Easy Like Sunday Morning

Last Tuesday on my first day off (thanks, Children's Day!) a few of us went to a beach in a nearby town called Gampo. Technically it was a celebratory event for Beau and Simon's birthday, although it really ended up being a bunch of foreigners drinking wine by the East Sea.

Although the beach wasn't the most beautiful I've been to, the ride to and from was stunning. I told myself I would go back there this weekend because I didn't bring my camera last week and I was kicking myself for not having it at an opportune time for photo taking. So that's been my day thus far. I got up, ate a sandwich, packed my bag, and began my mini solo journey to Gampo.

En Route:

After the gorgeous commute, I bought some Sun Chips and a bottle of water and sat on the curb in what I would consider to be downtown Gampo. Although by no means a progressive town, I highly enjoyed sitting in the sun (what UP 82 degrees!) observing the women in traditional Korean clothing, purchasing fish in the market across the street. Blissfully content. I was contemplating what to do next. Should I go and find a restaurant? No, I thought, because I can't speak the language and I don't want to put any more attention on myself than I already am (old-fashioned Korean town + tall female foreigner + blue tanktop = BIG NEWS). Should I go and try and find a spot to write in my journal? Yes! Brilliant idea, Laura. That was half of the reason I came to Gampo, to write-- the other half being me, in a bus, with my iPod, staring at the full, green mountains.

Before I got a chance to find the perfect seaside spot, however, a white minivan pulled over with a short Korean man smiling at me through the window. The conversation went as follows:

Man: Hi!
Me: Hi!
Man: You... uhhh.. what you do here?
Me: I'm... ummm.. taking pictures?
Man: Okay okay okay okay. Uhh.. but.. mmm.. what you DO here?
Me: I'm an English teacher.
Man: Een-gleesh teech-ah!? AHHHH okay okay okay! Where from?
Me: America.
Man: Ah, okay okay okay. But, uh... where from?
Me: Um... USA?
Man: Gampo?
Me: No no, Gyeongju.
Man: AHHHH okay! Een-gleesh teech-ah GYEONGJU!
Me: Naaaaiiiii. (aka, yes, you got it, it's clicked).

At this point, he gets out of the minivan to come talk to me.

Man: You eat?
showing him my bag of Sun Chips
Me: Yes, I eat.
Man: Ahh no no no, you like eat?
Me: Yes, I like to eat.
Man: Okay! You come wid me and my friend! We go eat!
Me: Me no eat, no hungry.
Man: You NO HUNGRY!? You only eat DEES? (pointing to my chips)
Me: Yep. Me no hungry. Thanks anyways though!
Man: Ahh, okay okay okay. So.. mmm.. we go eat!
Me: Ah, okay. We go eat.

Mind you, this is not something I would ever do back at home. But you should all know that South Korea is literally one of the safest countries in the world. They have serious crime laws. For example, an indisputable 1 year jail sentence if you steal someone's iPod. With this in mind, I got in the minivan.

So The Man, His Friend and I drove to this park by the sea, where they were cooking sam gip sol on a beach mat with a few of their friends. I was kindly greeted and fed more than anyone else there (in Korea, it would be considered highly rude to not try and fatten up your guest with as much food as he/she can stomach). It was hilarious. Not to mention delicious. Sam gip sol is pork rib barbequed on a stove, which once it's cooked, you wrap in lettuce, add some sauce, and eat one piece at a time. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite meals here. I had a couple of drinks with them, attempted to teach them some English, was sang to in Korean, and was then given a ride from The Friend back to the bus terminal so I could come back home, and once again indulge my senses in the grandiose scenery .

The Man

Husband and wife. This guy kept calling me Bingo and giving me high fives.

Sam Gip Sol

Needless to say I had a blast. Everything about today was novel, and I finally got some time to be alone with my thoughts and my music-- wasn't really feeling like I needed much else.

It is now 6:40 PM, and I have an appointment with Nina at 7:00, the Thai masseuse who my friend Steve met while in Phuket. She noticed that my balance is off and was kind enough to offer me free massages until she returns home in a month or so. Although I am obviously about to go, I am nervous because she had said to me, "It will be very painful, because your pain is so deep. China, Japan, Korea massage all same. Thai massage different. Why? Because we heal." I trust her, but I am not looking forward to hurting. I will keep you posted.

