Adventures in the far east: Annyeonghaseyo Korea! 안녕하세요

It seems really odd writing this is retrospect (now three weeks after I arrived in Korea) but, against my preconceptions of technologically advanced Asia, I have had very limited internet access on this trip.

So as I left off, John had missed his flight from Harbin to Seoul and was stuck in God forsaken northern China for another day. This was the first, but certainly not the last time management blunder on our journey. We are used to living in a country which is 3,500 miles east to west but only one time zone so when we came to Korea, Kathryn forgot to change the time on her phone. Therefore, after busting ass to get to the tourism office on time, we arrived very winded only to find we are an hour late for our scheduled tour of the DMZ. Fortunately, the nice Korean lady (because Koreans are the nicest people EVER) let us take the tour the next day. I myself also made an error after a night of drunken debauchery with our hosts in Busan by showing up for our ferry just as it was departing, or two hours early according to my time management.

Nevertheless, I really did enjoy Korea. Some of the highlishts included:

The SUPER NICE Korean people. Our host in Seoul told us to call him but we didn't have phones so he said just ask a Korean and 9 times out of 10 they will offer you their phone. This is absolutely true and they were so happy to assist us.
Koreans form lines! Unlike China where men will push women to get onto a subway car which isn't even crowded, Koreans queue perfectly. One of the most amazing sights I saw was a long single file line to go up an escalator.
Cheap food including cheap western food (Dunkin Donuts!) and bagels abound!
Staring at North Korean soldiers from across the border.
Trying to understand how things like similar architectural styles and freedom of speech enrage the Chinese into hating the Koreans.
K-pop leading the Asian music scene.
Meeting up with Megan McKay my friend from study abroad in Hong Kong who is now teaching in Seoul.
Meeting up with my (ok Mike's) former couchsurfer Sewon
Attempting to hike to temple but getting lost and feeling inadequet because my only footwear was Ugg boots
A 50 degree temperature change from Harbin and 20 degrees warmer than Shanghai!
Watching the Korea v. Japan semifinal match of the Asia Cup in soccer, only to see Japan win in overtime
Watching a freakishly odd Korean movie, Old Boy, with our freakishly odd host in Seoul

Another interesting point of this trip was the people we stayed with. When we arrived in Seoul, Kate and I had to find Isaiah, a man we knew nothing about but got his information from John as our flight was literally taking off. We arrived on January 23 and Isaiah told us we were already his 15, 16 and 17th couch surfers that month! He had just arrived earlier that month (he had lived there for two years before and then went back to the States) and in his first month back in Korea had arranged to host 30 couch surfers! This fact didn't make us feel very special especially paired with his constant stories about the Finnish couple who stayed with him for ten days and he magically meshed with. Isaiah did cook us a glorious buttery breakfast our first morning which we enjoyed with his two other couch surfers, a couple from Israel who was mildly offended by him calling them "the Jews". The ISRAELIS slept in one bedroom, Kate and I got his bed and John slept on the floor in our room, Isaiah took the couch and his cousin slept on the floor in the computer room. Sleeping on the floor in Korea is different than at home; the floors are heated (which can get HOT) and there is usually a mat or mattress on the floor. Kate and I insisted we could sleep on a mat and Isaiah could have his own bed but he refused, except for the one night we came home late (midnight-ish) from watching the Korea-Japan soccer game and he was sleeping in his bed with his girlfriend (they seemed obnoxiously lovey-dovey and we were surprised to find out they just met five days ago--- Asian women are crazzzzzzzy and white guys are desperate). Another odd Isaiah behavior we walked in on was a candle light tea ceremony which also included a Belgium couch surfer. My favorite Isaiah moments include him poking himself in the eye mid-conversation and these lilac spandex shorts which he wore outside to come get Korean food with us. My friend Megan who we met up with for dinner introduced us to the term "LBH" or "Loser Back Home" of which Isaiah totally fit the criteria but he let us crash for free and was truly harmless so we must be thankful.

After the Isaiah show we we left for Busan. As you may know, Korea is quite a small country. We met groups of college students who partake in a walk from south to north. This takes a few weeks but we found is possible to travel from the North Korean border to the southern city of Busan in just a few hours by highspeed train (AMERICA, GET YO SELF SOME BULLET TRAINS!). In Busan we stayed with Dianna and Bryan who come in a close tie with Violet and Paul as the best hosts ever (maybe I have a thing for real, legitimate couples who have been dating for more than five days). Dianna and Bryan are good ol' American southerners who had been teaching in Korea for almost a year. When they finish their contracts next month, they will return home for a month, then get summer jobs in Europe and then travel THE WORLD together. My bets are he proposes in Southeast Asia because if this couple doesn't make it there is no hope for the rest of us. We shared stories, beer, and food and had the Isaiah and his beloved Finns type connection. Kate and I have grand plans to travel to Europe this summer and it would be splendidly dangerous to meet up with Dianna and Bryan.