The Climb

Hey friends and fam! It was quite the eventful weekend, but that's Korea for you. Let's start with Friday:
  I didn't have class today because my professor was at a UN conference for the weekend. Mariem and I decided to go to one of the most famous malls in Korea--the Coex mall. It's no Mall of America by any means, but it did smell nice and was squeaky clean/white. One of the things Coex is known for is its massive aquarium. We weren't happy about the $20 entrance fee, but we decided to go in anyways. It was worth every penny, simply incredible! We spent 2-3 hours in there. I was impressed by  all the exhibits they had-- from Koreas "backyard garden" featuring Koi, pond fish, giant toads (even some garden stingrays?), to an Amazon exhibit with MASSIVE river monsters, to a deep sea exhibit with tons of sharks and majestic stingrays, and even a biology room, where you could see each step in a breeding jellyfish process as well as look through microscopes at tiny micro organisms.. We were mesmerized, and it was almost spiritual. My FAVORITE part was sticking my hand into a pool with fish that are super eager to suck off and eat your dead skin cells. Freakiest thing.
   I didn't sleep Friday night. Instead, I boarded a bus by myself and headed off to Seoraksan national park to venture on a 12-hour "intermediate hike." This was no intermediate hike. It took 4 hours to ascend to the peak in the pitch dark (we began at 3am), and during that time I felt everything from pounding headaches, nausea, stabbing pains in my feet, exhaustion, cold sweats, hot sweats, muscle failure, the list goes on.... I can't even remember what I thought about during that time. Along the ascent, I actually saw an elderly man pass away. I think he had a heart attack, and by the time I reached his location to pass him, his body was being covered in jackets. It was quite shocking. On a happier note, I made a Korean friend who I hiked up with the rest of the way. Out of nowhere, he pulled out his pet Suagr Glider from his backpack-- I had never seen anything like it! He brings it with him everywhere and it was a cute little morale booster.
  The peak was stunning. We were about 5,500ft in altitude and we watched the sun rise from up there and rested for a while. The remaining 8-hours were just as gorgeous, and a different kind of painful. This time it was my knees--every single step was cringe-worthy. But the valley, the waterfalls, the red and orange autumn trees, were some of the most beautiful sights I've seen on Earth so far. I was praising God every other step in awe of what He's created. I dipped my acheing, swollen feet into the ice cold stream and it felt so refreshing. I hiked with a great group of mostly Americans, some teaching here, some stationed at the air force base. They kept my mind off of my crying body.
   Although I slept on a mat on the floor that night in a nearby hostel, I slept like a rock. We spent the next day in the city of Sokchosi. Fun fact for Pokemon fans: this is the only city in South Korea where you can play Pokemon Go. South Korea doesn't want all its geography/points of interest to be accessed by the North, so that's why it's this way. We saw some fun Pokemon ads, in the forms of floral arrangements (see pics below). This place also has a very lovely beach. One of the guys from the air force base  treated a small group of us to go on a wild boat ride! It was like riding a jet ski on massive ocean waves, except on a small boat! Such a wild time! A smile was plastered on my face the entire time. We spent the remaining hours listening to music on the beach, and then boarded the bus back to Seoul.
  A long post for an exciting weekend. Thanks again for reading!

My Korean friend's pet sugar glider. 

Almost to the peak of the mountain.

Enjoying the peak of the mountain with friends (I'm in back in the hat).

A beautiful view from the valley

Pokemon Go garden

Enjoying the boat ride!