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Thankfully, I am blessed with incredible friends who helped me book a room, met me at the airport, showed me around, and possibly conspired to ensure that I did not lose any weight during my trip by feeding me some of the best food of my life.
My initial plans had centered around visiting two of my oldest Korean friends that graduated from UCO several years earlier. These two wonderful ladies had attended Thankgiving dinners at my apartment on at least two occasions when they were students, and I had missed seeing them for far too long. After a number of years passes you by, you begin to wonder how your friends have fared and I'll admit I was curious to see the changes in them. As it turned out, they were both very much similar and in other ways, very much changed. Regardless, my heart fluttered in anticipation before seeing them after so long, and at the same time, I was relieved to see that they had aged at a snail's pace compared to me.
I must mention someone specifically by name for her unprecedented kindness to me during my trip. My wonderful friend, Sally was a God-send to me during this trip. She escorted me all over the place, showed me how to navigate the city subways, and on top of it all, went out of her way to embrace another friend who flew over from Japan to visit with me for a few days during the trip. Those two were like sisters after five minutes together and truthfully, I was the third wheel on many of our trips together. I was so pleased to see their immediate and mutual bonding. It was like they became sorority sisters at the Incheon airport initiation. In addition, Sally's mother cooked a fantastic meal the day my friend arrived and then went with us on one of our maiden voyages together. To put it bluntly, Sally took 99 percent of my initial anxieties and vanquished them, so my trip was smooth for the most part. I do indeed owe her a debt of gratitude and am continually extending thanks to her for going above and beyond.
So much happened in my two weeks there. I visited with many friends I met during the TESL program at UCO. I blazed around Seoul and Busan as fast as my feet or the public transportation could get me around, I shot over 4,500 pictures and secretly plotted where to visit on my next trip or where I would like to live if I uprooted from Oklahoma and decided to teach overseas. My favorite places were along the Han River at night, the coffee shops around Honggik University, Gangnam, and Myeongdong, and I really enjoyed Mokdong and visited with my friend and her family there.
Korea is a beautiful country and even in the urban sprawl of Seoul, I was amazed how clean it was and how helpful its citizens were to me. As for the room that I booked, the owners were almost distressed that it might not be up to my standards, when in truth, their warmth and friendliness made it easily seem like home. To say you travelled to a foreign country and forgot your anxieties is one thing, but to say that you had more about returning home than you did during your stay is another. I was truly blessed to have such a grand vacation and it was worth double what I spent to go. Just seeing my friends faces and sharing coffee or a meal alongside them made it 2012 a banner year for me.