So anyway, after I got off work yesterday, I did a little whirlwind rare-grocery shopping tour into the city. I took the subway to Dongdaemun, where I visited my favorite Russian bakery and bought two fresh loaves of the best dark rye bread in Seoul. Then, having been craving lentils for a while, I decided to go to the somewhat infamous "Foreign Grocery" in Itaewon. It mostly serves the halal needs of Seoul's muslim community, and I have a sort of love-hate relationship with Itaewon. On the one hand, it's fascinating – it's Seoul's equivalent of New York City's Canal Street, maybe. It's the only place I know of in all of Korea where Koreans are frequently a minority in the neighborhood. There are Russian nightclubs, Indian and Pakistani and Argentine restaurants, a Taco Bell, US military on leave, Nigerian street-vendors. A real mish-mash. And as such, it's fascinating. On the other hand, it's the only place in Korea where I instinctively transfer my wallet to my front pocket. I'm not sure if that makes me guilty of racism – I suppose it does. But it's not the foreigners I'm afraid of – it's the shifty Korean element that makes me nervous. It's like the old "down-range" neighborhoods that can be found outside US military bases, but times 10.
Well, anyway. I found my lentils. Product of India. And and split peas, too. Product of Indonesia. Then I hopped back in the subway and was home by 8:30.
I worked on my writing today. But didnt' make much progress. Per usual, these days, I know. I'm allowing myself to feel a little burnt out, at the moment. But there's work I need to get done, too. I took a video of my debate-class kids debating, last week, and I need to edit that. I've been watching episodes of American crime dramas – e.g. The Mentalist. I really would rather be watching some of the Korean dramas I like, but I really prefer to have subtitles, and the website I've been using to watch the subtitled versions is too unreliable. I'm feeling annoyed about that.