Saturday, August 6, 2016

Day 40

Waking up today, I had one thought on my mind: the fact that I was going to go shopping with my mom in Seoul National Station and it was going to be the most fun-est thing ever. I woke up 9:50AM with 8 hours of sleep in the trunk and I quickly got ready, excited to go out with my mother and have some quality time with her. We ate a small breakfast of just toast with nutella (she ate strawberry jam instead) and we prepared to leave. We headed off for the station in a taxi and I initiated conversations about how I love Korea and places that I want to travel to in and out of Korea.

We eventually got to the station and went underground. We looked through one side and then got some drinks from Palik's coffee. I got an iced green tea latte and my mother got an iced americano. Also, we shared a salad bread thing. While eating, I told my mother that her cooking was better than what we were eating, because it was true. The salad bread that my mother made was super bomb and delicious. We then started going down the other side of the station and I bought a couple of shirts for my family. They are the ones that mix Hangul into English and they are super cool. We got a call from my Aunt saying that she was here and so we went back to the place where we got Palik's drinks and we waited for our aunt to show up.

After a few minutes, she showed up with her daughter and we all ate sushi together. It was so delicious and fun! I felt so happy to be able to spend time with all of them and I felt so blessed to feel like I was part of the family. When we finished eating, our mother left to pick up my sister from her music camp that she was at (thats why I hadn't seen her for the whole week) and so I went shopping with my Aunt and cousin.

I got some souvenirs and then got a pair of pants, shorts, and two shirts from a store. Usually, men's clothing is super expensive in Korea, like 20 dollars for shirts and 15 or 35 dollars for pants, but over here, pants and shorts were 10 dollars while shirts were only 5 dollars! After finding the right fit of pants and shorts by using the restroom as a changing room, we found the right pair for me and my Aunt actually paid for one pair! That was so kind! I constantly asked her which clothing she thought was better because I do not know Korean fashion. The pants look a little bit silly to American fashion, but they are so cool as in 시원해 and wont make my legs feel super sticky after a day of walking.

We to a bus and went to my Aunts house, which was this complex where the room itself was another complex with people playing music in rooms. My Aunt wanted to show me what the room looked like, so she opened a room that was dark, but there was someone sleeping on the floor, so we quickly shut it. Then, we went to look for a 냉선품 (cold fan?) and the first shopping center that we went to was closed for summer holiday and the second shopping center that we went to didn't have what we were looking for, so my Aunt dropped me off home. On the way to the shopping centers and to home, I talked to my Aunt the whole time and it was -amazing-! I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to bond with my Aunt and I'm proud of my self for pushing and taking that opportunity. When I got home, I dropped off my shopping bags in my room and saw my brother in the living room. He was back from his 학원 and was playing his soccer game and talked to me about the olympics in Rio. Korea won!

I went to my room to get some things when I noticed that I had left my ipod in my Aunt's car. I felt a bit distressed, but it was not a big deal. I went on my computer for a little bit and then felt hungry, so I made myself some toast. I offered some of the toast to my brother, but he didn't want to eat because he was playing. My sister returned home and she gave me my ipod (hooray!) and we sat in the living room, all on our devices. My sister was playing some videos from her camp and it was actually really cool: people were going hard playing stringed instruments and it was epic. My brother, on the other hand, was listening to American pop music and tried to raise the volume. After this, they both watched some live performances of Kpop and I recognized some songs, so I sang along. It felt so great to have this small bonding experience!

After about an hour or so, I decided that, since it was my last weekend in Korea, I had to go out and just spend money. I had been saving all of my money until this last weekend and tomorrow, my family is planning on going somewhere, so I won't have much time other than today and maybe wednesday to do shopping. I went out to Gangnam just as a way to say 'farewell' to the city that I loved, and I explored the back roads, where I vowed to explore. It was honestly super disappointing and ugly in the back roads, so I stayed on the main road. I didn't want to spend any money in Gangnam, so I went aaaallll the way to 명동 and actually missed my stop. I tried to use the alarm from the subway app to wake me up from deep thought, but it didn't alert me and I noticed that the robotic conductor lady was saying a stop that was past my destination, so I had to go back one stop. As I was waiting forever for the train to arrive going the other direction, the subway alarm went off. It felt like a bad joke, but I just ignored it. 

I eventually got to 명동 and went from feeling a bit alone to feeling super excited and ready to have a good time with myself. At home, my brother was probably watching the olympics and my sister was probably on her phone. I didn't know what my parents were doing, but I heard them talking in their room as I exited the house. I shopped for a long while and I could actually interact with the shop owners and know what they were saying and know how to respond, so I felt even more excited. I got souvenirs, things for people back in America, and a bunch of things for myself. I got ripped off for buying a hat, because I thought that the guy said it was 5$ when it was actually 15$, but I had already given him my money, so I couldn't do anything about it. However, everything else that I bought was relatively cheap, so I guess it kind of made up for that rip off.

Going back home, I got lost and ended up going to this huge chapel. It was really pretty, but it was closed, so a man prevented me from getting anywhere near it. I had trouble finding the subway station, but I eventually found it and ended up walking for ten years to go to a station that wasn't anywhere close to 명동.. I somehow ended up going all the way to 종로3가. Going home, I zoned out with my headphones off, taking in Korea and thinking about the time I have left and the money that I have left and how I'm sad to leave soon but also excited to spend a whole day with my family tomorrow, and how I actually really love Korea and will miss it when I leave. I rushed home to get there before curfew and I looked at the large apartment complex near my house and breathed in the smell of the hill/forest/mountain thing nearby my house. Thinking about these rituals, I felt the sadness that will come, but I let the moment sink in.

I then got home, took a shower, showed my brother everything that I bought, tried to show him how to download music, and I will now go to sleep!

Today was super fun and this last week will be jam packed with fun and great memories. I will say goodnight for now. Bye~!

<3


-end

2 comments:

  1. Seems your heart gonna have a hard time letting go of Korea. Glad that you had and have a great time during your brief stay. Don't forget to buy some souvenir then have your fellow NISLI-Yians to have it autograph. Perhaps having you all in one photograph then back w/ their respective autograph, a good memory to keep. Your sponsor mother is pretty and young and so does your aunt. Thanks for the pics. Enjoy shopping ...
    God bless,
    Mom xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  2. So happy to see you Yves with your Korean "extended" family :) They are lovely people and so nice of them to have you as part of the family... have fun and cherish the special moments of your stay. Godspeed.

    ReplyDelete