Near my apartment is the 9-story deluxe department store called Lotte. It has a park on the roof - a whole floors dedicated to top-shelf men's fashion (and one for women). A home/living floor. A floor with restaurants and swanky coffee shop.
This picture isn't the one by me - but it looks very similar - just to give you an idea.
At the bottom is a floor of take-out restaurant booths (a favorite amongst my friends & I.....Lotte Dept Stores and similar ones of its ilk are scattered throughout suburban Seoul and most of my friends' suburbs have something just like it) - and a rather large grocery section.
Since the Mega-store is only a block and a half away - its the closest real grocery store to me. It has also features like 10-15 different types of food so it's nice to go there and get a variety. I try to limit my visits there, if only to avoid the large corporate trap, but also because its quite impersonal and glitzy and just a bit uncomfortable to roll through in a dirty flannel and jeans.
I digress.
I went there tonight.
Lessons learned:
1) Uniqlo ALWAYS has sales. They also ALWAYS have awesome clothes. Be cautious, else you'll come home with 17 different button-up sweater vests and 15 micro-fleeces (pictured below)
2) If you are going to go LeAnn's Bagels - or possible Lotte at all - to grab food, go after 7:30. They are desperate to give away food and the deals are mindbending (this causing me to come home tonight with popcorn chicken, 2 bagel sandwiches and a half dozen onion bagels....all for about $10)
and now, for the best part of my evening.....
As I'm swerving out of the LeAnn's Bagels area - a Korean girl approaches me. She had overheard me speak some English to the bagel lady (who had good enough English to dissuade me from even considering the garlic bagels "ooooo too smelly"...).
We'll call the girl "Relatively Cute Korean Girl" and below is a sampling of our conversation. I'll put my then-present thoughts in italics. (....and for the record, korean girls are very beautiful - the "relatively" here is not cultural/national but rather to the enigmatic and Plutonic concept of "cute".........and yes, i know, i sound like an authorial a-hole saying all that in those terms).
RCKG: Hello! I heard you speak English over there, my name is -----"
hmmm. a relatively cute korean girl.
Me: Ah, my name's Eric nice to meet you.
RCKG: Are you married?
oddly forward yes - but koreans don't waste time with that question.
Me: No.
RCKG: What are you doing in Guri, then?
Me: I am a teacher. Guri Boys High School.
RCKG: Oh, that's great. I am an English teacher too at [insert meaningless Korean school name]
Me: Oh, great. It's terrific to meet you.
[we chat for a little bit. She compliments my eyes, I compliment her bangs]
this is going very smoothly. she is definitely flirting. am i being picked up by a korean chick?
[5-10 minutes pass. I am holding all my food. She laughed at how much I had, even though I insisted I was saving most for the next few days...]
RCKG: Well, I think I should go home now. Can I have your phone number?
yes. awesome.
Me: Sure.
[phone numbers exchanged - without asking she entered my name as "Arrick"]
(note: mom, how did you not thing of that one?)
RCKG: It was very nice to meet you. I very much enjoy talking to American people. I hope to see you soon.
[I nod and smile and return the sentiment]
RCKG: Oh, before I leave, I want to give you something.
hmmm, interesting, a gift already.....this girl is -----
....
....
....
...
[RCKG pulls something out of her purse]
...
....
...
...
.....
.....
....
BAM! JEHOVAH'S WITNESS.
goddammit.
[End.]
So there you have it. Just when it looks like someone is kind of into you, turns out they're FAR more into God.
e.g.
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