i'm sorry, i'm drunk!

No, not me!



But I have a story to tell you.



So I went hiking today (which you can read about below) and after the long and HOT hike I bought another bottle of water from this roadside stand. And somehow between there and the subway (pretty much through a parking lot) I managed to drop my wallet. It was nowhere to be found. I only lost about $30.00, but I also lost my credit card. And that didn't worry me as much as the fact that my subway card was depleted and I was going to recharge it on my way home. So I didn't have any money to get home.



Frustrated, and playing many exhausting games of charades trying to explain to people what had happened and also asking if they had seen it, I gave up. It was gone. I returned to the little roadside stand where I bought the water, sat down, and I think I looked kind of glum.



So there were these 3 men sitting across from me. The one man said "Hey, where you from?" and the conversation continued like this:



Chicago.

Oh? What bad? You no happy?

I lost my wallet.

???

I drop money. Gone. No money. (playing another game of charades.)

Oh. I'm sorry! I'm drunk!

That's okay.

NO, I'M SORRY!!!! I'm drunk!!!

Yes. Okay.

I'M SORRY!!!! You say prayer to that God up there. I'm drunk.



So he stood up and pulled out 1,000 won. (1 dollar)



Here. I'm drunk. I'm not rich.

That's okay

No, HERE! Take!!!!

Thank you. gamsahamnida. Thank you.

You go, subway. Go. I'm SORRY!!!



So I stood up to leave. 1,000 won was exactly what I needed to catch the subway home. I was so grateful. I said a quick prayer of thanks to God in my head and started to walk towards the subway.



Hey. Wait. I'm confused. Wait! I'm DRUNK, I'm not rich!

Okay.



And through much chaos, he got the attention of an entire crowd of people and asked for money to give me. I kept saying "No, that's okay, this is fine. Thank you but no I'm okay. This is all I need...."

And the man got frustrated. He said "NO. Sometimes...things are different."

So he kept saying things in Korean to all of these people and gathered a handful of money and gave it to me, shook my hand, and said. "Here you go. I'm drunk."



And I had no choice but to wave timidly at all of the people, thank them, and thank God. I made it home. I cancelled my credit card. And there wasn't anything else in my wallet so I'm good. Just a minor inconvenience I guess. But definitely one I won't forget!



So here are some pictures from my hike today. I climbed Mount Achasan, hiked over to Mount Yangmasan, and then hiked down. It was HOT! It's about 95 degrees today with 100% humidity. Am I crazy? Oh well. It was a beautiful day.


This wasn't even anywhere close to the top. I stopped taking pictures once I got up to the top. It was a tough hike.





Here is the trailhead to Mount Achasan.


They give you some rules right away. It's very nice of them to give some illustrations for a foreigner like me!


But tell me, what does this mean?


After hiking for a while, I came upon this sign. So I had no idea where I was going, but I knew I was going in the right direction!


For a brief moment I thought this was a climbing tower.

Have I not learned ANYTHING from my father?


Here is a view of Seoul from somewhere on Mount Achasan.


And another one.


And this is where I took a nice long rest.