Romance in Seoul is: Movies, Food, and Hiking Work-out Equipment

I've been itching for a while now to write a new blog post. I'd been holding off these last few weeks in an effort to upload pictures, videos, and memories of my time in Hong Kong over the Lunar New Year (Feb.2-6), but alas, I still have many pictures to go through (let alone upload and edit!) and so I've finally given in and decided to go ahead anyway and write to all of you lovely bloggers. My adventures in Hong Kong will have to be delayed for yet another time....(hopefully soon!)

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to see a movie here at the theaters in Korea for the very first time! And what do you guess was the movie we saw? None other than the Disney/Pixar film: "Tangled" - a Rupunzel story. And get this! Not only was it my first movie in Korea, but it also happened to be a 3D movie in Korea! Yahtzee!!! No holding back here! Go big or go home! Go 3D or be LAME!

This movie was seriously awesome. I mean, no joke. I was smiling the whole time - I loved that there was music, there was romance, there was action, there was horror - everything you could ask for in a Disney feature film! Honestly, it brought be back to the days of Ariel, Belle, Jasmine and Pocahontas! This was truly a fabulous flick and I couldn't help but secretly desire that I was Rupunzel herself, singing, frolicking, and letting down my long hair.

The next day, in order to release my inner longings of wannabe-Repunzel/Many Moore who did the voice for the character, Amos and I had a delicious blueberry pancake breakfast followed by a hike on a trail not far from the school's campus. We had a great view of Seoul and had a blast taking in the scenery. And, like most hikes in Korea, we ran into several spots where work-out equipment was available to get your blood pumping even more....because God knows that when you're already doing an intense, physical workout, you need to CONTINUE doing an intense, physical workout by taking time to lift a barbell, do situps, crunches, and perhaps even some pull-ups. See photos below:





Luckily all that moving around paid off because Monday night (Valentine's Day!), Amos took me out to a fabulous little Italian restaurant (about a 15 minute walk from campus) and we had our fill of delicious food and drink! It was definitely fun to get dressed up, too! I even sported some black tights - the winter fashion essential for Korean women. Amos brought me roses and gave me the THIRD card of the day (he'd given me two earlier) and we enjoyed a lovely Valentine's evening together.



Last night, I took a taxi to the Hapjeong subway station so that I could arrive in Itaewon later that evening to meet up with a few friends. After nearly having my taxi cab crash into another vehicle as we were arriving at the subway station, I quickly got out, thanked the embarrassed taxi driver, and was on my way. I had a lovely time meeting up with my friend Molly and her fiance Justin at a delicious Greek restaurant called "Santorini" - amazing food and great conversation!

Warmer weather seems to be peaking its head out from behind corners here in Seoul, but the cold still remains. Luckily, my 5 minute walk to work every morning allows me to keep warm most days and considering what I believe was "Korea's coldest" was when I was back home in Chicago over the holidays, things have been bearable and long underwear has become my new best friend when out and about on some of the bitterly cold winter weeks and weekends walking around Seoul.

Sending you all warm wishes and looking forward to hearing what's new in your lives! Stay tuned for my next blog post on my "Lunar Adventures in Hong Kong" ;-)