(no subject)
With the weekend almost over, I have plenty about which to write (even though I did practically nothing of any consequence today).
So on Friday I finally met 희동. I went to 신도림 to meet him (since that is the transfer station for both of our subway lines) and arrived an hour and a half before our meeting time because I planned to bring my books and study and do my homework at a nearby cafe while I waited for him. There's not much in Sindorim at all, so all I could find nearby was a McDonald's attached to a TechnoMart (a department store). At one point, I needed to use the restroom and had to pass through the department store to get to the restroom. Just walking towards the bathroom, I past a Starbucks and some other coffee shop. Haha, oh well... McDonald's was cheaper. I should really start recording the prices of 아이스 아매리카노 (Iced Americanos) at all the coffee shops I've been to. I'm starting to forget... let's list what I remember so far.
Tom n' Toms: 3,300
Starbucks: 3,600
Cafe Ti'Amo: 3,800
Ergo Coffee: 4,000
I also went to a coffee shop in 응암, which had the best Americano and was also the cheapest (they served it in a glass instead of a plastic cup). When I was in 부천 last weekend I went to a coffee shop there which was only 3,000 and pretty good. Of course those two coffee shops are well out of my way, so I'll keep scouting out other ones.
Anyways, Hee Dong texted me ten minutes before we were meeting to say that he would be about ten minutes late. He actually arrived in Sindorim 25-30 minutes and then couldn't even find the McDonald's (which was only about a 45-second walk from the subway exit!), so he was actually 45minutes late. We left McDonald's and started to walk around to find a place to eat and drink. He then opted to take a taxi (although I had thought walking would have been a better choice) and we find a 술집 (a step up from a bar, where you can order food, as well). There were actually three of them in the same building, so we had to do an eenie-meenie-minie-mo (or however you spell that).
He ordered the food, which was some seafood soup (although I had said that I didn't like seafood, except for shrimp and 해물파전). There were whole shrimps in it with their eyeballs still intact, so I didn't touch them, but somehow, after some assurance on Hee Dong's part that it would be delicious, I managed biting into a whole crab (a little guy, though) and actually liked it. We also got some healthy noodle thing, but I didn't eat much overall.
We were INCREDIBLY hungry in the morning and so, after watching some highlights from the South Africa/Mexico game (Hee Dong said that he doesn't like soccer since he played rugby, but since he did live in South Africa for some time, he did get into it a little), we went back to the McDonald's for breakfast. And, just for the record, McDonald's hash browns taste exactly the same in Korea, haha. We parted at the subway station (since I take 2호선 and he takes 1호선) and he said he would call me later the day. He didn't, but strangely I don't care and am not upset or disappointed. I mean, I would like to hang out with him again, but it's not like I am sitting on the edge of my bed (not that I really can, since it's not a Western-style bed) waiting for his call.
The next day, I completely went off my diet because I always need to eat quite a lot the day after I drink since I feel a little weak. But that's okay; I got back on my diet today. But I paid the price for my day-off: 1kg! I'm sure I'll lose it again soon, though.
So I went to the opening of Garden 5, which is a 11 or 12-story department store, all the way in 장지 (an hour by subway) because 장근석 was supposed to have a fan signing. However, when I got there, there was sign of such a fan signing. So I hightailed it over to 한강 for what was supposed to be a concert with UKISS, 4Minute, Wheesung, MC Mong, etc. before the World Cup match. It was raining like crazy and there were already tons of people when I arrived there and I was by myself and there was NO concert, so I went back to 홍대 and bought a ticket to watch the game at the Lotte Cinema. There were only five tickets left when I bought mine, so I felt lucky. However, when I went into the bathroom before the game started, I got a text from Jake saying that he his friend had rented out a club to watch the game. If I would have stayed at the theater, I would have been watching it without friends (although not alone, since there were plenty of Koreans wearing red at the movie theater), so I decided to leave and head to the club where Jake and his friends were.
I didn't know until I got there that I had to pay a 15,000won ($12) entrance fee (after I had already spent 10,000 won ($8) on the movie theater ticket, but I told myself that by the end of the day (or the next morning), my money would have been well-spent. With the first goal, everyone jumped up and started screaming and cheering. I was NOT expecting Korea to score that quickly (if even at all...) and then they scored AGAIN. Hitting the streets after the game was CRAZY. There were people in red everywhere, chanting, "대한민국!!" Everyone was so friendly last night, haha. I wore my "All the Reds" Korea shirt and was chanting the cheer, as well, so a lot of Koreans would stop and cheer with me or just say, "Hi!" or "Good choice!"
