Daegu, relaxed and rejuvenated… kinda

Friday, oh what a Friday… the most noteworthy story from camp Friday was the painting of the fingernails awarded to the good kids of the week. The challenge being, if the kids were good they were placed on what I dubbed the “POFN” list (pronounced- puh-aw-ffin: painting of finger nails). Trevor suggested the male counselors- he and I, would get our nails painted by the kids chosen at random from a drawing… when it came down to it, after a “public forum” put on by yours truly and Ms. Weevil (mollie)- in which we answered any and all questions directed toward us, I was like “psh” painting nails is lame, I’ll get my face painted instead… “sigh”, the things I do for camp ☺.
5 minutes and three bold blue painted lines into the drawing I realized the paint smelled a little “off”. Then to the enjoyment of everyone else, I was convinced it was oil based paint, and had to sit there letting it seep in, thinking about how I was going to be color stained for the rest of the weekend, mustache, unibrow, and heart decorating my face… as I came to terms with it, I actually started getting excited- ready to show it off to maj and faj later that afternoon on skype, and was a little disappointed when it washed off so easily…
Anyway, Friday was also Amber’s birthday- as well as Faj’s! I may just leave the blog at that… it was Amber’s birthday… a fun night.
Saturday we went down to (Seo Mun) market, which is a big market that sells everything, and when I say everything I mean it. We saw puppies and kittens for sale… to eat, clothes, toys, hats, bags, food! I got some most excellent pancakes, some yaki mandu (not my favorite ones so far), and some amazing boxer shorts/ running pants, depending on who you talk to ;). We also bought this strange yellow bread with beans, poppy seeds, and nuts on top of it… on a whim, and it turned out to be really good. A sort of light fluffy bread. I was really tempted to buy some of the local fruits, the white peaches smelt amazing, but for once I wasn’t too hungry. The market was pretty good, and I’ll be heading back at some point, but nothing too detailed as of yet.
We saw Ice Age 3 later that night which was a surprisingly good movie, then off to Shanghai grill for some delicious Chinese food- finally finally got me some Chinese food ☺. Then another lazy night, bed kinda early, and enjoyed the relaxation!
Sunday we ventured out to Ap Sam Park, just a sneeze and a fart away from our base. Our goal was the cable car which would take us to the top of the mountain for a better view of the city… on the way, matt almost jumped into a green pond, we stumbled upon a Chinese temple, and we discovered some great picnic places. A short gondola ride later, and we found ourselves looking out over a much-larger-than-originally-thought Daegu. It was definitely the type of place where you could sit alone for hours just thinking, being at peace with everything. As hokey as it may sound, being up there was very very spiritual. At a moment as I was looking out at the magnificent landscape, when I was feeling particularly profound I wrote down a little something:
There is a stark contrast between nature and industry the magnitude of which is completely outside the grasp of simple words.
The buildings seem to fill in the canvas of land as seamlessly as the trees do the mountains each breathtaking in their own right.
From such vantage points it is easy to ignore and forget about dailr worries, common irritations, petty things.
Rejuvenated sitting on the mountain outside the realm of society, I look out across the peaks, and see similar souls the size of the specks of dust you see out of the corner of your eyes. And I long to connect with them.
Up here, priorities are re-evaluated and it becomes near impossible to find any reason to hate.
I catch glimpses of color, both obvious amongst the trees and discrete amidst their magnitudes, their owners both insignificant and omnipotent in the roles they play in the larger scheme of things- smaller than the dragonflys that fill the mountain air.
Needless to say, the view from Ap Sam Park was awe inspiring, and definitely good for the soul. It is a place I would recommend to anyone and hope to visit again soon.