Early on in these blogs, I made sure to point out all my observations, revelations, and condescension's (I don't know--I just needed a third big word). I guess I've basically run out of things to share, at least at length. Sure, I've seen some new things, which I will point out, but most of what I see is more of the same. I'm not bored by it, but of course I'm not going to share it over and over and over with you.
I will say, though I have ridden the subway many, many times now; it has not gotten any less strange. Being the only non-Korean in an entire subway station is still just as unnerving and weird. I certainly don't feel in danger or anything of the sort, but I definitely feel strange. Nothing in America can compare with that feeling (well...perhaps outside of taking the bus in Orange County, which is mostly full of Hispanic people). Each time I get on the subway, I am consistently taken aback by the reality of where I am and what I am doing. It's a sobering, and really cool feeling. Again, it's not bad--it's just very stark.
Yesterday, on my day off, I went into Seoul, as I am wont to do. I met a Korean friend in Insadong, which is a place I've been to before; even my folks have been there. (The convenience store there sells Dr. Pepper for 900Won, which is a smoking deal compared to the 3,000Won it costs at the coffee shop here at English Village, or the 1,300Won it costs at our little convenience store here.) Insadong is a place many foreigners visit. There are many cool souvenir shops, and other fair-like booths out on the street. It's just a neat artsy atmosphere, and though it was exceedingly warm yesterday, I enjoyed being out and about.
They had odd mirrors in the ground--
Made me think of Mary Poppins--
What are these?--
My first, and probably last, magazine cover--
After visiting Insadong, and eating at KFC (why not?), my Korean friend took me to a place called "Seoul Forest", which is just a huge park on the southeastside of Seoul. He said it's the largest park in Seoul.
As we were nearing the park, the sun was setting, and it made a beautiful sunset; the nicest I've seen since coming here.
The park was about a 10 minute walk from the nearest subway station, and as this was a part of Seoul I'd never been to, it was interesting to get yet another view the city. It was getting dark, but I was still able to get some cool shots before the sun finally went down.
A very strange playground addition--you can actually climb through this persons body; that's the moon in the armpit--
And it does exactly what it says--
Narnia + Harry Potter--
There was an outdoor concert going on, with what looked like a relatively young group of orchestra members playing some tunes. As we were leaving, I distinctly heard music from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast".As I said, it was exceedingly warm outside; heat plus humidity. It's been like this for the last 2 weeks; July was warm, but not agonizing.
Well, today, Monday, was another warm day...though the weather forecast predicted evening thunderstorms. Well, they were RIGHT. The storm came and hit with a bang at around 8 p.m., and lasted for only 20 minutes or so. There was some INCREDIBLE lightning, and I was fortunate to be able to snap some great shots of it.
So this is what it looks like without the lightning--it was DARK--
Yikes--
Until I blog again, goodbye.
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