New Year's in Seoul, Day Four (Saturday/Sunday, 12/31/2011 - 1/1/2012)

Note: some of the words in parentheses are easier synonyms of more difficult words, which should hopefully make this easier to read for non-native speakers.

Sleeping at the jjimjilbang proved to be (was) my first bad experience in Seoul.  I was constantly (always) thirsty, even though I was drinking cup after cup of water.  It was most likely because I had lost electrolytes from all the sweating in the sauna, but I only had 15,000 KRW left for the rest of the trip, and my wallet was in my locker anyway, so I didn't buy anything to drink.  All the water I was drinking made me go to the bathroom at least three times that night, with the choice of either walking on the freezing cold tile or using a pair of very uncomfortable slippers.  In addition, every time I got up someone either took my spot or the mat I was using would disappear, so I would have to find another place to rest.  Sometime in the early morning, I discovered (found out) that one of the bunk beds had been vacated (was empty,) so I crawled into it and tried to go back to sleep.  It was only a little more comfortable than the mats on the floor, but I did get another couple hours of sleep.

I finally woke up around 8 AM and decided that I'd had enough of trying to sleep.  I got up, grabbed (got) my shampoo, soap and shaving equipment and went to get cleaned up.  The public bath was what I was used to in Japan: a nude, open area where you clean up before getting into the hot tub-style baths.  I took a shower to wash my hair and body, then sat down in front of a mirror to shave.  Once I was clean, I got into one of the three baths and relaxed.  They had three hot baths – regular (40°C,) extra hot (44°C) and a 'theme' bath (40°C with green water.)  They also had a wet sauna at 70° and a cold pool.  I briefly (for a very short time) tried the wet sauna, though it was so hot and humid that I could barely breathe.  I wasn't brave enough to try the cold water that morning.  Soee and I had agreed to meet at the front desk at 10:30 AM and I was done bathing around 8:30 AM, so I had some time to kill (wait.)  I lifted a few weights in the exercise room, though I didn't want to do anything that would get me sweaty again.  Without much else to do, I got dressed and played a game on my phone (Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, a great port of the PSP version!) until Soee came out.

After we left the jjimjilbang, we wandered over (went) to Daehangno, a district with a huge number of small community theaters and open-air stages that is very popular with college students.

Soee told me that many students gather (come) here to practice the arts (music, painting, performing) in the park, as well as sell tickets to small student-run shows.  We had breakfast at Paris Croissant, a Korean chain that sells French breads and pastries, and shared a cinnamon roll, some banana coconut chocolate bread and some kind of cream filled pastry, as well as some oranges that her mother had packed.  Soee had already paid for the sauna, and with splitting the bill for breakfast I owed her 19,000 KRW.  Of course, I only had 15,000 KRW, so I gave her everything I had and made a note of what I owed her.  We bought a little too much to finish, so we doggie-bagged the rest and went on our way.

Our next stop was Sungkyunkwan University, Soee's alma mater (the school she graduated from.)  The school was founded in 1398 and is over 600 years old!

She originally studied urban planning, thinking that it would be about designing cities and other large urban spaces.  However, she was disappointed to find out that it was more about replacing one or two buildings and seeing how that would change the neighborhood.  Her dad got her older sister and her interested in tax accounting, so she changed her major to accounting.  She also pointed out (showed me) some large banners hanging from a fence; sometimes when people graduate, their friends put up these banners to congratulate them.  She said that her friends did this for her when she passed her CPA exam, and that she was quite embarrassed that they put a big picture of her face on it.  (Soee doesn't like pictures of herself, especially close-ups, which is why I haven't shown any pictures of her here or on Facebook.  I posted some pictures of her at first without thinking about it, but took them down when she asked me to.  I still feel pretty stupid for having made that mistake.)  The university was almost completely empty (except for the cafeteria,) but we were there during winter vacation.  We wandered (walked) through the halls for a while, though we couldn't go into any of the rooms because they were all locked.

Our initial (first) plan for after Sungkyunkwan University was to go to the horse races and possibly (maybe) the World Cup Stadium.  However, Soee's dad convinced us that it would be better to go back to Gyeongbokgung and see what we had missed on Thursday.  We caught a bus at the top of a hill on campus, and the bus driver recommended that we take a look at a historic residential (housing) district very close to the palace, so we decided to check it out first.  The whole area was very interesting; all the houses were traditional Korean homes that have stood for hundreds of years, and people still live in them.  There were a number of signs reminding the tourists to be respectful of the people living there.

Next, we walked to Gyeongbokgung and explored the National Folk Museum of Korea, which had reconstructions of traditional peasant homes.

It also had a re-created city street from the early 20th century that showed traditional Korean crafts and city life.

Inside, they had an exhibit on Korean history with a timeline that stretched from the very beginning to the modern day.  It was sad to see how much strife (war) Korea has had to endure (survive) just in the past century.  The Japanese occupation, the war for independence, the Korean War, the split from North Korea…it all happened in such a short time, and not that long ago even.

We didn't want to miss Gyeongbokgung again, so we didn't dally (stay) at the folk museum too long.  We did, however, make a quick stop at a very cool set of statues of the Chinese zodiac animals on the way.

