Lotte World, Dongdaemun, and consumerism heaven

Michael and I explored our grand, new city today. Here are some pictures from several of the places we went to:

First of all, Lotte World is this HUGE shopping center about ten minutes from our appartments. We went there to get an alarm clock - apparently every store is out of stock because of Chusak (Korean Thanksgiving). And nine stories of retail later, still no alarm clock. I don't know how many minutes were spent today pointing at watches and saying, "beep, beep, beep." But the clothes. The CLOTHES. Every mannequin was wearing something original and gorgeous. There were even a few things that could be knitted....:) The entrance we took into the store was underground and was set off by an enormous fountain with Greecian statues. Totally bizarre.

We than took the green and blue line across town to Dongdaemun. As soon as we emerged from the train station, we saw the East Gate. The other gate was set on fire in January by an arsonist, which was a HUGE deal in Korea as these gates are their oldest standing buildings in Seoul. One of my junior high students jokes that we'll have a "Barbeque at Dongdaemun" if he doesn't do his homework. Clever kid. Also at Dongdaemun is a five story craft store. Five Stories. Fabric. Buttons. Patches. Ribbon. Yarn. Need I say more? It was impossible to decide on one skein of yarn to knit into a cabby hat. So, with Mike's help, I bought severl skeins of a lovely nubby grey tweed and several of a variegated green.

Inspired by our journey (and not wanting to do anything on my feet), I FINALLY finished Amanda's scarf. It turned out pretty well. I'm planning on making a scarf or some type of knit article for each of the girls I worked with this summer. One down, three more to go....

Oh! And I almost forgot the best part! While wondering arround another splendid mall in Dongdaemun, Mike noticed a shirt he liked. The salesguy came over, gave us a toothy grin, and while pointing at the shirt said, "It's me! It's me!" He was right. The guy on the shirt looked exactly like him. Of course, Mike bought the shirt. Coodos for being a clever salesperson, Korean dude!