After the game, I went with Jake and his friends (I only knew Jake) to 술집 that I had gone to with Jake and his other friends last summer. Apparently, when Jake went two weeks ago, the guy who was working there asked where his 'American' friend was. I'm surprised that he remembered me even after a year, haha. Anyways, there were three of us girls and three guys. I didn't drink too much since I drank enough the night before, but the drinking culture in Korea is sooo much different. You think there's pressure to drink in America? Just try going to Korea! We played various drinking games (none of which I lost -- even 삼육구, where you go around and each person says the next number, but if there is a 3, 6 or 9 in the number, you have to clap instead of saying it. And, if it's a number like 36, you have to clap two times. It can be very difficult, especially in Korean, haha).
I suddenly felt what it must be like to get older, because I was the oldest one there. When we were at the club and I met Jake's friend who was there, he asked how old I was and I said, "21" (and Jake had to butt in and say that I was 22, which I am... but only in Korean age). His friend acted very surprised and said that I don't look that old (haha, 21 is old?) and said that he was 17. O_o;
A little bit later (at the 술집), two guys and a girl came in and sat down at a different table. Jake looked over and suddenly went over to the table -- one of the guys was a friend from his English 학권). Just from a quick glance, I thought that his friend was kind of cute, but he was sitting at the table away from his, so I couldn't sneak too many glances or get a good look at him. He then finally came over to our table to play some games with us and introduced himself to me with his American name, Justin. We played a game where everyone starts with five fingers up and each person gives a description (such as "A person who is wearing earrings"). If you match that description, you have to put one finger down. And then we played the "Never have I ever" game, where you say something you have never done and, if someone else HAS done that, they have to put a finger down. When it was Justin's turn, he must have wanted me to put a finger down because he said, "Never have I ever dated a white guy." Haha, it sure felt good to not have to put a finger down and say, "I've only dated Korean!" He was rather surprised. :P
With people getting up to go to the bathroom and/or go out and smoke (you're lucky if you find a Korean guy who doesn't smoke...), everyone kept moving to different spots of the table (except for me, since I was in the middle and did not go out to smoke for obvious reasons (i.e. I DON'T smoke, thank you!) and did not need to use the restroom. Finally, Justin made his way next to me. It was pretty crowded at the time (there were eight of us at a table meant for six), so we were pretty much touching. Then, even when two people left and someone on our side moved to the other side and Jake scooted down to give me more space, I did not scoot down, haha.
Later, Justin asked why we hadn't invited he and his two friends to watch the soccer game together. I gave the obvious reason; "I didn't know you guys beforehand and don't have your numbers, so how could I have invited you?" I'm not sure if I gave this reply because I subconsciously wanted his number, but the reason does not matter now. He asked if I had a cell phone and I took mine out in response. He input his number and saved it to my phonebook. Soon after, he texted me, "크리스틴 아름다워요" (Kristin, you are pretty / Kristin is pretty. With Korean grammar, the conjugation of a verb is the same for every subject, so there's nothing to really tell you the subject of the sentence unless it is explicitly stated). That pretty much confirmed my attraction towards him and I texted back, "너 아주 멋있어" (you are very handsome/cool).
Neither of us had anything to do today, but his parents wanted him to stay home, so we just texted (until he ran out of texts on his phone) and then he called me to say that we would definitely hang out later. I sure hope so! Perhaps he is the reason why I'm not too disappointed that Hee Dong hasn't contacted me, haha.
Oh, yeah, how about some basics on this Justin character for those of you who may be curious. Since I mentioned that I was the oldest one at the table, I am obviously his 누나 (what Korean males call their older female friends or sisters). He actually just graduated from high school in California, where he was captain of his soccer team (an automatic plus!). He got a scholarship from Cornell, but he tore his ACL and that was immediately retracted, so he'll be going to Illinois. So, yes, that means that even if a relationship DOES happen, he'll be leaving in August for a year. Just my luck, haha. Hmm.. saying that he just graduated high school makes him sound younger than he is (that would be like dating one of the seniors I just taught!). He's 19 (well, born in 1991; I don't know his exact birthday).
You know what I realized... I really hope that no one whom I mention in these journal entries actually reads them because that would not be a good thing. O_O
Anyways... here's to looking forward to Thursday when Korea plays Argentina. That should be one tough game, but the Korean National team has won me over and I have faith in them!!
