Yeouio Part 1

Yes, I know that it has been a while since I have updated my blog, but I have been so busy lately that I really haven't had much time to sit down and write about everything that has been going on.  Until now.  Even still, I only have an hour before I have to meet a friend for dinner and so I won't be able to write everything.  So here's what I can do for now:

April 10 

On this day I met up with Taylor and some of his friends to check out the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival.  It was not a very good day for it as the weather was unusually cold and there were few blossoms on the trees.  Still, we managed to have a lot of fun and I got some decent pictures out of it.  

This is the Yeouido area and the Han River.  People were still out biking despite the frigid weather. 

Wow!  A cherry blossom!  Yes, I did alter this photograph.  But I like it.  

Bridge at the Han River 

There's a little recreation area in the middle of the park landing.  You can rent tandem and single bikes (as seen in the first picture).  These kids had the thrill of riding through the shallow water.  If I had a bike (and it was warmer out) I would totally do that too.  

Instead I got to play on this.   

Because the bench is only balanced in the middle it's almost like a see-saw.

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Taylor is going to Korean class with this girl from China and she brought along her two friends.  Upon meeting me, one of the Chinese girls gave me a Chinese name which she said means "romantic and free" because she said that was her first impression of me.  It was really sweet.  There was also this other guy that I think was from Africa and said he speaks 6 languages!  Pretty impressive.

After walking around for about 2 hours we were hungry and ready for an early dinner.  Not surprisingly, I had a craving for Mexican food so I suggested that we go to Hongdae for some Dos Tacos.  It was the Chinese girls and the African dude's first time eating Mexican food and they loved it.  I did too.  

Then we went out for a drink in Hongdae at Ho Bar.  Ho Bar is just a typical chain bar and our experience there was only mediocre at best.  They played terrible American rap music that the bartender knew all the words to, the cocktail waitress was standoffish and unhelpful, but most importantly, they were out of the first 3 or 4 drinks that we tried to order.  I wouldn't go back there any time soon.  

After that I had to call it a night since I was tired and had to wake up early the next day.  On my way back I stopped at the central plaza area of Hongdae and watched a free music performance.  The music was ok but there was a male tap dancer and that made it awesome.  

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Next entry: Dad's visit to Korea

Halloween SoKo Style

Saturday, October 31st was Halloween.  Koreans don't really celebrate Halloween the way we do in the US but because of the influx of American English teachers in South Korea, more and more Koreans are beginning to grasp the concept.  They don't go trick-or-treating and they don't even really dress up and eat massive amounts of candy.

Some areas of Seoul (and Korea in general) are known for having a higher ratio of foreigners than others.  Those areas, such as Itaewon (where the Yongsan US army base is located) and Hongdae (where Hongik University is located) which is known for having bars and  nightclubs with fewer army personnel, cater to the crowd and hold big Halloween events.

I met up with Mali at her apartment in the southern part of Seoul (near Seoul National University) to get ready for the night.  Mali planned ahead and had her mother send her a costume from the States.  (Although there are a few costume stores in Seoul, they can be hard to find.)  I decided to go as Robin and pieced together my own costume made from clothes I already had, green tights I purchased at a Subway station a few weeks ago in preparation for Halloween, and a skirt and yellow belt from the American Apparel store in Myongdong).

Up up and Away, Robin!

Robin fights crime with Batgirl

The bar scene in Hongdae was out of control.  I had been there once before with the Hagwon kids from Maetan but I still could not have predicted how wild this was going to be.  There were costumes of all kind and everyone was drunk and raring to go.

By the end of the night the streets were littered with trash, broken bottles, costume parts that had fallen off during the mayhem, and so forth.  It was 6am when I finally made it back to Mali's apartment to crash for the night.

Without the candy corn, pumpkins, and jack-o-lanterns it didn't ever really feel like Halloween, but it sure was a good time.