Igor has made it no secret that Korea is, for the most part, good, but not great. He says it's better than just sitting at home, but it's no super exclusive European hotel/spa. Not to bring that up again, but facts are facts.

However, now that Igor's Korea trip is over, Igor is surprised to say that he is quite sad. So much so that he has been in denial that the trip has ended. Igor has been unable to blog because that would mean having to admit that he is back in the U.S., and back in... the real world. And in the real world, friends, Igor must face some hard facts, which he is not prepared to disclose to the public as of yet, but one might be led to suspect that Igor is not an orphaned turtle after all and may, in fact, possibly live with his mother and her three pet slugs (Sally, Harry, and Miffy) still. Although that is simply speculation.

However, tomorrow marks the absolute end of Igor and Heeseung's grand adventures together as Heeseung must return back to school and so the dynamic duo (and by dynamic duo, Igor really means just himself) must come to an end (since Igor has no time to sit around in classes, of course. He has better things to do.); thus, Igor must faithfully report the end of his trip as he made a promise to you readers at the very beginning.

And so here is, for this last entry, a recap of the last of Igor's time in Korea.

As mentioned in the last blog post, Igor and Heeseung went to Daegu. Although Igor was warned of extreme temperatures in Daegu, he was moderately relieved to find that Daegu was not so hot; instead, it was just the same suffocating heat found in Seoul. Great. But not really.

The view from KTX. Igor approves of speediness of KTX. He is, after all, terribly busy and has many Important Things to do.

Heeseung, on the other hand, could not admire the view from the train, as she had to study for her finals. Miraculously, she successfully (for the most part) completed her finals and the program at Sogang, thus perhaps proving her worth to Igor once and for all. Perhaps. Igor says this is still under consideration.

And so, exams over, it was time to let loose.

Miss Choi, Heeseung's speaking teacher, was properly outfitted with a crown and a dress for her efforts this summer. Igor is sure Miss Choi labored long and hard, deserving the tiara for the day, considering there were students such as Heeseung in her class.

Members of the class were imparted with the knowledge that Miss Choi was without a boyfriend. And so they gifted her with one. If he looks familiar, it may be because it's River. Remember, reuse, reduce, recycle. Save the environment, going green is so trendy. Obviously, since Igor is green, in every sense of the word. Except for jealous, because it is other people who are jealous of Igor, of course.

But as much as you all want to hear about Igor and all the people who are jealous of him, this recap must continue. And so tales of Igor's troubles facing other people's jealousies must wait for another day. And so here is Miss Choi and River, the happy couple. Unfortunately, word is they split up soon after as River returned to his native island, although Igor secretly roots for their arranged relationship to stay strong.

Final class photo. The class began with about 15, but these are the survivors. Igor is mildly impressed with Heeseung's survival skills.

In conclusion, Heeseung and Igor weathered Korea, were weathered by Korea, faced the monsoon rains, melted under the scorching sun, ran from mosquitoes, hid in the climate-controlled safety of cafes by day and bars by night, better learned a language, met new friends, listened to new music, and took the subway. A lot.

And there it is. Good night and good bye, adoring fans, Igor says, for this hot, humid, uncomfortable, unusual, amazing chapter has been officially closed.

As little as a week ago, Igor was decidedly over S. Korea. It's nice and all, but let's face it, it's humid, muggy, hot, smoggy, and there are mosquitoes everywhere, those vile pests. Despite Igor's beautiful and lustrous hard shell, those pesky bugs always manage to get at the delicate skin of Igor's beautiful neck. And it is not skin that was meant to be nibbled, but instead, to be looked upon in wonder and glory.

But this post is not about mosquitoes and how they dare to defile the inestimable Igor, but instead, about Igor's newfound love for Korea. Which brings us to the subject of this entry, traveling. Igor has found that as long as he doesn't stay in the same place too long, he doesn't get too bored (no offense, Seoul, but you're kind of small).

