I'M A SEOUL SHOPPER

What an expensive weekend. It wasn't meant to be, but sometimes things happen. As it is often said, "shopping happens".

The weekend was great. My visit was great. Of course I didn't want to leave, but all things must come to an end. Of course I could never live in Seoul. It's about 13 million people which is about 1/2 the population of Korea. Boy, are there a lot of people all over the place.

I woke up at 5:15 Saturday morning to be sure I got to the bus station in time for the 6:30 bus. I go to the taxi stop and get in a taxi and tell the driver that I wanted the "Gwangyang express bus terminal" because that's what I was told. He takes me to the bus terminal near the school which is called "Juma-dong bus terminal". I'm semi-freaking. He doesn't speak English at all. I'm trying to tell him there is no express bus to Seoul from there. As far as I know the buses that go from there to Seoul make a lot of stops. He doesn't have a clue what bus terminal I want. Finally he asks me if I want the "Gwangyang bus terminal". I say yes and off we go. It's an expensive (for here) cab ride because it's not close. On the way there he asks me if I have a bus ticket. I say no but now I'm worried. Did I need to buy one in advance?

We get to the terminal and luckily I get a ticket. There were only 3 left. I know this because the person who sold me the ticket showed me her computer screen to point out where my seat was so I saw what was available. I boarded a very new and clean looking bus that surprised me. I was expecting a broken down bus, but neither was I expecting this.


There was one stop on the way to Seoul. Guess where? Yes, at the Juma-dong bus terminal where the taxi driver originally took me. I thought it was funny and felt a little stupid. But I was happy that I was on my way.

The bus makes one stop for the bathroom and snacks and the trip takes about 5 hours. I slept most of the way so the time went quickly. I get off the bus in Seoul and go to the terminal information desk to ask them where I can find a motel. They tell me there are none in the area. They mention one hotel and that's it. So I set off to search for a place to stay on my own.

I find no motels. I wanted to spend no more than $40 a night and was sure it would be easy. I stop in at a Pizza Hut and ask them if they know where a motel or guest house is and they give me some convoluted directions to some place that I never found. They also pointed to a hotel that was across the road but I didn't want a hotel. They're more expensive than motels or guest houses. After not finding a motel I decide to go into the hotel to see how much it is.

I ask the desk clerk lady how much a room is. She says $117 a night. I tell her that's too expensive so she says I can have the special rate of $84. I tell her that's more than I will spend and could she come down a bit. She brings me the translation machine (you may know it as a calculator) and I key in the price I want. I put in $60. She settles for $65.

We spend some time chatting as she asks me how I came to be here. I tell her I wanted an adventure and to try something new. She asks me how old I am and can't believe when I tell her 50. (I love her). She asks me my religion so now I think I'm back in Texas. I tell her Jewish and she seems impressed and tells me she's a Christian. She then tells me she'd like to do what I've done and see different places. She says she has a vision and prays every day about seeing some of the world. I tell her to just do it. (Maybe I'm a Nike spokesman). She was very nice and just another small pleasure I have in talking to a stranger.

Where I'm staying is just a couple of minutes walk from Techno-Mart which is a huge multi-storied electronics store. Think "Best Buy" on steroids. I walk over there because that's where I'm to meet Robert and Nuong. I get there and phone Nuong first. We're chatting and my phone dies. This phone is garbage and buying a cell phone is number one of my list and that's why I'm at Techno-Mart. I can't get it going again. Fortunately I was able to find a pay phone and make contact with Nuong and Robert and made arrangements where to meet them.

While I'm waiting I go to start looking at cell phones. I think the big city is quite different than the little city. Whereas here the employees of a store can't do enough for you, everyone in Techno-Mart doesn't seem to give a damn about you. Some fellow shoppers would talk to me and then talk to the employees about what I was looking for. (I really like most Koreans. They are so thoughtful). And some of the people who work there are so stupid. One person told me that I couldn't buy a cell phone. I showed him my alien card. He says I have the wrong type of visa (it's on the card) to get a phone. I tell the person beside me who wanted to help me that the person was wrong. I can buy a phone. The store person calls headquarters (or wherever) to learn that I am right. Where do they find these people? There are about 100 or so places on the floor where you can buy a phone so I am not stressed about finding a phone, just stressed by the idiotic help.

