Pool! :)

On Friday night after work, I took the subway to Shannon's area of town and met her and some of her co-workers for a BBQ dinner. This chicken BBQ place has become one of our new favorites...and may or may not become a tradition every weekend... :) After dinner, we went to Shannon's place and watched "Something Borrowed." We ended up staying up pretty late, which wasn't a very good idea...

On Saturday morning, we woke up early and met Reuel at the bus stop on the corner, and the three of us went to Suwon Station. There, we met Tommy, Johnny, and Daniel, some friends from Suwon. We were all going hiking together in the area!! We decided that the quickest way to the mountain would be to take taxis. OBVIOUSLY, we had a "girl" taxi and a "boy" taxi. We decided to race and see who would get there first. You know, kinda like that TV show "Amazing Race." (The only problem was...the taxi drivers didn't actually know we were racing each other...) :)

Korean taxi drivers are TERRIBLE drivers. We knew we would get to the base of the mountain in NO time...what mattered was who got there first. The entire drive the girls were leading by a mile! We were zipping in and out of traffic, pushing the speed limit, skidding through yellow lights. Occasionally we would catch a glimpse of the boys out the back window. Then...we hit traffic. The boys' taxi driver got ahead of us. We both inched forward every few minutes, until we FINALLY made it to the mountain! The boys ended up winning. Lame. We weren't even really racing anyway... :)

We started hiking around 11am. We had packed lunches for when we got to the top. It took us about 3 hours to make it to the top of the mountain. It was rough hiking, too!! There were rocks to climb, steep hills, MILLIONS of stairs (and I do mean millions.), rough terrain, and occasionally a flat area or two where we could take a break and catch our breath. When we got to the top, there was the most beautiful view I've ever seen in Korea. We could look out and see a 360-view. The view was breathtaking, and well-worth our hike. We took pictures at the top and just relaxed for a bit, taking in the view. There was a ginormous boulder that we climbed, too. There were ropes attached at the top that we could hang on to as we climbed. It was awesome. Going back down...not so much. It was really terrifying because we had to go down backwards and carefully place our feet. There wasn't anyone monitoring it or anything, so we were climbing at our own risk.

We hiked a little more and found a meadow on the side of the mountain. We stopped and had our lunch. The weather was gorgeous, the view was amazing, the company was perfect. Definitely the best picnic I've ever had. Ever. :)

After we finished eating, we decided to hike 1.2 miles higher to a gazebo at the top for another cool view. By the time we made it there, we were all exhausted. I hadn't had any water, except for the little bit that I drank with my lunch. That proved to be a horrible idea, because I got really dizzy. Reuel, Tommy, and Daniel went ahead and hiked back down the mountain. Johnny and Shannon stayed with me and took it slow. I don't remember leaving the gazebo and going back down the mountain at all. I was so dehydrated that I couldn't even see straight. Somewhere along the way I ate an apple and drank the rest of the water we had. What a mess...now I know. Note to self: bring water when you go on a hiking trip. And perhaps drink water before you go, too...

When we made it off the mountain around 5pm, we stopped for some food at a restaurant nearby. Everyone ate while I took a breather and drank more water. We caught the bus and started our trek back to Suwon Station. When a seat opened up on the bus, they told me to grab it. I took a nap for about 20 minutes on our way back, and woke up feeling very refreshed. The combination of not sleeping well the night before and not drinking any water had completely exhausted me. I felt much better by the time we made it back to Suwon Station. We parted ways at the station, promising to make plans later on that night. The boys went back to Suwon, and the girls headed back to Anyang. We showered and relaxed before we got back on the bus.

We met the boys back at Suwon Station at 8:30pm for some dinner. We walked around a bit and decided on The Frypan. It's a really yummy fried chicken place. We talked about our day, ate chicken, and laughed a lot. It was a lot of fun. After dinner, we walked to a bar around the corner. Shannon and I ordered Margaritas-SO YUMMY!! Our first Margaritas in Korea! :) Reuel, Tommy, Johnny, and Daniel played Pool, while Shannon and I watched and chatted. The next round, Shannon took Daniel's place and played a little bit. Then, came Round 3.

