Today started out as a good day and then it went downhill. You're thinking how could things go wrong in a wonderful place like Korea? Today was the day. It was extremely hot. You wait outside for 3 minutes and you're sweating. I'm not from a humid place so it was harder for me. 재원 Jaewon was so nice to take me around today again out of her busy schedule. She doesn't get days off and so for her to take time out of her schedule is a huge blessing. Benjamin was still in town so we met up and Jonathan Wright from Korean class came to visit for a few weeks and so we all met up. 재원 Jaewon kindly bought us lunch and then we wanted to see 청와대 Cheongwadae/The Blue House which is Korea's version of the White House and it's where the President of Korea lives. We saw the outside briefly because it's heavily guarded by security and so we couldn't get close.
It's called 청와대 Cheongwadae/The Blue House because the roof tiles are blue. Go figure! It literally means "pavillion of blue tiles." We hiked this place called 북한산 Bukhansan (boo-kahn-sahn) Bukhan Mountain but not all the way since it was really hot. It's a major landmark for hiking, bird watcing, and rock climbing. It was so hot outside that our cold water bottles were boiling. Ugh..... As we were walking around and enjoying the scenery, I wasn't feeling too well but I thought that it was just the heat and that I was uncomfortable.
북한산
북한산
북한산
북한산
북한산
I wanted to check out 남대문시장 Namdaemunsijang/South Gate market. Man, I love street shopping. You don't see a lot back home so it was refreshing. I loved the fruit on sticks they would sell. Big chunks of watermelon and pineapple along with other fruits looked even more amazing because of the heat.
Cute little 한복!!
What on earth does that mean?? I think they're trying to say "FITS ALL 16" KIDS" but do you know of any 16" kids??
I said goodbye to Benjamin and Jonathan since I was leaving tonight to go to Shawn's house (he was a neighbor of mine back home and he's in Korea now). I loved 재원 Jaewon and her family so much. They've treated me so well here. Already, I've built wonderful memories with them. Just last night, we were all eating dinner together and 재원 Jaewon's youngest child can speak with an American accent really well and I mean really well. I was so surprised. He would say English words that most Koreans would have trouble pronouncing correctly. So 재원 Jaewon's husband would say an English word with his best American accent and then the son would say it. Of course, because he's younger, the son was better. As they kept trying it out, they asked me, "Julianne, who's better?" I didn't want to make 재원 Jaewon's husband lose face so I just said, "I need to eat my dinner" and that set it off. They were laughing HYSTERICALLY at that. They couldn't stop laughing and thought that was so witty and clever. I'm going to miss them so much. It's with every family I've been with here, including the study abroad family. I grow attached to them and love them so much. Each of them have sacrificed so much for me to be here. Especially 재원 Jaewon, it was so great. Getting to be your mom's best friend is really neat.
재원의 가족 Jaewon's family!
Now it's time to go to 성남시 Seongnam! But then trouble hit. As we were driving, I felt really sick and my stomach was killing me. We pulled over and man explaining what's wrong with you when you're sick really sucks if you can't explain it properly in another language. 재원 Jaewon and her husband thought I needed to go to the hospital but it wasn't that bad to go to the hospital. Sure, I felt like dying but not to the extent of going to the hosptial. If you know how I deal with sickness or pain, you know I'm telling the truth. I got some fresh air as we pulled over and they made me do some stretching exercises.....Haha interesting but it helped a bit. We finally reached Shawn's house. It's a good thing it's the closest city to 서울 Seoul or I would have been miserable. When I got to his house, it hit me again. I sat by the toilet for hours and during the middle of the night I made frequent trips.....Way to put a damper on the last week in Korea. I feel bad for Shawn's mom. She's so generous to let me in her home and now she's taking care of a sick person. :-(
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