Dae-han-min-guk

I would love to make this a long post, but it's midnight-thirty and I have to get up in six hours to catch a flight, so I'll give you the abbreviated version.

Sam arrived on Friday very jetlagged but very excited. It was so nice to see her, a total blast from the past. When I was waiting for her at the gate, I kept worrying that I'd let her go by already because we hadn't recognized each other. But then I saw her, and I knew her right away. She conked out as soon as we got back, but she got up early today to spend the morning in Seoul with me.

Of course, after weeks and weeks of sweltering heat, today it decides to pour down rain all day long. We walked around, did some last-minute shopping for Sam, saw some old Korean palaces (pictured), and generally got soaked.

I saw Sam off and headed to City Hall to watch the Reds play Greece in the World Cup. I got myself a nice jersey-style team shirt and someone gave me a big inflatable hand for free! I elbowed my way up near the front, watched the game on the big screen, screamed and sang, and drank beer with a group of Americans that I met. Koreans have a little more freedom than most in making up cheers, because there are so many permutations of the country's name that you can fit it into any tune. In different songs we used "Korea," "Hanguk," and "Daehanminguk," and some songs used more than one.

Oh yeah, and it was still pouring. Everyone got soaked, our team won, and someone handed me a free can of Coke as I was staggering back to the subway station. A good night.

I probably won't have time to post anything tomorrow, which means this will be my last post until the 22nd! Damn China and their hatred of Google. I'll keep a diary and do a massive catchup post when I return. Until then!