Allie's Got Seoul: Allie's Boot Camp

The whirlwind of all whirlwinds. There was jet lag…pink eye…phlegm…weight loss…head lice. An “I survived Seoul” t-shirt never seemed more appropriate or deserved.

Three-weeks, a respectable period of traveling. My coworkers consistently remarked on how close I must be with my parents. Why wouldn’t I want to surround myself with people who think I’m really cool? They’re the greatest annoying people I know! Every successive week my coworkers would comment “They’re still here??” Trust me to make three weeks feel like an eternity…yet have it pass in only the blink of an eye.

The first time I heard myself say “Mom” I swallowed the sound halfway through the syllable. Was I saying a coherent word? How unfamiliar it sounded coming from my mouth. To further compound this unfamiliarity, I stole a few new shirts from my mom! The ultimate role reversal.

Bethany graciously let me ‘rent’ her bedroom for the nights we spent in Seoul. It allowed us to be a little family again and for extra quality time. I reveled in daily breakfast responsibility: creative porridges, gourmet jams, the Korean golden melon called chamae. And since the trip was nestled between Mother’s and Father’s Days you can guarantee a few special breakfasts for the occasions. My dad made the daily coffee I quickly came to take for granted and kept the kitchen and dishes spic and span. Luxury!

The trip to Korea can be oversimplified by saying that my dad came to sightsee and my mom came to see…me. Neither of which are entirely true, but I think my mom would have been happy to spend three weeks chatting in my favorites cafes. It wasn’t until the trip was well underway that I realized how much my dad’s desire was winning out.

Months beforehand I had casually collected information from people and guidebooks in order to craft a diverse Korean experience. My parents’ first trip to Asia would be just so and timing was definitely on our side. Besides the lovely May weather, the trip coincided with two holidays and two administrative days, on top of weekends. Additionally, I burned my first three vacation days since September. Teaching seven full days still allowed us four free days to bounce around Seoul, five days on the subtropical island of Jeju, and four days shared between Gyeongju and Busan. More on the side trips in later posts.

Great heights and depths. Natural mountains, urban mountains. Subways, towers, caves, tunnels. Up, down, up, down. The stair count over the three weeks has to be astronomical. My parents managed to keep up on my adrenaline-charged tour, but always a few strides behind. Oh you thought this was a vacation? Ha! Welcome to Allie’s Boot Camp. Seoul? Sole? While the mileage took a toll on my guests, it was the report cards and syllabi during the term change, on top of planning and entertaining, that nearly did me in toward the end.

Speed dating Seoul: 4 palaces, the secret garden, museums, the royal shrine, the urban stream, temples, parks, traditional villages, the gates of Seoul, markets of all kinds, an array of flavorful neighborhoods, bustling modernity, a cable car ride to Seoul Tower for a panoramic view. Top to bottom we covered the city.

It didn’t stop there. Afterwork activities included badminton at the park, a Korean movie theater, and a night of mageolli (rice wine) and noraebang (karaoke). While I had to teach they heeded my recommendations to see the National Museum Korea, the War Memorial Museum of Seoul, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, the DMZ, Olympic Park, a water treatment plant turned island park in the Han, and of course...Gangnam.

The people you encounter while traveling make the experience all the richer. They met many of my new friends and students…but also made their own acquaintances along the way. And there is no way we will ever forget these strangers as few people could escape my dad’s camera. No face left undocumented! It was excessive but near the end of three weeks memories already needed jogging. I joked that he would even take a picture of the Ethiopian cab driver in back in DC…but really…this wasn’t that far off…

To the groups of high school students blurting out ‘hello’ in a mocking and anonymous way. Big mistake, as they were soon engaged in unavoidable conversation that “Me no Englishee” couldn’t get them out of. You got ‘em good, Mom and Dad. They’ll think about the consequences of their actions before saying ‘hello’ next time…

Korean food was consumed near exclusively and in large quantities, often through shared meals with my Korean and foreign friends. Korean is just so delicious and cheap. Mom needed her daily bap and Dad became a fast fan of haemul pajeon (seafood green onion pancake). We all enjoyed bingsu (shaved ice based dessert) and are entertaining business plans to popularize it in America.

We had one particularly lovely lunch with the ladies from my adult class. These women had given me lengthy tips for sight-seeing in Seoul, Jeju, and Gyeongju. Not only did they treat us to the nicest meal I’ve had in Korea, they showered my parents with gifts. A testament to the importance of parents/elders in Korean culture as well as gift-giving.

The trip reaffirmed just how much patience is a virtue…that I’m still cultivating. My parents provided me with ample opportunity to practice. It took a few days for them to adjust to my pace of life and for me to adjust to theirs. In the end, I might have won out. Sorry, Mom! As a Seoulite of nine months (NBD) I’d forgotten how fascinating everything is at first and the pace with which they’d want to experience it. I loved having them and I was sorry to let them go home.

I’m thriving in Seoul. I can be independent when I need to be. But cozy nights of Jeopardy and Ina Garten recipes are still as appealing as ever. Let it be known I have yet to cash in on my post-college year of bumming off my parents…get out of my room, Dad!