Christmas in Korea

Butterflies flew in and out of my stomach last Friday morning from the time I woke up until the time I shut my eyes. My reservations at a backpacker guesthouse "dormitory room" in Seoul ended up looking far more rundown than the online photos indicated. I arrived hours before to check it out and nearly cried when I opened the door to a room the size of a large closet with ever-so-firm and squeaky bunk beds. (The bunks were part of the plan, but the room's minimal conditions were not.) With only a lick of confidence in my ability to navigate around Seoul, I felt sore out of luck and racked my brain for how I might prepare Nick for a junky sleeping arrangement after a 24-hour international flight. Thankfully, I met with Ju for dinner, and her presence has a calming effect for me. Nick's flight landed on time, but he was in no mood for anything but a good night's sleep, so I decided that a change of arrangements was in order. We moved from the crappy dorm room ($18 per person) to the Biwon Motel ($100 per night.)

The new room included a double bed and a twin bed, a television, a clean bathroom with plenty of amenities, a computer with internet access, and a mini fridge with...check this out, Americans, free water bottles and juice cans. The beds and walls were painted a chocolate brown theme, and the light fixtures had several brightness intervals. Our room key enabled all the electronics through a slot on the wall near the entryway. The Biwon Motel was probably a four-star upgrade. I learned that sometimes it's worth it to pay extra money for the comfort of someone you love, especially if it prevents conflict during vacation time.

A few days into the trip, Nick suggested that we consider the week our Christmas present to each other. He said we should decide collectively to not make money a big issue but to enjoy our time as a holiday offering in place of international mailing fees later on. Admittedly, we knew it would be the most expensive Christmas ever, but the outlook certainly helped us not get bent out of shape about cab fare or other travel expenses. It seemed like a reasonable idea to me. (As it is, I think we did OK.)

On Saturday morning, I made a trip to a nearby convenience store for a familiar cereal, milk, and fruit, determined to make amends for my poor planning the night before. We relaxed in the motel until afternoon, watching bits of movies on the English channel and getting ready at our leisure. I enjoyed hearing Nick's commentary about Korean commercials. So delightful to share the same air again. When we were finally ready, we headed to Myeong-Dong--a large shopping and entertainment area in Seoul. We squeezed through spaces between kiosks and Asian crowds, sampling street food items. I took pleasure in watching Nick react to it all for the first time. At 5 o'clock, we went to Nanta, which in my opinion, is a must-see item for anyone within a 100 mile radius of a show. The five performers, whose talents range from drumming to stunting to comedy, played a restaurant crew preparing for a wedding feast. They threw plates to choreography and chopped lettuce to intricate rhythms and made me laugh so hard my cheeks throbbed.

One of the performers even pulled Nick on stage to play the groom and taste-test the wedding soup. They dressed him in traditional garb and de-hatted him with a slapstick flare at the end of the segment.

After the show, I was surprised to hear someone call my name from down the aisle. How many people did I know in Seoul, South Korea? It was Diana's sister, Wendy and her husband, Joel. What a coincidence! The four of us went out for Korean barbecue. They told us about the lantern festival along Cheonggyecheon stream, so we ended the evening by viewing colorfully-lit shapes like this one.

Monday was one of the most fun, romantic days in my recent memory. Seoul is fun, but Daegu is much less crowded and perhaps more relaxing. Having no where to be, we did just exactly what we wanted all day. Slept in again. Went to a PC bong for the first time, so Nick could check his mail. Ate some mondoo (dumplings) on the way to the city. Though we planned to see a movie, the theater offered only 2012 and The Time Travelers' Wife. Nick watched the latter on the plane, and neither of us were too interested in 2012. Instead, we walked around the city again to see what we might find.

A middle-aged Korean man beckoned our attention with a smile and an inviting gesture from inside a narrow shop. The man seemed very confident that we wouldn't regret taking a ride on his 3-D virtual reality contraption. Again, having no where to be and no reason to object, we decided to give it a whirl and selected "Snow Coaster" from the video menu. We slipped on a pair of 3-D glasses and buckled up for "safety." I've never screamed and laughed so much in front of Nick before. It occurred to me that we've never been on a roller coaster together. Ten minutes of virtual exhilaration was a decent substitute, I think.

We rode the escalator up 12 floors of a department store, making a couple of purchases along the way. Then, we ate omurice at La Tomate--a restaurant Jihey showed me a week ago. Later, I screamed even more when we watched Cloverfield in a DVD bong. We thought we'd found a regular video rental store until we realized that they had private rooms, complete with couches and big screens for viewers to see the film on site--a perfect date spot. After the film, we headed out for a night cap at a local pub, where we made friends with two female bartenders, and I had the opportunity to practice my Korean. Nick and I love to make friends with total strangers, and I think we're pretty good at it together. The friendship resulted in two free drinks from the ladies, who I'm sure thought, "What a cute American couple!"

On Tuesday, we chilled out together, graded some papers, read together, walked around Youngnam University Campus, befriended a shaggy, unkempt dog (nicknamed "Car Wash,") ate Western food, and watched Korean Kim Yuna beat American Rachel Flatte in a figure skating championship. (I was touched by Nick's willingness to watch figure skating with me.) On Wednesday, we met my boss and his wife for lunch, and Justin offered to get Nick a job in Korea. (He politely showed interest and raved about his current job.) In the afternoon, Nick came to my classes, and my adolescent girls were as giddy as ever. He met my host family that evening, and perhaps by divine inspiration, Nick taught Minwoo how to turn his hips when swinging a baseball.

On Thursday, we headed back to Seoul. Originally, I planned to work Thursday as well and take an early train on Friday morning to Incheon, but logistically, that would have never worked. Instead, we stayed in an excellent guesthouse with equal-if-not-surpassing accommodations as Biwon but half the price, and it was within a five minute drive of the airport. Korean Air check-in was busy, so we barely made it through in time anyway. I said goodbye again, tearing up but feeling somehow numb inside.

Not as difficult as our last goodbye. Maybe because there's much less uncertainty. I have four months more, but this time, I'm not an amateur alien to Korea. I don't despise the differences anymore, but I accept them as a reality. (I even found myself over-serving Nick this week--peeling and slicing all his fruit for him in perfect Korean hospitality.) I can speak some Korean now. I know how to get around Daegu, and after this week, I even feel pretty good about getting around Seoul. I don't fear loneliness anymore, but I'm certain of it. However, God has been faithful to me. He has many people in this place who are watching out for me. I didn't eat any turkey on November 26th this year, but I said a prayer and had a lot of thanks to give.