Yesterday

Pictured above: What a Bundang Burrito looks like.

Yesterday.

A co-worker of mine needed to head to Itaewon, the foreigner section of Seoul, to purchase some clothes. We headed out at 10am and when we got there we decided that day will be Western day and ate at Outback Steakhouse.

I had some cheese fries and chicken wings, she had the steak. It was very comforting to eat something that wasn't Korean.

So we walked around and visited some shops and she bought some clothes. The store owners pretty much buy a bunch of stuff from Marshalls, Macy's and what not and sell them here. So she got some stuff from INC, Talbots etc.

I was happy that she was able to find some clothes that would fit her.

Me on the other hand, really don't like shopping. Well, I am the type that the clothes need to be displayed out front on a mannequin or something, digging through racks and bins has never been fun for me.

I went into one store that sold designer labels, albeit cut out, and I bought a cute striped sweater cardigan dress. The store owner tried to sell me a bad ass Burberry coat, but I am not into advertising, it was in the traditional plaid pattern, but the shape and the fox fur collar was soooo cute.

The stuff is real. It seems that they may get it from China or Korea, cause hell most of that stuff is manufactured here in Asia. They cut out enough of the label so they don't get in trouble I guess, but leave enough of the label so you recognize who made it.

I saw Marc Jacobs, Diane Von Furstenberg, Theory, Calvin Klein etc. just to name a few....

I LOVE THIS PLACE!

After getting doused in the rain, we headed back to Bundang to search for a mattress pad.

The mattresses here are hard as hell! We decided to go to Emart to search for the ever elusive mattress pad. It was rumored that a memory foam pad is sold there for about 200 bucks. Wowza..but hey when you are literally caught between a rock and a hard mattress, you suck it up.

So we searched the aisles and floors of the store and didn't find it. We think that us foreigners cleaned them out.

I did, however, buy a new comforter set. It is way cuter than the pink atrocity our school gave everyone, including the men.

I know I will only be living in Korea for two years maybe, but hey, this is home and I want it to look like home.

So I plopped 150 for a comforter and two pillowcases. Wow. I would have never done that back home. But I did find out it was a duvet cover and it is pretty good quality considering it is embroidered and thick, unlike the sheet like duvets we have in the States. So I guess it is a deal.

Anyways, we hopped in a cab and headed to HomeEver. Ever Ever..it was huge! Way better than Emart.

We couldn't find a mattress pad there either. But I did get a blow dryer and some scissors. I also bought a Korean version of the Ped-Egg. Trust me, it is needed here.

My co-worker got a wireless mouse and mousepad and a board game for her students.

On the way out, we saw a shop that sold mattress pads. Essentially, they are futons that Koreans sleep on the floor with. They are rather thin, but we were desperate beyond measure.

It was not as thick as we would have liked, but thicker than the futon we saw at Emart. Also, it was a double and we have queen beds. So for 55 bucks we went for it.

It was hilarious getting into the cab with two of those. We dropped them off in our apartments and headed out to get something to eat.

My co-worker wanted no Asian cuisine, no Indian either. So that made it tough.

We walked. And walked. Did I mention we walked?

Then after walking through a little park we saw the beckoning of flashing neon lights indicating more choices and the Samsung Plaza, a premier shopping center. Designer goods galore.

We first stopped in KFC, but I wasn't excited about that, since I didn't eat KFC back home. Now if that was a Popeye's or Chick Fil A, we would have been in business.

So we walked some more and found a...Mexican Restaurant? Yes!

We went into La M...something or another, I forget and it was decorated like a little hacienda pueblo deal with Mexican decor galore.

The menu was interesting. You could get tacos or spaghetti or fried rice. HA! I love this place.

So I got the burrito and she ordered the tacos and just for the hell of it we had cheesesticks.

It was very tasty and I will definitely eat there again!

After that we looked into a DVD store, cause we were disappointed that we didn't find a bootlegger in Itaewon, then again it rained hard and we weren't looking hard.

Nothing grabbed our attention, so we went into Face Shop...sorta like Body Shop. I got some masks and stuff, to beautify myself and so did my co-worker. We took the subway back, went the wrong way again and when we made it to our neighborhood, we stopped at Baskin Robbins for a small scoop.

What a great westernized 12 hour day.

Oh and I slept for the first time in bed and actually overslept....it was great!