Seoraksan National Park--Saturday, August 12

Today I took a very long day trip to Seoraksan National Park in northeastern South Korea with six other girls--Ka'neda, Julia, Alexis, Melinda, Bethany, and Jill. Seoraksan is one of the biggest and most beautiful national parks here and is located near a city called Sokcho on the coast. We left Chuncheon at 7:30 am and took a very windy and semi-dangerous bus ride to Sokcho, which took about 2.5 hours. In fact, it was so windy that I got severely carsick and ended up puking all over Jill, making her my second puke victim. Oops! It was not a pleasant journey for any of us. Luckily, I was fine once we arrived.

From Sokcho, we took a local bus to Seoraksan, which took another hour or so because there was soooo much traffic! It was a really nice day, so I guess a lot of Koreans had the same idea of getting out of the city and taking in some nature. I have definitely never hiked with so many people before, even at the M (in Bozeman)!! We got a lot of excited hellos due to our obvious status as foreigners, but everyone seemed really friendly and nice.

Once we arrived, we started walking up a river. We didn't have a map, so we tried to follow some signs, but ended up just picking random paths. Everything was well marked, if you knew Korean better than us!! The picture to the right shows the terrain. We, of course, were on a well-traveled path complete with flights of stairs and guardrails, another (in my experience) uniquely Korean experience. It does seem to make sense to develop paths in this manner if you have the resources, especially since they are used by so many, because it must decrease erosion and human impact on the land. It still seemed a bit bizarre to this Montana girl, accustomed to scrambling up steep slopes.

Though I am getting used to the humidity here, it's very irritating while hiking. I've never sweated so much in my life!! To beat the heat, we stopped after a while to wade in the river. It was a really pretty green color when it formed pools and wasn't too cold, either. I really wanted to swim, but I knew it would be unthinkable to remove my shirt because of the conservative dress code here and cotton would take hours to dry in the humidity. So instead, I suffered. I seriously don't understand how Koreans can stand it. I was dying in shorts and a T-shirt, and I saw many people in pants, long-sleeved shirts, hats, and handkerchiefs. I heard the other day that some Asians don't sweat because of some genetic difference. I don't know whether this is true or not, but it would explain a lot...like the fact that they never seem to melt in the heat like I do. And why guys at the club in Seoul last weekend could wear jeans and beanies and not sweat or even look hot. I'm jealous, I admit.

After our swim break, we split up. Julia and I went ahead. She's a good hiking buddy for me--we hiked together at Songnisan, too. We both like to go quickly and quietly--it's an ideal matchup. The others seemed more inclined to take their time and chat a lot. We hiked up about 6.5 kilometers, I think...definitely not as far as I would have liked, since 3.5 more would have brought us to the peak, but we had some major time constraints because the last bus back to Chuncheon left at 7 pm. I actually wanted to stay the night there so we could get a full day and a half in, but no one else shared that wish. Guess I'm just too hardcore. Or silly. The picture to the left shows one of the more spectacular views we had during our hike (note the railing and path!). It was one of those cases where the limits of cameras are really frustrating for me, because the view was actually quite spectacular in every direction and I don't feel this picture conveys the true majesty of the place very accurately. But this is a crude representation of where I was today.

After we came back down, Julia and I met the others at the Buddhist temple at the bottom (shown to the right). It was quite pretty and seemed and ideal location for finding nirvana to me. And after that, unfortunately, we had to begin our slow journey home. I managed to keep my food down this time and it was a bit faster, so it was a good end to a fabulous day. On the way back home, though, I had my first patpingsu disaster. I guess they were running low on fruit and were compensating by adding extra red beans, my least favorite topping which now comprised about half of the bowl. It was a tragedy from which I am still trying to recover.

Another Wild Friday Night in Chuncheon--Friday, August 11

Ok, so the plans I had carefully laid out last night were definitely shattered. It always amuses me when I think I'm going to bed early and then usually end up staying up even later than usual. I think the last time I went to bed early was the day I got here, when I was so jet-lagged I could not even function.

