After my lazy friends woke up, we headed out to walk around Chuncheon. We didn't have a plan or destination at all. I wanted to hike to a local waterfall, but we started out toward the river first. It was sooooo hot and humid that day...I even burned my scalp! We walked a total of four hours or so in the hot hot sun and ended up making a circle around Chuncheon. We didn't even make it to the "wilderness," unfortunately, but it was still fun. I have very entertaining friends who helped me forget the uncomfortable stickiness of 90 degress and 200% humidity.
Here's a picture from a little statue park we visited along the way. In it is my friend Robin, who wouldn't let me get any closer because she was a bit sweaty. It was sort of pretty, but very urban--on the other side of us was downtown Chuncheon.
In the afternoon, four of us--Robin, Irene, and our RA, Ji-meyong--headed out to Seoul to meet their friends and some other ETAs. The ETAs were all staying in a sketchy love motel by the name of Emerald, but we made arrangements to stay with Robin's friend from college. Score!
We went out to dinner right away to celebrate our friend Traci's birthday. She had never celebrated her birthday before and it was really fun to make it special for her. We went to TGI Friday's because she wanted a salad, but it wasn't very good and was VERY overpriced. I wasn't even craving American food, but let me tell you, that experience has not made me hunger for more. I'll stick with Korean and Chinese, thanks...it's cheap AND good.
After dinner we met up with one of Irene's friends who showed us around town. We went to a bar for a while first and then to a hiphop club called Noise Basement. This club was the craziest one I have ever been to, with millions of people crammed onto a sweaty dance floor. It was fun, but I'm pretty sure I sweated off 10 pounds on Saturday, what will walking in the midday heat and dancing in the night. I'm sure I will acquire it again on my cafeteria rice diet, so no worries! I am increasingly convinced that Korean people do not sweat and it is so unfair. They always look fresh and pretty when I am melting into a puddle of sweat. Some guys at the club were even sporting jeans and beanies...I cannot even imagine how hot that would be! I had to tie my hair back because it was drenched with sweat. It was really pretty gross.
Anyway...today I met up with Jon and Alyssa, two other ETAs from the night before, and we had a pleasant lunch and walked around town. It was a nice time and I got to know the Seoul subways much better. Seoul really is massive and makes Chuncheon look like the boonies. I'm definitely looking forward to visiting it more in the coming year, and since I should only be living 2 hours away, that will be entirely possible.
What an exhausting weekend! And all I have to look forward to this week is a big Korean final, a Korean speech, and lots of mandatory cultural workshops. I'm tired just thinking about it all!