Last week, I had a day off from school due to the Korean version of the SATs. This was a BIG day here. It is so important that air traffic is changed so that there are no planes flying during the listening portion of the exam. This test is only offered once a year, so if you screw up...you wait another year to go to college. In that off-year, students attend "academy", a private school where they pay and spend the whole time preparing for next year's test. I can not imagine the pressure these kids must face. The most interesting part is that proctoring the test is like jury duty for teachers here. They are picked randomly and have to stand (only stand) for about eight hours watching students in a classroom. I was told there were about four teachers per classroom. It sounds miserable and I could tell the Korean teachers felt the same way.
But, my school is very kind to me and let me "work from home". Instead of coming into school, I had to turn in two lesson plans that I worked on at home that day. Fortunately, I got my work out of the way early and I got to spend the day exploring the city. First stop, Quinn and I headed to Yongsan Electronics Market. There were a few accessories that Quinn needed for his new camera and this was the place to go. This market has a whole five-story building dedicated to just electronics. It is amazing, you can find literally anything. I bought myself a new converter for less than a third of the price that it costs near my apartment. We learned it is important to know about how much items should cost because there is a bit of a barter system and definitely opportunities for people to take advantage of you. Yongsan Electronics Market- cool.
For lunch, we met up with our friend Eric for some delicious street food. I have had lots of street food since being here, but this was one of my favorite experiences. We found this street that had booth after booth of street food and little plastic tables and chairs behind each one for customers. So, we picked the most crowded one to eat at and ordered a variety of things to share. While we were sitting at our table, the transition of the sitting area from day to night occured. All around us a tent was pitched, outdoor heater set-up, toilet paper rolls (for napkins) strategically placed, and a few lights for decoration. The people never asked us to move once, only worked around us. It ended up quite cozy.
After our bellies were nice and full, we headed to N Seoul Tower. We got there just as the sun was setting, the perfect time. To start, N Seoul Tower is one of the main tourist attractions in Seoul. Visitors take a cable car up to the top of Namsan Mountain and then an elevator to the top of this tower. In the tower there are two floors with 360 degree panaromic views of the city and one floor with a rotating restaurant. On the ground there is a bar, cafe, gift shop, and Teddy Bear Museum (obviously). I had low expectations for N Seoul Tower and it blew me away how much I enjoyed it. Quinn and I ended up spending about 3 or more hours there walking around, taking pictures, and investing in the local economy up there. My favorite part was that when you are walking around the circle viewing platforms, the distance (in km) between the tower and many major cities is shown. I took my picture under Washington, DC (to you DCers, I know I'm from MD). One popular activity is to buy a tile and glue it on the wall of the tower, and guess what, Quinn and I did it! So, we are forever on the N Seoul Tower, which I find pretty cool. Our adventure ended with a laser/light show on the outside of the tower. It lasted all of two minutes, but it was enjoyable to watch. Overall, I give N Seoul Tower a 10 out of 10.
I love days off, they need to happen more often!
No comments:
Post a Comment