September 19
Anjelica, 25, South Korea. This is my Thursday, September 19th. It's also Chuseok, a national holiday in Korea, so I'm off of work and on day 2 of a 5 day weekend. In this day Shane and I bum around the city and see a million cute animals.
Good morning! It's about 9:30 or 10am. My boyfriend Shane and I had meant to wake early and take a bus to a nearby temple, but the night before we began catsitting for a friend. Elise (my cat) and Oscar (the friend's cat) kept us up all night being cats.
Elise is looking a bit worse for the wear. Also, her fur is still growing back from a lion cut.
Oscar won't leave her alone.
Shane found Oscar near a trash pile back in the end of May. He was only 5 weeks old and so tiny and cute! But we couldn't keep him because Elise was jealous and bullied him, so we gave him to a friend. He hasn't seen us since and I'm shocked by how huge he is, now.
Shane's already left to change and eat breakfast, so I heat up some chicken nuggets and start researching the ios7 update.
An uneasy proximity.
FINALLY.
Shane is back, and I'm not ready. We've decided to go to the traditional hanok village because I read that they were doing some Chuseok festivities.
I hurry up and put on some make up. Anyone with suggestions for mineral powder (especially by department store brands) let me know...I use and love Bare Minerals but I can't get it in Korea :(
Tada!
Bored, waiting for me.
Elise, relaxing.
Shane tries out the new filters on the ios7 update.
Oscar is relaxing on the beat up old chair.
It's about noon now, and we head out.
It's a ghost town out here.
On a main street, we see this:
A cat, tied up, with her kittens. No food or water, and in an area where there are regular strays and dogs who roam the streets while their owners work. It's about 90 degrees out and they must be so thirsty. It looks like their owners have left for the holiday.
Shane immediately says that he'll go and get them some water. Off he goes!
Hey mama.
Can you see the tortie kitten underneath? The kittens were so shy and so cute.
Back!
Luckily, he brought food as well. They literally started yowling and swarmed us.
And water!
Bye bye! We promise to come back later and check on them.
Through the tunnel. We weren't able to get a cab so we just decided to walk.
I love this city.
But the weather has been intense lately!
On we go, until Shane spots this lizard on the road.
Oh my gosh.
What's up.
We put the lizard down and kept on going.
A jindo guarding a chicken in a cage. I can't believe how many animals we're seeing today!
We arrive at Gaeksa, the downtown shopping area. We have to pass it to get to the traditional village and Shane wants to stop in and see if the dollar store is open.
A quick stop to get peach drinks.
It's pretty empty today, and lots of shops are closed. Daiso (the dollar store) is one of them, but I managed to snag a cute skirt at one of my favorite boutiques.
Finally, hanok village! We decide to walk around the village without going in just yet. There are lots of little shops and cafes.
Shoes and fans made of hanji, a traditional paper.
Outside a cafe, some chickens and chicks!
The proprietor came out with a hose and they all ran toward him.
Shane and I popped into a couple cafes until we found one with a table.
I got an Americano and he got bingsoo (which I also tasted). The menu here gave me some trouble because it was handwritten in a graffiti-esque font and I'm not used to reading handwritten Korean. I was so embarrassed when a barista came up and asked me if I could read Korean :'(
Outside, the sun is getting a bit lower. At last!
I got an ice cream.
We left hanok village and decided to stop at Home Plus so I could find a seam ripper. I don't know why we've ended up at Home Plus in every adiml I've done...we honestly don't go there that much.
I didn't find a seam ripper, but Shane found some grapes and blueberries on offer.
And also some soju.
On the way out, Shane grabbed a box. Those boxes are there for people to box up their purchases and load them into their cars. However, Shane needs this box because in 5 days he will be heading back home to Ireland and we will be spending almost 5 months apart. It's really depressing and I try not to think about it.
Waiting for a taxi.
Home!
Cooler and cooler.
See the pink building to the left? That building was just a few bricks when I did my last adiml in August. Now it's nearly finished!
Looks like someone has laid out their laundry inside.