Dinner last night was really nice. We went out to dakalbi, which is a grilled chicken dish Chuncheon is famous for. There were 25 of us plus the Grandmaster and his assistant who taught us for a couple weeks. I think I talked about dakalbi before, but in case I didn't, it is usually made up of chicken, cabbage, potatoes, thick rice noodles called dak, lettuce, and sometimes onion and is smothered in a spicy red sauce and cooked on a platter in the middle of the table. Since everything had been arranged beforehand, I wasn't able to get a vegetarian dish, so I had to eat around the chicken. I definitely bit into a piece at one point and I am sure I accidentally ate some fat disguised as cabbage. Oh, well--it was delicious anyway. If anyone comes to visit me, we will definitely eat this!! We also had fried rice and another rice noodle dish afterwards. Oh, I'm hungry just thinking about it!

After dinner, the Grandmaster was intent on taking us out drinking and to a norebang. It was an interesting experience. We were in three separate rooms since there were so many of us. I was in a room with the assistant, who we affectionately call Grandmaster Flash (because he is so quick) or Rabbit (since he has inhuman jumping abilities which he expected us to imitate while under his guidance). I think he was bored most of the time, since he doesn't speak English really at all and definitely did not know the songs we picked out, but he sang a few Korean songs and they were really good!

After this, we walked home and I somehow ended up at good ol' GS mart, where I sat and drank for a couple hours. And on the way home was where it happened...somehow this dude gave us a full frontal. I cannot decide if he was really drunk and trying to look for someplace to pee or if it was an aggressive maneuver, but it was really disturbing and I was actually frightened. We were off the main road at the time and he had already walked by once. We went and hid behind some trees and then ran to the main road when he left. I have no idea what he was doing at the university. It was much too much. And then, to top it off, I didn't get to bed until 1 or 2!!

Graduation--Friday, August 11

Yes, it's true...I graduated our Korean language program!! I definitely didn't earn any awards, and in fact did miserably on our final exam, but I passed, and I know I did the best job I could. Languages just aren't my thing, I guess. We had a pretty lavish ceremony this morning, with speakers from Korea University (where our sonsangnims teach) and the Fulbright Office. The infamous Mrs. Shim was supposed to attend, but evidently she was not feeling well this morning, so another man came in her place. According to Aimee, our Orientation coordinator, this behavior is not characteristic of Mrs. Shim and is in fact quite worrisome. I suppose we will find out more next week, perhaps, when we are in Seoul. The man who replaced her was the single worst speaker I have ever encountered. It was PAINFUL. I have no idea how Stanford could possibly justify its decision to grant him a PhD. His speech was so disorganized and jumbled, not to mention irrelevant, that I tuned out almost right away. I cannot believe this guy represents America and is in this powerful post in Korea. Seriously...it was terrible.

This ceremony was my first glimpse into the competitive Korean mentality. I had heard a lot about academic competition here, but hadn't yet seen it in action. It is INTENSE. There was an award given in all six classes to the best student and I guess we were supposed to be competing for it. I personally tried to do my best for my own sake and didn't need competition as an incentive, but I guess that's how things operate in Korea. It's very strange and I don't think I like it. On the positive side, I did get a really impressive graduation document that I think is even nicer than the one I received from Pomona! It's bright red and fuzzy. Too bad it has my lousy grades in the inside.

I also experienced the Korean gift-giving culture in its full form. We have been giving so many gifts lately--to teachers and even our TKD instructors! It's actually kinda fun...I like the idea of being part of a culture that gives random, spontaneous gifts. It seems very considerate and caring. Not that I didn't receive gifts at home, but they were usually only from my family. Our teacher gave each of us a Korea University binder and T-shirt. They are both really nice.

Two guys in the beginning classes gave speeches in Korean, and I should have been able to understand them, but my listening skills are basically nonexistent. I did, after all, get a C+ on the listening section of our exam. They sounded good, though. The intermediate class had a speaker, too, but I definitely did not pick up on a single word he spoke. They also sang a really pretty traditonal Korean folk song. The advanced class made a PowerPoint presentation of our Orientation and spoke about it. It was really impressive. If I can get a hold of it, I will post it for you all. It gives a better picture of Orientation and the other ETAs than all the words I have written here.

For lunch, the cafeteria prepared a surprise for us--FRUIT!!! As much as we wanted!! Usually we are limited to a single piece because fruit is so expensive here, but we got a table full of grapes, watermelon, bananas, and half-ripe peaches in celebration of our accomplishments. There were also some dessert-like rice cakes and pseudo-cookies. It was really nice. It was too bad the normal lunch was terrible, but at least I got some vitamins along with my soy sauce!

