So Long, Korea!

Monday, 10.24 am.

It’s Monday morning, and I’m sitting in the Seoul airport, waiting for my flight to Tokyo. I’ll meet cousin Ian there, and we’ll have a good time.

Yesterday morning, HyeRan and I saw Eli off. Yosup drove him to the airport, and HyeRan and I went into Seoul for the day. We met up with JJ and had a nice lunch of dumplings, boiled pork, kimchee, lettuce, and Japanese-style soup. After lunch, we wandered through Seoul as JJ led us to one of the larger palaces. The buildings were typical Korean buildings – simple rooms, ornate architecture. The grounds were beautiful. Big trees, meandering paths. A greenhouse! We saw a shrine where Korean nobility would store placenta after childbirth. Weird.

After that, we crossed over into Jongmyo, which used to be a shrine center for dead kings. Now, it’s a big park. Again, lovely architecture, nature, paths, etc.

From there, JJ took us to Insadong, which is a couple blocks of pedestrian-only shopping. Lots of stores with souveniers, jewelry, drums, clothes, etc. I didn’t buy anything, because I was a bit overwhelmed with the crows of people. JJ, HyeRan, and I stopped for tea at a lovely little teahouse in a park where Tuida performed their first show.

From there, they took me shopping to buy some Korean music. After that, JJ left us, and HyeRan and I went to meet Sandy for dinner. HyeRan left, feeling a little ill, but I had a good time. Too good a time. I drank a lot of soju, and by the time I left the restaurant, the trains had stopped running. I had to take a cab all the way back to the hotel, where I promptly passed out.

This morning, HyeRan, Yosup, and Seok came to see me off at the hotel. Yosup brought a lovely painting he had made. Seok drove me to the airport, and we stopped for McDonalds so that I could get some grease to calm the hangover. At the airport, he helped me get all checked in, and then we said our final goodbyes. I invited him to visit us in the states!

Now, we’re about to board the plane, so I should post and close the computer. So long, Korea, and thanks for the good times!