Time for Some Pictures

This is a shot of the interior of the building where the dorms and lectures and cafeteria are in . . . the first two floors are normal, but from there on up the building is a hollow square, with the center open down to the third floor.  Hence, you can see the outside that's really the inside in this picture.

Another random combination: birds in cages and a vending machine!  Actually, maybe the bigger question to this picture: why are there birds in cages in the building in the first place?

Seoul street.  Actually more like a boulevard.

Seoul Tower!  We didn't go to the top, but there's a lookout station on the side, and we did look out over that.  We also got coffee in the shops inside, and used these little key-chain vending machines (I got a panda cell-phone charm).

Culture clash: China Terra Cotta Soldier standing next to the Seoul Tower.

Lock wall next to the Seoul Tower.  These are "lovers locks" where a couple will go and write their names on a lock and then clip it to the wall, and throw away the key over the side.  I saw this the last time I was in South Korea (I was just on Cheju Island for a day), but there that was only a few locks on a bridge, this was wall after wall after wall of locks . . . and they had even set up wire frames in the shape of trees that were covered with locks.

Seoul at night (camera is not good at taking night shots). =(

Another indication (after the locks) that this location is popular with lovers.  Lit-up heart that tons of people were taking their picture in front of.  (Actually, being there and seeing all the couples made me miss my own boyfriend . . . not because I wanted him there so we could take our picture in front of the heart - we are not particularly into romantic-sappy things like that - but seeing other people with their significant other kind of made me miss mine.)

Also, a squished-won machine.  I don't think I had the correct change to actually use it, so I took a picture instead.

We also went in a cable car down the side of the mountain that the tower was on, but I couldn't get any good pictures of that.  It took us 2 subways and 2 buses to get to the tower, and then 2 subways back.  The subways were CLEAN as all get out, and they also had a set of doors on both the subway car and on the platform . . . . a simple way to avoid that whole fear-of-the-third-rail issue.  (My mom is always terrified I'm going to fall of the ledge of the subway platform when we're riding together.)  

At the moment that's all the photo-uploading and typing I can do.  It's 1130p and I need to go take a shower and get ready for bed . . . tomorrow I get up at 730a with breakfast from 800-850a and then the first lecture starts at 9a.  Nothing like a morning class . . .