Day 0 I arrived in Korea blearily, rubbing my eyes and cursing the airplane seats for being so unreasonably uncomfortable.
I met my coworker and bossman with a huge smile, which immediately faltered as I was promptly ordered to "practice traversing the subways by myself." Against the odds and my utter navigational incompetence, I arrived in Itaewon two hours later, with most of my dignity and a deep fondness for T-mobile's roaming plan.
I met my coworker and bossman with a huge smile, which immediately faltered as I was promptly ordered to "practice traversing the subways by myself." Against the odds and my utter navigational incompetence, I arrived in Itaewon two hours later, with most of my dignity and a deep fondness for T-mobile's roaming plan.
After determining that my coworker's Korean was indeed survivably-fluent, I set off to exploit his linguistic abilities and tumble awkwardly through (at least some of) all of Korea's wonders. He would only be there for 9 days, and I would be damned if I didn't make use of his convenient presence.
Day 1 My coworker took me to a Cat Cafe, where I spent two hours being rejected by my feline lovers.
 Mutual attraction. |  Only a little bit bitter... |
Day 2 I pulled together my meager self-esteem and visited (and slept in!) a jimjilbang.
 Love cats? |  Be a cat (in a mask). |
Day 3 I explored the ex-pat wonderland of Itaewon, and fell into dislike with the Line Store. (Do not go alone. It is a haven for couples, and lonely, bitter souls travelling alone will feel their despair plummet to the bottom of the ocean).
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Day 4 I had some pretty bomb katsu because my Korean co-worker, who is Korean, hates Korean food.
The katsu, which my Korean-friend.
Day 5 I hid from the world.
Day 6 My guide ditched me (cough David), and I lined up at any food stall with a reasonable line and mastered the art of pretending-to-understand-Korean-or-Chinese-or-even-Japanese.
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Day 7 My guide ditched me (again), and I visited Bukchon Village while clutching my dear camera in hopes it would make me look a little less alone.
 Chicken soup for the soul. |  Lots of cute handmade crafts to be coerced into buying. |
Day 8 I fulfilled my two-month old dream of going to the Trickeye Museum, and confirmed that cheddar cheese and/or onion are not good macaron flavors.
 Shenanigans! |  Bring a photographer. |
Day 9 I pretended that I knew how to have a social life, and hit the clubs as a final farewell to my co-worker (May You Remain Forever a Ditcher).
Club NB!
Kelly is a junior at Brown University studying public health and visual arts. Kelly enjoys candlelight dinners and long walks on the beach. In her free time, Kelly can be found shamelessly posting photos of herself on her instagram (@kelchupp).