After that, we got our tickets to the inner palace and wandered (walked) around the extensive (very large) grounds.  My pictures do a much better job of showing off the magnificent (very beautiful) architecture than my words; a picture is worth a thousand words, after all!

 My camera actually ran out of juice (power) halfway through and I had to switch to taking photos with my phone.  The phone was fairly easy to recharge – I could plug it into a computer or use one of Soee's family's iPhone chargers – but my camera's charger didn't work with Korean outlets, which are 240 V and have a very different shape.  I was only able to keep it charged this long because one of the women in the guesthouse let me use an adapter it fit into.

The palace's closing time was 5 PM, and around 4:45 PM the staff started to usher (escort) everyone out.  Having seen all that we wanted to see, Soee and I started to head (go) back home.  We had a small crisis with the subway; I, of course, had no money, and Soee didn't think she had any cash, which we needed to buy my ticket.  We walked a few blocks to try to find somewhere to exchange currency, but it was Saturday and New Year's Eve, so everything in the area was closed.  I then remembered that I had given her all of my cash that morning, and it was more than enough to buy a ticket back to her apartment.

When we got back home, I finally met her older sister, Yeoung Hee, who is almost the same age as me.  (Soee and my sister have nearly identical ages – Soee is only eight days older than Jessica!)  Hyun was out with a friend, but the rest of the family and I went out for dinner.  Their apartment building is right next to a massive (really big) department store (a mall, really) with a huge number of shops and restaurants, so we had a lot of choices for food.  Our first idea was to get Indian curry, but the restaurant had a long waiting list.  I had mentioned (said) that I wanted to try bibimbap, so we went to bibimbap restaurant instead.  Bibimbap is a rice dish mixed with vegetables, meat and condiments; you're served the ingredients separately, then mix it together yourself and add seasoning to taste.  I got a traditional vegetarian bibimbap, while Soee's had tuna and Yeoung Hee's had octopus.  I tried both of their dishes, and it was all very tasty.  Soee's father paid for the meal, and I was again very grateful for her family's generosity.  I wish I had been able to express my thankfulness better than with just 'kamsahamnida' (thank you.)

I guess I looked tired or sick or something, because after dinner Soee and her family convinced me to take a short nap.  The family used to go to Bosingak, a pavilion with a very large bell that is rung on New Year's Eve, to celebrate the start of the new year, though the last few years they've stayed home and watched it on TV.  Hyun and Hwan had shown it to me on Wednesday and told me that Soee would be taking me there on Saturday.  Worried that I had caught a cold, they tried to talk me into staying home and watching it with them.  I was a little tired, but I felt that this was something I wanted to experience while I was here, so Soee and I left a short while later.

The city had closed off the streets and subway stations closest to the pavilion, so the streets were packed (filled) with people dancing, waving sparklers and shooting small fireworks into the air.  Some people were dancing while wearing traditional costumes and beating drums, which Soee said her older sister had done when she was in college.

We had to fight our way through the crowd several times, and eventually got to a point where we were packed in and could go no further.  We were too short to see the pavilion, though I did get a couple pictures of it over the crowd using my phone.  When the clock struck midnight, the bells started to ring, the crowd erupted (burst) into raucous (noisy) cheers and more fireworks were set off.  I honestly couldn't hear the bell over all the noise, but Soee said she could hear it.

Once the bell-ringing ceremony was over, the crowd dispersed (left) pretty quickly, so we headed back to the subway to catch a train home.  Because of the holiday, they were running a few trains later than usual, though we did have to wait quite a long time for the two trains we needed, both of which were packed to the gills (very full.)  During the trip, Soee told me about two Korean customs dealing with age: you are one year old when you're born, and you add a year on January 1 instead of your birthday.  In Korean terms, this means that I'm now 32!  Truly, life is ephemeral (short.)

We got back around 1 AM, and I got cleaned up and went to bed almost immediately (right away.)  Soee told me that she would wake me up at dawn to go to the roof of the building with her family and watch the first sun of the new year rise.  However, it was 8 AM and sunny when I woke up, and I later found out that it had been too foggy at dawn to see the sun, so they had let me sleep.  I ate a light breakfast with Soee and her mom (oranges and toast with peanut butter and fig jam,) then packed and got ready to go.  Unfortunately, Soee had to work Sunday afternoon, so she wasn't able to go to the airport with me.  Her dad drove us to Seoul Station, and she came inside with me to buy my ticket to Incheon and get me on the right train.  I had hoped to be able to exchange a little money at the station, but once again everything was closed and I only had ¥10,000 bills left.  Hopefully I can repay her for the extra money she spent because of my mistake another time.  We said our goodbyes and shook hands, then went our separate ways.

The flight back to Japan was uneventful.  I bought some sweets in the duty-free shop at the airport as omiyage for my coworkers, the Iwaki Station agents who helped me get to the airport Tuesday night, and the doctors I've been seeing about my throat problem.  I had arranged to meet Brian, a fellow AEON teacher that I trained with, for dinner in Mito on my way back north.  WI was looking forward to it because I hadn't hung out with anyone from our training group for at least six months.  I did, however, severely (greatly) underestimate how long it would take to get there from the airport.  My plane landed at Narita at 4 PM, and after collecting my bags and going through immigration and customs I boarded (got on) the Narita Express train to Tokyo station.  (Somewhat amusingly, the immigration staff tried to direct me away from the re-entry permit line and into the standard foreigners line until I showed them my re-entry permit.)  I transferred at Tokyo station and went to Ueno Station, where I took a limited express Fresh Hitachi to Mito, arriving around 8 PM.  I had a little snag (problem) at the exit gate, as I had somehow managed to get on the train with an express ticket but not a fare ticket, and I needed both.  Brian waited patiently while I sorted the matter out (took care of the problem) and paid another ¥900.

