Friday:
I just don’t like to pack. It is not of my favourite things in life. It makes me paranoid and nervous about the trip I am about to take. I got home early because we had JHS senseis come and evaluate our classes, so the rest of the staff had a meeting and I was allowed to go home early.
I got home and just started to pack and see what I would need for my trip to Korea and also for the rest of the weekend because I would not be coming back home for the whole weekend. I left around 5:45 PM from my apartment in Oma and needed to be in Mustu by 6:30 because of the Tanabu kids eikeiwa class. I got there a little late, about 10 minutes late and it was OK. The class went on for one hour and it was good. The only one who did the actual assignment was Kaho and it was OK for the level of her English. They were supposed to buy me dinner, but they did not have enough money and it was OK. I payed and went to McDonalds because I was still hungry.
I got some and then headed over to Mike’s where he was making dinner of rice and gyoza. Dave came over and got some food and we decided to go out and Dave was going to be our driver! It was nice of him to volunteer and I don’t know if he had enough money for drinking anyway. The first place we hit up was Gin’s and I had never been there before. It was a cool, American antique bar with a lot of reference to rock and roll. He played some cool music and had some interesting choices of video on his flatscreen. He definitely did not make me a whiskey sour, but more of a whiskey soda. Nobuko, Alex and Satoko were at One Love and they called me to see if I would join them. We eventually got there and it was a lot of fun! I saw one of my senseis there and his friend from Kawauchi high school who is married to another sensei at my school. He ended up buying drinks for the people at the table and it was a good time!
We stayed there for a little bit after they left and then went to a place I have never been, Sanctuary. It was cool to hang out there for the rest of the night, but it was kind of expensive with the table charge and all the three Cokes I drank. We met a lot of new people that night. I met Hitomi, one of Dave’s new friends and she was a sweetheart. Went back around 4:00 AM and Mike and I just crashed.
Saturday:
Mike and I woke up pretty late and he made some nice grilled and sausage sandwiches. It was really good. Mike took me to the barbershop and with his Japanese we got me a haircut! It was very interesting because my hair was kind of long and I cut it pretty short.
After that, it was time for some poker and Toby was at Mike’s when we got back. We had about 4 people and Yukko came up from Noheji to hang out with us! I had to go to the Lawson across from the Eneos on the 279. I came back and we started poker shortly afterward. There were about 10-11 people the whole night. We broke for dinner around 6:15 and were due back at 7:30 PM. Yukko and I went to Sukiya where we were eyed by some guys. I think Yukko was a little uncomfortable!
It was a good night for poker and it was a lot of fun to see so many people at the table! I felt bad for Yukko, so I left the table early and then went to Sukiya to meet up with Alex. Nobuko was nice enough to drive us to Sukiya and then we went to One Love in Alex’s car. We got there and we had a good time! We took Yukko to Ori. And Alex took me back to Mike’s and everyone was finishing up.
Sunday:
Waking up early after going to bed late was very difficult. I got up early because I was paranoid about traveling. I took a nice shower and got ready, when I was done, Mike was already up and getting ready too. We left before 9:30 and we saw Alex and Yukko coming back. It was nice to see them and they wished me a good trip. Mike and I headed off and went to McDonald’s for some quick breakfast. The drive was a good one to Aomori airport. We made it in pretty good time and it really helped me relax about how smoothly things went. I got there and the security is not as strict as in the U.S. It was very easy to check my stuff in and get it screened. I had about one hour to wait and it was nice to just sit and observe people. When we did go in to the actual gate, we waited a little more and then were allowed into the plane. The flight was a nice one, about 2 hours and 52 minutes from Aomori to Incheon airport.
I arrived and going through the airport was very easy. I got through immigration and got my bag really quickly. It was probably one of the fastest things I have ever seen. I exchanged some money and saw Angella waiting to greet me. It was nice to see a familiar face and we went to buy bus tickets to get me to my hotel. It took about one hour to get from the airport to my hotel and it was a nice way to catch up with Angella whilst on the bus. Once we got to the stop, we had to find the hotel and it was a little bit trickier than most. Since it is more like a guesthouse than an actual hotel, the place was hidden in a back alley. The area was not bad, but it looked like the equivalent of China town anywhere in a big city in the US. It reminded me of China town in San Franscisco for some strange reason. The place I stayed at is called Travelers A and it is very nice. The place is very welcoming and well lit with bright colours and it is a nice place to call home for the next week. The young woman at the desk was very nice.
I got into my room and got ready to go with Angella to dinner. We took the subway to get to the area where we would have dinner. We walked a
round for a bit and then got to the restaurant. It was very good and it was traditional Korean food, a rice bowl with various ingredients such as chili paste and a raw egg served in a very hot stone bowl. The dish was served with kimchi, traditional Korean appetizers and it was very delicious.
Afterward, we went to the bookstore to find me a Lonely Planet book guide for Seoul. The bookstore was very interesting. It was almost like a basement and there were a lot of people in there even late at night. We finished that and then Angella showed me how to get back to my stop and I ventured onto the subway by myself. It was a lot of fun and it was very easy because everything was in English. I was reading my travel guide so intensely that I almost missed my stop, Euljiro-4-sa-ga. I got turned around and exited on the wrong side and spent the next 20 minutes trying to re-orient myself to find my hotel. I ended up finding my hotel and it was a relief to be back! I checked my e-mail quickly and then headed to bed. I was tired from the combination of traveling, the long weekend and being in a new place! Seoul is amazing!
