And then there was one...Saturday is Music Core day! Music Core is the last of the music broadcasting shows I haven't attended yet; it is also located the farthest, all the way in Ilsan. On a map of the subway system in Seoul, it's SO far off to the side, it's practically not on the map -.- However, it has one of the biggest studios so it can hold a ton of people. It used to be even bigger too. 

Omg there are girls walking around in skirts. Like schoolgirls, with no tights. Or scarves. It makes me colder just looking at them O.O 

I got out of my subway exit after the longest subway ride EVER (I legit SLEPT on this one, I usually just nap or doze), and walked across a few streets and down a few more blocks to the MBC Dream Center where Music Core is held. It is FREEZING as usual. But somehow even colder than usual, because there's tons of tall buildings in this area and so everything is in shadow pretty much and tinted blue-ish because it's so early.

As this music show is broadcasted on Saturdays, this means I was anticipating a sharp upswing in the already incredibly amount of fans who line up and attend these shows. Why? Because it's the weekend and that means some students don't have school today and can attend this show, unlike Show Champion, M!Countdown, and Music Bank, which are on the weekdays (although you still see kids in school uniforms at these shows, who definitely just told their parents they were going to school and then headed off to wait for the music broadcasts lol). As prepared as I was for the amount of people to wait with, I was SERIOUSLY shocked by the hundreds of people already there when I got there at 8am. Like wtf? It took me an hour and a half just to get here by subway!! HOW DID THEY GET HERE SO EARLY. They had all gotten here way earlier too because JUST as I was walking up, they were already calling out names from the list for those who had taken pictures and sent them in! I hadn't even had a chance to FIND the sign, much less take a picture, find wifi, and send it. It then hit me how seriously these students take the weekend shows (Music Core and Inkigayo on Sunday), since they don't get the rest during the week. Yeesh. I managed to speak to the fan coordinators at the end of the name-calling (which took over an hour, there were SO MANY EFFING PEOPLE) and got a number at the end of the list by playing the dumb & foreign card. 

So there were we, lining up at freezing o'clock, on a sunny day but waiting IN THE SHADE of the gigantic MBC Dream Center building for reasons unbeknownst to me. I was at the end of the list at 8am but by the afternoon, there were tons of people behind me who had come later and had to try to add their names to the list, including Trisha who was leaving for Japan later that day and had to deal with her luggage this morning (making her a little late >.<). Poor thing :(

So as not to bore you with the details, more waiting, jumping, dancing, and finding new methods of preventing frostbite and persuading my mind that ACTUALLY I'm in the Bahamas, not dying a slow frigid death out here in line, were involved that morning. At all these shows I'm in a constant state of war with myself, like half "WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE WAITING AND SUFFERING" and the other half "Just hold on a little more, maybe something really good will happen and it will all be worth this pain". Happily the cooler side prevailed (or you may think of that as the crazy side, depends on your perspective heh) and I alwauys end up waiting just a little more, or coming back instead of just booking it when they release us to wait back in line. I'm ALWAYS rewarded by the end of the day and am always soso happy I waited all that time, suffering in the cold for hours on my feet. Something happens or I get really lucky (or both!), and it was always worth it :)

By afternoon today, we were released for a few hours and given the time to come back. Today was supposed to be a double pre-recording, which means artists do one pre-recording then go and change and do another, meant for NEXT week's broadcast. This saves traveling time for them, as they don't have to come back out here next week. It means they won't be here for next week's live, but this does happen every so often with the live show. However, they seemed to have skipped the first pre-recording which was supposed to be at 11am...since they told us at about 10:30am to leave and be back by 1pm. Dafuq?

Anway, Trish and I left during our short break for lunch. After wandering around a nearby (GIANT) outdoor mall, we finally just decided on kalguksoo again because it was stupid cold outside and hot noodles in a warm broth sounded beyond delicious. When we finally got our bowls...ah. So much happiness ^.^

At the pre-recording I got into, we saw Infinite, BAP, SHINee, Teen Top, & Tiny-G. I was disappointed D-Unit seemed to have finished their promotions...I really liked them! They are one of the few girl groups out there that don't hold this pretty princess stick-figure doll image with them. Not that I hate that or anything, so nobody attack me, but it's just same old same old. They also get REAL choreography, not high-kicking and hip-rolling and prancing in place. It's almost always the choreography that gets me interested in a group, and theirs is incredible. They all pull it off well too, which makes me want to hug both their choreographer and them for being awesome. 

OMG I GOT INTO THE LIVE SHOW. THROUGH MY PLACE IN LINE. THIS WAS UNPRECEDENTED ON ALL ACCOUNTS. Again, Music Core is like Music Bank and Inkigayo...you essentially need one of lottery-won tickets to attend the live show. However, sometimes they don't use all the tickets and/or are allowed to squeeze some extra fans in to sit on the stairs in the aisles or stand in the back. This was the case today! I didn't have much hope because my number was far back (or so I thought) so I walked Trisha to the subway station after we got out of pre-recording and said good-bye to her after she collected her luggage. I walked back to the studio afterwards and wandered kind of lost until I figured I found the right line and started asking girls in line. I wish I had pictures of the looks some of these people give me when I ask them questions hahah; for every genuinely helpful person, there is another who will give me this wtf, WHAT are you? kind of look. Eventually I found my place in line by comparing numbers and asking the right questions in Korean, and it was surprisingly not that far from the front. People must have just left after the pre-recording?? Did they not know about being able to line-up for live show? Or did they not think they had a chance? Or they had prior engagements?? If I'm a complete foreigner and didn't even know much about this and I'M in line, shouldn't they all be in line too...? Ah well. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth right?

They cut us off about 15 people ahead of me so we were all sad and worried and scared... then they came back and decided to let a few more Shawols in and AH I MADE IT!!! We were all so excited when we ran in together, up this giant marble staircase and across a huge white marble second-story floor into the studio...which is massive btw. It's built like a performing arts theater more than a recording studio. It was way more than I ever expected, earlier I just stood there and asked around for the heck of it cuz what did I have to lose haha. This was going to be my last music show of my trip since I was leaving Wednesday and couldn't attend anymore on the days they would broadcast on, so I was trying to make the most of this last one. They stood us all in the very back, which was okay because the seats were tiered so we actually had a really good view of the stage not far below.

I got to see Tiny G, Secret, Two X, Nu'est, U-Kiss, Girls Day, BAP, Davichi, G.na, Infinite, 2AM, SHINee, and a few other artists. I was stuck behind three rows of girls (ones who got in before me) but I got lucky and the girls directly in front of me both decided to sit down on the floor! The seats in front are low so they can still see fine but I had a clear view.

Later on I realized I was actually like 5 rows back but apparently fangirls help each other out lol. The girls in front let the Infinite girls move up for Infinite's performance and so on for other groups and fangirls. We actually got to see some artists twice!! Turns out that second pre-recording that we didn't get to see this morning didn't happen and MBC was having them do it now, directly after the live show. They kept everyone in the audience there so we all got to see them again! Talk about an awesome last music broadcast to attend haha. I swooped a seat for myself since people kept leaving periodically. By the end all I could think was that seriously this was the best show I've been to all week. It's like a private concert and private rehearsal practices in one! With multiple artists all from different record labels lol. I felt really lucky, for getting into the pre-recording (which contrary to my posts, are NOT always a given so I was happy everytime I managed to make it in), the live show (which is NEVER a given, so I'm triply happy everytime I manage to make it in), and a SECOND pre-recording when we thought it was all over (which has pretty much never happened lol, so the energy in there was like explosive). 