So on Friday I finally met 희동. I went to 신도림 to meet him (since that is the transfer station for both of our subway lines) and arrived an hour and a half before our meeting time because I planned to bring my books and study and do my homework at a nearby cafe while I waited for him. There's not much in Sindorim at all, so all I could find nearby was a McDonald's attached to a TechnoMart (a department store). At one point, I needed to use the restroom and had to pass through the department store to get to the restroom. Just walking towards the bathroom, I past a Starbucks and some other coffee shop. Haha, oh well... McDonald's was cheaper. I should really start recording the prices of 아이스 아매리카노 (Iced Americanos) at all the coffee shops I've been to. I'm starting to forget... let's list what I remember so far.
Tom n' Toms: 3,300
Starbucks: 3,600
Cafe Ti'Amo: 3,800
Ergo Coffee: 4,000
I also went to a coffee shop in 응암, which had the best Americano and was also the cheapest (they served it in a glass instead of a plastic cup). When I was in 부천 last weekend I went to a coffee shop there which was only 3,000 and pretty good. Of course those two coffee shops are well out of my way, so I'll keep scouting out other ones.
Anyways, Hee Dong texted me ten minutes before we were meeting to say that he would be about ten minutes late. He actually arrived in Sindorim 25-30 minutes and then couldn't even find the McDonald's (which was only about a 45-second walk from the subway exit!), so he was actually 45minutes late. We left McDonald's and started to walk around to find a place to eat and drink. He then opted to take a taxi (although I had thought walking would have been a better choice) and we find a 술집 (a step up from a bar, where you can order food, as well). There were actually three of them in the same building, so we had to do an eenie-meenie-minie-mo (or however you spell that).
He ordered the food, which was some seafood soup (although I had said that I didn't like seafood, except for shrimp and 해물파전). There were whole shrimps in it with their eyeballs still intact, so I didn't touch them, but somehow, after some assurance on Hee Dong's part that it would be delicious, I managed biting into a whole crab (a little guy, though) and actually liked it. We also got some healthy noodle thing, but I didn't eat much overall.
We were INCREDIBLY hungry in the morning and so, after watching some highlights from the South Africa/Mexico game (Hee Dong said that he doesn't like soccer since he played rugby, but since he did live in South Africa for some time, he did get into it a little), we went back to the McDonald's for breakfast. And, just for the record, McDonald's hash browns taste exactly the same in Korea, haha. We parted at the subway station (since I take 2호선 and he takes 1호선) and he said he would call me later the day. He didn't, but strangely I don't care and am not upset or disappointed. I mean, I would like to hang out with him again, but it's not like I am sitting on the edge of my bed (not that I really can, since it's not a Western-style bed) waiting for his call.
The next day, I completely went off my diet because I always need to eat quite a lot the day after I drink since I feel a little weak. But that's okay; I got back on my diet today. But I paid the price for my day-off: 1kg! I'm sure I'll lose it again soon, though.
So I went to the opening of Garden 5, which is a 11 or 12-story department store, all the way in 장지 (an hour by subway) because 장근석 was supposed to have a fan signing. However, when I got there, there was sign of such a fan signing. So I hightailed it over to 한강 for what was supposed to be a concert with UKISS, 4Minute, Wheesung, MC Mong, etc. before the World Cup match. It was raining like crazy and there were already tons of people when I arrived there and I was by myself and there was NO concert, so I went back to 홍대 and bought a ticket to watch the game at the Lotte Cinema. There were only five tickets left when I bought mine, so I felt lucky. However, when I went into the bathroom before the game started, I got a text from Jake saying that he his friend had rented out a club to watch the game. If I would have stayed at the theater, I would have been watching it without friends (although not alone, since there were plenty of Koreans wearing red at the movie theater), so I decided to leave and head to the club where Jake and his friends were.
I didn't know until I got there that I had to pay a 15,000won ($12) entrance fee (after I had already spent 10,000 won ($8) on the movie theater ticket, but I told myself that by the end of the day (or the next morning), my money would have been well-spent. With the first goal, everyone jumped up and started screaming and cheering. I was NOT expecting Korea to score that quickly (if even at all...) and then they scored AGAIN. Hitting the streets after the game was CRAZY. There were people in red everywhere, chanting, "대한민국!!" Everyone was so friendly last night, haha. I wore my "All the Reds" Korea shirt and was chanting the cheer, as well, so a lot of Koreans would stop and cheer with me or just say, "Hi!" or "Good choice!"
