Thoughts and Pictures!

Really enjoying myself and taking it all in...



South Korea is really nice and there is so much to see. I've been sightseeing and going on hikes (picture above is from Mt. Namsan). The only thing that I have a hard time dealing with are travlers that make ignorant comments. I had dinner with four guys from the hostel last night; they were from the US, Canada, and France. One guy (Canada) said "Koreans are stupidly nice," and the other guy said (from the US) "Man I hate sitting on the floor, c'mon Korea, haven't you heard of chairs?" I did tell the guy who said the first comment to check himself (ok, in more articulate words, of course) but I wasn't in the second conversation to say anything to the second comment. By that time, the guy from France and I were having our own conversation. Overhearing those two other guys just bothered me because I thought- these are the guys that have the privilege of traveling and get to know the world and talk like this and reinforce the stereotype of the arrogant "American tourist" to others. In addition, they see a few places in one country, spend a few weeks or months there, and now make over generalizations and make critiques about a place they barely know- AND take this back to their country. We don't come with open minds but with narrow views and hold up the hosting countries to the standards we are familiar with. Of course, some may say that this is natural- but I can't help but to have a problem with it; I don't know what impression I give off, but I am definitely conscious of the fact that I come from the US when interacting with others and that they have preconceptions of our country. This is not to say that I am not myself, either. I also remind myself that of course, these two guys are also two of the thousands of people that travel, and they may not all be like this, and they're not only from the US, but from all over the world. And lastly, I think, well, who am I to be judging? I have my opinions and thoughts, too and I guess I make generalizations, too. Just some thoughts I had last night...

I was glad dinner was over. Then I went to a sauna/bath to relax after the hike today (the hostel owner recommended me this place). This was the best part of the day because I met a Korean woman who spoke English and I was able to talk with her and learn about local customs, employment and education from her viewpoint... that sauna experience was fun in itself because I had never been in one like that before; I can't think of a more vulnerable experience than walking into a place where there is a definite system running and you're just trying to figure out where to begin and blend in- and you're naked! I just laugh thinking about the look I probably had on my face. One thing I was glad we represented last night at that table- diversity in just about every sense of the word.

Video of the octopus and phot albums!

The last of Japan and ferry to South Korea

First day in South Korea (City- Busan)