When we were finally let out after that epicly long live show, I saw fangirls waiting outside the exit drive-way for their oppa's cars to come out. Surprisingly not all of the artists had those giant vans they are always in on tv shows; they were most often in regular unremarkable old sedans or soccer mom vans ^^. Idols are normal people too haha. I love it. I do remember hearing about how they were always shocked when they come to America for concerts and are picked up from the airport in limos or Hummers. Only us Americans need such flamboyantly wasteful things as Hummers...sigh. I guess they are kind of intimidating. 

I was in a good mood and had the whole rest of the evening ahead of me so I stopped at Natuur, my favorite ice cream and dessert place that Yeji had first showed to me on my last trip! A scoop of their Venus Green Tea and I was on my way again :) I had wanted to come here with Trisha but we ran out of time since she had to leave right after the pre-recording. She ended up not making her flight unfortunately, and had to wait until the next day to fly out to Japan >.<

I really love evening walks in Seoul, the fresh air, the hordes of people, the rushing cars, the lively chatter floating in the air, and lots of lights everywhere. There are way more people my age than I ever see during the day, and it's more common to see them out in big groups of friends as opposed to the rare pair of girls or lone boy I may happen to spot during the day. The subways are so crowded, I never get the curious looks I always get during the day when it's mainly full of grandmas, grandpas, or businessmen. I'm pretty sure the looks are because I don't look like a student, businesswoman, or a foreigner, so they're wondering what the heck I am and why I'm on the subway at this time of day lol. 

I polished off my scoop of ice cream before I even hit the subway, so I decided to get off at Apgujeong (I was on the Orange Line already to get to Ilsan) and go get my favorite boba from Cofioca! 

The little area of Apgujeong I spend most of my time in is CRACKING at this time of night. There are tons of people all over, young and old alike, it's so strange lol. I'm always here in the day and there are usually just some woman walking about and older male workers loading stuff, etc. 

I am finally mastering the bus system and finding its not so scary. True Seoul-ite now :D I feel like such a grown up standing with all the other grown-ups and big kids at the bus station hahah, since I've never used the bus back home. My background growing up in suburbia is killing me X.X I'm now able to read the Korean bus loops now, find the stop I want on the bus number I need, and get myself to where I need to go. I FEEL SO ACCOMPLISHED. I have now reached the transportation skill level of an 8-year old in Seoul. How do I know this? I saw down next to one when I got on the bus T.T Power Rangers backpack, homework in hand, and everything. Way to kill my excitement dude.

On the way back to the subway from the MBC Dream Center I had been waylaid at a sidewalk store by a pretty cream-colored zip-up jacket with oatmeal colored knitted accents. It was thick, made of really soft, buttery cloth and a fur-lined hood. The price tag on it said 15,000 won so I figured this was a decent price for what it was and went in to buy it. The lady instead gestured to me that it was a "setu" and said more rapid Korean. I smiled and explained I was foreign and so she did more gestures and I finally got that she meant it came in a set! I did remember seeing a matching pair of cream and oatmeal sweatpants outside next to the sweater but since I just wanted the jacket I had left the pants. I spent the next few minutes trying to clarify with her that I just wanted the pants for 15,000, I didn't want to spend anymore. But apparently the jacket and pants TOGETHER were 15,000 won! What a deal!      \(^o^)/ I was so excited. Somehow getting clothes for even cheaper than you expected, or getting more than you were expecting to get makes a purchase even better. The lady next to me even commented on how cheap that was and that the clothes were really pretty. I was even more excited by how I could understand all of it lol ^^.

I was starving by the time I reached my hotel and also tired out, so I went downstairs and had Ki-Hee oppa at the front desk help me order Kyochon delivery. Ugh, SO MUCH DELICIOUS AWESOMENESS it's not even fair. They give so much chicken I easily made dinner, breakfast, AND a snack the next day out of it. I love life right now. 

Music Bank day everyone! Okay so I was definitely supposed to get up at 4am but my dratted alarm decided today would be a WONDERFUL day to not go off. So I shot up out of bed at around 6am and did the whole crazy-spazzing-left-and-right-grabbing-at-random-clothes-and-brushing-my-teeth-and-finding-shoes-while-at-the-same-time-trying-to-put-in-my-contacts thing I used to do in college when I was late for morning class. Ah, such wonderfully fond memories...HA. You didn't really think I missed those practically scheduled panic attacks did you? 

The good thing is that my hair generally requires zero effort since it's straighter than a ruler and doesn't tend to frizz. I usually only throw a little wax on my bangs to make them stay, unless I decide to curl my hair that day. It is also almost impossible to tangle...I would know because several people (mostly guy friends; NICHOLAS) have tried to tangle it in the past unsuccessfully. Just to see if they could do it. Heh. Hair: 3, Boys: 0. The bad thing is that is was once again freezing outside. Also I put on zero make-up because I figured getting there asap was more important. 

Upon arrival, I was pretty much lost. I got off at the right station, went out the right exit number, asked a security adjusshi for directions to the KBS building and then traversed a few blocks and streets to get to my destination. But this place was huge. Like HUUUUUGE. There were a million different ways to go. I was supposed to meet Brian and Trisha here but I had no wifi and I had no idea whether they were here already or had overslept like me. I found out later it was both LOL. I ended up doing my old standby, when in Rome, do as the Romans do! I followed these two Korean girls who looked about my age and definitely weren't workers around a parking lot area and into a mini-plaza between two buildings where a TON of fans were waiting. Jackpot.

In short, I wandered and investigated and asked various girls (in three languages, no less) if they knew what was going on here and where to go to find the signs I needed to take a picture of for pre-recordings. No luck. They either didn't know or didn't understand lol. I finally met the two nicest Muslim girls who helped me get my bearings; the mass of fans who were all clustered around what looked like an entryway with a car-drop off area in front of it were waiting for the stars to get dropped off for the day so they could see them walk in. Uhh yea. No thanks. It's freezing out here, you're going to see oppas/eonnis for like 5 seconds, and I'd rather try to find my way into watching essentially what is a mini-concert by the artists with my time this morning. 

I went back up a giant flight of stairs to an upperground plaza and outdoor seating area to find the signs and finally sat down outside in the cold to wait both for my friends so I didn't miss them, and to find the people who would bring the signs. I could'nt believe I had beaten them here, at places like M!Countdown, people start coming to take photos to get on the list the night before at like 7pm. It was now almost 9am on the day of, so I all ?_?

Because I was there so long, a bunch of other people kept coming up and asking me for help about the signs, thinking I was korean...even actual Koreans HAHAH. It's worse than the blind leading the blind, it's the blind leading EVERYONE, even those who can see. These two nice Korean girls who I've seen at other broadcasts seemed to recognize me and came over to ask if I was cold and what time I came and if I knew where the damn sign was (haha) and I think they wanted me to come inside ad hang out with them but I misunderstand and said I was fine outside -.- We were communicating mostly in Korean and a little English, so that was probably how I misunderstood...it takes me a bit to remember what some words mean x.x They came back out again though an hour later and I joined them in pondering some more over the missing signs. I know the signs are supposed to be made by the first fan who arrives that morning/evening if it's a popular show. 

S/N: Brian told me that Music Bank isn't as popular in Korea because for some reason, Koreans don't like the show as much. It's super popular elsewhere and definitely one of the big 4 music broadcasts but for some unknown reason, they don't like going to it. Beats me lol. It's also on a Friday so lots of schoolgirls are in school. 

Eventually those girls I was hanging with discussed and then sat down and made the official list! These Japanese girls got in front of me when lining up for the name-putting-down but it doesn't matter. I was number 6!! I've been 132, 108, etc at other shows, so this was crazy.

