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Friday - Monday
Jun. 2nd, 2008 02:48 pmFriday was sort of a blah day. I had cramps and was so drained from the DMZ and the late night talking to people that I moved at a really slow pace. We had to move rooms that day so we did that first thing, then we went for a walk around jong-myo. I kept whining that I was hot and tired so we didn't spend much time there. Then we decided to go to Namdae-Mun Market, which was a lot of fun and we got some fun shirts with bad English on them. After the market we got back to the guesthouse and chatted with people, which was fun in itself.
Saturday morning I got up around 9 and was hanging out when this guy asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I decided I had a couple hours to kill so I said sure. I got to see the expensive house and a nice little park. Then we went to lunch and debated American lifestyle. After the walk I ironed my dress and got ready while Serinia disappeared. We had to leave at 2:30 to be on time and she showed up at that time having gotten her hair done. She quickly got ready and then we were off to the Gimpo (Kimpo) airport where the wedding was.
We showed up right before the ceremony started having asked many people if we were going the right way to get to the wedding hall. I had no idea what was going on in the ceremony but it was weird that everyone talked through the whole thing. After the ceremony there were lots of pictures to be taken, one of which was full of the friends of the bride and groom. After that we were supposed to go to the traditional ceremony but were rather ushered to the banquet hall instead. The food was good and traditional. We sat with Sun's little sister and her cousin on one side and on the other side was a couple of Sun's friends here in Korea.
After the meal we were wandering around talking to people when two guys, one in perfect English, told us we should go with them which made both Serinia and I laugh. Then Jonghyeon's father told us it was OK, that all the friends would go to the same place. We with them and soon were joined by a couple other friends of Jonghyeon. People were assigned cars and we were off to a bar about a mile away. Most of the people at this event were school friends of Jonghyeon. There were only two other women there and they were both in the physics department. There were lots of people to talk to, most of whom spoke English.
Through the night I talked about history a lot, which was a nice change. First I talked to the guy that lived in Minnesota and was trying to decide where to go for his post-doc work. I tried to convince him that Minnesota was the place to go but that is because I thought he was cute. He said he liked Minnesota so maybe I convinced him. Ha! Then I talked to this guy that told me to call him D.J. He wasn't in physics, he did something like a pre-law degree and ended up in the Air Force. He really liked hearing about Europe, he loved classical music and wanted to know if I had been to a concert in Europe anywhere. This whole conversation took place over another guy that was sitting between us. A few times I tried to change spots with him but he didn't want to. Serinia pointed out later he had a good view of my cleavage the whole time.
Then there was the guy that was in sales in Hong Kong. He was very cute and was telling me about his problem finding a good Korean girl because he wasn't in Korea often. Actually most of the guys there were single and Serinia and I kept making fun of them because they would huddle up together and completely ignore the women there. The last guy I chatted with was the guy with the English accent. This wasn't an upper crust accent, it was more of a cockney accent, which was so very funny. This guy was a huge flirt and kept hitting on me which was OK but made it so I couldn't talk to the guy I had a crush on. Serinia talked to a different set of people and has funny stories too.
Soon it was almost midnight and that is when the subway closes here. The guy with the English accent lived near the guesthouse we were staying at so Sun and Jonghyeon decided that he would make sure we got home safe in a taxi. I was sad because I wanted to take the train home with my crush, who had oddly enough taken the same train with us on the way to the wedding but didn't say anything despite recognizing the invitation. I decided to be bold and I gave him my email address in case he did come to Minnesota. Then we were put into a taxi and driven to the guesthouse, though because of the protests going on many roads were closed. Then we went to bed.
I didn't wake up until noon on Sunday (the new room has a tiny window that doesn't let any light in) and I was pretty slow moving. It was really hot and I was so tired from talking so much the night before. Around 2 pm we went to Gyeongbok-gung and the National Folklore museum and then we sort of wondered around. We then went to dinner with this girl from the guesthouse, Rachel, that is in Korea until August doing an internship. For some reason everything was closed (I guess because it was Sunday) so it took a while to find a place that was open but once we did it was good. Then we sat and talked until late and went to bed.
This morning I got up at 8 and we were out of the building by 9. We took the subway to Dongducheon where Camp Casey is. It is about an hour from where we are staying. I figured this would be an all day outing but the whole area is much different than Serinia remembered. The US army has reduced their numbers in Korea and so we saw a lot of empty building. I did get to see where Serinia lived and where she worked (both empty) along with the curb she hit and blew out her tires. We were trying to find her favorite restaurant but it started pouring out and when we found it the restaurant was closed. So back to Seoul we went.
Now we are just sort of waiting to go home. We are mostly packed and all the postcards are mailed (sorry some are really lame). Tonight we are going to Seoul Tower and tomorrow morning we have to be out of here by 7am to get to the airport in time. It is funny, the flight from Japan to San Francisco leaves 6/3 at 4:45 pm and arrives 6/3 at 9:45 pm. I guess we gain time there. We have a 10 hour layover in San Francisco and I was thinking we could go to Fisherman's Wharf or something. However, right now I just want to go home. I miss my cats, my bed and work. I want a nice long bath and a fork. I feel like I have been gone forever, even though it has been less than two weeks.
