First Few Days

Things have been going well since I landed here in Korea a few days ago and I feel in good health. I have been busy going out with Soojeong and meeting her friends every day, and exploring places that I have yet to see in my previous trips here. Wednesday Soojeong and I traveled to an area of Seoul called 부암동 (Buamdong) to explore some of the little streets and the cafes that line them. It was a bit outside of the busy part of Seoul and the scenery was beautiful. It almost felt like we were up in the mountains, which in a sense, we were. In that area there is the old wall that surrounded Seoul in ancient times, the home of a famous poet, and lots of little parks with great views of the city. The weather here is a bit colder than it was back in Oklahoma, but it isn't unbearable at all.

I finally got the chance to meet Soojeong's good friend from Germany, Anselm, and go out to eat and shop with him. He also studied at Shinshu University and he is fluent in English, Japanese, Korean, and of course German. He is a funny guy and yesterday he and I explored a bit while Soojeong had to work. He is working on his master's degree here; studying Korean and researching historical events before he heads back to Germany next month. Last night Soojeong, Goeun, Anselm, and I all went out for chicken for dinner and did a bit of shop browsing while we walked around the city. It still takes a while to get used to being in a place that never really sleeps. Colorful lights and the sound of the city are always present, and people sweep across the landscape like a human wave.

Tomorrow, Soojeong and I will fly out for our weekend trip to Japan. Since Japan is where we first met, we are both very excited for the chance to travel there again and do some sight seeing. Our flight leaves at 2:00am and we will get into Tokyo about 4:30am. We will be staying in a traditional Japanese hotel in the town of Nikko on Saturday, and Sunday we will travel to Kamakura and Enoshima to do some sight seeing before heading back to Korea early morning on Monday. It will be a short trip, but I am really looking forward to going. This link is of the place we will be staying at in Nikko: http://olpost.com
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Other info:
Nikko: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3800.html

Kamakura: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2166.html

Enoshima:http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3117.html