Tuesday, December 11, 2007

soul searching in seoul...part one:


Went hiking this morning…woke up early…got my gear…put my headphones on…and rocked out to Social D…made the short subway and bus journey to the mountain just outside of Seoul. It’s been my little new ritual…
Soon as I get to the beginning of the trail…I always turn off my music…and try to take in my surroundings…get all ‘zen-like’ …try to absorb the beautiful scenery around me…but I mostly get absorbed by my own thoughts…
Like…there was this old couple in front of me…(by the way…hiking is HUGE here!!! And VERY popular by the elders here!!! It’s like…in America…the old folks go to Florida and play bingo…well…here…the old folks get all decked out in mountain gear…like they are trekking the Himalayas or going on an expedition on Everest…and the cutest is when they wear matching ‘couple’s hiking gear!!!’) so…anyway…cute old couple in front of me…and the trail is quite difficult…I’m already sweating…can feel the annoying boob sweat trickle down…ew!!! So not comfortable! anyway…I digress…
And I was listening in on their chatter…so cute…and was thinking…as I was hiking up alone this really steep part…quite challenging…with ropes to help you get up…and it’s even more difficult as the trails are all snow or ice-covered...that when I am that old…I hope that I too will be wearing a hot pink “red face” mountain gear (they have ‘the red face’ mountain gear here…instead of ‘the north face’ get it? Its so funny!!!} and my unfortunate significant other will be wearing the male matching version hiking up this trail together…and I’ll get to talk his ear off…
Which got me to thinking…for some reason…the promises we made to each other when I was younger with my best guy friends in high school…two actually…of how we’d marry each other if we were still lonesome and pathetically single at 40…Anthony is now married and Brandon…well, I have not heard from him since I went to college…but…either they’ve failed to keep their promises…or I’ve thus far fulfilled mine.

note:pics are taken with a small Nikon 4 mega pix point and shoot camera...thanks to Barbarella, i have a camera...thanks to Korea, i want to take pics again...so i don't want anymore crap about how much my pics suck!!! YOU GOT THAT!!! : ) cheers!!!


rock sculptures...my dad makes these too...i always thought it was some weird thing that only my dad did!!!


drinking cups...fresh mountain water is amazing!!! one of the things i loved about Macedonia... :)


shoes outside a temple


the old gate to 'South Fortress' built in the "Three Kingdoms Period."


"South Fortress" wall




2 comments:

cho.haewon said...

carol, your pictures are so beautiful. im jealous!! i love the pictures of the shoes outside the temple. i think we should take our shoes off for church too. wearing shoes anywhere that has carpeting makes me cringe. one could step in dog turds and who knows what else, all kinds of shit all day and then track it all into your house and---

CAROL: "Bonnie. Calm down."
BONNIE: "No, Carol, its just that--"
CAROL: "It's okay. Everything is going to be fine. Take a deep breath and--"
BONNIE: "NO! ITS NOT OKAY! TURDS! SHIT!! OH GOD!! Oh God! I'm so scared. I feel so cold. So c-c-cold..."

cho.haewon said...

im so cold. hold me.