We then walked a short distance to an Okinawan restaurant Brian likes.  I didn't know the place (and besides, the menu was all in Japanese,) so I let him order.  We got a few dishes – sliced sausage with mayonnaise on the side, hot dish of diced carrots and tofu, and some incredibly (very) tender pork – and caught up on how things had been going for each of us.  One of the staff members at the restaurant surprised us by giving us a choice of handcrafted glass cups, saying that it was a New Year's gift.

He had wisely checked what time my last train was before we left the station, so we got back in time for the last train back to Iwaki.  I got into town about 11 PM, presented my omiyage to the surprised (but pleased) station agent and finally went home.  I had planned on going to bed earlier, but I guess I had gotten used to the late-night schedule in Seoul because I stayed up until 1:30 AM unpacking my luggage and packing the souvenirs I had bought so that I could mail them later in the week.

And that ends the retelling of my whirlwind tour of Seoul.  I didn't intend for it to be anywhere near this long, but I wanted to capture the trip in as much detail as I could before my memory started to get fuzzy.  I had a wonderful time with Soee and her family, and as much work as it will be to find a new teaching position and move over there this summer, I'm looking forward to living there.  There will also be good to be able to experience Korea together at a slower pace, and to see how our friendship develops when we're living in closer proximity (closer together.)  There were a lot of ups and downs to this trip, but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn't hesitate to say yes.

New Year's in Seoul, Day Three (Friday, 12/30/2011)

Note: some of the words in parentheses are easier synonyms of more difficult words, which should hopefully make this easier to read for non-native speakers.

I had thought that I would need to check out of the guesthouse by 10 AM, but luckily I didn't need to leave until noon.  I was going to meet Soee's mom and Hyun at 2 PM, so I had some time to myself that morning.  I managed to find my way back to Namdaemun Market by myself and bought a surprisingly large number of souvenirs for my family.  The box of Christmas presents I had sent hadn't arrived yet, and I was starting to worry that they would never show up, so I kind of felt like I needed to buy Christmas presents a second time.  Out of the 245,000 KRW I brought with me, I spent 120,000 KRW on souvenirs.  With souvenirs in hand, I went out to try some of the street food that I had seen before.  I got a delicious (very good) deep-fried sausage with some kind of wrapping on a stick first (I don't know what it was called.)  It was very similar to a corn dog, though I'm not sure what the outer wrapping was made of.  I also tried a hotteok, thick, chewy pancake filled with cinnamon syrup.  I was told that they're both common winter foods, and while they weren't healthy at all, they were very good!

Once I finished eating, I went back to the guesthouse and packed my things just in time to meet the 12 PM deadline.  Since I still had some time to kill (wait,) I stopped at a nearby café and got a sweet potato latte (it was purple, and very sweet.)  I hung out in the café until 1:30 PM, then walked to Myeongdong Station to catch a taxi.  Unfortunately, there was a lot of traffic, so the trip ended up taking close to an hour instead of half-hour like I'd thought, so I was late again.  It was very frustrating (annoying) being late a few times this trip, and always when people were waiting for me.  I'm usually always very punctual (on time,) and I hate being late.  After paying the taxi driver 13,000 KRW, I realized that I only had about 15,000 KRW left, which became a bigger problem the next day.  I ended up meeting Soee's mom and Hyun at 2:30 PM, and went back to their apartment for lunch a little later than expected.

The family apartment (condo really, since they own it,) was very nice and felt spacious (big,) though it was, of course, smaller than a Western home with six people would be.  Soee's family, and in particular her mom, is very religious, so there was a large collection of Catholic art on the walls and in the rooms.  I'm not religious myself (one of the only differences of opinion Soee and I have,) but some of the pieces were very nice.  It was a little surprising to see so many religious symbols, though; it really made clear the depth (strength) of her family's faith.  They don't have a couch right now (they're working on getting a new one) and instead have a large electric mat in the middle of the living room, giving the room an open, airy feel.  Their home is on the 19th floor, and they have a great view of the city through the many windows.  Soee shares a room with Hyun, and I stayed in her younger brother's room (he's away for required military service at the moment) while I was there.

Soee's mom was very nice, though she didn't speak a word of English, so we had to communicate (talk) through Hyun.  Lunch consisted of (was) bulgogi, dak albi (a spicy chicken dish with tteok and sweet potatoes) and black rice, with kimchi, dried squid, dried sardines, crunchy black beans, and kelp on the side.  The kelp came in small squares; you put a little rice on the kelp, then ball it up and eat it.  When they asked me which dish I liked the most, I surprised them again by saying that I preferred the dak galbi because it was spicy and had sweet potatoes.  They had expected me to like the bulgogi more like most foreigners!

