Sometimes it's good to step away from "regular" life for a while in order to appreciate it more. After a very roller-coaster year in Thailand, full of ups and downs, exciting moments and exhausting adjustments, God gave us exactly what we needed by sending us to South Korea to visit my best friend, Nikki. We totally needed a break, and now we are back, refreshed and at least a little more ready to start a new year.
It was wonderful to get away from everything Thai, at least for a little while. Korea was totally different, and that's what made it such a great place to vacation. For one thing, we went from 95 degree weather to lower 20s; it was like going from the hottest day of the year, to the coldest day of the year, to which all I can say is: Thank God for spring and autumn! But it felt great to wear sweaters and scarves and gloves and heavy winter coats and hats and jeans and blankets and anything else we could get our hands on...
Aside from the change in climate, we loved trying Korean food: it's delicious!! It has such wonderful names. Try saying them out loud. Go on. It's fun!
Here's bibimbap:
Shabu Shabu:
Galbi:
Dac Galbi:
And of course... Kimchi! We think it looks like a smoker's heart in this picture.
I hate stereotypes, but in coming to Asia for the first time, I had my fair share, I'm sorry to say. Thailand did not at all look the way I pictured "Asia," but Korea fit the mold. High rises everywhere, efficient bus system, lots of lights, etc. It was quite amazing! Unlike Thailand, the streets were clean, there were no street dogs, people recycled, and (gasp!) they actually use the crosswalks! Here's a view from Nikki's apartment:
Of course the best part of the trip was spending time with friends. We loved seeing where Nikki lives, her school, her church and small group, and meeting some of her friends. Of course she took us sightseeing on the weekends, so here's some of the stuff we saw. We spent a couple of days in Seoul, and actually really loved the city.
I think it's the 3rd largest city in the world, but it's so organized, it's a very comfortable and fun place to visit. We saw Gyeongbuk gung and palace
and a museum about King Sejong, the king who invented Hangul, the Korean alphabet, which is apparently the most scientific writing system ever made. We visited the Korean war memorial, where we learned a lot that we never learned in US History class.
We walked down Insadong, a handicraft street, and through the shopping district. At the end of the day, we went up to Namsan Tower for an overlook of the city.
It's a very "cutesy" place where couple attach locks to the fence to represent how their hearts are locked together. Here we are.
Aren't we adorable?
Our second week, we went to visit our friends Charlie and Natalie, whom we spent a lot of time with during our TESOL course in Thailand. They live in a small village on the Eastern sea, about 40 km South of North Korea. They got us a motel right on the beach,
and while they were at work, we went for a walk on the beach in the snow! They took us to an awesome coffee shop in the mountains:
A couple days later, we met Nikki, had lunch, and went for a paddle in these beautiful swan boats on the Hwachan lake.
She took us past the small village where she taught last year. It's in a beautiful, mountainous part of the country, and we loved it!
In Cheonan, Nikki's city, John and I went to Independence Hall, a huge park with 7 or 8 museums commemorating Korea's Independence from Japan. We didn't have time or energy to walk through all of it, but it was really interesting.
Our trip home was mostly uneventful, but we went home feeling so happy. Here's why: we were waiting in the immigration line in Shanghai (during our layover) and saw a woman who looked Peruvian, beyond a shadow of a doubt. We started looking around and noticed a group of men who looked Latin as well, and they had Peruvian Passports. As we got up to the front of the line, we noticed they were having trouble filling out their arrival cards (the only languages were English or Chinese), so I jumped in and offered to help. Those 5 minutes of speaking Spanish totally made my day!! Man! We miss Spanish, and more than that, we miss living in a country where we can communicate! But we are back in Thailand, determined to stay positive during our second year, Gracias a Dios!
