Better Than Fine...

It's the end of an excellent Saturday and I'm feeling better than fine.  I slept in until about 11am and no sooner did I throw on my final article of clothing than my doorbell rang.  It was Kim wanting to go to Nowon shopping. I hadn't eaten yet, but neither had she.  We decided we would grab something fried on a stick on our way to the subway station.  Having a major sensitivity to MSG (which encompasses SO much more than actual MSG), I have not tried a lot of food yet that I haven't cooked myself, but today I was feeling adventurous.  Plus, they just don't use many additives and hidden yucky stuff in their foods here.  So, I felt brave.  Being a vegetarian, I got three breaded and fried potato slices from the friendly man at the chilly outdoor fry station; Kim got some shrimp and some sort of crab leg.  It was delicious...and I felt just fine after eating it!  Amazing, considering I have no way of asking what any of the ingredients are.  I'm going to forget I'm not normal!

At Nowon I became even more daring and ordered a fresh fruit drink at a small cafe.  I watched as the lady put two whole frozen kiwis, milk, and...gulp...corn syrup into the drink.  Corn syrup started hurting my stomach years ago and I haven't tried it in a long time.  I decided, what the heck...maybe their corn syrup isn't so bad here.  Apparently, it's not!  It didn't upset my tummy at all, and the drink tasted like liquid kiwi.  Delicious!

On Thursday I got my first pay check...607,000 Won...in paper money cash, since I don't have a bank account yet.  It felt SO good to get paid!!!  Feeling rich, I spent lots of money at the school supply store, buying decorations for my classroom, stickers, and cute little postcards for my friends.  Then we set off to find Lotte, one of Seoul's biggest department stores.  They have lots of makeup, clothing, and all the regular department store stuff...but the fun part is the basement because they have all kinds of fun foods!  Need A1 sauce?  They got it.  For like NINE dollars, but, they got it.  Real maple syrup?  Yep!  For twenty bucks!  It was fun seeing all the things you could buy if you REALLY wanted to.  I bought a small little thing of goat cheese for $13 and let me tell you, it was worth every penny.  It tasted even better than ever after having been deprived of it for several weeks!

They must gift melons a lot.  Here they are, all bowed-up and ready for giving, at Lotte.

Upon returning home, Kim asked if I'd like to come take her TV.  I didn't get one in my apartment and she hasn't ever even turned hers on and said I could take it!  Yay!!!  Korean TV!  Flipping through the 78 channels of dramatic-sounding soap operas, Korean QVC, cutesy cartoons, and boy band music videos entertained my friend Caleb (in Seattle, via Skype) and me for at least 2 hours.  At 6pm the girls and I (Kim, Kylie, and Rebecca) decided to rendezvous downstairs and go out to dinner and a movie in celebration of Valentine's Day.  I ate a thin crust cheese pizza at the Turkish restaurant we visited and was, again, just fine after eating!  Woo-hoo!

After dinner, we still had a good hour before the movie was to begin.  Where to go?  Where else but the cat cafe!  "At least it's warm in there," said Rebecca.  I was up for anything.  Expecting a little cafe with your typical menagerie of mochas, lattes, and frappes, I was a little surprised when we actually were required to remove our shoes and wear little purple rubbery sandals upon entering.  Most places don't actually have you do that.  I also noticed a distinct lack of mood-lighting inside--it was full-force fluorescence.  Through the next set of doors I saw a cute little kitty basking in the electric glow on the front counter.  Cat Cafes literally have cats in them???  How cool!!!  It was 8000 Won to get in, but you get a drink and your kitty fix to boot.  I settled in with my jasmine tea and was transfixed with feline cafe fantasy.

From the outside...

Lots of climbing room!

Fuzzy baby...awwww

A sphynx!

Playing!

Later at the movies, my friends bought their popcorn (you can get sweet or salty, just like in Europe) and Cokes, and we hopped on the elevator to an obscure upper level of the vertical theater.  We made our way to our assigned seats.  After a couple of commercials, "No Strings Attached" began.  "No previews?" I asked.

"Nope!" said Rebecca.  Interesting!

The movie was in its original English form.  I'm not sure if they are all like that, or if we went to someplace special.  I forgot to ask.

For a chick-flick, it was pretty good (I'm more of a button-pushing Indie Flick type of girl).  And I enjoyed the little white Korean subtitles dancing across the bottom of the screen.

All in all, an amazing day!