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Things like this line the streets. I went for a longer walk today. I decided to stop in one of the restaurants where Starrlite explained the menu to me. It's a tiny little place that's open 24 hours. I had a stone pot with rice, vegetables, bean sprouts, and something spicy. It was pretty good. Then I went to a couple of places looking for 115v to 220v converters so I could use some of the American things I brought with me. Electronic tooth brush, beard trimmer, etc. I found an electronics store with one guy that knew some English. He didn't understand what I was asking for, so I knelt down and unplugged something in the store and via sign language and using the item as a prop, I demonstrated a converter. When he finally figured out what I was saying he said "No, we don't have one." I tried a couple more places and no luck. The walk was great though. I found a couple of subway stops and once again, a ton of restaurants! This place is loaded with restaurants. I saw a 10 foot bowling pin with an arrow pointing behind a building. I followed the arrows and it took me to a Korean bowling alley! I checked it out and it seemed to be league day. Lots of people bowling with the same shirts, etc. You know, American bowling leagues have tons of fat dudes. None of these guys were fat. I kept walking and found the largest grocery store I've seen so far and went in to check it out. Normally when I go into a place, the person says something in Korean and I just smile and bow. This place someone said "Hello, how are you doing?" in perfect English. I was taken aback for a moment and struck up a conversation with him. His name is Kim and he and I had a nice chat. He told me about an electronics store called E-Mart that wasn't far. He showed me a map and even wrote a note in Korean that I could give to a taxi driver. I was about to catch a cab, but decided to keep walking because I hadn't finished seeing this one side of the street. Boy-o-boy am I glad I did that. I found another store and they had the converters! Weeeeee! I bought a couple things and decided to exit out the side just to see what was in the alley. Once again, a sweet move. I stepped into an alley that was like it's own farmer's market for a couple blocks. The street was lined with people selling fresh vegetables, fruits, and miscellaneous items. I bought some sweet big ass peaches and tried to order a slice of cow in the form of a steak from one place. I tried to use hand signals to say I wanted one thick slice, but before it was all over, I had 4 thin slices and owed the lady 27,000 won. She probably just toyed with the stupid American. On the way home, I passed ladies sitting on the sidewalk on blankets with bowls and buckets full of fruits and vegetables. I swear one of them was almost 100 years old. It was actually very cool to witness. You could just tell that these ladies have been doing this a very long time. I went home and had 2 slices of beef with frozen crinkled French fries that I bought at my local store. I didn't have anything to spice up the meat, so I just flipped it a couple times and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. It was actually pretty good. Nice and tender and very fresh. What I learned today about Korea: 1) There might be 2.5 million people in Daegu, but there's 100 billion restaurants. 2) I need to learn how to order sliced meat in Korean before I end up buying a whole cow.
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