Once inside the apartment, Elise greeted us. Oscar came forward but kept his distance.
Shane went onto the balcony to spend a bit of time with Oscar.
I did the dishes so that Shane could start on dinner.
When is my mommy coming for me? I'm ready!
Snack?
Elise watching Oscar watch us.
Finished with the dishes, I lit a candle and got ready to watch the end of my movie, "The House I Live In." It's about the prison industrial complex.
Shane had another snack. I asked him when he was planning to start on dinner.
Almost friends!
I texted Louise, Oscar's mom, to let her know.
(Also, time check: 6:50pm)
Then I mixed some of Elise's food with Oscar's to entice him. Before that, he was refusing to eat his food and trying to steal hers.
Getting ready to take in a sweater; unfortunately, I wasn't able to find pins, good thread, or a seam ripper. That's what I get for going out on Chuseok.
Dinner's ready.
We eat Shepherd's Pie and watch something on crop circles. Shepherd's Pie is a real treat for me, as I've never had it before, but Shane (being Irish, I suppose) is quite used to it.
Oscar comes for attention...until...what's that?
Where is she going?
Gotta find out!
I continued with my sewing.
Elise chased him out of the room.
Protect me, Shane!
And yet...
...he always comes back...
...for more.
And seems quite happy to do it!
Hours have passed. I've been sewing and taking pictures of the cats, and now we've put on Braveheart.
Finally, at nearly 1am, I'm finished! What do you think? The sweater was originally very baggy on me. I bought it for $2 at a thrift store back home so I wasn't too worried about wrecking it while taking it in, but I don't really know how to sew (only how to embroider) so I did it all by hand. The skirt I'm wearing is the one I bought at Gaeksa earlier. An entire outfit for about $10!
After taking the picture, I got really down about my hair. It's gotten really really thin in the last year and it's been a source of agony for me. Shane decides that a scalp massage will help. It kinda hurts but feels really nice.
Finally I call it quits on the movie and head to bed.
A few minutes later, Shane followed and we took bedtime pictures. However, they came out unsalvageable :( Sorry! We went to bed immediately, though, so you've missed nothing.
New (active!) friends are welcome!
Good morning! It's about 9:30 or 10am. My boyfriend Shane and I had meant to wake early and take a bus to a nearby temple, but the night before we began catsitting for a friend. Elise (my cat) and Oscar (the friend's cat) kept us up all night being cats.
Elise is looking a bit worse for the wear. Also, her fur is still growing back from a lion cut.
Oscar won't leave her alone.
Shane found Oscar near a trash pile back in the end of May. He was only 5 weeks old and so tiny and cute! But we couldn't keep him because Elise was jealous and bullied him, so we gave him to a friend. He hasn't seen us since and I'm shocked by how huge he is, now.
Shane's already left to change and eat breakfast, so I heat up some chicken nuggets and start researching the ios7 update.
An uneasy proximity.
FINALLY.
Shane is back, and I'm not ready. We've decided to go to the traditional hanok village because I read that they were doing some Chuseok festivities.
I hurry up and put on some make up. Anyone with suggestions for mineral powder (especially by department store brands) let me know...I use and love Bare Minerals but I can't get it in Korea :(
Tada!
Bored, waiting for me.
Elise, relaxing.
Shane tries out the new filters on the ios7 update.
Oscar is relaxing on the beat up old chair.
It's about noon now, and we head out.
It's a ghost town out here.
On a main street, we see this:
A cat, tied up, with her kittens. No food or water, and in an area where there are regular strays and dogs who roam the streets while their owners work. It's about 90 degrees out and they must be so thirsty. It looks like their owners have left for the holiday.
Shane immediately says that he'll go and get them some water. Off he goes!
Hey mama.
Can you see the tortie kitten underneath? The kittens were so shy and so cute.
Back!
Luckily, he brought food as well. They literally started yowling and swarmed us.
And water!
Bye bye! We promise to come back later and check on them.
Through the tunnel. We weren't able to get a cab so we just decided to walk.
I love this city.
But the weather has been intense lately!
