Ewha Mural Village

     Glancing at my watch for the millionth time, I cursed under my breath.  Combining starting off in the wrong direction and the traffic that kept our bus from moving faster than the ajummas outside on the sidewalk, my roommate and I were already twenty minutes late to our "cell group meeting".
     Both of us had signed up for the Mentor's Club at Yonsei University before coming to Korea and, by some sort of luck, had ended up in the same "cell" as they called it- Cell 5.  At the club fair the Mentor's Club tried to stop us and convince us to join their club.  "We're already members," the three of us had said.  But only steps later, we decided this would be a perfect opportunity to discuss the issue of me never receiving a mentor as well as the fact that all the other cells had met up to do fun and exciting things, while we had not since the first night.
     "What cell are you in?" the mentors asked when we explained the situation.
     When we said that we were members of cell 5 they shared a knowing glance, it wasn't the first time they had heard it.  They promised that it would be fixed and, sure enough, the next day we received word of our first cell group meeting since orient ion.  We would be going to Ewha Mural Village on a Saturday that everyone was busy.  Though we weren't completely sold, my roommate and I came to the conclusion that if we were the ones to complain, we better show up to the meeting.
     But there we were, an hour into a bus ride that was supposed to take twenty minutes, and arriving a full half hour late.  My roommate continued to text her mentor, but eventually stopped getting a reply and we had no idea where to meet them besides at station three of Hyewha station.  When we eventually got a hold of someone they very kindly agreed to come down to meet us.
     It wasn't far off from the station (straight out the stairs walk about 50 yards and turn to your left, then just down the street), but the hills and stairs certainly made sure we got our workout in.

                                          

     These were just some of the stairs that filled our day!  There were less decorative stairs that were far worse, but I was just happy when we began to arrive to the murals.  And I had to admit that they were far more beautiful than I had expected.  I was so glad that I had felt obligated to attend.

     Some murals were cute and whimsical (actually, most of them were).

                              

     And some were simply not what I had expected.  This three dimensional piece was just some of the surprising ones that showed up throughout the village.

     The view was quite beautiful from the top of the village.  Possibly even worth climbing said stairs.

      The one above, I took specifically for my father.  So you better be reading my blog!!!

     This one was my favorite piece.  If I was close enough to get the full detail, I lost the whole picture of the mural.  To me the faces looked so happy, though they weren't grinning from ear-to-ear or placed on a neon-bright background.  The tears in the paint and the age of it just gave it even more character.

     After we left the village the group decided that it would be good to have an early dinner, I think the mentors were spent and wanted to go home.  But not even the walk to the restaurant was boring because there was a large group of children playing on these statues (?).   

     That's right friends and family.  Those are mosaic poops.  There was a larger poop, that was also more colorful, but there were still children on it.  I thought taking a picture of mosaic poop decorations was strange enough, I didn't need to add photographing someone's children to it (though they let their children play on giant, colorful poops...so they may not have space to judge).

     The group, about twenty of us, made our way to a Korean barbecue restaurant.  Once again, the mentors had already ordered for us.  Frustrated, I asked those at my table if it was Korean culture to order for your group and they assured me that it wasn't, but since we were such a large group, it was easier to do so.

     Before coming to Korea I was under the impression that it would be equal parts meat and vegetable, but this is not the case.  Above is the meal that was served.  At the top are two strips of mushroom and a piece of onion.  Besides this there was lettuce to wrap the meat in and kimchi (though this is nearly always cooked with fish sauce).

      The mentors were nice enough to let my roommate and I order nengmyeon (ice noodles) instead, though our group shot us dirty looks when our meal combined came to 5,000 won, half of what each individual had to pay for barbecue.
     After most of the group dispersed, six of us stayed together and split some patbingsu (Korean shaved ice).  This is shaved ice topped with sweat red beans and other things.  Our "other things" was dok (rice cakes) and assorted nuts with a scoop of ice cream on top.  I avoided the ice cream but later found out that the beans are cooked with a good portion of condensed milk.  My stomach will not be happy tomorrow.

      And of course you cannot pass the tent making bbobki without buying some!  I am sad to announce that we did not successfully break out the star (which results in a free bbobki), but was also simply relieved when I was not the one to break it.

     Not a terribly flattering picture.  You cannot tell here, but I certainly feel healthy and happy in Korea, but the stairs and heat were not good to me.

     My mentor still remains a mystery that may never be solved.