Abby in Seoul Part II: So Many Steps

I'm writing this post without seeing Chelsea's blog because she wanted to write her blog and then have me write mine and kind of compare our viewpoints. I am positive I won't be able to remember everything and in the right order, but it will be fun to see her post after I write this one.  I actually won't even TRY to list everything, I think that could be kind of boring!

Winter Woes Part 1

I'm sure that the harsh, cold, dry Winter will bring many woes upon my Southern heart this year. The past 7 years living in Houston where temperatures in the 40s induce panic and unending Facebook statuses remarking on how frigid it is will certainly make living through a South Korean Winter verrrry interesting.

Seoul Tower, Etc...

Today was jam-packed. In the best way possible!!! I had a mild meltdown last night, and got some incredible encouragement from my mom and also from my Nana via email in the AM. I decided that while I know I'll have my ups and downs, I MUST make the most of this year. I am not a quitter, and I refuse to leave before my year is over. And if I'm going to stick this out, I might as well try to retain a positive attitude even when I am desolate...

Bars Don't Close Here

So much to talk about today, I'm not sure where to begin! So much has happened in the last 48 hours since I've written a blog. When I got home after work yesterday, I was tempted to write out a short quick blog before heading off, but time was my enemy and I had to run. So now that I'm actually sitting down, I'm not really sure what I had to write about yesterday. :(

So, I supposed we will start with last night. After work, I walked home and immediately started to pack a bag. I knew I was going to stay over at Tab's after we went out, so I put together some clothes and toiletries I would need. I used my shoulder strap bag, which would ultimately prove to be a bad decision, but alas, it's what I used. On the way to the bus, I realized I probably should have taken something easier to carry, but I don't really have anything so I just kept walking. I got on the bus, knocked into a few ajummas that gave me the stink eye, and headed to the subway. I felt like I was running late, so I hurried down to the trains. When I was waiting on my train, I realized I did not have my cell phone.

Analysis: was going to meet Tab, whom I would be with all night, and we had already determined where and when to meet at the subway. No problem not having cell phone. I decided to just stay my course, since going back to my apartment would be a 30 minute detour, and I was already running late.

I hopped my train and got to Euljiro station where I needed to get on another line. My route calculator on my iPad told me the train was leaving in 2 minutes, so I hurried to the platform. Just as I got there, the train was leaving. No big deal, I sat down and waited. Another train came along about 6 minutes later, and I boarded.

The whole time while I was waiting, and on the train as well, I was reading my book on my iPad and listening to music. This was a bad idea; while sitting at a station two stops into the train ride, I look up and realize my train was at a station in the wrong direction!! I jumped up and flew out the door, right as the doors were closing. When I finally figured out where to get on the same line going the opposite direction, I looked down and saw two sets of barriers between. Essentially, I had to "leave" the subway, and repay to go back in, only on the other side. Annoyed, I did what I had to do, since there was no real way to correct the situation without going back to where I should have been.

Once I finally got on the correct train, going in the correct direction, I had no seat and was packed like a sardine with my big shoulder bag knocking over anyone who got in my general vicinity (which, on a train packed like sardines, is everyone.) I was not popular on the train ride.

Finally we got to Tab's station, and I exit (along with about 200 other people on my car, and about 3,000 on the train itself) and follow the crowds toward the exit. Going down the escalator, I look up and see that the sign that says "Way Out" also says "Exits 8-12." I needed Exit 2. When I got to the bottom, I looked around until I found a little food stand, and asked where Exit 2 was. Thankfully they understood well enough to tell me how to get there. 10 minutes later and out of breathe from going up and down stairs, I had gotten a complete tour of Dangsan Station and finally found Tab waiting at the exit.

We headed out and caught a bus to her place, to drop off my duffle bag before heading to Hongdae for dinner, drinks, and dancing. The bus was crowded as well, and I was getting a headache. The whole trip over to her side of town was a headache, no wonder it was manifesting itself in my head. We finally got to her stop, and she warned me that her place was at the top of a hill. I said, oh, no big deal. And then I saw the hill. Granted, it wasn't that bad, but halfway up, it felt like the mountains that surround Seoul. Panting, out of breath, and sweating, we made it to her apartment. I took some Ibuprofen and we took a little breather. I met the little old lady that lives beneath her and watches out for her. Sweet old ajumma!

