People keep asking if I like it in Korea. The truth is, I don't really know yet. I'm pretty much settled in at work, but my apartment is still only halfway set up, and I haven't really gotten any sort of routine yet. I haven't met that many people here, and I always seem to be on some sort of errand. I won't be able to get a phone or reliable internet until after July 4th, so it looks like I'll have about two more weeks of limbo.
I have been exploring a lot, though. My neighborhood just keeps getting better and better. There are parks everywhere, and apparently a really nice bike shop around the corner.
I met my landlady (Julia) and we go walking in the park most nights with her friend. The two women and their families have been really nice, and they're always giving me food! Mrs. Chang even took me out for steak last night with her family! Julia owns a beauty salon downstairs, so I stop by and say hi most nights after school. It's really nice to have a casual conversation in English, even if it's broken.
My friend from college came to visit this weekend. She's starting at a school in Seoul this week, and will be staying with me next weekend, too. It was so much fun to have her here! We met my other friend in Seoul and saw a neighborhood full of traditional palaces and one of the castles in Seoul. (Pictures will come on a better internet day!)
On Sunday, my college friend and I went to climb one of the smaller mountains in Seoul. Her guidebook described it as a Shamanist walk. Just a few minutes up the mountain, we were surrounded by beating drums and chanting from several directions. We were in a small village that had as many Buddhist temples as it had houses! They were beautiful, all painted in vivid colors. (Pictures are discourages, so those will not come on a better internet day. Sorry.)
Further up the mountain, there were small shrines every five minutes or so. Some of them were very small, just flat spots with little bowls of rice, but some had altars on them. Near a few larger ones, older Koreans had set up tents where they were sweeping, or preparing vegetables, or drinking water. I have no idea if they lived in the tents or were just spending the day there.
We got lost so many times on this mountain because all the trails criss-crossed each other going between shrines. We did see some great views, though, which I did take pictures of.
On another side of the mountain, the government had recreated the wall that used to protect Seoul. You could walk up the side of the wall to the peak of the mountain. This path was steps almost the whole way, and there was little shade. We had used almost all of our water on the other side already. (I had refilled at a mountain spring, but my friend didn't trust the water. So far, so good, and I hope I still feel well tomorrow!) My friend made it all the way to the false peak, but I didn't even make it that far. I sat down next to some Koreans in the shade who gave me lots of food.
That's it for now! I'll try to post again this week!
I have been exploring a lot, though. My neighborhood just keeps getting better and better. There are parks everywhere, and apparently a really nice bike shop around the corner.
I met my landlady (Julia) and we go walking in the park most nights with her friend. The two women and their families have been really nice, and they're always giving me food! Mrs. Chang even took me out for steak last night with her family! Julia owns a beauty salon downstairs, so I stop by and say hi most nights after school. It's really nice to have a casual conversation in English, even if it's broken.
My friend from college came to visit this weekend. She's starting at a school in Seoul this week, and will be staying with me next weekend, too. It was so much fun to have her here! We met my other friend in Seoul and saw a neighborhood full of traditional palaces and one of the castles in Seoul. (Pictures will come on a better internet day!)
On Sunday, my college friend and I went to climb one of the smaller mountains in Seoul. Her guidebook described it as a Shamanist walk. Just a few minutes up the mountain, we were surrounded by beating drums and chanting from several directions. We were in a small village that had as many Buddhist temples as it had houses! They were beautiful, all painted in vivid colors. (Pictures are discourages, so those will not come on a better internet day. Sorry.)
Further up the mountain, there were small shrines every five minutes or so. Some of them were very small, just flat spots with little bowls of rice, but some had altars on them. Near a few larger ones, older Koreans had set up tents where they were sweeping, or preparing vegetables, or drinking water. I have no idea if they lived in the tents or were just spending the day there.
We got lost so many times on this mountain because all the trails criss-crossed each other going between shrines. We did see some great views, though, which I did take pictures of.
On another side of the mountain, the government had recreated the wall that used to protect Seoul. You could walk up the side of the wall to the peak of the mountain. This path was steps almost the whole way, and there was little shade. We had used almost all of our water on the other side already. (I had refilled at a mountain spring, but my friend didn't trust the water. So far, so good, and I hope I still feel well tomorrow!) My friend made it all the way to the false peak, but I didn't even make it that far. I sat down next to some Koreans in the shade who gave me lots of food.
That's it for now! I'll try to post again this week!
They seems to love giving food away to strangers. It sounds so nice. With all the hiking you're doing you are going to be very fit when you come back. Just don't let all the food counter all the walking.
ReplyDeleteDude quit slacking with the posting!
ReplyDelete