Beautiful day for a stroll!

After a little stroll into town, I came back home super hot! It was really cold when I went out but warmed up while I was walking around. In order to make sure I would not get lost in my new town, I took pictures of my apartment door, apartment building and then headed towards the main street. Once there, I looked for a marker in order to recognize my intersection. The cutest little picture of a pink big singing and dancing…I would not forget that.

The next step was to decide which direction to head in: should I go right or left. They both looked just as mysterious to me. Ok, I decided to go left. So I strolled down the semi busy street trying to make eye contact with the super timid Koreans (only when it comes to foreigners though). They only looked at me once I had passed them or looked away (how do I know? You know…a quick look on my part and they immediately looked elsewhere…you know!). So I kept on walking while making sure I was aware of my surroundings. Last thing I wanted was to get lost in Korea! Although I’ve been told by many foreigners that Koreans are very helpful and if they notice that you are lost, they will come over and help you. I think I will pretend to be lost next time and see who comes to help me. I’ll put this to the test and hopefully befriend a few Koreans!

Anyway, walking on. The main reason I adventured into the unknown was to look for a little food store. I had nothing at all to eat at home (and pretty much have nothing still) and it was nearing noon. But still, nothing in sight. Turns out I live close to a lot of little mechanical and hardware stores. There is a hospital just 3 minutes from my apartment and…and…and…that one is my favorite: right after the hospital, there is a beautiful church that stands at the top of a little hill. I saw the massive statue of Jesus from the main street and wondered whether it was a Catholic or a Protestant church. No matter, it’s obviously a Christian church! Yeah… I quickly walked up the hill wishing I could understand what I was reading (yes, I have gotten a lot better at reading Hangul, but still can’t understand it). I entered the small yard of the church through a white fence and there it was on my right, a beautiful statue of the Virgin Mary! Double yeah…..I fought back to hold on to a few tears of joy. You might think me silly, but after having been walking and feeling like an outsider, I was finally home. I said a little prayer and walked in the church.

Interesting note: the actual gathering hall is upstairs and the parish offices are downstairs! The church is beautiful however cold, like every building in Korea (most likely, the buildings are not heated here, so please keep your coat on!). I knelt and said another prayer thanking God Who told me to turn left at the little cute pink singing and dancing pig. He wanted me to meet Him and that I did! The only problem I foresee is the fact that everything is in Korea and they probably do not have an English mass in such a remote area. I took the bulletin with me hoping that Christine can tell me at what time mass will be tomorrow. She will be coming here soon, at 2:00pm in order to show me around town some more. I absolutely love her! She is amazing and I’m glad (again) that she is my main co-teacher.

Back to this topic. After my brief visit at Yang San Tong Sawng Tang church (can’t tell you the real name for it was in Korean, but that is what was written on the building), I went back to the main street and continued on my way. After about 2 minutes of walking, I found a little food store! Yeah!!! I walked in and greeted the sales person: Annyeong-haseyo!! I try to practice the little Korean I know every chance I get! I bought a bottle of water, a cold coffee, a noodle thing and a rice patty. My total bill was 3,500 won, roughly USD3.50. Not bad for all that hung?!
After that I decided I would head back home, but not before trying the pay phone right outside of the store. Of course the directions are in Korean, so I tried to follow the picture directions to no avail. My phone card was not working. In Korea, they have about a million different types of pay phones , which are actually very rare to come by in the street anyway…ah, the cell phone age! But at any rate, when I was at the airport, there were different types of phones which accepted different types of phone cards. This phone probably does not accept my type of phone card. Oh well. I wanted to call Dr. Gee to let him know I was in Gwangju, but I’ll have to do that another time. Quick note: I was looking at the Gwangju map this morning and realized that I live really close to the institute in which he works.

After being unsuccessful with the pay phone, I decided it was time for me to head back home. Across from that same little store was a PC Bang which is an internet café. I wanted to give myself a pat on the back for being able to read “bang” and know what it was. I will go back there on another trip in town though. On my way back, I realized how close I was to home this whole time. It probably took me 5 minutes maximum to come back. And here I am, about to eat my little rice paddy!