I go outside to meet Robert and Nuong and enjoy the sights of the big city outside Techno-Mart. There are the bowing girls in boxes to look at:


There is the traffic/pedestrian coordinator:


And let's not forget the Barney tree:


Robert and Nuong arrive and we go to look for a combination microwave oven/toaster oven for Nuong. I've never heard of such a beast and neither has Robert, but Nuong assures us there is such a thing. Unfortunately for her, Techno-Mart doesn't have one because I suppose they haven't heard of them either. I get a decent 2nd hand phone along with the charger and an extra battery for $60 so I'm happy. Now I have to go sign up for service with the company that the phone works with. The phone itself is a Samsung. They make everything and are one of (or the) largest companies in Korea.

Now I'm expecting most people in Seoul to know some English (I don't know why I'm expecting that), but they don't. Signing up for the phone was hell. She takes my $10 and we're done. I don't understand anything. I try to find out what calling plan I'm on. We are all trying to communicate when it dawns on one of us (I forget which one but I don't think it was me) to call the tourist line and ask them to translate between me and the KTF (phone company) people. This works. I have a prepaid phone because without a Korean credit card I can't have a calling plan. But I now understand what's what.

We then go to a teaching materials store to look at English books and games. I spend money on teaching things. I have no idea if I'm going to get reimbursed. I had asked Kelly if I bought things for teaching would I be reimbursed. She told me that the school had lots of books. That's not exactly true. We have the textbooks we use. I have not seen any others or games or anything. It was left with a maybe but I don't really care. I saw things I felt might be good and if they are, great. And they're mine too, so they leave the school when I leave the school. If I don't get reimbursed, I would just give them away to the kids to take home before I left them at the school.

We then head to some other part of the city to visit a bookstore. On the way to the bookstore we were planning on going to, we stopped in at a different bookstore. We spent a couple of hours in there and I was in heaven. I bought some more teaching books and some novels. The day is getting expensive. Nuong seems to disappear and Robert and I stand in the same spot for 1/2 an hour hoping she'll walk by. She doesn't. I tell Robert to stay there and I'll go look upstairs for her. No luck. I then go to the front information desk and ask if they have a paging system and if they ever page people. They tell me they do and they use it for lost children. They want to know if I've lost a child. I say, "yes". They say, "how old". I say, "23". They laugh and say that's not a child but I tell them that it is to me. They call someone else who comes over. It seems they'll do it, but they really don't want to speak English. I tell them that I'll do it and it might be better because my voice might stick out rather than the usual Korean's. We go to the sound room and it's decided that they will do it and if it doesn't work, then I'll do it. So through the giggles they do the announcement. We go back to the front desk and Nuong is there because she had run into Robert and he let her know where I was. It was cute I thought.

After this unscheduled bookstore stop, we headed to the bookstore that we originally planned on going to. On the way we made a bank stop. (The money was flying away). I bought some more novels and we headed to a diner that had been recommended to Robert. It was a 50's style hamburger diner.


The menu was great:


And the waitresses were classy:


I had a burger and fries and was quite happy. It was good. Of course, if I was in the States and had this burger it would have been okay. But in Korea and with what I've eaten, it was the best burger ever!

After that I just had to stuff some Dunkin Donuts in my mouth so I had some of those and then it was into Starbucks for coffee. It was fast approaching midnight so time to head back to the hotel. We go into the subway and I ask for a ticket to the station I need and I'm told the trains are through running to that station for the night. What! It's not even midnight. I take the train that will get me closest and then take a taxi which was over $12 (which is a lot for here).

