Nature, Nature Everywhere!

Nature. I don't really like nature. I spend most of my time trying to get away from it. It's scary, dirty, and full of bugs, and it makes me hide under the covers at night. So, when my friend asked me to go to one of Korea's national parks, you can just imagine my reaction. Go ahead, I'll give you a few moments.











Done? Okay.

Well, needless to say, it was very beautiful. There are nice walking paths and a stage in the center where people come to do aerobics. And there's exercise equipment. In the middle of the park.

We went through China town first.

The entrance. I love this dragon, in all it's tacky glory.

Lanterns on a building. All I have to say about this one.

This is a wall that leads up to the park depicting an ancient story. Too bad it's all in Korean, I really wanted to read it.

A view of the port. There's your tanker Dad! Wanna take a cruise?

I'm not quite sure what to call this. Anyway, it's pretty! ^_^

A nice view of the park. The paths are nice and wide, though some of them are quite steep.

 

 The Korean War memorial. I cannot for the life of me remember this Colonel's name! 

One of the beautiful fountains near the memorial. They make a nice sound, very calming, especially in the park!

Another memorial. This was taken while looking straight up from the center. I love the effect! 

The memorial from the side.

Misty mountains!

I don't know who this statue is of, or what it signifies, but it's pretty awesome.

Well, that was my great outdoor adventure! Don't expect too many of these, as I run away in fear and terror from the outdoors, but I'll be posting more soon!

Toys! Yay!

So, after spending some time in my new home, I decided to go wandering. I found a Toys R Us sitting right next to my school, and said to myself, "why not?". It's right above the local Lotte Mart and is, from what I can gather, about the same size as the one back home.

 Children's Hanbok, traditional clothing in Korea. This was only on display during the Chuseok holiday. So cute!

 It's called a "canimal", get it? Cause it's shaped like a can? Awesome. I really should get one of these, they're super cute.

 Power Rangers!! I think... Anyway, something very similar. There are literally walls and walls of this stuff on the shelves.

And the Pokemon, of course. I've never seen so many stuffed pokemon dolls in one place. (Well, besides conventions). They're really popular with the kids over here.

I like how they're all behind a glass case, like they're super valuable or something. Remember kids, gotta catch'em all! (Is it bad that I kinda want one for my desk at work?)

Pineapple car thingies! Definitely getting one of these to take home. I just can't resist the citrus-y splendor!

Super cute Korean doll. I wish they had these back home, they're just darling!

I think this is supposed to be like Barbie, but her name here is Mimi. They do have Barbie as well, but she costs a lot more, and they only seem to stock the high collectors items.

Because, you know, the one thing I want to do on my Saturday night is play a board game about the stock market. Look at the guy on the cover, he looks like he's having so much fun! I like how he's doing the superman thing with his shirt, but you know, with stocks....

Well, that was my great Toys R Us adventure! I'm going to post some more soon, so make sure to check back! ^_^

It starts... Well started.

Well, I finally have it. I finally have the time to sit down and write something on this thing. I've been in Korea for about two months now, and I'm finally starting to settle in. The Korean signs don't look Korean any more. They're starting to look like home.

My apartment is pretty nice. I mean, yeah, it needs a bit of fixin', but nothing major. I like that my washing machine is directly underneath my stove. It's like living in a game of never-ending Tetris.
The view is quite nice, though I'm only on the sixth floor.

 The view from my apartment. Buildings, buildings everywhere!!

 The traffic outside my apartment that never stops. It's like this all the time.

 My apartment. It goes up about 18 floors, and has a very convenient 7-11 right underneath.

The view from my roof! It's amazing how many lights there are. I've never seen so many apartment buildings in one place. Everything here is stacked; for instance, if you go to the Lotte Mart (The Korean equivalent of Wal-Mart), you have to go up to the different floors to get to the different departments. A lot of the escalators, which are flat so that you can take carts on them, only go in one direction, so you're constantly looking for the right one.

It's been a real adventure so far! More updates to come, with 20% more wit!