Hiking in the rain in Gwanaksan

On Monday, I was suppose to meet up with my Aunt, but it got postponed until tomorrow, so I ended up going hiking. I live right next to some trails, so I wanted to check them out. I knew the rain was in the forecast, but I went anyways. I started off at this trail called Rocky Mountain (Dol San), which was full of huge rocks and when I got to the top there was the Taeguki (Korean Flag) mounted on the rock. As soon as passed that, the rocks started get bigger and bigger and even steeper. Then I ended up at this trail called Knife Mountain (Khar San), which was full of sharp huge rocks. I climbed some of them, but it got steeper and steeper as I got further. As I stood there, this old man starts to climb it with no effort, so I followed him up. Then, I came up to this one spot thinking that there is no way I am going to climb that, and at the same time I was exhausted. For that reason, I turned around to go back home, but then this old lady passes me and to my amazement she starts to climb it, so I turned back around and followed her up. I could not believe how good of a shape some of these senior citizens are. They put me to shame! Anyways, it started to rain a little bit, so I turned around to go back home. On my way back I ended up getting lost and ended up walking around for about 3 hours. I finally found the bottom and by that time it was pouring rain. In about 15 minutes I was drenched. I took cover inside a phone booth for a little bit, but I got bored just standing there, so I continued to walk in the rain. Then I found this small restaurant, so I went inside to get out of the rain, and to get some lunch. I had some hot Ohdang soup, and some kimbap, which warmed me up. Finally, the rain slowed down, so I found my way back home.

Here are some pictures from the hike. The last picture is a sign that warned hikers that it is dangerous beyond that point. I didn't get a chance to take more pictures after that, since I was too busy climbing the steep rocks.


Seoul University

Job Interview in Suwon

On Sunday, after church, my cousin and I went out to Suwon to meet up with a friend of my moms that owns a hagwon. We jumped on the bus to go to the subway station, then we got on line 2 subway, then transferred to line 4 subway, then transferred again to a train. Think God my cousin was with me, since I would have got lost, if I was by myself. It took over an hour to get there. Suwon is pretty dead compared to where I live at. It was quiet and more laid back. We went up to the school and met my mom's friend and her daughter. Her daughter is the one that runs the school, so we discussed some options. If I end up working there, then I will only be working 3x a week from 3pm-9pm. I have to see, if it's going to be worth it, since it's a 3 hour commute. I am going to talk to them again on Wednesday to see, if things will work out.

2nd day in Korea

My 2nd day in Korea has been very relaxing. I woke up about 8am and started to unpack everything. It took me about an hour or so to organize everything. The place that I am staying at is on the third floor of this building that has several businesses. The 1st floor has a bakery, market, hair salon, and some other small stores. The 2nd floor has a Taekwondo studio, art school, and a Pilates studio. The third floor is a church with 18 study rooms, which are occupied by students, and one non-student, which is me. Study rooms are pretty common around colleges in Korea. It's basically a small room, with shared bathroom and kitchen, like the college dormitories back home. They are available for students with cheap rent. I only pay $150 a month.

I took a nap for about an hour, until my cousin came by. We went out and got some lunch. I still needed more things for my room, so we went to the local store. I ended up getting a iron, ironing board, hangers, clothes rack, and a clothes hanger to dry my clothes. Dryers are seldom used in Korea. We have a washer, but we have to dry our clothes in our room by hanging them on the clothes hanger. Some people use the top balcony to hang them on the clothes line. This is something I have to get use to, since I am so used to using the dryer.

Other than that I didn't do much anything else. It was a very relaxing day for me. I am still trying to get used to the time difference, but everything else is going good.

I've made it to Seoul

Yes, I am in Korea! I arrived in Incheon airport at 5am. The airport was pretty dead, since it was so early. The flight was pretty smooth. I watched couple of movies during the flight, which made the flight go a lot quicker. I watched Glory Days, and Memoirs of Geisha. I also watched a documentary on Hines Ward, and his Korean mother, which was pretty inspirational. If you don't know who Hines Ward is, then he is the football player that got the MVP award on the last Superbowl. If you don't know what the superbowl is... Michelle...., then it's related to football.

