Seoul blog

Hey folks, sorry for the lack of updates this past week. I had a blast in Seoul, and made some new friends along the way. I got my Taiwan visa taken care of, which was the main goal of the trip, so now I can stay for up to 60 days in Taiwan before needing to leave the country, but more importantly, I can now apply for a student residency visa or a work visa, whereas I could not with my visa exemption entry waiver.

The first day in Seoul I had lunch with some former coworkers from AMD, and was treated to a very good traditional Korean lunch with fish, bulgolgi, soup and all the standard side dishes. One coworker was very impressed that I tried/ate everything, and liked it all, since most of the people they host from the US only like Korean BBQ and just pick at a few other items that are ordered for them. The rest of the day was spent exploring a few palaces and walking around Seoul, before heading back to the hostel for a group dinner with the owner and some other people staying there. If anyone reading this ever goes to Seoul, I highly recommend staying at the Backpackers Inside Hostel. Afterwards, we all went out to a club, where foreigners got in for free, but locals had to pay ₩10,000 (~$9USD), so we all chipped in some money to get the owner of the hostel in. We got back pretty late, but I got in 2hrs of sleep before heading to the DMZ in the morning.

After 2hrs of sleep, one of the other hostelers and I were picked up by a bus going to the DMZ, where we got to see the 3rd tunnel that the North Koreans dug from their side to try to get to Seoul, the area overlooking the border of North/South Korea, and an area near the "Freedom bridge" where captured POW's were exchanged between the North and South. It was definitely interesting, and the South Korean soldiers take their jobs very seriously, even going so far as to ask for my camera and delete a picture that I had snuck overlooking the border (it's forbidden). After getting back to the hostel around 3pm, I took a long nap until the evening, then went out to eat with more hostelers.

On Sunday, my new friend Britt (UT Law, '08) and I went to the GS Caltex vs Pink Spiders volleyball game to watch former UT player Destinee Hooker play. I, being the diehard fan I am, brought along my UT flag to wave in the stands and show support for Destinee. I had already emailed her on facebook letting her know that I would be in the stands, and she flashed a big smile and hook'em when she saw us waving the flag. We stood out wearing burnt orange, but I'm all for spreading UT love! I must say, that was probably some of the most fun I've had at a volleyball game, and I've been to my share of games, since I was in the UT Volleyband back in the day. Crazy cheers, announcers, and dances are all to be expected should you ever watch a professional volleyball game in Korea. After the game, we met Destinee and got our pictures taken with her and my flag. The flag is now residing in the hostel, greeting travelers while they relax in the common area.

The next days weren't too eventful, just getting the visa taken care of and exploring Seoul some more, and enjoying the great food the city had to offer. I was unsuccessful in finding the koala hat, but I have people on the lookout for me. On Tuesday night, I met up with the remaining AMD folks I missed on Friday, and again, enjoyed a great meal. Some of the people also know the folks in Taiwan, which can also help with my trying to get a job with AMD Taipei. Two people that I worked with frequently had to cancel at the last minute, but passed along some gifts that I will definitely be able to use on my trip to Thailand/Vietnam. They included a laptop bag, super absorbent towel, polo shirt, and an HDMI cable. All were AMD branded, except for the HDMI cable, which I thought was random :) I always did love working with the AMD Korea team the most.

I do wish I could have stayed a few extra days in Seoul, since it snowed a good inch the night before I left, and I would have loved to see all the palaces covered topped with snow. Until next time, I suppose. I'll wrap up this entry and start up on another entry later, but first, I'm headed out to a St. Patrick's day party tonight!