late summer happenings

After having such an amazing vacation in South Africa in the beginning of the Summer, and then having Robert's parents here, we settled into a very slow-paced and quiet second half of vacation here in Gimcheon. You can only do so much laundry or clean the house so many times before you get a little stir crazy... lucky for us, we've got friends in Seoul. We headed up there for a fun and relaxing weekend with the Boltes. There are a few key words when talking about the Blacks and the Boltes-- cats, laughter, exploring, coffee, adventure, cats, coffee, oh wait, did I mention those?? Anyway, you get the idea. We have a blast when we're together. As usual, we took a night train up to Seoul station and were then going to take the 45 minute subway ride to their house. Problem is, we're used to line 4 and we took line 1 instead thinking it would be better and more direct. We ended up having to get off at a station not far from the house and wait for about 15 minutes until we realized that we were supposed to walk up and over to the next tracks ?? By the time we made it over to that side, we had already missed two trains and had to wait another 15 minutes or so for the next one. Needless to say, our trip was stretched longer and we didn't arrive to their apartment until very late... 

Getting cuddles from "Brother"... 

"Sister" didn't want anything to do with me

The next morning we headed off to have adventures in the city. We started off with this wonderful cafe called Amanderie ( I think that's how you spell it) where we had brunch. 

After we were filled and happy, we headed off to see some of the old houses and simply enjoy parts of the city that Robert and I had not seen yet. Funny thing was, they took us down a street that we had visited about 5 years ago when we were in Korea with his family. We had never been able to find it when we lived in Seoul :) Now we know where it is. 

Despite the heat and the occasional spitting rain, we had a very enjoyable walk around the city. 

At any given moment, one of us would yell out, "ok, who's starting the trains game?" We literally played this every time we were on the subway and occasionally when we were just hanging out. Its extremely addictive (despite the fact that I can't beat Bethany to save my life) :) 

"Ticket to Ride" 

We headed over towards Itaewon and Yongsan where we came upon a book store. I can't describe the joy this brings me... You never quite realize just how important the written word is until you are standing in a Korean bookstore surrounded by books you can't read. I could have spent hours just rummaging through all the titles in this quaint little shop. 

After buying a couple books, we continued on our way to Jacoby's Burgers where you order custom-made burgers that are so tall you can't even begin to eat them with your hands. They are knife and fork all the way. We shared a burger and I'm so glad we did! It was a really fun place to eat at. 

After dinner we hung around town awhile enjoying coffee and conversation before heading back to the apartment. Bethany and I went on a mission to find S'mores supplies, hoping that we would be able to find everything. We were successful and later than evening we enjoyed S'mores via candlelight. 

On Sunday morning we were treated to a lovely breakfast before heading off to worship with our old church family. Jordan invited us to sing with the praise team which was a lot of fun to do again. 

Always a pleasure to see my friends again! 

As with all good things, it was time to end and we were headed back to Gimcheon on the evening train. We had an amazing weekend as usual and are so blessed to have such amazing friends. 

Our friend Holly was finishing up her final week in Korea and had a little extra time to hang out, so on Wednesday She and I headed over to Gumi on the train and had a lovely brunch at Starbucks, saw a movie, and then grabbed coal-fire pizza at Terras 5 before heading back on the train. It was such a great day together and a relaxing one for sure! 

Later than evening we met up again with some other friends at Nearby for a cup of coffee and just to catch up after everyone's vacations. 

Then on Saturday, a few of us met up for Holly's last day in Gimcheon. 

We had lunch together at a local Galbi (meat) restaurant.

Holly and I met up again for a late dinner at a Dak-galbi (chicken) restaurant :) 

Since she was leaving early the next morning, this was going to be her last true Korean meal for awhile.  We had a good time comparing our favorite K-dramas (we're both total fans) :) 

Afterwards, Holly treated me to coffee and chocolate at the "Chocolate Cafe" (imagine that?!) :) 

I'm so glad I had the chance to meet Holly here in Korea. We had a ton of fun and I wish her all the best as she starts her next chapter back home in the states. Best of Luck, Holly! :) 

Despite the title of this post, I will include a little of work. We started school this week. In Korea, the semesters run opposite of America. In other words, First semester runs from February to June and then Second semester is from August to December. A school year is completed in one calendar year. So, we just started our second semester. I love seeing all the students again and for the excitement (at least on the first week...) Since we had introductions this week, the classes ran a little shorter so Annice and I headed over to a nail salon and got pampered after our first day back at the job :) After that we met everyone for our semester work dinner at the best Chinese restaurant I have ever been to (anywhere). It's really that good. 

The Gimcheon International team

In other news... We had our first typhoon! I am a Florida girl, as you know, so I am well-acquainted with hurricanes, but I had yet to experience a typhoon. We technically only got the outer bands of "Bolaven"but I was still kind of excited. I kept wishing for a typhoon party like we used to have in FL during hurricane season. We basically just got a couple hours of wind and rain and that was it...any excuse to wear my rain boots is all I have to say!