Are You Ready for the Country?
For the first time since I arrived in Seoul, I left the metropolitan area and headed south to the country. I went to a small town called Onyang where Atwood lives. It took about an hour and a half in a train to get there, but I felt like I was much further than just an hour away.
I didn't arrive until late Friday evening. We had a few drinks at one of his buddy's places and then headed to the WA Bar, a western bar that's real big over here. There happened to be a few Russians in the bar that decided to share some of their political views with us. The first opinion I heard was (in a Russian, James Bond villian-esque voice),"America, Fuck You!" Interesting point. There are 300 million of us, but I am totally okay with him grouping all Americans into one. He then continued by stating "Putin victorious," or something to that effect. Wow. It was a good conversation.
This first encounter was a good introduction to the town. I met a lot of cool people and had a stellar time, but there is a little different feel to the town. I felt like the locals were a little less open to outsiders. Walking around the city we got a lot of looks. In the train station there was an elderly man that looked me up and down, head to toe and then began talking to himself in Korean. I can only imagine what he was saying to himself (probably, "America, Fuck You!")
Saturday brought real nice December weather. It was a bit chilly, but good weather to go hiking through the hills/mountains that are Atwood's backyard. We explored the mountains and came across a bunch of Korean burial mounds. Some are marked with grave stones, but many are just large mounds that are well-groomed and placed in a small patch of the forest with no trees. After living in the great Northwoods of America for the last 5 summers, I feel at home when I'm surrounded by trees. Unfortunately, trees are about as easy to find in Seoul as condoms that fit an American man. It was really nice to be able to be away from the city and scamper through the woods for a while.
Saturday night, we went out for a grand Korean barbecue dinner. It was one of the best barbecue restaurants I have been to in Korea and a great way to start the evening. As we were finishing our first bottle of Soju, we noticed it had begun to snow. Big, fluffy, Christmas-y snowflakes. It was a fun night. We headed to the WA Bar after dinner and many people were outside standing in the snow, watching it come down. As the night went on there were many forays outdoors to throw snowballs or build snow-bunnies. There is some intrinsic cheer that comes with snow. It is calming and brings a smile to everyone's face. It was a welcome touch to my weekend to get to enjoy a snowfall during my excursion to the country.
When all was said and done, it was a pretty perfect weekend. I had a great time, didn't spend too much money and got to meet some new people that speak English.
When I got back to the train station in Seoul though, I had a weird feeling that I was home. I was back to where I live - my home. This was kind of a earth-shattering thought to have because until today I hadn't really thought of Seoul as my home, but more a place where there's an apartment that I can sleep in for free and a school that will pay me to speak my native tongue. But I have become accustomed to this city and its people and it was a good feeling to have to be home.
Love from Seoul
I didn't arrive until late Friday evening. We had a few drinks at one of his buddy's places and then headed to the WA Bar, a western bar that's real big over here. There happened to be a few Russians in the bar that decided to share some of their political views with us. The first opinion I heard was (in a Russian, James Bond villian-esque voice),"America, Fuck You!" Interesting point. There are 300 million of us, but I am totally okay with him grouping all Americans into one. He then continued by stating "Putin victorious," or something to that effect. Wow. It was a good conversation.
This first encounter was a good introduction to the town. I met a lot of cool people and had a stellar time, but there is a little different feel to the town. I felt like the locals were a little less open to outsiders. Walking around the city we got a lot of looks. In the train station there was an elderly man that looked me up and down, head to toe and then began talking to himself in Korean. I can only imagine what he was saying to himself (probably, "America, Fuck You!")
Saturday brought real nice December weather. It was a bit chilly, but good weather to go hiking through the hills/mountains that are Atwood's backyard. We explored the mountains and came across a bunch of Korean burial mounds. Some are marked with grave stones, but many are just large mounds that are well-groomed and placed in a small patch of the forest with no trees. After living in the great Northwoods of America for the last 5 summers, I feel at home when I'm surrounded by trees. Unfortunately, trees are about as easy to find in Seoul as condoms that fit an American man. It was really nice to be able to be away from the city and scamper through the woods for a while.
Saturday night, we went out for a grand Korean barbecue dinner. It was one of the best barbecue restaurants I have been to in Korea and a great way to start the evening. As we were finishing our first bottle of Soju, we noticed it had begun to snow. Big, fluffy, Christmas-y snowflakes. It was a fun night. We headed to the WA Bar after dinner and many people were outside standing in the snow, watching it come down. As the night went on there were many forays outdoors to throw snowballs or build snow-bunnies. There is some intrinsic cheer that comes with snow. It is calming and brings a smile to everyone's face. It was a welcome touch to my weekend to get to enjoy a snowfall during my excursion to the country.
When all was said and done, it was a pretty perfect weekend. I had a great time, didn't spend too much money and got to meet some new people that speak English.
When I got back to the train station in Seoul though, I had a weird feeling that I was home. I was back to where I live - my home. This was kind of a earth-shattering thought to have because until today I hadn't really thought of Seoul as my home, but more a place where there's an apartment that I can sleep in for free and a school that will pay me to speak my native tongue. But I have become accustomed to this city and its people and it was a good feeling to have to be home.
Love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 8:59 PM
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