running around up and down the department store and all around the Han River, my feet were hurting. Only here have I ever had the wonderful experience of "oh you need shoes cuz your feet are hurting? Here, just go buy a pair real quick and wear them out". I bought the cutest pair of ballet flats from a little shoe store for $10 and wore them the rest of the night :) I HEART KOREA. We ended up at this cool little upstairs bar, where we ordered this delicious sweet and tangy chicken and some udon-like broth. I am obsessed with this dish, whatever it is. And I have always wanted to have beer & chicken, a favorite match over here. Apparently the Koreans always eat food with their alcohol, because it makes the alcohol taste better. Haha I love how ours is reversed; not only do we often not eat food with alcohol, when we do its generally wine, and the purpose is to add taste to the food. We got beers (I wanted to try the Korean types so we got Cass) and soju (which I've been dying to try for ages haha). It was great! The beers are very light in general here Dajeong said so it wasn't hard to drink and it was tasty. The soju was AMAZING; I was expecting something like vodka but while it smelled similar, it had ZERO aftertaste. I'm serious, like zero aftertaste. No chaser needed. This blew my mind lol. It was like water; no wonder they like to get so drunk in the dramas. I had been taking them like shots (thinking it was like hard alcohol here) until Dajeong told me they sip it lol. Whoops. So that's why they sometimes yell "ONE SHOT!!"...that's when they take it all at one time :D Thoroughly buzzing, we left the bar after awhile and headed to a cocktail bar called Pandora where Dajeong said they had a deal: $15 and you get unlimited mixed drinks! Talk about a deal lol, in dt SB you'd be lucky to get one mixed drink for $15. And it would be tiny too. On the way I made her stop with me at a coffee machine so I could get a 30 cents cup of milk coffee, like I've always seen on the shows!! I apologized for being so excited about every little thing here, but Dajeong said she liked my enthusiasm haha since it made her excited too. I guess I can understand since I had study abroad friends in the US who were thrilled over landmarks, places, and things I took for granted. It opened up my eyes again and made me want to visit those places! We got our first drinks (White Russian for me, Vodka Cranberry for her), and went up to the terrace. It was gorgeous and simple; we also had the place to ourselves since it was a little chilly outside! It was like our own secret little personal nook in the middle of all the other buildings on all sides. We could see all the lights and everything so clearly, it was stunning! The mixed drink list was impressive and it was fun making our way down it :) We played games of pool and darts and had way too much fun just being silly together! You know those stereotypical two drunk guys, walking home from the bar at 3:30AM singing and joking loudly and laughing at everything? Yea that was us, except we were little and Asian haha. Dajeong had had a little too much to drink so we both went back to my place and called it a night!
Since its something I noticed right away and still marvel at everyday when I'm walking, I thought I'd post about how people dress here. It could totally be just me, but it's completely fascinating! Like I mentioned in my previous post, it really catches my attention how different styles and things are acceptable here or not acceptable here, compared to back home in America. Style and fashion are EXTREMELY important in Korean society. How expensive or what brand your clothes are symbolize how wealthy/cool/impressive/fun/intelligent (and pretty much any other character traits you can imagine) you are. MALES Men: nearly always in nicely cut and tailored suits, polished dress shoes, briefcases Young adults: usually cardigans, polos, windbreakers, or sweaters, with jeans or slim-fit khakis and colorful sneakers or sperrys, backpack or side slung bag Kids: school uniform, or colorful windbreaker/sweater and skinny jeans wearing with brightly colored sneakers and sports shoes Scarves are also common for men and women (although obviously in different colors and patterns lol). FEMALES It's tougher to distinguish between ages groups of women than with men. They all seem to dress the same regardless of age, with one notable exception. Schoolgirls (up until college) seem to dress more like the Asian fobby look we are used to. They have tights, baggy sweaters with skirts, loose jeans and running shoes, oversized polos and long khaki shorts. Their hair is short, in pigtails, or a ponytail. By contrast, once they hit university age the girls always wear heels, long coats, pencil skirts, tights, and blouses in pastel colors. They wear their hair in a bun or down. The women here wear heels everyday and all the time. That or