The next day (Sunday) I met Robert in an area called Itewon. (Nuong was going to meet up with us later). It's a shopping area with a lot of foreigners. I saw more white faces than I've seen since I left the States. Everywhere you turned there were white people (and even some black people). They were taking over as you can see:


We figured we'd be there for only about an hour. If only. I bought some gifts for people and even got myself 2 hockey sweaters. They were the real expensive official kind (not knockoffs). I got a Leafs sweater (Mats Sundin) and a Penguins sweater (Mario Lemieux). They were $25 each whereas I'm sure they go for more than over $100 in North America. I wanted to buy hundreds and bring them back with me and make my fortune. Everything in this area is negotiation. I had a couple of long haggles with people over price and unfortunately for me they gave in so I spent, spent, spent. I got my nieces traditional (claimed to be hand made) Korean outfits and I got my nephew a Leaf sweater. I won't say what tacky things I got my kids. I want it to be a surprise but I think they'll be impressed by my exquisite taste.

Shopping is hard work so one has to eat, and what better place to have lunch than at a Subway. (That's Robert gleefully rubbing his hands in preparation for his meal).


Robert and I bought some movies on the street for a low price. Needless to say they are all illegal copies. There are a lot of movie sellers lining the streets along with fruits, vegetables, and assorted junk.

My bags were too heavy at this point so we went back to my hotel so I could unload. From there Robert took me into a PC Room. Just cubicle after cubicle of computer tables. The first one we went to was full but there were some computers available at the 2nd one. He tried to teach me Starcraft but I'm not much of a kill game person. (I still haven't cracked my copy open).

After that we met Nuong at the Coex Mall which is huge mall with lots of Restaurants including a "Jackie Chan's Kitchen". I bought a new earring because I wanted something different to wear for a change. And it will look good with my tux at Leah's wedding. Then it was dinner time and what better way to top off the day than with a visit to Bennigans.


It might sound like it, but I didn't eat as much as I wanted to. The stomach can't hold as much food as it used to. I did no sightseeing but I will the next time I go to Seoul. The only time I enjoy the big city is when I don't live in it. Then it's a treat. Maybe next time I can go to TGIF's. God Bless America and their chain Restaurant exports.

We parted company and I came back to Gwangyang on the 6:30AM bus today. When I got home I called Kelly to ask if my salary had been deposited. Of course not. She came the excuse that Miss Moon didn't do it because she didn't know how much pay to dock me for being late the one day I was at the hospital in Suncheon trying to get the proper medication. Kelly said she was taking care of it later this afternoon. I told her I was counting on it and she said if I wanted she would wire me money from her account and then deduct it from my salary. I told her I could wait until later but I wasn't happy. It's not that she's trying to avoid paying me, it's just that it's not a priority of hers to meet her commitments. When in Seoul I bought her a children's watch as a gag gift, but guess what? I didn't give it to her.

When I was at a school she gave me a breakdown of deductions from my salary and let me know that the money was transferred. My 1/2 of health insurance was taken out along with my phone bill and internet bills (that go to her directly to pay). But they docked me for missing 4 classes. I had called Kelly earlier and told her that I had worked 2 extra classes this month so the net was being docked 2 classes. Now I wasn't going to even mention the 2 classes even though I'm to get overtime. I prefer a give and take rather than nitpick at every little thing. I forgot to mention the Saturday I worked a class for when I was in Japan. That's overtime as far as I'm concerned because I was in Japan on school business. I wasn't going to mention that, but I will tomorrow. I will also tell her that I wasn't going to mention any of the extra work and I'm surprised that she felt it necessary to watch every minute. It's kind of strange because I'm not even angry about it. I'm used to these stupid things and I don't really care what I say about them any more. I told her today that me doing the 1 kindergarten class and the 1 class of idiot children a week will be really lousy because I can't control them. She said I had to because she'd promised the parents a native English speaker. That's what she advertises. I knew that and told her I understood. And I do. I'm considering just mentioning quickly to her that maybe it's not working out. And I would be doing that just to be cruel and put a little scare in her. I'll have to see the mood I'm in tomorrow.

Well, it's late and I need to drag my creeky back and knees into Yoga tomorrow. I didn't get to talk about my new student and my 18 year old in with the 12 year old and other exciting school things. Oh well. If I didn't like so many of the kids as people, I think I would have blown this pop stand.