My Life Adventures: South Korea

Anneyeonghaseyo!

My time in South Korea was relaxing, enjoyable, and happy. As always when visiting a foreign country, I got lost, I used a lot of gestures, I had many battles with bees, was reminded several times of my single status, and I stopped many times to think about how amazing it was to be standing where I was standing.

I can't tell you how thrilled I was to go to South Korea. The second I stepped off the plane I was so happy to hear people speaking Korean all around me! An unexpected benefit to watching the Korean dramas is that I could actually understand random phrases such as "Are you okay" "Over here" "What to do" "excuse me" and some greetings, and apologies. Like Japanese, I couldn't speak it to save my life, but I could understand a small amount.

Daejeon

Transportation: I flew into Seoul but went straight to a train station and took it to Daejoen to meet my friend Melissa. After some confusion on my part because I forgot to write half the directions down (leave it to me) I met my friend Melissa and off we went to her apartment.

The shower head is
up at the top. You
can take it off, which
is one advantage.

Lodging: I stayed with Melissa, Mike, and their adorable three legged dog, Lady. Their apartment was much bigger than mine in Japan. Her and her husband Mike even had a Keg-o-rater. Beer is always a great welcome. The only thing that I did not care for much was the shower arrangement.

Apparently a lot of bathrooms in S.K. have showers that are right in the middle of the bathroom. I tried so hard not to spray towels or the toilet, but it was pretty impossible. If someone else needed to use the toilet later, special bathroom slippers were used so you wouldn't get your feet wet stepping in someone else's shower water.

Eating at a restaurant. Korean food has a lot of flavor and is so good.

In Daejeon I...

Sipping Iced Tea at a Cat Cafe

I mostly just hung out with Melissa and Mike and relaxed.
had my skirt get stuck up in the back and two little old ladies stop and tell me. Yikes.
went to a Cat Cafe where you order coffee and play with cats
shopping
ate real Bing Soo and other wonderful Korean food that I don't remember the name of
met and hung out with several of their friends.
I was also grateful to Melissa because she took me in to her classroom and let me observe a lesson.
watched a bunch of people get seriously scared of Lady, who was a tiny and only had three legs. I have no idea what the thought she was going to do...
Played "Go Stop" a traditional Korean card game. I didn't win, but hey, at least I got to play. The only thing missing was the head flicking. For some reason no one wanted me to flick their head. ;)

Melissa, Mike, and Lady standing
in a field of wildflowers

Road Trip and a stop in Gyeongju
"Stop Mike! There is a bee in the car!" Poor Mike had to pull over on a busy highway so that we could let the bee out. And...it wasn't a bee. That's embarrassing.

We went to an adorable place and saw some beautiful sites. There were little hills that were actually grassy tombs. There was a lot of plant life and I even braved the bees to walk through wildflowers. Well worth it. I only waved my hands and took off running a couple of times.

Buscan
Buscan is a city in the southern part of South Korea. It is a beach town as well as a city. I love the ocean so this was my favorite place that I went to. If I were to live in South Korea, this is where I would go.

View from the hostel

Eating fried chicken, sitting under an umbrella, and
hang out with amazing friends. It is a good life.

They sell Fried Chicken at the beach! People walk up and down selling boxes of it. Brilliant.

We swam and got sunburned.
We drank a delicious margarita at a local bar and then went to a hamburger place that overlooked the water and the Gwangan Bridge
I stayed in the nicest hostel I have ever been in. The manager of the hostel actually went to a convenience store for me because my cell phone battery died! And then he emailed me after I left to tell me how glad he was that I stayed with them.
I met some really sweet girls who took me with them to a Dog Cafe.
Mike and Melissa took off to go to Jeju Island,so we said our goodbyes and I went walking along the beach for hours. I'm seriously meant to live near the ocean.

Seoul

I enjoyed it, but it definitely would have been more fun if I had someone with me.

Lodging: I stayed in a hostel but the only room available was a single room, so I didn't meet anyone. The hostel owner was nice here as well. He took me out to dinner with a few of his friends. I even got a phone number and a card from a one of the friends who wanted to give me a tour of Seoul. I would have taken him up on it, but I wasn't really in the mood to fend off a guy for a free tour.

In Seoul I...

Namsan Tower. These are locks that
have been bought, mostly by couples
A message is written and then added.

Gyeonbok Palace

Walked down small alley ways to a restaurant I would never have found on my own. Fish shops and restaurants with only room for two or three people lined the alley.
Tried Soju! I poured it in beer like they do and barley refrained from the throaty "aaaaa" sound that they make.
Watched a small concert in Cheonggyecheon River. The voices were incredible. It was a very relaxing time. Just take your shoes off, put your feet in the water, and listen.
Ate a delicious pastry designed to look like poop.
Visited Gyeongbok Palace.
Went to Namsan Seoul Tower. 236 Meters up. It was rainy, but had a beautiful view.
Ate a Kimichi hot dog and washed it down with beer. It was freaking amazing!

Threw away a perfectly good ice cream cone because a black hornet was chasing me for it.
I went to a spa, got a very rigorous message from a lady in her 60's, sat in mineral water, went in a steam room with a bunch of talkative women, and lay down and watched a drama. The embarrassment of doing all this naked is well worth it.
I went to a theater and watched Step Up 3. It sounds lame but it was the first time I had gone to a theater since leaving for Japan.