Goodbye Korea Series | Emilio & Gina

I think this post will be the beginning of all my goodbye posts to my dear friends in Korea. We have 23 days left and every day my heart breaks a little bit more. I cannot believe how fast the past few months have gone. It only felt like yesterday when we had six months and now it's less than that. In the coming days, we'll be meeting with our friends that we've made in Korea. Some we will see again and others, who knows when we will meet again. Recently, Markus and I were able to meet with Emilio & Gina. We don't have many couple friends in Korea, so the few that we do have, we really appreciate. They have similar tastes to Markus and I and it's always fun meeting up with them.

Emilio was in our EPIK orientation class all the way back in August of 2011. We haven't kept in touch with many people from orientation, but Emilio is one of the few that we make the effort to see. He and Markus have so much in common. This last time we met, they spent the whole time talking to each other about anime and kaiju movies. Markus doesn't have any geeky friends here besides Emilio, so when they get together he gets very excited. Gina came about a year ago and she's really incredible. Every time we meet, it's like seeing an old friend. Even though we haven't known each other long, Gina is the type of person that you instantly feel comfortable with. She's one of the kindest people I've ever met and she's a perfect match for Emilio.
 

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Breakfast Burger

We hadn't seen Emilio or Gina for months. It's sad, but it happens. Life takes over and then you before you know it, months have passed. We were determined to see each other before we left. After going back and forth for a bit, we finally agreed on a date. Gina recommended Bruns Week, an amazing brunch place in Nampodong and we readily agreed. Markus and I will never say no to brunch. It's like a rule, who doesn't like brunch? The food was amazing. I can't even describe how good. It's been ages since I've had brunch and it felt like coming home. Everything was really exquisite and the restaurant was really classy. It felt a bit like some of the restaurants back home.

After we ate at Bruns Week, we weren't ready to say goodbye, so we headed to another cafe. We spent a couple hours chatting and people watching. It was really strange, but everyone in this cafe was a bit off in some way. The girls at the table next to us were taking a nap, a girl across the way was straightening her hair, and a guy at another table had a mini-projector and was watching a movie. After we finished at the cafe, we still weren't ready to part, so we went to the thrift store area of Nampodong. It was like heaven for me. There was store after store of amazing vintage clothes. I can't believe it took me two years to find this place, but in all honesty, it's for the best. I'm sure I would have spent all money and then where would I be? Broke, but with lots of cool clothes.

When we were finally ready to say goodbye, we had spent almost eight hours together. I think we all knew it was our last time and we just weren't ready. Even though, I don't know when we'll see Emilio and Gina again but we're very thankful for their friendship. I know that once we meet again, it'll be like no time passed and we'll just pick up right where we left off!