I just don’t like to pack. It is not of my favourite things in life. It makes me paranoid and nervous about the trip I am about to take. I got home early because we had JHS senseis come and evaluate our classes, so the rest of the staff had a meeting and I was allowed to go home early.
I got home and just started to pack and see what I would need for my trip to Korea and also for the rest of the weekend because I would not be coming back home for the whole weekend. I left around 5:45 PM from my apartment in Oma and needed to be in Mustu by 6:30 because of the Tanabu kids eikeiwa class. I got there a little late, about 10 minutes late and it was OK. The class went on for one hour and it was good. The only one who did the actual assignment was Kaho and it was OK for the level of her English. They were supposed to buy me dinner, but they did not have enough money and it was OK. I payed and went to McDonalds because I was still hungry.
I got some and then headed over to Mike’s where he was making dinner of rice and gyoza. Dave came over and got some food and we decided to go out and Dave was going to be our driver! It was nice of him to volunteer and I don’t know if he had enough money for drinking anyway. The first place we hit up was Gin’s and I had never been there before. It was a cool, American antique bar with a lot of reference to rock and roll. He played some cool music and had some interesting choices of video on his flatscreen. He definitely did not make me a whiskey sour, but more of a whiskey soda. Nobuko, Alex and Satoko were at One Love and they called me to see if I would join them. We eventually got there and it was a lot of fun! I saw one of my senseis there and his friend from Kawauchi high school who is married to another sensei at my school. He ended up buying drinks for the people at the table and it was a good time!
We stayed there for a little bit after they left and then went to a place I have never been, Sanctuary. It was cool to hang out there for the rest of the night, but it was kind of expensive with the table charge and all the three Cokes I drank. We met a lot of new people that night. I met Hitomi, one of Dave’s new friends and she was a sweetheart. Went back around 4:00 AM and Mike and I just crashed.
Saturday:
Mike and I woke up pretty late and he made some nice grilled and sausage sandwiches. It was really good. Mike took me to the barbershop and with his Japanese we got me a haircut! It was very interesting because my hair was kind of long and I cut it pretty short.
After that, it was time for some poker and Toby was at Mike’s when we got back. We had about 4 people and Yukko came up from Noheji to hang out with us! I had to go to the Lawson across from the Eneos on the 279. I came back and we started poker shortly afterward. There were about 10-11 people the whole night. We broke for dinner around 6:15 and were due back at 7:30 PM. Yukko and I went to Sukiya where we were eyed by some guys. I think Yukko was a little uncomfortable!
It was a good night for poker and it was a lot of fun to see so many people at the table! I felt bad for Yukko, so I left the table early and then went to Sukiya to meet up with Alex. Nobuko was nice enough to drive us to Sukiya and then we went to One Love in Alex’s car. We got there and we had a good time! We took Yukko to Ori. And Alex took me back to Mike’s and everyone was finishing up.
Sunday:
Waking up early after going to bed late was very difficult. I got up early because I was paranoid about traveling. I took a nice shower and got ready, when I was done, Mike was already up and getting ready too. We left before 9:30 and we saw Alex and Yukko coming back. It was nice to see them and they wished me a good trip. Mike and I headed off and went to McDonald’s for some quick breakfast. The drive was a good one to Aomori airport. We made it in pretty good time and it really helped me relax about how smoothly things went. I got there and the security is not as strict as in the U.S. It was very easy to check my stuff in and get it screened. I had about one hour to wait and it was nice to just sit and observe people. When we did go in to the actual gate, we waited a little more and then were allowed into the plane. The flight was a nice one, about 2 hours and 52 minutes from Aomori to Incheon airport.
I arrived and going through the airport was very easy. I got through immigration and got my bag really quickly. It was probably one of the fastest things I have ever seen. I exchanged some money and saw Angella waiting to greet me. It was nice to see a familiar face and we went to buy bus tickets to get me to my hotel. It took about one hour to get from the airport to my hotel and it was a nice way to catch up with Angella whilst on the bus. Once we got to the stop, we had to find the hotel and it was a little bit trickier than most. Since it is more like a guesthouse than an actual hotel, the place was hidden in a back alley. The area was not bad, but it looked like the equivalent of China town anywhere in a big city in the US. It reminded me of China town in San Franscisco for some strange reason. The place I stayed at is called Travelers A and it is very nice. The place is very welcoming and well lit with bright colours and it is a nice place to call home for the next week. The young woman at the desk was very nice.
I got into my room and got ready to go with Angella to dinner. We took the subway to get to the area where we would have dinner. We walked a
round for a bit and then got to the restaurant. It was very good and it was traditional Korean food, a rice bowl with various ingredients such as chili paste and a raw egg served in a very hot stone bowl. The dish was served with kimchi, traditional Korean appetizers and it was very delicious.Afterward, we went to the bookstore to find me a Lonely Planet book guide for Seoul. The bookstore was very interesting. It was almost like a basement and there were a lot of people in there even late at night. We finished that and then Angella showed me how to get back to my stop and I ventured onto the subway by myself. It was a lot of fun and it was very easy because everything was in English. I was reading my travel guide so intensely that I almost missed my stop, Euljiro-4-sa-ga. I got turned around and exited on the wrong side and spent the next 20 minutes trying to re-orient myself to find my hotel. I ended up finding my hotel and it was a relief to be back! I checked my e-mail quickly and then headed to bed. I was tired from the combination of traveling, the long weekend and being in a new place! Seoul is amazing!
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