And we're back...

I am now back home. It's nice to be back but I do miss Korea. I mainly miss seeing/being with Grace everyday. But, we've been able to talk online everyday since I've been home. She even got a web-cam so we could "see" each other (since I have one too). She's sweet like that. I miss her a lot and seeing her helps but when we have to sign off, being able to see her makes me miss her even more. She looks really great and I wish I could be there with her. *BH*

My concept of time is still in Korea. I'm sleeping during the day and being awake at night. I've learned that it's incredibly boring being up when no one else is. There is nothing on T. V. and I can't play guitar or any other instrament since my parents are sleeping. One the plus side, however, I am awake when Grace is online (night for her = morning for me). ^__^

So, I'm thinking of starting a new blog, since I'm no longer studying abroad in Korea. It would be just random events and/or thoughts that I'll have and feel like posting. Thoughts (good idea/bad idea)? I'm sure it would end up closer to a "deep thoughts: by Jack Handy" than a deep philosophical exploration of the world and mind. Oh well. Now it needs a name...

I miss you, Ya Ya. *BH&K*

Josh's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Josh!!! Today is Josh's birthday. I feel bad that I didn't spend most of the day with him since I was with Grace, but he understands. He was feeling a little under the weather anyway, so it wasn't like I kept him from going places. When I got back the family met up and went to VIPS for dinner. I bought Josh a birthday cake and brought it to the restaurant. After we ate we parted ways again. I'm in the dorm now, trying to pack my things and get out of here. Don't get me wrong; I really like Korea. I do, however, miss sleeping in my own bed... and things around here really don't feel the same since most of the other exchange students have left.

My Grace is Gone

Today, Grace returned home. To spend our last day together we did what we normally do: eat, watch movies, talk, and cuddle. This time, however, we did a couple of different things. We went out and planted the lavender plant she gave me. We did this last night. Then we returned to her apartment and watched a couple movies and talked and finally fell asleep. When we woke up we got ready and went to the airport. It was very sad and I really had to hold back from tearing up. She's so great and I miss her so much already. I saw her every day for months and now I'm not going to be able to see her for a long time (possibly years). Ya Ya, wo ai ni!!! Wo xiang ni!!!

Father's Day

Sunday was Father's Day so, aside from wishing my father a "happy father's day", we met up with Grace and went to Suwon Fortress. That's not the real name but it's easier to say, type, and understand. We took a trolley around some of the fortress. I think my family really liked it. Then we went to New Core Outlet. We were going to go to a park near by but ended up doing a little browsing in New Core and then went back towards Ajou University for dinner. I took my parents to a cha ja myun (a type of Chinese noodles) place and Grace gave them their gift. She had gotten them Chinese wooden chop sticks in a very nice wooden box in a very nice box. It was, as you can guess, very nice. Both of my parents are working on using chop sticks so it would seem that they'll actually use them (at least for a little while). Then we parted ways and I stayed with Grace since she was leaving the next day.

The Family's First Full Day

Yesterday was the first full day for my family, in Korea. As usual, the weather didn't cooperate and it rained. So, my plans for yesterday had to be changed. We ended up going to my campus and I showed them my dorm, as well as the rest of the campus. From there we took a little break and I visited Grace (I miss her). Then, after meeting back up with the family, we went to Suwon Station and did a little shopping. No one bought anything but I think they enjoyed walking around and looking at things. After walking so much everyone was hungry. So, we went to a Korean BBQ. They really liked that and Josh thinks it would be a hit states side. Then we tried to get back to the hotel and that was interesting. It would seem that no one knows of this hotel. I tried to explain where it was and I even gave the cab driver the address but he still didn't understand. It took a really long time and we tried everything to get him to figure out where we wanted to go. We showed him on a map, told him the name of the intersection (with the two intersecting street names), what was near it, etc. Finally, I told him to take us to the Home Plus that was two blocks away and we walked from there. Once we got to the hotel my family kind of passed out. I thought about going back to Grace's but I didn't want to just leave my family here and have them wake up and not know where I am or how to get a hold of me.

Meet the Parents... and Josh

So, today was the big finally party for the exchange students. I didn't really get to go since I had to pick up my family at the Incheon airport. I don't mind missing the event, I'd much rather be with my family, but I am a little bummed that I wasn't able to spend time with Grace and eat a buffet... for free. You know... college teaches lots of things... mainly that you should never miss a free meal.

My trip to the airport took a lot longer than it should have. It was supposed to be an 80 min. bus ride but it took 2 1/2 hours. Luckily, my family wasn't waiting long. It seemed as if we all arrived at the same time. On the way back we had to wait at Hotel Castle for a bus to our hotel. Much to my/our surprise, Grace was on a bus back from Suwon station and saw us. She got off the bus and met us. I was thrilled and it really made my day. She's just awesome and the greatest, sweetest, prettiest, young lady ever. She met my family and wowed them (as to be expected). My family now loves her and thinks she's great, too. Now, I'm at the hotel with my family and I miss her... a lot.