It was here at the KBS building at their t;time cafe that I first got addicted to 유자차 (yoo-jah cha). This is lemon tea, or citron tea. It's not the teabag lemon tea we have at home though, this is like citrusy, fruity, sweet nectar that is steaming hot and smells so divine you want to dive in and have a spa day. It has actual lemon pieces and pulp in it that gives it that extra flavor. 

When I discovered them later in store-bought packages (mind blown, btw. I was so excited) via Yeji giving me some as a gift, I was amazed at how they come in little sealed packages of thick liquid. You just add water to the syrupy-like stuff in the package and voila, 유자차!

Unlike other music broadcasts, Music Bank is all seated in their studio (as far as I could see and as far as I was told). Therefore, my high priority on the list was even better because this wasn't standing!! Standing (like at M!Countdown) means even if you have a low number and are high on the list, you aren't that much closer than anyone else way behind you since everyone spreads out and bunches in the crowded area anyway. So this was just epic. I was so happy I suffered through the morning, all alone, with no wifi, unable to find my friends, freezing cold and lost lol. I hope the artists know how devoted fans are. I wasn't even planning on attending a SINGLE music broadcast this trip when I planned it and look where I am now. Dafuq? How did this even happen haha. Jess and I just had success one day and I got lucky another, and then lucky again, and now I just want to keep it rolling and see how far I can take my luck. After all, when's the next time I'll be in Korea when all these artists are promoting new songs? I'm international, I don't get these every week like Koreans who live here do :_: We keep basically the same hours as the artists too, so our sleep schedules are similar. We wake up early to stand in line and queue up while they wake up early to prep and travel. Exhausting. I don't know how they do it and I now know why they are always so tired. I'm not even dancing and singing, I'm just jumping and dancing and I'm beat. They are so not human lol. 

Meeting so many international friends out here, you also become aware of dialect and region-specific slang...especially with people from America (just different parts than SoCal). I forgot what terms I used but it was really funny trying to explain myself to Trisha (who's from New York, but studies in Japan) and Brian (who's from Florida, but studies here in Seoul). I know I'm a valley girl already but hey, I grew up here what are you gonna do -.- But lots of other slang words we all used, were unfamiliar or meant different things to each of us. It's all really interesting :)

Okay folks, today is M!Countdown Round Two. Thanks to our experience going last week and being total noobs, I now had a slightly better grasp on what to do/what to expect. I woke up earlier than ever today and was out and about well before the first light of day. In fact, the streets were the darkest I've ever seen them...ever. And when I first came here, I had mad jetlag and so was out roaming the streets at like 3am, eating a noodle houses and doing late-night grocery shopping. 

It appears to be getting colder and colder everyday. Most unfortunate for this California girl :((( I was wearing 6 layers of clothing (involving a shirt, a peacoat, and as many sweaters as I could throw on between the two), thick woolen gloves, a thick knit scarf (all of which I bought on my last trip to Korea, because the only clothes that are capable of combating Seoul weather are my Korea-bought clothes. I don't think I even posess anything I've bought in CA that could do me any good here), knee-high socks, and knee-boots. Still miserable. Yep.

The leg and feet warmers on the subway are a GODSEND; it feels like your sitting on top of a hot spring and all the delicious heat is just wafting up around your whole body in a heavenly sauna-like cloud. The only problem is that when you LEAVE the train you feel like you've got a block of ice permanently glued to your behind...it's so cold without the heater T.T 

The ride to Digital Media City is a lengthy one so I took a nice nap on my way there. I'm now on my way to becoming a native and can do their trick of passing the eff out until like 2 stops before their desired stop and then suddenly waking up to full alertness and getting off at the right time. I always wondered how they did that...now I can too! >:D

I once again caught a lovely picture of the sun making it's first forays into the city as it peeked over the buildings at my bus stop. I caught my bus to the Digital Media Hall and the Mnet studios quite easily; it pulled up JUST as I came out of my correct subway exit! Also, this time I managed to snap a picture of those awesome animal butts that decorated one of the walls we passed hahaha. See the tail made from the plant?! GENIUS.

Today there was supposed to be a special stage and SHINee would be singing their ballad song Aside live. Knowing this, I anticipated the throngs of people waiting already at this early hour...but still. The line was EPIC. It went all the way back across the courtyard and almost into the street. Way longer than the line for the live show last week. Once I located the correct guy, I still gave my name and last 4 digits of my phone number (how they verify it's you I guess, in case there are any disputes over someone's place in line) and took my place in line. It was SO COLD, I was seriously entertaining thoughts of frostbite and permanent damage to my extremities. It was really bad >.< I kept jumping and dancing because my feet were giving off pangs of pain, yet were simultaneously numb. I was glad for the pain though, since it meant I still had sensation in them and they weren't in fact, frostbitten. Yet. It was so cold, I wanted to take my phone out to type out some notes on how freaking cold it was but I didn't want to move my hands out of my pockets to get my phone in my purse -.- Whenever I exhaled out, the white mist from my breath was so dense it was almost opaque. And it lingered too, unlike the thin, wraith-like mist we get on our coldest mornings back home. We have to do it in the sunlight to be able to see it, but here it's such a huge dense cloud that it's like we're all puffing on cigars out here @.@

We had made plans beforehand, so I was meeting everyone here later. There were five of us and half of us didn't have wifi so it was more like a strategic battle plan deciding where to meet and when and by what statue and what to do if nobody was there, etc. Everyone except Brian that is, since Evol wasn't performing today. I got there the earliest because I wanted to try my luck (which has been good thus far) for the live show, but I underestimated the passion of Korean fans haha. Unsurprisingly, after 2 hours of suffering and contemplating just going home so I could enjoy any sort of feeling in my body again, the line got cut off about 20 people in front of me. By then it was close to meet-up time, so I walked as fast as my numb feet could take me to the Coffee Bean around the corner. 

Now, the Mnet studios are in a pretty good area for waiting because of all the shops, restaurants, and coffee places close by. Others, like Inkigayo have NOTHING around them, so you just have to sit and twiddle your thumbs all day. Luckily I had tickets for that one, thanks to Haeri haha. I chose the Coffee Bean because it was close but not as close as Holly's Coffee (a Korean chain) where all the other people who were in line with me were bound to be headed. This Coffee Bean is also HUGE (3 stories and really long) and extremely nice inside. I got my Hot Vanilla and sat down in a giant cushy chair in the sunlight to defrost. It took awhile -.- Even when I had almost a full range of movement, I could put my hand over my thighs and FEEL cold coming off of them! Like an ice cube!! I was like O.O 

So there I was, sitting in Coffee Bean listening to "Hitchhiking" when I took off my headphones to take off my scarf. I seriously thought I was going totally bonkers cuz for some reason, I could STILL hear Hitchhiking playing!!! Almost in the exact same spot as where I had left off when I took my headphones off!! I was looking around like a crazy person, and I actually put my hand to my ears to make sure the phones were out hahah. After a second I regained my still-defrosting wits and realized the girls a couple tables away were playing Hitchhiking on their phone's stereo :D Yes, don't mind the wildly flailing foreigner over here, everything's fine...

I met up with Shiho, Tina, and Trisha for the name call/number giving/etc. and after we were released (hour or so) we decided on kalgooksoo for lunch! IT WAS SO DELICIOUS OMG. All these new Korean dishes I was never able to try before and now that I have... I can never go back. It had udon-like noodles in it but flatter. They were in this totally yummy slightly-thick and opaque broth (it tasted and looked kind of like egg drop soup!!) with vegetables and egg in it. Ohhhhh man. Talk about perfect for such a cold day. I scalded my tongue trying to get as much of it into my mouth as fast as I could xD I hadn't eaten breakfast so I was starving!