This afternoon we had our last workshop together. It was about our first week teaching and gave us some tips for making it successful. It was informative, I guess, but I think I'll have to dumb it down a lot for my elementary kids. The problem was that all the OCs had high school students, and though they might be low level, they will definitely be ahead of my kids, I think.

I also bought a microphone/headphones headset so I can use Skype now. It's an internet program that allows you to make free calls from your computer. I think I am also going to download SkypeIn, which gives me a U.S. phone number that you all can use to call me without incurring international phone charges. I'll send all that contact info in a later email when I know my new address, too.

Tonight I am going out to dinner with all the TKD people and our instructors. I think it will be really fun. After that, I am either going to a movie or watching one here in the dorm. I want to get a lot of sleep because I am leaving tomorrow morning at 7 to spend the day at a national park. I should probably find out at some point where it is, because right now I have no idea. We're just going for the day and I'm really looking forward to it. My foot is looking better and though I'm sure it will hate me tomorrow night, I'm going anyway. I'm just going to wrap it in an Ace bandage and hope that my shoes provide the support it needs.

Cheers!

Last Day of Korean Class!!!--Thursday, August 10

Last night I finally went back to TKD to collect my yellow belt. I figured I had the battle wounds...I deserved that belt! I think the Grandmaster thought I was being a weenie until he took a close look at my foot and recoiled in horror. He is convinced I need to go to the doc ASAP. Well, I heard yesterday that sports medicine doesn't really exist in Korea, so acupuncture is the fallback cureall. I am not so into that. I think I will stick with ice for the time being. If I feel needle crazy, Bianca has already offered to poke my foot with her sewing needles.

Yesterday we also had a workshop on "Making a Good First Impression." The OCs really stressed me out, even though I think they intended to reassure us in giving us specific behavior guidelines. I think one of my big problems will be forgetting to insa (greet) people all the time. I am so used to just brushing by people, especially those who outrank me, that it will be weird to make a point to seek them out every day simply to bow. It makes sense, I guess, but I am afraid I will forget. I am hoping I will be forgiven given my foreigner status, but then again, when you are completely immersed in a culture, you tend to forget that standards of proper behavior are culture-specific because they seem so obvious. I know we experienced that with our exchange students at home. I suspect they really were rude, though...Europe is not that different, after all.

So anyway, that's one thing to worry about. In addition, evidently I am expected to take a lot of care with my appearance because how nice you look reflects your level of respect for those you meet in a given day. It's not that I am into looking grungy and gross, but I NEVER wear makeup anymore and I didn't anticipate being forced into silly superficiality here in Korea. We'll see how that goes. I also have to do my hair every morning and ALWAYS wear nylons or socks. I can already see that dressing for work is going to be one giant daily pain.

They also informed us that piercings beyond the standard two in the earlobe would probably not fly. I am really sad. I was under the impression from their responses to this very question before we arrived that there would be no need to remove piercings, and now they're telling me to take everything out! I think I'm going to keep them, though, at least for the time being. I mean, that would mean losing three very expensive piercings!

This morning we all had to give speeches in Korean--eek! I am not a good speaker in English as it is, and this inability definitely transcended languages. It was pretty terrible, but now it's all over! We finished by writing farewell messages to each other in Korean on little cards our teachers made us and listening to ridiculous Korean songs. One was called "Patbingsu" and describes how to make and enjoy patbingsu, set to a candy-coated background beat. I guess it was a really popular song a few years ago, but we all thought it was a kid's song at first!

We took our homeroom teacher out to a farewell lunch today. It was actually a really fabulous and cheap lunch. She even helped me order a vegetarian item, so now I have another dish to select from when I eat out! It was a souplike noodle and vegetable dish somewhat like an egg drop soup. It was not spicy, but so hot temperature wise that I even started sweating! I am not a big fan of eating hot food on hot days, but evidently it is better to do so here to avoid food poisoning because higher temperatures create more favorable conditions for bacterial multiplication. Going back outside was a painful affair, though!

In the afternoon, we had a guest speaker visit us to talk about health in Korea. He is an American doctor who now lives in Seoul and is affiliated with Fulbright. He would definitely be my first choice if I become seriously ill. The talk was somewhat frustrating, though, because many other ETAs have the obnoxious habit of asking silly and even stupid questions. Maybe it's a product of college education in the U.S., where you're supposed to ask questions and participate? I don't know, but I hate it. In the end, we discussed STDs for about 15-20 minutes and I learned more than I ever planned to about that subject. It was so irritating--I mean, I for one do not plan to contract anything while in Korea, of all places!!!! I wonder what these other ETAs are going to be doing in their spare time....

