I love the subway.

I'm sure you've all heard of the terrible driving that takes place in Korea. And trust me, it's pretty bad. Cars cutting each other off with inches to spare, making completely illegal U-turns, parking where there really isn't a spot, more cutting off with inches to spare, etc. But they're surprisingly good parkers. 

Every time you go into a parking lot, you notice that they always park head out. It's never (well, rarely), head in. They always back into a spot. I'm guessing it's so that they can get out more quickly and because then you can see if a car is whizzing around the corner and about to hit you as you pull out. Very interesting. 

I went to a Home Plus for the first time. Think a really compact department store for cheap, like a Wal-Mart. 

Korea does not have Wal-Mart. Because Wal-Mart pulled out. That's right. Korea defeated Wal-Mart (Click here for a NY Times story). My cousin's husband explained to me that Wal-Mart didn't connect with Korean shoppers. They had a sprawling store with high ceilings, sort of in the American style, but Koreans didn't like it. They prefer the compact, multi-layered store. But yeah. Koreans are tough to please, apparently. 

On Sunday, after church, we went to Lotte Department Store again. Now last time I told you it was this gigantic department store. It's also attached to a giant hotel. And it has its own amusement park inside. And it has something I didn't know existed until yesterday — a folk museum. Not like an art gallery. But like a museum with replicas of buildings. What the heck. And inside the "museum," there are restaurants. Not a restaurant. Plural. So we ate at one of these.

This was my lunch. Rice, veggies, and spicy squid. SO SPICY. SO GOOD. I love that stuff. 

This was my dessert. I don't know how to explain it. It's like hardened sugar, but not crumbly. It's like hardened caramel but not chewy either. 

This is part of one of the replicas. Cool lighting, eh?

Me and Hyunjoo in front of a store replica. 

~~

Eventually I went out on my own to try to find this other church, so I took the subway for the first time since I got here. Man, last time I went out less than an hour after I moved into my dorm, but this time it took me 4 days. This is the Seoungnae subway station. It's one of the rare outdoor ones.

So I never actually found the church (long story), but it was fun walking around for 45 minutes around small stores, apartment buildings, 5 other churches, and tons of schools. So I'll end this entry here. Miss you guys!