After the game, I went with Jake and his friends (I only knew Jake) to 술집 that I had gone to with Jake and his other friends last summer. Apparently, when Jake went two weeks ago, the guy who was working there asked where his 'American' friend was. I'm surprised that he remembered me even after a year, haha. Anyways, there were three of us girls and three guys. I didn't drink too much since I drank enough the night before, but the drinking culture in Korea is sooo much different. You think there's pressure to drink in America? Just try going to Korea! We played various drinking games (none of which I lost -- even 삼육구, where you go around and each person says the next number, but if there is a 3, 6 or 9 in the number, you have to clap instead of saying it. And, if it's a number like 36, you have to clap two times. It can be very difficult, especially in Korean, haha).
I suddenly felt what it must be like to get older, because I was the oldest one there. When we were at the club and I met Jake's friend who was there, he asked how old I was and I said, "21" (and Jake had to butt in and say that I was 22, which I am... but only in Korean age). His friend acted very surprised and said that I don't look that old (haha, 21 is old?) and said that he was 17. O_o;
A little bit later (at the 술집), two guys and a girl came in and sat down at a different table. Jake looked over and suddenly went over to the table -- one of the guys was a friend from his English 학권). Just from a quick glance, I thought that his friend was kind of cute, but he was sitting at the table away from his, so I couldn't sneak too many glances or get a good look at him. He then finally came over to our table to play some games with us and introduced himself to me with his American name, Justin. We played a game where everyone starts with five fingers up and each person gives a description (such as "A person who is wearing earrings"). If you match that description, you have to put one finger down. And then we played the "Never have I ever" game, where you say something you have never done and, if someone else HAS done that, they have to put a finger down. When it was Justin's turn, he must have wanted me to put a finger down because he said, "Never have I ever dated a white guy." Haha, it sure felt good to not have to put a finger down and say, "I've only dated Korean!" He was rather surprised. :P
With people getting up to go to the bathroom and/or go out and smoke (you're lucky if you find a Korean guy who doesn't smoke...), everyone kept moving to different spots of the table (except for me, since I was in the middle and did not go out to smoke for obvious reasons (i.e. I DON'T smoke, thank you!) and did not need to use the restroom. Finally, Justin made his way next to me. It was pretty crowded at the time (there were eight of us at a table meant for six), so we were pretty much touching. Then, even when two people left and someone on our side moved to the other side and Jake scooted down to give me more space, I did not scoot down, haha.
Later, Justin asked why we hadn't invited he and his two friends to watch the soccer game together. I gave the obvious reason; "I didn't know you guys beforehand and don't have your numbers, so how could I have invited you?" I'm not sure if I gave this reply because I subconsciously wanted his number, but the reason does not matter now. He asked if I had a cell phone and I took mine out in response. He input his number and saved it to my phonebook. Soon after, he texted me, "크리스틴 아름다워요" (Kristin, you are pretty / Kristin is pretty. With Korean grammar, the conjugation of a verb is the same for every subject, so there's nothing to really tell you the subject of the sentence unless it is explicitly stated). That pretty much confirmed my attraction towards him and I texted back, "너 아주 멋있어" (you are very handsome/cool).
Neither of us had anything to do today, but his parents wanted him to stay home, so we just texted (until he ran out of texts on his phone) and then he called me to say that we would definitely hang out later. I sure hope so! Perhaps he is the reason why I'm not too disappointed that Hee Dong hasn't contacted me, haha.
Oh, yeah, how about some basics on this Justin character for those of you who may be curious. Since I mentioned that I was the oldest one at the table, I am obviously his 누나 (what Korean males call their older female friends or sisters). He actually just graduated from high school in California, where he was captain of his soccer team (an automatic plus!). He got a scholarship from Cornell, but he tore his ACL and that was immediately retracted, so he'll be going to Illinois. So, yes, that means that even if a relationship DOES happen, he'll be leaving in August for a year. Just my luck, haha. Hmm.. saying that he just graduated high school makes him sound younger than he is (that would be like dating one of the seniors I just taught!). He's 19 (well, born in 1991; I don't know his exact birthday).
You know what I realized... I really hope that no one whom I mention in these journal entries actually reads them because that would not be a good thing. O_O
Anyways... here's to looking forward to Thursday when Korea plays Argentina. That should be one tough game, but the Korean National team has won me over and I have faith in them!!