Being awesome

The Saturday morning hash at Ichon was a little rough. I've been sticking to walking trails because running hurts my shins and I don't know how to work my way back up to it. But this walking trail blew. There were so many fucking stairs that my knees, feet, and shins still hurt today. And I have good sneakers. Meh. It ended at Yongsan Family Park, though, which was gorgeous despite gray skies. The moment we set foot in the park, the sounds of the busy streets faded away and I felt instantly calmed. Outwardly, the place is entirely unremarkable, but it's so peaceful and relaxing. I hope I have a chance to go back sometime. I highly recommend it for a short visit or picnic.

I met some new friends for lunch at Zelen, a Bulgarian place in Itaewon. The group and their vibe was fantastic, and I can't wait to go camping with them for Beltaine. The food- not as much. I liked the appetizer salads comprised of cucumber, tomato, and cheese, but the main courses were heavy meat dishes with heavy sauces. Meh.

The good company led to a shopping trip in Hongdae, but not before stopping in at the Tartine pie shop down a nearby alley in Itaewon. Oh-em-gee. We all creamed ourselves at first bite. Seriously, we sounded like an "Oh!" chorus. I got a stamp card and can't wait to go back this weekend, since I've been spending nearly every weekend out there anyway.

I didn't know there was shopping in Hongdae. I've also never been there in daylight. But we stopped in at a piercing shop, a condom shop, and a craft fair at the playground. It happens every Saturday, but this was the first I'd heard of it. There was handmade jewelry, t-shirts, hair goods, leather goods, postcards, caricatures, beautiful paintings, and more. This is another event I recommend for those who can appreciate the folksy feel to it.

(I'm I am here, where in the hell is the demon?)

One of our party led us to Club Oi for a drink, though I only had time to poke my head in. I'd read about the place, but the article's photos could hardly do it justice. It's like something from the mind of Gaudi. Good music, too. Love it.

I had dinner with the students from the free Korean lessons I used to attend before I found more interesting things to do with my Saturday afternoons. I can now say I don't like Japanese food. And not just because they forgot my order, brought it out an hour after everything else, and it burned the hell off the roof of my mouth. Anyway, as the party of 12 broke up, 4 of us headed to the Aussie Bar in Itaewon. I've been wanting to go but hadn't had the chance. I'd tell you how it was, except we didn't even go in because it was crowded. Instead, we grabbed a little table on the patio and shared a carafe of an awesome house red. Yum.

Sufficiently buzzed, I made my way down the block to Bless U, where two hashers' joint birthday and goodbye party was just getting started. Free drinks from new friends for my broke ass ftw! The party moved to an apartment up the street and then back out around various bars I couldn't possibly remember. I was pretty smashed, had only bought myself one drink all night, and had a hell of a time. Things finally wound down in McDonald's with a desperately needed burger and horrendous fries before heading to a friend's place to crash for a bit before calling the party host in the a.m. to retrieve my overnight bag.

I woke up still drunk and barely headed off a surely stupendous hangover with a bottle of juice and breakfast at Paris Baguette while debating whether to go home or show up for the event to which I'd R.S.V.P.ed. I cleaned up in a subway bathroom, brushed my teeth, changed my socks, applied makeup, and felt miraculously better. So I made my way to a zoo outing with 20 adults and 15 Korean orphans.

I can't believe I'd forgotten why I hate zoos. A mere 10 minutes inside the gate, I remembered. Bleck. What a miserable place. Anyway, the kids were cute and sweet and amazingly well-behaved, thereby debunking my hypothesis about my students' parents not beating them enough. Damn. They had a blast and we got to see an unremarkable dolphin show and hit Baskin Robbins before finally heading home. Oh yeah, told the kids we'd get ice cream, but they wanted silkworm larvae. What a sad, sad childhood to have in Korea, not allowed to be adopted after 6 months of age and choosing bugs over ice cream.

NYE Itinerary

As excited as I am about everything I plan to do this week, I'm pretty bummed out about not being able to spend NYE with my friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas away from home didn't bother me any, but I have a tradition of hosting rockin' NYE parties, and I'm really going to miss that this year. I think maybe I'm missing my friends more than my family because I'm more used to time away from my family. *Le sigh*

1 p.m.- Take the train (green line to Samseong) to the COEX for the Seoul Doll Fair. The more pictures I see, the more I think my head may explode. I am SO excited for this exhibit. Squee! (I've been collecting teddy bears, Barbie dolls, and dolls from around the world my whole life. There are way too many boxes of these things in storage in the States right now.)

After that- some train hopping to Gwanghwamun Plaza (purple line) for a second shot at ice skating. I have no time constraints, so I can stand in line until I freeze to death, if I so choose.

Before midnight- some more train hopping to Hongdae (green line) to rock in the New Year.

6 a.m. Saturday- must find food and something to keep me occupied for a few hours. Mayhap a nap in a warm coffee shop?

12:30 p.m.- Pick up at Hongik Station for ski trip! I only found out about this Monday, checked with my stepmom to see if the price was as good a bargain as it seemed, and wired the money this afternoon.

I got a wicked cute magenta shell-style ski jacket for W39,000 ($35USD) and am totally psyched for 3 days of skiing, swimming, and drinking with a big group of foreigners I've never met. I almost bought a fancy ski mask for W19,000, but thought better of it and got a black knit cap that will stretch to cover my whole head for W4,000. All I need to do is cut some face holes.I spent a little more than I intended on ski pants, but the shop had one pair in my size, discounted by 70%. In total, I got ski pants, ski jacket, neck warmer, and ski mask for < $100USD. I figure it's a good investment as long as I don't gain more than 10 pounds or so for several years, and you really can't beat that price. (Bargain-hunting is a Paullet family pastime.)

Not a day goes by that I don't want to rage quit this crazy country for some new reason. Today it happened while I was looking for sunblock. W9,900 for 125mL of weak-ass 35 SPF. That's less sunblock than would fill a cup of coffee. Fortunately, I made my way to the fancy, high end beauty products and found a small bottle of "olive mild FLOWER sun cream" 39 SPF broad spectrum sunblock for W4,900. Winna.

I'm hope everyone else in attendance will have a camera, so I can trade emails for photos.

I'll let you know how awesome it was when I return Sunday.