Damaged but satisfied

Did you keep your fingers crossed for me after the last post? Today my plan A worked perfectly! Thank you! 🙂

Chapter 1: Inwangsan

Today, for the first time, it really felt like a vacation. Since I don't have school on Fridays, I was able to sleep in. Hallelujah! Then we set off in brilliant sunshine. About 30 minutes away, between the mountains that surround Seoul, lies the Buam-dong district. I got off there and headed to the botanical gardens in the direction of Inwangsan!

Fun fact: The center of Seoul is surrounded by mountains. The most important are Namsan (I was there yesterday), Inwangsan, Bugaksan and Naksan. (Attentive readers will rightly guess that “san” is the Korean word for mountain.) These mountains were once connected by the old city wall and once formed the outer border of the city.

After so many high-rise buildings and people, I enjoyed nature: fragrant pine trees, hardly any people, but huge bees (hornet-sized!), and then the path along the old city wall with a view of the mountains on one side and the city on the other.

After about 20 minutes of climbing stairs in the midday sun (yes, clever timing again, but at least I was prepared with a cap and sunscreen!) I reached my destination: The 숲속쉼터 (숲 sup = forest, 속 sock = to be in the middle of something, 쉼터 Schim-ter = a combination of the words for rest and center).

I sat here for an hour, enjoyed the silence, looked at the greenery, wrote in my diary and let my mind wander. Then I continued on foot down towards the city.

Chapter 2: Self-mutilation

Well, and then it happened.... Across the street was a beautiful brick building, and as I approached, I read “German Bakery 'Achso'”.

Curious, I crossed the street and took a look inside, but the bakery had apparently closed and everything had been cleared out. I was just about to go back to the other side when I slipped on the small pebble and hit my knee.

Trigger warning: blood!

There I stood, with a pretty deep, heavily bleeding hole in my knee, and I asked myself: What now? First I cleaned it with my disinfectant wipes and picked out the small stones. And then I hobbled to the nearest pharmacy, where a very nice old lady helped me disinfect the wound and put plasters on it.

Well, and then I went to eat, to get over the shock! 😀 The vegan restaurant that I had already picked out at the top of the mountain was closed “due to a lack of ingredients” (I didn’t know the reason beforehand). Since I was hungry and wanted to sit down, I went to the restaurant next door, which was a Japanese donkatsu shop. (That’s basically Japanese schnitzel.)

Fun fact: In Korea, restaurants are usually very small and specialize in one dish (e.g. Donkatsu, Ramen...) or one type of dish (stew, noodle soup, etc.). It's not like here, where you can get meat, fish, noodles, potatoes, soup, vegetarian dishes and dessert in the same restaurant.

The food was excellent, there was good music and afterwards I had a nice little chat with the owner, who complimented my Korean. A small proud moment. 🙂

I briefly considered resting for the rest of the day, but the weather was just too nice to go inside. So I went over to the other side of the river to Gangnam.

Chapter 3: Banpo Hangang Park

On my third trip to Korea, I finally made it to the river! I arrived at Banpo Hangang Park around 5pm. Banpo is the area in Gangnam, Hangang means Han River.

There is a lot going on here: cyclists, skaters, jet skis, boats and lots of people having picnics. I just sit there for a while, looking at the people, the river and the water features on the bridge, which are even illuminated with rainbow lights when it gets dark.

After walking a little along the left and right bank, I get too cold from the strong wind and I notice that I'm pretty exhausted. On the way back to the Gangnam Bus Terminal, from where I have to take the subway, a huge wave of people comes towards me.

After work and the weekend! People are drawn to the river, they have food with them, some have handcarts with small tables and everything you need for a cozy evening. That was good timing!

Chapter 4: Gangnam Central Bus Station

I visited Seoul Central Bus Station for the first time today, and my goodness, it is a huge complex!

Not only are there buses that run all over the country and several subway lines, but it is also a huge underground shopping mall. Since I still had about 20 minutes to kill before the end of rush hour, I let myself drift through there.

Guys, what can I say? I don't think I'm allowed to walk around here unsupervised. There's jewelry, clothes, knick-knacks, stationery and snacks everywhere. I've spent less than expected on food so far, but I'm well on my way to using the savings for other things! 😂

Chapter 5: Conclusion 1st week

The first week was an emotional rollercoaster ride from “absolutely desperate, lonely and overwhelmed” to “I love it and am going to stay here for two years”.

I had imagined some things differently or not at all. For example, I had neither taken homework nor weather problems into account when planning, nor the fact that the botched journey would leave me with a pretty serious sleep deficit.

I also thought it would be easier to make friends at school. But it's difficult because I'm the only one doing one-on-one lessons straight after school, and then of course the others are all gone.

On the other hand, I really enjoy the lessons. I already feel like I'm losing my fear of speaking and I'm increasingly more confident about approaching people and asking questions. That's just not possible if you only have an adult education course for one hour once a week.

I have very nice accommodation where I feel really comfortable. I have been able to experience an incredible amount and, despite a few difficulties, I have been able to tick a lot off my “I want to see/do” list.

That's why I'm now looking at the rest of the time with the hope that the difficult things will become easier and the beautiful things will remain! ❤️

PS: It's supposed to rain tomorrow and I still have to do 20 pages in the workbook. Not much will happen then. That's why there will be a blog break tomorrow. Have a nice weekend!