Seoul Forest + Han River

On Sunday a group of us (30 strong) international students were invited to go on a trip to Seoul Forest and a boat tour of the Han river.  An RA downstairs is one of Seoul's 'honorary ambassadors' and was able to make a request for the city government to sponsor this trip for us.  The weather wasn't that great; there was a fairly thick layer of haze hanging above Seoul, but there's not much to complain about a fun, free trip.

My initial impression of a 'forest' was a densely lush, thick wilderness.  Instead, we arrived at a park called "Seoul Forest" (서울숲,) which was predominantly a very large area that consisted of sprawling lawns, small ponds and paved paths appropriated with neatly planted trees.  It was a really nice environment, but it all seemed somewhat planned and manufactured compared to what I had expected.  Still, it was a great place--I didn't get to see enough of it so I'm definitely paying it another visit.

 

There was this large water fountain for kids to play in.  

I'm pretty sure most of them had a thoroughly fun time.

 

There was this one small boy who stood off to the side, watching the big kids play. 

  

There was a cool small gallery in the park too

The Korean spells out:
dee / ja / een / seo / ul / gael / leo / ree

It's a funny and embarrassing process when reading Korean slowly and figuring out it all adds up to be an English word.  I often read things aloud, and hearing myself as I start understanding is always hilarious.  For example, when I read out "Paah Eee Naah Pull" I feel like an idiot after realizing I simply said "pineapple."

 

  

I don't have many good shots from the boat tour, or a group picture from my camera.  The poor captain had a large pile of point and shoots (plus a dslr) to deal with and I didn't want to add mine to the pile, so this picture's from one of my shipmates.

An unusual but fruitful day

Today was really strange.. it started off normally with an awesome Product and Brand Management class.  The professor was really cool and exercised his right to claim that his English was the purest (from New Zealand, of course.)  His course seems really interesting, probably since his first lecture was well constructed with an in depth analysis of the history, corporate identity and branding of M&Ms.

I went back to my apartment after class to sleep since I had to wake up early and didn't get much sleep the night before.  The day progressed and started winding down with a casual early dinner in a local restaurant where the owner's adorable daughter graced the customers by running around and blowing bubbles.

After finishing dinner off with coffee at a cafe next to the restaurant I thought that was it for the day.. but I felt lucky once I got home, randomly went on craigslist and stumbled on an advertisement posted by someone moving out of Seoul who was willing to give away all of the things he wasn't willing to bring back with him to the States.  He had been here for 9 months teaching English and had to leave since his school closed.  Random things like blankets, hangers and other general things were up for grabs.

Geoyeo station happened to be pretty far from our station, Anam, but the metro's really cheap in Seoul so we figured it'd probably be worth it.  The base fare is 900 won, which is 90 cents.  If you're in the metro for a fairly long time, you'll be charged more.  It took us about an hour to get across the river and southeast towards the other edge of Seoul.  I'd never been so far from home, but the journey there proved to be a lot simpler than going to several local stops.  The whole hour-long trip only had 2 transfers.

My beat up and overused Seoul metro map

When we finally got to the guy's place, he had already packed most of his things so nearly everything else that was strewn all over the apartment was what he wanted to get rid of.  There were also two girls from the States who had come as well; they were going to be in Seoul for a year to teach English and seized the opportunity to stock up on free essentials as well.

One of the goods that we brought back from the apartment

We lugged several pounds of loot back on the metro, probably looking like traveling hobos.  It was a pretty tiring ride back, but it seemed like we weren't the only ones exhausted..

Arriving home deeply satisfied with lots of stuff and only 2,600 won missing from our metro t-cards, we agreed the whole venture was definitely worth it.

Everything you see on the table is from the generous guy's apartment.

Lazy Sunday

It wasn't even that sunny..

 

 

When walking and holding hands with their parents,

Korean kids love to jump and swing on their parents' grip as they get pulled up.  

This is a common sight on any street in Seoul.

Right outside HomePlus

I think it was in 영두 or 신설동

Another night out

My friend from back home in the States happened to be in town for a few days and took us out to his aunt and uncles' restaurant in Guri.  It was strange being in a private car on the road, haha.  We're so used to the metro, and a bit of the bus.  Almost nobody in college has a car here.