When we had had enough to eat, Soee's mom put out apple slices, oranges, crackers, and chips for us to snack on.  I got out some sweets from Greg and Claire that I had brought along to share (because it was too much for me to eat by myself!) – homemade chocolate peanut brittle and chocolate salt water taffy, spicy Mexican chocolate, and gourmet lollipops (vanilla, chocolate, butterscotch, and café latte flavors.)  I also gave them a small gift of some ginseng peppermint herbal tea.  The candy was a big hit with the family (though they thought the spicy chocolate was a bit weird,) so thanks again to Greg and Claire for their delicious gift!

I also got to meet Taggu, Soee's dog.  I had honestly been more concerned about Taggu liking me than Soee's family, and the little guy did bark up a storm (a lot) when I first came in.  Soee said that he's very timid and easily scared, so he usually barks a lot at anyone who isn't close family, including their relatives.  Fortunately, he calmed down and stopped barking at me surprisingly quickly.  He did keep a close eye on me, though, and if I went somewhere he didn't want me to go he let me know in a hurry!  Shortly before my trip, Taggu peed on the bed, and also the mattress while they were cleaning the sheets.  They had to throw out the mattress and weren't able to get a new one before I came, so they set up some thick blankets on the floor for me to sleep on.  Taggu peed on those as well while I was there, and after that we made sure to keep the door shut.  There were no problems with any of my things, thankfully.

After lunch, we took Taggu for a walk by the Han River, a huge river that runs through all of Seoul. 

There is a small campground on the banks of the river, and I was told that it's very popular to camp there or have picnics by the water during summer.  I was amazed (surprised) that the campground appeared to be in use at this time of year – I can't imagine camping in the middle of the city in the freezing cold!  There was also a small snow park set up next to the campground, with a big snow slide for children to go down.  Taggu was very cute in his little doggie jacket, alternating (switching) between jumping on Hyun's legs and her mom's legs and barking at everyone we passed.

The cold was too much for us after about an hour of walking, so we went back to wait for Soee to get home from work.  She managed to leave work a little earlier than we had expected, mostly because her boss was out of the office that day, and she got back around 6:30 PM.  We had kimchi stew and some of the leftovers from lunch for dinner.  Soee's dad came home from work in the middle of the meal, so I was able to meet him as well.  He spoke a tiny bit more English that her mom, but not much.  He was friendly and soft-spoken, and Soee said he was a good family man.  Her older sister didn't, Yeoung Hee, come home while we were there; I didn't meet her until Saturday night.

Around 10 PM, Soee and I departed (left) for the jjimjilbang, a Korean-style sauna.  The jjimjilbang was close to the Cheonggyecheon Waterway, which Soee had said was even more beautiful at night, so we walked along the waterway a short ways and then circled back to the sauna.  It was on the 15th floor of a very large building, and we had a little trouble finding an elevator that would take us to the right floor, but we finally found it.  We checked in and each got a set of loose-fitting sauna clothes (a T-shirt and shorts,) a sweat towel and a locker key.  The outfits were color-coded – blue for men, red for women and green for children – and the key had an elastic band that you could put on your wrist or ankle.  Soee gave me the rundown on (explained to me) how to do things in the men's-only area, and we separated to get changed.

The first step was to put my shoes away in a small shoe locker.  Next, I put my clothes and belongings in another locker and changed into the sauna clothing.  After that, I was free to go to the main room of the sauna, which was mixed-gender again.  It was a huge, open room with tons of (many) thin mats strewn (laid) all over the floor.  Along the walls were a number of different heated rooms, each with a different temperature (60° – 70°C) and theme (salt, gold, stone, wood, etc.)  There was also a chilled (cold) room, though I didn't end up going into that one.  One wall had a row of low, arched, brick-lined alcoves big enough for one mat.  The jjimjilbang also had a wall-mounted TV, snack bar, restaurant, public bath, arcade, karaoke room, computer room (for a fee,) exercise room, and coin-operated massage chairs.  Hallways on either side led to the men's and women's sleeping areas, as well as the restrooms.

One very odd (strange) thing about Seoul was what people did with toilet paper in the bathroom.  Most of the restrooms I used had signs saying to put toilet paper in the trash instead of flushing it, and every one had trash cans full of used toilet paper.  From what I've gleaned (learned) from my research, the people in Korea think that the toilet paper will clog the toilets (even though they have one of the newest and best sewage systems in the world,) so they put it in the trash instead.  I have no idea what I was supposed to do if I had to, ahem, go number two, but luckily that didn't end up being a problem.

I met up with Soee, and we decided to try the 70°C salt room first, the hottest room they had.  We had brought our phones with us to help us find each other, but shortly after entering the room Soee thought that the heat might not be good for them, so we put them back in our lockers and then came back.  70°C is awfully (very) hot, of course, so we didn't stay in there too long.

We tried out each room in turn, taking long breaks in-between to chat, explore the jjimjilbang and watch a little TV (Soee's favorite comedian won an award!)  Soee wanted to try one of the karaoke boxes, but although my throat hadn't bothered me much during my stay in Seoul, I didn't want to risk making it worse by singing.  She told me the next day that she had sung a few songs by herself after I went to bed; I was sorry that I missed it.  She also pointed out (showed me) Namdaemun (South Big Gate, or Great Southern Gate,) which is the number one national treasure of Korea.  There was a huge fire in 2008, and the gate is still being renovated (repaired.)