Last night, we went out with our teachers to a norebang. It was pretty fun, but some silly ETAs started ordering chicken and other expensive items so it came out to about 7 dollars per person, which is much more expensive than other evenings we've had out. I only had a few beers and french fries, too! The singing was surprisingly good, however, and I enjoyed listening to them singing some of the songs. One guy on the program was really getting into it and listening to him serendade our sonsangnims (teachers) with such hits as Foreigner's "I want to know what love is" and Usher's "Yeah" (in which he did a fair impersonation of Lil Jon) was a hoot!

When I was walking home later with some friends, we met these two Korean girls who basically fell in love with me. They must have told me I was beautiful at least 30 times. In fact, I don't know if they even said much else, except to say that I look like Drew Barrymore. (Indeed, I must resemble her somewhat--in the last couple years, I cannot even count how many people have told me that I look a lot like her when I smile.) I have to say that I really enjoyed the attention and was really flattered. For the most part, I feel invisible in this country and it's a weird sensation because I KNOW people stare, but they do it so discretely that I never see it. It's disconcerting to know this and yet be in a situation where everyone is trying to act normally and politely. I'd actually rather that they openly stare, like they did in South Africa, just so it's not so awkward!

The Big Bad Test--Wednesday, August 9

Today I took my Korean final. I spent most of yesterday studying. It was not the complete disaster I anticipated, but I definitely did not earn any awards. Normally I'd be a little upset about this, but I am so burnt out on Korean and learning in general that I am simply happy it's almost all over. This experience reminds me why I didn't apply for graduate school right away...I need some recuperation time! It is also inspiring me to perhaps brush up on my Spanish because I realize now I knew so much more than I thought about the Spanish language. When I was taking the oral final today, I kept thinking of phrases I wanted to say and Spanish kept jumping into my mind.

Tomorrow I have to give a 3 minute speech about a trip I have taken. It has to be memorized. This is DEFINITELY going to be a disaster. I can hardly speak the language when it's written right in front of me--how am I supposed to be able to memorize a page of a foreign language??? I will try, of course, but I don't expect too much. I will just be happy to be done!

My foot is slowly getting better. The kankles are less visible now. I am still worried about my foot, but there's really not much I can do. I haven't been to TKD all week because I have been studying and I don't want to hurt my foot anymore, but this means I haven't been able to pick up my yellow belt yet and I really want it. I plan to go tonight just to get it, but I think he'll be mad that I haven't been there and I hope he won't take it away from me or make me work out because I will probably cry. I really do want to be there, but I don't think it's good for my health.

Things are really wrapping up quickly here, leaving me feeling somewhat disjointed. I have been stressin' about this exam for a while and have bitten off 9 of my 10 nails again. I am very excited about leaving Orientation because this has seriously been such a weird college-esque experience, but I'm also nervous to meet the people I will be spending the next 12 months with. It's very possible that we won't get along. I still feel very uncomfortable navigating this culture and I am terrified I will commit some unforgiveable cultural faux pas that will taint my year here. Though this orientation period has been relatively long, I am not leaving with as much knowledge about Korean language and culture as I anticipated. I am sure I have picked up more than I think, but venturing into "real" Korea is a daunting prospect.

Earlier this week, I received a package from my school. I think it had a lot of information about my school, but unfortunately all 200 pages or so are in Korean! I could read the word for school and I think I deciphered one chart. Based on this crude translation of the chart, I think the school has 190 students in 10 classes, first to sixth grade. There are more boys than girls, but the numbers are roughly equal. I am thinking that I may be asked to teach lower grades, too, instead of just fourth and up (the year English instruction begins), but I could be wrong. I will be meeting my co-teacher and vice principal next week, so I will find out very soon!

