Sunday March 8, 2009...My First Asian

Time is a blur right now...still haven't really slept and I think it is the wee hours of the morning back at home. The sun was up for the entire trip, so it is always hard to relax when I can see it peeping in below the shades on the plane windows. I had a couple of minor naps, but I'm still ready to hit the bed for some serious relaxation.

As we crossed over the bay next to Korea, the islands jutted out of the water much like those I would expect in Hawaii, however, the mountains on the mainland were not as jagged. They were more like the rolling hills of Central Europe mixed with the dry countryside of say, Nevada... what an interesting landscape...I was intrigued because I have never really seen anything like this. Getting off the plane and stretching my legs was very rewarding, but the lack of sleep is still hitting me like a sack of potatoes.

However, we had an hour long bus ride from the airport to our hotel and although I wanted to rest, I could not bring myself to let my eyes close. The main form of housing here in Korea is apartment style condo high rises. They can be up to 30 or 40 stories tall. There are huge complexes of them, think Gameday Hotel on serious steroids times 25. Land is such a commodity that people cannot afford to live in houses dispersed all over the country side, it is better utilized for crops or livestock. Over 10 million people live in Seoul, that is about 25% of the country's population and it takes about 2 hours to drive from one side of the city to the other. They, my friends, have some serious traffic issues so the government subsidizes the public transportation...(good idea, a train perhaps for ATL??)

You would not believe the hotel we are staying in---5 stars all the way, I will have to put up pictures for you to see.. It is insane, we really do travel in style. Despite all of the food that they stuffed us with on the plane, the tour guide had dinner planned for us so we unloaded our stuff...and walked that way. Not more than 100 feet from our hotel is the World Famous..Outback Steakhouse ( I could do some Alice Springs Chicken right now btw...) A sweet sweet reminder of home. We did not eat there, but I couldn't help but smile at God's subtleties in our lives.
We ate at a traditional Korean steakhouse that flame grills the meat in front of you. Not hibachi, more like campfire, it was interesting and awesome. We nibbled on all sorts of native dishes from Kimchi to other things I couldn't identify, they were spicy, but good. Don't think we'll be losing any weight on this trip. On the way back to the hotel we got to explore the city for a little while. The street vendors are hilarious selling everything imaginable. The most interesting stuff is some of the food ( I guess its like the hot dog man) but it is all fried stuff...and weird too. It's fried octopus and who knows what else all that stuff is. There are kebab guys which make me laugh because they are actually selling kebabs. A random couple of sushi people, not sure I would trust unrefrigerated sushi, but whatever. Seoul is definitely the city of lights and one that will always be bustling even late at night. I am excited about our return night here on Friday. We won't be so tired and we can actually go see the place.

BTW...the Diamond Dogs are 11-0 and suiting up for Quinnipiac this afternoon. Sweeps are great!!
I love you all and miss you. Hope that everything is good Stateside

Love Britt