Okay, where did i leave off?? After the Seoul weekend and the 3 or 4 days recovery time for my legs that followed, the weekdays were spent showing Katelyn and Sandy (Sarah's mom and sis) around Daejeon. We showed them our favorite places to eat, play darts, get a drink, and of course.... let little fish nibble the dead skin off of your feet. :) Dr. Fish is a little cafe that has such fish and everybody seems to love it if you can get past the overwhelming tickle sensation at the start. Sandy was the biggest gamer at the fish farm and the fish seemed to think her feet to be the tastiest by far.
The gals seemed to have fun in Daejeon (where I live, in case you didn't know that) but then they took advantage of Sarah getting a few days off and headed to beautiful Jeju Island where I would meet up with them on Saturday.
In the meantime, I took advantage of yet another random holiday.... Election day. Anyone who knows what a thick Asian accent would sound like pronouncing Election day should be smiling already... "June 2nd, no school. ERECTION DAY!" my boss told me excited a couple of weeks before! we foreigners had a lot of fun with that one! we celebrated the important national holiday by going out after Dr. Fish on Tuesday night. A big dinner started our buzzes rolling and then we moved on to our new favorite hot spot downtown - the local convenience store!! That's right, they have picnic tables set up on their patio so you can buy beer and sojo (Korean rice whiskey) for dirt cheap inside and then hang out on there all night for free. it's a perfect place for culture-watching and just relaxing all summer - no crappy American music all night either!!
Last stop that night was back to back "Noray-bong" (i guess you would pronounce it). These are karaokee rooms where you rent out a private room for you and about 6 to 8 of your closest and least vocally talented friends and sing your hearts out for HOURS. as always.... bring your own beer!! :) I walked (i use the term loosley) home at dawn and enjoyed my wednesday off!!
Friday after school i headed directly to the train station and bolted south where i was treated to some impressive South African hospitality from my friend Paul who lives in Busan. He met me at the train station and showed me around the new city utill about 3 am. We had a blast and i will be hard-pressed to ever find that kind of hospitality again.... he made himself a bed on the floor and insist that i take his bed! Cheers, man! I owe ya one!
I headed off to the airport after a few hours of sleep and finally made it to Jeju Island around 1 pm on Saturday afternoon. The Alabamian ladies met me at the gate and we bolted to soak in as much as we could in my less-than-24-hour stay there. Jeju is THE tropical vacation spot for Koreans... kind of like if Hawaii was a $65 flight away from the U.S.
We ate lunch on this patio first stop when i got there. BEAUTIFUL weather and views everywhere!!
You find this little statue guy EVERYWHERE on the island... he's aparently some god or protectorate of the island in their ancient beliefs?? I couldn't figure out why they shaped his head like the tip of a penis, can you???
The gals seemed to have fun in Daejeon (where I live, in case you didn't know that) but then they took advantage of Sarah getting a few days off and headed to beautiful Jeju Island where I would meet up with them on Saturday.
In the meantime, I took advantage of yet another random holiday.... Election day. Anyone who knows what a thick Asian accent would sound like pronouncing Election day should be smiling already... "June 2nd, no school. ERECTION DAY!" my boss told me excited a couple of weeks before! we foreigners had a lot of fun with that one! we celebrated the important national holiday by going out after Dr. Fish on Tuesday night. A big dinner started our buzzes rolling and then we moved on to our new favorite hot spot downtown - the local convenience store!! That's right, they have picnic tables set up on their patio so you can buy beer and sojo (Korean rice whiskey) for dirt cheap inside and then hang out on there all night for free. it's a perfect place for culture-watching and just relaxing all summer - no crappy American music all night either!!
Last stop that night was back to back "Noray-bong" (i guess you would pronounce it). These are karaokee rooms where you rent out a private room for you and about 6 to 8 of your closest and least vocally talented friends and sing your hearts out for HOURS. as always.... bring your own beer!! :) I walked (i use the term loosley) home at dawn and enjoyed my wednesday off!!
Friday after school i headed directly to the train station and bolted south where i was treated to some impressive South African hospitality from my friend Paul who lives in Busan. He met me at the train station and showed me around the new city utill about 3 am. We had a blast and i will be hard-pressed to ever find that kind of hospitality again.... he made himself a bed on the floor and insist that i take his bed! Cheers, man! I owe ya one!
I headed off to the airport after a few hours of sleep and finally made it to Jeju Island around 1 pm on Saturday afternoon. The Alabamian ladies met me at the gate and we bolted to soak in as much as we could in my less-than-24-hour stay there. Jeju is THE tropical vacation spot for Koreans... kind of like if Hawaii was a $65 flight away from the U.S.
We ate lunch on this patio first stop when i got there. BEAUTIFUL weather and views everywhere!!
You find this little statue guy EVERYWHERE on the island... he's aparently some god or protectorate of the island in their ancient beliefs?? I couldn't figure out why they shaped his head like the tip of a penis, can you???
an inviting path leading down to a scenic waterfall....... see below :)
As always, the picture never comes CLOSE to capturing the size, beauty or feeling of the waterfall. It was 100+ feet high and more than 30 across. immediately behind you on the other side was the sea, a rocky volcanic beach and 3 or 4 foot waves crashing in. this was one of my favorite stops on the quick trip!
The Hyatt - Jeju. Look at it perched up on the rocky bluffs above the sea. We didn't stay there, but we did enjoyed an incredible dinner inside and it was a gorgeous property. Strangely, their tourist season here is strictly july and august so many things were still closed, including our hotel's pool still (which they highly over-advertised)! so the gals may have crashed the hyatt for more than just dinner. :)
As always, the picture never comes CLOSE to capturing the size, beauty or feeling of the waterfall. It was 100+ feet high and more than 30 across. immediately behind you on the other side was the sea, a rocky volcanic beach and 3 or 4 foot waves crashing in. this was one of my favorite stops on the quick trip!
The Hyatt - Jeju. Look at it perched up on the rocky bluffs above the sea. We didn't stay there, but we did enjoyed an incredible dinner inside and it was a gorgeous property. Strangely, their tourist season here is strictly july and august so many things were still closed, including our hotel's pool still (which they highly over-advertised)! so the gals may have crashed the hyatt for more than just dinner. :)
When we finally got to our hotel, it was close to midnight and when we went to check into our new room, they only had one left... the honeymoon suite! we all stayed in style the last night and enjoyed our massive balcony atop the hill overlooking the sea, jacuzzi tub and spacious living room! The entire week, Sandy and especially Sarah made SURE i didn't pay for anything (not so much as a bus fare)!!! Thank you both for the past two weekends - i had a BLAST!!!!
Now, i'm ready for bed, suitcase packed behind me except for the laptop that i'm typing on! my loooooooong journey starts at 5 am Korean time and ends at 1 pm the same day in minneapolis where my mom and dad are picking me up! it seems strange that only 8 hours will pass on the clock but i will have been traveling for almost 24! -- more bizarrely; my final flight from Tokyo to MSP leaves Tokyo at 4 pm on Friday.... i arrive home after 13 hours have passed and it's actually 3 hours EARLIER on the clock. TIME WARP. :) all of this equates to June 11, 2010 being the longest day of my life.... almost 40 hours long!
I love you all and will see you so soon i can taste it!.... and it does NOT taste like chicken afterall.
