Each of these pictures is from my visit to the Namdaemn Market. I only knew that it was a place to see, but had no idea how huge it really was. This second picture is one of the 8!! gates leading into the market! And what a really terrific place!The first picture is of a male shop keeper, dressed in one of his "for sale" dresses, standing on a mound of clothes he had just brought out. He was calling all the ladies to come and see these clothes from "America" and come they did. You see only a small number of ladies that made a mad dash to the pile. Even as I left about 2 hours later, more clothes were out and ladies were still sorting through.
The last two pictures are of a guy who showed me the "knock-off" purses in his stall. The one of him holding the dust cloth and a purse is after I had asked about a purse to which I was attracted. He was honest enough to say that the bag had
been on its hook near the top of a huge group for almost 5 years. He brought it down with a stick and he was right. The top of the purse was covered with dust as well as a pair of needle nosed pliers he had been looking for forever! We both laughed and laughed. And we both won! He sold me the purse for less than $10 and he got his pliers back! He went out to the street to dust the purse for me, as the inside was in perfect shape and spotless. Only the outside needed to be cleaned.The second photo of this man is from inside the stall, modeling another purse that I loved. There will be many more visits, so I came home with my special bargain!
This market was a crazy place. So much stuff, including shoes, clothes, tons of bedding, food and jewlery. My senses were on overload. So much to see that the 2 hours went quickly. I know I will go back each time I am in Seoul just for the
rush of the noise, color, and adventure. I took so many side streets that wound in and out. I just somehow felt that I would never get lost as long as I remembered "Gate 5". These markets are common through out the world. This is just the tip of "my iceberg", I know.This visit pretty much ended my time in Seoul. I left around 12:3o PM on Friday and arrived home around 4:30 at my little apartment.
My day (Tuesday) has me going through my normal routine of rising, without benefit of the alarm clock (what a switch from the US) and getting ready for my 2 adult classes at 10 AM.
Thank you again for all your feedback. Something weird happened yestercday with a picture that you were seeing when you logged in. All has been fixed, so
things should be back to normal on the blog.The kids here are still on their summer vacation until about August 27, so we don't have as many children at the school as we normally would. Many children are involved in travel with their families. It is not unusual for a child to say they are going to China, Japan, or Australia. Countries that we would dream about visiting in the US are sort of second nature to people here. One of my adult students visited the Phillipines and someone is always saying they went to "an island" for their vacation. Very motivating environment here!
And lastly, two good friends are taking off in the next few weeks for adventures of their own. Carla is headed for Ghana to work and Betsy is headed for multiple places in Africa, as well, for volunteering and travel. Best to both of you! Keep us posted and I will include your travels here.
