Week II: The Melting Pot

As usual so much has happened in, what probably seems like to everyone back home, such a sort period of time. Sunday I hiked Kwanaksan Mountian, with the Soo Bahkers which is on the southern borders of Seoul. As is the case everywhere in Korea, there were so many people, it was rediculous. I have never seen so many people on a hiking trail in all my life. It was very fun and I got to know some of the Soo Bahkers better. On Monday, in Soo Bahk, Lee Dong Gyu Sa Bom Nim came and taught, which is a rare occurance, and a British Ee Dan showed up. He will be training at the central do jang for a year and it is nice to have someone to relate to. He introduced me to some people at his school and I have never met such a diverse group of friends. Koreans raised in Austria, France, and the US, a German, a Swiss, and Argentinian who moved to the States when he was 10 and a Korean. They were a crazy bunch. Also I have befriended another American who trains who is a red belt. He is married to a Korean girl and they are a fun couple to hang out with. This weekend I went out with them and a bunch of thier friends on Friday and on Saturday they had a party at their house. Partying in Korea is very intense, the night isn't over until aroung 6:00am. I have also befriended a hungarian girl at my language school who is married to a German professor. The amount of cultural diversity I am experiencing is incredable, and despite our differences we can still relate as humans. During the week I saw some of the sights Seoul has to offer including Jogyesa temple and Gyeounbokgung palace. The temple was a beautiful temple just wedged in on a random block, I just went in, bowed 8 times and meditated for a while soaking in the energy of the place. Time has begun to speed up a little but it still feels like a week is a month. I have found Koreans to be strange creatures in their views of the world and other people. They love and hate foreigners at the same time and although they have an obssesion with learning English no one seems to speak it. I am still struggling a bit with learing the language and accepting how different Soo Bahk is over here. Untill next time, Anyeong (peace)