My Fat Feet--Monday, August 7

The big news for today is that I completely messed up my feet. They've been hurting for a few weeks due to running barefoot on a hard surface in TKD, and all my walking and dancing this weekend must have pushed them over the edge. I first noticed it last night when I was going to bed because my Crocs felt tighter on my feet than usual. I have a serious case of cankles and I am so upset I am missing out on my last week of TKD and all my morning walks! Argh! I included a picture of my disgusting feet so you can see what I am talking about. Both are a bit swollen, but the left one basically requires its own zip code. I am actually frightened I have messed up my body, but I am too afraid to go to the doctor to get it checked out because a) I hate going to the doc and b) I think they are grossly incompetent here. If my previous experience is any indication, they will probably diagnose me with a broken arm or something and prescribe vitamin C and Tylenol. And I'm only sort of joking.

We are immersed in the last week of Korean class--yay!! I am so burnt out on intense language study. It cannot be over soon enough. We have one more day of class tomorrow, a 4 hour test on Wednesday, 3 minute speeches on travel on Thursday, and then a graduation ceremony on Friday. It's going to be painful, but at least I will be done in less than 3 days!! And that night, I think all our teachers are going to take us out to the norebang, which should be interesting...

the most expensive city in the world....-Saturday, August 5 and Sunday, August 6

This weekend's highlight was visiting Seoul for the first time!!! I had been wanting to take a trip there, but wanted to discover Chuncheon first, while I am living here, because I don't intend to come back. I worked out the perfect compromise--I spent Saturday walking around/exploring Chuncheon, and left late Saturday afternoon for Seoul.

After my lazy friends woke up, we headed out to walk around Chuncheon. We didn't have a plan or destination at all. I wanted to hike to a local waterfall, but we started out toward the river first. It was sooooo hot and humid that day...I even burned my scalp! We walked a total of four hours or so in the hot hot sun and ended up making a circle around Chuncheon. We didn't even make it to the "wilderness," unfortunately, but it was still fun. I have very entertaining friends who helped me forget the uncomfortable stickiness of 90 degress and 200% humidity.


Here's a picture from a little statue park we visited along the way. In it is my friend Robin, who wouldn't let me get any closer because she was a bit sweaty. It was sort of pretty, but very urban--on the other side of us was downtown Chuncheon.

In the afternoon, four of us--Robin, Irene, and our RA, Ji-meyong--headed out to Seoul to meet their friends and some other ETAs. The ETAs were all staying in a sketchy love motel by the name of Emerald, but we made arrangements to stay with Robin's friend from college. Score!

We went out to dinner right away to celebrate our friend Traci's birthday. She had never celebrated her birthday before and it was really fun to make it special for her. We went to TGI Friday's because she wanted a salad, but it wasn't very good and was VERY overpriced. I wasn't even craving American food, but let me tell you, that experience has not made me hunger for more. I'll stick with Korean and Chinese, thanks...it's cheap AND good.

After dinner we met up with one of Irene's friends who showed us around town. We went to a bar for a while first and then to a hiphop club called Noise Basement. This club was the craziest one I have ever been to, with millions of people crammed onto a sweaty dance floor. It was fun, but I'm pretty sure I sweated off 10 pounds on Saturday, what will walking in the midday heat and dancing in the night. I'm sure I will acquire it again on my cafeteria rice diet, so no worries! I am increasingly convinced that Korean people do not sweat and it is so unfair. They always look fresh and pretty when I am melting into a puddle of sweat. Some guys at the club were even sporting jeans and beanies...I cannot even imagine how hot that would be! I had to tie my hair back because it was drenched with sweat. It was really pretty gross.

Anyway...today I met up with Jon and Alyssa, two other ETAs from the night before, and we had a pleasant lunch and walked around town. It was a nice time and I got to know the Seoul subways much better. Seoul really is massive and makes Chuncheon look like the boonies. I'm definitely looking forward to visiting it more in the coming year, and since I should only be living 2 hours away, that will be entirely possible.

What an exhausting weekend! And all I have to look forward to this week is a big Korean final, a Korean speech, and lots of mandatory cultural workshops. I'm tired just thinking about it all!

I've Achieved Yellow Belt Status!!!--Thursday, August 3 and Friday, August 4

The highlight of Thursday was definitely my TKD yellow belt test. I was pretty confident the Grand Master was going to take pity on us and pass us all, but I was still nervous about kicking and punching in front of the whole class. It wasn't so bad, though...only 5 minutes of humiliation with 6 others, and then I received my yellow belt. Yessssssss.

To the right is a picture of a few of us waiting for a ride to the Grand Master's gym on Wednesday evening. As you can see, we're a rough-n-tough bunch! I really have been enjoying it. I always wanted to learn to defend myself, and now I'll at least be able to kick someone in the face!

