Just Call Me Pocahontas

I was lucky enough to have a 5 day weekend which was more than I could have hoped for. Time away from my job was just what I needed and after a fantastic weekend in Jeju island, two extra days to relax were a bonus.

Sean and I went exploring on Tuesday in Seongnam. Seongnam is the city I live in, but the area I live is called Bundang. Bundang is a really upscale trendy expensive area to live in and differs tremendously from the rest of Seongnam. The other areas of Seongnam are a bit ghetto if you will. A few years ago the government moved the poor people out of areas of Seoul and relocated them here in Seongnam. You can immediately tell when you cross over from Bundang to Seongnam. The people, store fronts, and general atmosphere is different.

As we were about to begin hiking up a trail through the city we discovered an archery range on the slope of a hill. We looked at each other, said "why not" and paid the 3,000 won to try our hand at archery. Let me tell you, shooting a bow and arrow is a tough thing to do. You have to use a lot of arm strength and balance in order to aim correctly at your target. After being showed what to do I practiced and finally got the hang of it. I hit was able to even hit the circle a few times and the older Korean men there were clapping for me and told Sean in Korean that I should join the Olympic team. It was a lot of fun and totally random. Sean and I really gained some respect for Native Americans after that discussing and wondering how the hell they were able to shoot those things while riding horses too.

Sean's turn

my turn

I hit inside the red!

There is a big market in that area as well and walking through it was an experience. I was trying to photograph different things and most people didn't mind, but some were asking me not to take photographs. People were selling everything from fresh produce, to meat, seafood, and even random house hold odds and ends. There was one man using a machine to make rice cakes and home made popped corn and rice. We stopped and watched the process for a while. The device he used got really hot and then made a loud exploding sound and all of a sudden the popped rice or corn came out. The popped corn was a delicious and healthy snack.

After a night out dancing and drinking with friends on Tuesday night, we hopped in a taxi home. Before I knew it we had been side-swiped by another car and we were left sitting in the middle of an on-ramp to the highway. After a few minutes we decided to get out and grab another ride home praying that we would make it safe. Thank God no one was hurt or anything, but it was still scary. The roads in Korea are bad and Seoul is the worst. People are not careful drivers at all and cab drivers and bus drivers are notoriously dangerous and reckless. I am totally fine and everything is ok, but I continue to say a little prayer every time I get into one of those vehicles.

As I've mentioned before, Korea is full of all kinds of random and fun things to explore. I love making little finds and trying new things. I also love getting a good photo and will do just about anything to do so, even if it means risking getting scolded by an ajuma saleswoman.

Namaste