It's official...

I've been here for three months...

I'm about to write my 3rd month update email. So much good has happened during my third month. After fighting culture shock and winning the battle, I'm truly happy and settled in here.

I really look forward to my next 9 months in Seoul, South Korea. ^^

A Restaurant Menu

Yes, indeed, the English portion for the top item DOES in fact read 'Funny special assorted fish paste cake skewer pot.' One of my friends, who is able to read and speak Korean very well informed me that that is an almost exact translation.

Another compliment...

I was told by two 50 year old Korean women that I looked like Wonder Woman.

The Intensity of Mountain Climbing...

The peak in the middle is the main peak which I used ropes and held railings to get up.

This weekend I ventured almost two hours away to go the the nearest national park which is situated in the mountains and hosts plenty of opportunities for hiking!

In an effort to make a very long story short, this was some of the hardest hiking I've ever done...but in reality, I've never really hiked in mountains except for the Adirondaks in New York. The Adirondaks were nothing compared to the mountains I was in this weekend.

The most shocking part of the whole day was the mass amounts of people at this park all hiking on the same trail. Now, of course I went on one of the most popular trails because this was my first time here and I didn't really care to get lost in the mountains in Korea...although I had wonderful cell phone service the whole time; if I did get lost I would probably be found pretty quickly.

It's a great idea that I brought good food with me because I NEEDED fuel stops. I was dripping sweat and near the end my legs muscles would spasm with every step.

I met two wonderful Koreans who guided me to the top of two peaks that only 1% of all 10,000 visitors go to annually. After that I went to the summit of the main mountain where about 10,000 people go every year. But, this expedition made me gain much respect for Koreans in terms of general health and athleticism...no, maybe that aren't good at organized sports, but to climb up this mountain, especially all the way to the top, you need endurance and you should really be in some kind of 'good' shape. At one point, there were metal railings bolted into the mountain which you HAD to hold on to to hoist yourself up further and further...

My mountain guide!

I impressed myself this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed my time.