palm sunday at myongdong

we got up early and found the subway deserted. the only people there were elderly men in suits and old women dressed for church, some in traditional hanbok attire. while never really the happiest place in seoul, the subway seemed particularly cold that morning.

and as always, we were the only ones laughing there. i've never seen koreans joke around in public like we do at home. it was fun running on this moving platform at sindang station and not bumping into anyone. siege, as always, attracted stares from sleepy koreans. he claims this to be his first performance in seoul. such masks are quite common, to protect people from your yucky germs if you're sick. lots of people bought them recently because there was a yellow dust storm from china that week.

and here's the obligatory turista shot that proves, yes, i was there at myongdong cathedral for palm sunday. we had been told that english mass would be at 9am. when we entered the cathedral, it was mostly empty save for elderly koreans huddled in the pews against the morning chill. a nice old gentleman passed around little piney fronds in lieu of the palaspas we have at home. we ended up hearing mass in korean, with all the "-eyos" and the "-imnidas." very solemn. and they sang the same traditional protestant hymns i heard growing up at citadel, except with korean lyrics. we found out later that english mass is never said at the cathedral, only in this tiny little chapel in some building beside the old church. we caught the last 2 minutes of the english mass and saw a mostly foreign crowd siksikan and tayuan. it was sad to see how much othering goes on here, even in houses of God.

we had breakfast at mcdonalds somewhere in myongdong. greasy fish sandwiches in commemoration of holy week, seemingly fresh orange juice and yogurt with sago served in long paper packets. this is the view from the second floor. it seems filipinos go to all these familiar places. if there were a jollibee here, it would be open 24/7 i think.

myongdong doesn't look very nice in these pictures but it looked pretty good that day because of all the signs that screamed 70% discount on shoes and clothes. good thing we went there with wallets virtually empty because any cash we had would have been spent in 15 minutes or less. it's hard to hang out all the time with a guy as interested in fashion and grooming as you are.


it took a few shots to get this pose right. he's supposed to look homesick here, not gassy. in one shot he was chewing on his fingernails. not a good sight before or during or after breakfast. it turned out okay, i think. below is me and my fat face, enjoying the last bite of my fishy sandwich.