Heading out later than usual was quite nice as I got to sleep in, clean my side of the room and washroom (Russian is still a no-show), stretch and study some Korean in the lounge down the hall. I had slept in and was hoping to see an unni from Edmonton who had moved back to Korea, but due to unexpected situations, I had to reroute my plans.

Plan B was doing what girls' do best, in this case, it was with my chums, Chloe and Ann. They had walked to Edae to do some back to school wardrobe shopping part 1 (yes, there will be a part 2). After finding my way downhill and crossing through Ewha Women's University, which by the way is so much faster than walking to Sinchon and taking the subway), us trio reunited and started killing our wallets. Edae is equivalent to Mongkok's ladies market & area due to the population of females in the area. However, pricing wise, HK still arises as the cheapest. I am actually surprize that some of the prices for clothes in Seoul is similar to Canadian shopping. Sometimes, the quality does match the price, but other times, make sure to check the seams and if they give you a new one, double check it too. I bought a 2-way strap rectangular bag for $10Cad, but when I opened it, the longer set of straps wasn't there. Though I don't mind as this bag was cheap, I still think I should go back and get my money's worth.

Our stomachs called it a break in between the shopping and we found this place known for kimbab (I'm assuming as it was in its name). Surprizingly, the ajussi, who looked like he was near his 60s, welcomed us and took our order in proficient English. He was better than the young guys at our hostel and the line up of people we have met so far. We were in awe of his fluency and accent and had small talk with him. Turns out, he had to learn English for his business back in the day and I was the only one who had ordered their kimbab.

Actually, we had a handful of pleasant scenarios with other ajussis as well. The three of us had bought shoes at this shoe store we stumbled upon as the word 'sale' drawn us in. He wasn't as good as the kimbab ajussi, but he was a very sweet man and reluctantly, I was able to carry somewhat of a conversation with him about giving it to us cheaper and where we were from. An earlier on, when Ann bought a blouse, this other ajussi who owned the store also talked in English and told us he picked up all the phrases and words he knew from us college students shopping there. He also said that by the end of the term, those who speak English in the beginning of the term would come back speaking in Korean very well after taking the Korean class everyday-I sure hope so! A lot of stores in Edae is actually owned or ran my males, which is quite different compared to HK, Osaka, and even Canada, but they were all very nice and super helpful (probably because they wanted us foreigner's money, oh well).
The day was well spent-literally and I figure I really need to budget more wisely if I am to survive here the next four months. I can't believe March is right around the corner and school will hit us in the face soon.

Tonight was dinner and bowling with the Emmaus group. About thirty of us went to Emmaus' usual Japanese restaurant so they were allowed to make reservations as they bring them a large amount of business. The sound of a kimchi and cheese donkatsu (chicken rice bowl) interested me and I didin't regret it. I haven't had cheese in a while and despite it being a piece of melted processed cheese, my calcium craving is happy. I'm really starting to click with everyone in Emmaus, and its only been the second time I spent with them. Everyone I met so far is beyond friendly and goes out of their way to greet and get to know you. I love them and I can't wait until the term starts so we can have our weekly meetings on Tuesday. I already feel I can form a christian community with them and that they can keep me accountable in various areas in my life. I also felt very myself today as earlier this morning I was kind of in the slumps, missing home and feeling sick of seeing tourist attractions and going out to explore. It was "homey" to be around open people and it reminded me of my friends back in Edmonton. However, due to misreadings of a friend, I had a little irrational laugh attack at dinner and I'm hoping everyone doesn't think I'm that odd girl at the crazy table haha. Some things just don't change no matter where you are located.

Unfortunately, the bowling place we went to was busy and the ajumma seemed to be in a bad mood and told us to leave. This lead to all of us heading to a coffee shop, but it was pricey and nothing attracted Chloe, Teresa, Ann, and I, so off to Ice Berry we went to share a bowl of patbingsu.

oh yea...

Dear Lotte World,

I'M SO EXCITED FOR YOU.

See ya on leap year,
Sarah