Biking, Parties and Musicals...

Fortunately, our boss and her boyfriend have been kind enough to take us under their wings and show us more of Seoul. They have shown us some of their favorite restaurants, bars, and outdoor activities. Since they will be leaving Seoul in February, they are trying to get all of their favorite outdoor activities done soon. So, the four of us ended up biking along the Han river.

The walking/biking route along the Han attracts thousands of Koreans each Summer weekend. There are even bike rental shops along the river, so we were able to rent bikes for 3,ooo Won each. Even though they were crappy bikes (my seat wouldn't raise and Ian's gears wouldn't move), they were cheap! We ended up biking about 14 miles and enjoyed every second of it. It was one of the first moments that we didn't feel completely surrounded by a gigantic city. However, the best part was that the Korean families didn't bring a typical blanket to sit on while enjoying the sun. Rather, they brought camping tents! They put in the effort to set up an entire tent just to get absolutely NO sun rays. Apparently, getting a sun tan is not as popular as it is in the states.

This past week, a couple who works at CDI took their vacation to get married in Hawaii. Since they didn't have a bachelorette/bachelor party, our co-workers decided to throw them one. Ian and the boys first went to a casino. Suprisingly, it is illegal for Koreans to gamble, so it was built just for the foreigners. Ian enjoyed it thoroughly, especially since you get free food and drinks while you're there! After loosing some money, they decided to experience a Korean arcade. Just imagine lots of bright lights, sounds, and some really weird video games, like firefighting and river-rafting games. After the arcade, they went to a couple of bars and ate some street food.

The ladies (myself and six other women) went to dinner to at a Thai restaurant. It was delicious and suprisingly not too expensive. We then made our way to a couple of bars. I think the bride had fun, which was the most important part.

The following day we went to the play RENT. It was the actual broadway cast, which was exciting. Ian and I really enjoyed just sitting and listening to people talk/sing English for an entire two and half hours. We felt right at home! The only aspect that brought us immediately back to reality was that Koreans get REALLY into broadway musicals. They basically act like they are at a concert. The audience clapped during most of the songs, screamed like little girls when the band started to play, and the front row even had RENT posters. It was definately something we were not expecting. But as we have now learned, you should never have set expectations in Korea because they will most likely always be different or the opposite from what actually happens! Korea has definately suprised us at times, from tents in a park to hooting and hollaring during a broadway show.