The weekend a welcome respite...

So the weekend has come and gone and it really could not have arrived at a better time. This week has been very stressful and I have felt like I have lost a step or two in my game. It really seemed as if everything that I did backfired or blew up in my face leaving me largely lost and confused about what I should do. Thankfully the week ended and I could get back up on my feet. So what I decided to do to pick myself up was get out of my apartment and get the old blood flowing.

On Saturday I went with some co-workers out to lunch downtown to have barbecued pork, octopus, ans apples followed by cold noodles and pears. It was a pretty interesting experience, especially when they cut the noodles with a pair of scissors because teeth can't do the job. After lunch we went exploring through the city on the way to Expo park and Kumdori land! On the way there we found a crane game that had various prizes; the craziest being a real American two dollar bill. Unfortunately we did not win the money. We finally found the 93' Expo park and the land of the future! It is really funny what we thought the future was going to look like, kind of like a cross between the Jetsons and Star Wars. Ultimately though the trip to Expo park was a surreal and saddening one, as much of the park is abandoned and run-down. Interestingly enough one of the main attractions was a 7 piece section of the Berlin Wall, that was still out in the elements (take that Newseum!), but this section of the wall has been covered in Hangul grafitti. We then travelled from Expo park to Kumdori land a saddening amusement park with very little fun. There was a giant Kiwi though, and that is kind of cool. After leaving disenchanted from the park my group was still together and decided to hike the hills behind the park, which was a much better use of our time as it afforded excellent views and a pagoda! Plus an interesting look into how Koreans are traditionally buried. Really it made the entire trip worthwhile. And that's not even going into what I did that night and Sunday!

but I must go teach my class...until later past dwellers!