And 10 kilometers later, I took a glorious shower.

Tonight I was feeling adventurous, so I decided to go for a run on the streets of Seoul.  (Smog-filled Seoul, you ask?  Yes!  The same!)  So I changed clothes, put my hair in knobbly little bun-pigtails, tied my key into my shoelaces, got my iPod and pepper spray, and was ready to roll.  I told Roommate Jake where I was going, as well as a timetable about when to start panicking if I didn't return.  "If you're not back in an hour or so, I'll just call your cell phone," he said.

Hmm.  Cell phone.  Good point.

So I got my cell phone, too.  But now I was carrying my iPod, pepper spray, and phone.  And that's kind of a lot to carry.  "Ooh...and what if something happens?  And I need to have some money?  And my ID?"  I thought.  So, being the street-wise safety queen (read: paranoid overpacker person) that I am, I threw everything in a small clutch purse and headed out.  Road, you are MINE!

I decided to head toward COEX, the huge shopping mall/convention center in our area.  I figured that if I could get to COEX and back, someone should give me a medal, because a) I am woefully out of shape, and b) it's about a ten- or fifteen-minute cab ride from my apartment to COEX.  But there's a lot of stuff in that direction, so I figured I'd at least start running that way.

"Run, run, run," I thought.  "Running!  Okay, but now my asthma's acting up.  Walking.  Walk walk walk.  Feeling like an idiot, what with my bun-pigtails and short shorts and tank top and sneakers, yet with no runningness to give purpose to such fashion absurdity."  [Y'all.  Did you know that Seoul-ese women dress up ALL THE TIME?  They always look awesome!  I'm pretty sure they sleep in high heels.]  So I ran and walked, alternatingly (attack of the made-up adverbs!!!) for a while.  And I found a Starbucks and a Coffee Bean, quite close to my apartment!  Who knew?  (There also was another Starbucks and a Holly's Coffee between me and COEX.  Geez, Korea!)

So I ran some.  And walked some.  And noted the interesting little restaurants and businesses along my way.  And it was lovely!  Except: no COEX.  COEX is Really Kind Of a Huge Place, so there were two possibilities.

a) It was farther away than I thought.

b) I went out the wrong subway exit, thus accidentally turning a corner, while going underground to cross the street.  BOLLOCKS.

But after I ran some more, I decided that it must have been b), because: STILL NO GIANT BEACON OF CONSUMERISM.  Eventually I came to a curve in the road, no way to cross the (very busy) street, and what looked like an overpass around the curve with unfriendlily-narrow sidewalks.  (SECOND attack of the made-up adverbs!!!)  I walked around a little hut/kiosk and found a man that worked there.  Well...from my perspective, I found the man that worked there.  From his perspective, he was snooken up upon by someone holding SOMETHING DARK IN THEIR HAND AAH A GUN I PUT MY HANDS UP oh.  It's just some red-faced waeguk girl with a purse and bun-pigtails.

Once he realized that I was not, in fact, trying to rob him, I sign-languaged and grunted my way through an inquiry about how/where to cross the street.  He laughed at me, pointed back toward where I came from, and smacked me on the arm playfully for being such a dolt.  So I decided that then would be a good time to turn around and head back.

The other side of the street was also interesting!  Among the most noteworthy sights:

1)  A gaggle of high-schoolers, just getting out of school.  AT TEN THIRTY PM.  Because the Korean education system is INSANE and SLAVE-DRIVERISH.

2)  Some establishment called "Greece."  Excited that I might have happened upon a Greek restaurant near my apartment, I tiptoed down the stairs and poked my head into the restaurant.  It was kind of fancy, and there was just one guy (who looked like a waiter) sitting within my line of sight.  So I speed-tiptoed back up the stairs before he saw me and tried to seat me.  I didn't want to be spotted...after all, I was a crazy, red-faced waeguk girl with ridiculous bun-pigtails.  (Have I mentioned that?)

3)  FREAKING COEX.  I somehow missed it.  I clearly need to watch more Burn Notice; my super-spy observation skillz are somewhat lacking.

After climbing, Rocky-like, the 13 flights to my apartment, I settled into Google Earth to figure out how far I'd gone.  (I'd been gone quite a while; it was even past Jake's prescribed "send a search party" time.  Way to look out for my safety, dear roommate.  GAH.)  I had noted the name of a big hotel near where I turned around, and...y'all.  Apparently I ran ALL THE WAY TO THE HAN RIVER.  That is 3.1 MILES AWAY from my apartment.  And THEN I RAN BACK.  (Again: walking intermittently, but no matter.  There were hills!  Also: I am slow!  I can hardly be faulted.  So hush up, Imagined Voice of Judgment.)

So apparently I did a 10k today.  By accident!  Amidst all the smog!  After not having gone running for....actually, it's really not important how long it's been!  Also, I did NOT get lost!  Despite being....myself!  This is clearly an occasion, if ever there was one, for gratuitous exclamation points and phrases parading as complete sentences.  I WIN.