Visitors Part Deux....again

Did anyone else see what happened?? I posted about my aunt and uncle's visit, then I posted about my kindy students, and the first one disappeared! So now I have to try to recreate that first post about my visitors. Dammit! All that work for nothing!

Anyway, as I was saying (before it got so rudely erased), my Aunt Lila and Uncle John visited Seoul last week. They came on the same day that Nicole left. The first day they were here was a weekend so I was able to hang out all day. We went on the city bus tour, and we saw lots of things I had never seen before. Because of the extensive and efficient subway system in Seoul, I'm used to being underground when I travel, so it's pretty cool to actually see the city while I'm going somewhere. We were able to get on and off the bus tour wherever we wanted, so we went to a Korean Folk Village (this one was in the city), Insadong (an area of downtown that has a lot of traditional Korean stores and restaurants), and Gyeongbokgung Palace (built in 1394--the oldest palace of the Joseon Dynasty). I didn't have my camera there but the palace is amazing--I will go back and capture it for y'all. I guess the name means "Palace of Shining Happiness"--isn't that nice??
So anyway, my aunt and uncle really did a lot when they were here. They are world travelers, so they weren't afraid to really explore the place. And yep, they said that it was a typical Asian city--you know, crowded, lots of Asian people (really??!), neon lights, markets....
One thing that they noticed was how friendly the people are. People were coming out of the woodwork to help them, especially if they were looking at a map. Or even if they weren't. Also it's very safe here. You could set your purse down on a table and leave for an hour and it would be there when you got back. So that's always nice for a tourist to not have to be super paranoid about your belongings when you're here.
Lila and John also knew 2 Korean professors here, Joe and Dr. Cho. They usually meet at conferences in other countries, so Joe and Dr. Cho really enjoyed showing them around Korea. I was able to have dinner with them a couple times. It was great--we went for my favorite dish, galbi (pork or beef rib meat cooked over a grill on the table). The Korean professors really made sure Lila and John got the "Korean experience". On their last night here, they found it imperative that John try soju, Korea's national liquor. The "right' way to drink it is to take it as a shot, and then tip the shotglass upside down over your head when you are finished to show that you drank it all. Way to go John! You are soooo Korean! Here are some photos of that moment as well as Lila and John enjoying a traditional Korean dinner--sitting on the floor and using the chopsticks.