This morning I went hiking. There are mountains right in the middle of the city. People had been telling me this, but I didn't believe them because I hadn't seen any yet. Sure enough there are. The one I hiked this morning was really small. It only took 30 min. to get up and another 30 min to get down. There are really big ones though that can take all day. I knew I was only hiking a small one, so I just brought a backpack. My sweatpants and fleece were SO out of style for the hiking crowd. I am learning that Seoul is ALL about appearance and materialism. The Koreans hiking the same mountain as me, wore a special hiking outfit, hiking boots, a big backpack, a walking stick, an emergency pack, one of those waterbackpack things were there straw is like a tube, and...the biggest visor I've ever seen. All of the hikers had every part of this outfit, when they were only hiking for an hour! It's not just a few people that hike either. Almost every 50 year old person or older hikes! The subway was full of them.
I guess Korea just recently changed to a 5 day work week. Many business people still work on Saturday. I saw so many men wearing suits to work today, Saturday. Also, some of my students have Korean school on Saturday too :(
Yesterday I got dangerously close to being hit by a bike. The bike riders are crazy around here. It was dark and a wild bike rider almost ran me over! He didn't ring his bell to let me know he was coming or anything. We did that "he goes left, I go left, he goes right, I go right thing." Anyway, he hit his brakes and I put my hands out to stop his bike from running me over. He looked very exasperated...I just laughed. Leave it to me to get hit by a bike!
Today I went shopping on my street. I didn't really buy much. I just wanted to know what kind of clothes stores are around here. In the two weeks I've been here, I have not seen one American (other than my school teachers). I know there are many Americans in Korea, I'm just not sure where! They are not where I live. Today I saw my first fellow blonde American. I hadn't seen a blonde since I got here! I must say we really stick out. As I passed her on the street, we smiled as if we knew each other, even though we didn't.
I bought the dreaded leggings today. It's funny how my perception of beauty changes when I go somewhere else. The Korean women are on top of the fashion. It's pretty much like America's fashion but trendier. The clothes that a couple months ago I said I would NEVER wear, I am now starting to like!
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