After Japan I got sick AGAIN!! I really don't know what it is. It also came at the time when MERS entered Korea and started to spread...but I didn't have MERS. It seems like Koreans have either been scared or sad during the summers
I've been here. Last year it was the Sewol Ferry sinking and
this year it's MERS. Koreans were reacting like it was attack of the zombies and you could get it as soon as you stepped outside. I have to admit that when someone coughed I also felt slightly nervous. There was a massive spike in facial masks and sanitizers. Personal hygiene was also up; something that should have already been in practice but wasn't as much until this happened. People actually started washing their hands after they used the bathroom and covering their mouth when they sneezed and coughed....well, some people. MERS put a lot of panic and fear in Koreans so many summer events were postponed or cancelled like the Namhae beach party. Luckily, I was still able to go paragliding. Even though I was still a little sick, it was a beautiful, perfect day. I met a lot of nice people on this trip. We went to a small town called Danyang that didn't seem like much at first but from a birds eye view it was quite beautiful with the lush mountain surroundings and the river running through it. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. I was freaking out once we started driving up the mountain and they started strapping me up. Before I went, I watched some little kids jump and some people going with their small dogs in their arms. It calmed me down a little because I thought, "If they can do it, I can do it!" That changed when I saw one of the girls in my group jump and fall down because the wind wasn't catching the sail. Once I had all the gear on there was no turning back and when it was time to run off the cliff I ran with all my might. It was a little scary at first but my guide made it very easy. All I had to do was relax and hold the camera stick. It turned out to be a very calm experience just floating among the clouds.
Weirdest car I've seen here
She fell off the cliff!
After getting over my cold, I was still plagued with headaches. I figured it was do to the change in the weather because June was drastically more humid and hot. Everyday, I felt like I couldn't breathe out of my nose and a throbbing pain between my eyes and at the back of my neck. One of the people I met when I first arrived in Bangkok in January was coming to Korea and asked if they could stay with me for two nights. When they came, I was planning on going to a baseball game but it was cancelled because of MERS, so I ended up showing him around Seoul. It was a very wet and depressing day and I still had a headache. Since I didn't originally plan to show him around, I had no real idea of what we should do so I tried to find something that he might enjoy. He wanted to go hiking so I looked up a good mountain in Seoul that we could leisurely trek for a couple of hours. Unfortunately with the wind and the rain, we only made it to the entrance and turned back around. After eating dinner and lunch with him, I realized not all people can take a little spicy and just how much spicy Korean food I ate on a daily basis. I felt bad for assuming he could take it when it was obviously affecting him. I later realized soup would've been best for him (or even bibimbap) but, since I strongly dislike those foods, in the moment I forgot they existed. The next time we ate, I finally found things he could handle and things I would actually eat too, like simple chicken and rice (bokkeumbap). The day continued with subsequent fails, the first being hiking. Next, we tried to go somewhere to get out of the cold rain so I thought of trying the new escape room in Hongdae. It was a lot of fun but we failed in figuring out the puzzle and escaping the room. We went to Hongdae too early so there was no life yet. He suggested going to the War Memorial so we tried to race over there before it closed. We made it but we only had about 10 minutes to look around before it closed...fail. Then, we tried to think of somewhere else and I suggested Insa-dong because it's great for traditional souvenirs and looking at art shops. I don't think he was interested in that stuff because he was on a mission to just run through it and get out...fail. As we were walking throughout the day, we kept seeing waffle stands since they are such a popular snack. He wanted to try one of these famous waffles but after leaving Insa-dong we could not find a place nearby where the waffles weren't sold out...fail. We eventually found a coffee shop and had an expensive, nasty one...fail. Finally, we went to the N Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan since we already went to Hongdae earlier. We took an unfamiliar bus and got a little lost. We ended up walking a long distance to find the entrance but gave up and got on another bus since it was so late at night. When we got there everything was closed down, we missed it by an hour...fail. With little time left before the last train back to Incheon, we just snapped some pictures and went back. I was so sorry about this day. I had been waiting almost two years to have someone to show around Korea and when I finally get the chance it was an epic fail, I was so disappointed. On the bright side, I did get to go somewhere I had never been before, which was the War Memorial, and it was pretty nice.
Cool Bus Stop near Mt. Namsan
In July I started feeling much better, just in time for 4th of July! I guess it was just seasonal migraines. I didn't want to spend another holiday alone so I forced myself to go out alone to Hongdae. I went back to the escape room where there was supposed to be a bar crawl meetup. I was secretly hoping to find a group of people interested in playing in the escape room and wouldn't mind and extra person joining them. I was lost for almost two hours but when I got there, it was practically empty. There were three military guys there just drinking and talking. I ended up talking to them and somehow convincing them to play an escape room game. It was a lot of fun but this room was a lot harder than the last one I played and we definitely didn't solve it, even though it was four of us. After the game, I didn't really want to hang out any later so I felt a little like a party pooper. I did have a good time and I am glad I went. In the spirit of putting myself out there, I also went to a trivia game night the following week at Cheap Shots restaurant and bar in Bupyeong. We played Jeopardy and on my team I met some wonderful new people.