Bianca and I also watched an excellent documentary on Thursday night about the North Korea Mass Games. I had never heard of the games before, but they evidently occur at every major state event--the President's birthday, Independence Day, etc. They are pretty intense days-long spectacles of mass coordinated gymnastics and looked really neat. According to the documentary, they reflect the group mindset of communism practiced in the country, where the accomplishments and desires of the individual are subordinate to those of the group. It followed the story of 2 preteen girls who competed in them. I think it gave a pretty fair depiction of their lives and their participation in the games.

On Friday, I went out to dinner with my friend Jai to celebrate her birthday. We had dakalbi, a type of barbequed chicken that is Chuncheon's specialty. They cook it on a skillet/grill in the middle of the table. I've been told it's quite tasty. Bianca and I had our own table with fried rice, which was delish.

We later went out to this deserted rooftop bar. It was a really pretty place that fit all of us and had music and drinking PLUS norebang (karaoke)! I tried norebang for the first time, thinking I would like it considering that I love to sing and it had been hyped up by everyone else, but I actually detested it. They were mutilating my favorite songs! I had to leave the massacre after a while, unfortunately. Other than that, it was a great birthday night!

We're Down to 63!!--Wednesday, August 2

The big news for today is that we are losing an ETA. Shruti decided to go home this week because her mother is getting major surgery and is expected to have a long recovery period, so she's going to take care of her. I didn't know her very well, but it's sad that we are losing a member of our Fulbright family. The Fulbright Korea office sprung for patpingsu for all tonight, which was a really nice farewell gesture. I cannot even imagine going home now after mentally preparing myself for a year abroad. How tough!

In other news, I have my yellow belt test for TKD tomorrow night. If the Grand Master has any discriminating taste, I will not pass, but I have the feeling he's pretty nice. I am considering continuing TKD at my placement. I'm not good at all because I seriously lack aggression, but I do enjoy it. It's an intense workout! The one big drawback is that I will most likely be in a class with eight-year-olds, and they will probably also be better than me. It will be embarassing. So we'll see what happens there.

Here are the promised pictures I mentioned earlier. The upper one shows the dorm at Kangwon University that I have been living in for the past 3.5 weeks with 63 ETAs, 4 orientation coordinators, 2 RAs, and 6 Korean teachers. Yes, our teachers even live here, but on a separate floor. It makes for an awkward situation when you find yourself brushing your teeth with them.

The lower one shows a nighttime view of the back gate area. It's a hoppin' place...sort of. I've been out a couple times, to clubs and bars, but it's nothing remarkable. All the lights and sights are fun, though. And last weekend when we were out, we saw quite a few drunken spectacles that were highly amusing. Otherwise, it's pretty much a dirty, dingy place.

A Day of Frustration!--Tuesday, August 1

Today was a long, frustrating day for me. To begin with, accelerated Korean class is not much fun at all because there are often days where we are supposed to learn 50+ new words, plus some grammar, and it's just not possible! I'm feeling very language-impaired at the moment. Plus, I learned that our final exam next week is FOUR HOURS!! Sometimes I feel very motivated and excited about learning Korean, but this has just been one of those days when it didn't click for me. Hopefully tomorrow will be better...

I went to a talk today given by one of our orientation coordinators about domestic and international travel. There was a lot of really good information about where to stay, how to travel, and what to do. It makes me very excited to travel over my winter break!!! I am planning to devour all of Southeast Asia, if possible. I feel that this is a great opportunity to travel in areas I've always wanted to see but are too far away from the United States to really be feasible options. Asia is...well, accessible here. I think it will be a lot of fun, and to top it off, maybe I'll even get a tan! I'm also excited about domestic travel during the weekends and such. With so many acquaintances scattered across such a small country (I learned today that South Korea is approximately the size of Indiana), I should be able to see and do just about everything the country has to offer during the course of the coming year. I am going to do my best to resist my usual homebody urges and make sure I do get around this year.

I realized just now that I haven't posted many pictures of where I am staying, so included here is one (because the blog site is being irritable and won't let me post more). This picture shows the "back gate" of Kangwon University, where we go for most of our fun. All of the restaurants within walking distance are back here to the left, and the clubs and bars are ahead into this area of almost alleys. It's very colorful, but somewhat sketchy. I will include pictures of it later.