colorful sneakers. It's so strange... like polar opposites. They are either in scruffy flannels, sport sneaker, and jeans or tight pencil skirts, chiffon button up shirts, and shiny high heels. They also have a habit of wearing sheer tights or stockings with running shoes too... I was like ??? the first time I saw it lol. They will wear them with ballet flats and peep toe heels too (full foot-covered stockings). Compared to what I am used to, they wear the most interesting combinations of clothes here, seriously; the stockings and sneakers thing is just the tip of the iceberg :D I am still surprised daily. I also have never once felt short here like I usually do back home, something I just noticed yesterday when I went to Itaewon (and was among people of other nationalities again -.-). I also don't feel like I'm being viewed as young, which I also do back home cuz I look like I'm 12. Here though, everyone does so they either are better at distinguishing ages and just accept it all as a lost cause and assume everyone's old. Maybe that's why they dress so differently once you hit college lol, to determine whether you are older or younger? What you almost never see however are sandals. Even their heels are usually closed toe. This is definitely my kind of society lol, except for the baggy jeans and strange fitting flannel look. I can and do wear wedges and heels almost everyday and all I get are curious or admiring glances not "who the hell does she think she is?" kind of looks like I'd get back home if I wore them out to coffee or the store lol. AWESOME. I could live like this (with another 4-5 inches to my height).
Started off my morning with another trip to a bakery & got two delicious cheese focaccia buns, an mini apple tart (JUSTINE!), a cream-filled bun, and a cool yummy focaccia chewy bread pretzel thing with olives in it. With black olives!!! How random is that? It's like my dream come true haha; for those of you that don't know, black olives are favorite thing ever to eat on pizza, by themselves, etc. The cakes looked delectable as always (I can't believe these are real things lol, they're so perfect it looks like they're fake!). I want to buy one so bad but alas I have no reason to :'( I took a different path today and wandered off, just enjoying the neighborhood and crisp autumn air. My initial goal was to try to locate a Homeplus store that my friend Yeji had looked up for me, but I eventually admitted defeat -.- I had wanted to buy a suitcase there since I will be leaving Gangnam at the end of this week. After a full week of careful research on the Internet and reading of reviews, I have finally gone out and bought my SkinFood products of choice. There's so many to choose from and so many lines! I think I've covered all the bases of what I wanted though. As I've talked about before, I have never done anything to my skin except face wash because skin care products in the US (the good quality ones) are usually pricy and I'm super lazy. Now that I'm here though, in essentialy the new cosmetics capital of the world, good quality beauty products are not only plentiful, they are affordable! And cute as heck, which never hurts :) I've had my Acocado Rich Toner from Skinfood for awhile now but I also picked up a Parsley & Mandarin emulsion, Lettuce & Cucumber Water Drop Essence, Fresh Juice C Serum, and Peach Sake BB Cream. I also got my samples and a cute fabric pouch they gave as a gift I'm guessing because I'd spent $45. What I love about shopping here is that they give you tons of free stuff and services! It's meant as an enticement to come back and it totally works on me. If I leave a store feeling happy and pleased towards it, I would definitely want to go back when I next have a need to. At SkinFood they allot you samples based on how much you spend I'm guessing. E.g. When I bought my toner for $8, I got 5 free samples (which are all adorably packaged as well, in cute egg, honey-pot, water bottle, etc. shapes and cute colors). The free bag they gave me is also surprisingly high-quality; I was expecting one of those flimsy, cheap pouches they give out in stores in the US but this one was double layered, good material, lined on the inside, and had a good, sturdy blue zipper on the top! I also made a stop at Nature Republic because they are having their apparently annual huge 50% sale right now. I bought 3 of my favorite Breeze-In Body Lotions by them (in all three scents, Amercian Garden, European Garden, and Asian Garden!) for $3 each, what they call Herb Dressing Purple Honey Cleansing Cream (for make-up removal; I asked the saleslady and she said the purple one in this line was for oily skin like mine), and a cool new loofah. I also got free samples (oil essences), free toner cotton pads, and two free facial masks! See how well they treat you here? That's a good $5 they just gave me in free goods lol, and I'm just one customer.