I also wasn't used to staying up as late as she was, so I was ready to call it a night around 1 or 1:30 AM.  I had crawled into one of the alcoves earlier and very nearly fallen asleep, but I thought the sleeping area might be more comfortable, so I said good night to Soee and went to check out the sleeping room.  It was darker, but also a little cooler, and the bunkbeds were all occupied.  I settled for a mat on the floor and a firm square cushion for a pillow, though now that I was actively trying to fall asleep this just didn't do it (work) for me.  I generally have a hard time sleeping without some kind of blanket, and while other people had blankets, I couldn't find any.  (I found out the next morning that blankets cost extra.)  To make matters worse, the man next to me was snoring loudly.  I went back to the main room to see if the alcove I had been using was still free, but sadly someone else had taken it.  I returned to the sleeping area and tried to make the best of it, using a second mat as a sort of blanket, but sleep did not come easily.  Needless to say, it was a long night.

New Year's in Seoul, Day Two (Thursday, 12/29/2011)

Note: some of the words in parentheses are easier synonyms of more difficult words, which should hopefully make this easier to read for non-native speakers.

I woke up on Thursday morning a little earlier than I had expected, and since I was all cleaned up from the night before, I decided to try my hand at solving a long-running problem: updating my iPhone.  For whatever reason, my phone refuses to update on my laptop, and I've been trying to get it updated for the past few months with no success.  I had thought that I would need to go to an Apple Store in Tokyo, but when I noticed that the guesthouse's computers had iTunes, I decided to try updating it here.  It was a little tricky, what with the menus being in Korean and all, but I managed to get it updated with relatively little trouble.

This did cause two problems, unfortunately.  Because I hadn't backed up my phone, it erased all my apps (though thankfully not my app data,) so I had to reinstall many of the apps I was planning on using on this trip.  The bigger problem I only discovered when I got home and synced my phone with my laptop – about 90 pictures I took with my phone and two videos were erased because my phone was restored to finalize (finish) the update process on my computer.  I am glad to have this phone problem resolved (for now,) though I'm really going to miss those lost pictures.  UPDATE: thanks to a tip from a friend, I managed to find about 68 of the lost pictures that were taken after I updated on iCloud.  The videos and pictures I took before I updated, however, appear to be gone forever.

Soee was running a little bit late, so instead of meeting at Myeongdong Station she came up to the guesthouse at around 11 AM.  Cultural differences made themselves known again as I tried to greet her with a hug and a peck on the cheek, but she just wanted a handshake.  I later apologized for my faux pas (mistake,) but she told me not to worry about it and that it was just Korean culture not to do those things.  Our first stop was North Seoul Tower, which was at the top of the hill very close to the guesthouse.  The ground was still icy in places from the sleet yesterday, and even though I hadn't slipped on the ice then (though I had joked that I was doing more skating than walking,) I took a spill almost as soon as we started going up the trail.  I wasn't hurt and just got my hand dirty, so I wiped it off and kept going.  It was my only slip the whole time I was in Seoul, though I was more careful from that point on.  My shoes weren't exactly made for icy weather.

We could have taken a bus or lift up to the top, but it was a lovely morning and it wasn't too cold (yet,) so we decided to hike up to the tower.  I'd only eaten a red bean bun at the guesthouse for breakfast, so Soee got out a snack (the amusingly named 'barley yeast hardtack,' a sort of light cracker) for us to munch on (eat) while we walked.  We found out a short while later that we were going the wrong way, and after Soee asked for directions we got on the right path.  As the tower came into view, Soee told me about the rotating French restaurant at the top of the tower.  Apparently, it's very popular for marriage proposals and celebrating major events, and gives the patrons (customers) a magnificent (great) view of Seoul.  Somewhat unfortunately, it was a little too foggy to see much, but it was still a nice view.  I joked that the fog had followed me from San Francisco!

Hyun had mentioned to her family that I had seemed really cold on Wednesday (which I was,) so Soee's mom had her bring an extra jacket for me, as well as an adhesive (sticky) heat pack to put on my shirt.  Even with a scarf, gloves, the heat pack on my stomach, and three jackets, I was still freezing for the entirety (whole) of the trip.  Soee wasn't faring (doing) much better, and often our decisions about what to do were based more on getting out of the cold than anything else.

We also saw an amazing group of fake Christmas trees made from a huge collection of locks and plastic heart-shaped notes.

In Korean culture, if you write a wish on the lock and clip it onto something, your wish will come true.

According to Soee, they started to do this on a nearby series of railings a few years ago.  The railings have almost completely filled up already, so they erected (put up) the frames for the trees to give people more room to make their wishes.

On the way down, I asked about a large, rounded pile of stones; Soee said that it was very similar, with a wish being made every time a stone is placed.

Next, we headed to Namdaemun Market, a famous shopping area that is both gigantic (really big) and mazelike (very confusing.)

