Adventures in Camping...

It’s 8:30pm on Sunday and I am settling back into life in Gyeongsan.

I spent the weekend celebrating the birth of a friend. We went on a ‘camping’ trip. I put camping in parenthesis because the camp site was in the middle of a heavily trafficked area of a national park. We were expecting to go out into the woods and experience an escape from society. Instead we camped right next to the hustle and flow. We ended up in these white tents that had to raised platforms (common in Korea) of linoleum wood to sleep on. They lined either side of the tent with a little pathway in the middle.

Friday I headed to Waegwan to meet up with Paul, Micah, and Del. We road tripped to Muju in Jeollabuk-do and spent the night at a friends house. We norae bang-ed, ate cake, and made a ruckus, which included a broken window and a late night street wandering to find food in a town that actually does sleep at night.

Saturday we woke up and wandered out to find breakfast, went grocery shopping, and then headed to the national park. It was a breath-taking drive and the park was incredible. We ended up right next to a field that led to a bridge and a set of stairs up a mountain. We hiked a little bit. Then, Micah and I, with the help of Kelly, Matt and Jen, invented a game that mixes Frisbee with Badminton. We call it FrisBad. It was such a workout.

I ended up making ramen and then we made the most incredible veggie kabobs. There were fireworks and massage trains. We sang and danced. I got to practice my Korean for about an hour until my brain stopped allowing me to process. Then I retired to the tent to continue reading “A Brave New World.” I have finally made time to read it.

Rain woke us up on Sunday. The beauty of the rain was only dampened by our need to clean up. I borrowed one of Jen’s umbrellas and then headed towards the park entrance to see if there was any food with the Jens : ) We found a restaurant that had mountain vegetable bi bim bap. It was so delicious. Then we wandered back to the camp site.

I really want to go to India for Christmas and New Years. I am going to ask Moon again about the trip potentiality because the response before was about English camps, but those are in January and I am totally willing to work them. That is what I will tell him. We’ll see what the response is…

Jamie and Co. arrive this Thursday!!! And then we head to Busan and Jeju. I am so freaking excited there are no words. It is going to be incredible just being around everyone, no matter what ends up happening. Happiness. I have to talk to Moon about having my friends come to school to meet the students. I would want it to be during lunch so that all of the students have an equal opportunity. It will be so interesting to see how they react. I will bring my camera for sure. Also, I want Jamie and Co. to see the cafeteria and how it is different than schools in the US.

I have finally seen what life is really like in the county side for foreigners. I am technically classified as country side, but I am 20 minutes away from the border of the 3rd largest city in South Korea. I have a new found appreciation for my placement. I have always had gratitude, but I feel like the space I ended up, so close to yoga, etc. fits me so completely right now.

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