On my way out, I passed a NesCafe (over here, these are actual cafes not just a brand name lol. It made me do a double-take the first time I saw one). They were doing a promotion apparently and were handing out free 4-packs of new Nescafe instant coffee! I got two because the second suited-up guy didn't notice I had already gotten one. Guess I'll try this in the morning :) Today after two weeks of non-stop adventuring, I decided to spend the day in. I woke up late, watched some Korean tv, and ordered delivery. This time I chose a new place (I usually order from Happy House since their menu is the only one with English translations of what they offer...they also have prices listed next to it). I ordered from The Food Club today! Their menu has awesome pictures but it's all in Korean and has no prices. However I really wanted Kimchi Fried Rice and Happy House does not offer that lol. This delivery did not come in resuable dishware but instead the CUTEST packaging!! Looks like they seal it on after they finish packaging it for delivery. I love it :D I took the menu downstairs as usual to have them order for me. I got an order of kimchi fried rice, 2 orders of bulgogi kimbap (Korean sushi rolls), and an order of vegetable 튀김 (tuwee-geem; essentially Korean tempura). This 튀김 is what I always get from that one street vendor by my hotel! I finally asked one of my friends at the desk what it's called the other day haha. I always get vegetable, potato, kimbap, and pork dumpling 튀김. In Korea, this is eaten with soy sauce (no tempura sauce), and is usually comprised of mini kimbap with seasoned rice or noodles inside, prawns, mini chopped veggie pancakes, sweet potato and potato slices, pork dumblings, and long tentacles of squid. This makes me curious to find out what tempura usually is comprised of in Japan, since in America it's generally giant shrimp and/or assorted green beans, onions, potatoes, and carrots. Words cannot express my happiness right now hahah. I ordered it all because it's going to be my meals for the rest of the day; it came out to 26,500 won ($24). Does anyone else find it hilarious that because I ordered so much, they gave me FIVE sets of chopsticks? Nope buddy, it's allll for me. The desk attendants should have been shocked I was having them order so much just for me, but I think they're used to my wanton eating tendencies as I carry my gigantic grocery bags full of food past their front desk almost every other day lol...
I plan on spending the rest of my leisurely day watching kdramas and reading in my luxurious Asian cave :) Happy Saturday everyone! (or Friday if you are still awake in America). -Disclaimer: A lot of my posts I make partially while I am actually doing the activities/traveling there and the other part of the post I finish up when I get back to my hotel for the day. So while I try to catch any past/present tense mistakes when I get back, there's going to be/has been a ton of discontinuity in my writing that I apologize for :/ Sorry for any confusion!! Tonight I made my long-awaited trip to Namsam Tower (The N Seoul Tower, officially the CJ Seoul Tower and commonly known as the Namsan Tower and Seoul Tower, is a communication and observation tower located on Namsan Mountain in central Seoul, South Korea)! It's a famous place with shops, food, and a breathtaking view of Seoul. Because of this, my friends advised me to go at night. I asked Dajeong how to get there because my teacher had told me it was difficult to navigate to. Thank you Dajeong for helping me out so much!! I couldn't have done it without you. I kind of panicked when she mentioned I had to take a bus at some point, because I had heard that when foreign in Seoul, you should never take the buses unless you know exactly what you are doing. Dude, I JUST conquered the subway (which is cake compared to how complicated, confusing, and unstructured the bus system is)- there is no way I am capable of taking on the buses O.O First things first though! I've never ventured around on the subways after dark; I usually just walk if I'm going somewhere at night. I have now reached the conclusion that this is the time when I should be riding it. No wonder I get stared at when I ride the subways all the time during the day. It is flooded with tons of kids my age now! With their cool haircuts and hair colors and bright clothes :D I feel so much more normal lol, and more comfortable than I usually do on the subways. Usually the majority is old people or men in business suits. I'm fascinated all over again by the subway crowds haha, I love the fashions and different styles of what's acceptable here and what's not compared