Holiday Weekend

Thursday night I sat outside the GS25 (convenience Store) basically in my pajamas with my co-worker Jackie. We drank the bottle of wine I got for a present from my brother’s yeoja chingu (girlfriend), had oreo’s, pringles, and then a liter of Cass Lite (maek-ju). It was a good evening especially for only W5,000 ($5.00)!!!

Friday I went on the hunt for a pillowcase since I still hadn’t found one. I found out they don’t have cheap, cotton pillowcases like they do in the good ol’ USA. The only thing I found was W12,500 and it is a nice, fabric case and you zip your pillow in it. Out of all the hideous patterns, I found one that semi-matches my comforter… and then I realized it doesn’t matter b/c 90% of things don’t match here and it’s considered “cool.”

Then I was walking home and I ran into Jackie and another co-worker so we went to a DVD Room and watched a movie. It’s on the 3rd floor of a building and you pick a DVD and there are a bunch of rooms that seat 2-3 people and you watch it in private for W18,000. Not a bad deal. I just hoped to god that the store owner sanitizes the leather sofas religiously because who knows who or what did what one day…. We watched “Enchanted” and it was a cute chick flick. Nothing to write home about (even though I kinda am).

Saturday I ran for the first time in a while with my handy mask to cover my face from pollution. Then I met my family to celebrate my step-father’s birthday. Saeng-il Ch’uk’a Haeyo (HAPPY BIRTHDAY)! It only took me two days to practice and it came out ok :)

After dinner, I went to Insadong with brother, his girlfriend, and his chingu (who always shows up randomly – I think my mom wants to set us up or something). We went to an arcade and I outlasted everyone in a shooting game. Not sure if I’m too proud of that. Then I raced my brother in a car game and I SUCKED. It felt foreign getting behind the wheel again… cant imagine how it’s going to feel in 10 months…

Then we went to Cheonggyecheon which is a waterway that runs through Seoul. The Olympic Baseball game was playing on a big screen – Korea vs. Japan. That was cool to see the support and woo hoo for Korean winning.

Sunday I planned to do nothing when I woke up just before 11am. Then I got a text from my birth father in Korean so I spent damn near an hour trying to figure out what he was saying. I actually figured it out so I was kinda proud of myself. Then he sent another one and my confidence was again crushed because I had no idea what it meant. My cousin ended up calling and I went to his house for lunch (chopchae and bbq meat – YUMMY)

(pictures: top - Step-father's 3 brothers/1 sister and significant others, middle - Cheonggyecheon, bottom - Chingu, yeoja chingu (girlfriend), dongsaeng (younger sibling), Min Jin)