We went to Seoul this past weekend so that Brian could write his LSAT exam. It was really cool, we travelled up there on the KTX, which the Koreans simply refer to as "super-fast train". It tops out at 328 km/hr which is pretty damn fast. Because the train is actually a few millimeters above the rails (superconduction), it's a very smooth ride. It felt like I was flying, only there was no way I could fall out of the sky. It was perfect.

Brian had his registration sheet with him on the train and so we called the Korean information line to find out what subway stop we needed. Brian asked for the stop closest to Kyunghee University. The woman gave him directions that were in complete contrast with the information provided on the sheet. Hmmm...another Korean goose chase? We called back and after much discussion, determined that there are two Universities in Seoul with similar names: Kyunghee and Kyunghi. Uhh, yah. "Do you go to Harvard?" "No, I go to Harford. But my cousin goes to Harvard." Anyway, we managed to sort it out.

Seoul is pretty cool and I have to say that I enjoyed my visit there. We got stared at a lot less and there were more signs and directions in English. The subways system was fantastic and very easy. We stayed at a cute little yogwan called Motel CoCo and after Brian's test was over we walked into Itaewon. Itaewon is an area (or "gu") in Seoul that basically caters to and consists of foreigners. It was really tippy to see so many different people there; we saw white people, indians, blacks...it was great! Daegu is a real monoculture so it was a nice change. This diversity also meant ethnic food (yipeee!) so Brian and I headed for our favourite - Thai food. And boy did we find it! It was really great and a nice change from Korean.

After lunch I did some serious shopping. I have developed a thing for Korean pottery and antiques (which are usually Chinese, but that's beside the point) so we went looking in all the antique shops. We found one that was having a huge sale - 30% off everything in the store! I bought a vase, some teacups and Brian finally got his apothecary chest. Mom and Dad are going to freak when they see all the stuff we are bringing with us to Hawaii. We have every intention of dumping all our newly acquired goods into their suitcases. We have until February to accumulate...heh, heh.