I haven't taken my camera out at all lately--it's too bleak here right now; I feel like nothing would be very interesting (this is probably not true).

But I did find these on my camera! 

The first is of a woman cooking hoedoekk, little pancakes with syrup in the middle. It starts off chalky inside with really gooey dough, but then she squishes it enough to cook it through. I recently was shopping at E-Mart, Korea's Target, and this woman who was cooking sample hoedoekk was so excited to see foreigners that she kept encouraging us to eat whole ones! 

The second is of the concentration/torture camps Japan used for Korean patriates during WWII. That's the view from...the leper house.

And finally, one night out by Hongshin University (in the Hongdae area), we stumbled upon a reenactment of a traditional Korean wedding. I have no idea why they were doing it, but it was cool to see.

Delays

 Yikes, man. Sorry for not posting so regularly. I don't know how I lost steam. 


Maybe it will be a New Year's resolution to post at least every other day...? Maybe make it like a photo diary?


In the meantime, please enjoy this picture I snapped whilst waiting on the woman to finish my delicious syrup-y pancake. She pulled a ball of dough out of the can behind her and then stuffed it with sandy brown stuff (it looked like a handful of cinnamon), which was heated and melted until it was like nepalm.


Edit: Wow, I don't even have that photo uploaded yet. I have let my country down!!!

Lazy Sunday

I should really start carrying my camera around with me more often. I've been incredibly busy these past few weeks--loads of exploring, new stuff at school (you're reading the words of the #2 "nicest teacher" in school, thank you, thank you), Korean class field trips, etc. etc.--but today I went to the National Cemetery, which I heard was really peaceful and very informative. All of the exhibits on the edge of the graveyards were closed (boooo!), but it was still worth the trip.

Because graveyards take up a ton of (livable) space, and because Korea is short on (livable) space, it's usually the norm for people to be cremated and "kept" (I don't know how else to describe this) in an urn on a mountainside, along with a couple of other people. So when you take a drive along the highways, you'll see a lot of intricate jars lining these paths.

Anyways. What I'm trying to get at here is that it's a great honor to be buried here in this cemetery. Three former presidents are here; it's like Arlington.



There were many statues, and most of them featured men fighting against Japan.

The base to this one had two dragons running around it. 

I wish it had been clearer out. From this point you could see over the river and into the city, which was really nice, but it was so foggy out I had a hard time getting a decent picture of it. 

It was very pretty inside, however.  I don't know if I've ever seen such picturesque nature like Korea's. Case in point: this little bird was perched on the edge of a murky pond.

I took a detour on my way back to the subway and found these men fishing in the Hangang river. Here's that view I was talking about--too hazy.

And lastly, there is no Thanksgiving buffer for holiday cheer (though these and the adjacent department store windows are the only examples I've seen so far. I get the feeling there won't be a lot of Christmas spirit in the air come December 25), which is fine by me. These are right outside my home city's subway station entrance, so it's nice to come back to at night, even if they are sort of helping advertise a sale. Whatever. 

Art Park, Etc.

My city is known as the "City of Art" and has this really great "art park" about an hour's walk from where I live. Everything is hidden away on a mountain, so it makes for a very interesting hike.

I've been 2 or 3 times, and every time I go there are people picnicking on these rocks. One little boy was swimming and catching fish. 

I think this is the most well-known sculpture in the park--it always shows up on search engines. It's called "Dancing Buddha" and has a giant propeller on its head. It spins, too! 

Possibly the creepiest thing I've seen in Korea. This is called "The Garden of Spirits" and has small white and brown/gray sculptures of tiny people everywhere. Truly unnerving. The second time I came, I tripped on my way in--possibly an omen? 

Note the limbs. These are two of the more normal-looking ones. Some don't have faces, and there's one with a hood over its head. 

You can hike up about 200 meters on top of this big structure, and you have these excellent views. I really need to figure out how to work my panorama because the 360 degree view is really phenomenal up there. 

There's a section called "New Species," which is hilarious. 

