olympic park

I spent Saturday in Olympic Park in Seoul, a very large and impressive area. Tom and I rented a bicycle carriage thing to drive around for an hour, then we got out and walked. There was too much to see in one day, so we focused on the outdoor art. I can't wait to go back to see the rest.

Along with a bunch of other stuff, that park has the coolest sculpture garden I've ever seen. A lot of the sculptures were just massive and awe-inspiring. The smaller ones were cool too. Most, no matter the size, were science-fictiony or futuristic. My three favorites were one called "Unearthed" (?), another called "Extraterrestrials," and one called "Waiting for Borges," which I regret not getting a picture of. I have pictures of the first two. Waiting for Borges was this beyond-ancient chair and table in compete decay in the middle of the woods. Borges wrote about infinite time, so I think it was what waiting forever would look like. So amazing, I can't get it out of my head.

It was really fun posing with the sculptures, too. I love art that's in nature and that you're allowed to touch. There's a cool sculpture garden in Solomons that those of you at home should go check out if you haven't already. Anyway, spending hours on end looking at art puts your brain in the mindset of searching for meaning and beauty in everything you look at. It makes you see beauty in the world, even in ugly things (like the construction site beside the park).

The day in the park made me very relaxed and happy. I wish I lived in Seoul so I could spend more time scattered here and there in the park. You could see the moon in the sky long before it got dark. It was eerie and oddly appropriate considering all the strange space-age art.

We pulled an all nighter that night. We met up with Adam and T, the new teacher. There are a couple pictures at the end of the album from that. I had a really good time hanging out with the new teacher. It was fun to show her around and see Korea through new eyes again. I've only been here for ten weeks, which is ridiculous because I feel like I've been here forever.

I bought a bike today, but didn't have time to ride it yet. I can't wait to wake up and ride it to work. Before I go in I'm going to try to find the Subway I hear is in my town. I haven't eaten turkey in over two months -- I have to fix that. God, I just hope their pickles are dill, not sweet. Koreans are obsessed with sweet pickles.