to back home. That being said the crowds themselves are also IMMENSE. Because now they've added the entire 25 and under crowd of Seoul to the usual mix of grandmas, grandpas, business people, and mothers. I came down my first escalator into the Orange line subway and my eyes like popped lol. You can't even see the floor anywhere, it's just a sea of people for ageeeeeees. Rush hour indeed. When I actually got on the subway, there were so many people we were packed standing, like sardines!! I was shocked. So THIS is where the Korean idea of personal space (or lack thereof) stems from...I was sandwiched side by side to one girl while my face was like in the neck of another shorter girl to the front right and my left front side was smushed against the chest of a businessman in a suit. Behind me were two women pressed against my back and breathing in my hair. I had no idea it was realistically possible to be this inappropriately close to 5 different complete strangers at one time lol. On the real. This is what I get for growing up in the fake city of Los Angeles; I'm used to everything spread out and within its own space. In my 30 minutes of discomfort however I found some amusement watching the heads of everyone around me. It's pretty funny when the subway lurches to a start again after each stop and everyone simultaneously lurches and all the heads wave together back & forth like a batch of seaweed. Yea yea, I'm going loony in here okay cut me some slack haha. Daehan Theater is where I came out of the subway and caught the Namsam Bus! --- this blue bus wasnt my bus, but I couldn't get a picture of my own due to the mad dash for seats that occurred when it arrived lol --- the announcement board for the bus stop! Awesome. It talks to you!! The bus stop not only has an LED sign announcing incoming buses and how many minutes until their arrival (every public transportation here seems like a mini-airport to me, its so complicated yet organized) but it also VOCALLY ANNOUNCES THINGS. I can't understand them cuz there in Korean but it coincides with bus almost-arrivals so I'm assuming its announcing bus numbers and stuff to let you know it's incoming. Once on the bus, it's just like the subways; it announces incoming stops and current stops in Korean and English overheard. I got on the number 2 bus to Namsam Tower outside exit 2 from Chungmuro station (off the Orange line!). The seats in the front of the bus are single seats and reserved for the elderly, pregnant, or handicapped. Just like the special rows of seats in the subways set aside for them, you are not supposed to sit in them unless you are one of the above. Me being a genius I got on and sat in one of them and THEN noticed the small gray sign with the symbols on them for the reserved seats. Face palm. One thing I did find out though; these reserved seats RECLINE. Yes, I said recline. They get to bus ride in style haha first class. Seriously?? The elderly are like gods here in Korea haha, they ride public transit free, they always have seats (since if you are younger, you are supposed to give up your seat on the subway or bus for them), they never get opposed in anything they decide, and they get whatever they want basically. No wonder Asians live forever :D Left: my first glimpse of Namsan Tower where the buses dropped us off at the bottom of the hill! Right: cool patterns in the floodlights that lit the path up to the Tower. Even their public lighting is cute! We went up and up and up windy roads until we reached Namsan Tower. I totally have lost track of days here and forgot its Friday :/ No wonder the bus is so packed. I had wanted to come when it wasn't so crowded but I guess I can always come again. Too late for regrets now lol. I will cover only half of Namsam Tower today, and the rest next time. I knew the walk up there was going to be steep; I've seen enough shows with people moaning about it as they walk up before. But man, was this thing STEEP. It was practically vertical!!! I was leaning forward just to walk straight O.O The views were breath-taking!! These pictures don't do it any sort of justice. The air is so clear and everything so bright up here. The lights of Seoul just go on and on in all directions.. can you see the dark swath in the lights that the Han River makes? Beautiful! Namsan Tower is ridiculously huge that it makes you feel so small and awe-struck when you're standing underneath it... Namsam Tower features A Teddy Bear Museum, restaurants, gift shops, observation decks, and more (the revolving restaurant rotates at one revolution every 48 minutes). You can go up to the top of the tower for a fee as well, where the