The documentary talked about how he was embarassed to have a Korean mother when he was a child, then realized how much she suffered raising him. His mom worked 3 jobs to support him, since his father did not support him at all. Even with his success, she still chose to work at the cafeteria at the local high school. He even told her that she can do whatever she wants to enjoy her life and he will support her financially, but she still chose the working path. He even promised that he will have a scholarship available and name it after his mom to support the Korean community.

Anyways, back to my story. After getting all my luggage, I changed my American dollars to Korean Won, then I attempted to use the calling card that I got before I left, but I could not figure out the payphones. I wanted to call my mom to tell her that I arrived OK, but I could not do so. She was pretty upset that I left, so I did not want to worry her, but I had to leave to catch the bus. I took the Limousine bus that took me to Seoul University. Also, I ran into a girl from Australia (I think...) that just got here today to start her 2nd year of being a english teacher. We chatted for a bit, until she had to get off at Gimpo airport. Back to my story again... The place I will be living at is a very short walk from Seoul University. My cousin met me there and he helped me with my luggage. When we got to the place, he realized how heavy the bags were, so he went up to the third floor (the floor I will be living at) and recruited 3 guys to help him carry the bags upstairs. When they came down, they tried to say Hello in broken english, then I said Hello in Korean and they all started lauging, since they thought I didn't know any Korean. After, we dropped off all my luggage at my place, we went shopping to get some things for my place. I ended up picking up a cell phone too. My cousin got it for me under his name, since they would not give me one, since I am a foreigner. I got the LG-LF1200, which is a pretty cool phone, but I will get back to you after I use it for a little bit. I could not believe the selection I had on the phones. There were so many to choose from, and the technology is so much more advanced than what the states carry. We also met up with my uncle and had lunch. We ended up having Soy Bean Paste Stew, which was really good. It reminded of my mom's cooking... she makes the best stews!!!

It's 8:30pm, and I am pretty beat. I think the jet lag is kicking in, so I am going to unpack a little bit, then get some rest.

On my way to Seoul

The time has finally come. I will be boarding Korean Air at 12:30AM on 5/17 to start my adventure. I am very excited to go, but at the same time I will miss my family and friends. I spent most of the day trying to pack. It took me a long time to pack, since I had to pack and unpack a few times, so that I can fit everything in the luggage. Even with all that, I still did not have a enough room to fit everything. To make it worse, it was way over the weight limit, which is 70lbs. I was in a dilemma, so I contacted Korean Air to find out what the charge is for going over the weight limit. I was told that it would be cheaper to pay a excess baggage fee of $100, rather than paying the per lb over the limit fee. For that reason, I went and bought another luggage to fit everything and to distribute the weight. That means I will be checking in 3 huge bags, and carrying on 2 bags. I will have my hands full in the airport. Thank God there are carts in the airports, but I am on my own outside of the airport. I don't know how I am going to carry 5 pieces of luggage by myself, but I guess I will find out. I remember when I visited Korea couple of years ago, I got turned down by 2 taxi's because of my luggage. Finally, the third taxi accepted me and took me to my destination.

Once, I land in Inchon, I have to take a limousine bus that goes to Sillimdong or Seoul University. My cousin's suppose to meet me at the bus station in Sillimdong, so I will get some well needed help with my luggage. Hopefully, I won't have too much problems with my luggage. Well, I am off to bed, since I have a big day ahead of me. Until then, take are.

Sillimdong

Sillim-dong is where I will be staying for a few months, until I find a new apartment. I will be looking for a permanent place to stay, once I find a job and everything else. Who knows, maybe I will end up liking Sillimdong and end up staying in this town. I don't know too much about this town, but I was able to find out that it is right next to Seoul University, and it is in central Seoul, so it will be convenient to commute to all parts of Seoul.

I just realized that my departure date is right around the corner. It might be a good idea to start packing. I've been very busy visiting friends and saying my goodbyes. I just got back from San Diego yesterday. I was there for a few days hanging out with a friend. I am suppose to go to Vegas next weekend to see some friends too. I am very fortunate to have some good friends around me. After I sold my truck, my friends drove me around to get what I needed to get done. Also, my buddy Lorenzo let me borrow his truck, until I leave for Korea. I can't think him enough, but I will return the favor. Well, I am off to bed so stay tuned for my next post.