Woraksan, eyeballs, half-marathon

We went back to Woraksan a few weeks ago.  It's really pretty there, and not very crowded yet.  May isn't officially camping season in Korea yet, and Koreans don't like to do things outside of the designated season.  Even though it's lovely and warm already.  It takes four hours to get there, from our door in Suwon to the campground.  We left early Saturday morning, and got to our campsite around 10:30.  The campground is right next to a stream.  We set up camp, then went for a hike.  There are a bunch of hiking trails, and we took the one that goes by a Buddhist Temple, Doekjusa.  The hike was pretty steep, but nice and had pretty views.  When we were about two kilometers from the summit we came upon a helicopter landing pad, and we also realized that the last 2km were straight up some rocks, so we decided to lie down on the landing pad and enjoy the sun.  The Koreans were very amused by this.  It was a beautiful day and lying in the sun is awesome, but  they tend to be....more structured.  They wouldn't just lie down on the ground, ever.

After the hike we went back to the campground.  Brady's friend Stefan had come from Seoul with his friend Tonya to meet up and camp with us.  We spent the afternoon soaking our feet in the stream and drinking beers, then made dinner.  The next day we had our coffee on the rocks by the stream.  It's just so nice to get out of the city.  Then we went for a run.  Not together, Brady's much faster than me, but we both went running, then when we were hot we jumped in the stream to wash/cool off.  Then we got some lunch at a restaurant.  That's one of the good things about Woraksan: there are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby, so we don't have to pack in all our food and drinks.  We left in the afternoon.  The buses were a little tricky.  We were waiting at the bus stop in the park, but the schedule wasn't clear.  At one point there were four private bus drivers crowded around, making calls and trying to help us figure out which public bus to get on.  We made it home eventually.

Last weekend I got laser eye surgery.  My appointment was Saturday afternoon, then I spend Sunday and Monday sleeping and listening to audio books.  I got Lasek, which is a longer recovery process than Lasik is.  We had Monday off for Buddha's birthday.  My eyes were very uncomfortable on Monday.  I could barely open them, and they felt swollen and burny.  They felt much better on Tuesday, and I've had very little discomfort since then.  It will take several weeks to a couple months for my vision to heal completely.  Right now things are a little blurry, especially at the end of the day, but it's getting a little better each day.  Last Sunday Brady went to meet with some of our friends at the beach, and had fun, but more on that is for Brady's blog.

Yesterday Brady and Stefan ran a half-marathon in Seoul.  We went up Friday night and got a motel so we wouldn't have to leave super early on Saturday.  The race started and ended at the World Cup Stadium.  I took pictures and stayed and read while they ran.  They both did very well.  Brady finished in about 1:39, and Stefan in 1:33.  We couldn't find official results for Brady, but we looked at the clock as he crossed the finish line, and it was just under 1:40.  After the half-marathon Brady and Stefan went to a sauna to shower and soak in the tubs.  I'm not allowed at a public sauna or pool until a month after my surgery, so I went to a coffee shop and waited for them.  After that we went out to lunch at a brewery in Itaewon.  There are a lot of foreigners in Itaewon.  At the restaurant there were Americans at the tables on either side of us.  It made me realize how nice it normally is to not understand what people are saying, because there was a lot of dumb stuff being said.  On the other hand, it can be nice to be able to talk to people.  This other American couple came with their dog, and we were talking about their dog, and flying home with him in a couple weeks.  I like being able to talk to a stranger, I just don't want to always understand what they have to say.  There's good and bad, I guess.

After lunch we met up with a few of our friends from Suwon who had come to Seoul for a gay pride festival.  We hung out there for a while, seeing some ridiculous costumes and listening to music, and watching the parade start and end.  Brady and Stefan were pretty beat, so we didn't participate in the actual parade, we just watched.  After that we went to our friend Kat's friend's rooftop BBQ.  A lot of apartment buildings here have roof access, which is SO SO nice, and we are very jealous of.  At our apartment, there is a rooftop area, but only the people on the second and third floor can access it, and we're on the ground level.  It makes me sad. So we grilled some food and hung out there, and met some nice people, then headed home.  Today (Sunday) we're going to have a picnic.  There is a park near our house, and rumor has it there may be some live music there, so we're meeting with our friends Enda and Una.