................Taking Flight...............: Gotcha Day

This is the second time, and 2 times in a row that I've celebrated my Gotcha Day in Korea--away from home. I returned late-ish from Hongdae Thursday night and hopped on skype when I got back. It was almost midnight and then...I skyped with my Mom and Martin. So, I got to talk to my Mom on my Gotcha Day. :) I also got to see Toby on his birthday!

Then...I met my friend Jacob in Hongdae. We had a meeting with my friend Ji (Sung Min) and someone Ji knew from work who wanted a tutor for her son. Our meeting was on the other side of Seoul, but we decided we'd have lunch together first. Hongdae is close to where Jacob lives, so he has all his favorite restaurants/places to eat that he knows. We went to a place called "Burger B" and then I realized I had been there one of my last nights in Seoul last December! Anyway, we showed up there a little after 11 and they told us they didn't open til 11:30. So we walked around a little and went back. I was trying to decide what to eat...burger, mac n cheese, nachos....I picked the mac n cheese because I had meat last night. It was pretty good. Jacob cut a piece off his burger so I did get to try some burger too. Then we went on our way to the hospital to meet Ji and the family. We were a few minutes late and I felt bad, but Jacob didn't seem too concerned. Ji called me while we were on the way and said the whole family was going to be there--originally it was just going to be the mom and son, but the dad and their other 2 daughters were also coming. So, Ji helped translate for Jacob and the parents while I played/entertained their two stinkin' adorable girls. They were probably 2 and 4. Soo so cute! I wanted to ask if they need a baby sitter, but they live reallllly far away from me. After the family left, Jacob and I hung out with Ji. Actually, when we arrived, Ji held out his hand for me to shake it and I noticed it was all wrapped up. I asked him what happened. Some guy in his room threw a knife at him! When Ji put his hand up to protect himself, it cut the side of his hand and he had to get 6 stitches!! Ji ordered pizza for us and we went up to the top floor which was outside and sat out there talking and had the pizza delivered up there. It was a lot of fun. And...Ji and Jacob are like a match made in heaven. They both love Manchester United (soccer team) and it was funny to watch them interact.

We left the hospital and I went to Ichon Station to meet Kim and Kwangmin. There was an International fireworks display and every year they are shot off from Yeoido (an 'island' in the Han River). We decided that we would watch from across the river in Ichon. It was still really crowded in Ichon. After we met, we went to look for dinner. Kwangmin had a Japanese restaurant in mind, but it hadn't opened for dinner yet. Because Kim is Celiac, it was really difficult to find a place. Luckily, I have been to Ichon many times because that is the station/area where Hwa Sun and Jaebin live! I remembered a kimbap store and we went there--Kim was able to get something gluten free.

Then, it was time to face the crowds. We walked to the Han River and looked around for a spot to sit. It was so crowded--some people had tents set up and you could tell they had been there all day. We found a spot with a good view of 63 building (where they usually shoot the fireworks off from) and waited for 2 hours. When the first fireworks went off, they were further to the right and we couldn't really see them from our spot. So, we decided that we would move. We found another place and stood to watch them. There were 4 countries participating in the fireworks display. They were really cool. We stood behind a Korean couple and the guy was so expressive when he saw fireworks he liked "wooooaaaw!" all the time--it was entertaining. We decided that after the 3rd one, we would leave early so we didn't get caught in the mad rush to leave. But...it seemed that a lot of other people also had that idea too. So, we were stuck in some heavy congestion for about 30 minutes maybe, but we were also able to see some of the last display as well. For some reason, it was so difficult to get through and everyone was pushing and shoving everyone else. It was pretty crazy. Finally, we broke through the congestion and made it to the subway.