On Saturday I met up with friends I met on the temple stay. Dawn is a nurse with the US Army. She likes to clarify that she's a civilian contracted by the Army. Anyways, a highlight of being her friend is that she has access to the commissary. There are things she can get that you can't get here (or at least for a reasonable price.) So, we met up at a subway station near her and she handed me a big back of pads and Midol. Gotta stock up while I can.
Dawn is friends with Ted who is Korean so he brought us to the hot spot of cherry blossoms: Seokchon Lake. The cherry blossoms only bloom for a short while, so it was very busy. But, we managed to walk around part of the lake, take lots of pictures, and look at all the little trinkets people were selling along the way. We stopped to get our portraits painted which I've never had done before.
Near Seokchon Lake is Lotte World which is an amusement park. Lotte is a huge company here so they also have lots of shopping towers around the area. We went into some to try to find food. It was extremely difficult because of the amount of people down for the festival. We finally found a burger, intended to go back down to the festival but it became very windy. Ted and Dawn decided to head home, I decided to find a coffee shop to charge my phone and head to this place I've been wanting to go for a while - which is best in evening.
Not cherry blossoms, but the national flower which is hibiscus.
There are 3 floating islands in the Han River called Some Sevit. It's just buildings with LED lights that have venues for weddings and a bunch of restaurants, but the timing was right because you would only go there for a short while, and I was already in Seoul, so I took the subway a few stops away to a place nearby which has a shuttle bus to Some Sevit. The problem is, it was so busy that the bus could barely move down the road. We made it half way and then he told us to just walk.
The buildings were really cool to see. The restaurants inside were enticing, but seemed like a place you should go with someone. Maybe one day. The CNN cafe made me laugh. "Sip a latte while you watch who Trump bombs next."
The problem with it being so busy down there was finding my way back to the subway station. The shuttle was not an option, I tried to catch a cab, but every one that drove by me was full. In fact I hopped into a taxi that was pulled over to the side of the road and he looked at me and in broken English told me he couldn't' drive me. I'm not sure why - maybe it's a special car service or something. I will tell you that I had a slight moment of panic. I am in a very large city, I actually don't know where I am, and I don't know the exact route back to the subway. I did some quick self talk - "Alli, you can do this. Just follow the road signs." And off I went. It was actually pretty easy and maybe only a 15 minute walk altogether. I was pretty proud of myself because sometimes I don't have the best sense of direction.
On Sunday, Paul made his way up to Uijeongbu to see me. It's about a 3 hour trek, so I told him I'd meet him half way. Seoul Station is a massive transit center. Subway, train, bus, and taxis leaves from this station. Plus, in typical Korean fashion there is a giant shopping mall attached and lots of stores. Anyways, we managed to find each other, and then travel back to Uijeongbu together.
That massive modern building is a small part of Seoul Station.
We walked along the river that runs outside my apartment, grabbed a burger, and ate some ice cream. It was a really nice day.
A magnolia tree in front of my apartment.
The downside to Paul's 3 hour trek here is his 3 hour trek home. So, he left late afternoon and I laid in bed watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. Is anyone watching this? It's so good!
I had a very eventful week at work, so I'm hoping this week is a bit more leveled out. I'm actually enjoying my time at school more. The kids are learning so much, we are getting into a routine, and it's feeling a bit more manageable. Here's hoping!
Love,
Alli
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