Saturday, I went to Seoul with my Canadian friends, Chris and Joanne. We went to Times Square Malll. I was looking for English reading material, Chris needed the new Shinee CD, and Joanne was shopping for souvenirs. There was a bookstore that, Chris assured us, had everything we were were looking for.
Before we went shopping, we all agreed lunch was a priority. We ate a Chinese restaurant in the mall that had delicious food and a roomy feel since it looked out over the mall and if you looked up you could see the trees on the rooftop terrace. The mall in general is really futuristic with huge glass windows and glass bridges crossing over the second and third floors.
On the first floor of the mall, we saw a group of people sitting cross-legged in front of a small stage. We weren't sure what or who they were waiting to see, but we figured we'd find out soon enough.
We went down to that level, not because of our excitement to watch an unknown performance, but because there were women dressed in Hanbok giving out free instant rice dishes and packs of walnuts. Kind of random as giveaways go, but none of us turned it down.
There was still no sign of anything starting on the stage, so we started our shopping. We looked around at a few different places, but mostly we spent our time and money in the bookstore, which was kind of like an even bigger version of Chapters or Indigo, with even more random sections that have little or nothing to do with books. There's stationery, toys, music, jewellery, electronics, and even a bulk-candy area.
After about four hours of shopping, we were getting ready to head home, when we saw that announcers had finally come out on the stage. We joined the crowds of people who were pushed up against the balcony on every level of the mall in order to catch a glimpse of whoever it was that was expected to appear on stage.
The announcers went on for a few minutes, getting all the teenagers in the audience to whoop and cheer. Then they brought out a young Korean guy and he played acoustic guitar. My friends and I looked at each other in disbelief. People had sat on the floor for at least four hours, waiting for that? I guess he's a celebrity and we just don't appreciate his star-factor.
In the subway station, Joanne asked if I'd ever tried takoyaki. It's a kind of Japanese food made with dough and octopus. I admitted I had never tried it, even though it's readily available as street food in Korea. So we bought a dish of it and I tried some. I liked the fried doughy part, but I'm still not a huge fan of octopus. I eat it a lot at school, but I still haven't got used to it.
Anyway, altogether it was a really fun day. It made up for a really sloooooow week.
Today Corey and I also went for a nice long walk around Subong Park. (I didn't take a camera) The snow has mostly melted and the paths are starting to smell earthy and Spring-like. This makes me hopeful that winter is almost over. There are signs around the paths with pictures of different kinds of wildflowers, which I'm also looking forward to seeing sprout and bloom in the spring. I hope everyone else is staying hopeful through the dullness of February. One more week.
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