Good times in Gwangju!

The journey started with a trip downtown after work to buy my ticket and meet up with Leona. It was a great way to get in some extra visiting. We went out for a nice Korean dinner and then she showed me ‘her’ campus. We walked the paths of the University near Leona’s place. What a beautiful spot – it was really empty, which she said was rare, and lined with trees. The cool air blowing past us added so much to the place’s charm. It’s amazing how much I’ve come to appreciate the breeze. After a month of heat I’ve only every experienced for probably 2 days tops, a simple breeze becomes a long desired luxury. As the night passed into the early morning we talked about life and love and weirdnesses while sitting on the concrete steps of stadium.

After spending the night at Leona’s and enjoying her hospitality, I was up rainy and early the next morning to catch my bus for Gwangju (to visit Ryan and Krista). The scenery was absolutely breathtaking – it was too bad though that my eyes were too heavy to see any more than a second or two of it every few minutes when I forced them back open. C’est la vie. Hmm, I want to make this one short. So I’ll leave out much of what I would comment otherwise. The trip was good. Even if we pretty much hadn’t done anything it would have just been good for the social aspect, but the first day we searched for a nation revered open art street that turned out to be non-existent because of the semi-rainy weather. It was still cool seeing the little shops that would have participated in it, especially this one pottery stop where the family had been potters for 14 generations. We also hit up a game room, great restaurant for dinner, and DVD room.

Canada really needs to pick up on some of these great Korean recreational ideas. I’ve already mentioned the Norabong – which I could definitely see tons of people getting a kick out of. The game rooms are kind of like cafes, all set up with tables – there’s a snack bar, a drink menu, and a game menu. That’s right – you order games to play. We had a rocking good time with some good old Simpson’s edition Clue. The DVD rooms are these places where you go and pick a DVD, then get a room with big couches and a huge flatscreen tv with surround sound and watch a movie with yourself or a couple of friends.

Today we didn’t do a whole lot, lounged around at Ryan and Krista’s mostly in the morning (I got served a wonderful breakfast). As they’re leaving soon they’re trying to downsize with a lot of their stuff and I adopted a whole bag full of Krista’s winter clothes, it felt like Christmas! Before heading back to Daegu we went for a little hike on a big hill near their place and visited a crazy monument. It was beautiful – and very deserted for some reason today. Laying in the middle of it was just . . . restful. They also took me to see the biggest lily pads I’d ever seen in my life! The whole pond was full of them and well – you can see from the photos – it was incredible!

(Whoo, I’m very impressed at how short I’m keeping this – not my style, it feels stilted and oh so dry, but my eyes are oh so ready for bed! I guess this is more just some context to the pics) As far as the trip back goes I’ll just mention the rest stop. The mountains there were some of the biggest I’ve seen here, covered in parts by a gently flowing mist. And there were other sights to take note of as well! I’m getting used to the squatters, (toilets in the ground for those who don’t know) but today I encountered yet another thing that made me think ‘Oh Korea’. Vanity here is intense – or at least more obviously intense than it is in Canada. So, not only was there a mirror in the bathroom stall – oh no – it was at just the right eyelevel for a person to squat – do their ‘business’ and I guess also make sure their hair’s in place and they’re makeup’s holding up!!

I also witnessed a hiking group of Koreans dancing to folk music in the parking lot. It was great. Folk music like you’d hear in Canada, but with Korean lyrics and a bunch of people ranging from late 20’s to mid-60s in black hiking gear, dancing away, wiggling their butts and hips and just having a grand ole’ time. I loved it!