Back to the studio we went after Holly's Coffee for dessert. I got my sweet potato latte :) More queuing and waiting until they moved us into the studio to wait more. Hilariously, the staff came out before the pre-recording and warned us to not touch the artists during the performance. This seemed like a weird command since we are close, but not THAT close during these broadcasts. However, upon entering we saw them setting up a circular stage with us ringing it in a semi-circle. They had white boxes the staff was arranging, for them to stand on during the performance. Then I realized it was for the special stage and we would literally be A FOOT from these people. Like if I breathed too hard, they'd feel it 0.o So THAT'S why they gave the pre-performance warning lol. 

It was such an intense performance!! The artists did so well and the crowd was really awesome and fun. The mood was good; this show would be my 4th just in the past week and this was one of the really excellent performances. They were playful and hit everything cleanly, with big smiles and lots of effort despite how exhausted they must all be. 

When it was over, none of us had gotten into the elusive live show so Trisha, Shiho, and I went for a chicken snack. Shiho was flying back to Japan this evening, so we had to make it quick! We went to Kyochon across the street, and literally struggled with getting glasses of water hahah. How many girls does it take to get a glass of water?...clearly more than three, cuz we were big fat fails ^.^ Water is a self-serve thing more commonly than not here. You go get your cups from this UV-light box that sanitizes them, and then get your water from a dispenser...except this one had lots of buttons and when we finally located the correct-looking one, we put the cup under and nothing happened. I was up first, then when I struggled, Shiho got up, and when we BOTH were struggling Trisha finally got up, and then...we were just all struggling HAHAHA. We finally realized you have to push a section to get the water to start flowing. I'm going to attribute this one to my still frostbitten brain. 

Kyochon has since become an EXTREME addiction for me T.T Their original chicken is this soy garlic crispy chicken that is OUT OF THIS FREAKING WORLD. It's one of the biggest chains in Seoul, and is considered like higher-class chicken and take-out. It's really really good chicken guys. So good I've ordered delivery for it twice already since this day. At about $13 for an order it's kind of pricey but 1) it's so worth it omg, and 2) it comes with a coke, a box of chicken radishes (which they eat with the chicken here), and about 25 wings and drumsticks. Therefore, this feeds me for at least 3 meals lol which makes it not as expensive per meal. I can't even explain the taste of this chicken, it's sweet and savory and crispy and juicy and salty and addictively delicious. Y'know, I think I was on to something when I said they put crack in the food here...

I spent the rest of the day having a really fun time wandering around Hongdae with Trisha! We searched out this store she really wanted to go to called STYLE NANDA. Apparently it's a really popular online site and they had just opened up their flagship store here in Hongdae! A thousand wrong turns and winding streets later, we finally located it hahah. I swear, finding anything specific in Seoul is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Or the piece of hot pepper in kimchi jjigae. Both are equally impossible, even when I'm trying to locate the pepper immediately to take it out before it makes the jjigae even spicier T.T

The store was so cute! It was like "hipster" made tangible haha. Seriously. Every wall was differently decorated; one was even a chalkboard you could write on with chalk!! There were three floors, all with different concepts and a fun (FREE!) photobooth on the bottom floor that we had some fun with. The top floor was like a giant washing machine; they actually had WORKING antique old-y washing machines up there. Giant ones too. Amidst all the racks of clothes and stuff. It was completely awesome. 

We stopped at the most adorable cafe I've ever seen (also the hugest, it was giant in a city where most coffee shops are small and built upwards). However, my phone had died earlier and alas, I was able to take no photos :( It had the cutest decor, with pages from a book papering the walls and various antique bird cages hanging and an overall crisp white and gold theme.  I had a purple sweet potato (something I can't remember, it was some made up word for a latte at this cafe lol). It was so yummy! Trisha also got this delectable strawberry tart that is a strong contender for best sweet thing I've ever tasted in my life. And I'm not really a sweets person; I can only take a few bites before it's too sweet or too heavy or too creamy, etc. However I could eat 5 of these things without a second thought. Not for the first time, I had the thought that it's good I don't live here...or I'd be rolling, not walking. 

I woke up this morning at 4am. Really, a wonderful time to awake, up, & about. Jess was leaving today to go back to America, which I was so sad about :( She had work though, so duty called. I had no idea what I was doing about Show Champion, since until I arrived in Korea, I had never even heard of it lol. It's not as big or popular as the other four broadcasting stations, and I don't keep up too well with them anyway. IMy friends and I found stuff online for directions, and I figured I'd wing it from there and make new friends.

Unfortunately, the way my Jihachul app told me to get to Gwangnaru was extremely difficult and involved no less than three complicated transfers (these were not the easy, one-way-only-so-you-have-to-be-utterly-braindead-to-miss-it kind of transfer tunnels; these were like 18-different-directions-to-potentially-go-and-only-one-is-right-and-the-signs-are-totally-contradicting kind of transfers -.-). On the way home I found my own route home that was only 2 minutes longer than the aforementioned Route of Hell, and involved only one transfer. Candace: 1, Jihachul app: 0

A million turns and different ways to go in here. I'm not a subway expert but I'm not exactly a noob either; it's my favorite method of travel thus far and I've been all over Seoul by subway by now. I had to go up and down stairs and escalators over and over again when I went wrong way and had to traverse to the other side @.@ It's completely frigid outside but I definitely worked up a sweat trekking around these stations...

I have no idea how people find their way around all the little line transfers like this. The few businessmen and women I saw on my trains always knew where to go without hesitation. I guess they are used to it since this is their morning commute. But still. I'm good on the major lines, but these new lines are a whole new can of worms -.- Also, a lady totally conked the eff out on a man next to her haha it was funny cuz I watched it happen, in like slo mo. It was like a sag, tip, drop, jerk, drop again, then sloooowly KLUNK her head landed on home base :D Can't say I blame you lady.

Today was both a reuniting of friends and the making of new ones. But it was freeeeeeeeeezing. I know I already said that but it was so cold I feel it merits several mentionings... When I got there I searched for the sign to take a picture with but couldn't find it. I walked over to the front of the building in front of a closed coffee place where 3 Japanese girls and an American boy were sitting. I have no idea why I didn't see the white guy and ask him, but I totally didn't even see him at first >.< Maybe I was channeling "fangirl" and so I only saw the girls. I asked the Japanese girls if they were waiting for the live show or pre-recording and they answered yes. Then the boy spoke up and I was doing like a 

Today was both a reuniting of friends and the making of new ones. But it was freeeeeeeeeezing. I know I already said that but it was so cold I feel it merits several mentionings... When I got there I searched for the sign to take a picture with but couldn't find it. I walked over to the front of the building in front of a closed coffee place where 3 Japanese girls and an American boy were sitting. I have no idea why I didn't see the white guy and ask him, but I totally didn't even see him at first >.< Maybe I was channeling "fangirl" and so I only saw the girls. I asked the Japanese girls if they were waiting for the live show or pre-recording and they answered yes. 

Then the boy spoke up and I was doing like a *\(^o^)/* in my head when I realized he spoke English. He was pretty excited too, since I think he almost never meets musicgoers here who speak English. We had a fun morning chatting our brains out, since we were the lone foreigners even when more people showed up. I had to go into the media building to send my picture for the pre-recording since I needed wifi. His name was Brian and he was studying abroad here in Seoul. I was so jealous >.< Apparently he's from Florida, so we spent a good 15 minutes just abusing the freezing Seoul weather in comparison to the warm weather we both had waiting for us back home. Ah, good thing Seoul has more than enough charms to make up for its weather haha. 

