The Eagle Has Landed

After talking the talk, we're actually walking the walk, here in Seoul. The first flight is behind us, we've started exploring the city, and everything's looking grand so far.



After 12 hours of flight (who told us it was only nine?) and a night of sleep, we spent our first day at the World Cup stadium and the financial district, finding both to be quite impressive, if very western in appearance. Except for all the Koreans everywhere, of course. Today we're spending our time in a more traditional part of town, Jongno-gu, situated between two centuries-old palaces from the Joseon dynasty.



Aside from the sights, the most impressive thing is the food. Bi bim bap and Korean barbecue are two of our fave eats in Seattle, but here in Seoul, we're eating a much better version for about a quarter to half the price. Ordering the food hasn't been too tough, but conversations with our waiters usually consist of "We don't speak Korean," followed by lots of pointing and nodding, and a whole parade of little dishes scattered around our table. I haven't felt nearly as much anxiety over not knowing the language as I expected. People seem to understand situations with just a little hand waving, and the results seem to be fairly predictable (so far).



We have lots of questions about Korea so far. Why doesn't anyone here wear sunglasses? It's bright and hot outside, and yet we've seen a total of three Koreans wearing shades. Why are so many of the ladies power-walking the parks wearing white gloves? Why do people drive on the right side of the road, and yet seem to want to walk on the left side of the sidewalk?



It sounds like our attempts to meet up with a few SERVAS members is going to pay off. In a few days we'll be spending the night with a couple hosts who hopefully can answer our nagging questions. Later in the week we'll be visiting some markets, going on a hike, and hopefully playing some ultimate. Tonight we stay in a traditional Korean home, which so far looks great. More on that, and hopefully some pics, when we write next.