Igor failed to mention because it didn't relate directly to him (thus, who cares?) but Heeseung began working with a small concert booking organization about a month ago. Igor actually forgot a few times because it wasn't interfering with Heeseung's work with him and thus was permissible, but then he found out that Heeseung heard about lots of concerts in Seoul and elsewhere and thus decided Heeseung's other work was of interest to him after all.

Last weekend in conjunction with Heeseung's work, Heeseung and Igor traveled to Daejeon, which is about an hour (or less) away from Seoul via KTX, Korea's fastest train. Heeseung and Igor, aside from seeing new and interesting lands, met lots of supercool musicians (who can be found here, here, here and here). Heeseung was also put to work as a bouncer, while Igor danced the night away. Sadly, there is no photographic evidence of either. Igor may or may not have had a hand in this.

This past weekend, Heeseung and Igor went to Malipo, a beach area that was filled with mosquitoes and sunshine. The sun made Igor happy. The mosquitoes did not, and he has 27 bites on his wrinkled (yet soft, well moisturized) neck to prove it. Actually, a few years ago, Malipo was the site of a fairly catastrophic oil spill, although much of the waste was cleaned up and life continues onward, as evidenced by the sight of many crabs, fish, and jellyfish, among other animals. Yes, life blooms on the coast, although Igor can't decide if he approves of the presence of such creatures or not. In any case, Igor took a moment for his fallen brethren then proceeded to swim for three glorious days straight, although, he is quick to note, Malipo wasn't any ultra-exclusive European hotel/spa. Not that he's comparing (but really he is). 

Next weekend, though Sogang's one week vacation is over, Heeseung and Igor shall head over to Daegu, on another music-related trip. Heeseung will hopefully use the KTX time to study as her exams (and the end of her time in Korea) are rapidly approaching, although if all else fails, she will study Korean in what she has found to be the best way possible-- by just jumping in and mingling with the natives. Igor approves of Heeseung taking the initiative to continue working on her Korean because it is her job to be more useful to him, but has now taken to wondering why all of Korea can't just learn English, because really, don't Koreans know what they're missing by not being able to talk directly to him? But ultimately, it's their loss. Not that they'll ever know.

Heeseung has been slow in updating her blog (Igor would just like to remind you all that it is actually his blog, and not hers, of course, because who would read a blog about Heeseung's life, really?) not because, as some of you may have been lead to believe, her life is so terribly mundane that she has nothing to blog about, but because she has been so very busy. Although a certain turtle may have portrayed her life in a certain manner, Heeseung actually experiences much variation within her day-to-day living and is often busy enough to not know where the time has gone as she sits at home late at night, doing homework and writing blog entries as dictated by Igor, such as this one right now. In all honestly, Heeseung is mildly alarmed at the speed at which the days are passing and was quite shocked to realize there is less than one month left in Korea. Igor, on the other hand, has a calendar marking the days left. He's been so over Korea since that hotel/spa visit in an undisclosed, super exclusive area of Europe a few weeks back.

But to return back to topic: Heeseung has been quite busy. With what? you all clamor to know. After a certain turtle misrepresented Heeseung's life, Heeseung has been getting no less than six phone calls and text messages a day asking her if she wants to hang out (out of pity, of course). While these invitations are much appreciated, Heeseung would like these callers to know that actually she does have friends and actually she cannot "meet up 4 coffee u poor lil thing u" because she has had a number of engagements and activities to fulfill. The past two weeks have consisted of the following, in roughly chronological order:

Hitting up karaoke with classmates. Igor hid in his shell the whole time and feigned deafness due to the "murder of music" for the next three and a half hours post-karaoke session.

Battle of the Year, Korea eliminations, another bboy event Heeseung went to by way of John. John and Christine are clearly enthralled. Igor may have been mildly impressed, although he's sure he can spin on his shell much better than some of those bboys could spin on their backs, heads, elbows, and who knows what else. No offense to them or anything but sometimes the truth hurts.

More subway. Always the subway. Igor claims to hate the plebeian method of transport, but in actuality enjoys the free air conditioning, not that he'd ever admit it. To class up the fact that he's on ... the subway (who even knows what kind of unsavory characters and, even worse, germs are roaming around, just waiting to attack a delicate young flower such as himself), Igor listens to classical music and reads tasteful literature.

