We’re trying to get out and see a lot of stuff each weekend. Part of it is because we are in a more Western area so it’s good to go see more of the culture, and also because there is just so much to do here and we don’t want to miss anything.
Our usual mid-week binge drink is to head to Ilsan with the other foreign teachers at our school and their friends. This is random because Wednesday night back home was Open mic at the Gorsebrook, so it’s not big stretch. We usually meet for some Mexican food at Dane’s restaurant, and have some beers. When everyone eventually shows up and is finished we move on to Frog and Toad. It’s a more pub-like place packed of foreigners. They have a deck overlooking the main street from the 2nd floor. F&T has Moosehead and Guinness on tap, and really cheap draught Korean beers.
Our first trip into Seoul was with Jen (another foreign teacher) and her sister who was also visiting after an internship in China (who I had randomly met at an AIESEC conference a couple years ago, small world). We took the subway into the Insadong area. It’s basically a really nice touristy street with lots of souvenirs, galleries and restaurants. There’s lots of side streets to wander and explore too. We walked down the Cheonggye stream. This is a really nice area that runs through the middle of the downtown. It used to be a freeway, but they dug up an ancient stream and made it a really nice park. We wandered to Sejongno square, a big public square, and wandered around the flowers. After the main square we went to the Russian area of Seoul for some tradition food, and Lisa got to try some of the stuff I had been surviving on in the Ukraine. Back in Hwaejeong we went to a DVD bang to just watch a movie.
The next weekend we were on another adventure with Jen and her sister Krista. We took a cable car way up to the top of Namsam mountain to the N Seoul Tower. We watched some traditional martial arts and then headed up the tower. The view was amazing and you could see the whole city. High-rise apartments went on forever. You could probably see a lot more if it wasn’t so smoggy. After the tower we went to Myeongdong. It’s at the base of the park between the trees and the downtown area. It’s a really packed shopping area. There are all the Western brands and more. Some stores even had multiple outlets. Still being broke, we just browsed.
That night was the Team Dirt fundraiser at Dane’s in Ilsan. Our friend Justin is fundraising for a disease his brother has affecting his sight called Choroideremia. Team Dirt is running in the DMZ International Peace Marathon and raising money for this cause. We had a beer pong and flip cup tournament at Dane’s. It was a great money maker with all you can drink cheap beer, but a great disaster for my liver. My team did pretty good in the flip cup, but then I was no match for any beer pong competitions.
Another weekend, Lisa and I went to Lake Park in Ilsan. It is Korea’s largest man-made late with a huge park surrounding it. It’s a really nice walk around the lake with lots to see. There are islands, little pagodas, a flag display, fake waterfall, fountains, lily pad garden, etc. There is even a toilet museum, but we were saving it for another time.
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