On the Flipside: A Korean Adventure (2): New school year, hiking and spring time: Saturday March 11th, 2013

This was our first week back at work, and it was the first week of the new school year. Things were a little hectic at first, with teachers running around getting everything ready for the new academic year. Ian came back to work and had to jump right into classes. I only taught a few classes last week and even this week will not be a normal work week for me.

This past weekend was really nice. On Friday, after our work week our group of friends decided to have a more relaxed night. We just hung out and played board games. We wanted a more low-key night because Saturday we were planning on going on a morning hike. I saw on the weekly weather forecast that Saturday was going to be our first real "spring-like" day, so I wanted to do something active outside.

A group of six of us (Ian, myself, Emily, Ryan, Isabelle, and Adam) got up early and took the subway to Seoul. After getting slightly lost at first, we found Bugaksan Seoul Fortress Wall. The 18.2 km wall was built in 1397 on Bugaksan mountain for protection and to mark the boundaries of the city. The wall was heavily guarded by soldiers. We even had to show our alien registration cards to clear security to enter the area and had to wear a badge around our necks. We weren't allowed to take pictures from certain places, which was a shame because one area which was prohibited had a great view of the city with Namsan Tower in the background. We didn't see the Blue House, the place where the president lives, but we heard it is somewhere near the fortress walls. The hike along the wall involved a lot of steep steps but it was nice to get outside. It ended up being 19 degrees and sunny on Saturday! After our hike, we had a nice rooftop patio lunch with sangria. I am looking forward to spring/summer and more patio afternoons in the sun!

After lunch, a few of us headed to Cosco to stock up on supplies. Unfortunately, after returning from Thailand Ian and I came home to a broken fridge. It was sad to throw out a block of cheese (cheese is so precious in Korea!), but we got a brand new fridge which is larger and better than the one we had, so maybe it was worth it.

That night, we went out in Seoul to Hongdae for our friend Maddy's birthday, which was a lot of fun. Sunday was another lazy day of lounging and a little shopping. Here are some pictures from our hike.