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...