Sunday morning we woke up at 7 and got on a subway towards Daerim (a midpoint between Danny's and our houses) and met Danny and his family and Jane there. He borrowed a minivan from a friend and we all packed in. The drive to Everland wasn't too long Danny said usually its a 2 hour drive but we made it in less than an hour. Probably because we left so early. One thing Melody started saying on the ride there was "ohh Bess and Eddie Love love love" when I was sleeping on Eddie's shoulder. So from then on every time I was near Eddie she would start singing "Love love love" which actually sounded a little more like "LUb LUB LUB LUB LUB LUB". After getting there Danny decided which rides we would go on and took us to each of them. The place was similar to a Disneyland (I've never been but Eddie has). The rides were fun but the lines were long and the rides were really short! We waited in line for an "amazing" roller coaster but after one time through the track it was through and we didn't even go upside down... :( It was fun though so I wasn't complaining just short. We went to the American section of the park where they had a Rodeo ride and above the ride it said "America's #1 sport" referring to rodeos... which I highly doubt is true.... The workers were dressed up in old western syle clothes and said things like Yee HA! It was overall very inaccurate but Eddie and I just laughed. Throughout the day we went on rides and walked around the park. I was unable to take pictures because upon arriving there I made a short video and then my camera went black so that is why there aren't many pictures but Melody was using Danny's camera and then Danny made Eddie and I pose for lots of pictures (which I am sure Eddie was thrilled about) so I'll post all those later. There are pictures of us in front of EVERYTHING! Its great! I will post them as soon as Danny sends them! So every time we were in a photo standing close, Melody would chime in "LUB LUB LUB". Later Danny was telling us about the rose garden and said so this is a place for love love. It was more awkward then anything. He also made a reference to the ferris wheel being a place for Love love.... Anyways it was a subject that seemed to pop up multiple times throughout the day.
When it was time for lunch I told Danny I wanted Noodles but ended up getting a spicy chicken patty with fried rice (at least thats all I thought it was). I quickly found out that squid was hiding beneath the rice and so my rice was then more of a maze for me to explore finding all the mysterious squid legs and other parts and picking them out so I could eat the rice. I am pretty sure I ate some squid yesterday and that is something I am coming to terms with... Food is kind'a a big issue for me here but I am doing the best I can. The squid was definitely a curve ball for me but I quickly recovered and didn't make it obvious that I was freaking out inside...
So we rode some more rides, went through a zoo, then went on a boat ride through a fake Africa (twice) and got really wet both times. Then after the ride we ended up next to a group of African Drummers/Dancers and watched them perform for a while. I noticed one of them was watching me closely and then they started a limbo contest and the man kept pointing at me. I hid behind Eddie for a while but he didn't give up and soon an shorter man walked towards me and made a hand gesture for others to part the way until he was right in front of me. At this point I wasn't looking to draw anymore attention to myself then I already had... My plan was spoiled! He grabbed my hand and walked me out to the middle of the stage with a couple other Korean children. The kids tried to limbo under the stick but I don't think they had ever done it before or had even see it because they all did it very strangely. When it was my turn I made it under just fine and so I stayed in the contest with one other boy (about half my height who was simply walking under the stick). When it came to his turn he wacked his head on the stick but he was still in so then I went again and almost made it but fell back so they gave me another try and again I fell back. After that the man grabbed our hands and yelled something in the crowd and then gave us both a gift. I tied for 1st place in a limbo contest in KOREA!! WOO! The gift was a plastic squishy pumpkin charm that attaches to a cell phone... I quickly attached mine so I would always remember my trip to Everland. Overall the day was fun I was like a celebrity there and everyone was interested in what I was doing. Children would run up and say "HI" then laugh or ask where I was from or how I was doing then one little boy asked me what color the curtain was we were standing next to so I told him it was green and he laughed and ran away to tell his mom. Some teenage girls were watching me while in line for a ride and they were giggling and pointing so I looked back at them and smiled so one of them told me I was very pretty. Other people would just look at me quietly but one older woman in here 70's or 80's seemed to be every place I went and every time I saw her she would say something in Korean and laugh then point at me and laugh as if we had some inside joke together. Another time she patted my hand and after I got off a ride she was there again and she shook her finger at me and laughed again. Then I saw her at the parade where she said something else and we both laughed. The day was fun and I liked going on rides but I was relieved when Danny said we were going home because I was ready for some privacy. Eddie said he wants to set up a booth and charge people to look at me and honestly I think he might make some money judging by how yesterday went... Its very different to be the only brunette in a sea of black haired people.
On the way home we stopped at a tofu house and had dinner I tried soft tofu for the first time (like a warm tofu pudding... Not my favorite) and I ate some ferns called khosadi and some cold noodles called chaepchae or something similar to that. The ferns were pretty salty but not bad and I really like the noodles I think I would like them more hot but it was a good meal. Danny dropped us off at the subway and we headed home. I bought some clothes in the subway station but again I think I was taken advantage of. The signs said the clothes were $5 each and I grabbed 3 shirts and it came to $30 which doesn't quite add up for me but I looked confused so they said they'd give me a "discount" so it was only $25 it was okay with me cause they were nice shirts so whatever kind'a frustrating to be a foreigner at times though. After that we headed home and went right to bed I was really tired!!
So my camera keeps dying on me so only the Video works. But here are a couple photos of the fireworks and movies of the amusement park. Danny took pictures and said he will send them to me later so I will have lots more!
I spent some time poking around this site and found an article about North and SOuth Korea thats kind'a interesting http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/special/2007/10/180_8484.html and
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2007/10/160_11869.html
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