Entry 7: Breaking Curfew

"GRACE! Your feet! They are bleeding!", I exclaimed as Grace took off her flip-flops to examine her feet. The fact that her feet were raw wasn't the biggest surprise, since we had been walking around Dongdaemoon and Insadong all day, but the fact that she had barely noticed made me think "what a trooper". Thankfully Grace owns a purse. The magical bag that disguises itself as a fashion accessory, but in fact holds more than physically possible. She busted out a package of what looked like 40 bandaids, put two on her feet and we continued on our way.

Dongdaemoon, how I hate you so much because of your crowds and crazy shop vendors, but how I love you for your hidden beauty. As we walked in the clothing market, the shop vendors would holler at me, saying things like "I have your size! Extra Large!", "You got a big belly", "Your thighs are huge, and your waist.. wow". I pretty much ignored all of the vendors, until one showed me a nice pair of jeans and a decent polo. I ended up buying the clothes for 50% of what he originally told me. I'm sure I could have gotten a better price, but the fact was, I had spent a good 20 minutes with the man, explaining to him that I did not want to buy a pair of skinny jeans, a t-shirt that said something in incoherent English, or something that showed off my apparently oversized body. I never thought I was overweight, but I guess Korea does that to people. It gives me motivation to run that extra mile, I'm being very serious about the extra mile thing, and the motivation to really watch what I put in my mouth and how much I put in it. Nevertheless, Dongdaemoon, you showed me a side of Korea that I must say, was not the best light, but I still was able to find the beauty eating Coffee Patbingsoo, while people watching.

(side note, for those of you who have seen my pictures on facebook, the pictures of the guys in red was in Dongdaemoon, and they were dancing to "I'm a Single Lady" and this one other song. I was laughing such an awkward laugh the entire time)

Sadly, because I needed to get the pants altered a bit since they were slightly too long, Grace and I were not going to be able to go back to the dorms, since we would miss the 11pm curfew if we chose to go to sleep there. Grace called up Dae and her sister, and subsequently found both of us places to crash for the night.

After sleeping on Dae's floor after talking to him about Acts and other stuff for a couple of hours, I woke up early Sunday morning and did my devotionals and played his Wii. Dae and I went to A Twosome place and got some coffee as we waited for Grace and Jessica. Once we met up with Grace and Jessica Lee, we ate some ddak galbi. It was glorious.

We then trekked to Jubilee Church. It was such a refreshing message. I actually wrote notes, which is amazing, and it was also refreshing to see other TaLK scholars at church. Korean people go to church, no matter where they are, its pretty beautiful when you think about it. We got some mad devotion to church, I hope that translates to devotion to Christ, but that is another story.

After church, Grace and I watched UP with Grace's sister Joy, her boyfriend, and roommate. We were cutting it close, since we had to get back to the dorm at 9pm. After a trip on the subway, which I have become quite comfortable with, and a short walk to the bus stop, we stood there waiting for the 5100 bus to show up. We were going to be late, and suffer the consequences, a demerit.

Thankfully, we weren't late. We actually had about 10 minutes to spare even though we left about 10 minutes later than we thought we needed to.

My first weekend in Seoul, was a mix of embarrassment, excitement, and enjoyment. Korea is pretty much what I thought it would be, except when I visualized Korea I really didn't take in to account how many people actually live in Seoul. It is mind boggling.