Swam through the pavement...

Today was my last day of Lunar New Year vacation and I have certainly made the most of it.  I'm not sure if it's the lack of pesticides, the newness of the city, or the fact I've been running around so much, but I feel GOOD.  Too good, apparently, to just take a restful day and chill in the apartment.  At about two o'clock my legs got in a fight with my brain and won.  I was out the door--iPod blasting in my ears and absolutely no agenda whatsoever.

I set out through the twists and turns of my bustling neighborhood towards the subway station.  On my way I ran into Martha, one of the newest English teachers at my school.  Although she is new to my school, she is not new to Seoul.  She's been here teaching at other schools for a couple of years, I think.

"Hi!" she said.  "What's up?"

"Nothing, I don't even know where I'm going...I just had to get out!  Where have you been?" I asked, looking at her shopping bag.

"Oh I went and got some stuff for my class at Nowon!"  She showed me the contents of her bag.  School supplies.  What luck!

"Oh, I need supplies too!!!  How do you get there?"

She explained how.  "Go to Nowon stop, then find the main drag, and sort of go straight.  The store's called Alpha."

I knew what stop she meant, even though it's in the opposite direction than I had traveled so far.  Thrilled my outing now had meaning, I went underground and hopped on the next train.  Nowon is only 2 stops away on my line.  I had no idea what I would find there.

As soon as we left my station of Ssangmun, the train burst out through the surface of the pavement and I was now traveling above the city.  I soaked up the scenery of this dreary, Seattle-ish February day.  It filled my eyes like smiling sunshine.  I hopped out at Nowon and discovered an area of town even cuter than the others I'd already visited!  I looked left, right, and forward.  Which way was the "main drag"?  There was really no telling.  I decided to take a guess.  At this point, I wasn't even sure I remembered the name...it started with an "A," I think...

Then the Seoul Fairy smiled down on me and I found myself at the entrance of "Alpha."  Yes.  That's it.  I went inside.  School supplies!  YAY!!!  After purchasing a styrofoam rainbow, felt snails and music notes with little eyes on them...oh yeah...AND a wireless router that I still haven't been able to configure, I went back out and hit the streets of Nowon to see what fun it would conjure up.  I was not disappointed!

View of the above-ground subway station

Fun shopping!

Playful statue

The "main drag"

Lingerie store

Looking up at little flags...

Inside this restaurant, the little individual tables had tiny hibachi-style burners on them!

Music statue

Rainbows!

Graffiti!

As you can see, I pretty much had a blast.  There was no lack of rainbows for me to photograph at Nowon.  I even found some yummy apple-scented shampoo and conditioner at "The Nature Store," one of the HUNDREDS of skincare shops that are scattered at regular intervals no matter where I seem to go in Seoul.  As the nice shop girl handed me my receipt, she also gave me a free sample of something and pointed at the words in English, "Anti-Wrinkle Cream."  I don't need it though.  I only have two wrinkles...and they perfectly frame my big smile!