New Friends & Gwangju

Yesterday I rode the bus to Gwangju to walk around downtown and have dinner with some of the other foreigners. I'm not yet familiar with the bus system here because the language barrier makes it difficult to purchase tickets and read the bus/bus stop names and signs. The first person I met here, Blair (a super nice guy from New Zealand who also lives in Naju), came all the way back from Gwangju (where his girlfriend lives) to get me so he could ride with me and show me how to take the bus. 

Before dinner, we walked around, had coffee at a really nice coffee shop and walked to the site of the 1980 Gwangju Massacre. I didn't know much about the massacre, but the death toll was between 200-2,000 depending on the source. I watched some videos when I got home to try and find out more about it. This is the most informative one in English I could find:

We had dinner at an American restaurant, The Alleyway. I was so excited to have familiar food that I killed over 1/2 of a large pizza. We had a table of of around 15-20 people from all walks of life and from various English speaking countries (the US, Canada, NZ, etc.). Everyone has a different story of why they're here; from a "burned out medical scientist" to the guy who "just wants to travel and party", to one who "just wants a simpler way of life" and to the one who "genuinely loves kids and teaching and wants to touch lives". We all come from different backgrounds, have different interests and reasons why we're here, but the differences don't matter, we are all here together, all accepted as we are, and it feels like one big family.

Wall Surrounding the Gwangju Massacre Site

Gwangju Massacre Site