#122013

[escapismrp]

122013. christmas party in WM. #invitation #rp #122013

[islamcenter]

فن التربية " أستشارة عن الأكتئاب 1-2-2013

فن التربية " أستشارة عن الأكتئاب 1-2-2013

[livelyseoul]

29.12.2013

This was the last day of our trip to Japan, since our flight was on the next morning. We didn't plan anything specific for that day. It was more like the day we would spend all of our Japanese currency, since we didn't want to exchange any money when we got back to Seoul. We didn't even bring lots of money, just enough to cover transportation fees and food and other small things. For the rest, we would use our credit cards, because running around with lots of cash is not a thing I feel quite comfortable with.

So we went to Araiyakushi-mae Station and took the subway to Seibu-Shinjuku Station where Japan's Korea Town (Shin-Okubo) is located. I spent a lot of money on K-pop merch the other day, so I didn't buy anything there. We saw a lot more here and I guess it was too much, so I couldn't really decide on what to buy, even if I had the intention to buy stuff. It was more like walking around and the feeling there is so different to Tokyo. It was really like walking around in Seoul, because of the street food we saw there, and also they played music on the streets, which is not Japanese style. Also the clothes sold there and the cosmetics, the food, everything was Korean and Korea style and the people there behaved more like Koreans, even though they all spoke Japanese. It is indeed Tokyo's Korea Town!

After strolling around there for some time we went to Shinjuku on a real shopping spree. I found a lot of clothes for myself. Not really a lot, but compared to how much I would buy usually back home it was a lot. Ever since I'm abroad, I spent more money on myself, but that might be because I know I will never do that back home, not as long as I am student, and also, because my scholarship is huge. It is way too much to just spend on food and if I cut back on food (meaning eating a lot but not a lot of expensive food. You can have a meal for 15$ or 4$, that's your own choice. expensive doesn't always mean healthier or more delicious) I can spend it on other things. Like a short trip to Japan.

We also went to that one mall where you can buy lots of random, sometimes really weird stuff, and we went to Daiso as well. Daiso in Japan is different from the one in Korea, as here everything costs 105Yen exactly, which would be 1,000KRW or 1USD, but in Korea, there are different prices, as 2,000Won, 3,000Won etc. I bought stockings there because they were much cheaper than in Korea and also very pretty! I want to go back to Japan and go to Daiso and buy more stockings ;;

And so our day ended with a lot of shopping and going back to Motoe's house for dinner. Also, we had to be back early enough to pack and prepare for the flight back to Seoul.

If anything, I wished we had more time in Tokyo, since we saw a lot of the modern lifestyle, but I would have loved to see some traditional things and do some of them, like visiting a shrine and praying and eating more different Japanese food. It was a nice trip though, and I am very glad I decided to tag along. This short vacation wasn't really planned and just decided with the blink of an eye. In retrospect, I'm glad I spent Christmas there instead of staying in Seoul, even though I could have gone to EXO and f(x)'s concert in Ilsan, but experiencing Japan is a childhood dream come true and it is so much much more fun to go with a friend and have a local to show you places and explain things to you and I don't regret it at all, because as much as I love EXO, I do have a real life too and that doesn't involve them as much (except for the moments I listen to their songs and think of them and worry of them like I would do for my brother or sister bc they're young and dumb and I mean all of them and my siblings).

I could go on and explain what KPop means to me in this blog entry but I feel like it is a very personal thing, too, and none of you would want to know. I'll still say it, because this is a personal blog and if you don't want to know, don't read it. And if you feel offended and can't agree with me and think I'm silly, so be it. I am myself here and I will express myself here.

Sometimes I feel like I need to justify my reasons for being in Korea, but all I can say is: I started with Kpop, saw KDramas, read Korean manhwas and started to study Korean and Korean studies. Yes, I might be blended by all this pop culture (I think and hope I'm not), but I do see the dark sides and I know very well about the things Kpop fans tend to ignore. I learned History as well, Politics, things about society and developments in society and so I want to think that I am not only a Kpop fan but much more, someone who does care and someone who wants to know, to learn, to understand. While Kpop still plays some role in the reasons why I'm on this exchange year, it is also for myself to develop and mature, being in a foreign country, as well as for deepening my knowledge and graduate. And if you ask me if I want to live in Korea later, I will tell you no. Because my love for Kpop is not enough to make me stay, when I know that life in Germany is more secure and more stable. And Kpop will never have an influence so great to make me want to visit Korea constantly. I am fine with watching from afar and spend my money on more important things. It is only now, in my youth and on my exchange year, that I will indulge myself with all the immature fan things (or not bc I never went to any music shows bc why should I stand there and wait for several hours straight in hope to catch a glimpse of an idol??).