Our group headed out at 8:30 to Bukhansan National Park for a cultural hike up to Seunggasa temple at the top. The hike was beautiful and it was so surreal seeing nature all around us. Even though there are mountains and places to hike in America, hiking in Korea felt different. The environment looked similar but something about the feeling of walking around the rocks and seeing the views felt like a new experience. 

To celebrate for the upcoming holiday (buddhas birthday) lanterns and candles were set up with other decorations at the temple on top of the mountain. It was a nice setup and we walked around for a bit checking out the temples and other things set up. Even further up a huge flight of stairs there was a massive cliffside with a carving of Buddha in it which I thought was really neat.

Everything so far was good, but the real highlight of my day was dinner. We had the special opportunity to prepare and cook bibimbap for ourself and it was so much fun. I partnered up with Jacob and we took turns cutting the vegetables, preparing the beef and egg, cooking everything in a pan with vegetable oil, and we each made an egg. We both decided to make our eggs over easy, and it turned out really good. Making our own meal was amazing and the food tasted incredible. We mixed the vegetables, egg and beef in a bowl of rice and added some soy sauce to it.

The time that I’m here for is slowly coming to an end but as I’m looking back on the days I’ve been here it has been a great opportunity. I’m glad I came here and hope to make the most of every minute that I am still here for. I didn’t initially know anyone going into the trip but as I worked with my small group before the trip, talked to people during our meetings and spent time with everyone in Korea I’ve made some great friends along the way.