I was glad to have Soee showing me around, because I got lost almost immediately.  Another interesting quirk (trait) of Seoul (and maybe Korea in general) is the huge number of street vendors, selling everything from clothes to food, purses to phone accessories and more.  I passed up on a lot of interesting-looking street food because I wanted to find somewhere to sit down and warm up.  Eventually, Soee found the food section and we stopped for lunch.  I was curious about an odd-looking purple sausage that I had seen at a street vendor, so she ordered that and tteokbokki, a chewy rice cake in a spicy red sauce.  Apparently, it's a very popular snack and lunch food, though most foreigners hate it because of the texture.  It reminded me a lot of a savory and spicy mochi, and I rather liked it, which surprised Soee.  Not for the last time, she joked that I must really be Korean!

The sausage turned out to be sundae, a Korean noodle and blood/black pudding sausage.  No relation to the ice cream dish, just a similar name!

After lunch, we explored Namdaemun Market a little more.  I bought a small souvenir for my family, and we pressed (moved) through a massive (really big) underground marketplace full of imported American products, clothes, jewelry, accessories, etc.

We emerged (came out) close to the Bank of Korea, and Soee wanted to show me their currency museum, but unfortunately the exhibit was closed for renovations until January 2nd.  We were close to one end of Cheonggyecheon Waterway, an extensive (big) concrete stream that runs through a large part of Seoul, so we went over to see the enormous (really big) Christmas tree and small artificial waterfall there.  I also threw a coin into a small basin and made a wish.  I know that there is no small amount of wishing in Western culture, but it was interesting to encounter at least four examples of wishing behaviors in Korean culture while I was there.

Our next stop was Gyeongbokgung, a relatively small portion of what was once a sprawling (really big) palace complex for Korea's royalty.  A very large chunk of the complex was destroyed during the Japanese occupation, and there are now roads and buildings where many of the old structures used to be.  We went inside the nearby museum and looked at a map of the original complex, as well as many of the recently-returned Joseon-era books that were removed from Korea during the Japanese occupation.

We had planned on buying tickets to see the rest of the palace structures, but it was just after 4 PM and the ticket office had closed for the day.  Instead, we took a bus to Changgyeonggung, another part of the palace complex.  We spent a couple hours chatting in a small café here because it was so cold outside, and finally left when it closed.  I surprised Soee again by ordering ssanghwacha, a dark, strong, traditional medicinal tea that Hwan had gotten for me the previous day when I mentioned my sore throat.  It's very strong and rich, but healthy and (in my opinion) tasty!

I took the subway a few times during my trip, and I was very impressed with the Korean subway system.  Instead of using paper tickets, you get a plastic card from the ticket machine.  To cover the cost of the card, you pay a 500 KRW deposit in addition to your fare.  After completing your trip, you put your card into a refund machine and get your deposit back.  I didn't know about this the first time and accidentally threw my card away, but after that I got it right.  The ticket machines and signs are all in English, so it's relatively easy to figure out what to do.  Once you have your card, you swipe it over a card reader and go through the turnstile; exiting at your destination deducts the fare from your card.  You can also use a credit card directly on the card reader instead of using it to buy a ticket; credit cards can be used this way on the bus as well.  Another interesting thing they did was put up a plastic wall between the platform and the tunnel, which prevents people from falling into or otherwise going down onto the tracks.  The walls are transparent, so you can see your train coming, and have a separate set of doors that open when the train doors do.  In addition, to help you gauge how long you'll be waiting, they have displays that show you where the next train is.  It's all very high-tech, efficient and well-thought out.

There was an art museum near the café, so we went inside and spent a short time looking at a free exhibit of Korean abstract art.  Neither of us could make heads or tails of it and weren't really all that interested in abstract art, so we didn't stay long.  Our path then took us down Stone Wall Road (so named because of the big stone wall, though I forget the Korean name,) which Soee said was popular with couples because it's said that people who walk the road will never be broken apart.  I'd expressed an interest in trying bulgogi, a well-known Korean beef dish, so we headed back to Myeongdong to find a place that served it.  We were also trying to find a place for Soee to recharge her phone because she had to return a call to her office.  We didn't end up finding any bulgogi – we even got seated at one point and tried to order it off the menu, only to be told that they didn't have it that night – so we went to a nearby Korean barbecue restaurant instead.

Korean barbecue is really very interesting.  In the middle of each table is a slightly tilted griddle, and you're given raw meat, vegetables, kimchi, lettuce leaves, and some dipping sauces.  You put the meat on the high end, the vegetables in the middle and the kimchi on the low end so that the juices from the cooking meat move down and help cook everything else.  Once the ingredients are cooked enough, you use the scissors at the table to cut it all up into manageable (small) pieces.  Then, you put a few things in a lettuce leaf, ball it up and do your best to stuff the whole thing in your mouth.  You can also add garlic, green peppers and a little salad if you like.  It was easily one of the best meals I had in Seoul!

I was feeling pretty worn out after dinner, but I wasn't quite ready to call it a night just yet.  We explored Myeongdong a little more, and in particular got a very nice view of the market streets at night from the top floor of a large department store.  We also worked out our plans for tomorrow: I would check out of the guesthouse and take a taxi to Soee's family's apartment, have lunch there with her mom and Hyun, then hang out until Soee finished work.  We had originally planned on me taking the subway, but after talking about the size of my luggage, Soee decided that a taxi would probably be much easier.  I decided about this time that I was too pooped (tired) to continue, so we went back to the guesthouse and said goodbye for the night.  I wound up moving to a different room that night because, as one of the women put it, there were going to be about six girls in all the other rooms and no other guys.  I didn't really mind, since it meant that I got a room to myself again, though they did stay up pretty late talking and watching TV.  I don't think I got a really good night's sleep the whole time I was in Korea, but I was really happy to get to spend time with Soee again.

