Mrs. Yoon called around 1:00 pm and told me to meet them outside of their apartment around 5:00. I decided to leave around 4:15 and stop by the I-Mart on the way there.
My apartment is 203.
The tall buildings in the background are part of the complex that my director lives in.
I-Mart
I bought a bottle of water at the I-Mart, and then headed over to my director's complex. I knew her building number, and I'd been there before (only while riding in a car), but walking there by myself was a different story. I looked for her building number and took the first entrance in the complex that appeared to lead to her building. Once I was at the back of the complex, I could see her apartment above me. There was a wall and a fence that kept me from getting there, so I went back out to the street and walked down to the next entrance. This time when I got to the back of the complex, I could see her building was now below me, and that I would have to hop a fence and climb down a steep wall to get to it. I was confused, so I walked back to the first entrance to see if I somehow missed something. Once again, it took me to a wall and a fence. I checked my watch and saw that I was already supposed to be there, so I looked over my shoulder, found a place where I could climb over the wall, hopped over the fence, and walked onto a playground. The playground appeared to be behind their building, so I walked around front. After a moment, Mrs. Yoon came out. She asked me if I'd seen Jake, who she'd sent to the front to wait for me. I told her about my little adventure and she laughed. Jake came running up after a minute or so, and we headed to the mountain path.
There was a fence behind their apartment building that led to a path. Mrs. Yoon told me that the path started behind I-Mart. (I was happy to hear this, because I knew where that was) She said that there were many different paths on the mountain, but that that was an easy one to find. We started walking uphill on the path. The path led into a forest. Eventually, it led to a station with workout equipment. Jake (who'd run ahead of us) was waiting for us while using some of the workout equipment. I marveled at the fact that he'd run so quickly down the path in order to get to a place where he could work out some more. I wished that I had his energy. The hike was very nice and pretty. I took a few pictures along the way.
Mrs. Yoon and Jake, hiking down the trail
Jake
Bigfoot
Mrs. Yoon, wondering what the hell I'm doing
Mrs. Yoon, posing for a picture
As we hiked, I could see lots of paths leading in many different directions. I couldn't wait to explore them all. We hiked for about 30 minutes before we took a path that led downhill. Along the path was a little place where water flowed into a plastic tub. Jake told me not to drink the water because it was unclean. He said that it was clean a few years ago, but that if I drank it now, I would die. I decided not to test his hypothesis.
The path that we took came out by Jake's school.
Jake's school
We took a road from the school back to their apartment complex.
The road back
Their apartment complex
Once we'd reached the entrance to their complex, I said goodbye and ran home to shower. After showering, I got dressed and walked down to E-Mart, where I was supposed to meet the Westerners. I found 2 Americans, Shawn and Ashley, waiting outside. We decided to get some dinner, and then go out for drinks. Dinner was at a little restaurant with tables that required you to sit on the floor. I'm still not completely sure what we had for dinner, but I know that it consisted of chicken, vegetables, spicy sauce, and cheese. It was pretty fantastic. Also, we had soju along with our meal. This was the first time I'd had soju since the time that I'd tried it the previous weekend (when I thought it was beer). I found it to be very tasty and smooth this time around.
After dinner, we went down to a bar that was on the 7th floor of a building. We had to ride in a tiny elevator for part of the trip to the top, and when I tried to get in it I was attacked by both elevator doors. Luckily, the elevator wasn't damaged by my diamond physique and we were able to take it up. The bar we went to was a Western bar. It was pretty cool because it had a lot of Western beers available, but it also had plenty of Korean beer as well. It also had server buttons on the table, a button that you push whenever you need service.
WA Bar
Korean Beer
A Server Button: quite possibly the greatest invention ever.
Who knew they had Honey Brown in Korea?
Two more people showed up, an American named Kim, and an Irish guy named Steven. Both were very cool. Kim loved Troll 2 as much as I did (Troll 2 is the worst movie ever. They actually made a documentary about it.) and she even had some suggestions for other terrible movies. Awesome. Somewhere in the conversation, Shawn told us about the T Plus Card. This was a version of the little card that goes "beep" that you could get at any 7-11. Basically, it was pre-paid. I filed this information away in my head, and planned to get one at my earliest convenience.