spectacular views are 360 degrees! There is also the famous Locks of Love fencing up there, where people go to hang locks. All of this I will cover next time though...just wanted to tease you all :) Top left: the side view and wooden fencing along the path up to the Tower Bottom left: a pagoda atop some stairs where visitors can sit and relax! I got a Choco Latte (whatever that means) at Coldstones (Coldstones does coffee??) at the top of Namsam Tower after wandering around, admiring at the admittedly spectacular view, and doing some damage in the gift shop. They have the cutest things!! I didn't want to miss the bus back (they stop running at 11pm) so I headed back around 10. Walking around here was the first time my whole trip I've felt really lonely over here...I had also forgotten that Namsam Tower is a popular place for a date so it's filled with couples and groups of girlfriends. I miss my family & my boyfriend :( Nonetheless the sweetest thing was seeing elderly couples holding hands and clinging to the wooden fence on the sides of the road up with their other hand to climb up together. In fact, it was pretty cool too that I saw so many elderly people out tonight hiking up there- enough to make a steady line along the wooden fences on the sides lol. Well, I'll come back on a weekday and see if its any emptier. Stay tuned for Part 2 of Namsam Tower and all the stuff it has up there (including a revolving restaurant!!). Time to call it a night. Edit: I was so distracted on my ride home that I totally rode the subway in the wrong direction for ELEVEN stops (thats a good half hour) before I realized none of the stops names sounded right. My first mistake on the subway...just when I was getting comfortable using them all. I got off at the next stop and took the opposite subway back home finally lol.
Today I spent a lot of my morning looking up the various tours I had wanted to go on. Like I mentioned to my mom earlier, it looks like I'll be going on a lot less than I thought I would. I'm doing a pretty decent job trucking around Seoul to a bunch of famous places all on my own I think haha. I've sent emails off to ask about available days for 4 that include palaces or famous markets/streets I haven't been to or know how to get to. I made a quick trip back to Itaewon today to pick up some gifts to bring back. I took a new subway line today, the Orange (3) line. If you recall in my previous Itaewon post, I said how I took the longer subway route since it involved less transfers lol. I finally feel relatively comfortable traveling by subway lines around here! But I'm leaving Gangnam in a week...gosh darn it. Anyways, this way I went from Green line to Orange line to Brown line to get to Itaewon and shaved like 20 minutes off my transit time. And for anyone who's wondering, the average train fare 1,050 won is about 0.94 cents. As your ride + various transfers gets longer and longer, it will add another 100 won (about 10 cents) or 200 won if you've really been riding awhile when you eventually check out at the end of your ride on your way back up to the street. Today I also saw a blind man navigating the subways...HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE. I have two good eyes and two good legs and one moderately normal brain and I was terrified by the subway. I still hold that it is impossible to transfer and get from subway line to subway line without seeing. How do you know where to go?? There's announcements on the actual subway about which stop is which but once in a station you literally are following color-coded and lettered signs and arrows to get from one end to the other, going up and down staircases and escalators and back and forth until you reach your desired actual subway train. I am in serious awe of this man. I ate a late lunch at a place called Omuto Tomato that I've been eyeing for awhile. I've seen a few around so it must be somewhat popular around here. They specialize in what they call "omurice", which turned out to be a rolled up omelette with delicious seasoned rice pilaf-like rice inside. They have meats, omurices, curry, spaghetti, and salads. I ordered the Beomuri Omurice, having no idea what was in it or what it was haha, but it looked appetizing on the menu. While waiting for my food I did a little staring around me. I've noticed they fold the napkins really cool in all restaurants here, usually in a small wooden box and folded in a neat V shape stacked on either side. A small touch, but pretty. I've gotten used to them bringing out random vegetable side dishes right after I sit down; it's like their version of bread and butter! Unfortunately I still can't eat most of them...or rather wont because they are so bright red in color they are practically glowing -.