Gyeongju

This past weekend Mr. Yoon took the Foreign and Korean teachers on a trip to Gyeongju. Gyeongju is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of South Korea. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Silla. There are a vast number of different archeological and cultural sites situated in this beautiful city.

All the Korean teachers assured me that it is one of the most historical places in Korea... They were right! I have been in Korea for so long that I tend to forget that I am living in Asia but this past weekend it was blindingly obvious. Not only because of the amazing Buddhist temples, Emperor tombs, Korean arcitecture, breath taking landscape and traditional Korean food but because of the mere fact that we were the only foreigners for miles! The Korean teachers said they always knew where we foreigners were because they could hear everyone around them speaking in Korean about the foreigners who were down the hall or on the first floor or in the next room. We weren't able to sneak around without somebody noticing.

I also had the opportunity to witness first hand the horrible phenomenan that is Korean traffic. It took us roughly 4 1/2 hours to get to Gyeongju but 7 1/2 hours to get home. Let me repeat that... 7 1/2 hours to get home. I am still pretty scarred from the experience and am not ready to talk about it. Time heals all wounds, so hopefully by the time I get home I'll be ready to discuss it.