A walk through the markets

Jan 8th, 2009

So due to the time change and me knocking out early my a** woke up at 645 am'ish. Which was like 345pm US time. We all woke up and made eggs and toast. mmmmmmm good Korean breakfast. LOL I was also able to talk to Nae after her rehearsal because I was up so early so that was a plus. After breakfast and my skype date with Nae we all decided to get ready to go out and see what Korea had to offer us in the shopping department.  We met up with Sora who has been such a helpful blessing in directions around Hongdae and in figuring out our phones since some of ours are in Korean.  

We took the subway system to the markets and as soon as I can remember which market we went to  I will let you all know. LOL  But how amazing the subway system are. We have these what they seem to be look a like key accessory called T-money cards. You put money on them and swipe them at the station to allow you to ride the train.

The ride is smooth and its still pretty cool to hear Korean over the loud speaker to tell you which stop to get off and they play videos and advertisements on these screens on the train.  So many Korean faces but yet so different. Its kinda hard to explain but not everyone looks a like here, well at least to me. I feel like most people have at least one thing different about them. Some of the elder people look a like.  Even though I am feeling a little comfortable here I'm sure I stick out like a sore thumb ;) 

The markets that we went to were sooooooooo amazing. I couldn't believe it. Its like walking down every street and walls lined with stores and its not your typical retail stores its like out doors freeze your but off while you shop stores. So many things to look at and the temptation to buy everything, but I didn't.  Bargaining is also allowed here so that was pretty fun figure out what a good deal is.  I went into this one shop because it looked like I could buy a lot of little things I was looking for. This elderly man stepped to me and was helping me out I immediately said annyeong haseyo (hello) and right away I think he thought I know Korean and started talking to me. Like a dear in the headlights I didn't know what else to say but mi gook (I'm American). Finally he said English and I smiled. He showed me around his store as I told him in short cut English what I was looking for. He asked me where I was from and I said the US then I said  ib yong (Adoptee).  He asked how old I was when I left and I told him 1yr. He then asked how old I am now and I said 27 and this was my first time back.  What a feeling it was to say these Korean words and have him understand me and talk a little English and have him understand me. I looked some more around the store collecting the things I wanted and decided to check out. As I was leaving the old man handed me a little keep-sake from his store and gave it to me as a present. I bowed to him and said gamsa hamnida (thank you). Cant quite put my finger on how I felt just then but it was an overall great feeling.  As we walked some more each going to the little stores we wanted to look at I stood outside this one shop as the lady asked me what I was looking for.  Mind you, I don't say what I'm shopping for because that would spoil the surprise of what I'm bringing home for you guys lol.  Anyway when I told the lady what I was looking for she kindly brought me into her store and showed me what she had to offer. I ended up buying what I needed and left with gamsa hamnida (thank you) and annyeong hi gaseyo (goodbye, person staying) she said I said it very well which left me with a big smile on my face then said thank you and goodbye in English.

What a day it has been. Finally we rewarded ourselves with Starbucks coffee and headed back home.  When we got home Kim M took a nap and Julie and I decided to start drinking SoJu. My first shot in Korea. I got the camera out to capture the moment. After a couple shots  ok ok after 3 or 4 shots I started to get tired and decided to take a nap myself.  It was only a 2 1/2 hour nap just so I could start getting use to staying up late cause I know once Kim T gets back from teaching English at the temple I'm going to have to keep up with her LOL.

I think I'm still adjusting and still thinking about going out but I might just call it a night and try again tomorrow. Its about 1215am Jan 9th, 915am Jan 8th US and as I've been told this is when Koreas night owls start their night.

I almost forgot Julie was telling me also today at the market that there are a lot of knock offs and you can always tell when they are real cause they keep their merch sites small and easy so they can dip out with a quickness. They also have people looking out for I guess authority coming and clean up their stuff in a matter of seconds. We saw that first hand today. One moment your looking at what it is and right when you might wanna get something they just start cleaning up and leave.  I didn't get a chance to see or ask how much the real stuff was but it was really interesting to see how things work in these kind of markets.