First weekend in Seoul!

Liz, a fellow teacher, and I started our day about noon with a half hour run/walk at a local park. I completed a half marathon in April, and have maybe run five times since then, so I'm trying to get back in the groove. We started this "walk to run" program that my friend Sheila graciously showed to me a couple years ago. Its 10 weeks long and is a slow progression between intervals of walking and running. We started at week 3, so we only have 7 weeks total. We're looking into finding a 5K in Seoul to celebrate the victory of completion! I'll add a picture of the park after I get one today.

Then, we seperated to shower and met outside my apartment. While I waited for Liz to meet me, I took a few shots of the outside of my apartment. Here's the entrance to my place:

And this is what I see when I am walking out:

We walked to the busstop and road the bus to Suji (an area south of Seoul), where our friend Christina (and new friend Erin - from Cincinnati!) lives. Liz and I were starving so we swung into McDonald's (I know, gross) for a quick snack then the four of us hopped a bus to Insadong, which is a neighborhood (dong) in downtown Seoul just north of the Han River. We went to eat at Pho Mein and ordered some chicken with peppers, and a big bowl of noodles and split them. After dinner, we perused the streets for shops. We ended up at a store called IsWas, a store that was two floors of TCHOTCHKES! This one is for you, Swieters:

Though I've never been, downtown Seoul reminded me of what I envision New York City to be like. We walked around a bit in Insadong, then boarded the subway to Hongdae.

Hongdae is an abbreviation for Hongik Daehakgyo (Hongik University). It is an area in northwest Seoul that is known for its nightlife. Here are some photos:

Then, we all got sleepy and found our way home. It took about 1.5 hours to get home since we were on the direct opposite part of the city. It was fun to get out see Seoul. I'm starting to learn my way around - slowly but surely... Happy Sunday!