Super burgers I saw while lost in Hongdae.
Time is ticking away and I had to make my bucket list of things I want
to see and do before I leave Korea. I finally got to go to the DMZ,
where I not only learned about the reason for the division of the
country, but I also got to see firsthand the line that separates the
north from the south. It was an eye-opening experience of the struggles
Koreans faced during the Japanese occupation and during the Korean War.
Families were separated and there was extreme poverty. Visiting the
train station made me realize how ready they are to move on but because
of politics and egos that will not happen. It made me have new respect
for the older generation who lived during the war and witnessed such
tragedy. I remember back in Jeju, when my taxi driver told me his
childhood stories about the war and how much he appreciated American
soldiers because they were right there with Korean soldiers fighting for
them and dying with them. After visiting the War Memorial I got a
glimpse of all the Americans who died by seeing their names sketched on
the outside walls. They had something similar to that at Imjingak too
but after visiting White Horse Hill I realized those numbers were only a
fraction of the the Korean lives lost. To see the beauty of the DMZ but
know how dangerous and scary it was underneath was shocking. It looks
so peaceful and calm but it's covered in land mines. It was so
interesting to go down in the tunnels and see how determined North Korea
was in "surprising" the enemy. The built it at a sharp incline so that
in the case of water it would flow downward. It was tough walking up
that tunnel; I thought my heart would burst! Overall, I am so glad I
went.
Tunnel Replica
Seoulmate, a free tour group I had gone with many times, was having their annual reunion party. I felt like this would be my last chance to say goodbye to the people I had met over the last two years so I really wanted to make it and celebrate. It was in Hongdae, once again, where I got lost again. I was late but I figured I could just find the place by looking it up on the internet if I could find free WiFi. They called me to make sure I was still coming and again when I got there. Based on the conversation, which I could barely hear or understand, I assumed someone was coming to meet me at the station. I waited near the entrance but never saw anyone looking for me or anyone I recognized. After waiting almost 20 minutes in the drizzling rain, I looked for a coffee shop to get a snack and use the WiFi. I did find a place nearby but my phone started acting up and shutting on and off. It took forever for it to finally work, at least 30 minutes. At almost two hours late, I didn't want to give up and thought I could make it for the last hour. I followed a map to the place and couldn't find it anywhere. After 30 minutes, I came to the conclusion that it was just too late. I hadn't had Thai in a while so I found a great restaurant to indulge and lift my spirits. It would've been nice to make it but it wasn't the end of the world.
I knew that I had to start focusing on the little time I had left and first on the agenda was my summer camp at school. Right after camp I hope to see the Boseong Green Tea Fields and my long lost friend in Gwangju. Immediately after, I am off to my Southeast Asian vacation! I'm so excited to see Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Until then........
After Japan I got sick AGAIN!! I really don't know what it is. It also came at the time when MERS entered Korea and started to spread...but I didn't have MERS. It seems like Koreans have either been scared or sad during the summers
I've been here. Last year it was the Sewol Ferry sinking and
this year it's MERS. Koreans were reacting like it was attack of the zombies and you could get it as soon as you stepped outside. I have to admit that when someone coughed I also felt slightly nervous. There was a massive spike in facial masks and sanitizers. Personal hygiene was also up; something that should have already been in practice but wasn't as much until this happened. People actually started washing their hands after they used the bathroom and covering their mouth when they sneezed and coughed....well, some people. MERS put a lot of panic and fear in Koreans so many summer events were postponed or cancelled like the Namhae beach party. Luckily, I was still able to go paragliding. Even though I was still a little sick, it was a beautiful, perfect day. I met a lot of nice people on this trip. We went to a small town called Danyang that didn't seem like much at first but from a birds eye view it was quite beautiful with the lush mountain surroundings and the river running through it. It was definitely an experience I will never forget. I was freaking out once we started driving up the mountain and they started strapping me up. Before I went, I watched some little kids jump and some people going with their small dogs in their arms. It calmed me down a little because I thought, "If they can do it, I can do it!" That changed when I saw one of the girls in my group jump and fall down because the wind wasn't catching the sail. Once I had all the gear on there was no turning back and when it was time to run off the cliff I ran with all my might. It was a little scary at first but my guide made it very easy. All I had to do was relax and hold the camera stick. It turned out to be a very calm experience just floating among the clouds.
