This weekend was definitely the most random so far ….. ok so it’s only the second but that’s not the point!!!We spend Saturday climbing up a hill/mountain and shopping but who would have though so many odd things could happen in one day!!

The first half of the day was uneventful but once we had climbed the mountain things just seemed to get odd!

Legs shaking and exhausted from our walk we headed for the tube to go shopping make our way back to Emily’s. After consulting my tube map (the only English tube map we had) we made our way to the platform to get the train. A train arrived and I successfully boarded the train whilst Emily learnt why daydreaming in a train doorway is a bad idea. In Korea the trains don’t give you any warning when their door are about to close and Emily manage to get trapped in the door with one leg on the train and the rest of her on the platform. After unsuccessfully trying to prise the doors open she had no choice put to remove herself from the door and watch from the platform as the train pulled away with me on board! Luckily she had the sense to get on the next train and I met her at the next stop. But with no tube map and no means of communicating anyone it was a potentially scary situation. That is often the most daunting thing about being here. We are unable to communicate with the majority of the population and all the signs are written in a different alphabet. Meaning being stranded somewhere or ending up somewhere you don’t want to be can be a very difficult situation to get out of.

Random incident number two: After successfully arriving at our target destination we decided to make use of the public convenience. As we walked in I was approached by some Korean teenagers trying to ask me something. This girl kept whispering something in my ear, but instead of miming what she wanted she just keep talking in Korean. After two days reflection neither Emily or myself have been able to figure out what she wanted!!! Strange….

Random incident number three: Later as we walked through a shopping centre another couple of teenage girls approached me and wanted me to fill in an English survey (I guess for school homework). As they fumbled for a pen I produced one from my bag and began to write only for them to panic and swiftly produce a pencil from their bag. Koreans only seem to write with pencil! (If anyone knows why this is please let me know, I’m intrigued?) The survey began with normal questions, how long have you been in Korea? Why are you here? etc.. But then asked me to describe my ideal man including, age, height, hair colour and weight (talk about specific)!

Random incident number four: Ok not so random but it rather amused me that Emily’s feet are too big for her to buy shoes here!!! I’m just about Ok but still at the top end of the sizes. (Mum – you’d like it here, they all have feet abut your size, you’d have loads of choice).

Random incident number five: We got mega squashed on a tube train. Sometimes Koreans have no manners. The train was busy and there were a lot of people on the platform and they literally shoved everyone out of the way to make sure they got on the train. This train was so packed it was impossible to even move my arms!!! I never thought I would find a train more crowded than the London underground! But then to make matters worse (whilst we still couldn’t move) a group of Korean teenager got on and having not seen many westerners before decided to take pictures of us!!! Not nice when you have no choice in the matter.

Random incident number six: The driving here is terrible – but that is a post in itself. After dealing with the tube we had to get a bus the rest of the way back to Emily’s. Exhausted and wanting a sleep before we went out that night we wanted to get home as quickly as possible. But as we made our way home the bus managed to collide with a car in the next lane putting a nice dent in the passenger side door of the car!!!! Not surprising because of the way they drive, but it meant we had to listen to a load of Koreans being irate in a language we couldn’t understand and wait for the next bus to came along. The best thing was that neither driver pulled into the side of the road. They both just stopped in the middle of a four-lane road and decided to sort the incident out there!!!!

Anyway best be off. Time for dinner. Will blog the mountain tomorrow.

j150vsc – Mon, 2006 – 09 – 18 13:56