Kicking it in Seoul

My bus ride to Seoul from Busan was long. It took five hours, but it was pure bliss. I was still elated after such a fun-filled weekend with my Busan girls on top of being overly excited to see my friends in the big city. I sat next to the window, watching the sun go down over the jagged mountains, rolling hills, and small villages as I listened to music.

When I arrived in Seoul at about nine at night, I made my way to the meeting place where Diego would come find me. Diego and Dominik are grad students studying in Seoul for a year. I met them both (along with the rest of the “El Nido crew”) in the Philippines back in January. They had only amazing things to say about Korea, which I can most certainly vouch for, so I figured there was no better time to go visit than when I had some friends there to share the experience with.

I emerged from Hongik University Station exit number 4 to a dark, quiet street, shrugged off my heavy pack and sat down on a graffiti covered bench. Less than a minute later, Diego appeared, bouncing over with his huge smile and wrapped me in a bear hug. Seeing friends after being separated is always fantastic, but there is something extra warming about meeting up with friends after you’ve been traveling solo for a while. Even though I only met Diego back in January, his welcoming demeanor, open personality and good humor make it seem like I've known him for years.

We caught up with each other during the ten minute walk to his apartment building where he showed me to my bed (mattress on the floor) in Dominik’s room. Dominik is a very caring guy, very bright, and a jokester to boot. He also happens to be a soldier in the Swiss Army. (Yes, that’s right, it's not just a brand of nifty knives.) Maybe Dominik was always this way, or maybe his military training shaped him, but in addition to being a fantastic all around person, he is extremely organized. Like, obsessively tidy. I stood in the middle of his apartment and looked around at everything. The books were placed flush against the wall, ordered tallest to shortest. The items on the table were neatly arranged in a linear fashion. His cloths were folded with perfect creases and placed in evenly spaced piles according to color. Everything was immaculate. Shit, I though, I’m here for a week. “Where should I put my bag?” I asked. Diego just laughed, said “good luck!” and headed to his apartment on the floor below. “See you in ten minutes” he called, just before the door shut.

I sighed, tucked my bag under the desk and tried not to touch anything.

One of Diego's friends had a going away party the night I arrived, so we cleaned up and headed out to meet up with everyone. As we arrived at the bar, I spotted Dominik outside the door and ran up to greet him with a hug equally as big as the one I gave Diego. "It's great to see you!" I told him, before briefly asking if my bag was located in an appropriate place in his room. "Of course! Put it wherever. Help yourself to anything in the fridge too. What's mine is yours!" What a relief. I actually felt bad that I was concerned about it in the first place because Dominik is way too gentlemanly and sensible to let a guest worry about such petty things.

Commence amazing week.

Seoul is an enormous city, home to some 26 million people. It is the third largest metropolitan area in the world. Those that know me well know I'm not much of a big city girl, however this place was special. I liked how clean and green and hilly it was and how simple the public transportation was. The locals are friendly and helpful and the food is incredible.

What made my week in Seoul really special was being able to experience it as if I lived there. I had the pleasure of hanging out with some amazing people on daily basis, something I hadn't been used to since living back in the States. Don't get me wrong, solo travel has its own incredible benefits, but it's refreshing to be surrounded by familiar people.

Here are a few examples of things I did with these lovely friends, in no particular order:

Diego and I made the quick climb to the top of Ansan, overlooking Seoul, and ate rice triangles.

We also made the longer, more grueling climb up Bukhansan in the rain and ate gimbap.

We had a picnic on the Han River with a wonderfully international group and ate everything under the sun.

It's the thing to do on a lazy Sunday. Wearing matching couples outfits is apparently also the thing to do in South Korea.

We took a day trip to see a temple outside the city, where my camera inconveniently stopped working, so here is one photo of our walk up the creekside. That afternoon we feasted on the local dish, Dakgalbi, for lunch before taking a long walk along a riverside in search for a train heading back into Seoul.

Dominik helped me find a place to get my camera fixed, then the two of us did the "wall hike." He is full of history, facts, stories, and a plethora of corny jokes.

And he's a stud.

The building with the blue roof way in the back is South Korea's equivalent to the American White House. The city wall was built over 600 years ago to protect the capital from invasion and stretches up over the hill seen behind the Blue House. There are extremely strict and enforced rules regarding where photography is permitted while walking along the wall.

Five of us got together to make a delicious family-style dinner at a Sophie's apartment.

Sophie is everything that is awesome. She's hilarious, brilliant and does what she wants. She radiates a confidence that I aspire to have.

We got creative with the dumplings.

One evening Jaz led us all to a Salsa club where I had the opportunity to show off my two left feet.

Jaz is one of my favorite humans ever. She is packed with an incredible amount of energy and life. She is always smiling, always thoughtful, and always genuine. She has one of those unexplainable auras that make everyone around her comfortable and happy. Oh, and she's from Kyrgyzstan, which I thought was very interesting. She also rocks at salsa dancing, speaks a bunch of languages fluently, is gorgeous, and I have a total "girl crush" on her.

We went to the International Food Festival and met up with Nic (middle), one of my friends from college who is teaching English in Seoul. There is never a dull moment with his fun-loving, silly self.

I had the opportunity to meet up with one of my friends, Andrea, I knew while serving in the Peace Corps in Ecuador. Andrea (far left, below) and her boyfriend are both English teachers. It was so much fun to reminisce and catch up with her after a few years.

Eating, if you haven't already figured out, is one of my favorite things. Seoul is a superb place to let your palate wander. The best part about it is sharing meals- especially with Christina and Diego. Sometimes I wonder if Christina actually eats, as she is constantly making sure everyone else is getting enough. She's a Chicago native, so we clicked right away, and then she stuffed food into my mouth and I knew we'd be friends for life. Diego might love eating even more than I do and I adore his enthusiasm for a solid meal.

On days my buddies had to study, I wandered out to see what the tourists could do in Seoul. There are a few magnificent palaces and a "secret garden" which I visited.

During one of my strolls through a piece of Korea's history, I was focusing so hard on trying to unwrap the lollipop a school kid gave me in return for taking a selfie with her that I walked straight into a small rock and blew out my favorite flip flops!

Nooooooooooo. Long story short, I walked about three miles through the city wearing one sandal looking for a new pair (impossible to find any either without heels or without sparkles). Out of nowhere, an elderly man took my arm, pointed at my broken flip flop, and led me about thirty meters down an alley to a shoe repairman who sewed my sad slippers back together with the precision of a surgeon. It only set me back two dollars.

My very last day happened to be a Monday and I didn't need to leave until late afternoon. My friends all had studies, so I took the opportunity to visit a museum which ended up being closed, then taking the subway down to the Korean War Memorial, which was also closed. Two major fails on my last day.

At least I enjoyed the outside of it.

A group of Korean soldiers were practicing some sort of gymnastic, theatrical, and somewhat gruesome presentation. I sat and watched for about fifteen minutes. The most entertaining part was the leader waving his arms around and yelling orders at them from up on the stairs.

Diego, Dominik, Christina, Sophie, and Poei all made time to have one last meal with me. Jaz wasn't able to make it to lunch, but she took fifteen minutes off work just to come say goodbye. I felt an unbelievable amount of love.

I can't thank these awesome people enough for making me feel so welcome, opening there homes and hearts to me, and showing me the cool side of Seoul. You guys are the best. Please come visit when I settle down somewhere, someday. In the mean time, know that I hold very fond memories of my week kicking it in Seoul.

Next stop: Indonesia.