3 days. 11 classes. I cannot wait to be free. Nothing I do pleases any more. I showed a MOVIE today, for the first time ever, and even that was deemed chaemiopsoyo (boring). Which only makes me determined to show them what boring REALLY is. They are so lucky that they won’t see me again!!!
Last weekend was nice, but draining. These weekends away take their toll, especially when I am alone and going to obscure, out-of-the-way places. I’m left with far too many hours in which to entertain myself, and far too much travel confusion. It’ll be nice to pair up with a buddy again!
It took me all afternoon Friday to reach the park. I arrived just in time to see the sun set—meaning, five hours to kill in a small room enveloped by cold and dark. I managed to finish Gandhi, research Thailand, watch two programs on Korea, and knit a mitten. It was great fun.
On Saturday morning, I woke up to an unexpected blanket of white. It just didn’t occur to me that it would snow. Rain, yes—I even packed my umbrella. But snow? I’ve never seen what I would deem the real thing here…until then. Usually it’s gone in a couple hours, if it even sticks. But not this. And the snow kept falling intermittently all morning. It was beautiful, but I was ill-equipped—no snow footgear, no gloves, no snowpants…still, I was determined to hike as planned. And for a long time, I was the only one, besides some wild animal whose tracks I couldn’t identify (exciting news, this—I’ve only ever seen squirrels in the Korean wild before, despite my co-teacher’s warning that I shouldn’t hike alone because the animals could be dangerous). It was tough going—it was icy, steep, and wet—but I entertained no thoughts of giving up. Instead, I reveled the absolute pristine silence. Snow seems to suck in all sound, to muffle all thoughts, to cleanse, even. Falling snow is a beautiful experience. And so I let it draw me to the top, the snow-whipped pinnacle of the park.
Silence slowly died on the way down, though. Slowly the Koreans filtered their way through the park. First there were twos, wandering amidst the silence, then there were bigger groups, and finally joviality and soju won out. It was nice to have a little company, though—they broke the path for me and gave my spirits a bit of a boost. I was a little worried, up in the snow unprepared as I was. I think they were worried about me, too. Or disdainful, the same way I am of novice skiers—the ones who hit the slopes so obviously, but obliviously, underprepared. One guy gave me an extra set of crampons, though, which were fun to clang on the rocks. I didn’t really need them anymore, but now I have them for future hikes. (Hopefully soon I’ll have TWO mittens, too!)
By the time I got to the bottom, I was tired and soaked. It had been really slow going through all the ice and all I wanted to do was hit the nearby sauna for a soak. It’s supposedly the best hot springs area in Korea. However, there were no buses at this village, even though it was the main entrance to the park. I felt so defeated. I’d have to go back to the main town, an hour away, and catch another bus back out to the hot springs, even though the hot springs couldn’t have been more than 20 kilometers away! And even more, I’d have to walk to the nearest bus stop (the village where I started, 3 kilometers away) and wait for one of the infrequent buses that came there! I needed some mountain food to bolster my spirits.
I had potato pancakes at a nearby restaurant and knit away for an hour, waiting for the next bus at 5 pm. It was actually really nice there…the older man sat in the corner of the store, playing computer games, while the woman and I sat on the ondol and did little feminine things—she mended and I knit. I felt like I had stepped back in time—whiling away the winter hours in little domestic chores.
By the time I reached Chungju, the big nearby town, I was exhausted. I decided it was time to head back home, rather than brave the bus system. I was stranded in Daejeon, but no matter—I’d just watch movies, sleep in, and do some urban hiking/fruit shopping on Sunday. It was not what I envisioned for my weekend, but it was nice. I’ve been going so hard…relaxing in the city was a good change. It was not quite so picturesque, but I did have some good persimmons and kyul and I treated myself to pizza at Costco.
It’s strange that this was my last weekend in Korea for the year. I can’t believe I’m leaving so soon, and for so long! I feel a little stressed, tying up all the loose ends before I leave for two months. There are so many little things to do—wrap up all my letter-writing, finish the books I’ve been reading about India, charge all my electronics, do laundry, pack and repack, write emails, keep this journal up-to-date, research the places I’m going…and I’m going away on Wednesday again, too. It’s election day in Korea, which means a day off. So I’m heading back to Daejeon to see a movie and go out to dinner with friends. It should be nice, but it means still more time away from home. Sigh. I guess I’m still a homebody at heart, no matter how much I try to deny it.