Becoming Independent

Asia » South Korea » Seoul
September 30th 2011

Published: September 30th 2011

Edit Blog Post

WorldTravelling

Photo 2

As my time comes to two weeks here, I have become a bit more busy than I have been previously, which is always preferable when you are in a new place. You don't want to go back home saying you didn't really do much, so I'm trying to make the most of my time here by seeing many different places here in Seoul little by little.

There have been a few times that I have been able to meet friends in a coffee shop or have dinner with them and that is the best part for me about being here. I really have felt like I have been visiting with family that I haven't seen for a couple years when I am able to meet them. One 'brother' has gotten married and had a baby since I have last seen him and I am so happy to be able to spend time with his wife and child and get to know them. One of my other 'brothers' is getting married soon. I have been having a great time getting to know his future wife better (I met her once in the US) and think we could become good friends. Slowly

Photo 3

I am also meeting a few new people and hopefully friendships will come from that as well.

I can't say that I have done a huge amount of "touristy" sightseeing, because I know that since I will be here for awhile that will come in time. I'm sure it will happen when I am more comfortable being out and about on my own. Yesterday though, I was able to go and see (the outside) the World Cup Stadium, and that was pretty impressive. Very close to that is a place called Sky Park that is around 300 steps to climb just to get to the park! I was quite tired, but it was definitely worth the views of Seoul and the Han river. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy, so I'm not sure how good the clarity is in these pictures, but hopefully some things can be seen. There was another area yesterday that I was able to go see and it is an area that is close to me where there are many great shops for souvenirs from Korea. The area is called Insadong (sp?). In total I walked around almost 7 hours total. It was pretty great, although

Photo 4

Hm.....

my calves are quite sore from all the stair climbing! I got to have a treat though, and eat Galbi at a restaurant there at Insadong. One of my favorite foods and it was the first time I was able to eat it in Korea. 😊

The one weird thing I have come across that I'm not sure what to make of it is that if I come across other Americans on the street or in the subway, we don't look at each other at all. If anything it is almost like we are avoiding each other. I really am not sure why this is, but not once has another American acknowledged they see me or that we share anything in common.

I have been really happy for my prior knowledge of subway use from Europe because it has made things so much easier for me and I have also been walking around alot. For example today, I was going to be in the area of my friend's work, so I asked if we could meet. I could have easily taken a subway and been there quickly. I had time though after my appointment before I had to

Photo 5

meet him so I decided instead to walk the two miles there. There were a few times when I wasn't exactly sure if I was going the right way (I had gotten simple directions from someone I knew before I left), but I just kept going, and I ended up in the right spot. It was so refreshing to walk and be able to take in the sites instead of being underground and missing so much.

Hopefully by my next blog I will have met more people and seen more (there are still 3 palaces I need to visit near my house) around Seoul. Either way though, I am definitely having an experience I will never forget. I'm not sure what life lesson I will take from this yet, but I'm sure that something will come from it.

Additional photos below

Photos: 44, Displayed: 24