the last discussion

JW and I plan to meet later today to do a walk down to Bundang (18K). This will be our last opportunity to discuss our respective plans face to face regarding Jeju-do (we can always chat via Kakao Talk later if need be). I still don't know JW's travel dates, and it's possible he doesn't know them, either, so after our walk, we're going to train back to my place, sit in front of my lovely new Macintosh computer, and hash out some details. Well, that's how the day will go in my mind, but JW will, as he usually does, probably have other plans.

There are things for JW to consider in arranging his visit: the weather, the difficulty levels of the segments he'll be hiking, etc. He plans to catch me at some point during my walk, which will probably mean arriving the night before he plans to walk, staying overnight in a motel, yeogwan, minbak, or pension, then meeting up with me in the morning and walking whatever course I've set for myself that day. He's going to have to arrange his lodging separately, and even if we were coordinating this together, I'd advocate for separate lodging, anyway: JW's my bud, but we ain't sleeping together, thanks. Besides, he doesn't need to be party to what I do at the end of a hiking day: all the blogging and pic-uploading and whatnot (followed by a lot of YouTube- or Netflix-watching*). And I'll likely be too tired to socialize. Besides, if we're walking together all day, we'll both be wanting quiet time in the afternoon and evening.

One concern for me is whether JW will be able to wake up at 5 a.m. and be out the door by 5:30. I'm not normally a morning person, but something weird happens when I go on these walks: I become my best self—early to bed, and early to rise. Waking up at 5 a.m. isn't usually a problem for me when I'm on vacation, although I have been known to start late on occasion. I think JW might need some prompting every morning, but I plan to tell him that it'll be up to him to wake up on time: if he's not ready to go by 5:30, I'll be leaving without him. And since he's a faster walker, he can catch up to me. My understanding is that the Olle courses are all well marked, so he probably won't get lost.

There's a lot to iron out, but if things go awry, well, here in Korea, things have a weird way of working out even when everything's a mess. I'll report back later once JW has some definite travel dates for me.

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*I'm currently watching "Rick & Morty" via Apple TV, which I can't access via my phone, so I'll have to binge once I'm back from my Jeju walk.