Halloween/Shopping

I don’t particularly like Halloween.

For the most part, I think it’s a holiday that people should have grown out of by the age of twelve or so. Sure, I like candy as much as the next person (clearly), especially free candy, but dressing in ridiculous costumes and making an ass of myself is another matter. Dressing in costume can be fun if you’re going to a party, or something, where the general public won’t see you. Walking around the street of Seoul, however, getting in my way, and being generally annoying… Well, that makes me hate you.

What makes matters worse, is that the Korean people don’t, as a whole, celebrate Halloween. Some kids do, and the occasional other person does, but on the Saturday before Halloween, the only dumbasses I see in costumes are foreigners, who strut around in their wigs, and give the rest of us foreigners bad names. We get started at enough, as it is, people. Leave it alone.

So, on this aforementioned Saturday-before-Halloween, rather than wearing a stupid costume and hanging out with other ridiculously-attired people, I went shopping (!!holla). My haggling, as yet, had been fairly weak, so I wanted to brush up my skillz. I walked up and down the main street in Itaewon a good half dozen times, scoping out what I wanted to by, but mostly because I was terrified about trying to buy from someone.

My first attempt: a scarf. He tells me they’re 30000W, and I tell him I can get the same thing in Insa Dong for 10000 (which is almost the truth). His friend rushes over and tells me he meant 8000 (haha, BUSTED). I offer 5000. I think in the end I got it for 7000. Not a bad start. Next stop, Dolce & Gabanna hoodie (yes please). The only slipup here is that while I was pretending to browse, even though I knew exactly what I wanted, she tells me “Ladies. Ladies” … “Goddamn, just give me the sweater.”

Now, the thing about Koreans, as I may have mentioned several dozen times, is that they’re about 1/8th my size. So whenever I look somewhere that sells clothes, belts, etc., the angry ladies who sell them say “Very big! Extra large!” I, meanwhile, grumble “I hate you” I’m glad they don’t understand. Even so, I managed to get a belt, a hat, a scarf, and a sweater. To celebrate my successful evening, and to drown my sorrows about being bigger than the Koreans, I had a praline ice blended from the Bean.

…With whipped cream.