By the time we got to her place, it was around 10:20pm. I had gotten off work at 8:00. *Sigh...*

Waiting for a cab

We headed out and towards the bus stop to go to Hongdae. Tab decided that since we are so hungry, we should just take a cab to Hongdae. It wouldn't be more than $8 ($4 each), so I agreed. For about 15 minutes, every cab that passed was full, and the two that weren't were on the opposite side of the road. We finally flag one down and tell him "Hongdae!" and he nods and repeats "Hyundai." I look at Tab suspiciously, and she repeats "Hongdae! Hongik University!" And again, he smiles, nods, and says "Hyundai." Tab just shrugs and gets in, so I follow suit. I'm fairly suspicious about this, but Tab seems confident that we will get there.

On the way, Tab decides to throw every Korean word she knows at this guy, who laughs and starts singing Gangnam Style. If this isn't the song of my trip so far, I don't know what is. He even brings up the music video on his oversized smartphone, and we jam out as we cross the Han River. It was a fun ride, those first 5 minutes....

Then, the trouble began. You guessed it, Hyundai is NOT the same as Hongdae. At $12, cruising down the strip by the Han River, I go "Tab, when are we going to tell this guy that we are NOT going in the right direction?!" I'm getting quite annoyed, since this is money we are wasting. I think the guy caught my upset tone, and calls the free translation number that everyone in the service industry in Seoul has on speed dial. Tab yells into the phone "HONGDAE. HONGIK UNIVERSITY!" ... "yes, HONGDAE!" She hands the phone back, and the guy listens a moment, puts his phone down, and goes "... HONGDAE!" and slams his fist down on the wheel, and pushes the windows down in the car, like he needs some air to cool down. Damn! He went from impersonating Psy to being a grumpy old Korean taxi driver in 2 seconds flat!

He turns around and starts yelling at us in Korean. Okay, maybe not yelling, but we both knew we were getting a talking-to! He starts pronouncing Hongdae with a nice hawking sound at the beginning, and then making us repeat it. Then saying "Hyundai!" with an emphasized "huuuun" at the beginning. Apparently we were getting the talk, and Korean lessons. I repeated him to appease him, and Tab just kept giggling nervously.

We finally made it, and the guy only charged us $20 ($10 each), rather than about $25 on the meter. Well, I didn't even expect that much, so we were grateful. He left us smiling, but I knew he was glad to be rid of us. Since we took a cab, my directions to the burger place I had researched were useless, as they directed us from the subway station. We looked around, and asked a group of girls behind us where it was. They had no idea, asked some other girls, and we got pointed down the alleyway behind us.

Menu at Burger B in Hongdae

We crossed the street, and low-and-behold, there was Burger B... right there. We could not get over what great timing the taxi had to decide to boot us out at that exact spot (we hadn't told him anywhere specifically in that area...). By now, its around midnight. We order burgers, fries, and drinks and sit at this awesome bar overlooking the street and all the interesting people in it. We talked and waited for our food, got asked to take photos with some weird men from who-knows-where (not Korea, but not American either!) We laughed and made weird faces when they took the photos, and then tried to ignore them hitting on us from their table in another language.


The food was absolutely delicious. I ordered the BBQ Burger and fries (pictured left). I was so ravenous by the time the food came, I took a bite before I remembered to take a photo. You can see the view we had in the background. It was just fun to sit at a bar overlooking the street and hill below. Tab ordered a cheeseburger. We both enjoyed our burgers immensely, sitting in silence for about 10 minutes just soaking up the goodness. We chatted for a little while longer, trying to decide what to do and where to go for the night. Since we had spent much more than expected on the cab (Tab kept insisting it was like paying for a scenic view of the river), we decided to just stick around Hongdae. She's gone out in the area before, so I trusted her judgement and we headed out.

The great thing about Korea, or just about anywhere besides Houston, is that bars don't close. Actually, in Korea, many places besides bars don't even post closing times. Online, I've literally seen "Open: 9am Close: when the last person leaves" well... that's specific!

