I ventured outdoors today. The sun decided to make a surprise appearance, and it didn't rain at all today! After gathering up my courage, I hopped on the subway to City Hall station and went to the Doksoogung palace museum. And by hopped on the subway, I mean struggled to find the right station on the map, called my dad to ask how to get there, bought a ticket for the wrong amount, and then panicked for the entire ride there, wondering if I'd be allowed to exit the station. It turns out that stations take these things into consideration, and there was a fare adjustment machine at the exit, where I could cough up the extra money.
Inside the palace walls was surprisingly pretty and calm. I was extremely hungry, but there wasn't actually any real food places inside, so I sat down at the little cafe inside and had some shaved ice. It may not have been a particularly nutritious lunch, but it was nice and cool, a perfect contrast to the sweaty, gross me. After finishing my pile of shaved, frozen water with sweet stuff on top, I walked around for a while before entering the special exhibit in the palace dedicated to American art. It was sort of strange seeing American stuff at a museum in Korea, but I guess it's the same as when they have Korean/another other country's art on display at museums at home. The exhibit was mostly Pop art, and though I am not a huge fan of Modern stuff, I thought the curator did a really good job. Or maybe I was just relieved to be somewhere that felt somewhat familiar. I was almost at home when wandering around the paintings and sculptures.
After that, I wandered around the palace some more and then sat down to sketch one of the internal structures. A girl and her mother sat down on the bench next to me and commented on my shoes, my almost obnoxiously-loud, hand-painted TOMS, which made me pretty happy. I feel like, for the most part, at least here in Korea, those shoes just garner me weird stares as the Korean population contemplates why a freak walks among them. It was nice to hear some positive feedback. I mean, excuse me for having short hair and being more comfortable in pants and slightly baggy clothing. Is it always necessary to wear frilly skirts and strap-y sandals at all moments of the day? Apparently the answer here is yes.
Yesterday I was struck by how rude the Korean population is, and today I found more instances of such behavior. Maybe it's unusual for anyone to hesitate slightly here, but every time I search my pockets for change in front of a vending machine or ticket dispenser, some person finds the chance to gently shove me out of the way and proceed to jam their money in before I have the chance. Also, no one gives anyone a chance to take photos. Right as I found the perfect composition in my viewfinder, a lady stepped right in front of my camera and then sat down on the bench closest to my camera, blocking my entire shot. This happened on many more counts. But then I thought, instead of getting frustrated, maybe I'll just make a project out of this. I'll see how frequently people invade my photos and then just focus on the people instead. It could be fun. Maybe.
After I got back, I went on a bike ride along the river near my dad's apartment. I borrowed my dad's bike since it's the only bicycle in the vicinity, but OH MY GOODNESS, it's got the world's most uncomfortable seat. I can see why my dad never bikes. The river was really pretty and green, and I thought that Seoul must be a great place if it can be a booming city yet simultaneously have lush greenery on its outskirts. Then again, it could just be the humid weather here; I mean, what can't grow in this kind of moisture?
Tomorrow I begin some random hotel chef's assistant mini job that my dad hooked up. Woohoo, I'm looking forward to not being able to communicate with even more people.
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