Korea

We had Wednesday to Friday off last week in honor of Chinese National Holiday. Most of China gets the whole week off, but I won't complain too much! I decided to tag along with some of my friends to Korea. I'm glad I did - it was really fun.

We stayed with a friend, Yuri, and her parents ( the picture above is the view from their front yard) on Wednesday and Saturday nights, and we spent Thursday and Friday nights in Seoul. Seoul truly seems like the city that never sleeps. I've never seen so many people out during hours that most people should be at home sleeping. The two friends that I traveled with haven't been home (one to the US, the other to Australia) in a long time, so they were very happy to see western conveniences. The first thing we did was see a movie, unfortuately it was Mama Mia...the sing along version. Mom and Dad: if it ever comes to the Music Box I know you'll be first in line. Luckily no one at my theater was singing along. Despite my decision to take American Musical Theater in college (what???), I have never been one to enjoy musicals, especially if it isn't live. Anyway, I digress. We then spent the rest of the evening shopping--until 3am! Luckily stores in Chicago are not open that late, or else I would be in big trouble.

Thursday we headed to downtown Seoul and poked around at an old palace for awhile. It was crazy to see something very old, contrasted with the new buildings in the city. We also drove past the "blue house" where the president lives.

We spent the rest of the day just hanging out in Seoul and snacking. That night we went out for Indian food and headed for the bars/clubs. It was all going well until Alexis fell down around 4am and our night then concluded in the emergency room of the hospital. Alexis ended up with a bandaged ankle and some crutches.

The rest of the trip just involved roaming and shopping around the city, eating, drinking and mostly just hanging out. There were actually a bunch of Korean people that we knew from China there so we all met up at various points throughout the trip. The last night we sat up on the rooftop of Yuri's parents house and talked and drank Soju, the traditional drink of Korea and much better than Baijou. The next morning Yuri's mom made us breakfast and we were off to the airport.

It was a very short trip and went by very quickly, but I'm glad I had the opportunity to go. Korea is very beautiful and the people were very friendly. I suppose they could have been insulting me at the time and I wouldn't really know the difference. There are a lot of foreigners in Korea, which is way different than where I live in China. It's surprising if you see another foreigner on the streets in China, but Seoul is full of them. I already miss some of the luxuries it had to offer, such as real coffee and paper towels.

I'm trying to get out and see as much of the world as possible. It seems like there is a lot to learn from other people and customs and traditions. It's so interesting to see how other people live their lives. Not to mention I have seen some pretty beautiful places so far. I feel so fortunate that I have had as many opportunities as I have had to see, and now live in, new places. It is truly amazing to get out and see different pockets of the world. As for right now, I write in my cubicle area in the teacher offices, looking out the window at the rolling hills somewhere in my little city of Yantai.