snow day, baby!!

got the day off from school and spent it doing some winter exploring in sokcho. 

(view of sokcho and the seoraksan national park behind it)

(i must admit, i was a little apprehensive packing these babies all the way to korea, but holy moly. they have proved their weight in gold.)

(view from my balcony) that's the family mart that i buy milk and ice cream from! and the little box with people inside outside middle brick building is my bus stop going to sokcho!)

korean winter observations so far:

1. there are two options for snow removal. GIANT tractor with plows attached out front or armies of locals with hand shovels. it's nuts. in goseong (where i live) you would see the giant tractors pushing snow through tiny roads. i was sure that they would clip houses and cars. but apparently these korean snow plowers are quite skilled. in sokcho (medium sized city south of goseong) it seemed like there was an army of locals shoveling the snow. even random people with shopping bags would be carrying shovels and move snow when it got in their way. 

2. koreans wear these slippers EVERYwhere. and even winter storms and inches of snow don't phase them. i saw THREE people today wearing them with a pair of socks. NUTS.