*Sigh* The end of summer.

And how do I know it's the end of summer? The last of the parade of visitors that came here has left. It was: (in order of appearance) Deanna (big sis), Nate+Laura+Maren(big bro & fam), Mom, Ross, Carl. Not sure if I should count Ross, since he didn't explicitly come here to see me, but he left yesterday. So, now I have a little over one week left to relax before classes start.
It's been an intense summer. In retrospect, there were only a few weeks, I think, in which I was not hosting or entertaining someone. And that's way more intense than it sounds. Korean people on average, don't speak English. I mean, there are a lot of catchphrases from English that are well-known or words taken from English, but that doesn't mean a lot. Getting around and staying well-fed are ok, but the best sightseeing, foods, and situations require quite a bit of Korean. (That is, unless you live in Itaewon, in Seoul, where all the foreigners live.) So, just having a parade of people relying on me to basically be a tour guide for them almost every day for several months has taken its toll on me. And then I remember how it was with my Korean friend/roomate the first few months I was here. And then I feel really bad.
I did a lot of travelling around Korea this summer for everyone. And I saw and did a lot of really cool things. And my bank account only suffered a little bit for it. That's pretty awesome. Lots of good pictures and awesome memories.

(following pictures credit to Carl and Ross)

So, it's been a long, crazy week. Got Carl from Gimpo airport, we hung out in Seoul with Ross and Hee Jeong, and Eun Ji. We went to 63 building on the South Side of the river, and drank some beer before Eun Ji had to leave.

The crew parting ways in the Subway. -_-

Then we went to eat dinner and such. Samgyeop-Ssal ftw. I was really surprised at the end of the night when Ross and Carl both agreed to go to a public bathhouse/sauna (찜질방) to stay the night. It's a wonderfully relaxing and cheap way to spend the night. The next day, we went to COEX (largest underground shopping center in Asia) and its aquarium. I like COEX. We then parted ways to head back to Daejeon. Carl and I just hung out and met my friends in Daejeon.

My sexy dinner pose in Daejeon.

He also saw 2 english classes and 2 taekwondo classes. I gave carl some "free-talking" time alone with them so he could see their English ability. I made my students try teaching him taekwondo as a test of their english ability and patience. We also obtained my Foreign Registration card for the coming year.

That's it, folks, it's official, down to the contract and the Visa....... I'm staying.

Carl did not tell me he'd shortened his stay to a week until we went back to Daejeon. Bad huubae. (junior) I was a little pissed about not being able to do much, but I was more sad than anything. oh well. So we went back up to Seoul for a day and a half, stayed in a hotel this time. We went shopping in the super-fashionable Dongdaemun market (where Carl bought possibly the pimpinest polo tee I've ever seen.)


We then failed to make it to the palace (Kyeongbokgung) on time, but we saw lots of cool things along the way. Like Gwanghwamun Plaza:

The recently opened Gwanghwamun plaza.

Then Carl and I went to Jogyesa temple, where we learned that the former president Kim Dae-Jung had died. We also met a very interesting woman who was researching the bronze bells of Korea, and because of her and a very friendly temple attendant we got to walk right up to the 4 sacred intruments at the temple. Pretty cool. I find those instruments fascinating.

Carl in front of the Dharma Drum and the Brahma? Bell

That night we met Ross and Hee jeong again for a bit of shopping in Insa-dong (Carl and I bought awsome hats) and then "The Ice Bar" near Honggik University.

It was so cool, cooler than cool....

"An' what's cooler than bein cool? ICE COLD!"

Hilarious. Once I took a couple basic pictures with Ross' and Carl's cameras, I got excited about the photo opportunities. So I spent most of the rest of the time arranging "glamour shots" like that one. lmao Here's mine:

Yes, that's a glass made of ice. And a fur hood.
And that makes me a total b-a.

Deep thoughts.
Manly deep thoughts.
And Ice.
Sub-Zero, for Men

Then Ross went totally crazy.
And killed Carl.
While Heejeong and I stood aside and laughed and took pictures.

And then we went to another place to play darts and so on.

The next morning, Carl and I failed again to see the palace, this time on account of sleeping too late+rain. But we saw the palace museum instead, and then I bid Carl farewell at Gimpo.

It's been a damn good summer, everyone. To those of you that visited, I worked damn hard for you, and some things failed, (I'm not a perfect tour guide yet,) but I'll remember those golden times in Korea with you all for the rest of my life. It was beautiful. And I was really happy. ^^,
To those of you that didn't come, I thought about you a lot. You know, I love the people in my life back there in NC and here in Korea. To be honest, my people are the only reason I even want to come back to NC. So even if you didn't come to visit, and even if I hardly ever talk to you...... Well, when I look at the sky, I think of you, and smile.
*LOVES*