Updatery!

Last Sunday we went for a second trip to Mudeungsan (the mountain in Gwangju). We went for lunch at the base of the mountain in one of the many small restaurants available. We sat down and quickly realised there were no helpful pictures of what we could be ordering, so accepted the first thing we were offered. Quite quickly we were brought an alarming array of small dishes with all manner of different things in them, some rice, a large bowl of soup, a plate of leafy veg and some incredibly fatty meat. We didn't really know what to do with it all, but managed to pick up some pointers from the other diners and a friendly Korean chap at the table next to us. Sadly I have to confess that it was the first meal that I haven't enjoyed since we got here. But it's all part of the fun really and I suppose considering the way we order our meals we're doing pretty well!We went for a walk after the food in an effort to find an art gallery and a tea plantation we'd read about. The art gallery was pretty easy to find, about 10 minutes up the hill. We didn't actually go in, as we didn't have our Biennale tickets and didn't want to pay the entrance fee, but there's some other free things connected to it, including the house a Korean artist used to live in for about 20 years, a video installation and some other bits and pieces. There wasn't really much there, but it was quite nice. We did encounter a small watermill that was being spun by 2 small Korean children, perched precariously on the edge of a shaking wooden box over a bit of a sharp fall, as their mother looked on! Sadly we didn't make it to the tea plantation despite being able to see it in the distance, but we did come across another pretty spectacular Buddhist temple where we might be able to go for a templestay at some point.

After our trip we concluded that our trainers aren't up to the job, mostly because we could feel all the rocks through the soles! So today we bought hiking boots. We're going on a long hike this weekend so decided it was time for proper boots. Korean hikers seem to take it very seriously indeed, they're all kitted out in special hiking gear from head to toe, so we also wanted to make sure we fit in properly! Actually, one pretty amazing thing about our life in Korea so far is the fact that we were paid 2 weeks wages at the start of October, which we've lived on for the last 5 weeks. From that money we've paid for our trips to Wando and Namhae, as well as all our food (we eat in restaurants for more than half our evening meals every week, and quite often for lunch too), our bikes, Biennale season tickets, some clothes, bits and pieces for the house, walking boots and a few nights of drinking. And we're not in anyway struggling now! Bodes well for our potential savings. As long as the exchange rate doesn't get any worse for the Won - at the moment it's going up and down like a yo-yo.

Finally, I'm sure anyone reading this will have noticed I have shaved off my beard. This is in no way connected to the note I was given by one of my students suggesting I remove it! In any case, I've terrified myself with the sight of my hairless chin and shall probably grow the beard back as soon as phsyically possible.