The Journey Ends

John and I arrived home last night. When I woke up this morning, I was confused and didn't know where I was. My mind is still connected to the sights and sounds of Korea. It was an amazing trip. The biggest surprise for me was how much the Koreans remember the Peace Corps. When I told the Koreans that I had been a PCV, they all had some story about how they personally had a volunteer as a teacher when they were in school, or their mother did, or their nephew, or their friend. I am astonished at the impact we, as a group, had on Korea. And I am astonished and embarrassed by the deep gratitude the Koreans feel toward us. Koreans truly believe that we helped them, and they are sincerely grateful. I don't feel I deserve their thanks. I was in Korea to learn about another culture, to help a little, and most importantly to have a good time. I received far more than I gave. Most former volunteers feel the same way, but somehow we managed to make a difference.

So, I say goodbye to Korea, but a little bit of my spirit will always remain in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Blast from the Past--Going back to my old sites

New Construction of a traditional house

On Wednesday we took the bullet train to Daegu. I was disappointed that it didn't feel that fast. We had a guide assigned to us and he took care of everything. He even bought John a can of Pringles. My former co-teacher lives in Daegu so we were meeting her but first her husband for sightseeing. (she had to work) It was raining as usual. We visited the house of one of his friends that was being built  in the traditional Korean style. 

Teahouse with my co-teacher and her husband

In the evening I finally met again with my co-teacher Chae EunYoung. We had been corresponding off and on for thirty years but this was the first time we had met since we were 23 years old. We had the usual Healthy Korean meal. We had the typical dessert which was a bowl of sweetened water with some rice in it. No wonder Koreans are thinner than Americans. After we drove out into the countryside to a private teahouse that one of her friends built. I guess if you are a Korean with a house in the country and a little money, you build a teahouse for you and your friends to enjoy.

The next day we went to my old hometown, Sangju. I had my old address so we actually found my house. The courtyard and outhouse were gone but I recognized it.  Then we went to my old school. One of my friends who was my Korean language tutor still worked there. She was surprised to see that I didn't look  like a "grandmother" and that I was much thinner than she remembered! 

The school was very modern; we looked at the computer room and then went into some English classes. The girls were fascinated by John. They had no questions for me only for him.  They wanted to know his name, his age, whether he had a girlfriend, his hobbies, and if his hair was naturally curly. Every word he spoke made them gasp in delight. When he waved to one of them in the cafeteria, she almost collapsed with excitement. We had lunch with the students in the cafeteria.

Don't you love the sign?

Computer room

Eating lunch in the cafeteria

Peace Corps Revisit Tour

The official visit started Monday. We had a briefing at one of the Korean ministries. The talk by the Korean professor about education in  Korea was actually interesting. Almost 100% of the Korean students go to high school and graduate and more surprisingly over 70% go to college.The job market is tight for college grads unless you go to one of the big three schools. Competition is fierce for spots in those schools. Students study from 7am to 11pm in high school to prepare.Korean students score far higher on international tests in reading and math than US students.

Yongsei Digital Library

After the lecture we went to Yongsei University (one of the big three). Its Digital Library was amazing. From its central computer a student can look for a book on a topic, read 30+ pages of the book, order it, and then receive a text message when the book is ready for pick up. There were hundreds of computers and laptop connections in the building.

John and Heidi at the Ambassador's house

Traditional Korean garden at ambassador's

After lunch We went to the US Ambassador's residence to meet her. She was a former Peace Corps volunteer in Korea. She gave an interesting talk on the Free Trade Agreement with Korea  and about North/South Korea relations. It was very interesting and informative.






The Ambassador's residence was a recreation of a traditional Korean house. It was an impressive melding of old and new Korean style.

Dinner was a traditional Korean meal with mokoli (an alcoholic drink that tastes like fermented spit.) octopus cooked with seaweed, cold noodle soup, and many small  unidentifiable dishes. John kept giving his mokoli to me and they kept refilling his glass.

Tuesday has been a bit of a wash literally.  We were supposed to visit the folk village, but because it was raining they changed the schedule to go to two museums. At the Korean National Museum there were thousands of examples of Korean ceramics and thousands of Korean students on field trips. There was an interesting student band and dance group outside the museum. One student was playing the conch shell. Student bands are a little different here.

