Good morning February

So this morning (Sunday), I decided that having had a quiet weekend, I'd go welcome the new February sun from atop Mt. Acha here in Seoul. It's a pretty little mountain only 4 subways stops away from me, and from the top one can see both the east (where Seoul peters out into the mountainous countryside), and the west (downtown, lego-land Seoul, stretching as far as the eye can see).

Up I got at 6am (lord! we don't do that too often these days now do we?), and began the hike at 7am. Luckily, after a slight wrong turn (the beginning of the movie), I crested the ridge at precisely the moment of sunrise (around 7:40am). The dawn sky was misty and pink, and the sun rose, soft and red above the mountains in the east. I felt so lucky.

I was surprised at the number of people out at this unmentionable hour. Koreans do love to hike! It's the best time to go, because on weekends it's gets mighty crowded on the city mountains. I also seemed to be on an official training route for the ultra-fit; dozens of lean, mean, spandex-outfitted machines sprinted past me up and down the trails. I suppressed the urge to stare, open-mouthed, at their physical prowess. The human body is so amazing in what it is capable of.

Anyway, here's a clip of me saying hello to February...in time for you to say hello to your own February sun.