So I went to Seoul....

Even though this was planned before I decided to take my hiatus, my trip to Seoul was extremely well timed.


That's right, I took a trip to Seoul!

I could probably bore/interest you with some facts about Seoul, largest city in Korea and has 25% of the South Korean population in its city limits or whatever; however, that would only be a small part of my weekend trip. And stop being lazy, go to Wiki and look it up yourself.

The original intention for my trip up to Seoul was to have some American food.

Breakfast food.

That hassle was real

It had been way too long since I had American breakfast food and I was really missing it. Like really missing it. Missing it so much, I made a whole weekend trip to go get some.

Okay...sort of planned a trip.

True story, I was kind of freaking out about the whole time.

Packed bus to Seoul

Sure, I've gone to Daegu many times, since I barely live an hour away from it...but Seoul? That's  basically a three hour drive. In fact...I think it was more...?

Gongcha and bus riding

And while I've been in country for three months by then, public transportation is still very daunting for someone who rarely used it. Back home, I have my own car. I was very privileged in that fact. I had a car since I was of age. And...school buses aren't really public transportation.


So, yeah.

I had to figure out the online reservation, which surprise of all suprises, the English site does not work. You can only make reservations via the Korean version. Am I the only one who thinks that's...odd? I wonder how common this is? Are sites in America like this as well? What about other countries?

Empty bus to Geochang

Figuring out the ticket system took a hot minute. I had to ask other foreign teachers, 'brah, what do?' I did find out that if you use google chrome as your browser, it'll translate most of the site for you, so that was a small blessing. But you have to be careful. It translates a lot of things into literal translations. Particularly city names. Moments like these, it's good to have a grasp in Hangul.

Most of the reservation is self-explanatory, but then the purchasing part is a little different than what I was familiar with. Instead of entering the CVV code (those 3 numbers on the back of the card), I had to enter the first two digits of my 4-digit passcode as a card password?

A literal process.

Do I look tired?

But doable.

It just takes patience and not being afraid to ask for help.

Bus ticket aside...I got to Seoul easy enough, but very exhausted. It was after a long day at work (taught 6 lessons that day, because Fridays are a day to overwork yourself??), and then I had to find my friend.

Who was lost.

At a different bus terminal.

Thankfully in Seoul.

I made sure that we went over the Metro protocol Saturday.

It's as if this post has only been focusing on transportation...doesn't it? I haven't even gotten started on the taxi life...but I'll save that for a different post. But, most of my taxi experiences have been good and reasonably priced!

Now, let's talk Seoul...shall we?

Just the Oncology building at
Severance Hospital. SO BIG.

Since I was already in Seoul, I made an appointment with Severance Hospital. One of the very few hospitals Fulbright ETAs can go to where we don't have to worry about the two to six month reimbursement process. I had an appointment for my foot since it was now going on for 3 weeks of PAIN.

I couldn't wake up without my Achilles aching in pain. Or walk up stairs. Or play soccer. Or volleyball. Probably the reason I ended up tearing my muscle while playing soccer too.

This burger gave me life

Severance Hospital...oh my god. I don't even know how to explain it. It's huge and wonderful and I'm pretty sure it's also a mall? I had maybe one of the best burgers there.

Anyways, I had my foot checked out and found out I had tendinitis. I was told one month of 'no soccer, no volleyball, no hiking'.

Me: lol, k.

As soon as November hits, I'm going to go on a nice, relaxing hike. Enjoy nature and all that.

Outside of the hospital, we found a random music festival and looked around in some shopping options but didn't get too crazy into it. Personally, I felt very overwhelmed with how shopping happens here. In the states and Germany (the two places I'm familiar with), everything (literally, EVERYTHING) wasn't displayed for you to look through right on the shelves. But here....it's just all...there. I guess it has something with not having a 'back area' or something? Spacing difficulties? I probably need to look at stores one or four more times before I would feel comfortable/know what I want to buy.

So yeah. Overwhelming.

I did see a sale on face masks though. 1+1 (BOGO in America), I got 30 face masks for 15,000원. Yes, I literally paid $0.44 for one face mask. It was a beautiful moment.

And then finally Sunday came around...

Breakfast.

We went to the Original Pancake House in Itaewon (barely a five minute walk from the Metro stop). I will let the pictures do most of the talking, but I will say this. If you're looking for a place that serves Ihop-styled food....this is the place to go while being in Korea.

Sooooo, worth it. 

And not to worry! All of the employees speak English and the menu is in English (and Korean). I will definitely be making a trip again...maybe in November...after my hiking day?

What I haven't mentioned: The crazy thing Friday Night at 7/11.

#SaveOurToya