Namsan Park Hotel Seoul

... you will see a house in the trees, that is a vacant home right behind mine. That is how close to the wall I live, so even though it looks serene and I have pheasants living in my yard, I can hear the noisy traffic off post which is less than a block away. I don't mind, it is just an odd mismatch between the eye and the ear.



Okay finally to the markets. Now I have to keep reminding myself, that the word ...

... left.

We arrived there and went towards the vending machine thinking that would probably be easier than talking to a real person. It was quite an experience because there were so many decisions to make and we kept changing our minds. Also, half way through we kinda crashed the machine and there was an error message in Korean. It was a bit surprising that there was English everywhere, but then an error message shows and there is no ...

Last aisle seat in the back next to a wealth looking Asian women quite content not to talk to me. She has only 2 purse type bags which is a good thing as my carry on backpack is about 10 inches too long to fit the proper way in the over head storage! Ah the beauty of carry on...Supposed weight limit that is never measured and supposed dimensional requirement that is never questioned. Just get on the plane and stuff it up there before anybody else can get their bags in ...

... dinner at the hotel's irish pub, "o'kim's" (i'm not joking!), when a bunch of drunk korean and japanese business men came in for a nightcap. all very fine and normal. then, about 5 minutes later, 2 women, dressed in full-on kimonos with obis, and feet clad in wooden flip-flops complete with socks, walked in and sat down with them. d and i about lost it and we both looked at each other and ...

... Apple, Forever 21, and the list goes on.  It was sad that everything was so Americanized- but I guess that is everywhere.  After looking in many stores, I also noticed there were not many cool shirts that said things in Korean- nearly every shirt was in English.  We ate ramen at a Chinese restaurant- the servings were huge!
After shopping for a bit- I restrained myself from buying anything!- we went to the Seoul tower.  To get up to the Seoul tower, you take a tram car that hangs ...

... stop and tried to get my bearings and figure another course of action. I paced back and forth under ground then eventually popped up at Changdeokgung the Palace of Illustrious Virtue and amazingly the rain had stopped. Did I also notice some clearing in the sky?This palace was open and I was all set to pay my entrance fee and explore the grounds. Then at the ticket wicket I noticed that the only way you could get into the grounds was on a tour and the ...

Preston Here!

Today was very relaxing... the way a vacation should be.

James and I both just woke up this morning to a real treat of fried egg with rice. The family here is so entertaining in that they truly do cater to us and make us feel at home. They are so concerned with which foods I like and they're cute about asking.

The ...

... I thought it was because of the heels, but now I realize its just a cultural phenomena. Spring in Korea is glorious! The weather is beautiful, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, one can sense life oozing out of every crevice. People are active, trees are budding, birds are singing- the dormancy of winter is replaced with a rejuvenating freshness. During this season, I am reminded of the many rituals associated with this time of year- spring ...

... teaching English, I am going to take a 3 month certification at the UA when I come home and then apply for another contract overseas with higher pay. Then I might even get my Masters in Linguistics. We will see. Life is super strange and It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to plan everything. I am pretty sure I am gaining weight over here! Son of a *****! All I want to do it eat and all I want to eat are sweets. I think it is some kind of ...

... small, really sad displays but there were some highlights, including the most kitsch seal and dolphin show we'd ever seen which was entirely in Korean and some lion cubs. The zoo only cost $3 for entry so we didn't expect anything big but it was all very dated and quite sad. Yesterday we woke up to snow, the whole city was blanketed in white and it was still snowing for a little while so we got to experience the magic of failing ...