Last stop was the Korean War Museum which chronicled Korean history, which of course consisted mainly of wars--with each other, Japan, and China. It was somewhat interesting. Korea's most famous contribution to war was the turtle ship--an early iron-clad war ship

Back to Seoul

We had a pleasant bus ride back to Seoul. The bus drivers here a obsessed with seatbelts. The driver walks back into the bus after every stop to be sure we are buckled up. I wondered what he knew about accident statistics. The bus dropped us off in Gwanghwamoon. That's where the Peace Corps office used to be. I didn't recognize anything except the US Embassy and the Koreana Hotel. The Koreana used to be the newest building in the area. Now it looks shabby.There are high rises everywhere with video projections on them like in Times Square. In the middle of the road is a long park with fountains and statutes--no more sleazy Yogwans (inns) or tabangs (tearooms).

The hotel is nice and most importantly it has a washing machine in the room. Clean clothes again! We lounged by the pool this afternoon.

View from Seoul Tower with the locks of love

Note the sign on the top of the building offering massages

We went to the Seoul Tower to get a view of the city. The thing to do here is to bring a padlock with a note and attach it to the fence.  That way you and your love will be forever locked together..Sorry, David, I didn't have a lock with me.

Next we went to Itaewon.  Itaewon is next to the army base and we used to go to the bars there. It's now the "international" section of Seoul. There are tons of shops and they sell extra large clothes, but in the back alleys it hasn't changed much. There are massage parlors and gentlemen's (ha) clubs and lots of bars. During the day it seemed very tame, but I don't think I would take John here at night. It would be a different kind of educational experience.

We also went to a huge bookstore. Apparently that is where everyone in Seoul hangs out on Sundays. It was packed with people. Unlike American kids, Koreans still read books. John's Kindle broke so we had to buy some books to read.

Time for bed. Tomorrow we meet the Ambassador, and John gets to wear a suit.

John goes Bicycling

Perhaps the most pleasant way to enjoy a city is on two wheels, and Gyeongju is certainly no exception.  The city actually is a cyclists paradise.  The flat geography and large biker friendly sidewalks allow for easy exploration of this great historic area.

We began our tour of the city within one of its many large parks.  The narrow, winding path rolled through large ponds filled with lily pads and blooming flowers.  Cranes gracefully patrolled the waters further enhancing the pastoral scene. We pedaled on to a garden full of a variety of colorful flowers and eventually to the Gyerim Forest.  The wood was full of large gnarled trees looming like ancient guardians of woodlands.  We left the park and bicycled around the countryside and through the rice fields which was a pleasant but exhausting trip.

After a simple lunch we returned to the park. A strange simplistic music floated over the fields.  We quickly cycled toward it in time to see a brightly clad percussion band marching through the forest.  We followed them and ended up at a traditional Korean wedding.

The day was completed with another visit to the lovely lily ponds within the park.  The cool evening breeze had just come in and the day was coming to a comfortable close.  This historic city holds much to be seen and done and in no better  way than on a bike.

Bike Trip

We rented bikes today and it was the perfect way to see the city. In the morning we rode out to Namsan, a local holy mountain covered in Buddhas, pagodas, temples, etc.  The rules for bikes seem to be that a bike can go anywhere a walker can go, so we started by biking through some beautiful gardens. We then moved out to the countryside and rode through small farms and rice fields to the mountain. It was actually sunny today but still humid. We turned around at 11 because it got too hot and returned to the inn.

At the bakery we bought the Korean version of pizza which was interesting. At 3 we went out again and came across a tradition wedding reenactment. Very cool.

We then rode out into the countryside again and stopped to watch women working in the fields. We visited a fortress and a temple.

On the way back we stopped in this wonderful field of lotus flowers--acres and acres of flowers. The plants grow in shallow water like waterlilies but they are two feet tall. They  were absolutely breathtaking.

Dinner was at a Chinese restaurant where we had Chap Chae Pap (a kind of fried rice). I practically lived on this stuff when I was here before, and it was just as good as I remembered.  The ajamoni (lady) of the restaurant was scolding me, I think. She seem to be commenting on our tans/sunburns. She wanted to know why I wasn't feeding John meat; she thought John's hair was strange; and she tried to clean the bicycle grease off his legs. Some things never change.

We splurged and had dessert at Basking Robbins, and the day was over. Tomorrow we return to the hustle and bustle of Seoul.

A picture's worth a thousand words

The tombs near our hotel/inn

The main attraction of the Temple we stayed at.

Rock piles in Bulkuksa Temple, which we visited.

The road up to the grotto we visited at Bulkuksa Temple.

Anapji Pond, basically a park near our inn.