Saturday April 4:
What a day. Went for a jog, ate breakfast, met the group at 9am. Saw a lot of tired faces, the guys stayed out till 130am. Used to do that but not anymore. As usual, people were late, what started out as 4 of us turned into 16, a little annoying at first and only grew worse as the day went on. We got on the train, got off our stop to transfer, and soon the “hitchhikers” started up in full effect: “do you know where your at?” “I don’t want to go there.” “Are you lost?” “you’re making me nervous Owens.” I was the unofficial tour guide. People wanted instant gratification and acted like I had the answers to everything. My stress-o-meter went up big-time every time I had to figure out where to go. We finally got to the museum. It was pretty cool, but I felt rushed. We only had 90 minutes to walk around till we had to meet back. It was the only way to keep tabs on each other. I could’ve spent the whole day there, but I felt like I had to breeze by certain areas. Oh well, part of the dreaded group dynamic. Wish I could’ve ventured alone. Architecturally, the museum is a very cool building. We finally got on the train going to the tower, every time I had to look at the map or make a determination, I started hearing the little quips and comments. I almost wanted to give them the map, say “later dudes!” and run back to the train station to do my thing. We got to the point where I was just about to find the trail to get up to the tower when people started to panic saying, “let’s just get a cab.” Part of the process is the hike up to the tower, now you want to waste that?! The cabs had to go the long route to get up and it cost 9 bucks. The tower was ok, it was a little hazy so we couldn’t see as much and of course, my video camera battery died out. It didn’t even surprise me the way things were going. Once we were up there, they only wanted to spend 10 minutes up there, Gibson saw the initial trail we went on and said, “let’s go down there.” That’s what I initially wanted! More of waiting for people, complaints of being lost, “let’s go this way”, “lets go that way.” We finally got to Itaewon, shopping place extraordinaire and home to the Outback where we were going to eat. We were next to Yongsan Army base. We could get a bus ticket back to Osan for 5 bucks and it drops us off in front of the lodge, take only an hour. This would sure beat going back on the train and spending an hour and a half. Once again, arguments! I’ve been here before, take my advice! They relented, we got the tickets, went back to the Outback. By this time, our feet are sore and legs aching, we have done a lot of walking. Outback was good, not great, but we so hungry that it was yummy! We have two individuals that talk a lot and by this time, it was like loud noise! We tried to shop afterward because we still had two hours to go. I ordered a very cool Tea set, they wanted 60,000 won but I got them down to 45,000. Bartering is the norm here, I’m getting better at it but it’s almost like a science. I was so tired, I decided to go to the army base and catch an earlier bus trip. I had to get some sleep for the big mountain hike tomorrow. On the trip back I had an airman sitting by me. We talked the whole time during the trip. One thing I’ve always been impressed with the military is how friendly people can be. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had soldiers, sailors, marines, or airman that were complete strangers come up and start a conversation, It’s great hearing so many stories of people from all walks of life. He is an air traffic controller, said he was working when an F-16 crashed, he said it traumatized him for a long time. Also said he worked in Iraq north of Baghdad for 4 months, said it is THE MOST BUSIEST military airspace in the entire world. Nice kid, sometimes it makes me wish I had joined the Air force instead of the Navy when I was 18. God has a purpose with everything though. Overall, I still enjoyed the day quite a bit. Great scenery, what can I say, I’m in the 5th largest city in the world! Well, good night!
What a day. Went for a jog, ate breakfast, met the group at 9am. Saw a lot of tired faces, the guys stayed out till 130am. Used to do that but not anymore. As usual, people were late, what started out as 4 of us turned into 16, a little annoying at first and only grew worse as the day went on. We got on the train, got off our stop to transfer, and soon the “hitchhikers” started up in full effect: “do you know where your at?” “I don’t want to go there.” “Are you lost?” “you’re making me nervous Owens.” I was the unofficial tour guide. People wanted instant gratification and acted like I had the answers to everything. My stress-o-meter went up big-time every time I had to figure out where to go. We finally got to the museum. It was pretty cool, but I felt rushed. We only had 90 minutes to walk around till we had to meet back. It was the only way to keep tabs on each other. I could’ve spent the whole day there, but I felt like I had to breeze by certain areas. Oh well, part of the dreaded group dynamic. Wish I could’ve ventured alone. Architecturally, the museum is a very cool building. We finally got on the train going to the tower, every time I had to look at the map or make a determination, I started hearing the little quips and comments. I almost wanted to give them the map, say “later dudes!” and run back to the train station to do my thing. We got to the point where I was just about to find the trail to get up to the tower when people started to panic saying, “let’s just get a cab.” Part of the process is the hike up to the tower, now you want to waste that?! The cabs had to go the long route to get up and it cost 9 bucks. The tower was ok, it was a little hazy so we couldn’t see as much and of course, my video camera battery died out. It didn’t even surprise me the way things were going. Once we were up there, they only wanted to spend 10 minutes up there, Gibson saw the initial trail we went on and said, “let’s go down there.” That’s what I initially wanted! More of waiting for people, complaints of being lost, “let’s go this way”, “lets go that way.” We finally got to Itaewon, shopping place extraordinaire and home to the Outback where we were going to eat. We were next to Yongsan Army base. We could get a bus ticket back to Osan for 5 bucks and it drops us off in front of the lodge, take only an hour. This would sure beat going back on the train and spending an hour and a half. Once again, arguments! I’ve been here before, take my advice! They relented, we got the tickets, went back to the Outback. By this time, our feet are sore and legs aching, we have done a lot of walking. Outback was good, not great, but we so hungry that it was yummy! We have two individuals that talk a lot and by this time, it was like loud noise! We tried to shop afterward because we still had two hours to go. I ordered a very cool Tea set, they wanted 60,000 won but I got them down to 45,000. Bartering is the norm here, I’m getting better at it but it’s almost like a science. I was so tired, I decided to go to the army base and catch an earlier bus trip. I had to get some sleep for the big mountain hike tomorrow. On the trip back I had an airman sitting by me. We talked the whole time during the trip. One thing I’ve always been impressed with the military is how friendly people can be. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had soldiers, sailors, marines, or airman that were complete strangers come up and start a conversation, It’s great hearing so many stories of people from all walks of life. He is an air traffic controller, said he was working when an F-16 crashed, he said it traumatized him for a long time. Also said he worked in Iraq north of Baghdad for 4 months, said it is THE MOST BUSIEST military airspace in the entire world. Nice kid, sometimes it makes me wish I had joined the Air force instead of the Navy when I was 18. God has a purpose with everything though. Overall, I still enjoyed the day quite a bit. Great scenery, what can I say, I’m in the 5th largest city in the world! Well, good night!
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