Korea Times Reporter Speaks with Avila Students

Suh Young Jun, a reporter for a Korean newspaper, spent time with our class at the beginning of our trip and here at the end, as we celebrated Grace's birthday.  She wanted to know about the students' experiences on their trip.  

Chicken and ice cream

This was unexpected. As I continue my travels in Busan I had to share this menu item with the class.  A mildly spicy chicken on the left and an iceberg lettuce salad on the right which is hard to see since it's topped off with 2 scoops of ice cream! 

Cat cafe

Seoul offers pet lovers a unique experience. Throughout the city are cat and dog cafes where visitors can enjoy some animal affection while sipping a latte. Eric and Addy enjoyed a cat cafe just before they went to the airport. We've been told one of the reasons for the dog and cat cafes centers around the living arrangements in the city.  Often parents, grandparents, and adult children (until married) live together.  Parents don't have room to get their kids pets, so these cafes give young students in the city a chance to hang out with the animals.  I was surprised at how friendly the cats were in this place.  You can see the pictures sof the individual cats with their names and some info on each on the wall behind Eric.

Eric found a furry friend

Addy loved the cats 

The trip is at an end

Well...unfortunately our time in Seoul is ending. Reflecting back on the past week of food, tours and cultural experiences, please post two to three paragraphs sharing your thoughts on the trip: What did you learn about Korean culture? What surprised you? What did you learn about yourself? What had the most impact? etc.

Thanks for being such a great group! It was a pleasure sharing this experience with you all.

Night cruise down Han River

For our last night in Seoul, we took a dinner cruise down the river to see the city lights. It was a night of good food, good scenery and good company.

Banpo bridge fountain.

Live entertainment.

Enjoying the fresh air.

Noryangjin Fish Market - A Paradise of Seafood

Noryangjin is Seoul's largest fish market. The scale of this 66,000 square meter facility is impressive. Over 700 shops offer fresh and dried fish, various shellfish, squid and octopus...both farm raised and wild caught. 

We were thankful to have Daniel Gray from O'ngo Food Communications as our guide. He did a great job of shepherding us through the market and selecting a wealth of fresh seafood for us to sample for lunch.

There are several restaurants alongside the market that will prepare your fresh fish as requested.

The feast began with shashimi and sea squirt followed by chopped baby octopus, grilled mackerel, steamed snapper and fish soup.

YanDa having a tough time picking up a piece of wriggling octopus.

Happy faces, full bellies.

Happy birthday Grace!

A birthday in Seoul...not soon forgotten!

Celebrated with a stop at Ice Berry for some cold treats. Below is patbingsu, a shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk and red bean paste. DE LIC IOUS!