And now a brief message about Korea
OK it's been over a week since I arrived in Shizuoka, and I have gotten 7 solid days of studying in, so I think it's time to take a break and tell you about my time in Korea.It was a quick three day trip but it was so much fun to see my cousin again. We had never go more than a few months with out hanging out with each other and the rest of our family but two years ago we both headed out on a big adventure. Me as a missionary in Japan and Dan in Korea with the Army. If my childhood had been part of the digital age I'd post some super cute picture of us as kids running around on our grandparents farm. Guess you just have to use that old fashioned thing called an imagination for that one.
Anyway we both agreed that we would have to find a way to catch up with each other since we were far from home but relatively close to each other. Less than a two hour plane ride. Dan often works well over a 40 hour week and get a pass off base it tough. So I finally found a three day gap where I could get away from Japan, so I was soon on a plane to see my cuz!
The first night we hung out in Seoul and two of my friends from the U of I Navs, Forrest and Chris, are also in Korea teaching English so I made plans to have them join us for dinner. But I was in for a surprise. Forrest had been able to keep in touch with our friend Wook Yun, an exchange student who came to the U of I, so he joined us as well. Seoul tower is in the back ground of this shot..JPG)
Dinner was amazing, but I forgot to take pictures of the meal. You grilled the meat yourself at the table and then wrapped it in all kinds of different Greens. It was sooo Gooood!!!
After dinner Dan and I headed back to his base. Once there things got interesting. I'd tell you more but it's top secret military stuff. But in the end Dan found a solution to our problem and A-Team style we made it work. "I love it when a plan comes together!"The next day we toured my cousins base and I met his friends. We spent the afternoon hiking up a mountain in the snow. It was great laughing and just hanging out.
That night was another highlight. We visited my Dad's old Army base. I visited the base almost 40 years to the day after he left. It's a small base and Dan and I were pretty sure we were looking at some of the exact same buildings that he saw. But I couldn't find the flag pole to trace back to the location of his barracks.
I hope you like the picture dad. The MP's almost arrested me for taking it! :)
The next day Dan and I visited some traditional sites in Seoul like Gyeonbokgung Place. It was interesting to see this side of Korea.
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We had fun visiting with a group of flight attendants who fly with Emirates, one of the worlds most expensive airlines. We took a picture for these ladies and then they returned the favor for us and took this great picture. Then after talking a bit we gave them directions and some site seeing tips. What can I say, we're just two nice country boys always ready to lend a helping hand.When I arrived in Korea some people suggested that I not mention I was visiting from Japan because it was May 1st, which is Korea's Independence Day, and they still aren't too happy about Japan invading them. We later visited the famous park where the Korean "Thomas Jefferson" read their Declaration of Independence. While there a random old Korean guy with really good English stopped us and talked to us for a while as well. He wanted to know what we thought about Hillary Clinton and Obama. It was... interesting. Actually I love those kind random meetings on trips! As long as the folks aren't too crazy.
The three days went by really quick and soon I was on the plane again. But my cousin couldn't have gotten much more time off work either so I think we made the most of the time. It's hard to believe that these two boys who use to run around on the farm spent three days running around the third largest city in the world.
Thanks for showing me around Dan! I had a great time!!!
posted by Keith @ 10:43 PM
1 Comments:
I'm glad you two had a good time. Dan called & told us all about it.
We also got to visit with your sister Saturday afternoon. Good to see her too.
Hope you're having a good time & enjoying Spring.
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