We walked around for a while before deciding to hit up a bar she'd been to before called Zen Bar. We went in and it was anything but "zen." It was raging! We navigated our way around the throngs of dancing Koreans and expats alike, and hit the bar. Tab had had a beer at the restaurant, but I had stuck to coke (both for financial and energizing reasons). We decided to start things off with a bang, and had a little shot. I won't say what, gotta keep my reputation classy. But, the liquor was so cheap! This did not lead to overconsumption, FYI. But it was great prices! We both got a beer and started doing some rounds.

I realized going out with one other person, to a place where you know nobody, and run a 0.0001% risk of running into anyone you know, is kind of awkward! We just danced with each other for a bit, and circled the bar aimlessly. At one point, a girl surrounded by Korean guys dancing on her grabbed my arm and mouthed "Help me!" I pulled her out of the crowd, and she looked a little freaked out. Well, maybe it was a mistake to help her, because the void she created needed to be filled and it seemed I was the closest thing. I got grabbed and pulled in; I tried to get Tab's hand, but we were separated. (Don't freak out, here, people. It wasn't that creepy, just weird as heck.) These guys were dancing on me, and one even tried to take my beer. I snatched it back and smacked his hand away. Finally, I ejected myself from the crowd and met Tab on the other side of the bar. What craziness!

American guy dancing on Tab

We kept a low profile for a while, just dancing and sipping our beers. Apparently, we looked good enough because some Korean guys came over to talk to us. It was pretty awkward since only one of them spoke decent enough English to make conversation, and even that conversation wasn't the best. We hung out with them for a bit, though, just dancing in a little circle; being with other people is better than being awkward on the side of the room. At one point, a short Asian guy with two beers in his hands came by and, I'm not sure how, started talking to Tab. He was extremely outgoing and loud; he was American.

Koreans at the bar

Long story short, apparently this guy, who was not hitting on us at all, intimidated the Korean guys we had been standing with, and they told him to back off. It was a super awkward situation, made only slightly better by the lubricating factor (alcohol). I gave Tab the lets-get-out-of-here-eye and we "went to the bathroom" aka snuck out the other exit. Finally out in the fresh(er) air, I realized how smokey it was in the bar. We sat down by another club entrance, which looked pretty awesome. We decided to try our luck there, but when we realized there was a $15 cover, and gave her the heck-no sign and we left. We sat in some plastic chairs by a closed convenience store, with about 20 other drunk people. Some were falling over, and no one seemed to care. Thus is Korean nightlife!

Trash everywhere in the streets. Weirdly, no Asians in this photo... hmmm....

Tab said there was a cool park in the area, so after a little break, we set off to find the park. Somehow, on the way there, we ran into the short American guy from the bar. Good thing he was too drunk to remember we ditched him! He had a friend with him this time, who did not seem very drunk. He also kept looking at me, and I decided to play the drunk card. I was feeling good, to be sure. But I kicked it up a notch (thanks to my mad drama-skillz), and he thought I was quite past the point of inebriation. They said they would show us where the park was, so we followed them. I whispered to Tab that I was not that drunk, and she said she didn't think so.

We got to the park, and decided to be Korean and get some "mart beers" from the convenience store across the street. Inside, there was a line (which I strictly enforced to the pushy Koreans behind us), and  Tab decided it was a great time to bust out with her extensive knowledge of Gangnam Style. She starts singing and we start dancing. The Koreans are laughing at us, but who cares. We walk outside, and as fate would have it, Gangnam Style is playing. Tab and I immediately start the dance. Within the 3minutes of the song, we had gotten about 10 people to dance with us in the middle of the street. We had cars stopped. It was pure awesomeness.

found this art on a building, for Michael :)

After it was over, we couldn't stop laughing for about 5 minutes. We managed to make our way into the park, still being tailed by the American guys. We sit down to drink our mart beers (I opted for mart wine), and about 10 minutes later, we hear loud music from behind us. I look over and see a crowd in a circle. Tab and I immediately jump up and rush over. And, of course, for the 3rd time in about 20 minutes, Gangnam Style is playing. As soon as it comes on, Tab and I jump in the middle of the circle and start dancing. I actually have a video of this (some guy behind me offered to video when he saw I was videoing just Tab), but I'm too embarrassed to post it. Plus, it's blurry... you guys don't want to see that... (hehe!)


