My New Home

Pictures taken by Travis Tanner Urban on last week's hike of Yudal.


Tomorrow, I will have been living in Korea for exactly 4 months. In the past few weeks, I have started to finally grasp that this is my new home. It's not a vacation or a short term placement. I am a resident of Mokpo, South Korea. Mokpo is a small (260,000 people) city in the southern part of Korea. Along with the realization that this is my home, I have also adopted an appreciation for Mokpo. It isnt a bustling metropolis and there aren't many western comforts to be found, but its beauty and delicious food far outweigh those absent aspects.

This weekend was full of random activities adventures and great people. Friday night, Carla, Joe, Travis, and I went out to dinner at a place called the Drunken Chicken. These types of restaraunts are everywhere and serve chicken and beer. We attempted and "succeeded" in ordering our meal. Carla and Joe ended up getting two huge chicken dishes instead of one. The older man, who appeared to be the owner, was a little upset that we didnt speak Korean. On a side note, four months and I still only know about 10 words. I need to stop saying that I am going to learn and just do it. (nike style) He used his cellphone translations to ask if we were full or if we wanted more. He did know the word "cocktail" but then again, maybe thats important English for his position at the Drunken Chicken. I wish that I would have gotten a picture of their logo. It was two chicken sitting at a table, one handing the other a shot glass of (undoubtedly) soju and both looking a little inebriated. Hilarious! Koreans also never split a bill, either the person who did the inviting or the eldest pays for the bill. They must think we are so strange trying to calculate who owes what at the register.

Saturday, Carla, Joe, Travis, and I hiked Yudalsan, san meaning mountain. The view on top of Yudal makes me appreciate Mokpo's beauty every time. (Ok, ok, ok, maybe not the first time, but I was out of shape and dripping sweat when we reached the top, whilst Korean women were in high heeels and full makeup.) Trav and I have prob hiked it about 5-10 times, and most times we take a different path with different scenery.



After ourt hike, I went to my friend Kate's and we baked...oh how I miss baking. Trav and I do not have an oven. Ovens in Korea are about the size of a Easy Bake Oven. We went to dinner at a Korean bbq, where you prepare your own meat and wrap it and your veggies and rice in a lettuce leaf. It is sooo amazing and so cheap about 5,000 won or about 4 US dollars.
After dinner, we met up with more friends at a free concert in Peace Park. Peace Park is a boardwalk located in new downtown Hadang. They have free concerts quite often and its just another wonderful aspect of Korea. There are many performers, most of them are old with silly backup dancers. My friend Erin performed almost all the moves for me, because I forgot my glasses and couldn't see the ridiculousness in all its glory. At the end, there were two K-pop groups. One performer rapped and we decided she was similar to Eve or Little Kim. I am quite positive her lyrics weren't as scandalous, but then again, I don't understand a lot of Korean. :( The final act was U-Kiss a group of about 6-8 Korean boys doing sychronized dance moves with the occasional blurp of English, which was well of course like all K-pop....EPIC.
We ended the night at a place called Joki Joki. Kate's boyfriend read our palms. Young Tae is Korean, and his English is really good, as good if not better than the Korean English teachers at my school. His personality is amazing, he is absolutely hysterical. He said, "oh, you many personalities" and then went on to say "I want this, ok no I want this, or maybe I want this, you never make decisions." At first, I thought maybe I should discuss treatment with Keith, who was a previously a psychiatric nurse at a facility in London (how amazingly interesting is that?!) for multiple personality disorder ;) but the translation was that I can never decide and want a million different things. So true. I will have three men in my life, sorry Travis things aren't looking so great for you, kiddo. Most importantly. I will only live to "hmmmm about 55." "Hands...hands are very bad, but mine (his) are terrible." Great finish to a great night.

Sunday, was a day of getting up late, grocery shopping, napping, and Kelly, Travis, and me are headed to Ti Amo later for gelato. Perfect end to a perfect weekend.

I'm loving Korea, if you can't tell. It's been such a journey in the last four months, excited about what the next eight will have to offer.

I hope you enjoy the new layout, and I am attempting to shorten my entries, so they are not novels. (obv FAIL) Also, I will be adding pictures courtesy of Travis Tanner. I really need to start taking my own, it really makes a blog so much better. (obv FAIL, again)

Hope your weekend was also full of random exciting adventures.