Coffee in Seoul - Day 1

Sunday Evening:


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Today's Outfit

Well, this is my first morning in Seoul. I arrived last evening to the muggiest heat I've experienced all year. Seoul is definitely making up for all the summertime I've missed out on in San Francisco. My contacts from the agency (Miss & Mister from now on) are both very nice and I felt instantly comfortable with them. We had a big dinner (samgyeopsal, of course) - unfortunately, my eyes were much bigger than my tummy and I didn't eat as much as I wanted. The jet lag hit me like a brick.

We finally arrived at my hotel and sipped Americanos at a nearby coffee shop. I checked in and we said our goodbyes. In the room, I felt suddenly very alone. It was like a floodgate of negative emotion flew open and washed over me. My head was swimming. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. I don't know where it all came from.

I spoke with my mother for a bit and went to sleep.
The night was rough. I had these intense, bizarre dreams. I woke up every hour. Some of my dreams were really disturbing...

This morning, it was difficult to get up. Maybe I was afraid to face the day after such a weird night. I got up and sluggishly went in for a shower. As I stood there, hanging my head and forcing tears to come in a desperate effort to purge myself of the night's dejection, I started to remember the truth. I started to look at the big picture and the blessing of just being HERE. I took hold of my faith and reminded myself that change, though uncomfortable, is good for me right now. Yes, I feel in limbo...I feel alone...I feel confused. But it's because I'm in a period of transformation. A transformation I've been preparing for and praying for all year. It's happening now and I have to be brave, and I have to believe that God isn't going to toss me into something I'm not equipped to handle with grace and confidence. It was crazy, but I felt better. Standing under the shower, I felt like a husk was peeling from my flesh and I was being renewed. It was not, is not, will not be super easy, but my resolve has returned. I feel like I can handle the day now. And that's step 1.

Daytime View from Hotel Room

Every once in a while, I still need to cry. But that's okay. The tears will end and I'll feel stronger. When you want something great in life, you have to fight for it. It can't be just handed to you for free. Struggle is growth.
I'll figure it out soon enough... Everything in its perfect timing.

In other news, I've started reading "Eat Pray Love" - I'm a little flabbergasted by it's pertinence to my life right now.
Also, I can't figure out how to turn off the lights in my hotel room. It's annoying me.

Monday Morning:

At the Museum, beating the heat.

Today was lots of fun. We had lunch...a friggin' HUGE lunch (how do Korean women stay so thin?!)... then, we had a long drive out of Seoul to the African Cultural Museum. I had a fitting which would have been great, except the heat was merciless. Every outfit I put on had to be peeled off of me, haha. I felt kinda bad for the wardrobe ladies. My Secret was really put to the test..."strong enough for a man, but not strong enough for Korean summer." Anyway, there were no mirrors around, so I have no idea how I looked in any of the outfits. It was just an endless whirlwind of bangles, headwraps, belts, and frilly dresses...and one evil pair of denim tights that required an army to stretch over my apple bottom.
While I enjoy trying on lots of clothes, I'm not a big fan of others dressing me, haha. I have a "personal space" thing...which is further pronounced when sweat is involved. Though the wardrobe ladies were very sweet, I found myself panicking to get each piece on and off before they came back to help me out. This, of course, was impossible whenever said evil denim pants were a part of the equation. As a result, the ladies would usually find me bent into some impossible pretzel, sweating bullets with my panties in a proverbial & literal bunch.

Rehearsal ended earlier than expected, so we headed back to Seoul with the entire evening free. After a much needed shower and change, we reconvened for dinner.

Sweet Glazed Calamari & Octopus (spicy as all hell)

Yummy. I seriously didn't think I'd enjoy the seafood this much. The octopus dish was tasty, but a touch too spicy for me. I'm a nerd cliche, which means I have really fussy sinuses. The moment I tasted this dish, my nose turned into a faucet. It's not sexy having to blow your nose every 10 seconds at the dinner table. So, the octopus and I had a short affair. Nonetheless, my opinion of its taste has certainly changed for the better.

Mixing rice into the sauce didn't help. Still ridiculously hot!

Delicious Calamari!!

The calamari was SO GOOD!!! Back home, when you order calamari, you get those tiny little rings of fried nothing. But here we had huge rings of fried calamari, like the size of donuts. So, you could really taste and appreciate the texture of the squid. Super yummy.
After dinner, Miss and I walked around Apgujeong and did some shopping. I saw lots of things I wanted, but thought it'd be best to pace myself, haha. It was, after all, my first night there. I let myself purchase one dress, though....just to whet the appetite.

Now, I'm back in my room and ready for sleep. I have a pretty easy day and a fun evening planned for tomorrow . I'll keep you all updated!
xoxoxoxo

Bedtime!!