New Year's in Seoul, Day One (Tuesday/Wednesday, 12/27/2011 - 12/28/2011)

Note: some of the words in parentheses are easier synonyms of more difficult words, which should hopefully make this easier to read for non-native speakers.

As many of you know, I used my winter vacation to take a short trip to Seoul, South Korea, to visit my friend Soee.  We had originally planned to see each other again during my summer vacation, but a frankly obscene (crazy) amount of work prevented (stopped) her from taking any time off this summer.  This trip was also not without snags (problems) –for one, she had been granted (given) three days off months ago, but a couple weeks before the trip she was told that she could only have one day off.  This meant that she would have to work two of the four days I would be in town, something neither of us were happy about.  Still, we resolved (promised) to make the best of it.

In order to maximize my time (have the most time) in Seoul, I had booked a flight from Narita to Incheon very early Wednesday morning, the first day of my vacation.  The plan was to leave work at about 9:30 PM Tuesday night, catch a train or bus to Koriyama and then take a night bus to Narita.  I knew that I wouldn't get much, if any, sleep, but I figured it was a small price to pay.  This plan immediately fell apart (failed) when I got to the station and found out that I had missed the last train to Koriyama by about an hour and a half.  The station agents were amazingly (very) helpful, however, and after about 20 minutes of scouring (very carefully searching) train and bus schedules managed to find me a route that would get me to Narita two hours before my plane took off.

A short time later I was in Hitachi, and all I had to do was wait for a night bus to Narita to arrive at 4:10 AM.  This was no small feat (task,) however, since that meant a five-hour wait in the freezing cold, and I had no idea which of the many bus stops my bus would arrive at.  The station agent said that it would show up in front of some hotel, but I couldn't find the hotel I thought he said.  I was able to hole up (rest) in an izakaya for a couple hours, thankfully, and get some food, hot tea and power for my phone.  The staff here was also immensely (very) helpful – they provided me with (gave me) tea after the last call for food and drinks, and got three of the cooking staff to help me try to figure out where the bus would show up.  Ultimately (in the end) we were all stumped (confused,) but I was very grateful for their assistance (help) nevertheless (anyway.)  I finally left at 1 AM with the surprisingly small bill of ¥556 (the tea was free of charge) and ventured (went) out into the cold once more.

I tried to go back to the station agent to clarify (check) which hotel he meant, but he had gone home for the night, so I tried a nearby Toyoko Inn.  The front desk clerk also had no real idea, just that it would show up somewhere in the bus lot outside the station, but she did let me stay in the lobby until it arrived.  It wasn't exactly warm there – I stayed bundled up (in warm clothes) for the next few hours – but it did give me a chance to change out of my work clothes, have a few hot caffeinated drinks out of the vending machine and do my best to relax.  I left the hotel about 3:40 AM to search for my bus again, but it was too cold to wait outside for long.  I ducked (went) into a convenience store to get one more hot drink and ask about the bus again (same answer,) then hung out inside while I watched for the bus through the window.

I tried to find out more information about the bus on my phone while I was waiting, and to my dismay (surprise) I discovered (found out) that it was a reservation-only bus.  It finally showed up on the opposite (other) side of the bus lot right on time, and I hurried over to find out if there was any way for me to get on.  Luckily, the driver had no problem with my not having a reservation and charged me ¥3200 for the ride.  I got a couple hours sleep on the bus, though I did also come down with a nasty (bad) case of motion sickness.  I spent the last half hour of the ride doing my best to keep it under control.

At long last, I arrived at Narita, and things went pretty smoothly from there.  I got checked in, exchanged money (¥20,000 for 245,000KRW, which as it turns out was not enough,) and went through security with more than enough time to spare.  I ate a pretty lousy (bad) bowl of ramen for breakfast, and after getting on the plane got another hour of sleep.  I did find out that relying entirely on (using only) electronic sources of entertainment (namely my Kindle and phone) isn't so great during the takeoff and landing parts of a flight, when everything has to be turned off.  When I landed, I also found out that Incheon's Wi-Fi wasn't much good, so I had to turn on data roaming to contact (talk to) Soee.  I turned on data roaming only when I really needed to connect to the internet and couldn't get Wi-Fi because I had no idea how expensive it would be, but I have a feeling that it's going to cost me an arm and a leg (a lot.)  I had underestimated how long it would take to get through immigration and customs and get my luggage, and ended up arriving at Seoul Station at 2:45 PM, much later than the 2 PM we had originally planned on.