Johnny came over and asked me to play on his team. I declined and suggested that Daniel play instead. Johnny wouldn't take no for an answer. Here's the thing: I've never played Pool in my whole life. I didn't even know how to hold the pole thing the correct way. Johnny is an extremely good Pool player, and he wanted ME to be his partner. That was a disaster waiting to happen. After I warned Johnny once more, I gave in. He taught me how to hold the pole correctly, how to aim, and where to shoot. And, guess what?! I was indeed a HORRIBLE Pool player!! Every shot I took, I missed. I either barely pushed the ball, hit the ball too hard, or sent that little white one in right behind the first one. (I found out that's not a good thing.) Anyway, it went on like this for awhile. Johnny would do really well, then it would be my turn, and I would miss. Good times. While we were waiting for our turns to come around, Shannon and I line-danced next to the Pool table to different songs they had playing in the background. THAT was fun. :)

I realized pretty quickly that I just wasn't a fan of this game called Pool. Like, not at all. I didn't really understand the point of it, and couldn't aim correctly to save my life. It was just a big mess. Finally, it was my turn again. Johnny had taken care of all the other striped balls. Now, all I had to do was put the 8-ball into the hole. Well, that seemed easy enough. It was a straight shot right to the hole. Only a few feet across the table. I aimed, I shot...AND I MADE IT!! I won the game for our team!! No big deal. I'm kind of a pro at Pool. It's actually my new favorite game. Not to brag or anything...but I win games.

We hung out for a little longer, and decided to head out. It had been a long day, so we parted ways and went home. It was an incredible Saturday, with lots of good memories. :)

On Sunday morning, Shannon and I woke up and got ready for church. We had about an hour to kill before we had to catch the bus, so we went to a little coffee shop around the corner. I had a Caramel Macchiato as usual, and a bagel, too! Not just any bagel though. A blueberry bagel, toasted, with cream cheese. Yum! This was a big deal because I've been wanting a bagel for the longest time, but just haven't been able to have one in Korea. It might've been the best bagel I've ever had.

After breakfast, we caught the bus to Gangnam, where we met Reuel and Mi-Yeon for church. (Mi-Yeon is Reuel's friend from back home in North Carolina. She just graduated in May like Shannon and me. She's a super sweet girl, and lots of fun to be around. We were fast friends.) :) We went to church, which was incredible. The worship music was amazing, and the song selection was perfect! We had a guest speaker, and his message really hit home for me. It was based from the passage in Luke about judging the speck in someone else's eye when you have a plank in your own eye. This is a message that I've heard many times in different churches, and a passage that I've read a hundred times. For some reason, I actually HEARD the message for the first time today. It really hit home for me, and made me re-evaluate a little bit. It made me realize how much I've been needing to hear that. Anyway, it was a pretty emotional service for me. Turns out, Mi-yeon and Reuel felt the same way. So good. :)

After church, we went to Butcher's Cut for cheeseburgers! We sat and talked and ate for awhile. Shannon had to leave for her small group soon after, so Reuel, Mi-yeon, and I stayed and talked for a bit longer. We kind of debriefed on the sermon and shared a lot with each other. It was really good to hear different perspectives and just reflect on the message. Very refreshing. We wandered over to the bookstore and looked at their media section. We found the Korean dramas section and I flipped out! I might've drooled a little bit, too. Korean dramas have become a weakness for me. I saw my first Korean drama before I left the States, and immediately was sucked in. Reuel and Mi-yeon showed me other dramas that are good, so I wrote them down to watch on my computer later. I'm really hoping I'll find them somewhere online!

When Shannon's small group got out, the four of us went to a park nearby. This park was SO MUCH FUN! We rented bikes for super cheap! It was about $3 to rent a bike for an hour. We rode bikes all around this big lake and played on a playground. There were swings that you stand on instead of sit, and you have to propel yourself with your knee caps! We took pictures. It was really fun.

After the park, we went to Costco. We each bought a few things and then headed to the Food Court to eat dinner. We had the most random assortment of food, but it was delicious!! We had pizza, sushi, soda, ice cream, and hot dogs. Perfect. :) We hopped on the bus and parted ways after a bit.

This weekend was exhausting, but wonderful! I got a lot of exercise from hiking and walking and riding a bike (SO HEALTHY!), I met new friends, I heard a great message at church that really challenged me, and I learned how to play my new favorite game called Pool. :)