Oh hey there. Been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. It's been a while since I've shared some of my stories. I guess the last month and a half has been up and down. Following the St. Pat's adventures in Seoul came many many more trips up to Seoul. But, here's the first one. We travelled up to Seoul for some Seoul discovery and shopping because there just isn't enough in our province. Solid weekend out. Kept ourselves busy by exploring different sections of Seoul. I'm getting a real kick out of travel planning, seems I spend most of my time doing that now.

But, discovering the different parts of Seoul came with meeting some local celebrities too. We met two, both were on some random television shows I'd never heard of (not that I'm caught up on my Korean TV-watchings. One was selling women's clothes...as much as it made sense why he was selling it, it was as weird as it sounds. That was in Itaewon which is the international district of Seoul. My first time in the area I got a kick out it, and thought it might have been my favourite part of the city. Maybe I'm becoming too accustomed to Korea but that spot was a little too foreign-dependent. It's nice to go there and get what you need, but personally, I'd much rather spend my time elsewhere. It is convenient that there are a few foreign markets, so anything I could want that I can't find in Korea is likely in Itaewon. And I'm pretty sure I went on about the Rocky Mountain Canadian Tavern in another post? If not, it is exactly what i sounds, so it was nice to go back to Canada for an hour. After that, we dove into the shopping district of Myeongdong. I dig that spot. Even though I'm a small guy, it can actually be hard for me to find some thigns that fit. Dang those Koreans and their super lean bodies. But Myeongdong has the solution. I can see another shopping spree coming on in the next little while. After Myeongdong shopping, why not hit the night life. So we jumped around Hongdae. This is an area close to one University, so it has a super active night life, although this time around it seemed rather quiet compared to the last time I came out. Still a fun time and I know there are still a ton of places I need to discover. Just researched a bunch of cool cafes to check out like the Hello Kitty Cafe, not my thing but how often do you get to have a waffle shaped like Hello Kitty?

But this trip to Seoul also led me into a sickness I could not fully shake for a month. I managed to get better only for Easter, which naturally brought me back up to Seoul where we indulged in an epic buffet of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, tomato and mozzarella salad and I made a banana bread. For an Easter away from home, it was spent well.

Following that came my second round of sickness. This was a doozy. There was no way I could have shaken it. Should have stayed home from work, but the stubborn guy I am I went into school. The school should have just been quarantined. Many Koreans don't bother covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze, so I am in a constant dodge of bacteria. It doesn't help. I spent a few days cooped up inside curled in my bed and feeling nothing but suffocation and dizziness. Great way to spend the weekend. Especially since it was about 30 degrees. But, again, my stubborness got the best of me, so I decided to kick away from the sickness and go for a hike. Not a good idea. I felt like death immediately afterward. And for the next week. Blah.

But luckily I was nearly back to normal come around my birthday. Like always, I don't tell people it was my birthday, so a small group of us went out to dinner. But, good thing I mentioned the peanut allergy because over half of the meal had nuts somewhere inside it. For a four course meal it was a delicious salad. But, got my first try at screen golf. This is actually really fun. You get a room to your group, and there is a screen and a stage in front of you, and you play it like you would play golf. You swing a regular club and hit a golf ball, but it's all to a screen. I'm terrible (actually, even that is an understatement) but it was a great time.

And then the celebrations continued into the next weekend for...can you guess? Another trip to Seoul. This time around we went on a hunt to discover Wolmido Island. We were in Incheon which has become my second (third?) home. So I took some people on a tour of Incheon, well a bit of Incheon. Wolmido is an "island" (no longer coined an island since 1989 when it was connected to the mainland) off Incheon Port. It's actually a really cool place. The island is set up like a beach resort. It reminded me of home. They have a street called Culture Street which is filled with bars, restaurants, stores and stands all along the water's edge. And they also have live performances along here. Then they have two amusement parks. If you get the chance to visit Wolmido I highly recommend getting on the Apollo Disco. You want a rocky ride? You got it. Plus, when it comes to the DJ controlling it, he's going for laughs, so he will pick on you and make you his bitch. Before I got on the ride I was pegged by him since I was the only non-Asian in the park. Basically the ride is a circle and you are sitting along the edges with nothing to hold you in but your own hands on the railing. The ride will spin slowly or fast and along the way the DJ makes the ride jump, so you are flying in all directions. It's one hell of a ride. And it's not like back home where even the long rides are about 3 minutes. Expect a solid 10+minute ride. Your arms will hurt, and part of you will want to ride again. Another thing I would recommend is the fresh fish. We went to a fish barbecue joint near the water. For less than $50 you get more than enough seafood and it's all super fresh. Then after that and a dinner and walkaround in Chinatown, off to Bupyeong, Incheon's nightlife district. First time here and it was a really cool spot. American soldiers put a damper on the night almost immediately, but we picked it up after putting them in their place.

That brings me to now. Well, the Korean is coming along. I can write it now, and I can understand a little bit more, but I'm still having a bit of trouble separating words from each other, especially since Jeolla province is known for speaking a highly different dialect than the rest of the country. But I can read it and translate it now, so that's a start. Maybe conversation will come soon. Not too bad for not having an actual course.

Well that's it for me. I could have said a lot more, but maybe I'll save it. My biggest dilemma right now is the renewing of the contract. Stay or go or stay or go. One week I have my answer, the next it's something different. Ahh. Still a couple months away though. Hope you're all doing great back home!