Welcome Home

I have welcomed a new member of the family into my home. Two weeks ago I bought a PSP (playstation portable) and I spent all this week getting acquainted with it. Buying the sucker wasn't easy. Sure, the actual purchase wasn't that tough, but justifying the extravagance was. I used every excuse in the book: "I really didn't get anything for my birthday, I travel a lot so I can use it on long trips," and then finally, "Damn it, I'm worth it." I'd like to say that I've played it in moderation so far but I haven't. It begs so much to be played with that my thumbs are now sore. That's an interesting last sentence.

The thing is addictive for sure, so it's been diverting time from posting pictures, blogging, sleeping, eating, typical everyday stuff. On Sunday I decided it was time to take a reprieve from video games and actually step outside. Scott, Alison, Kat and I decided that some hiking would be nice so we headed to Bukhansan National Park. Bukhansan is located outside of Seoul so we were mildly prepared for crowds; especially since the weather has turned fallish. In reality, hiking Bukhansan can be compared to shopping at a mall on Christmas Eve. People were pushing and climbing over one another, and the crowds. It was the single most unpeaceful hike I've ever taken in my life. There's only a few times when the crowds in Korea have driven me crazy, but I believe this one is at the top of my list.

Part of the factor as to why the hike was such hell for me is the Korean mentality towards hiking itself. Here hiking is more like an Olympic sport rather than a leisurely stroll through nature. No self-respecting Korean would go hiking without bonafide hiking boots; polypropylene hiking pants and matching shirt; a quick-dry, rip-stop, nylon parka; graphite hiking poles, hiking gloves, a lightweight backpack, visor, hat, quick-dry polypropylene handkerchief and etc. The only problem with this is if you spend that much money on equipment you feel the need to get the most out of it. This causes people to push each other and jostle for position on the hill. I took a picture of Scott on his camera where he is in shorts and a T-shirt next to a couple wrapped in their winter gear, hoods on, sipping hot chocolate. This truly accentuated how we are from different worlds. Oh how I pined for the wilds of Wyoming, and the ability to transport a few of these people back there with me to give them a taste of nature, minus a few million people.

After a bit of meandering and weaving back and forth on the trails, we lost a majority of the people and then the hike became quite pleasant. To the testament of the Korean race, I'm not very good with crowds (a trait I have acquired from my father) so my perception of any event is ascued when large groups of people are involved. Still, after all was said and done, it was a relief to get back home to the solitude of my apartment and play video games.