JFK to Itaewon, 13 hours 50 minutes




The Hyatt, Jeju Island


























Mt. Halla, Songpanak Trail























When I was much younger, I'd think about outer space, and how vast and black it is...without forcing the thoughts, and I'd eventually feel an intense tingle of eeriness, for a split second. I haven't been able to do that in years. But anyway, pain is really weird. I felt like I was on the verge of death for hours while hiking...sweat drenched every inch of our clothing, burned eyes, and dripped from our chins and noses. Sentences formed without me, like they do when you're sleep deprived, only I was less aware of their existence. I'd focus on getting to the next rock, and at every break I'd get to listen to myself - rolling logs, revenge, traffic lights, ways to injure myself, numbers, peeling faces, the aztecs - I made songs by moving the position of my mouth slightly and breathing in and out. You know when you repeat or read over a certain word again and again, and it becomes strange? You just can't get it to turn back to what it was and what it is supposed to be. Everything on that mountain was like that, us included.


The Birthday Boy








We're happy to be up at 6am, really.








Jeju to Seoul, 50 minutes





If anyone has had to hear me obsess over airports, bear with me again. LOOK AT THOSE BOARDING RAMPS. HOLY ANT EATER. I met my family near Seoul, had camera-whipping-out anxiety, other various anxieties, lunch. My halmuny and her sister made similar facial expressions, which was nice with the language barrier deal...yeah. My grandma is the big kahuna. She's better than me at skiing, cross-country skiing, hiking, academics, friendmaking, persevering, in tennis, etc.














View from our window at The Shilla






Seoul




Everland












The grounds of The Blue House




Gyeongbok Palace






National Palace Museum of Korea






South Korea vs. Saudi Arabia



Yeah, so jetlag is a constant now. The only other constant that I can pinpoint is like...how I converse with people so inconsistently. Most of what I say is irrelevant, contrived, or is complete nonsense. I feel that if I begin to recap what has happened, I'll unintentionally emphasize what shouldn't be emphasized, or I'll cheat details that call for an elaborate summary. I dislike summarizing in general. It's like taking a bunch of different playdough bits and mushing them together...into a huge distorted ball, and that sucks. I don't know, it isn't about the presentation either - I wouldn't do it even if it were in my head. That had nothing to do with what I intended to say, but I've been off...I constantly feel as if I've spent a day in the waves, but it's not just the swaying. Things are too rapid, too drastic. I always hear myself asking what the hell is going on.



I already miss us.