On we go, until Shane spots this lizard on the road.
Oh my gosh.
What's up.
We put the lizard down and kept on going.
A jindo guarding a chicken in a cage. I can't believe how many animals we're seeing today!
We arrive at Gaeksa, the downtown shopping area. We have to pass it to get to the traditional village and Shane wants to stop in and see if the dollar store is open.
A quick stop to get peach drinks.
It's pretty empty today, and lots of shops are closed. Daiso (the dollar store) is one of them, but I managed to snag a cute skirt at one of my favorite boutiques.
Finally, hanok village! We decide to walk around the village without going in just yet. There are lots of little shops and cafes.
Shoes and fans made of hanji, a traditional paper.
Outside a cafe, some chickens and chicks!
The proprietor came out with a hose and they all ran toward him.
Shane and I popped into a couple cafes until we found one with a table.
I got an Americano and he got bingsoo (which I also tasted). The menu here gave me some trouble because it was handwritten in a graffiti-esque font and I'm not used to reading handwritten Korean. I was so embarrassed when a barista came up and asked me if I could read Korean :'(
Outside, the sun is getting a bit lower. At last!
I got an ice cream.
We left hanok village and decided to stop at Home Plus so I could find a seam ripper. I don't know why we've ended up at Home Plus in every adiml I've done...we honestly don't go there that much.
I didn't find a seam ripper, but Shane found some grapes and blueberries on offer.
And also some soju.
On the way out, Shane grabbed a box. Those boxes are there for people to box up their purchases and load them into their cars. However, Shane needs this box because in 5 days he will be heading back home to Ireland and we will be spending almost 5 months apart. It's really depressing and I try not to think about it.
Waiting for a taxi.
Home!
Cooler and cooler.
See the pink building to the left? That building was just a few bricks when I did my last adiml in August. Now it's nearly finished!
Looks like someone has laid out their laundry inside.
Once inside the apartment, Elise greeted us. Oscar came forward but kept his distance.
Shane went onto the balcony to spend a bit of time with Oscar.
I did the dishes so that Shane could start on dinner.
When is my mommy coming for me? I'm ready!
Snack?
Elise watching Oscar watch us.
Finished with the dishes, I lit a candle and got ready to watch the end of my movie, "The House I Live In." It's about the prison industrial complex.
Shane had another snack. I asked him when he was planning to start on dinner.
Almost friends!
I texted Louise, Oscar's mom, to let her know.
(Also, time check: 6:50pm)
Then I mixed some of Elise's food with Oscar's to entice him. Before that, he was refusing to eat his food and trying to steal hers.
Getting ready to take in a sweater; unfortunately, I wasn't able to find pins, good thread, or a seam ripper. That's what I get for going out on Chuseok.
Dinner's ready.
We eat Shepherd's Pie and watch something on crop circles. Shepherd's Pie is a real treat for me, as I've never had it before, but Shane (being Irish, I suppose) is quite used to it.
Oscar comes for attention...until...what's that?
Where is she going?
Gotta find out!
I continued with my sewing.
Elise chased him out of the room.
Protect me, Shane!
And yet...
...he always comes back...
...for more.
And seems quite happy to do it!
Hours have passed. I've been sewing and taking pictures of the cats, and now we've put on Braveheart.
Finally, at nearly 1am, I'm finished! What do you think? The sweater was originally very baggy on me. I bought it for $2 at a thrift store back home so I wasn't too worried about wrecking it while taking it in, but I don't really know how to sew (only how to embroider) so I did it all by hand. The skirt I'm wearing is the one I bought at Gaeksa earlier. An entire outfit for about $10!
After taking the picture, I got really down about my hair. It's gotten really really thin in the last year and it's been a source of agony for me. Shane decides that a scalp massage will help. It kinda hurts but feels really nice.
Finally I call it quits on the movie and head to bed.
A few minutes later, Shane followed and we took bedtime pictures. However, they came out unsalvageable :( Sorry! We went to bed immediately, though, so you've missed nothing.
New (active!) friends are welcome!