- It indeed looked amazing, all sizzling and hot still when it arrived to the table (as usual with most restaurants here since they cook it in the stone cookware). I had no idea however, how to actually eat this gigantic (and it was MASSIVE, the pictures don't do it justice) bowl of deliciously wafting smells. I ate some of the tofu and meat with my fork then asked the waitress if I was supposed to mix it all up like bibimbap. Having mastered the small talk and necessaries in Korean for eating in a restaurant, I had managed to fool the manager, 2 waitresses and busboy that I was indeed Korean and fluently spoke Korean. I feel like this is a daily game for me lol; I either spend it wishing people knew I was not Korean so they'd stop staring when I speak English, or I speak Korean and see how long I can last until I have to admit defeat and speak English :D
The waitress kindly tried for a good 5 minutes to explain something about the little sauce boat next to me (which looked a hell of a lot like Tabasco mixed with Sriracha so I stayed the heck away from it). She wanted me to put it ALL in my bowl of food O.O She also indicated for me to drop my wimpy little fork and pick up the giant (standard Korean) spoon and eat like a real Korean haha. She didn't actually say that but that's what I ended up feeling like. They like to literally stuff their faces with rice and delicious food and stuff for those of you who aren't familiar with Korean culture, it's awesome. That's why their spoons are huge, way bigger than soup spoons. Anyway, the sauce turned out not to be that spicy at all, just mildly so and really tasty. So the waitress knew what she was doing after all! It was sooo good, and so filling. Definitely one of the more satisfying meals I've had since I came here in terms of being stuffed. It's a small thing but it really made me happy; when I was paying at the register the owner-adjusshi was talking to me. I got stuck on something he said and had to say "Sorry, my Korean is not good" in Korean. He looked surprised and asked if I was a foreigner, then told me my Korean was really good and authentic sounding! WOO DOES THAT MEAN I DON'T HAVE A GRINGO ACCENT?! :) I've heard other foreigners (weigook-een) speaking bits of Korean and it doesn't sound pretty lol. One of my friends also said that mannerisms (how you hand off or accept things, when you bow, etc) and how fast you talk (Koreans take speed-talking to a whole new level; it's practically a different language from Korean altogether) are also how people can tell you are not native. Had cold (delicious) pizza & hot coffee for breakfast- felt like home :) Kate, Maryte, & Devon if you are reading this, YES I STILL EAT PIZZA FOR BREAKFAST. I swear it is not that weird haha lots of people do it; although I admit some of the things I used to eat for breakfast in college were...unusual. Today I ventured into Edae. Also known as the location of Ehwa Women's University, but I' referring to the neighborhood surround Ehwa that is also called Edae. I had been looking forward to this for long time now; let me explain more about it so you see why. Edae (이대), along with the neighborhoods of Sinchon and Hongdae, can be called Seoul’s most famous areas for college students. Hongdae is more known for the nightlife and clubbing, but Edae is known for the trendy fashion and shopping (and for reasonable prices)! The VisitKorea site lists it as "Located on a patch of western Seoul anchored by Ewha Womans University, the sprawling campus is a funky grid of narrow, car-unfriendly alleys packed with cheap hole-in-the-wall restaurants, clothing boutiques and other businesses popular among young women. These include cafés, cosmetics stores, and beauty salons that advertise their connection to former Miss Korea’s. Like its customers, Edae prefers to wake up late and stay up late. Each morning, when a steady line of women walk the half-kilometer from the Edae subway station towards campus, most of the shops on what’s been dubbed “fashion street” are still shuttered. But on the weekends, shops stay open past 11 pm and the alleys are packed tightly with young couples and packs of mostly female shoppers who shop while munching on street meat. " Shopping in the area chock-full of shops specifically aimed towards young, female shoppers WHILE EATING YUMMY STREET VENDOR FOOD? My first thought was "good thing this place stays open late"... :) This is the first time I've ridden my usual Green Line 2 subway in the OPPOSITE direction that I usually do. This side of the line