This little piggy went to market

After a brief adventure with the dry cleaner (she held up my shirt asking "dry?" I thought she meant, "do you want dry cleaning or just laundering and pressing?" whereas she actually meant, "for dry cleaning, right? Boy, this would be easier if you spoke a word of my language." So when I said, "No dry," she laughed hysterically and explained to me, I think, that this was a dry cleaner and that was all they did. So I nodded and said, "Oh, okay. Yes dry." I have no idea what my shirts will look like when I pick them up. End parenthetical.), I decided to make today a market day. I didn't really want to buy anything, but I like the hectic feel of markets, and Seoul apparently has some of the best. First I went to Namdemun market, which is sort of like an enormous version of the Chelsea flea market. Just row after row of people hawking their wares, yelling at you to come and buy whatever it was they were selling. Lots of clothes on sale, as well as jewelry, cookware, leather goods, electronics, sunglasses and all kinds of food. They sell ginseng wine, with the root still inside the jar. It looks sort of like an enormous squid preserved in honey-colored formaldehyde. I also saw (but did not purchase) a great array of Korean doggy treats.

The highlight, however, came when I bargained for my belt. I'd like to point out that a) I'm a terrible bargainer and b) I haven't taken negotiation at HLS yet and c) I don't speak any Korean. Nevertheless, I needed a brown belt, I saw a brown belt, and I purchased a brown belt. The asking price was 12,000 won, and I got it for 10,000 (1000 won is a buck and change). An enormous moral victory for yours truly. Maybe I can skip the class and just start teaching negotiation next year.