This weekend was the first in about four weeks that it didn't rain, and I cannot tell you how grateful I was for that! It was the first in a while where I could go out and not get soaked, which made my Saturday with my new Korean friend Jackie even more wonderful, apart from the fact that she is a light-hearted, sweet person who loves to have fun. I met her about two weeks ago on the subway. She told me my handbag was lovely and we got to talking. Her English was excellent, a result of years of study and six months spent living and studying in Vancouver, Canada. She asked me all the usual questions: how long have you been here, where do you work, where are you from, and so on. I felt comfortable with her right away. She gave me her business card (she runs a small English hogwan) and told me to give her a call. I told her I would call her as soon as I got a cell phone ( trying to get a cell phone in Korea as a foreigner is a bit complicated). When she got off the train, I was sad to see her go because we had been having such a good conversation, but I promised myself that I would actually call this person. A week later we arranged to meet at 5pm on Saturday at the Sangin subway station to go Lotte Department Store.

She met me at the station ten minutes early and we went up the stairs and out into the blazing hot and rainless evening and crossed the street. We entered the air-conditioned seven story store. She showed me where all the departments selling brand names were, and pointed out her favorites. We found ourselves admiring the same pieces of clothing, and giggling like teenaged girls. After browsing every level of the ritzy place, we took a walk around the Sangin neighborhood with Jackie pointing out all the different English hogwans as well as the hogwans for science, math and computers. There are hogwans on practically every corner in South Korea and there is no shortage of business for any of them. South Koreans are very keen on learning English, and in addition to studying English in school, many Korean school children attend English language hogwans after school.

We soon tired of walking around and decided to stop for a meal at an unknown Korean restaurant ( I have yet to learn to read Hangul, the Korean alphabet). Jackie pointed to one side of the restaurant and then the other and asked me if I wanted to eat Korean style or Western style. Koreans sit on mats and eat at low tables on the floor. I have eaten this way many times since I've been in Korea, but to be perfectly honest it is not that comfortable so I opted for chairs. We ordered kalbi (beef ribs cooked on the bone with vegetables), and mandu, (steamed dumplings which originated in China) These are filled with vegetables and ground pork and you dip these in soy sauce and red pepper flakes--they are one of my favorite Korean dishes. Rice, the staple food of Asia, accompanied our meal, along with a spicy soup made with tofu and hot green peppers. The meal was delicious and filled us up quickly. We paid the bill, left the restaurant and headed to Davinci Coffee a few blocks down for a cup of java. I had an iced caramel macchiato and Jackie ordered a cup of hot green tea. We sat there for an hour and talked about our lives and dreams of future travel. It was a lovely afternoon shared with someone of a like mind, and I am glad to have a new Korean friend.