Nov. 20th Trip to Busan

Today we took one of the larger school busses down to Busan to go to the aquarium. Normally the ride is only about an hour long, but today it was more like 3. Our bus driver had no idea where he was going and got us miserably lost. Even though everyone was quite miserable over it, I choose to see it as a chance to see parts of Korea that I most likely will never see again. Although I think seeing Medicaolopolis four times was a bit much.

Once we finally arrived in Busan we all gathered for a photo op before heading off on our own. Some choose to go into the aquarium while others took the opportunity to explore more. We had promised the aquarium to Tyson so off we went. We all had a great time looking at all of the different fish and animals, Tyson's favorite being the sea otter. We spent about an hour in the aquarium before deciding to try to see a little more of the area before we had to board the bus. It was funny, we had just spent so much time wandering around all of the fish and at the exit sat a car filled with water and fish and this is what excited Tyson the most. Guess we could have saved the money and just looked at the car for an hour lol.
After we left the aquarium, we headed straight for the beach. I still cannot believe we were all walking around on the beach in the middle of November and it was over 60 degrees out. Tyson had so much fun putting his feet in the water and when we tried to tell him that this was an entirely different ocean he acted excited, though I don't think he quite understood. After he played in the water and got his pants completely soaked, it was time to walk along the warm sand to find some shells to bring home. After we gathered all the shells I knew I would be willing to transport back to the states, we headed off to find something to eat. I think we were all very delighted when we saw the giant Outback Steakhouse sign from across the street. I tried to snap a few photos of the street along the way, but hunger got the better of my photographing ability. At the restaurant Jeff enjoyed some Alfredo and shrimp spaghetti while I had the chicken salad. Tyson had some chicken fingers and seemed very content after we found a way to ask for honey mustard sauce. It was a bit strange sitting in a place full of other people talking and not be able to understand one word of it. Hopefully it doesn't take me too long to at least pick up a few phrases.

After our amazing meal, we headed out to walk along the streets, trying to take in as much as possible before it was time to once again board the bus. We walked up one side of the street and down the other, not seeing much of anything but enjoying the beautiful weather. Along the way we met up with the other family living in the dorm, the Odom’s. They have been so helpful the past few days pointing Tyson and I in the right directions. I hope Tyson is able to become fast friends with their two children; living so close it would be nice to have friends.
Much too all our dismay, the bus ride home was not much better. Once again the bus driver took a wrong turn here, the wrong exit there and we all managed to miss supper. I felt almost guilty that we had chosen our time there to eat, knowing that everyone else was starved. Luckily we did make it back to the dorm in time for snack and the pizza they served made up for the bad ride. Some were on their third or fourth pizza when we said our goodnights and headed back to the room. All in all it was a great day and I hope that we are able to return to the area again soon. It might make a great get away point on our Christmas vacation if we are unable to find someplace else to visit.