An old school parade on a not so old school street.

And here it is, not only in color but in motion as well. Igor warns you all that you may get motion sickness from watching this video. 

Listening to live music in small cafes with good friends. Although Igor is on a diet (he'd never admit it, but it's suspected he's gained as much as 2 ounces since he came to Korea), he cannot resist green tea lattes, and thus dislikes the excessive cafe pitstops per day. Furthermore, because it is always Heeseung who takes Igor to such cafes (not that Igor is incapable of traveling himself, but it is simply far more efficient to use Heeseung as a vehicle of transportation) any future weight gain will be blamed on Heeseung and she will thus have to pay compensation for the emotional stress Igor will indubitably encounter.

A K-pop concert. Igor was strangely infatuated with the center dancer allegedly labeled as the Korean Angelina Jolie, although when asked directly, he feigns indifference. Indeed, Igor. Indeed.

Apparently Koreans like ballad-style songs. Not as much as Igor, though. Wait, Heeseung retracts that last statement as it was not authorized by Igor. That was apparently a falsehood because Igor listens exclusively to classical baroque music. Heeseung formally apologizes to Igor for spreading rumors about him and hopes he doesn't read the rest of the blog entry before it is posted.

So this is basically what Heeseung has been spending her time doing lately, although Igor knows that no one cares about that if it weren't for the fact that  Igor has been graciously accompanying Heeseung on her journeys. Oh, how excessive boredom has caused Igor's standards on what he does with his precious time to fall so greatly.

There are other times when Heeseung is busy, either with school or with her work, which she just started with a concert booking organization that books shows for progressive artists around Korea, during which Igor does mysterious things with his time (Sorry, he can't tell you.). However, although Igor is very busy in his own right as an independent, self-sufficient being, he is still mildly irritated that Heeseung has not been devoting as much time to him as she should be doing, hence failing her duties as lackey and right-hand woman, although he's sure she will come to her senses soon ... or suffer the consequences. Not that he's bored when she's not there or anything.

And to finish off tonight's post, a peek at monsoon rains past, taken on the way home from school. Igor despises the rain and is sure he will die of poisoning by way of acid rain. But worry not, should that happen, he already has a plan to sue Korea.

Hello, my adoring fans. Tonight, you all have the honor of reading a blog post written directly by me, the inestimable Igor. Heeseung is out cold, allegedly exhausted by her day, although I don't see why she would be, considering her life is unbelievably dull and she does nothing all day, unlike myself, who has to read no less than 6.2 lbs. of fan mail a day (I don't respond, of course, as that's below me, but if I have time, I delegate some responsibilities to some of the lower members of my entourage).

Anyhow, I, still rejuvenated from my super exclusive spa visit to the Old Country, thought on a whim it might be amusing to follow Heeseung around for a day. 

It wasn't. 

Because it would be far too dull to even try to describe the dreariness of Heeseung's every day life, I present to you "Heeseung's Life: In Picture Format" (shockingly, even giving it an official title can't stop it from being less boring).

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Morning. I should have known from the start that this was not a lifestyle for me. We woke up too early, I barely had enough to polish my shell before we left.

Breakfast. On the go. I just have to say I am simply appalled. Where's my usual three-course breakfast?

School. Awful drudgery. I fell asleep for 3.5 of 4 hours. Probably due to waking up so early. At least I didn't visit last week, as that was midterms period. If you thought it couldn't get any worse, as I did, you're probably wrong. (Not me, though, I'm always right.)

A brief break. Some rude hooligan put me in his shoe. Disgusting.

Cafe. The two-person tables could not accommodate all of my entourage. How thoughtless.

Back on the subway. Oh joy.

Off to another cafe. Homework. Since I took a nap on the subway, I thought I'd be able to stay awake, but it was just too boring. Three green lattes couldn't keep me up.

In short, Heeseung leads a consistently dull life in Korea.

Here, look at this cicada instead.