Update: 9:27 p.m.
I am now back at my apartment after some serious work being done on my back. I don't feel much better yet, but I believe in the morning I will notice a difference. My Korean friend Duk is taking me to the doctor tomorrow to get my back x-rayed, in hopes that they will tell me exactly what is wrong and how I can fix it. I need to dedicate myself to a doctor, because if this imbalance keeps up, I will eventually be walking with my waist up being completely horizontal. I am sure of it. I am too young to have these kinds of problems and it is a complete nuisannce to feel decrepid when I am only 23. [insert expletives here]. Ugh.

One last thing.

Mom:

Flashing Lights.

It has been a few days. I do apologize. I notice that the counter goes up each day and I feel slightly pressured to write a blog every other day, but I have been super busy, hence the small delay. Hmm. That rhymed and it was unintentional.
I pretty much only have time at this moment to talk about three things; the incredible mountain that is my backyard, the dance clubs and foreign bars in Daegu, and my CouchSurfer.

First, the mountain. My friend Steve said we should hike it at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and I figured he was full of it, so I called his bluff. Full of it he was not, my friends. This mountain/20 minute "hike" if you walk fast is about 10 minutes from my apartment.

One of the temples is supposedly the oldest in South Korea, although I'm not sure which one. My favorite part of that morning was the sight opposite the city, which was just layer upon layer upon layer of mountains. It looked completely surreal. I also loved the bamboo forest (last picture)... it was totally novel and unexpected to see towering bamboos just ahead of me as we were descending the mountain. There were also people praying up and around where we walked inside of these little mini-temples that were lit with what looked to be about 100 tea lights. It was really beautiful. I was told you can also stay the night in those temples, although nobody seems to know how to arrange it.

I do have more pictures from Saturday night in Daegu, and I want to talk about my CouchSurfer Johanna from Sweden, but I have officially run out of time.

More later. :)

Update: It is currently 11:50 p.m. Wednesday night. Johanna is fast asleep, as she has to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. train to Busan, and then a ferry to Japan. Brave girl. She's really sweet and has been a perfect guest. She stayed for a total of 3 nights with me, in which the time we spent together has been pleasantly educational. I don't know what else to say about it, really. She just kind of did her own thing during the day while I worked, helped me cook dinner, taught me about Sweden, and talked to me about her boyfriend.

Love is the language.

Update: 12:23 a.m. Friday morning. T.G.I.MF.F! Here are some pictures from last Saturday in Daegu. :)

My room at the love motel.

Daegu by drizzle.

George kissing Steve's hand.

Flashing Lightskies. ;)

This is my official video test. Crossing my fingers!

And thus concludes my most prolonged post yet. Tomorrow is another birthday celebration, this time for my friend Aleesha. Saturday I'm going biking with Diane, Beau, Sherwin, Sarah, and Simon. It's getting really beautiful here with all of the cherry blossoms blooming and I hope to have some really incredible pictures for my next post. Til then. :)

From Detroit to Gyeongju.

Drank that French wine.

That's me that's my plane!



Reflecting.



HUGE 747.

Fried eggplant, Japanese sweet rice cake, salmon flake, salmon roe on steamed rice.

My home for three nights; Cate's apartment.

International literature.

Breakfast.

What I would compare to Bud Light.

Downtown Gyeongju.

Need I say more?

Cute, cute, cute scarves.

Okay two things before I continue. One, I didn't realize that the "tungsten" setting was on my camera until a few pictures later (hence the blue-ish tint). And two, I just now figured out that I can make the pictures bigger. So from now on they will be set to large instead of medium-- that was a slight U-Haul moment. Don't ask.

For Amit, with love.


Bing su. Green tea ice cream, cereal, mangos, ice shavings, kiwi.

Stephanie! :)

Everything is served in really, really large quantities.

"Mama Cass... ham sandwich."

A market in Gyeongju.


Don't know what she was cooking up-- smelled real bad though.


I will get a better picture of these cakes. This does not do them justice!

Sarah, one of my students. They love, love, LOVE giving the peace sign. :)

Some kind of custard filled, buttery flakey goodness. You know I ate that shit UP.

Traditional Korean dinner/Stephanie's last meal

Gyeongju library-- the oldest one in the city.

Near where I live.

And next, the videos. :)