The Han River and Yellow Dust

By the time Friday rolls around I'm usually pretty frustrated with work or about living in such a big city. That's why I love the Han River so much. The Han and the Yangjae Rivers have these amazing bike paths along them. the past two weekends have been beautiful so I've been able to get out and ride my bike.


I don't even think I can adequately explain how much better I feel after these bike rides. The Han has a bunch of parks and pools and tennis courts that run along it. It's so amazing to be out in the warmness and to see people out with their families and having a good time. Last weekend there was the Korean touch rugby championship which basically translates to a bunch of Westerners running around and giving each other hugs. Though last week I was, in fact, on a mission to find a route from my house to the Korean War Memorial at Samgakji because that's where Arirang taekwondo trains. After a random morning of spinning around i finally made it.
I was thrilled and rushed into the building to find TM talking to a new member. On the way home I was a little more serious about actually timing myself to see how much time I would need to get there. I went kind of fast on the way home because I was chasing someone but at a normal pace it should probably take about an hour and 15 minutes. Not bad considering it takes me an hour door-to-door on the subway. I poked around the war memorial for a little bit and it's surprisingly upbeat. There's a wedding hall that usually has something going on every weekend and the outdoor yard is full of old planes and tanks and stuff. It's pretty neat and I'd like to spend a Saturday poking around with a little more ardently. Maybe climb around on some of the airplanes.



That Sunday some other teachers and I went out for brunch at the Big Rock Brewery in Gangnam. It was great. There was even an omelet bar. This is a little ketchup and egg man that Holly accidentally had a conversation with for a few minutes.



In other news, apparently I need to watch out for the giant yellow dust cloud. This is serious. As it has been explained to me the yellow dust is sand from the Gobi desert that has been picked up by the wind and carried here. My friend told me that it has been this way for the past 10 years or so and is exacerbated by dsertification. The USO has a website that tells you the warning level and whether or not you should spend time outdoors. Way to go, China!!