More hours of queueing and wandering and asking people questions and for aid and we were back in line again. Brian wasn't waiting for the pre-recording since the group he wanted to see wasn't having one today, so he just walked around and chilled. I met some cool girls in line, Ashley (Australian teaching here in Seoul!) and Trisha and her mom (from Singapore!). You really meet people from all over, it amazes me. People from such different places and cultures all brought together by music. A lot of girls I've met here can't speak much English OR korean, but they have  still flown all the way over here. That's just scary dedication lol. I met another American

We broke for lunch and me, Tina, and Shiho went out to a seollongtang place down the street. I had never had it before but it was so perfect for this cold rainy day; it was incredible! It was a semi-clear warm tasty broth with vegetables and savory meat in it. My friend Dajeong says they simmer the broth with onions and stuff in it for a whole day, which made me think of pho broth. You get a bowl of rice with it as well, and you periodically spoon rice into the broth then eat it all together with everything. First though, you put some of the rock salt on the table into your broth. I'm so glad I went with them haha cuz otherwise I would've been lost. That is what prevented me from trying many Korean dishes last time I was here; I couldn't understand what the dish was/didn't know how to eat it/some places don't really have a menu, you just have to know and order it T.T It was so good I immediately resolved to eat it again before I left.

I met another new friend upon our return from lunch! She was sitting with Brian, so we all kind of merged and became a bigger group. Her name was Trisha and she was from New York but studying abroad in Japan right now. I'm so jealous of her too T.T Little did we know that we would soon become fast friends and spend pretty much the entire next few days together, shopping, exploring Seoul, eating, and attending more shows ^^. 

We got lucky today and saw several artists doing their pre-recordings, even though we only lined up for one. Rainbow was first, and although I don't know much about them/I don't like them cuz they utilize too much pink and baby voices, their newest song is catchy and I liked it by the end of their several takes. G.NA was next and she put on a great show with Ilhoon from B2st. Her song and dance was also very catchy and I liked it a lot. Finally after several hours SHINee came on and put on a great (and hilarious) show during their pre-recording (Jinki totally whacked himself in the face with the mic stand HAHA SO ONEW). 

Fanboys are pretty much the funniest things I've ever seen; namely Rania and Rainbow ones. This is because there are all these tall muscular guys doing fanchants to the songs in deep ass voices and screaming their names and leaping around with their huge signs hahah. Even Korean girls are smiling and laughing at them, so it's not just that I'm foreign :D

After the pre-recordings, we all filed out of the studio and came back around 4 to start lining up for the live show (starts at 6). It was around this time I realized OMFG I'M SUPPOSED TO CHECK OUT FROM MY HOTEL ROOM TODAY. The staff knew I was checking out of the double room but staying for another week in a single...but check-out was supposed to be around 2-3 pm still. It was now 4pm. I panicked and ran to the media studio to call the hotel. I tried my best to explain that I was going to come back soon and move all my luggage, which I presumed was still sitting in my double hotel room since Jess had left at 1pm for the airport. It took awhile but eventually I got my meaning across to him, whereupon he said they had moved my stuff already. Eh? I assumed he meant just my luggages, since I hadn't packed all my small stuff yet from the bathroom and counter. But it was fine, I would take what I could get! I was extremely grateful and couldn't believe it :3 I was able to stay for the live show then!

SHINee ended up winning and coming out #1 at the end of the show. They have been dominating for weeks on all the music shows and music charts now, their popularity is kind of ridiculous. They must have just shelves upon shelves of trophies and awards lol. By the end of next week, they will have become the only celebrities to have won on Show Champion 4 times. Since the first win Jonghyun did 100 push-ups, and the second win Minho did over 100 push-ups, with this third win, Onew, Key and Taemin all did pushups. Which was just hilarious in itself, since I don't think we've ever seen Key do anything more physical than shopping...

So I rushed myself as fast as the subways would allow me to get back to the hotel. I got there and found the receptionist and night manager had sweetly moved literally ALL my stuff, even my bathroom stuff AND the bar of soap (lol) to my new room! Even my loofah and the scraps of construction paper Jess & I had used for our arts & crafts day. It must have taken ages, I had a ton of stuff everywhere. I couldn't believe it. I was so grateful to them and although I didn't know the words to thank them specifically for moving it all, I thanked them a bunch of times before finally flopping myself down in my new room. I admit, I teared up and cried for a little bit once I took the time to survey my room. It looked exactly like my one on my last trip, I'm just one floor above exactly with numbers and everything. It was so clean and inviting and familiar and filled with good memories. I had also had a very long day; simultaneously one of the best and worst days of my life. I didn't really go into the details of how bad my freak-out over my delayed room change was, but it was bad. I was far from the hotel, had been waiting in line for hours, didn't have the right Korean words to explain to the hotel staff, had major panicky feels when I realized it was hours past when I was supposed to be out and ALL my stuff was still just sitting there in a room that needed to be cleaned. And they didn't really have a way to contact me since my phone is foreign. I was so distressed and worried >.< Luckily it all worked out!

Today we were headed to Gayang, to attend Inkigayo with Haeri! Haeri was a former girl group celebrity, and thus has lots of connections with the groups, their managers, and the broadcasting systems. At the young age of 20, she is also running a company called Kompany93 that sells albums and other merchandise!

Inkigayo is one of the major 5 broadcasting stations in Seoul. It is also the most difficult to get into, due to the small studio space. To get tickets you have to win them via lottery, which I think I talked about in my earlier post on M!Countdown. Haeri got us those magic tickets without the lottery, because she is awesome. When we arrived, we went straight to front amidst hordes of lined up people (WITH tickets, I couldn't believe how many people there were just filling up the entire side of the street waiting to get in). We got our tickets straight from 2AM's manager O.o We waited in our appropriate line for our seat numbers for awhile, then we headed in! 

THE LIVE SHOW WAS INCREDIBLE!! 2AM, SHINee, Nu'est, BAP, U-Kiss, Speed, Girl's Day, Rainbow, Lee Hi, Nine Muses, G.NA, Rania, Peppertones, VerbalJint, D-Unit, Lady's Choice, & more made for a great line-up. It's really fun getting to see all that goes on behind filming these live shows, with all the cameras, television screens doing replays or zoom-ins, cameramen, make-up people, the MC's pacing around practicing their lines, light and sound checks, clean-up crews after each performance, etc. I just feel like I'm in wonderland haha. 

Afterwards we all went for chicken with Haeri's friend Dayeon (Diane)! It was freezing outside so we while we ate we all had a good laugh at the crazy fangirls lining the streets in the cold wind waiting for a glimpse of oppa...in a car...with TINTED WINDOWS...for like 0.5 seconds. Seriously people? YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THEM. They would occasionally all run from side to side like chickens with their heads cut off whenever people started screaming- which was basically everytime a car came out of the parking lot for the studio. Aish. 

