Seoul!

How refreshing it was to go to Seoul yesterday. Not only was it fantastic to meet up with two high school friends in their “hometown”, but it was also great to be in a place where I don’t draw stares from most everyone. Apart from a few small children, I did not garner any unusual attention. *sigh* If only it were like that in my part of Korea.

While in Seoul I was able to enjoy my first time at a pet cafe, Cafe Paws, which houses several small and medium sized dogs of various breeds. I did have to pay 6500 Won for a small hot chocolate, but the fun I had with the dogs, one of who slept in my lap almost the entire time, made the price worth it. There is a pet cafe that has cats in my neck of the woods (more or less) that I will have to try out soon.
I also went to COEX, a GINORMOUS shopping mall in the middle of the city. I had fun with Sun Joo walking around, browsing in the shops, and eating at Mix and Bake, a casual Italian restaurant. I was glad to have Sun Joo with me as I would have been completely lost once inside the mall. Luckily she was familiar with it and could easily find her way around.

It was shocking to have clerks speak English to me and to see many other foreigners. I couldn’t help myself; I had to stare at foreigners in pairs and small groups. Even though I didn’t have anyone speaking English to me and didn’t see other foreigners with any regularity in Mexico or Costa Rica, I didn’t feel as isolated by language (duh, since I can speak Spanish) and people didn’t just stare at me (openly, at least). Here I might as well be dressed up as Big Bird; I think I might actually draw fewer stares that way. I have never been as aware of how most parts of the US are different than homogenous countries. I would never be able to tell that someone was a foreigner in the US, and certainly not by looking at them.