I bought a dress

Today ended up completely different than I anticipated last night. I decided to go to Seoul to shop for a hanbok (a Korean traditional dress) for my cousin. Since she was born in Korea this is something I really wanted to do for her. She said that I didn’t have to but when I insisted on it, she consented. I didn’t really insist, it’s just that she is a genuine Korean which means she was being modest (in my opinion). So I met my Korean teacher, who is also a friend, in Seoul. Unfortunately, I wasn’t as thoughtful as I could’ve been so I went with a low cell phone battery and I was an hour late. She was mad when I first told her where I was and she knew how long it would take me but by the time I got there she was cool. I bought her dinner which was intended to be part of my penance and I told her I’d buy her dinner at the Outback sometime.

I’m grateful that she was able to help me. We went to several different shops. The first was luxurious, the second was about the price I expected and the third had some really good deals. We decided to buy the third option. I was nervous about this because I didn’t want to buy her the “cheap” item but I also didn’t want to spend more of her money than necessary.

This was my first time shopping for a dress so I was quite uneasy about it. I was glad to do it for my cousin and I’d do anything for her or her brother who were born here, but buying something for someone else without having her right there or knowing exactly what her intentions are for using the dress were difficult. I almost went back and bought the more expensive one but I decided to hold on to this one because of the advice of my friend.

After we bought it, we had cold noodles (냉면). This was my friends request and I had no complaints because I also like this type of food. It is good especially when it is hot outside. When we walked in, we almost sat in chairs where it was really crowded. Usually Koreans like to eat on the floor (and this is more true the older people get, though there are exceptions) so I told her I was okay to sit on the floor. And that is what we did.

After that we went to the subway. We tried to catch a rapid transit train but our timing was off so we got back on a subway train and had some interesting conversation for the next hour or two. Then I decided to go grocery shopping after that (shop ‘til you drop, right?) so we got off at the same station.

When I got back I felt bad about not getting the dresses for my nieces that my sister-in-law requested. But I feel better now that I know it would’ve been way out of her price range (double what she wanted to spend). I still feel bad for not getting them since this might be something really special for them. It would give them an opportunity at a young age to be exposed to a different culture. I was thinking too much in terms of the price limit my sister-in-law gave me and not enough in terms of the gift. Since I had a broader range with my cousin it was easier to focus on getting the job done.

All in all, I’d say this has been a good Children’s Day. I think it was probably more eventful than the Children’s Day I had last year at this time. The mission for my nieces is not over. I just have to keep thinking.

I decided to take heed to my teacher/friend’s advice to keep writing Korean sentences. So I’m going to focus on this more than writing every Korean word down on a list. When I get on the plane to America I will have lots of time to study. Maybe I can also work in a Korean movie or ten. You gotta love those Korean movies. They are great stress relievers.