I have a camera!

There seems to be something about Western body hair that fascinates Koreans. In addition to my students' inability to keep from touching my arm hair when I'm not looking, as I was purchasing a camera at Yongsan today, the effeminate clerk assisting me demonstrated the detail of which my particular model is capable by taking close-up photos of the hair on my hands and face.

Afterward I went to Itaewon, the foreigner/club/fashion district, to set up the two-plus-month-long process of ordering a book (Manga Studio for Dummies, which I should have just asked my parents to ship over before they sent me stuff), and walked around the fashion markets for a while, accosted on all sides by pushy tailors. I have been hoping to get a replica made of the Doctor's suit, so I allowed one to pull me into his store, and with his broken English he talked endlessly, refusing to let me leave. He insisted I tell all my friends about his store, and wouldn't allow me to go without giving him my name and phone number. Looking back, it was probably so that he'd remember me and give me the same price offered in case I returned, but at the time I was confused and mildly frightened at his persistence, so I scribbled my name illegibly, mumbled that I had to go, and scarpered while he was puzzling over the letters.

Strangely, one of the pushy suit-sellers I passed by chose to accost me (me specifically, nobody else) in French. So I responded with a "Non, merci," which led him to draw me into conversation, asking where I was from. I don't think he expected an answer; he was probably just trying to have some fun by confusing the foreigners. I haven't met any Koreans who speak French, and nobody at all with a reason to.

One thing that Korean merchants can't seem to understand is this:
You cannot haggle over hat size.

7 1/4 is not an acceptable replacement for 7 5/8. I cannot adjust the size of my head to suit their stock. Price is negotiable. Head size is fixed. But they don't seem to understand that, and the notebook in which I write and draw things that I can't say in Korean has pages filled with Korean merchant-written alternative suggestions to my large-print, circled "7 5/8". I oblige them by putting their tiny hats on top of my crown, and they always seem genuinely astonished that they won't fit. I shall continue to look when the opportunity arises, however... surely there is one haberdasher in Seoul who understands the needs of "big-size" customers.

Meanwhile, I have a camera! Hooray! Pictures of my apartment come now.

Here is the Great Hall and kitchen.


Below we have the living room. Note the convenient proximity to the bedroom.


And here we have my office, elaborately furnished and decorated, of course.


And here's the view: Gangseo-gu at night.


That's all I've got for now. Good night!