But anyways, back to the good part. The chicken was bomb, we got three kinds. We got baked garlic bone-in and a chili sauce & regular crispy boneless chicken! SO YUMMYLICIOUS NOMNOMNOM. I struggled for a bit in the beginning, because opposite to the American way of eating chicken wings, grabbing a wing and stuffing it into your mouth (which was my first impulse until I realized it'd be perceived as vulgar), I had to learn "chicken couture" as Haeri cutely put it ^.^ There were pairs of tiny tongs and a fork for each person, and you use those to hold and pull off pieces of chicken to eat. So your hands don't get dirty of course. While I deeply appreciate the sentiment behind this (since I am one of those OCD people who hates eating messy foods in public, like ribs), the chicken smelled and tasted SO GOOD all I really wanted to do was grab one with my hand and yank off a huge bite. Instead, I daintily placed delicate bite after delicate bite into my mouth like a proper Korean girl and washed it down with Chilsung. No wonder they're all so thin here T.T

After chicken Jess, Haeri, & I trekked it back via subway (Haeri lives in Seulleong, which is the subway stop RIGHT next to Yeoksam). JEss & I got back to the room but didn't feel like staying in. We were both craving something sweet, so we headed out in search of a coffeeshop that was still open (coffeeshops here seem to vary in terms of hours- some are open super early but close early and some open late but close late. And some both open early and stay open late, and one in particular I've noticed opens SUPER late and closes SUPER early. I know this because I have been attempting to try this damn coffee place for a total of 8 weeks now and am STILL UNSUCCESSFUL. Tragic). Since it was pretty late, we ended up at my usual Pascucci's. We hemmed and hawed but we were both eyeing their new drink, a Strawberry Gelato Latte. It's a smoothie-like drink, and was pretty much the tastiest thing I've ever had the good fortune to sip on. No, seriously. Jess and I were just silent as we were sipping them, so as to put all our attention towards fully enjoying the drink and savoring it's taste as it deserved to be savored *.* It was cool and sweet and with the scoop of strawberry gelato, it was so creamy! Ugh. The price tag it comes with has prevented me from buying it again (7,000 or 7,500 won, I can't remember). But I may have to sneak another one before I leave...ugh. Just writing about it is making me want another one. What the hell did they PUT in that thing, I'm like a crack fiend...

Candace: Today we tackled the Seoul Zoo!! We have been wanting to go here for awhile now, so we were especially excited to get going this morning. The zoo is located at the Seoul Grand Park subway exit, which wasn't too far from us. We were scheduled to meet Jess's cousin and her husband + kids and go around the zoo with them.  

After you come up from the subway, there was a long straight walk with food vendors and hat vendors lining both sides. Jess & I had time before we met her cousin so we wandered and looked around. I bought a cool leather patchwork cap and we both bought fun animal ears to wear around the zoo :)

The walkway led straight up to the Grand Park Info Hall or whatever, pictured above. On my return trip after we finished at the zoo, I found out the tram deposited and picked up passengers here. We headed to the right and up the long hill to the park on foot.

I was hungry (surprise surprise) so we picked up some double-dipped corn dogs from a vendor to munch on while we climbed up to the zoo. I've had them before on my last trip and they are seriously the BOMB. They are massive, first and foremost. And they are like flaky and crispy on the outside but have mounds of soft yummy bread on the inside. The actual hot dog is really thin, in keeping with the Korean's more healthy less-meat eating ideologies. America, take note. They do eat a lot of bread, but they balance that with TONS of veggies, less rice, and almost no meat. Hence, they are all skinny and beautiful. Maybe if I move here, my diet will adjust...eventually o.o

We reached the top and sat to wait for Jess's cousin + family. Since we have no wifi on our phones, we had no choice but to sit and watch for them. Jess had made contact with them earlier and found they were stuck in a bit of traffic. They had agreed to meet at the entrance to the zoo but after sitting & waiting for hours for them and the time they should've arrived being well past, we finally headed inside with our tickets. 

However, while we were waiting by the entrance I saw more babies in 2 & 1/2 hours than I've ever seen in my WHOLE LIFE PUT TOGETHER. AND OMG WERE THEY ADORABLE AND SQUISHY :3 They were everywhere, running around with parents chasing them, sitting on grandpas knees, holding hands with older siblings, squealing in delight when they saw the tiger statue (pictures later in post), jumping around, babbling nonsense as they trotted along as fast as their chubby little baby legs could take them, OMG THEY WERE SO CUTE. Their outfits were equally adorable, all brightly-colored. Some had so many layers on, they were like walking marshmallows; they waddled more than anything ^.^ One little boy was wearing the TINIEST pair of Nike Free's I've ever seen. SO CUTE. The soles couldn't have been longer than my palm. Not my hand, just my palm. And my hands are pretty damn small. 

The first thing we saw when we walked in was a long line of face cut-out animals, ranging from dinosaur to cow to monkey. Us being the little 5-year olds that we are, we immediately freaked out and ran over to take pictures :D We didn't stand out at all...we were just like 4 feet taller than anyone else having their picture taken. Okay, so people MIGHT have stared...

The animals were SO COOOOOOOOOOOL AHHHHHH. It was like we were literally little kids again. Everything was new and wonderful and amazing. Animals are awesome, however old you are. They are different and interesting in how they live in such different environments and adapt to them. We ran all over the zoo snapping pictures and jostling for arm space in front of the animals habitats, cuz man, was it CROWDED. Zoo on a Saturday, on a day with beautiful weather was maybe not the greatest idea we've ever had. 

They had these really cool all-electric buses in the park, with animal murals on them. With my interest in renewable energy, I particularly admired the electric part of them. Although the animal pictures were cool of course :D

The monkeys we saw were a CRACK-UP. One of them even had a baby with it (the black one)!!! The mama was totally jumping around and climbing the fence and everything with it on it's lap 0.o So amazing. I took a video of them too, they were so funny. Visitors had corn on the cob, so they would take off kernels and toss them to the monkeys, who were holding out their hands through the bars. And they would climb the fences and catch all the tiny kernels being tossed to them in their one hand!! ALL OF THEM. It was like a dog begging for treats but more like a mini human asking for more food; it blew my mind lol. They were so silly! Their eye to hand coordination fascinated me, especially when they would speedily go loping around their cages, jumping from thing to thing, swinging from their hands, then suddenly come back and stop to catch a kernel. They are so smart too. I remember when I was little, all I wanted was a spider monkey. Other little boys and girls wanted a puppy or a gerbil, but I wanted a spider monkey. I even went as far as looking up adoption methods onlnine (I didn't fit the criteria). Failing that, I then wanted a cow. Yes, a cow. 

MY FAVORITE ANIMALS OF THE DAY: the Lesser Panda :) SERIOUSLY HOW CUTE ARE THEY. When we saw them we immediately took as many photos of them as we had taken of the rest of the animals all put together haha. They were so tiny and energetic and playful and quick! And fuzzy :3 I have now changed my cow pet desire to a lesser panda. Prease aaaaand fank you.

We also spotted something called a raccoon dog, that neither of us had ever seen before. They were unbelievably fluffy and super cute though, so whatever they are, they have immediately gone to the top of my favorite animals list!

On the way back down from the zoo, Jess decided to walk while I waited for the tram. It was really quick, and cool cuz I got to see Seoul Land! All the kids on the tram were so excited, yelling that yay, we were off!! Adorable :) 

I got down before Jess so as I waited I did some people watching. It was a good thing we went early because as I got off the tram near the entrance to Seoul Park, the line of people queuing up for the tram UP to the park was IMMENSE. All the way down 3 sets of stairs and out onto the plaza ON BOTH SIDES of the entranceway was a horde of potential zoo-goers, armed with strollers and diapers.


