Pension Party

A last hoorah at Suncoast Pension happened a few weeks ago. I had my pension family in tow and we had delicious food, beautiful sunsets, a rockstar hot tub, a Wii Bowling Championship Game, and another Big Chill-esque weekend.

Our pension family has gotten smaller and bigger throughout the year but the one thing I really enjoy is the escape from the city and the inevitable fond memories and laughs that come out of these trips.

A new Bro-mance is forged

Ignore the boys, check out the view!

Grampa took a walk after lunch and fell asleep sunbathing next to hot tub

Liz relaxes by doing work

Loser of Wii Bowling (Haglin) has to give a pony ride to the Champ (Usher)

Family Breakfast

My favorite thing about my past two years here in Seoul were these weekend getaways. I regret not having done a pension my first year here and if I talk to any newbies coming to Seoul I would recommend planning as much of these as possible. They aren't expensive (probably the same amount as a weekend of partying in Hongdae or Gangam on Friday and Saturday) and if you are with the right group of people it really is a blast.

You may have noticed a long delay between my last post and this. I've been putting off the inevitable fact that I have less than two weeks left here in Korea. I'm going to leave my coup de grâce until the last possible second but will try to put more posts up before my departure.

It's a rainy Saturday (after an AWESOME 3am thunderstorm) so I've been spending the morning packing and organizing as much as possible as I know I won't get the time to do it during my last frantic days here.

 However I had to take a break and wanted to continue my productivity. We're almost to the light in the tunnel, readers. Will keep you updated on the progress of our journey soon!

My Girl Wants to Pension All the Time

Last weekend, for Buddha's B-day (Happy Birthday, Big B!), I made it to Deok-Jo Do for my first stay at a pension. The throngs of foreigners at this tiny island made it seem like some weird purgatory (this doesn't feel like Korea, but this doesn't feel like home). We went to also celebrate Angelique's birthday and so there was a mish-mash of Speakeasy folks (me, Liz, Charlie, Gina, and Andrew) and "Non" Speakeasy folks (Neville, James, Kate, Charlotte, J.O., Marc, Cailyn). I was kind of hoping for a Sharks vs. Jets rumble the first night but we just ended up making s'mores. We all got along just dandy and we dined like kings for every meal.

For those not in the know, a "pension" is a type of house similar to a villa. They sprout up in tourist destinations and allow westerners to get out of their city boxes and pile into rooms with no beds. It's like camping inside a big room. Our pension also had a mart/restaurant attached to it.

We took an hour ferry to the island and arrived on Friday afternoon. The sun was out and we were able to enjoy the beach for the afternoon. And then the rain came. It kept on coming until we boarded the ferry to go back to Seoul on Sunday evening. Regardless, it was an epic weekend.


These kiddies came with the pension. They look sweet and cute but they are REALLY good at dishes, cleaning toilets, and making beds.

Despite what it appears, these patio chairs are actually coated with 24k gold lacquer.
After 6 hours of Trivial Pursuit I did not end up on the winning team. DAMN YOU SOPHIA LOREN!!!!!
The Groeschen Cream Cheese Olive Family Dip is like heroin. I felt like I was back home in Plano. Aw. Liz's last name is not Groeschen Cream Cheese Olive, fyi...
No weekend getaway is complete without an airplane ride from Liz. Note Angelique's jealousy from afar.

Oh yes. I also witnessed some chickens get slaughtered.