The Garden of Morning Calm

Since returning from Chuseok break at the beginning of October, I have been busy pretty much every weekend.  Mostly its been Friday and Saturday volleyball games that seem to fill up the time, with Sundays reserved for catching up on work and groceries and laundry.   But I have been able to do a few fun activities outside of school and volleyball that have been wonderful additions to my experience here.  One was an outing to a garden up in the mountains about an hour and a half away from Suwon, northeast of Seoul.  It was beautiful and amazing to walk around amidst the fall colors, with mountain slopes on all sides covered with reds and yellows and all different shades of green. 

 The garden had several areas to explore - a section based on a traditional Korean village, one full of flowers meant to represent the longing for unity between the north and south of Korea, one surrounding a tiny 4 seat chapel, one of open meadow and one calm forest, several of small streams with beautiful pools where leaves floated peacefully.  It was so nice to get out and be surrounded by what God created - away from the unending towering apartment buildings and constant traffic that is Seoul and Suwon.  (They're really not that bad - just in comparison to the tranquility of the garden). :)  The garden was far from empty though - tons of people walking around exploring, picnicking, taking pictures, having a grand time.

 At one point I did manage to find a way out of the crowd, along an old forest road that went up the hill behind the garden.  It was the first time since leaving Oregon that I have really felt completely alone - in the best way possible.  I could hear the noise from all the people down below, but was surrounded by trees, grass, birds, rocks, and mountains.  It was lovely - just for a few minutes to be alone.

As we left, around noon, there was a line of cars at least a mile long - no joke.  Just waiting to get into the parking lot, let alone explore the garden.  We decided it definitely earned its name - morning calm - and were so glad we went early!