SOJUles: The Boys Come to Town

I have just been on a bus for the last few hours, so as I write this I am sitting by the river that runs near my apartment watching as many Koreans enjoy their only day off (Sunday) by bicycle riding, exercising, and spending time with their family down by the river.

It is crazy to think that I am already in the mentality that my time in Korea is running out. I am already in the process of discussing plane tickets home with my school and trying to do as much as I possibly can in my last couple months here. It is hard to think about leaving this country as there are so many aspects about my life here that I love.

I think the best place to begin in my last month of adventures is my visit with my dad and brother (Izaak). To sum it up simply, it was fantastic. I don’t think I have felt more at ease or comfortable in Korea than when my father and brother were here. It felt so nice to show somebody my life here and to be able to enjoy it with people who really care about you and vice versa. Even though I had not seen my family in nine months, the family dynamic quickly fell right back into place. This trip is the first time that the three of us have been abroad together. My brother and I have each taken trips separately with my father abroad, but the three of us being in South Korea together was something that I never could have expected. But, it was great.

At their first palace.

From the minute that my dad and brother showed up in my town, I was determined to fight their jetlag and keep them moving or how they would put it “I ran them around the city for four days”. I had so much I wanted to show them in so little time that I had planned a packed schedule for their visit to say the least. Overall, we lucked out with the weather although we ran into a few rainy patches.

At their second palace.

The first full day they had we headed into Seoul to find their hotel where we were staying for the weekend. It was in a great location with access to two subway stops and close to the major tourist attractions. So, we were able to get through the palaces, some museums, and all of the must-do-things when in Seoul. My favorite activities during their visit included attending a baseball game, biking on the Han river, going on an amazing 2-day hike, going out to dinner with all of my friends, and showing them all of the Korean food that I have grown to love. Oh, also realizing that being over six feet here is not to your advantage, my dad and bro did not fit (literally) in Korea.

Baseball Game

It was Sunday night and I took the family to the main baseball stadium in Seoul. Of course, we get there and all the tickets are sold out. But fear not, with a New Yorker for a father who has now haggled for tickets in numerous countries and attempting to use universal sign language we got some tickets and for a good price. The only down side was that they oversold the game and we did not have a seat. My family could not get over how much Koreans cheered. For example, even if a player hits a foul ball or even hits a pop out they cheer as if it was a grand slam. On top of this, there are cheerleaders with pom poms and short skirts and a hype man directing the cheers. I personally love this, but I guess it is not the same as the American baseball crowd. The second thing that my Dad could not get over is that they actually do not sell a hotdog or anything resembling a hot dog at the stadium. The place is BYOE (everything). This means that rather than the typical hotdog and nachos, you see dried squid, fried chicken, and kimbop (Korean sushi). Once again, I love this. But apparently, its not really a baseball game without a hot dog according to some people. We all had a great time though.

Our view from the "standing" section.

Biking on the Han River

Renting bikes on the Han River also made the top of my list because it is an activity that I have been meaning to do and just never got around to it. It was really simple as there are many rental stations along the river where you can rent bikes by the hour and just cruise down the well paved path. It is a really pretty ride and a nice way to explore the city. The bikes were not the best so after a couple hours we had to quit in order save our butts for the rest of the day.

My two biker buddies.

Look at that expert.

On a Han River Cruise following the bike riding.

School Visit

Tourist attractions and any activity aside, hands down the best part of the visit no question about it was when my Dad and Brother came to school. If only I had known that I had grown up with two handsome celebrities my whole life. The whole ordeal was hysterical. Let me remind you that I work at a school with 1000 middle school girls, ALL girls who rarely if ever have seen American men. So, this was a big day.

So, it all began when my co-teacher picked them up from the closest subway stop and it was show time. We went through the hierarchy of introductions- principal, vice-principal, and then my co-teachers. I wanted to get my family into my classroom before the bell rang, but no such luck. As we were leaving the Principal’s room, the bell rang, and the hallways were flooded with girls. The next 10 minutes were filled with screaming, cheering, giggling, singing, and about every emotion that I would have expressed if the Backstreet Boys had walked into my classroom in 5^th grade. I mean these girls were ecstatic and could not get enough of them. My classroom was flooded with students just trying to get a glimpse or a cell phone picture shot of my family. I have to admit, they both looked very handsome as they dressed up for the day, but the reaction they got was even better than expected. My students had made them welcoming posters and cards and it was all so cute. The girls could not stop saying “OMG tall man” and “Ohhhh handsome”. The two best comments were “Are you Santa Claus?” to my father and “My heart beat for your brother”. I loved every minute of it and I think they did too.

My students holding up signs they made.

After all of the commotion, they did actually watch me teach a couple classes and see what my daily life is really like. They also got a chance to eat school lunch and to their luck it was a good menu that day: rice, kimchi, squid in spicy bean paste sauce, some Korean vegetable, and rice cake soup. I didn’t expect that their visit to school would be one of the best parts, but teaching is the reason I came here and school is the place that I spend 40 hours a week. I am really glad they got to experience it.

Other fun pics: