Yonshinnae

That’s it. I have officially found paradise…for now. I was already in love with where I live. I wake up every day thankful for getting the opportunity to live in this neighborhood. (Most foreigners live in Itaewon, a district with many international goods and services that’s also something like the Warsaw Ghetto.)

But making an already great place better, last week I was wandering around and found an all-night Italian café. I may have mentioned at some earlier point how difficult it is to find decent non-Korean food. (Once I walked for 4 hours, almost walked the entire way home from school, looking for a place that sold French fries. Eventually, I gave up.) Well I have been to numerous fastfood-Sizzler-style restaurants that sold pasta (the extent of Western food) when I couldn’t bare to eat another Korean a la surprise dish. The surprise is that I never know what four-legged creature is hiding in their ostensibly vegetarian dishes. Anyway, this café has the best pasta I have ever had in Korea! They season with real Italian seasonings, cook the spaghetti al dente, and put in real mushrooms, not the canned crap they use at all the other places. Plus it is beautiful. So during one of my many insomnia periods where I must put pen to paper, I walk to the café, sit, relax, and write until my hearts content.

Incidentally, my neighborhood is one of the few places in Korea where people are nice, to me at least. Sure, they stare like they do everywhere, but not scornfully so And here they actually greet me with a smile in the street, are nice to me in the stores, often helping me look for items and sneaking extra food in my bags for free, and apologize if they bump into me. There is also an eclectic mix of people in my neighborhood. It’s not just a sea of college-aged students. During, the day I see children from the local elementary, middle and high schools. Sometimes they get up the nerve to say that one English word they were practicing and when I respond in kind, they walk away jumping in the air, exclaiming to their friends, “I did it!”

Coming home from work, I noticed how lively and happy the people were on the train. I have commuted using 3 different lines and these are clearly the most joyous. They don’t all look like they want to commit suicide.

Getting off the train at night and walking the 15-20 minutes home is always a joyous experience. As I walk, I realize that there is everything I need in the neighborhood, a grocery store, McDonalds (for French fry cravings), stationary/bookstore, sushi bar, photo shop, plant store...you name it, it was there. And my neighborhood is like an amusement park. There are vender’s selling fruit, jewelry, drinks, even carnival games. There is also a lot of clothing outlet stores and one section of the neighborhood is called Yonshinnae Rodeo.

As I walk further up the hill towards my home, the bright lights and venders disappear. The air becomes cool, fresh and still. And the neighborhood turns into a mix of large brick homes and towering apartment buildings. My apartment is at the very top of the hill, among trees and bushes. It's bright and peaceful. And what’s best of all is the hiking trail behind my apartment complex. If I get up early enough, I can hike up the trail and see an aerial view of the city below.