Matching Underwear?

Ok, so this post isn't really about matching underwear, per se, I just needed a catchy title. This weekend I went out and about for the first time and explored Seomyeon, where there are lots of markets and shops. I also rode the subway for the first time. Instead of rechargeable cards (boring) like they have in London and such, they have phone charms. Ya? Adorable and clever. I am holding off on buying mine until I found the most sparkly and tacky one possible.

Anyway, in this shopping haven of Seomyeon, there are quite a few underwear shops, more than I have ever seen per capita in any other place. A common theme to these shops is matching underwear sets for couples. I know. But it is actually quite adorable. They had all of the red ones out for Valentines Day. Now, I have lived in romantic European cities, Paris of course being the epitome of love and romance, but Busan, surprisingly, rivals it. Not in the way that people are snogging at every bridge and park bench, but Korea is very couple oriented, and since couples are incredibly busy working and studying (and living with their parents) the time they have in public is quite treasured. I am constantly bombarded with couples holding hands and gazing into each other's eyes... And the men holding the woman's purse and shopping bags. We could do with a bit of that understated romance in the west I think. I hate carrying my shopping bags.

Enough about couples and underwear now. My parents are reading this.

Here are some photos of Seomyeon, a lot of the shops are also underground...

Street Food

For M-Larrrrr.....get here soon and we shall indulge.

After Seomyeon we took a cab to Busan Station, one of the bigger subway hubs here because you can transfer to another line and also catch the KTX train to Seoul. It is also home to China Town and Texas Street, funny enough, Texas Street and China Town is the night home of the Russian sailor population. This is evident by the sketchy vibe and signs in Russian.

Bottom two words say "vodka" and "sodzhyu" or so ju. I love both those things thank you very much.

We then made our way to a very popular tourist attraction, and hot spot for foreign night life, Gwangali Beach. We got there just in time to see all of the flashing neon lights on the hotels, clubs, restaurants, and even a mini carnival. Oh ya, and the gorgeous, epic bridge that makes Gwangali quite the landmark of Busan. I only had my point and shoot, so these pictures aren't great, but you can see what I mean...

That's about it for the weekend here. Can't wait to see more of this city.

~Sarah

Home Plus : Korea's Fred Meyer

Ok, so I have had no time to go shopping for anything since I have been here. Saturday is a welcome break and opportunity to get some things for my apartment, oh ya and some food, so I don't have to live off ramen from 7/11 anymore. Velinda, a teacher at my school from New York, met up with me and generously helped me go shopping at "Home Plus" which is a huge store with everything in it. It is about a 15 minute walk from my house, a walk that goes by quite fast. On the way there I saw 2 boys holding hands. Koreans are quite strange abut showing affection to the opposite sex, but it is very common to have boys holding their friend's hand and girls the same. I actually find this to be quite sweet and wish the west could be more open to this, as I know two teenage boys in Illinois would never hold hands. Anyway, I digress, we made our way into the huge building that is Home Plus. It also has restaurants on the outside and little jewelry/accessory vendors in the middle, kind of similar to a mall.

We got a cart, which moves not only forward and background, but also side to side. So that is fun to control in the mad house of Home Plus on a Saturday. Anyway, my first mission was to find sheets to cover my mattress, not seen as a necessity here. They had literally one package of sheets. Literally ONE. I will be sending away for sheets. I also bought another pillow because I enjoy multiple pillows. Everything was in Korean so I had no idea what the difference between all of them were but I picked this one because of the English description, which made no sense, but I am sure you'll find the humor:

Before you ask, I don't know what cervical vertebrae means. Or what Buckwheat has to do with it.

Anyway, I finished up the shopping, and by finished up I mean I was in there for probably around 2 hours. Along with some normal groceries, I decided to try out the ever so famous Korean seafood pancakes, I'm assuming they are like latkes, but with seafood.

After I checked out, which was a little frightening cause you bag your own groceries, (I always feel like I am holding up some old Korean lady in a rush) we were on our way. I couldn't resist the temptation of looking at all of the sparkly, bling bling, glittery accessories from the vendors. They were calling my name, or at least I think they were, I don't know, maybe they were just yelling "hello" in Korean. I don't speak Korean. I ended up buying some amazing headbands and a hair clip:

Successful Saturday here in Busan. I conquered the mountain of Home Plus on a Saturday and came out alive at the other end with some good buys. My mission for tomorrow is to learn how to recycle in Korea, they're a bit "specific." And also to take some pictures of my neighborhood. Miss everyone still...especially M-lar. Come quickly. So much to show you.

~Sarah