Weekend in Seoul

This past weekend I traveled to Seoul to meet up with a few buddies from training aka the week from hell and to take in the sights and sounds of the city. Yes I did stay in Seoul for a week during training for my job but let me tell you, we did not leave our hotel for nothing. Training week was hard since all of us were majorly jetlagged and freaking out about the intense workload being thrust upon us. We kept getting told that only 87% pass that

first week and let me tell you, a few of us were freaking out. But more on that later....

As we all know, I am the Queen of Procrastinating. When I should have been packing for Seoul I was watching "He's Just Not That Into You" on TV. My packing was officially finished by 4am Saturday morning. The only problem: I had to be at work by 8:30am to teach at 9am. Good thing I only have one class on Saturdays. As soon as that bell rang at noon, I quickly changed out of Teacher wear and into Tourist gear. I hopped onto the su

bway, took it to the train station, quickly bought my ticket from the machine, and hopped on the 1pm train to Seoul.

The KTX train goes as fast as 300KM/hour so obviously, the train is the fastest way to Seoul. I took a nap and arrived in Seoul at 2:45. Yes everyone, I arrived in Seoul even before the second class was out at 3pm at my school. Technology is awesome! After I arrived at Seoul Station, I hopped onto the subway and proceeded to ride another 50 minutes to Gangnam where my pals Leah and Jessica were waiting for me. Leah is from England and is super nice and smiley. Except when she gives you the creepy British eyes...you know that look. Jessica was my roommate at the Coatel Hotel during training. She was the best roomie ever!

We had coffee drinks and gabbed at Angels-In-Us, a delightful cafe chain filled with cherubs, feathers and fake flowers galore. It even had a gold, glittery toilet seat in the loo. Ahhh Korea, trust you not to forget about over decorating the bathroom. Jessica and Leah had heard about a show called Nanta and bought tickets for the show. It's the oldest Korean show running and has been performed all over the world. After a walk in the rain and a taxi drive to point us in the right direction, we arrived at the theater. It was a bit pricey at 50,000 won but it was AMAZING! (click the link to see a preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XQ-hFrhE_Q)

After that, we proceed to get lost (like all good little tourists do) but we did see import car dealerships. It was the closest I have ever been to a Ferrari... I hope that wiped my face smudges off the window.... We finally located the subway station and were on our merry way to the bus stop. Jessica went back to her place and I went with Leah to hers. Leah lives in Dongton which is 30 min bus ride outside of Seoul. Her town is pretty cute, it's all brand new and designed as an eco-city. Lots of green space, trees, fountains, and wide streets for parking and driving! There was even a scrap booking store! A tropical storm went through that night so it was pretty fierce and wet. But well worth it to see some great friends!