And with that, I am off to bed, my fans, as it's nearing my bedtime and I need my beauty sleep, as it is.

At the advice of their relationship counselor, Heeseung and Igor went separate ways this weekend in an effort to restore their strained relationship. Igor went to a 4-star hotel and spa in Europe, while Heeseung chose the cheaper route and stayed in Korea, and ended up going to Nabae Island on a trip with students from different Korean universities.

Because of the exclusivity of the hotel and spa Igor went to, he's not permitted to reveal any details about his trip, so this entry will consist of Heeseung's trip, although Igor is sure it was considerably less impressive than his own.

Heeseung's trip began Thursday night in Sinchon, where Heeseung and her trip's five-member team met to gather some last minute supplies for their four-day, three-night trip. Post-Grand Mart, they met up with the rest of the 60-something people going on the trip and took a six hour bus, followed by a 1.5 hour boat ride (during which lots of Korean games that involved a lot of hitting as punishment for losing were played), and, finally, their arrival to Nabae Island, land of many mosquitoes. And old people. 

The small island is sparsely populated and has yet to be touched with the more recent advances in modern technology; the people on the island communicate en masse via loudspeaker. Yes, loudspeaker.

Heeseung stayed in a no-longer-in-use three-classroom schoolhouse with limited supplies of water and old-school, rural-style toilets. 

Filled with trepidation and determined not to use the bathroom for the duration of the trip, Heeseung (and the rest of the students) began Friday, their first day on the island, as soon as they touched ground with work, landscaping around the school and freshening it up. And it needed a lot of freshening up. Really, a lot. Although the work was long and the sun was hot, the day closed with a midnight walk along the sea and much bonding over several bottles of soju and much drunken singing.

The second day on Nabae consisted of an early morning (or so Heeseung was told; however, even after being removed from her sleeping bag, it was still several hours later before she could be considered actually awake), more work, a pig slaughtering (by far the freshest and hairiest pig meat Heeseung has ever had) and feast with the islanders (an announcement was made via loudspeaker for the people on the island to gather for the start of the feast), and more drunken revelry before falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

The third, and last, day on the island began miserably with yet another early morning (there's a trend here, you may notice, all involving a severe lack of sleep), last minute packing and cleaning, and then it was back to Seoul, although most of the members of the trip met for one last meal together before parting ways.

In all, this weekend can be considered a success: Heeseung saw a completely different Korea and met lots of Korean students (while communication was at times difficult, it was by no means impossible, and there are plans in the making to meet again soon), while Igor got the most divine mud bath and shell shine at the hotel and spa and is also soon to have new members in his posse, handpicked from Heeseung's new friends. And when Igor says members of his posse, he really means minions under his control. Just kidding. But not really.

Igor is out for the night (must get sufficient sleep according to his beauty regiment after all), so this is Heeseung clocking in for the night.

As usual, this post comes at a time when Heeseung should be doing homework and cannot concentrate and thus needs an outlet with which she can distract herself.

On second thought, because Igor is currently not around dictating this post to Heeseung, Heeseung believes it is suitable for her to talk in the first person for this post.

And thank god. I was going crazy writing down everything Igor was saying. I mean, really-- being told by a turtle what to do all the time? Not cool, my friends. Not cool. And to those of you who may have hinted that I was treating Igor poorly-- how little you know. He may look cute and small on the outside, but he's actually lethal. And he knows seven different kinds of martial arts.

Anyway, this post is just to mark a momentous occasion: My decision to use ALL KOREAN ALL THE TIME (on behalf of Igor, of course). Which is what I should have been doing anyway, but I looked around today and realized I was using English a lot more than I intended (ah, the cons of having American friends in a foreign city), so I'm making an effort to start using more Korean, no matter how weird it feels, no matter how closed in I feel, I will do it! I hope.

Aside from using Korean (or, you know, trying to) when talking to Christine, whom I live with, and my cousin, who understands English really well, I've taken additional steps to practice more Korean by switching both my facebook and my iPod into Korean. This was a brilliant move, or so I thought ... until I got an error on my iPod that I couldn't be bothered to read, so I just Xed out of it. Oh well, here's to hoping it wasn't important.

