Host Familes, Hongdae, and COEX Mall
- Lia <3
- Mar 9, 2022
- 3 min read
Lianna and I arrived at our host fmily's house and each got our own rooms!
< Me and Lianna in her room
Our beds had these heating pads on them, which was really nice because it gets very cold at night.
I was really lucky to get a window that overlooks the whole city! It's so gorgeous.
^ Here's a little room tour!
After we settled in, Lianna and I decided to go back to Hongdae because it was just so fun. We also wanted to buy a couple things and thought it'd be the perfect spot to do so.
Along the way, we found birthday messages in the Subway for our the lovely Wendy of Red Velvet... >
And Hobi! <3
We also found a children's park and played on the swings for a bit. There's a lot of playgrounds and exercise parks scattered throughout Seoul
We found a really nice cafe in Hongdae and were able to escape the cold. The barista was so friendly, too! I had ordered a sweet potato latte, and explained my peanut allergy to her. She found out that the ingredients might have had contact with peanuts, so she recommended me a green tea latte instead, and it was absolutely divine. I'd actually never had a latte--not to mention a green tea latte--so overall, it was a really great experience.
^ The view from our window booth in the cafe
After shopping a bit, we had lunch at a 만두집, a dumpling restaurant, and had some amazing fresh dumplings.
It was also our first time ordering a meal completely in Korean, which was really cool.
The restaurant was really tiny and cute on the inside, and if you could see right into the kitchen from where we were sitting.
It seemed to be very popular for to-go orders, too because we saw a lot of delivery guys coming in and out of the restaurant.
^ Our assorted 만두 (아주 맛있었어요!! ~ It was so delicious!)
The next day, I met up with Ruby at COEX Mall. I was able to spend some time in the Starfield Library before we started our shopping adventure.
There are a lot of photo-op stations inside and outside of stores in the mall.
Shopping was really fun, but I have to say the aquarium exceeded all of my expectations.
One funny thing that happened at the aquarium was since it was near valentine's day, the ticket booth adveritised a "couple's discount."
Being the budgeted students we were, Ruby and I decided to tell the staff worker that we were a couple and were wondering if we could get the couple discount.
BUT it wasn't that easy. They told us we had to PROVE that we were a couple by standing on this heart on the floor in the middle of the room and CONFESSING to eachother.
I admire Ruby SO MUCH after this experience because she did not hesitate for a second. She goes, "Okay," and just belts so EVERYONE can hear:
"사랑해요!!! 사랑해!!!!"
I was taken aback because I thought we were just going to be chill about the whole 'public confession thing' but nope. I froze and Ruby looks at me and says, "What's wrong? You don't want to say it back to me!?"
And I just yell back:
"사랑해~"
And we both just bursted out laughing. We got our discounted tickets, and had a really fun time inside!
Like some other aquariums I've been to, this one had stations to stamp on your guide/map.
It was a cute little souvenir to keep!
We came at feeding time, so we were lucky to watch the little prairie dogs get their dinner! Also, the person feeding the animals put tiny carrots on their head, which was adorable. The prairie dogs also didn't seem to mind.
These little polls were hung throughout the exhibits. This one is asking:
"Friends before lovers?" (left)
OR
"Lovers before friends?" (right)
Apparently, being lovers before friends is a lot more popular amoung Korean couples.
This one is asking:
"Has 10 billion in assets but is cheating on me" (left)
OR
"Has 10 billion in debt, but only has eyes for me" (right)
I like how honest these answers are!
That concluded our trip to the aquarium!
갈 만해요! - It's worth going!
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