After Gangnam Style, we sat down in the circle and watched. There was a black guy who spoke fluent Korean who break danced, a Korean guy with muscles who danced soooo well (and acted a little light in the loafers, but I don't think he was), a Russian girl who did Katy Perry dances, and other really talented people. By the time we left, I felt like maybe we shouldn't have partaken in the Gangnam Style dance because maybe we weren't really good enough! Haha! But it was so much fun, we didn't really care. :) We can blame it on being foreigners, like we do for everything else.


After a while, we decided to head out. We had finally ditched all the creepers, and decided that if we made it 45 more min, we could get some food then get the first subway back to Tab's place. It was about 3:45am. We headed into a coffee shop and sipped some water. As soon as we reached that point, I realized I could not make it much longer. We decided not to wait it out, just to get a cab. We walked out on the street and asked a cab to take us to Mokdong (Tab's neighborhood), he waved "no" to us. Okay, we tried another. Another "no". The third cab told us yes, but for $25. We knew the cab should only be $8, so we said heck no. Another 3 cabs all wanted between 20 and 25. We said no to all of them, and I was ready to give up and wait on the subway. Tab asked one last taxi, and he said yes. Tab made him put the address from her card into the GPS, so there was no excuse for taking the "long way." We got there in 6,300W (~$6). Awesome! We got in, and immediately hit the sack.

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This morning, we woke up around noon. I was fairly impressed we did not sleep any later, having gone to bed around 5:00am. We got up and decided to get some pizza from Costco. We made our way there and ate lunch. Then we headed to Itaewon to help me get some things from my friends on base. Unforunately, this is where my phone being MIA hurt me. I wasn't able to communicate effective with them, and that was 100% my fault this weekend! I wasn't really frustrated, since it was my fault. We decided to get some Turkish ice cream we saw last time we were in Itaewon, and I'd read about this week.

Apparently, tons of Turks have moved to Korea in the past decade and have since brought a lot of their food and culture into Seoul. Specifically, their taffy-like ice cream has been a hit. They usually put on a show when getting you your order. We went to a low-key place tucked away behind other shops, so we didn't get as much entertainment. The guys getting us the ice cream did play around a little, but nothing compared to what I've read about (which basically consists of getting the entire tub of ice cream on a long pole and stringing it out and doing little tricks with it while getting your portion.)

it was like a hybrid of ice cream and taffy

I enjoyed my cone of Turkish Ice Cream!

Well, after we ate our ice creams, we said goodbye and headed back to our respective neighborhoods. I did pretty well on the subways, managing to read and figure out when and where to change trains without getting lost. When I headed for the bus to head to my apartment, there were at least 50 people waiting. I just kept reading my book and waited. I got on the first bus that came, and headed down the road. 

And suddenly, my bus turns. This is not correct. I live directly down the main road. Uh oh... I get off at the first stop on the side road, and realize I am quite far from my apartment and now have no bus. I decided to just start walking in the general direction I know my apartment to be. I ended up walking about 10-15 blocks. It was annoying at first, but it was such a beautiful day I couldn't be upset for more than 5 minutes. I got home around 6pm, and flaked out on the bed for a good 15 minutes before doing anything else.

Now, I've got my window open, been working on the blog/photos for about 4 hours, and I deserve a movie night. :) Tomorrow, I am heading to church in Itaewon with Tab and then to get my things from Itaewon. :) We are expected to get a typhoon Sunday night or Monday, and it looks pretty fierce on the radar. I'm not sure how this will turn out, since the last one was such a disappointing show. Work on Monday will be interesting... But for now, I'm enjoying my weekend!

The Great Cell Phone Quandary

Since before I left for Korea, really before I even signed my contract, I've been attempting to find out about using an iPhone or iPad in Korea. In the states, I did not have a contract (rather, month-to-month) and used an iPhone and an iPad with data. In Korea, I've already been having a time not having access to the internet while on the go. Subway stations are fairly easy to navigate, but the many lines and different directions on each line can be a headache. There are apps that make getting around and life in Korea much more bearable and user-friendly, so to speak. However, getting an iPhone plan here is an even bigger headache.

