Nature

 I am bit of a nature geek and so one of the more exciting things about living in Korea has been seeing the different types of birds and trees.  My first observation was the abundance of Japanese Maples.  In the states they generally are small and ornamental and expensive.  Here they are much larger and as common as Bradford Pears, I even have one outside my front door.

Hibiscus syriacus

There are also a great deal of Hibiscus growing here.  A more common name, Rose of Sharon, it is the national flower of Korea.  This one is growing along a wall with others for 50 feet, huge shrubs easily 6' tall and covered in flowers.

Rufous Turtle Dove

Ring-necked Pheasant

I have also seen many different types of birds.  The ring-necked pheasant is a very large bird, very shy and hard to get a picture of. The rufous turtle dove is common and reminds me of mourning doves in the states.  They are larger than mourning doves and the coloring on their backs is very pretty.  There also a lot of black-beaked magpies.  These birds are similar in size to a common crow and has the same boldness and loudness.   

I walk everywhere and try to take my time to look and see what is around me.   Sometimes it is good to slow down, the rewards can be simple but great.