Take a different form of transportation (hopefully one whose circuit covers parts of the city that you do not normally see) What did you see/learn that travel by your traditional means has not shown you? Take photos along the circuit and include them in your paper. The photos are NOT included in the 3-5 page length.
Marking (20
what did you learn - 3
what did you see - 3
what did you learn / see that your traditional mode of transportation
would not / doesn't allow you to - 2
photos - 2
grammar/spelling - 5
And here is the rough draft:
I like to get around, so when I decided to come to Korea, but to go to the small town of Shinchang, I also made plans to spend plenty of time in other places. Most nights I spend in my dorm studying so that on the weekends I can get out of this little town and into the excited places scattered all around South Korea: Seoul, Everland, Incheon, Busan, Kyeongju, Soonchun, and maybe even a temple stay or two. So far my plan has worked wonderfully, by bus, train, plane, taxi, and even my friend's car I have gotten to see much of Korea already - and we're barely even to midterms. When considering my midterm project, I thought about the options and decided that since I was here to travel, I would use an abnormal means of it to get to know my surrounding area. I thought about renting a bike in Asan or going on a cable car ride in Seoul. But in the end I chose to do something simple. I spent an afternoon walking around the town I have been living in for over a month. At first I thought it would be boring, as there seemed to be little to see. Then I thought maybe I would see a few interesting houses or funny store signs. What I saw not only surprised me, but it also overwhelmed me.
I started at Soonchunhyang's front gate - yes the one that no one actually uses except those weird people
who drive cars. Just up the road there is a walking bridge over to the other side that leads to a gas station where I got to ignore 5 or 6 bus and truck drivers staring inquisitively at the foreigner wandering around snapping pictures. The rest stop was strangely quiet, and as I watched the cars pass below me I noticed that they came in spurts, but the overall traffic was not as heavy as I would have expected on a 4-lane highway. I 
made my way back into town down a side walk bordered on one side by a shiny metal fence separating me from the fast-moving traffic, and on the other side by a green bluff. I noticed the stark contrast between the litter I saw everywhere and the spotless campus on which I live, and I wondered what else about my world was unreal. Besides litterand road signs I noticed graceful street lights
which contrasted the quaint lamps on campus, and I observed that the manhole covers contained the shape of a Gingko leaf, mirroring the trees above.
As a bit of a nature enthusiast, I was extremely happy to be able to observe some local flora and fauna. Imagine my surprise at discovering how many plants I recognized! Here, right next to the main road, and half
way around the world from my little apartment on the main road of my little Tennessee town, I found a Kutzu-covered Weeping Willow tree. From there my eyes ran over a small patch of white daisies to a tall plant with large easily-recognizable leaves. All of the same plants I see every day at home! Throughout the remained of my meander I found plenty more familiar flowers, as well as some new ones. I was awestruck at the natural beauty that abounds just a few blocks from my small dorm room. And to think, if I'd whizzed by in that taxi, I never would have experienced it.
One of my favorite nature lessons was getting to see a rice field, and its irrigation system and water source up close. At first I thought the plants looked like green onions...until I looked up and realized the fields went on covering acres of land all that way to the base of the mountain outside my window back on campus. I then noticed the pipes running through the fields and followed them down a small, raised, dirt path to a man-made holding tank full of muddy water. My first thought was "Ew! That goes on my food!" But then I remembered that the water was only going into the ground so what was a little dirt? Beside the rice fields I found rows of chilis. This was a common sight along the side roads around Shinchang, as were the people tending them.
They all glanced at me in surprise and then quietly went back to work carefully avoiding eye contact or excessive motion. As if being still would cause me to walk on by without taking notice of their daily lives and common activities. But I did notice. From the elderly woman working her garden to the middle-aged woman working her Mandu stand; from the middle-aged man reading behind the counter in the mini stop to the very elderly man sitting outside his apartment alternately watching me and the sunset; from the young boy walking contentedly beside his father to the laughing duos and trios of college students strolling down every street. I noticed them all.
And for the first time since I arrived Shinchang began to come alive. Instead of the-town-where-I-go-to-school, I began to see a town where many people lived and many, many people go to school. Instead of the-town-where-Soonchunhyang-is, I began to see a place full of churches, shops, apartments, markets, restaurants, and more restaurants. In place of the-town-at-the-end-of-Line-One, I began to realize that I live in a place where people are born and die. A place where people paint murals of cute houses on apartment fences and inspirations song lyrics - "I believe I can fly!" - on the walls of the local "Soju Hof" . A place where people constantly have to watch out for cars,
and a place where simply looking up affords a gorgeous view. A place where people sit and wait for trains and stand in glass phone booths when their smart phones fail them. A place where people live.
Using my feet to travel afforded me the privilege of observing normal people in their every-day routines and people in a much closer way than if I had been on the fast track toward some destination. Watching these people as they performed normal, everyday tasks helped me to understand a bit more about what life is in Korea. All this because I got close enough to really look at this new home of mine.
So many new sights simply because I slowed down and observed plants, animals, traffic patterns, road signs, and buildings. Who knew that there was another school in Shinchang? It was news to me. As was the realization that the vegetation strongly resembles that around my home. And giant, speedy, jackrabbits right next to campus? Check. Watching the road from above gave me the unique opportunity to see traffic patterns and driving courtesy in a way I would never have seen out a bus window. For instance, honking is a legitimate turn signal, and slower traffic does not necessarily stay right. Finally, in addition to all the individuals I noticed, I saw countless apartment complexes.
Seeing the vast number of apartment buildings in this small town impressed me with the enormous number of people who live so close to me. Behind every one of those windows and in every one of those cars is an individual, a couple, or a family who has their own story and their own unique life. This is exciting and inspirational - giving me an even stronger desire to learn the language so that I can hear their stories. But in a way it is overwhelming - I am so small, and so insignificant! But if those feelings become too strong, I can always take a little jog down to the Soju Hof and become inspired again to believe in myself and take another leap of faith believing that I can fly! Which is, of course, yet another means of transportation...***Very rough, especially as Blogger makes it nearly impossible to post pictures.
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