Savoy Hotel Seoul

... the gate across the street, walk down a block, to a foot bridge that crosses the busy street near my house, then walk back up the block on the other side. Here are pictures of my street from the bridge and here are the steps, and yes they are as narrow as the seem. I guess they were made for Asian feet. I am not sure it is going to be safe in the snow and ice, I may be taking taxis when the weather turns.

... the school and found a Pizzahut. Waaah.

Diamond park across the street. Patients from the hospital stroll through here. There is a basketball court, volleyball area, little pond, and outdoor excercising equipment. Pretty neat.

I walked to Lake Park in sandals. I would have worn tennis shoes if I knew I was going to walk over 5 miles in the humid and sunny weather. Anyway, the park is extremely big. I can compare it to El Dorado park back home where there is a ...

... banquet rooms.  There was a mix of western and Korean style food.
Shortly, we all loaded buses to go to the Hyundai factory.  When we got there we were shown a 10-minute long ad and then given a slide show presentation describing this plant, Asan, in particulars production facts and the brief assembly procedure.  Then we went on a half-hour guided tour of the plant.  It was awesome!  We got to see huge robots assembling cars!!  Sadly, we were not ...

... as a hub for business in East Asia. The city has some nice areas like Gingko street (concept based restos and bars) and big street markets like Namdaemun where stores manufacture their own goods.

After hanging out here a few days I took the ferry from Incheon (Seoul port) to Tianjin, China.

... the foreigners. But it made it interesting getting to know new people and finding out about their time in Korea.

What was also great for me was that I was placed in level 7! When I had left Korea three years ago, I was in level 9 (out of 10). So, a drop of 2 levels isn't bad! I hadn't really been able to practice while in Chicago, so I was really happy that I had retained much of what ...

... night and no one touches any of it!) and suddenly a Korean man is adamantly persuading me to climb up the mound, but from a different and easier side. The girls deny their involvement, but I think we all know what happened there!!!!! Okay, after a lot of complaining and several ugly faces, I did in fact make it up to the very top too. It was beautiful!

Later that night we all met up again for a trip to the DVD bang!!! DVD bangs are like a blend of a Blockbuster ...

... the public for the first time on the 15th of October 1980. Namsan Tower is 236.7 metres high and, because it stands on top of Mount Namsan, it rises to about 480 metres above sea level, thus allowing visitors to enjoy a great panoramic view of Seoul. Seoul Tower is surrounded by a park, called Namsan Park. In addition to the tower, Namsan Park contains other facilities and attractions such as the Public Library, the National Theatre, an aquarium, the Botanical Gardens ...

... grabbing tactic. It worked! Last weekend a big group of the teachers went out for Dakgalbi! This is spicy mixture of pieces of chicken, cabbage, other veggies, and pressed rice cakes. Also, they always through in this weird noodle. I think it is too chewy. It makes my teeth feel rubbery too! Needless to say, I avoid the noodles. They whole dish is grilled at the table, which does two things: (1) makes you so incredibly hunger that you ...

... We met in Gangnam which is a bustling student area, and went to watch Yes Man starring Jim Carrey. There's a bit in it where he speaks Korean, so of course the crowd loved that! Afterwards we went to a plush restaurant for dinner, and chatted about football a lot - Joana was a big fan after spending so much time in Brazil. Time was flying by at this stage, and suddenly there wasn't that much left of the intensive period - soon I'll be able to put my alarm clock into semi-retirement!

... forget the 4 hours I had already spent in line, so I went to the bathroom again, bought more water and another snack before joining the queue for yet another ride. That ride was the scariest thing I have ever been on in my life and after it was over, I figured anything else would probably be a let down. So I headed to the indoor section of the amusement park.

Seeing Bounty's Revenge made me nostalgic for Nicole's birthday parties at Adventure World, oh so many years ...