Weekend in Daegu

     This past weekend I travelled by bus to the interior of South Korea to the city of Daegu to visit my friends Sashah and Lydia who are also teachers. At almost 1 million more people than Gwangju, the city itself felt a lot more metropolitan. The city is well-established with wide lane streets, an established subway, looming skyscrapers, manicured green spaces within the city, and a major train station. Another notable feature is the amount of foreigners. As Daegu has a pretty large military base, there are not only more foreigners but also more foreign food and clothing options. One street in particular, where most of Daegu's popular nightspots are housed, is almost like a mini-Itaewon. 
    I arrived in the afternoon on Saturday, and after briefly dropping off my bags, we headed to Daegu's biggest market, Seomun Market. Here they had the standard range of Korean market findings, from seafood to bad knock-off purses, and from stacks of dried kelp to beautiful pottery. Although we didn't buy anything (shocker I know), we did munch on a delicious snack of handmade waffles filled with cream and jam. At night, we partied with an awesome group of Daeguers at least 7 different bars, returning to our home after 5am. Lydia and Sashah also surprised me with a wonderful, yet kitschy, birthday cake as an early kick off to this week's celebrations. All in all, it was a great trip and the girls were fabulous hosts for a trip that I hope will be the first of many to visit them.