I was out in the rain today.

Not out to get soaked out, no. Like, under a roof outside, watching the rain fall out. It's a nice out. =)

I went to Itaewon, like I said. Definitely the ghetto. But there were more foreigners there, like Hongdae. More Black Americans from what I saw.

I walked around the the ghetto streets by one of the subway exits, wondering where were all the shopping places were. I found a Catholic Church not too far along, which was nice. It is next to an elementary school. Come to think of it, this past Sunday, when I tried to find the Catholic Church in Hongdae but arrived at a Presbyterian Church instead, one of the workers there told me that the Catholic Church is next to an elementary school as well...why are they next to elementary schools? Starting young? o_O

In any case, I decided to rest at a Cold Stone back on the main street to gather my surroundings when in front of the store I saw a huge building named the Hamilton Shopping Center. Ah, so that's where all the shopping places are....

So I went in, and although not as crazy shopaholic as Myeongdong, it's a nice department store. Reminds me of JC Penny or something, the way it's set up. Relatively cheap stuff. Plenty of cute clothes, tons of bags, jewelry, and all sorts of miscellaneous things. And here, I finally bought a wallet, yay. I wasn't in a big shopping mood, and I should probably wait until I move into the dorms anyway, so I don't have to worry about carrying more than I need to.

After I got bored with the place, I decided to head to another park I read about called Olympic Park. From the pictures I saw, it looked like a really pretty and nice place.

And it is. But it rained about an hour or two after I got there....so I didn't really get to see much. Olympic Park is not so much of a couple spot as Seoul Forest. It caters more to the athletic. Saw quite a few joggers. As a whole, the park isn't just the green garden, trees, and lake in the middle of the place, it also includes two gymnasiums, a swimming pool building, a museum, and plenty of other rec centers, I'm sure.

When I found the mini lake in the middle of the park, I settled myself on the huge stair structure in front of it to draw the scenery, but before I got a chance to finish, the rain started. At first, it was the sprinkle sprinkle, that I ignored but hoped to God, wouldn't be the downpour that could begin at any minute. Unfortunately, the rain insisted it would completely turn on, so I had to abandon my spot to find shelter.

On the plus side, the weather is so much more cooler when it rains. You could sit outside during a downpour, and it feels like 70 degrees. Pleasant. Not the kind of rain I'm used to in Oakland, where the wind bites and the rain freezes. >.<

I have enjoyed exploring these places this past week, albeit very limited as I didn't want to stray too far from a subway exist less I lost my way and get lost. Tomorrow and Friday, I'll be in Hongdae for Orientation and Registration. And finally, Saturday, I'm moving into the dorms! So excited. 

I think before the end of this week, though, I'll upload all the pics I've taken so far here in Seoul. On this blog, I'll probably do just a big pic spam post of the highlights of my adventures with some captions. And hopefully from then on, I'll write future posts with pictures to go with it, to keep things consistent.