Wow! I cannot believe that in one week it will have been three months since I have arrived in Seoul. I look back at my phone and just see the memories come back to life. As scared as I was leaving home, I new that this experience does not come so often. Making new friends and talking to different students each day is something so amazing. In just one week on Introductory Korean course will end, and that will open my up two more days! I look forward to some more traveling besides the weekends.
Now, many of my friends had their finals to take this week. Unfortunately, they could not travel last week, and I felt sad for them. I knew that they wanted to pass their course so it was best if they studied. I took the liberty to just travel on my own, which I have not done since my first few days in Seoul.
One of the reasons I like to travel with company is because I do not have cellular service. I rely on wifi for everything and everywhere I go. Since it was just myself I would not mind getting lost, and I took that chance! I got on the subway and made my way to Anyang. This is a different city from where I live because it was like a small town and far away from the city. This was an interesting place because it reminded me of a huge food market back at home. Everywhere I looked, you could here people saying get your fruits, vegetables, etc here.
Many people were looking around trying to find the best place to buy meats and fish. As I kept walking, this small town has a few huge shopping malls around. I normally do not like to shop unless I have to, so I walked by and just kept looking at the town around me. Walking aimlessly for hours and hours, and the only things around were just houses and trees. It was just myself and my thoughts for once. It was relaxing to think out loud, and also to plan what I could do next. Eventually, I spent the whole day and walked around the town, and surprisingly I did not get lost. The only plan I had in mind was just to make sure I knew where the train station was.
Afterwards on Sunday, I decided to go to Seoul Grand Park. I have heard a lot about this place. Again I took the chance and made my way with no exact directions. When I arrived, the park was huge! It has a zoo, amusement park, botanical garden, and a museum. While all of these places sounded great, I knew that I would have to come back with more friends next time. The next best option was to walk around the park, and admire the scenery.
When I heard the park had a museum I decided to see what type of museum it was. To my surprise it was a modern art, which was interesting to me! There were so many types of art, some of which was “interesting” but more of the art was abstract. I spent a good three hours admiring art, which is just something I thought I would never do. Once I had finished, I decided to take a break and go to a quiet area to admire the view. When I arrived to this hill at the top, within ten minutes I fell asleep. It was so quiet, and no one was there at the top. It was just the best nap anyone could have asked for! I thought my day was a success even though it was by myself.
I am normally not a good person with directions, I think that I rely too much on apps that help me find my way to a location. I do not try and use landmarks or street signs to find my way around. When I went out that weekend I made sure to take picture of anything significant to make sure that I would find my way back. I asked people which is something I normally do not do at all. My Korean class has helped because I can roughly ask where is this location and I can understand where to go. It will take more and more practice, but I hope to become an expert at navigation. I will keep you updated on this weekends adventure!