As the night drew on, people started leaving the group. Finally, I was the only one left at the table. I ordered one last beer and became very engrossed in the Olympic handball match between Korea and Russia that was playing on the TV. There was a table full of Koreans down at the end of the bar, who were also very into the game. They were very sad when Russia won, so I wound up buying them 3 bottles of soju and sending it over to their table. How much did this cost? Less than $10...at a bar. I love Korea.
I paid my tab and left the bar, and tried to get my bearings. Unfortunately, pretty much every Korean street looks the same, so I picked a direction and started walking, hoping to see something that I was familiar with. I probably walked around for a good 20 minutes before I became frustrated. I was hungry, so I stopped at an all-night fast food restaurant. I pointed to the combo that I wanted on the menu, paid, and then waited for it. The guy behind the counter brought out some fries and a drink. I reached out to take one of the fries and the guy said something in Korean. Confused, I continued to reach for a fry, and the guy pushed my hand away. He motioned for me to sit down. I thought "Maybe it's rude to eat part of your meal if it isn't completely ready." I sat down and waited. After a minute or two, they laid an entree on the tray and another guy came and picked it up and left. I realized that I'd been trying to eat someone else's meal and felt really embarrassed. The guy behind the counter brought out my order a few minutes later and handed it to me. I apologized in Korean and left.
I walked down the street, eating my food (chicken nuggets) and decided that it would be wisest to try to find the E-Mart first. While walking around, I took some pictures of the area.
I'm pretty sure that this is the restaurant where Jake, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee's daughter, and I had galbi on my second night in Korea.
A K-Pop band
Some cool statues
Eventually, I came across a group of guys sitting on the sidewalk. They had darker skin and didn't look Korean. They said hello to me in English. I greeted them in Korean. They asked me where I was from. I told them in Korean that I was from the USA. They asked if I'd stop speaking Korean and start speaking English with them. I said okay. I asked them where they were from and they said that they came from Sri Lanka. I told them that it was nice to meet them and asked them where the E Mart was. They said not to go there because it was late and it was closed. I said that I just wanted to know where it was. They said that there was no point in going because it was closed. Finally I told them that I lived near it. They all said "Ohhhhhhhh!" One of them pointed. At the end of the street, not 2 blocks away was E-Mart. I felt pretty stupid. I tried to make a joke out of it, but they didn't understand, so I thanked them, wished them a good night, and left.
While walking by E-Mart, I spotted a 7-11. I noticed that it was open, so I peeked in and saw a young guy behind the counter. I assumed that he probably knew some English, so I walked in, eager to get the little card that goes "beep." I approached the counter and said "T-Plus Card." He went and got one, came back, and asked me something in Korean. I looked at him, confused, and repeated "T-Plus Card." He asked me again. I asked him in Korean how much it was. He repeated the phrase. The confusion went on for 5 or 10 minutes before he somehow indicated to me that he was asking how much I wanted to put on it. I gave him some money and he asked me something else. I assumed that he was asking if I wanted anything else so I just said no. He kept asking me the question. Finally, after using his smart phone, and some creative pantomiming, I figured out that he was asking what I wanted to use it for. I told him that I wanted to use it for the bus. He took the money, set it up, and handed it to me. I gave him a big bow and a big Korean thank you, and then told him in English "I wish I could tell you how thankful I am right now." I don't think he understood, but I was happy to have my card and was amazed that he'd refused to give up. In the U.S., I'm pretty sure that someone would have told me to leave after 30 seconds. I couldn't believe how persistent he'd been. I said goodbye, and left.
On the way home, I cut back through the park.
I liked the reflections of the lights on the water.
The happy little colorful bridge in the middle of the park
This little symbol can be found on pretty much any piece of property that is owned by the city. I love it. Below it, in Hangeul, is "Gwangju-si," or Gwangju City (If you can't read English...I guess it's pretty pointless for me to explain it in English writing if you can't read it in the first place...or for you to be reading this blog. Anyway, on with the pictures!)
Here it is again!
Walking home, along the bike path.
I got home and immediately crawled into bed. I thought about the people that I'd met that night, the hike that I'd taken, and the fact that I was in Korea. I couldn't wait to wake up on Sunday, so that I could go explore the paths on the mountain. That night, I dreamed of more adventures in Korea.
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