countdown again

The road to a friend's house is never long.
Monday after work I got to the airport as fast as I could to meet Terrell at the international arrivals gate. As fast as I could turned out to be a three hour subway ride. But when I saw him for the first time in almost a year, there in the dim, empty airport it was all worth it. I had one of those dramatic, surreal moments where I couldn't believe I was really looking at him, standing right there in front of me, in Korea of all places.

It was almost midnight so we took a cab most of the way back to my place. And he was here for almost a week. There were a lot of differences between Terrell's visit and my brothers' visit. Ryan and Corey mostly came just to see me. They learned a few phrases in Korean and found their way around and were so brave. I was really proud of them. But Terrell took it to the next level. He came to experience Korea and really tried to assimilate as much as he could in the short time he was here. He learned some Korean (with a great accent), wore a face mask to prevent getting H1N1, and even went with me to the jjimjilbang. He also had more patience with me than my brothers did, but I guess that's because brothers are allowed to be needy.

Thursday was Thanksgiving. I decided to forego any attempt at making a traditional Thanskgiving meal, because it could never live up to the home-cooked stuff and all those holiday feelings I've accepted I'm going to miss this year. Also, as the thing I'm most grateful for this year is my decision to run away to Korea, I couldn't resist the symbolism of a sit-on-the-floor Korean BBQ in place of turkey and stuffing. Luckily Thanksgiving isn't a big deal to Terrell, so he understood and supported the sentiment.

On Friday morning we went to the Folk Village, which is hands down the best place to take visitors. I have great memories of taking the boys there, and going with Terrell was just as memorable. There are a bunch of small restaurants and a large outdoor cafeteria to grab authentic Korean meals or just snacks. Terrell and I were in the village long enough to do both. We strolled around endlessly, never running out of things to see and talk about (we had a lot of catching up to do, after all).

That evening, we unexpectedly pulled an all-nighter that I would rather erase from my memory, Eternal Sunshine style. In a nutshell, we got really lost. Six hours, one molestation by a cab driver, one feeding of an orange to a different cab driver, several frantic phone calls and one miraculous discovery of trains running at 5:30 AM later, and we made it to the USO just in time to catch our tour bus to the DMZ. However, Terrell will spend the rest of my life reminding me how badly I handle stressful situations in a foreign country.

A couple weeks back I toured the War Museum in Seoul and learned a lot more about the Korean War than I had known the first time I saw the DMZ. So this weekend I had a whole new appreciation for what I was looking at and got closer to North Korea than ever before. But my favorite part was still the tour guide, PFC Coleman, an adorable soldier fresh out of AIT. I think we must have been his first ever tour group. It was a foggy day so we didn't get to see much. I'm really grateful I went on a clear day my first time.

The tour ended around 3pm, and we were home by around 5, passed out from exhaustion. I still wanted to cram in a little more Korean culture for Terrell before his flight on Sunday, so we decided to walk around as much of Hwaseong Fortress as time allowed. When we got to the top, I went up the steps of the last lookout point, the one I'd been saving for my final visit to the wall. Looking out at the foggy view from the top, I felt an amazing sense of closure. I think I'll always wish we'd had the time to make one last go around, for both of our sakes.

For the ultimate Korean experience, we decided to squeeze in an abridged trip to the jjimjilbang. Terrell was (understandably) too intimidated to do the full-on naked scrub, but we spent time together in the saunas, restaurant and lounge. That's what I love most about the bathhouse anyway - getting to just hang out there with my friends, wearing our matching uniforms. Then, after a relaxing chair massage while sipping lemonade tea, it was time for my amazing friend to leave. I waited with him at the airport-bus stop and was sad to see him go.

home

Ryan and Corey did so much during their short stay here. Their very first day they ventured out to the Hwaeseong Fortress. I stayed with them for a while, but had to leave early to go to work. They miraculously found their way back to Dongtan, and I came home to find them passed out on their makeshift beds on my floor (somehow we all squeezed into my tiny apartment for a week).

The next day I didn't have to work until late in the afternoon, so I spent almost the whole day with them at the Folk Village. I hadn't been there since winter when everything was covered in snow. I was so grateful to have the whole day with them there. We had a blast. That's really the best place to take visitors in Korea.

On Saturday I tried to squeeze in as much touristy stuff as I could, which I now regret. The boys and I were so exhausted and grumpy from public transportation, walking, and being lost all day. The day started out well. We took the bus to Gangnam, ate breakfast, and went to a little cafe with Dr. Fish. The fish freaked me out, but the boys enjoyed having their feet nibbled.

From Gangnam we went to the palace. Not much to say there. I don't think the boys were impressed after I told them it wasn't the original palace, that the real one had been destroyed and rebuilt many times. I was never too impressed with the big palace. I like the smaller with the secret garden better. I kind of wish we'd done that one instead.

