An amazing hike

Howdie Everyone,

As you can see I posted a lot of pictures. You really have to go back a few pages to see the good ones from atop Mount Wolchul. Sorry, I just had to post them and I even deleted a bunch. So enjoy the ones you look at, however many you have time for.

Anyways, the hike was just awesome. We left Friday after class at around 2:00pm and journeyed south. When we got to our train station, we were still 30 km away from the town near the national park. So we hopped in a cab, and instead of taking us right up to that town, he took us to the base of the mountain where we were met by two dogs barking and a nice lady who ran an inn and store.

There were four of us. Three new students, and one guy (Vince) who was here last semester. So he was our guide and has the most Korean skills out out of the four of us. We got our room with some charades and broken Korean, and then came down for supper. The restaurant was run by another couple, but the whole place was dead. It is the off season for hiking so not many Koreans were out there. We asked for things on the menu which were familiar to us, but they declined. I guess since it is the off season they don't fully stock their restaurant. It seemed like they were only giving us one choice, which turned out to be a bowl of vegetables, egg, and rice. Ah well, it is all part of the adventure. So we ate what we got, went up to our room, and played some cards until we went to sleep.

The pictures can pretty much explain the hike. It was amazing. We hiked for about six hours, but it was very strenuous and demanding. It was an awesome workout, and their were so many sights to take in; the pictures really do not do it justice. At some points like on the bridge, the wind would blow and it was powerful and cold. Then we would cross over a ridge and go down a bit and hear the wind, but we were completely protected by it. There was so much to take in and I truly enjoyed every second of it--the adrenaline at dangerous parts, the calm at peaceful places, and the mental and physical pushes I had to give myself to keep going.

After the hike we were on another side of the mountain. We found a bus, hopped on it, and it took us to a bus terminal, sweet! Not planning and just going with the flow is also part of the fun. We got to this terminal, and instead of going to the coast like we had originally planned, we took a bus to a city called Gwanju which was the biggest city in the area. We made our way to the train station, got tickets home for the next day, and found a motel to crash for the night. We ate and explored the city a bit, and then it was off to bed.

The next day we woke up, ate, hung out and made our way back to campus. I definitely had a blast and can't wait for the next hike. Today I had class and went on a little field trip for Korean Business and Economy. We went to a traditional market which was interesting. They sold all types of seaffod from live octopus to fish I have never seen before. And don't tell your dogs this but there was dog meat. I have pictures and will probably post them tomorrow.

After that it was the gym then dinner. Dinner was nice because I ordered with my roommate and another guy in my sweet. The conversation was limited because they would talk to eachother in Korean and try to communicate with me but of course there are a lot of barriers. I have to hand it to them though because their English is a thousand times better then my Korean. It was neat though because when the food got here, they did not pull up chairs to the coffee table in our living room, but we sat around it on the floor. Little cultural things like that are so neat to me and I am enjoying learning about the differences in their lives, as well a the similarities.

Well, I am off to finish some homework and then bed. I hope all of you are well and keep the emails coming.