Part 2: "Oh The Places You'll Go!"

**If you are reading this and you haven’t read ‘Part 1’ stop, scroll down, and read below!** 

I have gotten to do some cool things lately! I’ve been busy pretty much every weekend… I’m not complaining though!

We went on another field trip together to Seoul/Incheon. This time we all had matching zip-up hoodies. And wouldn’t you know, it started raining the second we got out of the bus. It was dry the whole 2 hour bus ride there! So, they bought us all clear ponchos to wear! We were a sight! We went to a temple (again! ) and took pictures (which is the real reason we go, I think!!). We had a traditional Korean meal at a traditional Korean restaurant. Then we headed to the famous rock. But, by this time, it was pouring down and the wind was blowing like crazy! All 30+ of us climbed off the bus and ran to this rock. We posed, smiled, and snapped the picture! Then, we sprinted back to the bus! There was not a dry spot on me after that! Oh, but don’t worry, we got the picture! Our 3rd and final stop, was a viewing tower where we could see North Korea. It wasn’t a clear day obviously, so we didn’t really get to see it very well, but it was pretty intense! There was a room full of written prayers in hopes of reunification someday! It’s very interesting to see the dynamics between the North and South. After we left there, we boarded the bus to return home. The commute was supposed to be 1.5 hours each way. We were gone for 12 hours that day. We were off of the bus for a total of 3 hours max! Yep, that’s right, we spent a grand total of 9 hours on the bus! What a day, what a day!! A very memorable one!

Another day, Beth and I were feeling adventurous, so we decided to take a bus to Gongju, where there are these tombs from Kings. They were just discovered within the past 40 hears. It was a beautiful fall day! The trees were changing colors and it was so peaceful! One thing about Korea is you feel like you are constantly surrounded by people! But out there that afternoon was amazing! We went about 20 minutes without seeing another person… that NEVER happens! The tombs were pretty cool too! It was a nice, relaxing day! They also have a fortress wall that we will be checking out in the spring!

Pottery is very popular here in Korea. One Saturday morning we were supposed to go hiking, but it was raining. So we decided to go make pottery. We showed up at this pottery shop and asked if we could make pottery. This lady said yes, follow me. We all got into her car, (which was super tiny, we all could barely fit in it) and she took us to her private shop! Her father-in-law is a very famous potter! He has even traveled to the states to create pottery! She taught us how to make it! We each got to pick what we wanted. I decided to make a vase, but when I was finished, it ended up being a candy dish… imagine that! It was a fun experience! The pottery in her shop was beautiful!

We thought it would be fun to go to Seoul one night and do “night shopping.” Yes, it’s what it sounds like! We take the train up and go shopping throughout the night. I really enjoyed it! It was a little much for some people, but you know I loved it! I finished almost all of my shopping that night though. Shopping in Korea is definitely not as convenient as shopping in the states! Oh well, you get used to it and survive! This was one of the first cold nights and of course some of the shopping was outside! Brrr… 12 hours, one person lost and retrieved, 4 big shopping bags, and 10 exhausted foreigners later, we boarded the first train out of Seoul back to Cheonan at 5.45 am! I slept good that morning!

We made another trip to Seoul! This time it was one of the girl’s birthday. She wanted to go to the Science Museum. So, we found the stop and then eventually found the place! Yeah, a bit of a let down! I did learn that ‘Snipes’ exist though!! So, now I know what to look for when I go ‘Snipe Hunting’!!  We did find this really cool park though! It was in the prime season of fall, so the trees were gorgeous! We walked around and just took it all in! Then, we decided to try and find a Mexican restaurant b/c that is all she wanted for her birthday! We walked and walked, for a good hour and could not find this restaurant! Then, just as we were about to throw the towel in in defeat, we spotted this small sign ahead! Victory!! It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!! Well worth the hour long walk in my opinion! We had to take the last train back to Cheonan that night. It was packed and we had to buy standing room only tickets, which means we had to jam into the food car along with about 100 others! We came across some interesting characters! Many intoxicated individuals! Oh that was a long train ride home!

A group of us also decided to take a trip to the DMZ. This is the ‘Demilitarized Zone’ between North and South Korea! We signed up to take the tour! This was incredible! We went to the military base on the South Korea side. We had an American soldier join us and give us a tour of the fort! We went to the sight of the South Korea welcoming building. Right across from it was the North Korea welcoming building. In the middle was a row of 4 buildings where they meet. There are guards that are always facing North Korea and guards who face the South Korea building also. I learned a lot of interesting things on this tour! The relationship between the 2 is very stressed! It was a pretty intense situation to be in! There is a propaganda village, where North Korea sat up all of these buildings and would invite on loud speakers the South Koreans to come over and live in this village which is like Paradise they said! We also saw the tower that blocks all signals of communication from South Korea. It does not allow North Korea to hear any news other then what the government wants them to hear. It is so sad! They have no idea what is going on in the world! They are brainwashed from birth and don’t know any different! Please say a pray for the citizens of North Korea as you are reading this! Being an American, I have no idea what these people are experiencing! We weren’t allowed to take pictures directly of North Korea. We went to a viewing tower so we could actually see North Korea. However, there is a line where we can’t go in front of if we wanted to take pictures. They had telescopes for us to use, but the wind was bitter cold and the metal hurt b/c it was so cold. Then, as we were looking over at North Korea, it started snowing! It was very poetic in my opinion! A bitter, cold, dim day! We then went to these tunnels. South Korea has discovered 3 underground tunnels that lead from North Korea into South Korea. They all go to Seoul! When North Korea was questioned about this, they said it was for coal (they painted the tunnels black b/c they thought that would convince them they were using it for coal instead of planning an attack!) We got to walk through one of these tunnels! We walked down hill about 1/4 a mile… not bad on the way down. But, on the way up, that’s a different story!! A nice little work-out!

The whole experience was very surreal. You hear about North Korea all the time. But to actually see it and experience this made it real! Many Koreans will not go to the DMZ b/c they don’t think it’s safe! It is also just too sad for many of them! They say when they see it, it makes what is going on so real! Some of them have family who lives in North Korea and they won’t ever get to see them! There is still a hope though among many Koreans that someday they will be reunified!

So, as you can see, I’ve been pretty busy! I have been experiencing Korea!! I still have a few more entries until you are caught up! I’ll work on that again tomorrow!!