 

Yes, dogs have souls too :)

There were two of them, but one got sold the next day :(

 

I shot this on the road ;)

Apparently the economy's picking up a bit.

 

Our awesome driver

In loving memory

My cat has been put to sleep due to a large tumor in his stomach.  We've had him for about 7 years.  I'll be missing him, but at least I won't have to worry about his white hair getting on my clothes.  There are still several strands of his hair all over some of my shirts and jackets.  As I peel one off and shake it off my hand, it orbits around me before latching back onto me.
I'm glad that he passed early on during my semester abroad; it'd be considerably worse if this happened right before I returned in January.

Boys and Girls

Guys are more friendly with each other over here

 

Little girls

 

Big girls

So long, summer.

 Despite putting off this post (and starting this blog) for days, I still don't know quite how to begin. Perhaps it's because I have yet to digest the fact that summer is already drawing to a close.  It has been an amazing and unforgettable one, as usual.  Instead of spending it abroad teaching English and performing humanitarian work like the past two summers, I opted to stay in the States this time and cling on to the last remnants of home before packing 6 months of my life into 2 suitcases and flying to Seoul in late August.  For the longest time I've been planning on posting a compilation of images that embody this summer.  The past few days in Seoul have been crazily packed with barely any time to breathe--until now.  After compiling most of this entry on the plane, I can finally launch it.

The summer kicked off with a business trip to New Orleans.  A  6am-6pm shift made it hard to find a healthy balance between tasting enough Bourbon at jazz bars in the French Quarter, getting enough rest and satisfying my urges for photo ventures.

A trip to the Bahamas was the perfect way to get some relaxing done after the hectic week in New Orleans.  Each day was graced by the pristine water, white sand beaches, deep blue skies and stunning sunsets.

What I want to remember the most about this summer, though, is home.  Life at home's summed up by random excursions to museums in DC, scaling up buildings under construction, jamming late at night, adoring my pets and, of course, eating.

 This is Toto.  He's a fairly new addition to the family.  We're hoping that he stays around the 6 month-old pup size he is now.  The crazier he gets, the more lopsided his tongue hangs out of his mouth.

A new favorite, Fuqifeipian (夫妻肺片,) at Joe's Noodles, a local favorite.

The lights on the trees stay on in Rockville Town Center all year long.

My friend keeps all of his empty cans of Red Bull on his kitchen counter..

 

Eve at the National Gallery

  

 No pictures, please

 

 hmmm

 

 A waste of paint in my opinion, but it's art, right?

  

 bread?  where?

  

Pretty eyes ;)

  

DC metro

  

Our pets, Frosty..

  

 ..and Toto

 mmm..roe

 

adorable

 making new friends while kayaking

 Second midnight building excursion in Baltimore

 

I think this building's somewhere around Canton

 

The top floor has a terrace that looks over across the harbor towards downtown

 Making Chinese scallion pancakes (蔥油餅) on a laid back Sunday morning

Leaving Baltimore for dinner in Frederick

The Voltaggio brothers from this season's Top Chef own Volt,
a restaurant set in an 18th century Frederick mansion.

2nd course - Foie gras paste w/bing cherries, nuts and toast

3rd course - Lamb

Compensation dish? (for my friend's over seasoned and undercooked 3rd course)
Strawberry ice cream on crumbled wafer and cheese with beets.

I think all four of us were a tad disappointed with the experience.

Steak and eggs for breakfast!  Nothing beats homemade.

 

Prowling around at night

National Cathedral

 Awesome banana crepe at Le Chat Noir in northwest DC

 

Resting up after a long climb to the top of the new condo tower off Rockville Pike

Awesome view of North Bethesda

 

Day at the zoo

Duck.  yumm...

 

Ostrich? hmm...

Flowers.  aww..

Ready to take flight

 Woah, did you know water could look like that?
Only if the shutter's fast enough

 

Outside the Air & Space museum

 Rehydrating during a hot and dry day

 - This concludes the throw up of pictures from this summer. - 

So now I'm in Seoul and will be for the next 5 months at Korea University.  As I left for my semester abroad I got a final taste of my friend's awesome homemade food from two sandwiches I brought with me on the journey.