Jess's cousin was getting done with the zoo as well, so now that we had wifi (by the Grand Park entrance there was working free wifi) Jess could communicate with them again. We sat and waited again for awhile at the front until they made it down and we could finally meet with them ^^. We at least got to walk back down the walkway with them and chat. We got some food to eat as well; I got a potato slice stick (don't know what they are actually called, but they are effing amazing). They are like warm, crispy, meatier potato chips that you roll in seasoning and eat off the stick. And as we all know, everything is better when eaten off a stick :)

After the zoo, we hit my favorite Gangnam Underground Shopping Center. I had been already but Jess hadn't, so we did a quick(er) circuit...more so than I did on my last spree ^^. I ended up with a cute flowy white longsleeve, a long turquoise knit sweater and a teal colored assymetrical hem long sleeve top. It falls really nicely actually so I think I'm going to go back and get another, for $8. 

I have been needing a new phone case for awhile, so I also picked up a new one. There are a zillion options for phone cases, both in the regular bumper/back case type we mainly use in America and in the "diary" form that I use while I'm here in Korea. I'm of the hating-change variety though, so I got my same type of cover as my old one, just in a different color. It's navy blue on the outside now and lime green inside; super cute! At the zoo today Jess and I had gotten these adorable Winnie the Pooh phone charms from a machine; I got two. I attached the Pooh in a rabbit costume to my old phone case on the way to the shopping center, then once I bought my new case, I attached the Pooh in a froggie costume to it :)

I also haven't updated on my growing collection of scarves I've been amassing both for myself and for gifts when I go home. I love the scarves here, mainly because they have such a huge selection to choose from and they are EVERYWHERE. In all kinds of fabrics and all sorts of patterns. Anytime I find one that catches my eye and is the right price, I tend to buy it. It's way cheaper than I'll ever find an equivalent scarf for in the States anyway. 

With the day over and us pretty exhausted from running around the zoo and shopping area all day, we decided on some low-effort (yet still gourmet, cuz it's Korea) pizza for dinner. A stop at the grocery store and the pizza place later, we were in our room for the night, happily munching on dinner while we watched tv ^^. Really though, the zoo was so awesome. I had the greatest time today! No wonder parents take their 3-month babies there, when the babies aren't even old enough to appreciate/remember it (a WTF? thought I was cultivating while I did my people-watching today); the PARENTS just want an excuse to go see the animals :D Mmm, yes, I understand now.

Candace: Today was our music show day. We had to get an early start because the Korean girls here already have a jump on us by knowing the procedure for getting into them, when to line up, what the signs and people are saying, and all other general things about these shows (there are about 5 major music broadcasting stations that hold pre-recordings and live shows open to a few fans. They make it REALLY REALLY difficult for foreigners to get into these things. M!Countdown & Show Champion are the easiest to get into as they don't do a ticket lottery system like the other shows (Music Core, Music Bank, Inkigayo). They generally require you to show up and queue at the crack of dawn (sometimes the crazy ones show up the night before and spend the night O.O), and either put your name down with a list-maker for your designated group you are here to see, or to take a picture of yourself with a sign for your designated group & send it to the number on the sign (who is the list-maker and will put your name down in the order the texts are received). Then you have to wait for hours and hours and hours and basically spend your whole day in that general area T.T And I am not the world's most patient person. 

The other three broadcasting stations have a lottery system in which you register on their channel website and then sign up for a chance to win a ticket to the program that day. Unfortunately, since we are foreigners the site kept rejecting us for dumb reasons (passport photo was too small, wrong password entered, random Error messages, etc) and we finally concluded they just don't like foreigners applying for them. Whatever. I seriously do NOT care that much, we were over it. 

Back to M!Countdown. This was of the "lining up for hours" variety, which we were game for just to try it and see what it was like. Waiting in line isn't bad if you have friends with you to stay occupied with haha (and lots of coffeeshops and food places to nom at ^^). HOWEVER. We had to do the take a picture with the sign and then MMS it to the number written on it. Aaaaaand as we are foreigners, we can't do such things with our data turned off...we wandered off to a Starbucks to brainstorm and defrost (YOU WOULD NOT BELIEVE HOW EFFING COLD IT WAS THAT EARLY IN THE MORNING HERE IN SEOUL. There wasn't just a small white cloud everytime we breathed out, it was like a freaking all-body engulfing snowstorm. I was wearing like 8 layers and was still freezing my little Southern California butt off. HOW DO YOU PEOPLE LIVE LIKE THIS ITS NOT EVEN REALLY WINTER ANYMORE). 

After a good couple hours of sipping espresso, racking my brain, and trying to think of a way to send a picture message without using our data plan, I FINALLY touched on a way. I had been using Kakaotalk and Line (both messaging applications, like iMessage that rely on Wifi, but way cooler) with my Korean friends just fine since the Starbucks had Wifi. And we can send pictures with Kakao and Line...I don't know who the person with the phone number was but if you add them as a contact the messaging application will automatically search for them on the app. If they have it, they will be added to your messaging app contact list right away. Efficient eh? So I just added it and sat back to wait for them to pop up. And presto, once they did, I sent off my picture! So much pain searching on google for a way to send or email a picture to a foreign phone when the answer was sitting right in front of me... >.< This is hard.

We had been too late this morning to get in line for the live show, so our only option was to do this thing for the pre-recording. They allow quite a few people into these (those who are willing to go through all this waking up early, waiting, being bossed around by the little korean coordinators, sitting in line, etc). These things are very very very organized. I heard they had to start doing the music shows like this because of the injuries and madness that had occurred due to massive crowds of fangirls at these things. No wonder it's like the military up in here. We stood in line for awhile while they sorted everyone out, then were released around 11PM with strict instructions on when to come back (before 1 pm) and what we needed to have (our copy of their latest album with CD in it).

We had met the sweetest girls while waiting in line! One of them was standing in front of me; she was Korean and I couldn't pronounce her name (she said it too fast >.<) so she said to call her Tina. She SAID her English wasn't good but it was seriously really good! Not conversation level but she understood a ton and spoke sentences and all. I practiced a little of my Korean with her haha. Before we had even spoken and we had all JUST gotten into line, I was telling Jess how I was so cold and Tina went Oh! and turned right around. She handed me a warm fleece blanket right out of her purse!!!! I hadn't even spoken to the girl yet haha, I was a total English-speaking stranger to her! How sweet is that? :) I thanked her and snuggled with the blanket for a good hour until the sun warmed me up. Again, my SoCal upbringing is really not helping me out over here...

Once released we wandered into the Mnet building to find a restroom. And then I go off again on my Korean bathroom obsession hahaha if you all remember from my last blog. But seriously the stalls were super cool in here!! AND...THEY HAD TELEVISIONS IN THEIR PUBLIC STALLS. YEA. I SAID TVS. They were in the door right in front of you when you sat. WHAT NOW AMERICA. 

We got lunch at this chic, modern little place called SchoolFood with Liz & Mari. Now you might think this is a strange name for a food place...But contrary to America-driven expectations, school food here is really good! (see post I did on Yonsei University's cafeterias). Anyways, they had everything here from sushi (which they called Mari haha like our new friend Mari!), varieties of dokbokki (spicy Korean ricecake dish), and some crazy kinds of ramen. I got some form of tonkatsu ramen with garlic chips in a savory broth. It was DELICIOUS. The broth was slightly thick so it clung to the noodles more than a traditional ramen broth, and the flavor was heavenly. It was preceded by some kind of onion ring broth soup that was equally delicious; a nice, light opener to the meal. 

A quick coffee run to the Coffee Bean in the area and we were headed back to the meet-up spot. This Coffee Bean was seriously the biggest one I've ever seen in my life. The building was three stories tall, made entirely of glass and light wood and it was ALL Coffee Bean. Like, damn. 

