Chu Seok weekend

Going to Muuido Island this past weekend enabled me to see a bit more of Korea. The Island was very beautiful and mountainous with a great beach and swimmable water. Due to the fact that it was Korean thanksgiving which is the biggest holiday here (bigger than Christmas!) the Island was full of foreign teachers who like myself were looking to get out of the city for the long weekend. I met people from all over North America with a few Aussies, South Africans and Brits thrown in for good measure. Everyone was extremely friendly and I was lucky enough to have 100 some odd people sing me happy birthday around a campfire which was organized by my co-workers and people that I had met. I also met some guys who play in a baseball league and a basketball league in the city who invited me to play for their teams which I plan on taking them up on!!

When we came back to Seoul from the island we decided to hit the town and went to a neighbourhood called Hongdea. Hongdea is an artsy University area with a ton of nightlife! The streets are lined with bars and clubs but their are little clothing boutiques and other stores along side them which are open for most of the night. We had a great night out topped off with some great late night food (5 a.m. ish).  After the food we went back to the club which was still open and I probably made it home at around 6:30 a.m.  Needless to say I had a fantastic birthday!!

I also made it the Korean War museum which is an incredible place. They had the full history of Korean wars accompanied by a ton of artifacts dating back as far as 200 A.C. Like much of the world dating back to that time period Korea's history is a bloody one with constant wars, invasions and colonization right through to pretty much 1953 (end of the Korean war). The progress that has been made here in that time though is really astonishing as they had to basically rebuild a great deal of the country and establish themselves on the global market where there had been minimal prior development. Koreas GNP has grown by over 600 times what it was pre war in 1950. The museum also had many tanks and planes from the Korean war and a really nice tribute to the U.N. and all of the countries who contributed in the Korean war.

I also managed to sneak in a couple of jogs this weekend as there is a path that runs along a stream which is 2 minuets from my front door. The path goes for many kilometres and there are workout stations all along it.  It is amazing how active people are here as there are always people of all ages riding bikes, walking, running and working out at the stations. I have also managed to find the gym and have been going a couple of time a week with my co-workers.

I was told before I got here that foreigners are somewhat of celebrities here but it still cracks me up. I have had a few strangers take my picture on buses and at restaurants and at the nightclub my foreign friends from the school and I were pulled aside by a group of guys who wanted to take our picture and several photos with them. They probably would have taken photos all night had I not pulled the plug, waved and walked away. It is kind of surreal at times and very funny! My friend from the school Wayne has taken to calling them the 'paparazzi'.

So long till my next post.