Change of plans

Every week I get a blessed day off from work and sometimes I go galavanting off to touristy spots and other days I stay home, do laundry, practice, take naps, and try to relax. Yesterday I had planned to walk to the grocery store and then spend the day in a meditative space.

Around noon I was finishing lunch when there was a knock on the door. My boss had stopped by to discuss some work things. Afterwards I asked if he would drive me to the grocery store on his motorcycle and he countered with an idea to spend a few hours touring the island coast since it was such a beautiful day. I took him up on the offer and away we went.

As we rode along the shore line I snapped some pictures.

Haenyeo stone statues with a sea lion randomly too.

Super low tide in this bay.

Dinner :)  I will miss Korean food when I leave.

Squid hanging out to dry.

One of the stops for coffee had this awesome mural on the wall. 

We stopped for coffee at a friend's home to stretch  our legs and warm up a bit (even though it was a nice day the cold winter air on the motorcycle was quite chilly). Then it was on down the road to find lunch. Since it was Wednesday, the place my boss wanted to go was closed but we found another good spot just around the corner. After we had our fill we got back on the bike and continued further away from home to another friend's home and more coffee. Now I don't drink coffee nor to I like coffee and after two cups I wasn't feeling so swell and my taste buds were super unhappy. But still a small price to pay for meeting people and enjoying a Korean countryside tour.

After the second cup of coffee my boss decided it was too cold to return the hour plus ride home so we instead made the shorter trip to the nearby city of Seogwipo for the night. Here we met another friend for dinner and drinks and more drinks and still more drinks. Sometimes I wonder who drinks more, Koreans or Russians...  Warmed by the alcohol and food in our bellies we stumbled into various beds around 3 a.m. and awoke dreary eyed and groggy at 7 a.m. to come back home. The trip home was extremely cold I do not recommend anyone else drive a motorcycle on a cold winter morning for two hours on Jeju, but you do what you must and when I finally arrived home that morning I held my hands under lukewarm water that felt like boiling water for five minutes until I could bend my fingers again. Then I stood in a steaming hot shower for 20 minutes and even after that I still had goose bumps all over my legs and once the hair on my arms dried it stood right back up. I relayered clean clothes of two socks, two pants, and three shirts under my coat and two scarves and hat before going to work for the day.

It certainly wasn't the most pleasant of days off but it was a memorable one and I did really enjoy the Korean point of view that I was privileged to peer into for a day. Now it's back to the grind for another week. Maybe next Wed. I will meditate, but one never knows what opportunities will come along on this island and who am I not to change my plans for the unknown adventure that lies ahead?