Last night I took the bus to Pyongtank with my new American friend Carl, a.k.a. Mr. Korea. Pyongtank is about 30 minutes away, and it is where the E-Mart is. OOooohhhhh... E-Mart. Now, I have never been to Pyontank or E-Mart. I have heard people speak of E-Mart. It's like this mythical place, crawling with foreigners, and selling all of those elusive things that you can't get here in Anseong. Things like dishes and forks. Forks??? I didn't know that you could get forks in Korea. I thought there was a trade embargo on forks. Did you hear? They have forks!!!
So, on the bus to Pyongtank there was a drunken older gentleman. That is to say, there was an old man who was so incredibly drunk. You could smell it on him. He was not happy that Carl and I were speaking English. He sat in front of Carl. He kept talking to Carl, and was getting ticked off. He started to poke at Carl and mimed punching him. Wisely Carl moved one seat away from the inebriated old man. Finally, after an eternity, Drunky McGee got off the bus. The Gods must have heard our prayers. "Oh God, please don't make Carl have to punch this very drunken old man."
There is nothing more annoying in the world than being around youngish Koreans, whom you know speak and understand English, but they won't help you. We didn't know for certain where the bus terminal in Pyongtank was, they are not clearly maked. We kept asking on the bus. Everyone in Korea takes English in school. Young people know English. They do. It's a fact. So when you ask a question and they just look at you and then giggle with eachother, it makes you want to backhand them. I'm sorry, it just does.
Finally we reached the promised land. E-Mart. You're out of the woods, you're out of the dark, you're out of the night. Step into the sun step into the light. It's a two story department store. Think Walmart meets JC Penny. I bought some of the most expensive plates ever, I thought that spending $5 for a small plate was a bit pricey. Why should I spend good money on things I can't even take home with me? I wanted to get a reading lamp, but they were $40!!!
The very best parts of E-Mart were the Cheburashka toy I found. Yes, even here in Korea. You know how excited I was to find that. The other best part ever was the McDonald's is in E-Mart. Eating a Big Mac was like being home... but in Korea... in Pyongtank.
E-Mart, it's everything you want, at prices you can barely afford.
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3 comments:
It was a small plush Cheburashka, the box looked like his orange crate. Nothing too special. I didn't squeeze him to see if he sings, I was just excited to find him. You know I bought him too.
Make sure you put him on your shelves there.....or are you going to take him to bed w/you? You know, soften the concrete bed a little? ;)
I opened the box last night. The doll is just a plain old plus doll. It comes with a Cheburashka childrens book in Korean!!!! How awesome is that? I think it's pretty freakin' cool.
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