May 30Th

Recently, the Ajou exchange students took a cultural trip to an island. We went to a market that was known for it's ginseng. After the market we had lunch. Then we went to a place where we all got to weave our own little mats. Then we went to a beach that is known for it's foreshore (between the tides). This beach, apparently, has the largest foreshore (biggest distance between high tide and low tide) in Korea. Wouldn't you know it... we were there to see the big, muddy low tide. Something about it seemed familiar... but I couldn't place it... then it hit me: I was here before. It was the same beach that I went to with Evan, Jenny, and David (sorry if I got any of the names wrong). After the beach/mud field, we left back to Suwon where Grace and I went out for dinner.

Jeju-do Day 4

The last day on Jeju-do, we went to a beach famous for it's black sand (heavy in iron). I buried Grace while she rested. Then I explored the beach a little more and found some strange, jelly-ish things. Upon my return to where I buried Grace, I wrote her two messages in the sand. After she emerged from her sand tomb she was quite the sight.
After the beach we went looking for some famous fish to eat. This hunt took us to a market where we got some famous chocolate. Jeju-do has "Asia's only chocolate museum". Once we gave up on the fish and left the market we saw a Chinese boat (tourist attraction). Then headed back to the harbor and left Jeju-do. We got back to Incheon the following morning.

Nerd/geek/fan-boy moment: Ah!!! The Empire sent it's AT-AT's after us (Star Wars joke). First they found me in San Fransisco and now in Incheon.

Jeju-do Day 3

On the third day, we went to a place called sunrise peak. We didn't go for the sunrise because it was far away and we would have had to get up really REALLY early. It was still a nice little climb and good view from the top. It was on the Eastern side of the island. Then we traveled to the Western side of the island to a beach to see the sun set. At the beach, we found little fish that blended in with the sand. Grace was determined to catch one and, after I tried to help for a little while, I was too. Finally, through dumb luck, we caught one. I should say, I stepped on one that tried to swim past me as Grace and I chased it. But, we caught it and had a lot of fun chasing fish together. I would like to note that, although I am a big guy, when I stepped on the fish it wasn't killed and probably only harmed in the fact that it was distressed from being stuck/caught. After we changed clothes, we headed to Dragon Head Rock. As you can see from the picture... it got it's name because the rock looks like the head of a dragon. On the walk back to the bus stop we crossed a very colorfully lit bridge. For dinner we had some more famous Jeju-do food. We ended up "crossing" the island that day. We started in the South and went to the North then to the East and then the West and ended up back at the North (Jeju-si/Jeju city).

Jeju-do Day 2

The first hotel we stayed in was on the southern side of the island, so, we decided to explore that area. Our first stop was the teddy bear museum. It was very cute and had a lot of different teddy bears. They had old bears and bears with a theme and bear depicting events and movies. They had the worlds smallest teddy bears and a really big teddy bear. Grace liked it so much that she opened up a fruit stand with one of the bears (not really).
After the teddy bear museum, we walked down to one of Jeju-do's many beaches. The path had these special walkways that have rocks that are designed to massage your feet as you walk... in reality... you're walking on rocks... and that kinda hurts. But, we made it down to the beach and it was very pretty. The blue sky, the clear water, the warm sand, and, of course, amazing Grace... it was really nice and gave me a lot to think about. After relaxing on the beach and freezing in the ocean for a little while, we had a buffet lunch and walked to, what we thought were, famous, rectangular, volcanic, rock formations. Along the way, we stopped at the Lotte Hotel and took pictures of their windmills.
After the "rock formations", we walked around the area some more and eventually ended up back on the beach. From there we continued our waterfall hunt and were more successful than the other day. We saw three waterfalls that day and a place where a forth should have been if there was more water/rain. However, one of the waterfalls was closed by the time we got there and we snuck in after most of the people had gone home.

After our small amount of trespassing, we headed back and had dinner. Another famous dish on Jeju-do is a seafood stew. It was very interesting to see your food more around in pain as it boils and cooks in front of you. It was pretty good, though. It was another beautiful and fun day.

Jeju-do day 1

To get to Jeju island, from Incheon, by boat... took 13 1/2 hours. It really didn't seem that long, though, since we left at 19:00. So, most of the time we were sleeping. We met a nice guy that helped us get settled on the boat. We had dinner and later that night they had fireworks and dancing.

We arrived at Jeju-do around 8:30 on Saturday. After a slight moment of confusion, we made our way to Mt. Halla/Hanla. It is a dead volcano in the center of the island. We had all our stuff with us so the climb was... tiring... to say the least. Although, the higher up we got the cloudier it got and the cooler it got. Grace and I met her roommate and Eric at the top, they took a different path up. After having a little ramen, we rushed down the mountain to try and get to the bus before it left. I think we set a new record for the mountain's decent but we still wouldn't have made it back to the bus stop before the bus arrived if it wasn't for a little hitch hiking we did once we were at the base of the mountain. As it turned out, the bus was running late so we had time to sit and relax a little.

After the bus arrived we headed for our hotel and checked in. We explored the near by area a little. Jeju-do is famous for the "grandpa" statues that are all around the island. We went looking for a waterfall that we could hear but didn't find. The sunset was pretty and Grace was beautiful as always. Before we headed back to the hotel we had dinner. One of the famous foods on Jeju-do is the black pig. It really didn't taste that special or different from normal grilled pork but, we were on Jeju-do, might as well try what the place is known for.