I grew my Christmas tree!!
I decided to get off the beaten path one day and venture on a little solo exploration (which actually wasn't off the beaten path at all- just a place I had never been before alone, and for an extended period of time)....Hapjeong- as I've experienced it held some of the cutest cafes I've seen (and Korea isn't lacking cute cafes- they are everywhere!)...I did some walking, window shopping and ended up in Hongdae- a place that holds a bustling night life, but a place I'd never seen in the day. I must say...looks a lot different in the day light! It was busy, there were vendors all over, I didn't really enjoy it as much as I do at night (perhaps because night usually involves several cocktails of one kind or another). At night it looks/feels much more glamorous than in the day...I ended up venturing back through the Hapjeong area where I stopped for a Sangria and Veggie Sandwich at a quaint little cafe. I indulged myself in a Korean Magazine (for the pictures obviously) and just people watched, as the weather was perfect enough for the place to keep their big window open- twas perfect afternoon alone. Never would I have been brave enough to do that at home- eat alone?! SCARYYY....but here, now, it's liberating I feel!
With the holidays literally around the corner, I decided (with the help of a former teacher who left it here) to grow a Christmas tree! Haha...it took 6 hours to do and looked the nicest when it was first done (it's starting to look a little shabby now that I've had it for like 2 weeks...) I have no idea how it worked, but it was a cardboard tree you put a liquid in the bottom and as the cardboard soaked up the liquid, little crystal like branches formed- good enough for me. Fortunately I have a little Christmas tree here...although it certainly doesn't feel like Christmas at all. Around October in Canada is when Christmas decorations start popping up- here they have the SMALLEST amount of decorations- if any! It's so bizarre! Not to mention the still mild weather- I'm being thrown for a loop. This Christmas will definitely be interesting- my flight leaves for Thailand at like 830am Christmas morning....WOW! How pumped am I?!