Georgia Comes to Korea

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Wonder of wonders, I had two visitors this past week! That's right, Miss Lauren Cochran and Miss Nadia Farra flew around the world to see me! I am quite the lucky girl. For those who don't know, these two lovely ladies are friends of Brittany and mine from our UGA days.

I picked them up at the airport on Sunday night, and they got to experience a true Korean cab ride home, risky turns and trigger breaks and all. As Brittany was still with her parents in Japan until Monday morning, both girls came home with me and we had a sleepover. It was pretty fun getting to catch up on all the gossip, I will say.

We woke up at a decent hour the next morning and took off for Yonggungsa Temple, which is one of my favorites in Busan, and right on the water. I believe I already showcased it in another blog, if you want to see more pictures. The girls were awed, and justly so; the temple still managed to take my breath away. After exploring the temple, we hailed a cab with the craziest cabbie I have ever met - he seriously had such a maniacal laugh that I was prompted to keep my hand by the door handle, just in case I needed a quick escape. We headed down to Haeundae Beach for a nice stroll. The weather was perfect - even took off our jackets it was so warm. We got some Starbucks (much to Lauren's delight, ha) and relaxed. Then we ate Dok Galbi (cheese/chix stir fry) but I was a little overeager and ordered twice as much as we could eat. But it sure came in handy for some late night munchies! So maybe it was just forethought on my part?

Then we met a few friends for gabli dinner (Korean BBQ) and then out to the bars! They got to meet my favorite bartenders at Kino Eye, who quickly went out of their way to make them feel welcome; they even let us play some Old Crow Medicine Show and Lynyrd Skynyrd! Ha. As it was a Monday, the bar was pretty empty. Finally, it was just the four of us. Gyu Ho walks up and says, "Okay, ladies..." And I hastily say, "Oh sorry! We'll get going.." And he interjects, "I just want to know what kind of shot you want, tequila or Jaeger?" How could the girls NOT have the best trip ever with that kind of service??

Tuesday morning I took them to a very cheap restaurant and ordered a plethora of Korean cuisine so they could try it all. Then I was off to work, and sent them on an adventure of their own. Since it was St. Patrick's Day, we met up for dinner and then went to the bars again to celebrate with pints o' Guinness. More of my Busan friends showed up for the fun, too.

Wednesday they went up to Seoul to visit two other UGA friends so I had a relaxing evening, which I sorely needed, due to a cold. Blah. Thursday night they girls returned, laden with packages, in time for dinner and more drinks. Ha.

Brittany had the day off on Friday, so I decided to play hookey and spend the whole day, just the four of us. We had sushi for lunch, then took a jaunt down to Jagalchi, the giant fish market. We ate live octopus (always a thrill!) and then walked through a shopping district in Nampo-dong, and then went up the Busan Tower for great views of the city. We returned home for a nap, and then it was one last galbi dinner and...you guessed it...more bars! This time everyone who hadn't met them was out, so all my friends were able to meet each other. It was scary and yet so normal to see how well they all got along. I guess we really are all the same, the whole world round.

Somehow I managed to get them in a cab to the airport at 830, and I hoisted myself off to my next adventure...Andong. Next blog, people, my fingers hurt.

I LOVE YOU LAUREN AND NADIAAAAA! THANKS AGAIN FOR COMING! Perfect 6 month anniversary present!

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