Whoa...

So yesterday I finally bought some running shoes for myself. It's been about a month and a half since my last jog so I decided tonight was the time. Leaving early from a social establishment, I went home and suited up in preparation for some much needed exercise . Unsure of the pace I would be able to maintain, I took my cell phone and a calling card along; intending to take a break part ways in order to make some phone calls.

At 11:45 I began my run. At 11:51 I was atop the hill in Ansan Lake park...seems I can still run. Although the muscles in my legs were unhappy after climbing the steep hillside-staircase, the rest of my body was overjoyed. At this point I decided to take it easy and soak up the smells and sounds of the night. Now, I've walked around a lot of Gojan-dong and Jungang-dong at night, but I've never really walked in an area devoid of buildings and traffic. Sauntering down the steps on the opposite side of the hill, I wondered why I hadn't explored the surrounding parks and mountains more. I'm sure not having a bike or running shoes was part of the cause...

Anyways, night-time in Korea is much different than back home. The crime rate here, at least from observation, is much, much, much lower. Ideas of safety are also dramatically different. Children will play in parks at midnight, middle school girls will cut through alleyways at 2am to get home, and tonight, I saw that girls will play badminton, in a dark park at midnight, seemingly without a second thought. It's pretty amazing. In fact, it's almost unbelievable. It's actually taken me about a month to be able to walk outside at night without thinking I'm about to be jumped, threatened, or have any number of annoying things that can happen (but likely won't) when you're alone at night in a large city. So since I was comfortable with my surroundings, I took out my cellphone and began to make phone calls. Leaning on a marble wall with a group of loud teenagers behind me, I called home. Not once, did I look behind me or worry about what the kids might be up to.

Now, apart from this little tangent, something very cool also happened when I was calling a friend. Before calling I had relocated to a bench which overlooked a marsh area. Bats were occasionally flying overhead and all manners of crickets and other insects sang loudly. It was a relaxing scene. At one point during the conversation, a bat flew over my head and then into the open over the marsh. As soon as it drifted into the open air, a large bird flew out from the trees and flew past my head. Looking at the short tail feathers, or what looked short, I thought I'd scared a pigeon or some other common bird. The mystery bird silently headed straight for the bat. It quickly closed the distance and with a dull 'thwak' caught the bat mid flight. Without hesitation it flew off into the night. I was flabbergasted...I had just watched (what I believe to be) an owl fly past my head and then catch a bat in mid air.

It's the little things in this country that have come to impress me the most. I'm glad I came.