Writer's Block

I think of things to write ALL the time, on the subway, riding my bike, shopping, lying in bed waiting to fall aleep. When I sit down to actually write, I can't remember any of it. So I'll just try and think of things I have done in the last little while.

In addition to the cool Buddhist experience last Sunday, I went to the COEX Mall and the Aquarium. This mall is apperently the biggest mall in Asia. Its mental. We didn't even see all of it because we just kept going around in a circle. But we did go to the aquarium that is in the mall. It was amazing! I felt like a kid again. There were mostly small fish, but then there was a huge shark tank at the end which was definetly a highlight. We (Denise, Mike and Beth) sat in front of the shark tank for about 30 minutes and had beers that we snuck in. The sharks were huge. Lots of scary ones with ugly teeth and there was one with a saw like form on the front of its head. There were massive turtles and some other funny looking fish. It was so much fun.

There was also another trip to Costco last week. I picked up some food and other necesities. We hit the food court for hot dogs, which were delicious. At the condiment counter, we picked up the usual relish and ketchup and at the end of the table, there was a onion mill. A giant tub that rotated and distributed chopped white onions. Pretty cool for people that like onions. As we walked through the food court looking for a table, we realized that people were only eating onions. They got a heap of onions onto a plate, then doused it with relish, ketchup and mustard, and then dug in with a fork. Done. A whole plate of that. The lesson for that day was that Koreans really like free onions.

I've gotten everything I need for my apartment. The only thing I didn't have for a while was a tea pot and a plant. So now it feels like home.

One weekend, Katherine Mulski came to visit. I went to high school with her and she is doing a practicum in a town about an hour and a half from Seoul. Her practicum involves teaching teachers how to implement english curriculum in their classrooms. She is a teacher in Canada also. She is only here for 4 months so she is busy trying to pack it all in. We had one of the busiest weekends I've had since I've been here. Saturday was shopping in Namdaemun Market and Meyong Dong. Both are huge trendy shopping areas. I tried to find some cheap eye glasses but couldn't find any frames I liked. I was a succesful day. On Saturday night we went for a going away dinner for Lindsay and then partied in Itaewon. I left Kat to watch the Rugby World Cup game at about 2.30 am and went home to bed. Then she rolled into my place at 7am. Sunday was another day of shopping in Itaewon and Insadong. Unfortunatly we ran out of time in Insadong so she's going to come back another weekend and we'll tackle that place. We got some Christmas shopping done, I bought a dress and a toque. But we were so friggin tired by the end of it.