Saturday morning I got up around 9 and was hanging out when this guy asked me if I wanted to go for a walk. I decided I had a couple hours to kill so I said sure. I got to see the expensive house and a nice little park. Then we went to lunch and debated American lifestyle. After the walk I ironed my dress and got ready while Serinia disappeared. We had to leave at 2:30 to be on time and she showed up at that time having gotten her hair done. She quickly got ready and then we were off to the Gimpo (Kimpo) airport where the wedding was.
We showed up right before the ceremony started having asked many people if we were going the right way to get to the wedding hall. I had no idea what was going on in the ceremony but it was weird that everyone talked through the whole thing. After the ceremony there were lots of pictures to be taken, one of which was full of the friends of the bride and groom. After that we were supposed to go to the traditional ceremony but were rather ushered to the banquet hall instead. The food was good and traditional. We sat with Sun's little sister and her cousin on one side and on the other side was a couple of Sun's friends here in Korea.
After the meal we were wandering around talking to people when two guys, one in perfect English, told us we should go with them which made both Serinia and I laugh. Then Jonghyeon's father told us it was OK, that all the friends would go to the same place. We with them and soon were joined by a couple other friends of Jonghyeon. People were assigned cars and we were off to a bar about a mile away. Most of the people at this event were school friends of Jonghyeon. There were only two other women there and they were both in the physics department. There were lots of people to talk to, most of whom spoke English.
Through the night I talked about history a lot, which was a nice change. First I talked to the guy that lived in Minnesota and was trying to decide where to go for his post-doc work. I tried to convince him that Minnesota was the place to go but that is because I thought he was cute. He said he liked Minnesota so maybe I convinced him. Ha! Then I talked to this guy that told me to call him D.J. He wasn't in physics, he did something like a pre-law degree and ended up in the Air Force. He really liked hearing about Europe, he loved classical music and wanted to know if I had been to a concert in Europe anywhere. This whole conversation took place over another guy that was sitting between us. A few times I tried to change spots with him but he didn't want to. Serinia pointed out later he had a good view of my cleavage the whole time.
Then there was the guy that was in sales in Hong Kong. He was very cute and was telling me about his problem finding a good Korean girl because he wasn't in Korea often. Actually most of the guys there were single and Serinia and I kept making fun of them because they would huddle up together and completely ignore the women there. The last guy I chatted with was the guy with the English accent. This wasn't an upper crust accent, it was more of a cockney accent, which was so very funny. This guy was a huge flirt and kept hitting on me which was OK but made it so I couldn't talk to the guy I had a crush on. Serinia talked to a different set of people and has funny stories too.
Soon it was almost midnight and that is when the subway closes here. The guy with the English accent lived near the guesthouse we were staying at so Sun and Jonghyeon decided that he would make sure we got home safe in a taxi. I was sad because I wanted to take the train home with my crush, who had oddly enough taken the same train with us on the way to the wedding but didn't say anything despite recognizing the invitation. I decided to be bold and I gave him my email address in case he did come to Minnesota. Then we were put into a taxi and driven to the guesthouse, though because of the protests going on many roads were closed. Then we went to bed.
I didn't wake up until noon on Sunday (the new room has a tiny window that doesn't let any light in) and I was pretty slow moving. It was really hot and I was so tired from talking so much the night before. Around 2 pm we went to Gyeongbok-gung and the National Folklore museum and then we sort of wondered around. We then went to dinner with this girl from the guesthouse, Rachel, that is in Korea until August doing an internship. For some reason everything was closed (I guess because it was Sunday) so it took a while to find a place that was open but once we did it was good. Then we sat and talked until late and went to bed.
This morning I got up at 8 and we were out of the building by 9. We took the subway to Dongducheon where Camp Casey is. It is about an hour from where we are staying. I figured this would be an all day outing but the whole area is much different than Serinia remembered. The US army has reduced their numbers in Korea and so we saw a lot of empty building. I did get to see where Serinia lived and where she worked (both empty) along with the curb she hit and blew out her tires. We were trying to find her favorite restaurant but it started pouring out and when we found it the restaurant was closed. So back to Seoul we went.
Now we are just sort of waiting to go home. We are mostly packed and all the postcards are mailed (sorry some are really lame). Tonight we are going to Seoul Tower and tomorrow morning we have to be out of here by 7am to get to the airport in time. It is funny, the flight from Japan to San Francisco leaves 6/3 at 4:45 pm and arrives 6/3 at 9:45 pm. I guess we gain time there. We have a 10 hour layover in San Francisco and I was thinking we could go to Fisherman's Wharf or something. However, right now I just want to go home. I miss my cats, my bed and work. I want a nice long bath and a fork. I feel like I have been gone forever, even though it has been less than two weeks.