When we returned to our line, we got a second number (which I have no idea what it means but apparently it made sense to the coordinators). Several times throughout the day we had to take out of albums and hold them up for inspection. We were moved inside the studio building to wait further, which was now not so bad because we could sit, play games, watch movies, and talk amongst each other more freely now. We could also hear snippets of music coming from all the studios of different artists and we saw some walking through the lobby earlier. I slept a little while we waited; waiting is so not my thing, even with people to wait with -.-

Once we were allowed into the actual pre-recording to see the artists, we were reminded to leave everything outside; phones, wallets, sweaters, etc. Only our physical bodies were allowed into the studio lol. And the recording was truly amazing! They have such amazing voices live (sounds EXACTLY like the album) and look even more perfect than on camera. How is that possible? So many American singers I used to love as a teeny-bopper broke my heart when I heard them sing live and it sounded terrible, or when I saw photos of them in a magazine and then on the street and they looked NOTHING alike. Even if they are foreign and sing in a different language, I appreciate how talented & professional they are at such a young age.

They had a fansigning event later this evening at COEX (giant shopping mall). It's right by our hotel in Gangnam so we went early to see what it was about. Fansigning events are generally limited to 100 people who get their albums signed & give presents or whatever, and that is decided by lottery (if you buy an album from a designated store, your name gets put in). So we were just going as spectators tonight. It was sheer madness once the event started. The girls here are NUTS. It's like it was WWII out here and snapping a photo of the artists with their gigantic news-reporter-status cameras was the only way to survive. The girls were like 5 feet tall and probably no more than 80 pounds and I was COMPLETELY intimidated by them haha. They meant business. They all brought giant stools to stand on to get above the crowd so I went and bought one from the Sanrio store nearby. The Korean fangirls brought like folding ladders and stuff though so they kept propping them up right in front of us and I had to keep moving. It was like one giant flashing lightbulbs moshpit @.@ I was over it in about 10 minutes and just wanted to leave.

I met a really nice Japanese girl who was all by herself and had just arrived from the airport...suitcase and all 0.0 I was amazed haha. Such dedication! Anyways, I sat and attempted to talk to her with my limited Japanese for awhile. She was so happy and excited I spoke a little Japanese, the poor thing spoke almost no English and no Korean at all. The frenzied mob never backed down for a second the entire the boys were signing CDs...that's all they were doing. SITTING THERE SIGNING CDS. They weren't singing or dancing or talking to us or answering questions. I have no idea why these girls were all so crazy/rude/pushy/mean/bitchy. Seriously, let's take it down a notch or twenty. I was exhausted by the end of it; there were so many people packed into that small space that it was unbearably hot and there was like zero oxygen in the air. I felt so yucky that even though we got back to our hotel tired out, I HAD to take a shower before I could sleep. Talk about an ordeal haha, I don't know how these Korean girls do it on a daily basis! I need like a week of recovery after this...

So I just finished packing all of my things again. I had to move things around and take stuff out so that I would be under the weight limit for my check-in bag. Now I have more stuff in my carry-on than I would like, but it's okay because that means I won't have to pay the fee at the airport. I could use some good weight training anyways. >_< (Although, it's just like when I go down to Cali for the weekend. I'll survive and if anything, I can always just move things around again after customs in Seoul.
Anyways, the pre-trip jitters and nerves and excitement are starting to build up now. I'm still checking and re-checking my mental checklist of what I need. I'm sure I have everything though. I was talking to Stephanie earlier and I told her that it isn't so much the flying that I get nervous about it's getting to the airport in time and getting to the right gate, especially when I have a lay over. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not looking forward to the long flight to begin with. I'm making sure to have thing to keep me occupied or if anything I'll be asleep since I need to be up in less than 5 hours to get to the airport in time.

I'm still in denial that this is all actually happening. I didn't even really think about it that much while I was at work today, but maybe that's a good thing. I need to stay focused while I'm at work, I don't want to screw up someone's medication. That would not be a good thing. (I hope you all are okay while I'm gone, I know it's been kind of hectic since last week. You guys can do it! Just keep counting/keying!) But surprisingly the day went by fast and I was back home and getting all my last minute things prepared.
Well, I thought I had more to say, but I guess I don't. I'm super stoked for this trip and I can't wait to reunite with my brain twin. It's been far too long since we've seen each other and what better way than with an amazing adventure. So like the title says, in the words of Barney Stinson., this trip is going to be 'LEGEND... wait for it... DARY'! Have a nice night everyone!

Today was my last day here in the States before flying out for Hawaii tomorrow! I woke up early, ran all my last minute errands, and really got quite a bit done. It's creeping towards midnight right now, so I should probably start thinking of bed soon, what with my early wake-up call tomorrow (at the lovely hour of 4:30AM! Cuz aren't we all just bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at that hour. . . >.<). My little brother Steven will be dropping me off at the Van Nuys Flyaway before his morning class. Really, how he even wakes himself up at that hour when the kid usually sleeps past dinnertime if you let him, is a miracle in itself. 

So I'll be flying out of LAX at 10:30AM & arriving in Honolulu at 2:20PM, all on March 5. I'm really excited that I get to see my aunties & little cousin Lia for even a short amount of time :) This worked out really nicely! Armed with manapua & shaved ice, I'll be departing Honolulu at 10:20AM on March 6 & arriving in Korea at 4:30PM on March 7. Here's a little more trip magic: we both were fully expecting for one of us to have to wait at Incheon Airport in Seoul for hours before the other one's flight came in. However, even though we booked separately & without consulting each other first, it turns out Jess arrives in Seoul at 4:20PM on March 7! TEN MINUTES BEFORE ME. WHAT IS THIS SORCERY? 

Once we meet up, we'll locate and hop the proper bus to take us to Gangnam and to our home sweet home for the next couple weeks: Noblesse Yeoksam Hotel. If any of you read my last blog from my first trip, you'll be familiar with this place and all of its ridiculously awesome charms. The room we are getting this time however will be even larger than my already stupid large room last time, since it will have two beds! I'm excited to check out our room :) Jess will be staying for two weeks, but I'll be staying for three weeks, so once she departs I'll move into my own smaller room once again. 

So back to today. After packing, and unpacking, and repacking for hours, I FINALLY reached the point where I . . . just dumped my whole suitcase out on the floor in frustration because this was just so not working for me T.T It's incredible how much space things take lol. At long last though, I have a semblance of packing perfection! This is so deja vu from my last trip, it's kiiiiiiiind of freaking me out. . .

I'll have my giant suitcase from my last trip to Korea, with a smaller suitcase inside of it. That smaller one is the one I packed, so upon arrival in the Land of Kimchi I will have a whole glorious suitcase (!!!) for me to fill up with all sorts of awesome things. Yes Jeff, I will look for kimchi kit kats & yes kally dongsaeng, I will bring you some cute new earrings for you to rock after we get your ears done :D 

That's all for tonight folks, I'm really really excited to be starting another amazing adventure with you guys! This will be the second trip to Seoul so I hopefully won't be as completely and utterly lost as I was the first time. This could a drawback though, since a lot of the most awesome places I found/ran into were discovered when I was lost. I'm actually kind of worried I won't be able to find some of these places again hahah. Guess we'll just have to get lost & find some new ones ^.^ Good night! 안녕히 주무세요!

안녕히 주무세요 -> ahn-young-hee-choo-moo-say-yoh -> Good night

(I'll try to keep up with my random Korean teachings again as this blog progresses cuz it was fun & some people told me they actually were learning the words I was posting. With a trip half as short as my last one however, this might not always happen >.< Fair warning. 미안해!)