I would be totally okay having a basic flip phone, if I could access the internet another way. Before I got here, I'd heard that Seoul had wifi almost anywhere. While this is pretty much true, it's misleading. Almost every business has wifi, but this is confined to buildings, not on-the-go. The wifi networks outside are available but either require a login or to purchase access to the wifi.

iPhone plans are 2 year contracts, and you rent the phone instead of buying it. These two factors are deterrents for me to want to go that route. After a week of life without instant internet access, I decided that I really do need it. Well, I really do want it. :)

Now, rather than sign a whole new contract, I could possibly take over someone else's contract (a lot of expats are here for a year at a time, and need to transfer their line to a someone else when they leave the country.). I would be up for this, but it's pretty expensive. While researching just how expensive, I came across a link to KT Global Store Blog. I'd seen this before, while in the states, but it's somewhat hard to figure out all the details. Today, I looked at it again, but this time I saw the section labeled "Data Lifetime Plan" - hmmm, "data" is the word for iPads getting online, and this infers that there is no "Talk/Text" on the plan (this is a good thing).

The brilliant thing about this website is that they have someone logged into Twitter and they respond in real time to questions you have. Granted, 160 characters or less, but it's great for quick things. I asked,

@olleh_expats are these data plans for iPad by contract or month-to-month? this is for those who already own an iPad?

Here in Korea, like the cell phones, users do not purchase the iPad, but pay extra on their monthly fees to rent the device. Since I already own my iPad, I wanted to make sure the data plans were available to those who already own. I turned off the computer for a while and cleaned my room up. When I got back online just now, I had a response from the twitter account!

@chelseakaitlin Yes, these are the iPad plans, and they can be used with both existing iPad users and those purchasing new ones. :)

WOOHOO!!!! I can't stop smiling!! This is so perfect! Now, I can pay the monthly fees for data on the iPad, not worry about renting a smartphone, and just get a prepaid talk/text cheapy flip phone! This ultimately saves me a lot of money and headaches and contracts and hassle at the end of my stay. YAY!!!!!!

This is a topic I never found a clear answer to during my preparations in the states. So, to those of you who stumbled upon this blog looking for the answer to the question "Can I use my 3G/4G iPad with a SIM card in Korea?" the answer seems to be "YES!" - I'm not sure it's a physical SIM card, such as the states use, but I will find out when I go to the Global Store this weekend.

I am so happy this worked out!!! Now, I just need to find a bag/purse that I can carry my iPad around in! :) I might even be able to get an app that can call/text with Korean numbers, and avoid the whole Korean cell phone entirely! Double yay!

Sunday Adventure Part II

After my last blog, I met up with Tab. She is a girl that is from my hometown of Perryton, Texas. We didn't really know each other when I lived there, since I was so young and we were not in the same grade. But, a mutual friend put us in touch before we left for Korea. She has been here a few more weeks than me. Tonight we got to meet for the first time! Well, first time we can both remember.

We met at Hongik University subway station. She was familiar with the area, so I met her there. We wanted to get dinner, but since neither of us knew where to go, we just wandered around for like an hour. We went in one restaurant, sat down, but never got any service! So we left. We saw a Hello Kitty! cafe on one side street. Tab insisted we take photos.

Hello Kitty Cafe

Another store we saw was Frisbee. I had read about it on a blog, it's an Apple Authorized Reseller. It's the best place in Seoul to buy Apple Products. It tries to look like an Apple Store, and in my humble opinion, has better accessoies! Haha!

"Apple" store!

See how it looks so much like our store?

Finally, we went to a place that served "Spanish Spicy Chicken" - when we went in, the cute little girl working explained the process to us: order first, then sit and meal is delivered. She also took us through the entire menu. I suspect she wanted to practice her English descriptions of the meals. She was really good though! I ended up getting Spanish Chicken Dinner aka some chicken on the bone grilled with spicy sauce, potatoes and some other kind of side. It was quite nice! Tab got Chicken Paella. We sat and ate and talked for a while.