And now for less nature-y topics. Check out these drinks, "Power Assist" and "Confidence." 

This is the opening to Namdaemun Market, which is HUGE and open 24 hours. It's seriously so big I had to ask for and write down directions to get out. 

I bought a slice of melon here and I swear to god, I've never had better melon. They're about 30 bucks here for a whole one, so a buck a slice is not bad at all. 

This is the view from my language class' window. 

And this is the dinner we've taken to traditionally eating after every Saturday class (or every Saturday, as was the case this weekend when my pal and I were too interested in learning more about a palace to learn the language). The stuff cooking in the middle is bulgogi, a delicious marinated roast beef (seriously...so good), and after this we had kalbi, boneless short ribs. You're supposed to wrap the meat in the leaves next to the bulgogi. Seriously, the best food I've eaten in Korea. I think they might kill the cow in the back, it's so fresh.

But if you're not up for fancy eatin's, you could order McDonald's delivery...

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Seonyudo Islands

I've been trying to do something cultural every weekend, and because my city is on the Seoul subway line, I've been spending a lot of my time in Seoul. As much as I really like it there, the 12 million people in the constantly crowded subway was really getting to me--so I decided to get out for a bit and head somewhere relaxing. I went with an adventure tour group to Seonyudo Islands, and I had a really nice time.

The first day I woke up at 5:00 am to make the 7:00 bus in Seoul; we traveled for about three hours until we got to our ferry in Gunsan (there are no cars or buses allowed in the islands, so the only way to get there is by boat)

Goodbye industry, hello islands!

Then we rented bikes and took a cycling tour of the islands for 3 hours--or about 1.5 in my case. Those bikes were meant for small Korean people--low seats, small pedals... I got my seat adjust, but I was still hunched over with my knees to my forehead, practically. By the time I got through one island (when I wasn't going uphill, I was praying I wouldn't die flying off a cliff), I could barely sit down; everything hurt. I felt like a little baby turning my bike in early, but luckily I was with 2 other people who did the same. This morning I woke up with several black bruises the size of fists--now I don't feel so bad about calling it quits.

Before we saw these dogs, we went through this small town area which looked a lot like Greece. All of the houses were whitewashed and there was just one small tiny winding street in the middle. I kept crashing into gates.

Before I got off the first island, though, I sat down (or at least tried to) for a water with some other people on the tour on this strange little restaurant right on the edge of a cliff. This woman was the owner and was shucking oysters like two feet away from us...something you'd never see in America. 

We watched the sun set and built a huge bonfire on the beach after dinner. 

Then I got up at 6 again to watch the sunrise! 

There were lots of these spiders. They had red bellies and looked dangerous but tasted delicious (I'm just kidding). I took this picture right at the edge of a small bamboo forest! 

We then took leisure strolls around the other islands, which I definitely preferred. The road was much smoother, the views were much more scenic.

We climbed up one of the islands for a really great view...

 ...then explored some tide pools...

...dug for clams...

...and walked over a sand bar that is open when the tide goes out and leads to a small island. I'd heard there are like octopus and little animals that are left behind, but we mostly just saw crabs, oysters, and barnacles.

Seriously, those barnacles were everywhere. 


This was probably my most unusual Halloween I ever spent, and I was exhausted by the end. I'm very glad to be back--I doubt I'll be biking again any time soon, but I'd really like to explore more.

Speaking of exploring (segue!), I went grocery shopping this morning and picked up these two things. I'd been reading on a bunch of blogs how everyone was excited for pumpkin-flavored stuff, and I bought these pumpkin jellies, little gelatinous candies that are pretty good. I was surprised at how they really do taste like pumpkin.

I also got what looks like salmon or meat strips, but it's actually like rice cake with seeds and some sort of breading. It's very soft, and I think it might be cactus flavored. 

I've been fiddling around with picture sizes--which do you prefer? Do you like the bigger pictures or these smaller ones?
I also hope everyone back home had a really nice Halloween.