Wonju, travelwise, was a complete nightmare. I got stranded in Daejeon on the way there, which I halfway expected according to the bus schedules I had access to, but figured wouldn’t really happen—I’ve had such luck with travel in the past! Alas, luck was not on my side here. I missed the last bus by a full hour and a half. GD Friday afternoon classes. Why does my school hate on me so hard?
So there I was, alone in a completely unknown section of town. I thought I’d find a jimjilbang (a public bath) where I could spend the night, then do some errands. I was pissed about the whole situation, of course, so I was stalking around Daejeon in a fury. I finally spotted a likely-looking jimjilbang right behind the bus station, so I was making my way to the train station (on foot, to work off steam) when this dude called to me from behind. I thought maybe he was one of those helpful sorts—sometimes people will approach me and ask if I need help, because, you know, foreigners absolutely cannot make their way around Korea—but no, absolutely not. Turns out he’d seen me while waiting for a taxi right outside the bus station and followed me. Slightly creepy, but highly appreciated by my sensitive ego, considering the closest thing I get to a compliment these days is “Man legs.” He was decidedly unattractive, but having nothing better to do, I agreed to have some coffee with him. I was (and am, still) very surprised to be seriously approached by any Korean male who is not either blackout drunk or acting on a dare from friends, and I still don’t know why he did. Something about my “eye smile,” apparently. He said I was the first foreigner he’s ever spoke to. We somehow ended up having an awkward, stilted, but somewhat conversation for over an hour and then he escorted me to the jimjilbang and insisted on paying for me. Sweet! I used to hate chivalrous gestures—I hated the idea of being obligated to anyone, and receiving special treatment solely because of my sex—but they’re definitely growing on me. And it’s true that I do like the guys who do this much better than I would normally. But now, after his talk of surprise visits to Hongsan, I have to figure out how to let him down gently. It never occurs to me to lie until much much later, but I definitely should have said I had a boyfriend if I was not interested. I always mess this up!
In the morning, after about 15 solid minutes of sleep on a hard wooden floor, I caught the bus to Wonju. I didn’t get there until nearly 11, and by that time the weather was most uncooperative for hiking—there were threatening clouds everywhere, but they were interspersed with blinding sunlight. It was truly bizarre. Of course, once we’d decided not to hike, it didn’t rain after all, but who was to know? Too risky—I loathe hiking (or doing anything) in the rain. Instead, Bianca took me home to meet her family. She has a high-school age host sister, who is evidently beyond surly these days, an absent high-school age host brother who goes to boarding school, a moderately crazy host mom who sports multiple piercings and short shorts, and a drunk couch potato host dad. So different from my family, for sure, with my moderate God-fearing host mom, little sweet host siblings, and non-drinking host father. Anyway, she then took me out to a fab mountain mushroom restaurant, where we had an amazing meal in a log cabin to an eclectic soundtrack of random Korean and American pop tunes. That evening, we went to Pirates 3, which was pretty awesome. I cannot believe there’s going to be a fourth one, though. When will it all stop???
The next day, Sunday, was gorgeous, so we decided right away that some hiking was in order. We ate a great breakfast specially prepared by her host mom (usually, they don’t have the typical side dishes, but just rice and some meat, but with a vegetarian around, she prepared a veggie feast!). We were both really happy with all the greens. Then we walked up to Chiaksan National Park, which is literally a half hour walk from Bianca’s house. Lucky girl! The hike was tough—facing the duel challenges of searing heat and pathetic aerobic abilities, we were a little slower than we would have liked. We still managed to cover at least ten miles and climb the highest peak in the range (Birobang, elevation 1250m). Afterwards, her host mom and host grandma (who mysteriously looks younger than her host mom—there’s some kind of mystery there…) took us out for makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles: Wonju’s specialty) before I had to catch my bus. I received a standing invitation to come back to see them next year, which is really nice to hear after she was making fun of my Korean (in)ability. I ended up catching a much later bus than I anticipated and didn’t get back to Buyeo until 10:00, by which time all the buses had departed, but the day was worth it. So much fun, and a great way to cap off the weekend after such a dismal start. Korean hiking rocks! (And Wonju, too, obvi.)