a first

so i figure i'd knock down two birds with one...BLOG...lol. as i was approaching this topic, i couldn't decide what "first" i would discuss. my first time getting lost at the swap meet? my first time falling off a bike? or maybe even my first time getting into a car crash? but alas...all these firsts seemed miniscule when compared to one of my greatest firsts...my FIRST trip to south korea!!!! hahahaha. ok...i'm fully cheating because i'm using this as an excuse to talk about my adventures in the land of kim chee.

for those of you who have been following along...i have been planning my australia trip for weeks now. the flights were looking great up until about three days before i was scheduled to leave. all of a sudden the business cabin started to fill up, and it was a lost cause. so i had to devise a new plan. i was not about to let my whole week off pass me by without crossing over international waters. so i facebooked a few friends, and hoila...within a few hours before the flight was scheduled to depart, i found myself preparing to go to south korea!!!!

two of the most amazing people i know have been living out there teaching english. i have been meaning to go and visit them for some time now, but the opportunity had never presented itself...that is up until now. as i hopped on the next flight to lax...i couldn't contain myself. i was actually going to korea....BY MYSELF!!!! hey....another first.

i had to make two stops before reaching my final destination...lax and narita, japan. i would have loved to cruise around japan for a quick minute...but i was by myself, and it has been a while since i've spoken a lick of japanese. so i figure i just stay in an area where english was a kind of guarantee. lol. my flight to japan was ridiculously empty. i had a whole row to myself...in BUSINESS CLASS!!! which was perfect for that 10-hr flt.

i finally arrived in seoul tuesday nite. it was too late to really do anything, so tee and idz met me at the airport and we took the hour-long trip to downtown seoul where our hotel was. and the rest was all a blur pretty much. here's the simple PBP (play-by-play) of what we did.

flight arrived. triple threat reunited. train ride to seoul. check in to hotel sunshine. heated toilets. catching up. laughing. talking. sleeping. s l o w l y waking up. pack up room. trek to subway. bags in locker. subway to market. naemdamu market. zip up hoodies. korean drums. fur. fur. MORE FUR!!! street performers. honey demo. suckered. bought honey. peanut butter pancake thingy. crazy taxi drivers. getting lost. alleyways. lunch. tight spots. chopsticks. spoons. hot food bowls. awesome food. palace. painted koreans. mochi demo. spinning tops. picture time. taxi ride. subway to train. 3 hr train ride. freezing jencheon. korean bbq. BEST EVER!!! korean karaoke. tamborines. new friends. NEW YEAR!!! 12 hour nap. cruise all day. sick tee :( movie marathon. rummikub. chinese jax. more. talking. laughing. singing. puking (poor tee) lol. packing up. bus station. goodbyes. headed home.

i wish i could explain everything that we did, but it would be a really long blog. all you need to know is that it was an amazing experience. especially since it was quality time with two very dear friends. it definitely made me nostalgic of our days at the musicbox. since their contract is up in may...they'll be moving to australia to try the workforce out there. now i definitely have to make it back to australia when they get there.