Hello.
My name is JP.
I'm Canadian. To be more precise, I'm Franco-Ontarian. I grew up in a small town called Hanmer. I then spent a long period in the Canadian capital. I have recently obtained work in the Korean city of Busan.
I've been here for about 4 weeks already.
Yesterday, after dusk, I went for a walk in my new home town. I like going for walks to relax before going to bed. Last night, I wanted to walk down to Seomyeon, a part of town that I think is the downtown core of the city.
I'm not that familiar with Busan at this point, but I have a pretty good sense of direction. I thought I would have no problem retracing a route I had walked a few times before. Busan is an easy city to navigate as there are a number of mountains within the city. They're visible from almost any part of town, and most of them are easily recognizable. I did not foresee that they would be much less recognizable in the dark.
Walking through the city, I had a gut feeling that I was not heading in the right direction, but I was not certain of it. The street I was following somehow felt unfamiliar, but yet it also felt familiar at the same time. After walking for about 30 minutes, I came to what appeared to be a large intersection. At this intersection, I turned right, believing that after doing so I would be heading south. The street turned out to be a cul-de-sac. It ended on the edge of a mountain. Up-slope were two large apartment buildings. Down-slope was one of Busan's older neighbourhoods. From there, the location of a mountain that I know to be located just to the east of Seomyeon was completely unexpected to me. It is then that I realized that I was not on my usual path to Seomyeon.
I retraced some of my steps, and took another street that I thought was heading south. This turned out to be my usual avenue to Seomyeon, but I did not immediately realize it. At one intersection, I had to wait for a pedestrian signal. While waiting to cross the street, I finally realized where I was. There in front of me was a sporting equipment store named "Treksta". I recognized it as it is one of the rare businesses on the street with an English name. Across one street, there was a Baskin Robin's. And a few steps further, there was a McDonald's. The experience of knowing again with certainty my location was quite interesting. I felt relieved and I smiled.
Today, looking at a map, I understood how I became disoriented. I thought I was heading southwards, but the street I was following turned gradually towards the east. Since I thought I was heading south, I thought I had to make a left turn at some point to reach Seomyeon. I therefore turned towards the north and eventually found myself on the south slope of Baek-yang-san, one of the larger mountains in Busan. I found it strange that buses that I would see near my apartment were making a left turn at the intersection where I turned into the cul-de-sac. In my mind, they were turning towards the north. They were actually turning towards the west.
During this little adventure, I did not once fear for my safety. Busan is a very safe city and its inhabitants (Busan-ites?) are very friendly. But had I not recognized the street when I did, I might have begun to worry about how I was going to get back home. I was already thinking of hailing a taxi, hoping that the driver would not take advantage of me by taking a long detour on the way to my home. In the end, it took me less than 30 minutes to walk back to my apartment.
This little adventure is, in my mind, analogous to my adventure in Korea.
I have a clear idea of where I hope my experience here will take me. But who knows... It may surprise me and disorient me in ways that I can't even now imagine. Whatever happens, I'm sure that my experience here will be positive. All I have to do is relax and keep an open mind, and I'll get back home in the end having lived an interesting and eye-opening experience over here.
I hope you'll be reading along as it happens.
