I have far too much to write about with far little motivation to write. Unfortunately I woke up this morning with quite the cold going on which has sucked any and all energy from me. Since it's the last day of holiday I thought I would update in here as I am sure I won't have as much time to do it once classes start back up.
So on Wednesday I met Corrie in Seoul! We decided to take the 63 building by storm. After figuring out where we wanted to go we actually made it there without mishap. Walking in the building we were stopped by a man asking us what we were doing there. We were both confused as we thought that this was a touristy type building and didn't expect our presence to be questioned. Eventually we decided that the building was so large that the man was just trying to be helpful with directing us but because of the language barrier it sounded more as though we didn't belong.
After eating a quick lunch we decided to see what the place had to offer.
So, we found an English speaking guide near the ticket counter and started talking to him about what we wanted to see. We decided to get the 3 events for 30000 won ticket. Then, we would get a 10% off discount since we are foreigners. So we went to buy tickets to Sea World, an IMAX movie on dinosaurs, and the Observatory/Picasso exhibit. Instead of paying the 30000 won each, it totaled 30,000! The English guide was talking with the person at the register for quite some time and then she gave us a 50% discount! Seriously awesome. Corrie and I believe it's because we really complimented him on his English skills. ;-)
So the building was fun. The IMAX was hilarious as they took a movie in English, dubbed it over in Korean, and then gave us headphones to listen to the English version with a 5 second delay in both speech and music. SeaWorld boasted the fact that they had over 20,000 creatures. Corrie and I believe one of the creatures died in its cage as it wasn't breathing or moving and was laying at an awkward angle. Poor thing. I hope it was just sleeping. The observatory was pretty cool. There were many great views. It was also good to see the Picasso exhibit as I meant to do that while in Philly and it never happened.
After that Corrie and I eventually headed over to Itewon and joined up with some people. One of the people, hilariously enough, was also from EMU like Corrie and I. So we were able to talk about Ypsi things for a bit. A good way to end a fun day.
The next day, Thursday, we were headed to Everland to meet up with some of Corrie's friends from her section of the country. It took us about 6 hours to get there as we kept getting lost! Both of us are directionally challenged in the first place...but I think it's worse when you put us together! We eventually made it to Everland at 4ish so we still had 4 hours there which was more than enough to see a lot. Everland is basically an amusement park. Our first ride was a roller coaster. What's more terrifying than a normal roller coaster? One that you're not quite certain will make it to the top of the hill...
But yes, that was fun. I barely made the last subway ride home but it was totally worth the long trip. The night before wasn't able to sleep at all so I was super tired all day on Thursday. I figured I would sleep well but I believe the over-stimilation (and a lot of caffeine...^_^) kept me awake until after 4am!
The next morning, Friday, I headed over to meet up with some people in Moran which is about as far away from here as possible. The trip didn't take as long as I was thinking, however, so it wasn't bad. Only about 2 hours by subway. We went to a market there and I saw many things. It was really cool because it's more how I would imagine Asia being. My town is so modernized it's not always interesting. After leaving the market we decided to hike up a mountain. That was fun as well as I got to talk to and get to know another English teacher that lived in that area for a little over a year. It was a really fun day/night hanging out and getting to know some really cool people.
Saturday was interesting as we headed over to a long name that I won't even try spelling to see some Palaces. It was interesting to read the history and see the spirit chambers. It would be really cool to see it in May when they do their ceremonies as they are one of the last places in the world to still do it. I love going to places like this and experiencing some of the culture. Plus, it's so cheap! Only 4000 won total for two different places! My list of places I want to visit while here is steadily growing...
I called it an early night last night as I wasn't feeling well. Today I took it easy as well and literally either slept or read for the entire day. I am hoping to get rid of this cold before having to go back to teach tomorrow but I have a feeling I haven't even started getting sick yet as every hour I feel progressively worse.
Oh well. A cold is well worth the lack of sleep and fun sites/interesting people I have met this week!
So on Wednesday I met Corrie in Seoul! We decided to take the 63 building by storm. After figuring out where we wanted to go we actually made it there without mishap. Walking in the building we were stopped by a man asking us what we were doing there. We were both confused as we thought that this was a touristy type building and didn't expect our presence to be questioned. Eventually we decided that the building was so large that the man was just trying to be helpful with directing us but because of the language barrier it sounded more as though we didn't belong.
After eating a quick lunch we decided to see what the place had to offer.
So, we found an English speaking guide near the ticket counter and started talking to him about what we wanted to see. We decided to get the 3 events for 30000 won ticket. Then, we would get a 10% off discount since we are foreigners. So we went to buy tickets to Sea World, an IMAX movie on dinosaurs, and the Observatory/Picasso exhibit. Instead of paying the 30000 won each, it totaled 30,000! The English guide was talking with the person at the register for quite some time and then she gave us a 50% discount! Seriously awesome. Corrie and I believe it's because we really complimented him on his English skills. ;-)
So the building was fun. The IMAX was hilarious as they took a movie in English, dubbed it over in Korean, and then gave us headphones to listen to the English version with a 5 second delay in both speech and music. SeaWorld boasted the fact that they had over 20,000 creatures. Corrie and I believe one of the creatures died in its cage as it wasn't breathing or moving and was laying at an awkward angle. Poor thing. I hope it was just sleeping. The observatory was pretty cool. There were many great views. It was also good to see the Picasso exhibit as I meant to do that while in Philly and it never happened.
After that Corrie and I eventually headed over to Itewon and joined up with some people. One of the people, hilariously enough, was also from EMU like Corrie and I. So we were able to talk about Ypsi things for a bit. A good way to end a fun day.
The next day, Thursday, we were headed to Everland to meet up with some of Corrie's friends from her section of the country. It took us about 6 hours to get there as we kept getting lost! Both of us are directionally challenged in the first place...but I think it's worse when you put us together! We eventually made it to Everland at 4ish so we still had 4 hours there which was more than enough to see a lot. Everland is basically an amusement park. Our first ride was a roller coaster. What's more terrifying than a normal roller coaster? One that you're not quite certain will make it to the top of the hill...
But yes, that was fun. I barely made the last subway ride home but it was totally worth the long trip. The night before wasn't able to sleep at all so I was super tired all day on Thursday. I figured I would sleep well but I believe the over-stimilation (and a lot of caffeine...^_^) kept me awake until after 4am!
The next morning, Friday, I headed over to meet up with some people in Moran which is about as far away from here as possible. The trip didn't take as long as I was thinking, however, so it wasn't bad. Only about 2 hours by subway. We went to a market there and I saw many things. It was really cool because it's more how I would imagine Asia being. My town is so modernized it's not always interesting. After leaving the market we decided to hike up a mountain. That was fun as well as I got to talk to and get to know another English teacher that lived in that area for a little over a year. It was a really fun day/night hanging out and getting to know some really cool people.
Saturday was interesting as we headed over to a long name that I won't even try spelling to see some Palaces. It was interesting to read the history and see the spirit chambers. It would be really cool to see it in May when they do their ceremonies as they are one of the last places in the world to still do it. I love going to places like this and experiencing some of the culture. Plus, it's so cheap! Only 4000 won total for two different places! My list of places I want to visit while here is steadily growing...
I called it an early night last night as I wasn't feeling well. Today I took it easy as well and literally either slept or read for the entire day. I am hoping to get rid of this cold before having to go back to teach tomorrow but I have a feeling I haven't even started getting sick yet as every hour I feel progressively worse.
Oh well. A cold is well worth the lack of sleep and fun sites/interesting people I have met this week!
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