When we were finished, we decided to walk around the Hongdae area. It was so much more "happenin'" than my part of town! It's next to a university, so I think that contributes to the trendiness. I also liked that many more of the shops had English signs or at least translations. Not all! But more than in my area.

We stopped at a cupcake place and each got a cupcake. It was more like a muffin as far as consistency, and the frosting was extremely light, not thick/creamy. We decided that it was probably healthier.

Vanilla Cupcake had such cute decorations and we loved the world map!

Choco Marshmallow and Choco Chip.

After the cupcakes, we wandered the streets some more. There were music performances and people trying to give us pamphlets, etc. It was so busy! Tab told me at night, when the party scene cranks up, it's insane and there is trash covering the ground and drunk people passed out everywhere.

All the lights! Hongdae area.

We kept seeing stores that said DVD on them, and were curious what they were. We went in one and found out it was where you could rent movies and then watch them in private rooms. It was so sketchy at first, but turned out to be fairly innocent. I mean, I'm sure some dirty things happen behind closed doors, but the movies were normal movies! and the guy working asked us if we wanted to use one of the rooms. So, who knows! It felt like we were going to do a drug deal, though, the way we had to go up stairs and in dark hallways to get to the store. 

We also accidentally found a karaoke room! These are wildly popular in Korea. When you're out with your friends, the cool thing to do when drunk is go to a private karaoke room and get crazy. (Apparently, I had the cool Korean thing going on on my birthday this year! We did the same thing, but in Houston!) We decided to save that adventure for another night.

While we didn't do karaoke, we did do something equally, if not more, Korean! We went in a "digital sticker" shop. It's basically like photo booths but you dress up and can choose backgrounds etc. It was hilarious and the shop keeper helped us the whole way. We chose wigs and accessories then got in the booth. He showed us how to choose "backgrounds" which showed up in the preview when our photos were snapped. After our little photo shoot, we got to edit the pictures. A few things were green screened, so we fixed those and other minor details. Then, we got prints and the man cut them into individuals. It was hilariously fun and super Korean. As we were leaving, 2 Korean girls came in to do it. Apparently it is popular! 

After we finished wandering the streets of Hongdae and getting up to a bit of mischief, we called it a night and headed back to our respective sides of town. I really wish Tab and I lived closer to each other. She is so fun and I KNOW we are going to be great friends! I wish we lived closer and could hang out more especially because she has a small school and doesn't have a great network of teachers like I do. But, I definitely will be bringing her to dinners and over to the apartment, so she will meet everyone. I can't wait for next weekend when she comes over! She will help me move into my apartment on Saturday. :)

Tomorrow is work, so I am going to bed early! 

Saturday Adventure

Saturday, August 25 4:30pm Seoul

Well, my first free day in Seoul has been interesting... My body woke up at 8:45am, but I thought it was earlier since I forgot my window doesn’t let in any light, no matter the time of the day. I laid in bed and watched TV for a few minutes, watched the end of a Criminal Minds on the English channel. I got a quick shower and debated to use the crappy hair dryer in my room. I think it is damaging my hair, and I’ve only used it 2x. Is that possible? Maybe its a combination of the water quality, new shampoo, and a crappy dryer. I decided that today I should get a nice hair dryer. Being the princess that I am, I think that is one thing I could spend a little more on. I mean, I’m trying to grow my hair out, and if it’s all broken and damaged by the end of my year here and I have to cut it all off again, I’ll be quite unhappy. 

Before I did anything, my goal was to get online. Jamie stopped by my room as I was packing up my computer. We walked to the coffee shop around the corner, but she decided to leave. We discussed shopping and agreed to meet up in an hour to go. I got to post a few blogs and check my emails. Surprisingly, despite being around 8-9pm back home, I didn’t get to talk to many people. 

I sat in the same coffee shop as the other day, but got some breakfast from Paris Baguette across the street. I found a delicious pastry with blueberry and cream cheese. It also had a glaze on the top that reminded me of the Colombian pastries Michael and I had in Miami. Anyway, it was delicious! I will be back for more... I also got a sugar donut twist, which was pretty good. 

