Forever Korea

We are getting settled in. I think I'm getting a little tired of settling in. My tendencies are to enjoy routine and dependablility, and to this point, we haven't had much of either. Actually, it hasn't been all that chaotic. I think it's just because I'm not used to it. I don't feel comfortable yet, so I am a little restless. Although, yesterday I went running in the morning because we didn't work until after lunch. I decided that it was going to be an adventure. Anywhere I went was going to be a new experience for me. This was good because one good way for me to feel comfortable is to not feel lost. In other words, to be familiar with my surroundings.

I ended up running for almost 45 minutes, with a couple hiking breaks where I walked up the hills, found that it wasn't where I wanted to be going, turned around, and then ran down the mountainside. It was alot of fun. Even though it was only about 55 degrees, I was sweating pretty hard. I ran through several neighborhoods until I got back to a main street I recognized and took it home. I think this may become a regular tradition of mine.

One thing about the Koreans that anyone should know is that they are all about their "well being". This interprets as living healthy lifestyles. They eat stuff that stinks. When you walk past many of the small restaraunts, there is a distinct fishy smell that whafts in the air. Maybe you get used to it after a while. I also know that they dry minnows and then grind them into powder to make "fish broth" as the base of many of their soups. Mmm,mmm fish broth soup. But aside from the stinky food, their well being is pretty impressive. On the side of the mountain, carved out onto flat spots, they have many work out stations with anything that you would see in a 1970s weight gym: hoola hoops, bench press with free weights, decline bench for situps, pull-up bars. The ironic thing is that most of the younger people are working. So, for example, when we went hiking, we were probably the youngest people on the mountain. All along our journey, we saw Korean grandparents at the weight stations and hiking on the trail, most of them no younger than 55. On occasion, we would see someone moving very slowly, and as we approached we noticed a man dragging one limb. When we talked with our fellow teachers, they explained that sometimes the elder Koreans have strokes, but they still don't let that keep them from going up the mountain. Talk about tenacity. When I think about America, I see the elderly maybe walking around their block, not up a mountain normally. But in Korea, it is a way of life. Something to aspire to when I get old.