I also may have perhaps started watching Korean dramas, although I will never say! Although I know Eliot would be proud (but on second thought, maybe if he knew the kinds of dramas I am or am not currently watching, he would cease to be so proud).

Oh, but alas! Igor is stirring! Clearly, I was typing too loudly. And so I must end this here and steal away into the night before Igor discovers this post. 

However, if you're in the mood for some reading and this wonderful, fascinating blog is not enough for you, check this out. There are a lot of interesting stories there and the blog is maintained by a fellow Yalie. Igor is still asleep, but I know if he were here right now, dictating to me, he would be jealous his stories aren't as interesting as the one on the AIMS blog. But don't worry, Igor. You're special in your own green way.

(As an addendum to Igor's last post-- after visiting another club in Hongdae, it has been determined that not all clubs are strange; just some. Although cultural differences still exist aplenty. However, Igor did not go to this last club, either, and thus he must never know that his entourage went off without him -- again -- as we all suffered the consequences last time. I won't get too graphic here, but we'll just say there was a lot of hard labor and groveling involved.)

Igor has been very cranky lately because it has been raining. While the rain is a welcome change, it has made Korea no less humid. Or hot. Igor has been in a very terrible mood although he wishes for Heeseung to retract that statement now or else there will be dire consequences later.

Heeseung will pretend she didn't hear Igor and will now move onto what Igor has been doing for the past several days. Igor visited what is perhaps the finest kalguksu/kaljabi (a mix of kalguksu and sujabi) restaurant establishment in all of Korea. O.K., he actually doesn't know that for sure, but since Igor went there, it must be good. Igor has very good taste.

It's a hole-in-the-wall sort of place, as many Korean restaurants are, and a little grungy, as many Korean restaurants are, and during the working day around lunchtime, there's usually a long line. Igor approves.

Once Heeseung started school, Igor began eating around Sinchon, which is where the school is approximately located, accompanied by the rest of his entourage imported from Yale. They speak Korean for Heeseung when she fails to do her job properly. Igor doesn't even know why he hired Heeseung as his handler sometimes since she's basically useless.

(special guest appearances by members of the entourage: Will eating jjajjangmyun and Christine-- you'll be seeing more of her later)

Aside from being annoyed with the rain, heat, and humidity, Igor has been annoyed with Heeseung because he feels as though she has been neglecting her job with him and has instead been focusing too much on school, although she would like to remind him that she is taking Korean classes on his behalf and while she's sorry she's been getting know her classmates better (which is forcing her to use more Korean, but is taking time away from Igor), she would also like to remind Igor that that's bound to be an inevitable consequence of taking classes. Igor says regardless, it is unacceptable, as is the fact that Heeseung has been experiencing too much of Seoul without him. This is HIS trip, after all, and obviously going out and doing things without him, like watching movies (without him) and going out to eat (without him) and clubbing (without him) would be boring (without him).

Actually, Igor is really quite angry now that he remembers how his entourage snuck off to a club in Hongdae late Friday night after he fell asleep (the doctor prescribes 14 hours of sleep a night for maximum beautification and a healthy, shiny shell). After meeting up in Sinchon, the group went to a club and experienced a significant amount of culture shock at the electro club, which involved lots of awkward, solitary dancing confined to one's own personal bubble. After a few hours, the group, tired out, needed to refuel and grabbed some late-night ddukbokgi, labokgi, and ramen. Feeling refreshed, the entourage moved onto a noraebang until the wee hours of the morning where more than one person, Heeseung included, may have fallen asleep while others merrily sang their hearts out accompanied by tambourines, maracas, and air guitar. Actually, Heeseung must stop her description of this night now as Igor has grown quite livid as he recalls the humiliating experience of being excluded from such revelries, not that he wanted to go at all in the first place, but still.

