The recent update: there is no update. Our lives have been
pretty uneventful since the sheep café experience, but I thought I’d do a
little “day in the life” post for all you friends who have never experienced
life in my corner of South Korea.
Since arriving on the peninsula, I’ve learned that the
Koreans are a very outdoorsy people. And no, not the “I enjoy drinking on
patios” type of outdoorsy (although the soju may lead you on many a unique
adventure); Koreans actually get out of the house, hike on local trails, utilize
the outdoor fitness stations, and hoof it around town to run errands. And now
that the weather is warming up – finally above freezing at night and up to the
mid 60’s during the day…hello spring! – I’m finally getting brave enough to
leave the house too.
The Buraksan trails, a large network of trails within a
quarter mile of our apartment, have been a great place for day hikes for us. Sadie
and I took a little stroll up the trails and around town over the weekend and
we saw many a great piece of trailside fitness equipment as well as some local
gazeboes.
One of the cultural shocks we encountered in South Korea
was how uncommon it is to have a large dog as a pet. Koreans are indeed an
animal-loving people, but the typical native house pet is usually smaller than
10-lbs. Hence, many of the locals often react to Sadie’s 60-lb. body and
muscular stature with shock and horror. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty
of people who want to step right up and befriend our gentle giant. But I’d still
estimate that about half of people who see her are completely terrified. Most
people stare. This must be what it feels like to walk around town with a
unicorn.
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| The real reason why Sadie is so big and frightening. Just look at that bloodthirsty terror machine! |
As far as public transportation and sidewalks, Korea is
doing things
very right. Buses and trains
can take you just about anywhere. Taxis are cheap. There are sidewalks
everywhere. And furthermore, most of the sidewalks have these bumpy tiles on
them so that blind people can navigate their way around by feeling these tiles
under their feet. I have yet to see a blind person actually using this feature
of the sidewalks though. Or…maybe the sidewalks are so well done, I
have seen a blind person and just not
noticed…
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| Korean burial sites |
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| Public park near City Hall |
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| Sidewalks for the blind. Lines mean walk, round nubs mean stop for the crosswalk. |
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| Just another busy intersection. |
And then there’s the 4/9 Market. It’s an open-air
marketplace, also within walking distance of our apartment, that sells
everything but the kitchen sink: fresh produce, eggs, fresh meat and fish,
cooked street food, clothing, hats, shoes, nuts, beans, rice, candy, cookies,
jewelry, souvenirs, and so much more that you never knew you needed until you
saw it. Vendors are at the 4/9 Market selling their goodies every day, but the
place is set up to attract the most business on days of the month ending in 4
and 9.
We made an appearance at the market over the weekend to
stock up on fresh strawberries. If you’ve ever taken a gander at my Snapchat
stories, you may have noticed that I think the strawberries in Korea are a BFD.
Update on that: they are. They are the most beautiful, delicious strawberries
on earth. They are usually quite expensive, but I think these are literally the
fruits of the gods. They make strawberries in America look sloppy and uncared
for. Every time I’ve purchased a carton of Korean strawberries, each berry has
been uniform in size, perfectly ripe, and neatly aligned in the carton
alongside its strawberry siblings. Hard to believe, but it’s true. A strawberry
dream come true. Great success.