After my hour was up, I headed back to meet Jamie. She wasn’t back yet, and Sean was still out running, so I sat down to watch a Big Bang Theory episode (thanks, Moon!). Jamie came by and watched with me when she got in. We had a knock on the door and I opened it to find 2 white girls I hadn’t seen before. It ended up being Chantal, a coworker who is also in the Kindergarten area (Jamie had met her before) and her Canadian friend visiting for the week. She invited us to accompany them for some sightseeing. Jamie and Sean decided to go, but I declined. I’m not good in groups anyway, and with the addition of 2 more new people, I knew I would be uncomfortable. Besides, it had started raining last night and continued through the night which prompted me to go searching for rain boots and a light rain jacket. I had heard of a place called COEX Mall, so I decided to try there. 

So I set out on my quest. Maggie, the teacher I am replacing, gave me one of her T-Money cards (subway money cards). It is like a charm that can go on your cell phone, but had broken off. It still works, just doesn’t have the string to attach it to anything. Anyway, it saved me the $5 buying a new card. I left the motel and started heading in the general direction I thought the subway was in. As I rounded the first corner, I saw an American-looking guy. He fell in behind me, but I was too nervous to say anything to him. I passed the bus stop, and kept walking. It was pouring by this point and my shoes were soaked. I had an umbrella inherited from Maggie as well, so I wasn’t too wet, but I also didn’t know where I was going exactly. I decided to turn around and ask at the 7-Eleven. I suspected you could load money on the T-Money charm at the 7-Eleven, and I was right. I put 10,000 KW (~$10) on it, and asked where the station was. She kind of explained where to get the bus. I set off again, still unsure of where I was going. And suddenly, I see the American guy again! He was a few feet in front of me, so I ran and caught him. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around and said Hello! I was so happy he actually spoke English, my first question was “Are you an American?” HA! He said yes, and I could have cried of happiness. I was at the point where I was pretty frustrated with not knowing where I was going, and being quite wet. I found out he is also from Texas, Austin specifically. He works at a public school, but lives in the apartments right next to mine! I told him I didn’t have a phone number, but I wanted to get connected to him, so he found me on Facebook on his phone. Finally, he explained, IN ENGLISH, exactly how to get to the subway. I was so happy! I felt like God was really looking out for me at that point. He is the first American that I had met who did not work with me, and he came along at the exact moment I was in need. God is really watching out for me; I know I’ve got some amazing people praying for me back home, and I can promise you all that I feel the love and I know He is on my side! 

I walked across the street to the bus stop which would take me to the closest subway station. I could walk there, but with the rain I would just take the bus. Unfortunately, I had just missed a bus, and had to wait for about 20 minutes. When I finally caught one, it was about 4 stops til the subway; everyone on the bus got off there, and I just followed the masses of people to the entrance (thankfully I was in a crowd, otherwise I don’t know if I’d have found it as easily). 

One cool thing about Seoul’s public transportation system is that, besides being cheap, if you take a bus, then transfer to the subway (within a certain amount of time) you will not get charged for both. So, I scanned the T-Money card when I got on the bus (charged a flat fee, something around $1.50), again when I left (no charge), when I entered the subway (charged $0) and when I left the subway at my final destination (charged an extra $.10 because I went kind of far). So I just think that is pretty cool!

Well, my first experience on the Seoul subway was not the worst, but not the best either. My feet were squishy with water and if you know me, you know that wet feet/shoes/bottoms of pants/etc annoy me to no end. So I was walking all over creation in wet shoes, soaked feet. I had to change lines twice on my journey, and it was not the easiest trying to figure out which direction on the line you should go. At one station, I think I walked like half a mile in one direction before realizing that it was the wrong way. 

On one of the subway trains, I was sitting and I noticed that these 4 old Korean women were staring at me and talking to each other. I gave a small smile, and one of the women said something in direction. I smiled more, but had no idea what she said. They are all giggling at this point. She motions to her face and smiles so big; I think this meant that she thought I was beautiful (or, I look weird as hell. I’ll tell myself it was former) It was so darn cute. They were so giddy over me. I felt like the Joy Luck Club was across from me, Korean style. Haha!

