And The Lord Created Itaewon... And It Was Good

On thursday, I was blessed with a day off. Victoria also had the day off. Mine was due to students taking the Korean version of the SATs. I have no idea which of my low-scoring students would take these exams, but I guess a couple would. Victoria had the day off to see how she would spend the $2000 that she was given for her winter English camp. I'm apparently only getting $200, and I had to ask for that.

Anyway, Victoria also wanted to go to a used English bookstore in Itaewon. I had never been to Itaewon (EE-tay-won). Now, Itaewon is a section in Seoul that is where all of the foreigners live. It has been a designated foreigner place for hundreds of years. It was amazing! This was the first and only place in Korea where I was not stared at or pointed at. Halleilujah.

I bought some shoes in Itaewon. Since they cater to foreigners, they had shoes in my size. As I was walking down the street, the shop owners were coming out to tell me that they had clothes in my size. I was in the promised land. Finally, a Korea I can live with.

So, now that I've tasted the sweet rewards of Itaewon, I think I will go there more often. It's nice to be surrounded by familiar things and people who don't point at you.