Because Soee was working on Wednesday, she had her younger sister Hyun and her sister's friend Hwan meet me at Seoul Station.  Hyun's English wasn't very good, Soee had said (though she actually wasn't too bad,) and Hwan's was better, so he was coming along to help show me around.  We went from Seoul Station to Myeongdong, a major shopping and tourism area near the middle of Seoul, and dropped off my luggage at the Happy Garden Guesthouse.  We had a small communication error (problem) at the guesthouse, as Hyun and Hwan had thought that I had reserved a single room and were confused when the owners told them that my room was a four-bed dormitory room.  They didn't know how to communicate (say) this to me and eventually got Soee on the phone.  I assured (explained to) them that I had intended (planned) to get the dormitory and that it was perfectly fine (okay) with me, solving the problem.  After that, we wandered (walked) through the mazes (confusing streets) of shops and restaurants and had a dish of chicken, noodles, potatoes, and carrots in a soy sauce broth for lunch (I don't know the name of it.)

I learned a few interesting things about Korean eating habits here.  A typical place setting is a spoon and metal (not wooden) chopsticks on a paper napkin, tissue or toilet paper (yes, you read that right – toilet paper has more uses here, and sometimes a roll of it is put on the table.)  Because there are no knives, scissors are often used to cut up noodles or large pieces of meat or vegetables.  Also, a wide array (many kinds) of side dishes are generally served, notably (especially) kimchi, and people aren't expected to eat everything on the table.  At home, whatever isn't eaten is simply put away and put back out at the next meal.  Families usually don't talk during the meal and tend to (usually) eat very quickly.  At first, my hosts thought that I didn't like the food because I was eating more slowly and talking throughout the meal, but I made sure to let them know that everything was delicious.  They weren't used to talking during the meal themselves, though they wanted to try doing things the American way.

After lunch, we visited Myeongdong Cathedral, the largest in Seoul.  They had a very nice nativity scene out front and a large statue of Mary (though they call her Maria in Korea) in the back.  There was also a glass case with many lit candles near the statue; we took one of the unlit candles and lit it using one of the other candles, then made a wish.  The inside of the cathedral was very dark, but it was quite magnificent (beautiful.)  One interesting culture quirk (trait) is that they usually leave up all the Christmas decorations until after New Year's, so there were huge Christmas trees and other displays all over Seoul.

Next, we went north to Insadong, another popular area for shopping and tourism.  It had started to rain a little bit earlier, so we had grabbed umbrellas, and at this point the rain turned into sleet.  We ducked into a sweets shop to chat then wait out the weather, where we had some traditional Korean rice snacks and citron tea.  Hyun and Hwan were eager to talk and ask questions, despite their very limited (low level of) English.  They often had to pause (stop) to translate a word or phrase on their phones, but overall we communicated (talked) quite well.  Hwan also disappeared (left) at one point and returned (came back) a short while later with a gift: a traditional Korean fan that I had admired (looked at) in a souvenir shop.  I was very thankful for his thoughtfulness and generosity!

When the weather cleared up a little (got better,) we wandered around Insadong some more for a while.  I saw some nice possibilities for souvenirs, but hadn't brought my bag (or my camera, probably because I was sleep-deprived) and didn't feel like carrying anything at that point.  We also walked down the Avenue of Gold and Silver, a street lined with jewelry shops, and browsed (looked) through a large bookstore.  They showed me a few English textbooks in a very large ESL section (they looked difficult,) and I saw a Korean translation of Michael Sandel's Justice with a DVD of the lectures.  Soee and I had started watching and discussing (talking about) it months ago, though we only finished the first half of episode 2. I was surprised to see many couples walking hand-in-hand or arm-in-arm, as I had read that public displays of affection were a big no-no (bad) here.  However, I was informed (told) that it was fine for couples, but non-couples don't touch at all.  I talked to Soee a little on the phone that evening, and there was a remote possibility (very small chance) that she might finish work early and come out to join us, but ultimately she didn't and I was far (much) too tired by that point to stay up much later.

For dinner, we went back to Myeongdong and ate at what Hyun and Hwan said was a well-known noodle shop.  It was similar to ramen, but with a chicken soup base, and was served with the spiciest kimchi I've ever had.  It was delicious!  Hyun tried to water it down (make it less spicy) for me, but I assured her that I would be fine.  She stared at me with frank amazement (great surprise) the whole time I was eating it, as if she was expecting me to burst into flames.  She was just as surprised when I asked for a refill!  A pair of tourists at the next table came over to us for help because they couldn't read the menu and didn't want anything with seafood, so we gave them a brief hand (helped them for a short time.)  In the end they gave up and left, but we did our best.  Hyun and Hwan had refused to let me pay for anything all day, which I later learned was because Soee had given them one of her credit cards.  (Credit and cards in general are much bigger in Korea than they are in Japan; while Japan is almost entirely cash-based, my hosts carried next to no cash on them at any time.)

I was pretty beat (tired) after dinner, so we called it a night and headed back to the guesthouse.  I said good night to my tour guides and went inside, where I met some of the other people staying there.  There weren't any other male guests, so I ended up having the room to myself both nights.  I met a few nice young women from China (with 'Western' names like Grace and Julia) who were studying Korean in the city and spoke really good English.  The bathroom here didn't have a bathtub or shower stall, just a showerhead attached to the wall and a drain in the floor.

I finally got a shower, shave and brushed my teeth for the first time in close to 24 hours, then collapsed into bed.  I'd arranged to meet up with Soee the next morning at 10 AM, and I needed to get all the sleep I could for tomorrow.