After getting over my cold, I was still plagued with headaches. I figured it was do to the change in the weather because June was drastically more humid and hot. Everyday, I felt like I couldn't breathe out of my nose and a throbbing pain between my eyes and at the back of my neck. One of the people I met when I first arrived in Bangkok in January was coming to Korea and asked if they could stay with me for two nights. When they came, I was planning on going to a baseball game but it was cancelled because of MERS, so I ended up showing him around Seoul. It was a very wet and depressing day and I still had a headache. Since I didn't originally plan to show him around, I had no real idea of what we should do so I tried to find something that he might enjoy. He wanted to go hiking so I looked up a good mountain in Seoul that we could leisurely trek for a couple of hours. Unfortunately with the wind and the rain, we only made it to the entrance and turned back around. After eating dinner and lunch with him, I realized not all people can take a little spicy and just how much spicy Korean food I ate on a daily basis. I felt bad for assuming he could take it when it was obviously affecting him. I later realized soup would've been best for him (or even bibimbap) but, since I strongly dislike those foods, in the moment I forgot they existed. The next time we ate, I finally found things he could handle and things I would actually eat too, like simple chicken and rice (bokkeumbap). The day continued with subsequent fails, the first being hiking. Next, we tried to go somewhere to get out of the cold rain so I thought of trying the new escape room in Hongdae. It was a lot of fun but we failed in figuring out the puzzle and escaping the room. We went to Hongdae too early so there was no life yet. He suggested going to the War Memorial so we tried to race over there before it closed. We made it but we only had about 10 minutes to look around before it closed...fail. Then, we tried to think of somewhere else and I suggested Insa-dong because it's great for traditional souvenirs and looking at art shops. I don't think he was interested in that stuff because he was on a mission to just run through it and get out...fail. As we were walking throughout the day, we kept seeing waffle stands since they are such a popular snack. He wanted to try one of these famous waffles but after leaving Insa-dong we could not find a place nearby where the waffles weren't sold out...fail. We eventually found a coffee shop and had an expensive, nasty one...fail. Finally, we went to the N Seoul Tower on Mt. Namsan since we already went to Hongdae earlier. We took an unfamiliar bus and got a little lost. We ended up walking a long distance to find the entrance but gave up and got on another bus since it was so late at night. When we got there everything was closed down, we missed it by an hour...fail. With little time left before the last train back to Incheon, we just snapped some pictures and went back. I was so sorry about this day. I had been waiting almost two years to have someone to show around Korea and when I finally get the chance it was an epic fail, I was so disappointed. On the bright side, I did get to go somewhere I had never been before, which was the War Memorial, and it was pretty nice. 
In July I started feeling much better, just in time for 4th of July! I guess it was just seasonal migraines. I didn't want to spend another holiday alone so I forced myself to go out alone to Hongdae. I went back to the escape room where there was supposed to be a bar crawl meetup. I was secretly hoping to find a group of people interested in playing in the escape room and wouldn't mind and extra person joining them. I was lost for almost two hours but when I got there, it was practically empty. There were three military guys there just drinking and talking. I ended up talking to them and somehow convincing them to play an escape room game. It was a lot of fun but this room was a lot harder than the last one I played and we definitely didn't solve it, even though it was four of us. After the game, I didn't really want to hang out any later so I felt a little like a party pooper. I did have a good time and I am glad I went. In the spirit of putting myself out there, I also went to a trivia game night the following week at Cheap Shots restaurant and bar in Bupyeong. We played Jeopardy and on my team I met some wonderful new people.
Time is ticking away and I had to make my bucket list of things I want
to see and do before I leave Korea. I finally got to go to the DMZ,
where I not only learned about the reason for the division of the
country, but I also got to see firsthand the line that separates the
north from the south. It was an eye-opening experience of the struggles
Koreans faced during the Japanese occupation and during the Korean War.
Families were separated and there was extreme poverty. Visiting the
train station made me realize how ready they are to move on but because
of politics and egos that will not happen. It made me have new respect
for the older generation who lived during the war and witnessed such
tragedy. I remember back in Jeju, when my taxi driver told me his
childhood stories about the war and how much he appreciated American
soldiers because they were right there with Korean soldiers fighting for
them and dying with them. After visiting the War Memorial I got a
glimpse of all the Americans who died by seeing their names sketched on
the outside walls. They had something similar to that at Imjingak too
but after visiting White Horse Hill I realized those numbers were only a
fraction of the the Korean lives lost. To see the beauty of the DMZ but
know how dangerous and scary it was underneath was shocking. It looks
so peaceful and calm but it's covered in land mines. It was so
interesting to go down in the tunnels and see how determined North Korea
was in "surprising" the enemy. The built it at a sharp incline so that
in the case of water it would flow downward. It was tough walking up
that tunnel; I thought my heart would burst! Overall, I am so glad I
went.
Seoulmate, a free tour group I had gone with many times, was having their annual reunion party. I felt like this would be my last chance to say goodbye to the people I had met over the last two years so I really wanted to make it and celebrate. It was in Hongdae, once again, where I got lost again. I was late but I figured I could just find the place by looking it up on the internet if I could find free WiFi. They called me to make sure I was still coming and again when I got there. Based on the conversation, which I could barely hear or understand, I assumed someone was coming to meet me at the station. I waited near the entrance but never saw anyone looking for me or anyone I recognized. After waiting almost 20 minutes in the drizzling rain, I looked for a coffee shop to get a snack and use the WiFi. I did find a place nearby but my phone started acting up and shutting on and off. It took forever for it to finally work, at least 30 minutes. At almost two hours late, I didn't want to give up and thought I could make it for the last hour. I followed a map to the place and couldn't find it anywhere. After 30 minutes, I came to the conclusion that it was just too late. I hadn't had Thai in a while so I found a great restaurant to indulge and lift my spirits. It would've been nice to make it but it wasn't the end of the world.
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