On our first day free of any SEL activities, I expected to wake up at 6 am, run on the track field, catch some breakfast in the cafeteria, and spend the day working my presentation for the next day’s lecture. None of that happened. With my internal clock finally set on Korean time, I struggled to get up in the morning, as I do back home. However, after an invite from my dorm mates Danica and Hannah, I found myself on an hour-long bus ride to the Gyejoksan Mountain Red Clay Trail. Having never hiked before, I can say this was this was an amazing first experience. The weather was perfect, and the scenery was breathtaking. Most of our march up the trail was spent taking pictures of the trees, the ponds, and the streams. After hiking and swatting away bugs for about an hour, we set our final destination at a clearing. The clearing had a stage where classical music was playing, and we took a moment to catch our breaths before heading back down, which ended up being the best part of the entire journey. Why? Because we were able to travel down barefoot on a trail of red clay! Hikers have the option to hike the mountain on the regular dirt trail or the red clay trail, which was as soft as play-doh. After reading about the clay and hearing about its therapeutic benefits, Danica, Hannah and I decided to just go for it, and we hiked back down barefoot. It was the most interesting experience I’ve had in Korea so far. The clay felt like putty and even sparkled in the sun. After reaching the bottom of the trail, we washed the clay off and dried our toes in rinsing stations and stopped by a cart selling amazing street food at the base of the path. Snacking on Sotteok, a kabob of rice cake and sausage with a sweet sauce, hit the spot after a one and a half hour hike. After we finished, we headed back home to shower and eat a bit, after which I worked on my presentation. Finally, I got ready to have dinner with our Woosong University partners and our SFSU group! We were able to spend the night eating and talking and getting to know each other better than we have before. New friendships were made, and bonds with our partners and our groups have definitely grown stronger. It was a great start to our second week. - Graciela
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AuthorSFSU Psychology Study Abroad Students Archives
August 2022
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