I Be Shopping (July 2)

• I was shopping for shoes tonight (my poor $3 sandals from Claire's bit the dust in Insadong yesterday :/) and experienced what it was like to try to shop when you know nothing will fit you. My US size 9, Korea size 255, feet are outside of the norm here. Only just (many stores have up to 250), but definitely in the "we could order that for you" range. So I was left with the option of purchasing shoes that were slightly too small (not a huge deal, since they are sandals) - the next problem was that they were either too expensive or not what I wanted! Oy! Needless to say, I didn't buy any . BUT the experience itself was the interesting part. I've never had a problem with buying clothes. Okay, I do have a little problem finding pants that are the right length. But this isn't embarrassing for me, just annoying. Tonight, I was embarrassed as I went into stores and even left some apologizing (or wanting to) for not making a purchase. Apologizing! Because THEY didn't have my size! I realized this is what many overweight people must feel like at home. And what all normal-weight foreigners feel in Korea. It was really discouraging, frustrating and annoying. I don't have any monumental statement to say regarding fashion or body image; I just know it didn't make me want to shop anymore and I'm grateful I don't have to feel this way all the time.