South Korea...

I just finished up another semester of classes on May 5th...THANK GOODNESS! As my reward for a semester well-done, we decided that Noah and I should accompany Chris on a "good deal" trip to South Korea over Mother's Day weekend. For the price of a plane ticket and train fare, the three of us got to hang out in Seoul for eight days (which included a four-day weekend) between two conferences Chris had to attend. We stayed at the Dragon Hill Lodge on the Army base at Yongsan, which is really nice and provides easily access to all the major attractions and shopping districts Seoul has to offer.

Once again, Noah proved to be a great travel buddy--taking the three hour train ride and two hour flight in stride and charming all the flight attendants with his pseudo-shy grins and sideways glances. Before we made it out of Incheon airport, three Korean ladies and one Korean family asked to take pictures with the little guy. Crazy!!! According to all the baby books, Noah should be hitting his "stranger anxiety" stage right about now. I guess Noah hasn't read those chapters or is just ignoring them all together, because he actively engages every stranger he meets. Little did we realize that his airport charm would carry on throughout our ENTIRE trip. More on that later....

While Chris spent the first two days in a conference, Noah and I just relaxed in our hotel room, which was nice given the fact that most of my downtime these days is filled with writing papers or researching grant writing opportunities. I haven't had the opportunity to just veg in ages. Noah pounded a few extra "ba-ba-bas" and watched some Sesame Street, while I read a few People magazines and partook in some Oreo cheesecake, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, and good southern-style barbecue that you can't get in Japan....YUM! (We've got one more day here...if I can just find a Papa John's, my mission to replace all the weight I've lost post-pregnancy will be complete!!! :) Naaah...it's good to see my feet again.)

Once Chris was done with his first conference, the three of us began pounding the streets in Osan and Insadong in search of the perfect S.K. loot to bring home. Having grown bored with the insane amount of knock-off Louis Vutton purses, pirated copies of DVDs , and fuschia-colored pimp suits that are all the rage here, we focused on purchasing more higher quality (and legal) items. I sought out hand-made pieces of Korean artistry, including a couple of beautiful tapestries and a large cherry blossom plate that I bought after meeting with the artist in one of the local galleries. VERY nice work. Chris got two custom-made suits for $600 (total), which usually run between $600-1200 a piece back in the States. There's a lot of great deals available in Korea if you avoid the cheap imitations and are looking to invest in some quality goods.

While in Insadong, Noah proved that he was capable of working his "cute factor" in public. Here he is flirting with an unidentifiable woman in the first photo and drawing the attention of a little girl in the second:

Everywhere we went, the Koreans would stare, smile, and attempt to stroke Noah's little hands and face. Surprisingly, he ate it up, cooing and laughing at the attention he received. Photos were being taken constantly--with us, around us, and even from balconies along the street. At times, it would get so bad that we couldn't even take Noah out of the stroller for fear of being pursued and crushed by massive crowds of people wanting to see and touch our blonde-haired, blue-eyed little boy. We would often find ourselves retreating into stores and alleyways just to avoid the hands and the cameras. This must be what running from paparazzi feels like...

At one point, Chris jokingly suggested we set up a booth in downtown Seoul, exploiting Noah by offering $5 photo sessions with him and marketing him as a "good luck charm." "Imagine the money we would make," he said, sarcastically. I can't begin to imagine what kind of attention that would draw or the therapy Noah would one day require to overcome such an harrowing experience. Probably the same level of therapy Britney needs right about now.

As we weaved in and around crowds of weekend shoppers, the three of us ran into some pretty interesting people. The first was a group of Seoul college students looking for an opportunity to practice their English. The girls' names were Candi and Nana (I didn't catch the boys' names), and they were thrilled with the opportunity to speak with us. They asked Chris a lot of questions concerning his job, where we lived, why we were visiting Korea, and then came the following:

Candi: (to me) "You...VERY pretty!"
Me: (embarrassed) Thank you.
Candi: No...You BEAUTIFUL!
Me: Thank you...that's very nice.
Candi: Am I very pretty?
(Nana looks at me and shakes her head "no.")
Me: Yes...you are pretty.
Candi: (laughing) No...she thinks I ugly. That's okay. We think you very pretty.

Here's a photo of our new friends:

And a photo they took of us:

The second was a hilarious hip-hop performance provided by the guys pictured below. SOUL comes to SEOUL!!! So who got served?!?!? ;)

There were also a large group of protestors campaigning against China's forceful repatriation of North Korean refugees. Large signs exhibiting those allegedly tortured and killed by the North Korea government provided a gruesome backdrop to the narrow streets of Insadong. Here's the demonstrators' website: www.444days.org

After a long day, Chris and I took a break and enjoyed some bulgogi beef and kimchi at one of the local restaurants. While I'm not too fond of Korean food, I did give it another go. Noah decided he didn't want any Korean food and just took a nap.

On Sunday morning, Chris and Noah wished me a very "Happy Mother's Day" with a nice lunch and a walk out into the DHL gardens for a little photo shoot. Noah was a little too interested in the flowers and the waterfall to get many great shots of the two of us together, but Chris did his best! :)

We then took another train ride (which Noah loves) over to the Seoul tower in hopes of getting a view of the city. Here's an excited Noah waiting on the train:

The wait for the cable car up to the top of the tower appeared to be more than an hour and a half long, so the three of us opted to get dessert at this fabulous little Italian cafe called, Ncurina. It was located at the base of the Seoul Tower and had an amazing view. They served incredible desserts--I had a piece of apple pie with homemade ice cream, while Chris had the tiramisu. Both were Deeeee-LISH! While we waited for our food, Chris played the role of the cheesy photographer. So who remembers the line, "say pepperoni pizza!!"? :)

On our last free day, we ventured over to one of the castles in hopes of catching a really cool changing of the guards. We were in luck:

There was lots of loud drumming, which Noah appears to LOVE. (BONG!!! **he coos** BONG-BONG!!! **giggle** BONG-BONG-BONG!!! **peels of laughter**)
The kid is terrified of the sound of a crinkled plastic bag and cries at the noises monkeys make, but thinks loud drums are fun and NOT scary. All I can say is that he'd better not be thinking of making a career as a drummer for some heavy metal band some day.


We finally wrapped up our weekend with a trip to...where else? STARBUCKS! Chris and I got a much needed caffeine fix and Noah discovered a new toy in empty paper and plastic cups! What a fabulous way to end a great vacation in Seoul!

Hope you are all having a great week!

~ Amanda