Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Day 4 – Train to Busan


Today BUSAN!
Hello Busan!
Goodbye Rainy Seoul!





We woke up this morning to rain. While we were getting ready and packed to leave, the rain started coming harder and harder. By the time we were ready to leave the hotel, it was a DOWNPOUR. Emily had been texting us that she was leaving her apartment and was on our way. As we popped into reception to check out, she text to meet us at the Starbucks down the street (there are very few cafes open before 9…Koreans drink their coffee during the day, not first thing!). By the time we made it about 200 yards, even though we had umbrellas, our suitcases were soaked, my purse was soaked, everything was incredibly wet. We ordered some snacks, ate them quickly since they were served to us on trays (waste is a HUGE deal here these days) and took our coffee and left.


It was a very wet walk to the subway, but we knew once we were there, we wouldn’t be outside again until Busan! That’s the good news. The bad news is that it was rush hour, so actually getting on a packed train was quite challenging. As the train arrived, Steve, Emily and Peter pushed in through one door, Andy and I ran down and he got in on another door, and I ran to a third door. It was that packed. Unfortunately, the doors caught my bag and a worker had to push me the rest of the way in!  As the train rolled along, it emptied considerably and we were all able to reconnect. Eight stops later and we were at the train station!
We got our tickets printed, grabbed some snacks, stopped at McDonalds (yes, another American institution this morning!) and headed onto our train. Everyone was wet and tired from the morning trek, so the three hours to Busan were very quiet.





Everyone in their own world

And dad continues to work in the downtime

Views from the train

Korea's landscape


Once in Busan, Steve and Emily put Pete, Andy and I in a cab with all the bags because Em had to go the opposite way to a Kakao store and get the charger she had purchased yesterday replaced (it wasn’t able to be charged).  After a bit of confusion as to where we needed to go (the driver spoke no English, so Emily had to intervene two times), we were on our way. 30 minutes later, we were in the area of our hotel, but the driver wasn’t sure where. I believe he was asking me if it was on the right or left, but I had no idea what he was saying. I finally had to FaceTime Emily to talk to him!

I wanted her to tell him to just drop us off and we’d figure it out. As we were all trying to communicate, he saw the small sign for our hotel. Turns out we were right in front of it! What a comedy of errors. Fortunately, Pete and Andy kept saying “Thank You” in Korean, so we were able to express our gratitude (and of course, pay him which a credit card!)


The reception in this hotel is on the 15th floor. It’s gorgeous inside. The kids’ room was ready, so we headed down to the 14th floor and regrouped. By the time Steve and Emily showed up, our room was ready as well, so Steve and I moved in to this amazing suite! Once settled, we headed back to reception for some afternoon tea as everyone was ready for more food! The display was lovely.






Em, Peter, Steve and I then went down to the beach to check it out (Andy opted to stay in the nice air conditioned room). About a half hour later, and we headed back up to get ready for the evening.







Once everyone was showered and ready, we played a game of cards in our room (there is a separate room with a table and couch!) and then headed out to find dinner. We ended up at a Mexican place that Emily had found with her friend Hailey the last time she was here. We devoured Nachos, Margherita Pizza (Pete’s request) and Beef Chimichangas along with some really fun drinks. We then walked along the beach where there were performers, people selling light up toys, and kids with sparklers. It’s quite a hopping place! 
We ended the night with drinks on the roof of our hotel. Every hour the famous bridge has a light show which was really fun to watch. So while the day started out insane, it ended quite nicely.

Tomorrow, more Busan!
The bridge light show at night


OUR AMAZING ROOM!!



The view from our window in the day
And the view at night!





Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Day 3 – Emily teaches and we shop


We had to get up and out the door early today because we were headed to Emily’s school to be a part of her last day at camp! Em came all the way over to our hotel to meet us and take us back to her school (which is right across from where she lives!) So sweet of her to go out of her way for us. After a brief stop at her apartment, we arrived to school early, and Emily and I started working on making a cake. 
The subject of her summer camp this year was Cooking, and she wanted to give the kids an American cake at the end of the camp. We got the cake in the oven as camp was starting, and I made the frosting throughout the morning.


Once camp started, we all sat in the back of the classroom and watched her be Ms. Emily Teacher. It was wonderful! She worked with the kids on different cakes they could make (some were very silly) and then had them create their own cake. Some were pretty good like Jelly Cake, but some were very silly like Poison Cake and Thor Cake. After the kids presented their drawings, they took off for a break and Em frosted the cake and got it ready to go! I had fun with some of the girls drawing on the chalk board while the boys gathered around Pete and Andy trading Pokemon!



After we all ate the cake, the kids were allowed to ask us questions. They seemed to be focused mostly on Peter looking like Spiderman, and Andy’s beard. Some of the questions were quite funny. After Q&A time, Emily said that we could each play Uno with a group of four kids.
The entire classroom erupted with “I WANT SPIDERMAN!” It was HILARIOUS! Emily ended up having us rotate so that everyone got time with Spiderman.

The kids then cleaned up (yes, they have their own brooms and have to clean the classroom every day!) then we took a group photo and had to say goodbye to the kids. Emily took us on a tour of the rest of the school (their heating and a/c are under construction so everything is a big messy) and then we headed back to her apartment. We hung out there for a little bit regrouping before we headed off to Hongdae!



Emily's English classroom currently under construction


Where they make lunch

Emily's Desk!

Chillin' in her apartment (literally)

 

Hongdae is a very cool, chic place for the University kids to hang out in. The first stop was a late lunch (we were starving!) We had Chicken Galbi which was chicken, cabbage, sweet potato rice cake, cheese filled rice cake and green onions sautéed in a large pan, then cheese was poured around the outside. You grabbed the sautéed items and dipped them in the cheese. It was DELICIOUS!

After lunch we walked around and looked at the shops and saw a very talented street performer (this is where they hope to be noticed by someone in the industry), then headed over to a DOG CAFÉ! What a crazy, fun place.

Dogs everywhere. And they were all so sweet. They keep the place pretty clean, too. And you have to buy a drink when you’re there. We had vanilla lattes, chocolate lattes and green tea. It was a fun way to spend an hour while it poured outside!









After the dog café, we went to a place called Troubadours. As Emily put it “It’s a great place to find random English words on T-shirts.” It did not disappoint.



We ended up making a few purchases there. Then headed over to the Kakao store. They have made a store out of the Kakao emojis which is THREE STORIES TALL!! We purchased a few cute things, including a “Ryan” charging brick for Steve since he forgot his. I giggle at thinking how cute his charging brick will be when he heads of to Singapore for work!






After all the shopping, we caught a bus to Insadong. It’s an adorable area with the older, smaller houses turned into a long winding shopping and dining area. We went to one of Emily’s favorite café’s initially for drinks, but then just decided to stay for dinner. They served Thai food…like REAL Thai food! It was quite spicy, but beautifully prepared and presented.



We walked a bit through the Insadong area before heading back towards the hotel. Pete, Em and Andy went over to play a game at the PC Bong which is a gaming café and where Emily hangs out to play with the boys online all the time. And it’s right around the corner from our hotel! But then Em had to get home to pack and the boys came back after one game, because it’s late and our train is early-ish tomorrow!