One-Size Wednesday 한 크기 수요일

Such a sunny, warm, and lovely day!


We went for a walk and decided it was time to try this little restaurant we passed and thought it looked good. Well, it was! It was Japanese style. My lunch was bbq pork and fragrant rice, with some adorable little pickled vegetables and a tiny egg! I think we're going back there ...

I joined Jane at her English class at the school too. The kids were rowdy, but I would be too, I'm sure. This is an extra class after their regular school schedule. It runs from 3:00-5:00, and these kids are under 10.

Speaking of English, we also decided it was a good day to visit the English congregation! Their meeting is on Wednesday, so we hopped the most crowded bus, with the impatient bus driver who shifted like a maniac -- people were being tossed around and I kept pushing-over the small lady in front of me. oops. Jane and I could barely drink our JambaJuice! It was funny to hear English again, on the bus. Because naturally the English congregation is located in the part of the city that has a large population of foreigners, so our bus headed there was full of English-speakers.

And is was nice to attend the meeting in English! I was able to give my comments and meet some of the friends there. One family is from Angola, and I was speaking Portuguese to them! We also met an older couple who were missionaries in Korea for last 41 years! They were so sweet. And this congregation has over 50 regular pioneers! We were so involved in talking I forgot to get a photo! Hopefully we'll go again.

street art

Next we had to catch the train, we were going to the night market! It was new for Jane too, so we didn't know what to expect. Good thing Jane's friend Ingmei was there to guide us! This district is full of department stores and fashion designers and a wholesale market. First we were in Doota, a large designer store, which had so many neat, fresh designs (the honey badger print blouse was a favorite!), but I soon understood there's basically one size. And no fitting rooms. So either you fit the average Korean shape, or just  head to shoes and bags. ;) Haha I actually didn't buy anything, it was too expensive for me. But it's a huge draw because the items are duty free.



We also checked out the wholesale area, and at 1:30am I was amazed at the amount of people buzzing around! We were getting tired and slowing down, but those people were punching numbers in their calculators, packing up orders, shouting on the phone, ... it was like stock exchange! Actually, everything at the wholesale we saw at the department store. Stores all over Korea and the world will order there.

bagging up orders

 You just have to buy two or more. So it wasn't a great place for casual shopping and browsing, you had to know what you wanted, and be ready to buy several.
The later it got the crazier traffic was too, the motorbikes were zipping around and cars and trucks just taking over the street. We almost got clipped a few times, and we were on the sidewalk!

Doota, open til 5am

But it was cute to see the ladies delivering food orders to the workers, she carried a tray on her head full of wrapped bowls of rice and other food.

We were really tired by 2:00am when we decided we were done, and the only way home at that indecent hour is a taxi. Woohoo! We knew what was coming. And we were crossing town, so lots of roadway to lay on the accelerator. It's funny, I don't get carsick. That should tell you a little bit about the ride, we were going so fast, and weaving through the other traffic so violently I was closing my eyes and clutching Jane for emotional support. And the GPS here will beep to alert you to the upcoming speed-cameras, and normal drivers slow down to the appropriate speed. Our guy was just going faster, and faster, and we flew by that camera at an impressive 140 km/h.
We got home, thankfully. And Jane even found out the driver used to live in Michigan, in the same neighborhood! Its a small world after all!