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On a rainy August afternoon at Pudong airport (China), while I was sitting in the airplane which will take me back to the United States, we received a message from the Captain saying that the taxiway was busy with other aircrafts waiting for approval for taking off. Since I had a connecting flight in South Korea, I was worry to make it on time.

After waiting for a couple of hours, we got permission to take off. Our flight of two hours had a little bit of turbulence, but nothing serious. When we arrived to Incheon airport, we were informed that the Typhoon Kompasu (hurricane) was in its way to South Korea, and all the flights were cancelled. The passengers were given a little time to take some of their basic stuff of from their main luggage so we can carry the necessary items with us.

I was transported to a small hotel located 15 minutes away from the airport. During the small ride, I could observe the strong winds and heavy rain shaking the van, in that moment I realized how serious the situation was. Even though I was afraid about was what happening, I was very excited to be in Incheon and the opportunity to learn more about that City the next morning.   

Once I settle down in my hotel room, I still could hear the rain and the wind and did not have any clue where I was, so I went to sleep.

The next day, I woke up with the daylight of a fresh and quiet morning, making a quick decision to get ready for a walk around Incheon. After setting the location of the hotel on my “mental GPS” I left the hotel for a walk. Even though it was chili and overcast, it was a nice morning. It was around 8:30 and all the businesses were closed, there were few people on the streets. Taking a few steps, I noticed that I was in the commercial area. There were so many signs along the street that I could not understand because they were written in Korean.

The streets still were wet for the rain and from the urban perspective, the city looked very lovely and well organized, with blocks paving for the pedestrian sidewalks, street signs, equipment: benches, trash cans, bike racks, exercise machines, trees, street and traffic lights, and diverse type of infrastructure.

During my short walk, I observed an interesting transition between the built environment and the nature surroundings. The built environment has a medium density, with buildings between five to twelve stories, infrastructure such as churches, libraries, while the nature environment has a low density with houses of three floors surrounded by trees and gardens.

The big storm left many trees torn apart and out from their roots. There were many crews of gardeners working by taking care of the fallen trees, by cutting their branches, trunks and cleansing the paths. After passing the low density zone, there was a green barrier in between a highway which is located close to the ocean. I walked through a bridge that allows pedestrians crossing the highway to reach the ocean. From the bridge, the view of the ocean was beautiful and intriguing because there were some islands across which look so close from where I was.

That brief walk allowed me to perceive how developed South Korea is. Later that day, when I arrived to the airport I got very impressed for the magnificent of the architecture and structure of its design looking from outside and more from inside. Without a doubt, that unexpected trip was quite of a learning experience.