Dunkin' Donuts, Korean style

Carrot donuts, spinach donuts, glazed tofu, and broccoli. Boston, are you ready for all that??

Engagement rings

Our engagement rings are in! We ordered them a little while ago, and they just came in. Perfect.

So, how did I pop the big question to Hanna? Here's what happened. Ages ago when I was visiting this beautiful girl on Jeju Island, I was just hanging out for the summer but Hanna was working hard hours at an after-school academy (학원). On a particularly rough day, we went out for a drink afterwards, and I happened to tie a napkin around her finger to cheer her up. She loved her napkin ring so much that she ended up saving it, I think she even has it in a box somewhere back in Jeju.

So April 10th was her birthday, the day I had been waiting weeks for - I'd made the decision to ask her quite some time before, but I was nervous as all hell, of course. It was a Sunday, but I woke up at 5 AM and and couldn't fall asleep, I read a book in bed and watched the skyline slowly brighten. Around 6 I got out of the little napkin I had stolen from the university dining hall, and tied it around Hanna's finger as she slept. I had meant for her to keep sleeping and for her to ask me about it when she awoke, but I guess she could sense something, and she sat up and looked at me. It was now or never. I got on one knee, asked her, and ... well you know the rest. She said yes. :)



That night we went into the city and picked out rings together - Korean style. I wanted to get her one with a stone, and I didn't want a stone in mine, though all of the Korean "couple rings" were bejeweled even for the men. Finally found a little shop with a couple of real nice ladies who gave us a discount for the two we ended up with. This will be my wedding ring, and Hanna's is an engagement ring (I'm sure she'll get a wedding ring as well too^^). I think Hanna has pictures of the napkin ring on her phone, I'll ask her to upload them when she gets a chance. The band-aid has no romantic story attached, just the unfortunate consequence of early morning veggie chopping.

Spring days

Today Hanna asked me, where in the world is the weather like this all year long? I said maybe southern China? Ahh to live in a land of eternal spring!

An unexpected hike

Last week, I went on a run toward a spot on Google Maps where a road disappeared into the foothills of Mudeung Mountain. My plan: go for a quick hike after the run, and if I was too tired to run back to take a taxi.



Here's the very edge of the paved road, disappearing into meadows with burial mounds in the valley.



Since I was planning on running for only about an hour, I didn't think I'd need any water, and I had my wallet just in case. But there were no convenience stores out here, only farms. I almost turned back when I stumbled upon this 약수 (literally medicine water, basically fresh stream water) at a tiny temple, which was just a shack on the side of the road.



Close-up picture of the shrine outside the temple, the red ladle is what you use to drink the water, I just scooped it with my hands right out of the stone bowl. The mat is for your knees as you do the traditional 108 bows.



After drinking I walked up the dirt path you can see in the above pictures to find a hidden lake in the meadow with a bold "NO SWIMMING" sign. I was hot enough that I almost disobeyed, but I ran into some fishermen there so I decided not to. I ended up chatting with them for a little while after asking them how the day's catch was going (not well). One of the fisherman's daughters is a student at Gwangju University where I teach. Drank some beer and ate some snacks with them, and then, properly refreshed, continued on the path up to higher ground.



I could see on my GPS that if I walked for about 30 min or so and cleared the next ridge, I'd be at a bigger lake with another temple and a road back to civilization, so I decided to follow the mountain paths in that direction. As I reached the top of the ridge, caught a glimpse of Mudeung Mountain with some wild flowers.



The white spots in this picture are wild cherry blossom trees in the hillside.



As I came down the other side of the ridge I could see a large lake, dammed on one side. On the bottom left of the picture you can see a cliff, this was a stunning vantage point and a great view of Mudeung Mountain, and the valley below. Wonder why more people don't hike this way? Probably because of the "산입금지" (don't enter the mountain) sign posted near the dam in this valley. In my defense there wasn't a sign on the valley where I came in! ^^



As I hiked back toward the road in the second valley, came across this female Buddha statue at a small temple. Hanna looked at this picture and said 무섭다 - scary!! By this time I really needed another drink of water, but had to walk another 30 minutes on a lonely village road until I found - huzzah! - a tiny convenience store, and a main road where I could flag down a taxi. An hour's run turned into a 3 hour adventure, totally worth it.

New glasses

Sweet frames, sweet lenses. Never, never  underestimate Korean fashion.

The Road

Hanna kickin off her boOts with joy in the middle of the road! Or, maybe she had a pebble problem.

hiking a mountain in our backyard

This Saturday Hanna and I hiked 금당산 (Gemdang mtn), one of the local giants that watches over our campus.

We used the GPS on my phone to find a path behind an elementary school leading up into the hills. There's something about encountering a trail with no signs, just a path leading into the forest - exhilarating.



Beautiful, tall purple flowers mingled with the trees.



The view from a bench on the path of part of 남구 (the south section) of Gwangju city, my neighborhood.



When we reached the top we could see right down to Gwangju University campus. The tallest building there toward the center of the picture, with the white towers on the roof, is the classroom building. My office is on the 17th floor, facing this side. With good enough 'nocs, you could see all the papers on my messy desk from where I stood to take that shot.

Whenever I gaze out my window at all these gently rolling hills, I get the urge to pack a couple rolls of kimbap and some makkoli in my backpack and just start walking ...