Day 184: Waterworld

Another great morning of sleeping in late (actually I never saw the morning - I didn't wake up until just after 12 noon!) and the heading straight for the beach. Today was much like yesterday - just catching some rays, playing all day in the water, and enjoying the bounty of eye candy that can be found at any given beach! ;-)

Hanging out at Haeundae all weekend long made me realize how much I MISS living next to the ocean! When I lived in Vancouver I never really swam in the Pacific (too cold) but spent a lot of time either walking the seawall or just hanging out on its shores. And after growing up in Thunder Bay on Lake Superior (which is like a small freshwater ocean) I'm very much used to living in a city on a major body of water. There's something very calming, reassuring, and comforting about living next to a large lake or the ocean. It's like the presence of the water provides some sort of fixation, or natural gravitational point, for a city. A permanence in the landscape that makes one realize that man, in fact, is very small and very dependent on nature.

Since moving to Korea I've had that presence in my life removed and I definitely feel its absence. Cities feel strangely misplaced or 'lost' to me when they're not on a major body of water. Yes, Seoul's Han River is an incredibly wide river, but it's not the same as living on the ocean. It's strange how much the landscape can affect our daily lives... I've also noticed that cities not on the ocean seem much less relaxed than those that are. Again, there must be something calming about the sea but for whatever reason cities located inland seem a lot more hectic and stressful to me. I've definitely realized that wherever I settle permanately, it's gotta be a coastal city for sure! People who live next to the ocean just seem to be more 'chill', and go about their day-to-day activity with less franticness and confusion. Perhaps this is all just in my head, but there is something definitely different about coastal vs. inland cities. What do you think?

Anyways, Haeundae was a blast again today. More wave-riding and getting thrown around by the surf and goofing off with Michael and Eric. We hated to leave but eventually we had to gather up our stuff and head back to the train station. Before boarding our train we did a little more shopping where I attempted to buy myself some new shoes. These plans were thwarted, however, by the fact that most Korean shoes don't come in my size (size 12.) I didn't think it would be *that* hard to find shoes in my size here in Korea but I've had terrible luck so far. Maybe I'll fare better in Seoul where some of the stores might cater to the weguk community (ie: Itaewon). I'll have to try again in the city and see how I do.

We caught the 6pm KTX back to Seoul and then it was the bus back to Ilsan. I was home just after 10pm and it actually felt like I had been out of my house for quite some time even though it had only been two days. I love weekends like that, when they're so much fun that you actually feel like you've gone somewhere, done something, and escaped for a bit from your everyday life (not that my everyday life is bad or anything!) It's just that weekends are so much FUN! And hey five weekends in a row outside the city is pretty damn good! ;-)