It feels like I haven't blogged in a long time since coming back to Korea. If you are consistently following my blog, I must say that I appreciate you keeping in touch with my travels, though there's a part of me that feels Korea is home so my adventures haven't been as exciting as the ones I had back in SEA. Also, having traveled solo for a while, its nice to be reunited with old and new friends and also be traveling with a friend from home at the moment. Thus, I  have had less time to myself to reflect and share with you what I've been up to.
My first three days back in Korea were spent in Dangjin as I have a friend there teaching English. I've never heard of Dangjin before my friend mentioned this place so it was neat to explore a new city and also transition to a much rural and quieter area before returning back to the buzz of Seoul. To give you a quick idea of just how small this place is, I will share with you some examples. My friends and I ate dinner at one restaurant one night and of course my friend being Caucasian, tall, and red head made her a familiar face in the area already. The next night, the adjumma saw us walking by and one of us waved at her, then less than a minute later, she comes out to invite us to have coffee with her.  In another case, we were having kimbab in a small eatery when an adjussi sitting beside us was intrigued that we were foreigners in Dangjin; the next thing you know, he tells everyone in that place we are from Canada upon finding out from me! Being in a smaller city sure has its pros and cons. People are friendlier, will remember you, and want to make you feel comfortable as they feel you are far from home and don't have family around (Korea is a very family oriented country), yet the cons are that you are a rare sight where ever you go, so be prepared to be inquired about...a little too much.

We also took a day trip to Daejeon, an hour and twenty minute shuttle bus ride from the Dangin bus terminal. As Dangjin is small, there's not much of a shopping or entertainment scene, so most people bus into Daejeon to do these things. Now that I don't need to worry about luggage restraints, it felt so freeing to just shop and buy whatever I wanted. Though, I do notice that I'm more smart in my shopping purchases and won't just buy on impulse as much. From the bus terminal in Daejeon, you can get a taxi to the Daejeon KTX station and within that 30m radius, there is underground shopping, a pretty stream with a popular bridge in the area, and many streets of markets selling food and products for the home. The "younger/much trendier" section is a farther walk (after you cross the bridge, it's an underground area you have to head to), but so worth it as there' a wide selection and prices are cheaper than in Seoul-I highly recommend shopping here!

Before leaving, we took a day to relax and enjoy our time at a jimjjibang. Literally meaning "steam room," or commonly referred to as a naked spa, this place was inclusive of a sauna (where you are clothed), computer room, restaurant, fitness room, and a pretty decent size swimming pool on the rooftop! We went to swim in the evening which was really nice as we had the whole place to ourselves!

Here's to more blogs of my second home.