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Published: April 7th 2008
Spirit guardians
These are pretty common all around KoreaLife here has been good.
For the most part my job is fairly low stress and the money is good. There is no way I could afford this lifestyle in a city this large in the U.S. and save more than half my paycheck like I am here. I’m not exactly living it large here, but I do get out from time to time. There are things to do and see and, for the most part, Korea has treated me pretty well.
So, what have I been up to?
Well, everything and nothing. Life as usual happens and once settled into a place it’s pretty much the same as living anyplace else… except it’s a little different. Looking back, I’ve actually done a lot, even though it doesn’t feel like it.
Holidays here give me pause to think. The holidays I’m used to seem to pass by without much notice or are not anything like the way I celebrate them and yet, most Korean holidays deal with going to visit the parents and family
On Christmas day
I went walking on a riverwalk (actually it's more like a stream) downtown. This guy was wandering around in a devil suit. I became nostalgic for Austin's eccentrics, but this guy turned out to be advertising for a tour company. It seems that in Seoul, people think of Christmas as a day off to go hang out with their friends. There were loads of people at coffee shops and walking around. and so I’m not really part of those either. I do try to take advantage of the Korean holidays such Buddha’s Birthday and Lunar New Year by trying to see some of the festivities around the holidays. They are usually fun and interesting. For Lunar New Year, I went to a Korean folk village and saw some the traditional festivities there. That was great!
I never told most of you about the
bungee jumping and white water rafting I did last summer. What a blast. I never meant to go bungee jumping, but there I was, and much to my surprise, I was standing at the edge of a bridge bungee tower and convincing myself it was OK…which it was in the end. I confirmed to myself that I am able to do anything as long as I’m insane enough to believe it’s ok. It all works out ok in the end.
I’ve also done a lot of touring around Korea. I see no point in being in a foreign country without making the effort to see what’s there.
Over Chusok (see previous blog), I went to an island in the East Sea (aka Sea of Japan) called
Ulleungdo
Stairs on the seacoast walkway. Ulleungdo. This place is a three-hour ferry ride off the coast of west Korea and is very beautiful. There was this amazing boardwalk built into the side of the island overhanging the sea. That walkway was one of the most scenic and beautiful places I’ve seen in the world. We also did some incredibly difficult hiking, but there was always a reward at the end such as a breathtaking view, a good restaurant, or our hotel rooms. It was the kind of trip that really made you enjoy nature and a hot bath.
Koreans love
festivals and so I’ve been to a few. Around my birthday, I went on a tour to the Ulijin Pine Mushroom Festival where we ate lots of expensive mushrooms, drank mushroom tea, had mushroom pancakes, mushroom soup, and the like. We also go to go on a guided “hunt” for mushrooms. Of course, we ate mushrooms for dinner. That was fun. There was also the ice festival this January. All sorts of ice sculptures and things having to do with ice and snow gave us the wintry feeling that I had expected but didn’t see in Seoul. Take a look at all the pictures about
Pine mushrooms
Very expensive. One mushroom can cost up to $10 them.
I’ve tried to get involved in life around Seoul. One of the reasons I made sure I lived in such a huge city such as Seoul was so there would be options for a vegetarian like me. I joined the Seoul Veggie Club and have been going to restaurant visits and potlucks just like I did in the States. Nice. I love to go out to eat and socialize.
I also started a hiking club so I could go on hikes on the mountains that surround Seoul. Problem was that I didn’t know anything about the trails here and so the group didn’t do anything for a while. Then one of the members told me he could help with the hikes, and so I made him assistant organizer. He’s a real hiking enthusiast so I get to see all sorts of places I wouldn’t have seen otherwise and meet some nice people.
Now it's Spring again and the cherry blossoms are beginning to bust out in all their splendor. I recently bought a van do do some traveling and I am hoping to take a trip down to a town that's renowned for cherry blossoms.
I'll let you
know and try to keep up more often.
If you double click on any picture, and then click on slideshow, you can see all the pics in a slideshow format.
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Linda
non-member comment
Wow, a whole year and when I look at your entries into this blog thing; I'm just amazed at how much life and adventure you've been able to cram into a year. You are like I wanted to be...letting no grass grow under my feet but instead I turned into a couch potato!!! At least when you leave there; you'll be able to say that you did have a huge, eventful life while you were there. Keep enjoying yourself and exploring...you may never get back there again no matter what you think now. Seems every time I go places these days; I automatically try to do everything possible while there or with those people because too often; I've thought I'd be able to go back to a certain place or be with those people lots of times in the future and it just hasn't happened...so now I live as much as I can thinking that it may be the last time I get to do or visit or be with certain people....unfortunately, the money I have does not permit me to have as much fun/explore as much as I'd like and the body is old and tired so wears out a lot faster these days too. I have a new knee in one leg but the rest of the body is still achy and aged!!!! Anyway, keep enjoying life every day and keep updating your blog..I love reading it and living some of your life through you comments. Linda