Skinny Bitches and Monsoon Jogs

I went to the very famous (well, in Korea anyway) DongDaeMun Shopping Center as well as the CoEx Mall yesterday. They are both vast and filled with eye-candy (and if you know me, you know I don't mean the amazing physical appearances of the opposite sex). I mean lots of electronics, clothing, and other shiny toys that appeal to the ADHD shopper in all of us.  It must be said that the clothes here are WAY cuter than in the States and most, if not all, clothing stores (especially at DongDaeMun) are boutique-y.

What's the let down? The size range. They don't really have one. They have SKINNY, SKINNIER, or YOU CAN'T ACTUALLY SEE ME ANYMORE WHEN I TURN 45 DEGREES TO THE SIDE. If you ask if they carry larger sizes, they laugh and then stop themselves short when they see the expression on your face and realize you're not kidding.

Shoes. I wear size 9's. Their max size is 7. And people wonder why I brougth 12 pairs of shoes with me.

Although I do see more curvy women now than I did back in 1991, which was the last time I was in Korea, it's still obvious that the market caters to the majority, which is understandable. Everywhere I turn, they all look the same...and I'm not even joking this time with the whole "all Asians look alike" thing.  It's an exception to find someone who's larger than a US size 2. I saw one young lady who was a little larger than I and I tried to make eye contact with her so we could commiserate in our inability to blow our money in large chunks. Ah well, at least there's tons of accessories I could...wait, I have fat fingers!

On another note, I was woken up by my uncle this morning at 7:00am. I have NO business being up at that hour regardless of what country I happen to be in at the time. This is how that exchange went:

Uncle: Inhyung (that's my Korean name), are you awake?

Me: ...

Uncle: Inhyung...are you up?

Me: ...

Uncle: Inhyung...you awake yet?

Me: Yes, uncle, I'm up.

Uncle: Oh good, you're awake...

Me: (groooooaaaaan)

Uncle: Wash your face and come with me. We're going running.

Me: *Of all that is holy and decent in the world...*

He took me to this area right behind the apartment complex and, to my delight, even though it was already friggin' 80 degrees at 7:30am, I was met with the view of a lovely trail that was carved alongside the roaring river. I was immediately invigorated. Then it started pouring. I mean POURING. It went from nothing to buckets in a matter of seconds. A few steps later and I was soaked; my tennis shoes were leaking water from whatever I displaced each time I took a step. But I was loving it. The trail was lush and green and I was running/walking with my uncle (who reminds me a lot of my dad in a lot of ways) in a torrential downpour. Ever since I could remember, I've loved the rain and, moreover, I've loved walking in it with no umbrella. To me, we were creating a special memory and my uncle seemed to know it, too. We talked about my dad and I realized just how much my uncle was really fond of my dad/his older brother. I could tell you my uncle was crying while we walked but he'd say it was just the rain streaming down his face.

Next blog entry: Is eating Korean BBQ in Korea more tasty than eating it in the States?  HELLZ YES.