We hopped from touristy place to touristy place. Seodaemun Prison (which was cool as ever). Namdaemun market. Cheonggye stream. Eventually we ended up at a cute little guest house in Insadong, the traditional part of town. I was lucky to find a cheap place in such a great location. There was a shared bathroom, kitchen, and living space, but we had a private room with three beds.

On Sunday we took it easy. We were all tired and only wanted to relax. We took in a view of Seoul from atop the 63 Building. Then we made our way to COEX Mall, where we played board games for a few hours in a little board game shop. There were small groups of friends just sitting around ordering up different games from a menu, playing, and ordering another. Such an awesome way to spend a few hours. At one point Corey even asked, "Why don't we have these at home?"

Then we watched Transformers 2 together on the big screen - just like old times at home, only with Korean subtitles. We ate dinner at On the Border, but the boys couldn't appreciate how much Western restaurants cost. The awesomeness of Mexican food in Korea was lost on them.

Ultimately, I was really tired at the end of their visit from speaking so much Korean. I'm so used to relying on my friends to share the task of communicating with people here. With my brothers I was the only one who knew any Korean, so I was in charge of everything. But it was worth it. At times the boys expected me to know more Korean than I do, but I think in the end they saw just how difficult foreigner life can be.

The boys didn't get to see everything I'd hoped, but they had quite an adventure. I wish they could have stayed longer. I miss them terribly. As I watched them ride away on the airport bus at the end of their visit, my heart sank knowing I wouldn't see them again for six months. My heart is still pretty sunk.

On a happy note, I booked a ticket to Beijing today. I'm definitely going! The flight was incredibly cheap, but the tourist visa for Americans is extremely expensive. It's three times as much as for visitors from any other country. The Chinese hate us.

And guess what? It just so happens my dad will also be in Beijing for the first few days of my vacation on one of his work trips. The timing couldn't be better. This means I'm going to see the Great Wall of China with my dad! So, although saying goodbye to my brothers made me so homesick this week, knowing I'll see Dad in seven weeks makes everything okay.

lunar new year

It's the Korean New Year and so I had a four-day weekend. It was such a nice break, we did and saw a lot.

On Saturday I went into Seoul with my friend Tom. We went to the 63 Building, which is on an island on the Han River. There was an awesome aquarium with penguins, sea otters, a giant sea turtle, seals, sea lions, and doctor fish, which eat the dead skin off your fingers and feet. The 63 Building also had something called Sky Art, an art gallery on the top floor with cool art and a great view of the city. Its claim to fame is that it's apparently the highest art gallery in the world.

Then we met up with Patrick and Alex, a friend from work. Her mom and aunt are visiting from Canada and we came along as she showed them around. We had dinner in a nice Italian restaurant in Seoul and wandered around the big shopping district called Myeongdong. Alex tried her best to find a place that sold boots in my size. As you can see in the pictures, there is a lot of snow in Korea right now. My feet are big by Korean standards so it's hard/on the verge of impossible to find shoes.

On Sunday I didn't do much. But Monday Tom and I went back into Seoul to meet up with the same group. We went to Namsan, which is a mountain right in the middle of the city. It had the most adorable thing, a lookout point with thousands of "love locks" attached to the chain-link fence. There are pictures in the slideshow. It was so sweet to see Patrick and Alex add their lock to all the rest. Namsan also has Seoul Tower, which is round and has a pretty cool 360 view of the city. There was a steep and scary climb up and down the mountain. After Namsan we went to Gyeongbok Palace. I didn't see the whole thing. I'll be going back when it's warmer so I can enjoy it without freezing.

Traveling is like flirting with life. It’s like saying, ‘I would stay and love you, but I have to go; this is my station.’

Today we all went to the Korean Folk Village, about a 20 minute bus ride outside of Dongtan. It's basically a living museum that shows how life used to be in traditional Korea. It's a huge park with too much to see and do in one day, so I'm definitely going back at least a couple more times once it's warmer. It's broken up into sections with replicas of traditional houses of the different social classes (commoners, farmers) and merchant buildings (blacksmith, potter).

It was really my favorite thing so far. I wrote earlier about how Koreans today mostly live in apartment high-rises, but this is what Korea would be like now if it weren't so overpopulated. Walking around was like going back in time and there were fun performances to watch, like the Farmers' Dance, a stunt horse show, and acrobatics. There was a traditional street market and restaurants. It was like the Renaissance Fair, only Korea instead of England.

I'm so beat. I have a feeling the next three days at work will be a bit hectic, as I have to do all my grading and make report cards. Till next time, love you all!