63rd Building

Just a note - before I get started..
Pictures are way too hard to upload on blogspot, especially when you have 200 and you can only upload 5 at a time. So I have a Flickr account and will be making albums of them on there matching the title of the blog for the day. I will post a link at the beginning of each blog to take you right to the pictures!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624600970492/



Today, my host mom took me to the 63rd building. It used to be the tallest building in Korea but has since been dominated. I still expected to see this monstrosity of a building but was actually quite shocked when it didn’t look so tall. We bought a 3 part pass (the museum on the 60th floor, the aquarium, and the 3D movie). We did the museum first. The sight from the 60th floor was amazing. Luckily it was a clear day so we could see everything. My host mom was telling me how last time they came, it was ridiculously cloudy so it was a pointless trip. There was a ton of amazing art. The theme was “figures” so there were lots of depictions of people doing different things. My favorite was the painting of the subway. It was funny seeing how many different types of personalities these people see. From the soldier, to the man with the rabbit!

After the museum, we went down to the 3D movie. The baby was sleeping so just Minho and I went in. I was given earphones and a walkman so they could translate for me. It was actually pretty cool. It was about the “Wild Coast” which is in South Africa. It is supposed to be the spot in the world with the most abundant sea life. The movie was about protecting our planet so that we can continue to have places like that in world. It wasn’t too bad having to listen to it in both Korean and English too.

Next was the aquarium. It had everything from penguins and otters, to snakes and frogs. It was definitely my favorite part. I loved seeing the otters. They built almost this hamster like unit for them. There were tubes coming out of their main home to across the room to smaller areas. I took pictures. It was really funny when we got to the snake area because the lady in front of me was obviously very scared. Her friend convinced her to go up to the glass of the yellow python cage but when the snake moved ever so slightly, she jumped and screamed and ran as fast as she could out of the room. I couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was also really cool to see all the different fish. But with Minho and I both being tired, we decided to head back home.

We parked the car and walked to a restaurant close by that is supposedly known for its short ribs. It definitely made me miss dad’s ribs ever so much. I knew they were not even going to come close and of course, I was right. They were decent enough to eat but not something I will be requesting for another meal here in Korea. Now we are at home and I am going to call it an early night because I have to make two lesson plans for tomorrow.

Tomorrow is Mini-Olympics so I am way excited to actually get out of the classroom. It is also my last day with my first-graders so like I promised many of you, I am going to take lots of pictures and post them. After school is mani/pedi with Stacy, Judit, and Stacy’s host mom. Friday is ice-skating and then out on the town with everyone!

I hope you all are having an awesome time in the 108 degree weather while I’m soaking up the rain here!!

Goodnight….

On a side note really quickly: Not that I am having kids any time soon, but I am really looking forward to being a mom! My host sister and I have bonded so much over the past week that she won’t do anything without me now. She fell asleep in my arms at dinner and there was this comfort level there that I’m sure everyone in the room could feel. On the walk home, my host mom was telling me that I am going to be the best mom ever and that I better send her pictures when I start having kids!

P.S: We think we found Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory… it’s in Korea! I’m posting pictures!

P.S.S: Everyone in Korea only knows Michael Jackson if you ask them who their favorite American singer is. Even the aquarium had a choreographed routine for their “Aqua Girls” as a tribute to the King of Pop.