My Korean practice has gone out the window.

I tried harder to learn this language when I wasn't submerged in it. Maybe it's because I didn't realize just how seriously I would drown, lol.

I went shopping yesterday! I got new jeans. Except I tried on the 30 and the woman gave me the 29... sigh. So I'll have to loose some weight. Less Donkatsu for me, I guess, haha. I'm having a hard time getting quality food in my own home, though, which is frustrating. I don't understand how or what to cook. Tomato sauce costs 5-7 dollars in this country, and I'm not feeling it. Not yet, at least. I'm not desperate yet. I guess now would be a good time to attempt to go back to scratch... but, well. That would require a working range, and I don't exactly have one.

Shopping was a reward for my epic cleaning adventure yesterday. I did laundry. My washing machine went nuts again, and I had to turn off the water. But now I was ready for it, so I just put it on spin cycle and hung the things out to try. No mess, just annoyance. Now my freezer is the real problem here... because the whole time I was trying to scrape enormous amounts of ice out of my freezer. The thing had literally frozen solid. I had to unplug everything, take out the stalactites and stalagmites of nasty freezer water, and run hot water over it because I ran out of space in my sink for it all. Putain.

Then I had to deal with my bad shower drain--which actually was the most successful venture, even if it was the most disgusting. My shower hasn't flooded again since, but it looks like the hair trap in that drain just collects stuff quickly. So I'll have to do it again. Soon. Nnng.

I guess it's a good thing that my toilet and water heater work correctly. I don't know what I would do without a water heater, but still... the ratio of working appliances to malfunctioning ones is a little annoying. Especially because my range is so difficult. It is a dinosaur. It doesn't have grates over the burners, and you used to be able to buy grates, but this appears to currently be impossible, and the one I have is lopsided and wiggly. I have no clue what to do. I can barely cook an egg. So I use the microwave... to make ramen with dumplings and eggs.

However, I did go shopping. And I did get 3 pairs of earrings for 4 bucks. Holy bazookas. And new jeans. And a smaller purse, even though I'm not sure how much I like it... but well, it was 10 bucks, so who cares in the end? The jeans were just under 20. And I got a pair of leggings, which look quite nice.

The shopping center was underneith the old downtown area. I don't think I've ever been in an underground shopping mall before, but this was quite interesting--and a lot more like a market than a lot of things I have been to. There were fountain spots, and I am certain that I only explored half of this magnificent cavern of cheap stuff. Then I popped my head up for a minute, and I found a plant shop. I bought a delightful pink flower which I know I am going to like. I really want to learn how to cultivate some plants here, so that is what I'm doing... I had a couple ferns when I moved in, but they aren't doing so well... I need to get pots for them, I think, because I know they have enough water. The soil is not doing so well, though. I told a couple of my friends, being about 25% serious, that I wanted to turn my tiny little apartment into a jungle. It is always something that I've wanted to learn how to do... and currently I have quite a bit of time on my hands. Time that I have recently been spending watching enormous amounts of online tv. This is not a good idea. Lots of tv for me is always bad, because I don't live in the now. I live in the tv story. I don't pay attention to my life. It is irrelevant because I can pretend it doesn't exist while I watch the show. Does not bode well for me.

On Saturday I went to a traditional market that the church hosted. It was a lot of fun, and pretty interesting. They don't open the doors for the used materials until the afternoon, and everybody lined up and pushed hard for it. I was the only foreigner there, which got me a few interesting looks when I ended up at the front of the line. (Kim sent her daughter to stand there, and we joined her... haha, I felt a little bad about it.) I didn't buy anything though, even though I did find a couple of interesting looking books in English.  I just enjoyed looking at everything, and Kim seemed to know everybody, so I got introduced more than a few times. And I do love the food man. Korean food is so tasty.

I didn't end up going back to the service on Sunday... I didn't want to get up early two days in a row, plus I wasn't feeling as comfortable there as I wanted to. Maybe later. Someone told me that there was another English speaking church near one of the universities. Maybe they will have a less "Satan is going to eat you if you're not careful" message. Or maybe that is rare here. I don't know. I could handle it if the pastor kept that to his sermons. But I can see it in his eyes when he talks to me. This possessiveness which says "I am the one who will save your soul." Well, honey, you don't know nothin about me.

Anyway I have had a pretty busy weekend, because I also went out on Friday and hung out in the PC-bang on Saturday night, haha. I played Starcraft for 3 hours with a bunch of boys, lol. Korea is full of these cafes where you can play video games for like a dollar an hour. I hadn't played Starcraft in years.. and it's funny, because on these enormous computers, it looks like such a dated game. It really is. But at least I knew how to play, lol--for the most part. They're fun guys.

It rained all day yesterday, or else I might have some pictures. I feel pretty embarrassed about how little I have been using my expensive new camera. But I am still getting used to life here, and I don't know what I'm doing half the time. The buildings here are all exactly the same. They have paintings on the outside of fruits, or some subdued yet pretty picture. Nothing is in your face. Everything is respectfully distant. Even drunk men seem quiet here. There was a man on the subway on Saturday who was talking to kids.. he was obviously a little off. His gums had peeled back from his enormous teeth, probably due to bad health. He was old, with a big grin and a hoarse voice. Reminded me of that Trinidad fellow that I met outside of Target.  Kind old men just make me smile, even if they aren't quite right. It's hard to not understand what's going on around here. I want to know people's stories. Here I don't have the option. I feel like I should find as many foreigners as I can, and ask them all as many questions as I can. Find out as much as I can.

Too much online tv has made me a hermit. But Stephanie is coming this weekend! Chuseok! It's a big holiday. I get TWO DAYS off!! Woooooo!!