I just got back last night from an overnight field trip to Gangwon Province to the northeast of Seoul. It was so beautiful! We drove up to this ranch in the mountains where they have sheep, cows and huge windmills. Funny thing is, the ranch is owned by a company that makes ramen and other snacks, Samyang Corporation, so it's called Samyang (3 sheep) Ranch. Apparently some famous TV dramas and movies were filmed there, but we were only able to get out for 15 minutes in the crazy wind and rain:
We also visited some historical sites around Gangneung, where famous scholars were born and studied:
Anjani and Traymi at Gyeongpodae Pavilion
This is a famous tofu restaurant we ate lunch at. The tofu was homemade, so it was much more flavorful, and we ate it with pork, so you know it was good eatin'.
Alejandra and I were assigned different buses and hotel rooms, but we re-connected at all our stops. At our hotel, a big group decided to drink a lot of alcohol in their rooms, or go to the noraebang (karaoke rooms) in another part of the hotel (which also entails a lot of drinking). Alejandra, my new friend Veronique, and I decided to stay in our room and watch Music Bank, a music show where bands perform new release songs. Here's a group called Dynamic Duo:
After hearing all the stories the next morning, I think we had waaaay more fun, and less consequences than the others.
That's the sea in the distance. You know, just living the high life.
It rained so hard for most of the day Saturday, but we were still able to take a cable car up Mount Seorak, which was breathtaking:
My friend Veronique and I shared an umbrella because she lost hers the day before, so we got kind of wet.
We also went to a Buddhist temple by the sea near Sokcho:
There were older ladies doing their 108 bows inside to pray. That is some hard work, and they were sweating even in this weather.
We got to stop by the ocean at Sokcho, but didn't stay long due to the weather. Our rafting trip in the Naerincheon River Valley also got cancelled because the river flooded too high for safety. Apparently it rained even harder in Seoul while we were away, and it totally flooded one of the bridges there. Instead, we went to a zipline course over the river, which wasn't as fun as rafting, but a close 2nd. I was nervous since a lot of people were having trouble, but it turns out I'm kind of a natural, if I say so myself. I couldn't take my camera up there, so I don't have any pictures, so just take my word for it.
It was so fun, but we came back so tired! I was fine by today and went to the English branch meetings again today. Everyone was so friendly to me there, even though there were several visitors. It was mostly army families, and some were there to teach English. People introduced themselves before and between meetings, so I'm so thankful I have a place to recharge and be welcomed. When I go to church in a foreign place and people make an effort to welcome me, I am reminded that I will not be forgotten. Your comments and emails also remind me of that, so thank you for all of those. I love reading every one more than you know!
2 comments:
WOW!!! What an overnight adventure!!! Don't even know where to start on the comments. Sorry you didn't get to do the rafting (know you were looking forward to it) but at least you got to do something new--the zipline! Sounds like you are making some really good friends. After having homemade tofu you are going to have a hard time eating what you usually get. Love all the pictures!
That field trip looked so fun! Those mountains were beautiful-I think my favorite picture was the ones with the yellow flowers with the sea in the background. I think it is so neat that you have good friends there that have your standards. They seem like they are very nice. I would love to watch Music Bank-it looks so fun. How are you doing in your classes? I hope you are doing well. I'm glad that the people are so nice to you at the Branch there. The cable car ride would be so neat and fun. I heard ziplining was fun-that's cool that you are so good at it. Sorry it took so long to comment. We hope you are doing well. I'm glad you have good friends there. We miss you. Love ya!
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