the bright moon is our heart

It is achievement test week here at my school, so the teachers get a bunch of free time to do nothing productive (we have to proctor) while the students try their hardest to level up. Korea has scantron sheets just like America except they don’t use pencils on theirs. They use water-based black markers.

So since I have all of this free time with the inability to do something like go somewhere or watch a movie, I am finally back to blogging about Korea. A lot has happened. 

I went bungee jumping in a small town called Cheongpyeong about 90 minutes outside of Seoul. I went with a Meetup group, and on the whole I had a really nice time. The people were nice, and the weather was perfect despite earlier forecasts of rain. Bungee jumping itself is a lot of waiting and very little time jumping and bouncing. I don’t know what would be the best part. The actual jumping is pretty excellent both for the self-esteem and the view. How often do you get to plunge headfirst from 50 meters’ height? It doesn’t feel dangerous because the ankle straps are on so tight it’s hard to forget that they’re there.

I found that the best technique is not to fight what’s happening with the cord. Just go a little limp and let your body flail wherever it’s going to go. When I got down to the ground, one of the other jumpers said I looked like a pro. :) Would I do it again? If the opportunity presented itself. I think it’d be fun to do it from a higher point or over different scenery (mine was a lake), but I won’t be devastated if I never do.

I also did a fun water sport known as fly flishing. And I did it with a new friend! She and I have a bunch in common and we’re going to the Mud Festival this weekend. I’m excited because I think it’ll be nice to have a partner in crime.

This past weekend I went rafting for the first time which was really a pretty tame experience. It was mostly just a giant water fight among the rafts. There were a lot of nice people there, but to honest I was really feeling lazy about socializing so I didn’t make many new acquaintances. But I was lucky because I had another partner-in-crime there, Rachael. She is my coworker and is solely responsible for any reasonable or delicious food I’ve eaten since I moved to Suji. And she’s very patient with my total lack of knowledge on everything. I realize that my mother mostly told us about foods with English, so I am not fully versed in their actual Korean names.

I volunteered with a group to feed the homeless a couple weeks ago, and that was pretty swell. It taught me a useful Korean phrase that I can’t romanize right now. Most of the people we gave food to were really grateful, and it felt good to be an ambassador of sorts for foreigner-Korean relations. After giving out food, there is singing and free coffee for everyone to enjoy. It made me wish I knew more Korean so I could sing songs that they knew instead of just joining in on “You Are My Sunshine” (appropro, I know) and “Hey Jude.” I want to do it again but as the above paragraphs shows, I’ve been out of town a bit. 

One song we sang in Korean (we were given sheet music) was written by one of the homeless men who live at Seoul Station. It roughly translates into “I Want to Become a Room.” That sounds a little funny out of context, but when you think of it in light of being homeless, it’s pretty profound. Next time we sing it, I’ll have to record it and post it here.

I also went to a screening of Do the Right Thing and the Pulitzer Prize Photography exhibit, but both of those deserve their own entries because they are art related so my opinions are very long-winded and not particularly suited to a travel blog entry.

Next week is vacation, and I am really pleased, though I am not going anywhere. I realize that I still haven’t written about my actual job, and I reckon it is because my opinon changes on it by the day. I’d say I’m probably 75-80% pleased with it as it stands, and i don’t know if that’s a healthy percentage or one needing further inspection. But I’ll write about it next week probably, just to give a quick portrait of what it’s like.

That about covers it for now. I’ve finished two books and watched four films so far, and I feel good about that. I always feel better when I feel like I’m reaching out to the world of media and fine art. Those all deserve reviews but those again are for other platforms.

Til then.