Sunday, November 8, 2009

My Korean/English dictionary says I went shyop'ing today.

Today, I experienced my first Korean market thanks to Angie, a girl I met also living in Seoul.

However, before sharing my market experience, I would like to give myself a pat on the back for making it there with hardly any trouble. I took the subway which meant at one point I had to make a transfer to a different subway line, and I did it all by myself. I'm such a big girl. Needless to say, the subway is super easy here. I applaud whoever suggested adding English to the maps.

Anyway... Namdemum Market.

My main reaction upon walking off the subway (Hoehyeon station, exit 5) onto the streets of the market was holy crap the people. They were everywhere! As shocked as I was, I suppose I shouldn't expect anything less in a city of over 10 million people.

Anyway, the street vendors were selling all sorts of things: clothes, shoes, scarves, hats, gloves, toys, trinkets, jewelry...and a ton of other stuff. It was a little overwhelming, and I wasn't exactly sure where to start looking.

I did bring my camera, but.... no pictures. Oops. It was just too crowded, and it probably would have just been a lot of people's faces  anyway since I'm so short. I'll go back on a weekday sometime and try to get some good pictures of the area.

One of the highlights of the day was my enormous mango ice cream cone. So good!  I should have at least taken a picture of it, so huge and delicious!

Angie also took me to Myeongdong where the Forever21, Gap and other similiar stores can be found. There's so many places to shop there. Prices are a bit more expensive, but it was fun just looking. We also spotted a pair of hilarious male boxer/briefs--leopard print with an image of a cute little kitten holding a rose. Yeah, I would totally laugh in the face of any guy wearing those.

Oh! The dollar stores here are totally cool. Actually, they are basically the same as back home except everything costs 1,000 won instead of 1 dollar. I'm going to the one near my apartment tomorrow after work to stock up on some household items and make this place a little more homey.

My tissue pile is growing.

Yes, I officially have a cold. Runny nose and sneezing have both taken over my body... or my face, whichever you prefer. Luckily, I remembered to bring cold medicine which is convenient because I really don't feel like trying to find what Hangul letters mean cold medicine.

So, that, along with my first day of teaching tomorrow means that it is past my bedtime. I have something cool I learned today that I'd like to share, but I want to try and get a picture tomorrow. So... stay tuned. ;) Heh.


"I don't cry over spilt milk, but a fallen scoop of ice cream is enough to ruin my whole day."

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