A Little Taste of Home...

We've met some really great people here in Korea who I'm happy to call my friends and will definitely maintain friendships with long after our departure from Korea.  That being said, we recently got a taste of home when our good friends Stacey and Jake came through Korea on their three-month adventure through Asia.  It was really great to see them, introduce them to our new friends, show them our lives in Daegu, and hang out with them just like we would at home.

Cocktails in a pouch...yes please!

Since moving here, Alyssa and I always talk about how much our friends back home would LOVE some of the food.  Stacey and Jake's visit validated our predictions.  It was really fun to show them the food and customs of the country we call home...and admittedly,  it was pretty fun showing off our extremely limited Korean language ability.

While they were here we made sure to give them a taste of the things we like to do.  These include drinking bag cocktails, meeting our friends at various bars downtown, eating A LOT, norae bang with our Korean friends, visiting various parks in Daegu, and of course, eating again.

I was lucky enough to get permission from my principal to have Stacey and Jake come to my school for 2 periods to let my students interview them.  It was really cool to give them a taste of the middle school atmosphere.  As expected, my students were obsessed.  My favorite moment was when we turned around the corner and one of my first graders looked up in shock and said "Oh my God!"

Alyssa and I had a 4 day weekend during their stay so we decided to visit Seoul for the first time.  Seoul is HUGE!  We stayed in Gangnam-gu (yes, like the song) and did all of the touristy things one is expected to do on a trip to Seoul.  We went to Gyeongbokgung Palace and saw the changing of the guards.  We went Itaewon to get shoes for my abnormally large feet.  We hiked to Seoul Tower in Namsan park.  Even though we didn't go to the top of the tower, the view of Seoul from up there was breathtaking.

Darth Alyssa

Gyeongbokgung Palace

If ROK and DPRK can ever come to peace, this will be
the first train station to go to Pyeongyang from South Korea.

Seoul Tower

It was really fun to have our friends from home come visit.  They are on their way to Vietnam today, and will eventually end up in Phuket, Thailand where Alyssa and I will meet up with them for part of our Summer vacation.