a million things have happened… i feel like my time in japan is wrapping itself up and it’s making me anxious because i still have a million things planned…. and what will happen next? a huge question..

so here is a quick recap of my time in south korea, when my family came to japan, when i went to iwate to visit nicole, when i went to universal studios japan, when i climbed a mountain with the 2nd graders- and a few other random things… in about one month’s time.

SOUTH KOREA april 30th-6th

i met kate and jesse in korea- they are there teaching english.  when i said goodbye to kate in richmond last july- i never imagined that the next time i’d see her would be in south korea…

a few things about korea- its incredibly different from japan. there is american fast food everywhere. the people are a lot more abrupt and basically more rude. i was stared at constantly and noone was trying to hide it in any manner. kate was always mistaken for a russian prostitute and i dont know how she dealt with it because i was about to scream just because people were blatantly turning their head like 180 degrees to stare me down. everything was kind of dirty, most things smelled like sweaty kim chi because they eat it with every meal, everyone spit all over the place, and there was no such thing as waiting in line.  there were street beggars and people selling junk in the subway.. they were also incredibly concerned with appearances and i heard many horror stories from where kate worked. I am now used to the mannerisms of the japanese, where people are always polite (sometimes to the annoying extreme) and i never recieve direct unconstructive criticism… not the case in korea.

on a lighter note- korea had some amazing shopping. so many cheap wonderful things.  they also had the best tea shops i’ve ever been too. each one had incredible character.  there was also a ton going on culturally.  so many art exhibits, museums, and shows.  there were also many really cute neighborhoods in seoul.  overall, i liked seoul- it was just a major culture shock coming from japan- the land of the polite and indirect.

kate outside of her apartment in sanbon, near seoul

one of the tea shops: this one had birds flying around inside

trash

korean style dining! really wasteful but interesting and beautiful none the less

near the markets

the palaces are all very colorful- not at all like japan

at home with kate and jesse:

at school with kate teacher: (kate is the funniest teacher and taught her kids things like ‘have you lost your marbles’ and ‘kick the bucket’)

what kate teaches her almost fluent 9 year olds

war memorial museum. wierd. i also went to the DMZ which was really, really wierd

i couldnt hang out with kate and jesse much because they were working, so most days i spent by myself in seoul or with some other people i knew who were traveling at the same time. on the last day though, i had a wonderful time with them- we went on a bike ride, had delicious food, and found a really cute bar. i wish i had friends to do this kind of stuff with in japan!!

jesse looks very enthused with kate’s model shoot

it was a great trip. i may go back if nicole ends up there but it doesn’t look like she’ll be doing that now.  i want to see other parts besides seoul because i hear its beautiful, and i also want to go to the korean islands at the bottom of the country- so one day! things to mention: i seriously almost got hit by a speeding bus and was only saved by leslie who pulled me back by my purse strap (both scary and embarrassing). and a strange old man in an “embroidery museum” nibbled on my ear while he was showing me around because i could speak some japanese and he got a little too excited about that. creeeepy. i also saw dtn, ate a lot of good veggie food, went to seoul tower, went to an antique market, learned more about korean embroidery and patchwork wrapping cloths (pojagi) which are amazing, and bought some also. it was a great trip…