My Life Has Been Forever Changed

And not because of the reason I expected.  It’s far greater.  It’s called Noraebang and it’s the Korean version of karaoke.

Let me back up....

Andrea and I went on what was supposed to be a quick trip to Seoul today for an appointment, however the universe had a different plan. We planned to take the KTX there which would get us to Seoul in a little less than an hour.  When we arrived at the station it was so busy that we ended up getting standing room only tickets on the slow train, which takes two hours. 

Two hours of sitting in a crowded train car just doesn’t sound like fun for me.  Andrea however, the smart little cookie she is, had a plan.  And it was an awesome plan.

Instead of sitting on the floor in a regular car for two hours we went to the snack train.  Why? Because you can rent private, semi-soundproof noraebang rooms and sing yourself stupid the entire trip!  It was fantastic! I tried to take video but I didn’t realize that my phone had a preset limit of 15 seconds, I thought it was 30.  No one really needs more than 15 seconds of this anyway…

For two hours… A full 120 minutes.  It was beyond stellar.  We did all the important stuff… Rick Astley, Kokomo, Dirty Dancing, Britney, Bruce Springsteen, Chumbawamba (yeah, remember that one?!?!), Lionel Richie, and all those sappy, almost pathetic yet wonderful 80s love songs.  They just don’t make music like that anymore.  I could have done nothing but that today and I would have considered it an incredibly successful day. 

Once we got to Seoul, we had to navigate the subway system which is unbelievably huge.  This must be what people in NYC go through every day.  12 million people, and it feels like they are all cramped into the massive subway system just waiting for you to show up so they can push you out of their way.  Too many people. Thank goodness she knew where she was going.  Once we were back above ground and walking to our destination we stopped a the street vendor for a quick snack.  It was so good.  And I like this picture because it looks like my chicken is floating. 

Street food is amazingly good.  It’s so inexpensive, potentially healthy, and just plain yummy. 

We made it to her doctor's office too late because of the train so instead we went across the street and I introduced her to the amazing thing that is a chai tea latte.  It’s love at first sip.  If you haven’t tried it yet go to the nearest Starbucks and order it immediately.  Seriously, go. Now.

Then we went on to Myeong-Dong to do some winter clothes shopping for me.  It was good times.  They had a huge Forever 21 so I did most my shopping there, but a bit of street vendor shopping too. I’ve officially crossed into Korean territory with my sweater dresses, leggings, and new boots.  I’ll try and take pictures.  I’m awfully cute when dressed like a Korean. 

Clothing here can be difficult to find if you are larger than a medium, thankfully I can almost always fit a medium.  Even though it was an American brand, I don’t think I saw but a handful of items that came in size large.  And in the Korean brand stores, it seems the clothes run even smaller. 

When we were ready to come home it was hours later than we had originally intended, but also just as busy at the KTX as when we began our day.  We had to wait close to an hour for a train, but this time we rode in a regular car as we both were exhausted from fighting the crowds all day.  Back in Daejeon, in my own miniature version of NYC, we went out for a pizza and pasta dinner, and had the most entertaining cab ride home.   We didn’t accomplish the main agenda of our day (dermatologist) BUT it turned out so much more fun than either one of us has planned.  I had a blast, and now I promise to never try to navigate Seoul on my own.  It’s awesome, but overwhelming at best.