Veronika, Sergey, and I.
Cherry blossoms!
More cherry blossoms!
And even more!
After reaching the park and walking around for a little while, we stopped to rest and take in the view and weather. We also ordered some chicken and beer as a snack. When going to the river parks it is very, very common to order chicken and beer via delivery for food. While eating, we talked about some interesting things, varying from crime rates in our respective countries (Nika's boyfriend is Korean) to why Americans don't like traveling to other countries. While I'm in Korea and abroad in general, I find myself being a representative for the U.S. a lot of the time. I think of it as people diplomacy, and if I ever want to have a career in diplomacy in the State Department, which I do, I think this is good practice. While I have my patriotic doubts sometimes, I am reminded that I'm proud of the U.S. for varying reasons and I hold my responsibility of representing the U.S. strongly.
The park was full of activity.
After our snack, we got up and walked around some more. That day was perfect for people-watching and I could've spent all day watching people if I wanted to. Two moments stood out to me while we were walking around. First, we spotted people riding these single wheel things and then dodging through cones to show off their skills. Apparently they cost about $1,000 when we asked one of the riders. I've seen people ride these things in Seoul before and I wonder if they'll become more popular in the future. Second, we saw a guy on a bike jumping on stone blocks. He was actually really good at it, and I wonder how he got to that point. I mean, it's not a common trick to want to learn when you're on a bike, but impressive nonetheless.
These cool single wheel-rider things.
A guy jumping on stone blocks with his bike.
After it started to rain a little in the park, we hopped on the subway again to go to a market that is famous for its non-spicy tteokbokki. I haven't tried the non-version yet so I was definitely curious to see what it tastes like. Geumcheongyo Market is a small market by Gwanghwamun, and we stopped by a food stall to try this famed snack. It was definitely unlike any tteokbokki I've ever had, and the flavors were very simple. We got both spicy and non-spicy and I actually preferred the spicy, which I think is indicative of how Korea has changed my tastebuds, haha.
Trying the famed non-spicy tteokbokki.
We walked around in the neighborhood by the market where we shared a Nutella waffle and then chilled in a cafe with some tea. The neighborhood was quite and peaceful, which was the icing on the cake for the day we had. Afterwards Nika's boyfriend was generous enough to drive me back to Sinchon, where I ended the night with some movie-watching.
On Sunday I was productive with my Korean homework and studying, and I did my usual end-of-the-week errands like laundry and cleaning. I spent some time that day thinking about possibly getting my hair permanently straightened before I go back to the U.S. It's a lot cheaper to do in Korea and since I straighten my hair almost every day with a flat iron, why not? I'm also going to spend the next couple of days planning for some day trips. Specifically I want to travel south to visit a bamboo festival and tea fields sometime in May. There's also a pretty good chance that I might be able to travel to Vietnam at the end of June. Once I get those details figured out I will let you know.
Midterms start next week so I will be spending the next two weeks preparing for them, which means I won't be writing a blog post until the end of April or early May. Hopefully I do well on my exams so spirits will be high, but only time will tell. I will you see you at the end of the month!
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