In any case, Heeseung must cut the post off here so she can do her homework, which she has a lot of once again (apparently Sogang is sometimes known as Sogang High School for the copious amounts of homework it assigns). However, Igor has made Heeseung promise to update more faithfully, as his adoring fans implore him to (Christina, Patrick-- Igor's looking at you).

And so until then, Igor bids thee all adieu.

The past few days have been busy and hot, hot, hot. Igor had been spending his days sleeping in small patches of shade (that is, before the rain came), although now Heeseung no longer knows what Igor is up to because classes have started as of this past Monday and Igor likes to stay mysterious.

Igor may or may not be a little jetlagged still; he refuses to say to maintain his image as small, dark, and green. However, for his first week in Korea, at least, it has been revealed that Igor enjoys staying up at night and seeing the city, reserving the days sleeping. His late-night travels have shown Seoul to be a very bright city. There are no stars at night.

Igor has been very busy sleeping, eating, wandering, and no one knows what else, although, after being reminded that the purpose of this blog is to document his travels (and with the help of a small bribe), Igor has agreed to share some of his journeys after all. And so, seven plates of ddukbokgi later, Igor has revealed some more of his nightly wanderings, including:

• a quiet Buddhist temple, surrounded by the noise of the city and bright high-rise buildings
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• the last respects for former Korean president Roh Moo-Hyun during the national seven-day mourning period
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• and, no less intense, a noraebang, where Igor may or may not have sang "Sk8ter Boi", in addition to copious amounts of Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears.
  
  
  
  
  
  (special guests: Tiffany, John, and Will)

However, as it is, such journeys must come to an end (or at least, a temporary halt) with the beginning of classes, as Heeseung has become too busy to escort Igor places, and he finds walking on his own to be quite tedious. Currently, Heeseung is most involved not in any actual classwork, but deciding whether to take level 3 or level 4 Korean classes, so she may better aid Igor, of course. Level 3 is somewhat easy, although not so easy Heeseung can't learn anything from it, while level 4 is somewhat hard, which Heeseung forsees will require a very significant amount of self study to try and keep up with the others.

But more importantly, Igor has become unhappy with how the post has veered off topic and become about Heeseung and would like to remind Heeseung that it is all about him. Unfortunately, Heeseung must finish her homework which she was procrastinating on, and while the idea of saving the assignments for the train ride to school tomorrow is tempting, Heeseung feels like that would not be a good idea, and thus does not have time to rewrite this entry.

After some 20 hours of travel, Igor has safely arrived to Korea. Igor slept very nearly the whole time, waking from his nearly comatose state only to eat some ramen on the second of three flights before falling back asleep.

Korea has been very hot and very humid since Igor has arrived, ranging from high 20s to 30°C. It has been difficult for Igor, who is accustomed to cooler temperatures; however, he retreats to the cool of his shell when it gets too hot. It has been more difficult for Heeseung, who is even more unaccustomed to the heat and who does not have a shell to escape to when the sun is too bright. Luckily, there are ways to stay cool, such as hiding in air conditioned buildings and eating pot bingsu.

The past few days have been spent navigating the subway system (stops conveniently labeled in both Korean and English), eating Korean food, walking by the Han River (Heeseung gets flashbacks to the movie "The Host" every time she goes there), and sleeping at irregular hours in an attempt to shake off jetlag.

School begins in four days.

This is Igor.

Igor is one of seven children, but before he ever met his parents, he tragically wandered away from his nest shortly after being hatched. Despite never getting to know his family, Igor has grown up to be a perfectly happy and stable creature.

Igor likes short walks on the beach, freshly cut grass, and cherry Kool-Aid.

Igor doesn't like Mondays, styrofoam, and black holes.

In approximately six hours, Igor will be flying off to Korea for the summer, accompanied by his handler, Heeseung, who also maintains this blog because she can type way faster than Igor. While Igor will be living the free and unfettered life, Heeseung will be studying Korean at Sogang University so she may better aid Igor in his travels.

Igor spent the better part of the day packing and is now prepared to retire for the night.

And in 23.5 hours, Igor and Heeseung will be in Korea, ready to begin their Grand Summer Adventure.