Carriage ride

Yesterday, my friend Sylvia and I rented a carriage and rode it around a park in Gwangju. She told me in Korea whenever couples ride in carriages or double bikes it is the man's job to pedal and the woman can just sit and relax. On our carriage ride, we both did the pedaling. My steering wheel didn't work, but I kept turning it anyway. We only crashed once, but we were going down narrow paths, under low branches, making sharp turns. Sylvia kept saying, "This is so romantic. I have to bring my boyfriend here." We passed some other rental carriages, but she said ours was better because we had flowers laced around the top.

We turned onto a soccer field and rode around the track while a game was in session. Men sitting in the stands crossed their arms when they saw us, a gesture that means "no," and told us to get off the track because we might get hit by the soccer balls. Men in Korea are a lot more vocal about telling women what they can't do. I didn't see any "No Carriages" sign, so I think it was okay and besides, it was none of their business. We wanted to try going uphill, but  a row of parking cones blocked the road. We decided that it might be too difficult riding the carriage uphill anyway, and that we might accidentally roll backward.

We had delicious Vietnamese food, but while we were waiting for a parking space at the restaurant, an old man cut in front of us and stole the next available spot. "This is why I hate old men," Sylvia said, and I endorsed this sentiment. Overall, a wonderful day in Gwangju with a terrific friend.