Tokyo

Well I am at Tokyo, still.  Current time is Friday 6:04 pm.  Been awake since Thursday 7:20ish am.  My plane is delayed about an hour so am still sitting here.  Found free wifi and am not turning it down.  Forgive me if this is short.  I'm mentally tired but full of coffee and coca-cola.  So most likely will be awake for awhile more yet.  By the time I get to Lincoln, NE (if I don't sleep) I will have been up for 56 hours.  Haven't pulled a stunt like that yet and am curious if it is possible.  We will see.  Being tired is very good for one thing.  I haven't the energy to freak out over flying and get sick.  The plane has movies and there are several I would like to see that I didn't see in theaters.  Getting to now though and thinking that it is a good way to pass time. Because these long plane rides are notorious for feeling super long and slow.  What would I give for a shower.

Incheon airport in Seoul is my favorite airport so far.  They have a very wonderful selection of shops and places to eat in every section of the airport.  They have plenty of restrooms, lounges, and luxurious things like spas, showers, saunas, prayer rooms, etc.  I really want a shower.  They also have roomy walkways, beautiful decorations, and cultural centers where you can try traditional Korean outfits or attempt different skills.  I laid down on a soft lounge couch, but thanks to the coffee I had had seconds before that, didn't sleep.  It was better there though than the two hours I spent chilling at the bus terminal in Daegu.  Below freezing and no heat.

Feeling like I am rambling.  So going to stop now.  Hopefully I make more sense when I get stateside.  If my plane would stop being delayed that is.

Lost

Hello everyone.  Sorry I haven't been writing much on here lately.  I've been here so long that what is unusual or different is becoming common.  So I am running out of new things to talk about.  Plus I have just been teaching or chilling at home for the most part.  Not much to say there.  I do have a story for you now.  Forgive me?

Last Sunday I went to Busan.  A friend I had met the weekend before was freezing because she didn't have a coat.  Let's face it, larger sizes are impossible to get in Korea.  Maybe you can get the American size Large.  Maybe.  Beyond that it is impossible.  Another foreigner who moved away gave me a lot of her things (which was super sweet of her) including a coat.  I have a lovely coat my grandma bought me before I left for South Korea.  So I truly didn't need a second.  I offered it to her and brought it down to her this last Sunday.

I arrived early at the train station to buy a ticket down to Busan and learned that all the seats were full.  There was only standing room left.  The same story with the next train.  I opted to take a train just after lunch and made sure to buy a ticket coming back ahead of time to ensure I had a seat on the way back as well.  Walked down to the market, bought snacks, ate lunch, and then headed back to the train station.

It was a comfortable ride down.  Just after I left, I received a text message.  The person I was meeting wasn't feeling good.  I offered to go to her place to make it easier on her.  Thus started an adventure.

Arriving in Busan, I went to the taxi stand and got in.  Telling the taxi driver to go to the UN Notary as it was close to her place, he drove me someone in Busan.  I say somewhere because I am not familiar enough with the town to be oriented or know which way is North.  He dropped me off and said it was right there at the intersection ahead of me.

I walked to the intersection and saw Busan Museum.  Hmmm... that didn't look like the UN anything to me.  However the intersection was a large 5 way intersection with a monument supporting a memorial globe of Earth in the center.  That became a familiar reference point for the following few hours.

I ended up not being quite as close as my friend and I assumed I was.  I walked down each street and some side streets for two hours before I finally found the landmarks that guided me to her place.  Most people would have given up by then and I would have too if I had been driving.  I put my gaming experience to work in the real life.  In games, you click on a section of a map and let your characters walk there while you go make a cup of hot tea.  In real life, you have to do the walking yourself.  So when I realized I was going in the wrong direction, I had to walk back, turn right, and try the next street.

It was a good hike and I got the opportunity to use a public restroom... the squat toilet.  Suffice it to say, it was a unique experience that I don't recommend to those who are overweight or have bad balance.  Anyrate, found her fine.  Gave her the coat as well as the equivalent of sprite and saltines.  Then returned to the train station to use my newfound gaming skills in real life there scoping out the shops and layout of the building.

Busan

Good morning from Busan, a southern city on the Korean peninsula.  I came down yesterday to celebrate a friend's birthday as well as to hang out before he moves away to Australia.  I don't think that guy is ever going back to the states.  He likes to travel too much.

I stayed the night in a hostel called Miss Egg.  I rather like the place even though the theme color is pink.  It is nicely set up and since no one else is traveling this time of year, I have the place to myself.  There is a lounge area, a dining area, laundry services, and really comfortable bedding.

Right now I am chilling in a blanket waiting for the boys to wake up.  I was back in the hostel and in bed by 11:30pm.  I'm pretty sure they weren't.  So I might be waiting for awhile for the sleepyheads to wake up.  In the meantime, I am playing on the hostel's computer and relaxing.  Might grab my room key though and go back to my room in a bit, turn on the heater ;)