Blogs from Itaewon, Seoul, South Korea, Asia

We decided to head up to Seoul and take care of some errands. Jen wanted to go to Insadong, a touristy part of Seoul loaded with antique shops, art galleries and keepsakes. She wanted to pick up some (spoiler alert) gifts for people back home and for those who will be in our wedding. And I wanted to walk around a crowded area of Seoul wearing a bulky backpack and lugging around a roller suitcase full of old books on bumpy streets dodging tourists and street vendors. Wishes granted. There are really four ways to make it up to Seoul. The bus, which is the cheapest option. The regular train, which is te cheapest option but somehow takes longer than the bus. The KTX uber fast laser train that speeds you towards Seoul in style and ... read more

I wasn’t sure if my 3-hour flight from Tokyo to Seoul would warrant any food, but apparently it was deserving of a full meal. Gotta love international flying. After landing at Incheon and going through immigration and customs, I called my friend, Brian, who I would be staying with, and told him I was on my way. But first I needed to stop at an ATM and withdraw some money. However, when asked how much I wanted to withdraw, I was not given any “Fast Cash” options, which are very useful when you haven’t researched the exchange rate of the currency you are about to withdraw. Luckily, there was a currency exchange right next to the ATM, and I was able to lean over and determine that it was a little over 1000 won per US ... read more

Seoul, South Korea. Hadn’t really pictured myself coming here ever, and was not really sure what to expect. I just knew it was a big city with lots of people in a developed country. It is clean, organized, safe, and very populated. There are poor people, very wealthy people, and most people are working hard just trying to live their daily lives. KIAs and Hyundais, mostly in white, black and gray, are everywhere. Koreans love signs and hang them all over the place. They love pop stars and rice. They respect their elders, to the point where some older people are rude to younger people on the street and there is no recourse (someone old woman on an elevator snapped at my friend). Baseball is the most popular sport, and I keep seeing men in what ... read more

Dear Blog Readers, Last week’s blog can only be described as material for toilet reading, so I feel that this blog should start where we left off. I’ve not commented much about the toilet situation in Korea for two reasons. Firstly, they really aren’t that interesting. Secondly, I’ve experienced some of the worst toilets in India so the initial culture shock which would normally hit me upon first site of a squatter has become obsolete. However, I should now make some sort of comment. Like everywhere in Asia, it is not common to have toilet paper so you have to remember to bring your own. This means having the daunting task of predicting the amount of toilet paper you are about to us. Risks cannot be taken. Furthermore, there are squatters, and nobody really knows which ... read more

It was the last week of Snow when my sister and mom went to Seoul, South Korea. It was my first time there and did not know what to expect but I really had fun in my 5 day trip to Seoul. We had a hard time in finding our hotel there because Koreans can't speak English. Some of the Natives were friendly but they cannot speak English. My advise for you is to print out a brochure of the name of your hotel in Korean so you will not have a hard to time in looking for it. We stayed at Hyundai Residence Seoul. It was a very cheap and affordable hotel and has a very nice location. We took a city tour of Seoul on our first day. The best way you can ... read more

Last day... woke up kinda late, sleeping in is gooooooood! especially since I didn't get back until 3:45am from the DJ festival. Which was fun! I spent the day packing, spending time with my favorite aunt shopping and then boat ride along the river in Seoul. I got 2 pairs of shoes and a shirt while shopping with my aunt. I got a smoking deal on the shoes, 2 pairs for less that $20... awesome. I paid a lot for the shirt, but I really liked it. The boat ride was last minute. My mom called while my aunt and I were on out way back to my Aunt's house. I wasn't done packing but decided to go anyway. It was nice to see Seoul from the River and there was a fountain show off of ... read more

Ah Saint Patrick’s Day. A day to celebrate all that is good and green in this world. A time for old friends and family alike to come together and recount the good times spent from days long past. A time for new friends to rally up with one another and create new memories for the ages. A time… to attempt to consume as many alcoholic beverages (preferably whiskey, bailey’s, Guinness, or green beer) possible without totally losing all sense of self and inhibition. This truly is one of my favorite and most celebrated holiday’s of the entire year, and each year, the day becomes a little bit more special to me. However, before moving on to discuss the events that transpired for me on this holiest of days, I first must recount an event that completely ... read more

I'm finally in Seoul!!!! The plane ride was soooo long I'm really glad that is done with. I lost a day comming out here some how with the time change it was so crazy leaving on April 1st in the morning and arriving here on April 3rd. We had a 3 hour lay over in Tokyo. We walked around the airport and looked at all the shops. While Aaron and I were walking through the shops there were these men that worked there that kept giving us shots of Saki. We did about 3 shots I was nice and toasty for the plane ride to Seoul. The Saki was delicious so we bought a bottle which we plan to celebrate with later. Ariving in Korea was a relief. Once we started driving to our airport looking ... read more

My schedule changed a bit this week. I no longer have a 3pm class so I have a little extra time on my long lunch break. I have a sneaking suspicion I will soon be given an 8-9pm class though. I finished up at the gym as well. I can now do 5k under 30 minutes consistently on the treadmill. I will look into joining the gym near my apartment sometime this week. My shoulder is still sore from skiing but it is gradually healing. Wednesday I went out to lunch with Andrew and Tonya so they got to meet for the first time. We had some grilled meat which was quite delicious as always. Friday night I went out with Jemal, Yogita, Andrew and JT and got to sleep at about 3am. I was very ... read more