GCP Korea has done a little Seoul searching...

Never have I ever taken my shoes off so many times in one day.
Never have I ever eaten rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Never have I ever been inside a Buddhist temple or made a wish on a piece of rice paper to be burned at the celebration of the new year.
Never have I ever felt so humbled and spoiled at the same time.

Today was an amazing day. I feel like everyday since we got here has been amazing! It started with a beautiful "American" breakfast at our guest house in Gyeongju. After eating beef stew and fish porridge for breakfast the morning before, I literally almost cried when I saw peanut butter and strawberries. We started the day by visiting a beautiful museum and learning all about the history of South Korea. Then we ventured up a mountain in our giant bus (not the best for sensitive stomachs) and hiked in the rain to view the first statue of Buddha. It is currently under construction, but man, was it breathtaking. I literally got goosebumps. We then visited a Buddhist temple and rubbed a pig statue for good luck and fortune. We continued on to visit a replication of the King's tomb, and our last stop was  the King's Gardens. We were all very tired and soaked to the bone by this point, but our tour guide James insisted we needed to see it and we were very glad we did.  Even in the rain the whole grounds were stunning. The weather today was miserable at times and we all felt like giant drenched bananas in our ponchos, but everyone kept in awesome spirits and it ended up being one of my favorite days so far. The countryside is gorgeous and I am nerding out learning the history of this beautiful country.

As I lay on my cozy bed mat on this amazing heated floor, with the soothing sound of rain falling outside, I am amazed at the opportunity this week has provided me. I am creating friendships with people I would have never had the opportunity to meet otherwise, learning about a culture I had very little prior knowledge of, and seeing incredibly beautiful sights and sounds. I am one very lucky human. Not once has the gravity of this experience escaped me, not even when my pants were soaked to the knee and I was eating picked radishes with honey cornstarch sauce... Not once. I am sore, I am exhausted, I am a little bit nauseous, but I am so so happy. What an incredible experience this has been, and we still have 4 days of adventure ahead!