Well, when I finally made it to the final station, I exited where I had read to go. I came out in this nearly empty plaza in the middle of huge skyscrapers. I walked around for a while, getting more and more frustrated, having no idea where to go. Usually, in America, if you’re looking for a huge mall, you look for the big building with lots of signs. Well, in Korea, that doesn’t work. Everywhere is a big building, everywhere has lots of signs, and I can’t read them to boot. I kept wandering, debating if I should ask someone (I am almost scared to try!), when I saw a security shack. I headed in that direction. It was empty, but the security officer was leaning on the edge of a short wall that looked like it was overlooking something below. He was looking down, so before talking to him, I looked down too. There it was! The mall was underground. I headed to the stairs at the far end, and made my way down. I saw Bennigans, Baskin Robbins, Cold Stone Creamery, and some other American brand food. I found an entrance to the actual mall behind all the food, and there were the stores! Finally! 

I found the shop I was looking for that I read online had “Wellies” aka rain boots. It is end of the rainy season here, so they were all on sale. However, they were not my size. Bummer. I went down a few stores and saw some more wellies in the window. I tried those on, and they fit great. They were too cute too! They were khaki color with dark brown trim and a ribbon bow in the back. The ONLY thing that stopped me from buying them was that they had a slight heel. When I tried them on, the slight incline put me off. I don’t mind heels, but rain boots just seem wrong with a heel. They were on sale for ~$45, so I decided to look some more and come back if I wanted them. 

I wandered down the hall and saw a sign for “Hyundai Departmental Store”  - that sounded interesting, so I went that way. When I walked through the doors to the store, the first thing I saw was about 50 food stalls. If you’ve ever been to Harrods, their food court is what this reminded me of. I walked along one of the asiles and looked at all the food and people eating. Everything was Asian, of course. Winding my way through everything, I spied a juicer. 

Now, at this point, I’ve been traveling for about two hours (from leaving my motel room) and I was getting “hangry” (my word for being angry as a result of hunger). I decided to get a juice, since that was healthy and safe. The sweet lady behind the counter was sooo nice. She helped me decide on which fruits. It ended up being more of a smoothie than juice, but oh well. It was something in my belly and tasted great. It was a little expensive, ~$8, but at that point I needed something. 

With juice/smoothie in hand, I headed to the escalators. I went up about 7-8 floors of high end cosmetics, handbags, shoes, designer clothes, and even a grocery store. There was a Mac store there, too! I noticed they do NOT have my specific type of foundation, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. I knew I would not find my wellies there, so I headed back downstairs to the mall entrance. I thought I would try another hallway, but it lead back to the one I’d already gone down. Apparently this mall is quite small; the Hyundai Dep’t Store is the main attraction. I made a beeline for the subway and retraced my complicated route home. 

When I finally got to my neighborhood, I decided to look in BauHouse (the department store near my motel). I’d been in before, but only on the ground floor. They had a rain jacket on sale for ~$35, but I held off in favor of looking at a market for something cheaper. It is the end of rainy season anyway, so I won’t need it for too long. I explored the ~12 floors of wares. I found a blowdryer, but they were all similar to what I’ve already got. I need something a salon would use. Hmmm I might have to get creative in where I look for this. I discovered that the very top floor of BauHouse was a movie theater!!! Crazy! I’d never have known. 

By then, I was absolutely exhaused, so I headed back to the motel. That brings us to now; I’m eating dried veggie chips from Target (one of my plane snacks that didn’t get eaten). They are particularly good; I think I am just extremely hungry. One of the teachers mentioned going to a buffet tonight; Korean BBQ but you pick the meat from a display and you get as much as you could possibly want. It is a little more than I want to pay for a meal, ~$20, but I guess that’s a good price, since the only place similar in America is quite a bit more than $20 per person. We’ll see. Hopefully that happens because I’ve not eaten much today. 

Right now, I think I will watch a movie. In a little bit, I am going to talk to the front desk guy at the motel and see about switching rooms to the front room because it gets an internet connection. Woohoo! I feel like there is so much I haven’t talked about, but at the same time, I feel like I write extremely long blogs every time! Yikes! Well, for now, my hands hurt from typing....