Seoul and Beomeosa

Day 52 in Korea: This could be the most boring news ever, but I am now bronchitis free!! After 3 trips to the doctor, I finally got enough meds to cure me. I think. I coughed once today, panicked for a moment, and then realized a bus had just driven by and I had inhaled enough exhaust to make any healthy person cough. OK, I promise to never blog about my cough again, but boy am I glad that is over with!

The girls and I had a whirlwind of a trip to Seoul that started off with a bang, at least for me anyway. Our train was departing at 6:10, so the plan was to meet at the station at around 5:45 to get situated. My co-teacher was taking me to the doctor directly after school for another check-up and another round of medication, so I knew I would be cutting it close. I was in and out by 5:15, but that only left me 30 minutes to get to the station, which was completly impossible in traffic. I took a deep breathe, got on the next bus, and told myself somehow everything was going to be ok. Realistically I could be there by 5:55, but I would have to book it. The problem was, I wasn't actually sure where to get off and where to go once I finally did. As 5:45 struck on my awkward little Korean phone, I anxiously called Amy. "I think I'm close but I'm not sure! You might have to go without me!" I decided to ask a young man on the bus how far Busan Station was, and he replied, "a little". Hmm ok. When it was finally my stop, he motioned for me to exit and we got off together. It was 6:00 and I told him I had to catch my train in 10 minutes and asked where to catch the KTX. "10 minutes? Let's go!!" We both took off in a sprint and I followed hom across a busy intersection, through a park, up an escalator, and into the station. I thanked him profusely, as I absolutely never would have found it in time had he not run with me and taken me there. How many people do you know that would do that? Take the time to help a complete stranger, let alone a foreigner, find their way? "Eh, cross the street and you'll find it over there," is probably what most people would say/do. I will definitely be paying it forward. I sat down in my seat at 6:08pm. And we were off. . .

Because of the Chuseok holiday, most things in Seoul were closed down. We managed to get a little shopping in, go to the famous Changdeokgung palace, and visit the War Memorial museum. Unfortunately we didn't plan very well ahead of time and the weekend was a little scattered. This won't be my only visit to Seoul, so next time we will get a lot more in. Somehow I managed to forget my camera, so when I have a chance to get some photos from Christine, I will post them

We had Monday off as well, so we decided to go on a hike starting at Beomeosa Temple. Like most photos of temples, you can't truly appreciate the beauty and intricacy unless you see it in person. The hike was about 5k and took a couple hours with a couple water breaks and a stop for lunch.

Christine, Sam, Amy, and Jon at the top.

A whopping 801 meters! Not even half the elevation of Denver. :)

We purchased this tile for 10,000 won to dedicate to the temple.

This week is the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). We were able to get tickets to 3 movies and I am totally stoked. Read more about it here: http://www.piff.org/ We are going to see Honeymoons tonight, the world premiere of the French film Sisters tomorrow, and The Waiting City next Thursday. Looking forward to a great weekend!