encompasses a bunch of universities with each station being named for it (Seoul University, Hongik University, etc). It was fascinating seeing the crowds of uniformed students on the subway with me, then bunching up to exit at their respective schools. I wonder what it'd be like to take the subway to school everyday? I am one of those apparently weird kids (according to Sonny) who did not take a school bus to school ever. So this is novel! So are their male/female uniforms, they're so formal and classy. I know private schools and stuff all have their students wear formal uniforms, but something about their metal engraved nametags in Korean that they all wear make their uniforms look so much cooler and proper :D Do American private schools make you wear metal name tags too?? Maybe I'm just biased since I have Korean students sitting in front of me haha. Oh well. It was cold and windy again today, but not nearly as bad as yesterday. Yesterday I was literally leaning horizontally into the wind to get anywhere. Edae was a very fun and bustling area!! As expected, the entire (massive) crowd was women with the occasional boyfriend sprinkled in, looking as pleased as any boyfriend would at being dragged to the shopping center of all girly shopping centers :) It's so much fun just browsing around and hearing random snatches of "Ring Ding Dong", "Hello Hello", or "Call Me Maybe" come on from various store speakers. ![]() Various shots of streets and shops! Also a bunch of street food vendors everywhere; these two were grilled/fried various meats and grilled chicken kabobs! They really like their fried stuff here; it seems like if you can stick it on a stick, you can deep fry it. In particular it seems hot dogs deep fried are very popular lol. In short, Edae fulfilled my wildest shopping dreams. My mind...has officially been blown lol. It's just never-ending clothes shops and jewelry shops and shoe shops and accessory shops and purse shops and cosmetics shops, all of which I would be interested in and want to go in!! Not only on the main road but there's tons of smaller streets you can turn into and there's tons MORE streets o.O So so dangerous. Even being careful I don't made it to what I'm estimating is half of Edae. I have to keep constantly reminding myself that I WILL eventually be returning to the US, and therefore not all the clothes that I want will be 'fashionable' back there. I mean I'd probably wear them anyway but I'd get strange looks, much like I do here sometimes. Otherwise I would've bought a WHOLE TON MORE than I did. So hard to turn your back on something amazing cute and cheap :'( But with limited cash and room in my suitcase I have to have fun, but be practical. Gah. I need to clone myself, not so that I have more hands but so my clone can bring back 2 suitcases of her own... There's tons of Japanese restaurants here for some reason, so I stopped in one of them for lunch. I had shrimp tempura udon, since TA so cold today. It came with 2 footballs on the side :) Perfect for warming me up! Today was also novel in that one shopkeeper coming out to talk to me spoke to me in Chinese. Upon my blank look, she stops and goes "Oh. You're really not Chinese??" Lolol, finally a new one! Today I bought a new trenchcoat (super cute and edged at the bottom with lace!), a pair of jeans, an oversized sweater (the gray one, with leather shoulder panels), a delicate jade bracelet, 10 various designed leather bracelets to bring home for gifts, some good quality face masks to also give as gifts, 2 pairs of socks, and a thick black zip-up (which I will explain in a minute) all for about...drumroll please...$85! Mind you I did restrain myself from buying a lot of other stuff I wanted, but you can't have everything you want in this world lol. And I'm really happy with the things I did decide to purchase :)
The black jacket above that I tried to show with pictures I am OBSESSED with because it's so funny and unique. The jacket itself is really thick and warm, and has a high collar that when zipped up covers your chin. It has giant deep pockets too; I don't know about you guys, but I LOVE pockets, I must have them. The hood is the cool part, upon first glance it's a zippered high collar in the back to match the rest of the high collar in the front, but when you unzip it the hood pops out!!!! HOW ASIAN AND COOL IS THIS. If you don't want the hood you can just zipper it back into the jacket collar and it's gone!! I'm sure about 99% of you are shaking your head at me in amusement but that's okay, I can sit in my happy zone with this jacket all by myself :D |
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