Hi everyone! I am safe and well. I apologize that it has taken me so long to post something here as securing an internet connection was quite the challenge for some time. I just returned this evening from a weekend excursion to three southern towns in Korea: Jeonju, Namwon & Hadong.
Friday, August 19th we departed in the morning to tour Jeonju, a vibrant city of art, culture and great food about three hours away. We had a delicious lunch with the city's specialty bibimbap. Next, we had an afternoon cultural program of mask dance. I had a lot of fun learning and performing the mask dance. The instructors really picked on me because of my terrible dancing abilities. I know there will eventually be a video and photos on Facebook to prove this :) After the dancing and exposure to much rain outside, we checked into the traditional hanok. We slept on the floor with rice pillows and one bathroom for many people. Surprisingly, I slept the best that night. We then explored the village and enjoyed a great dinner with some soju. I had beef and squid and it has been one of the best meals here. Then I went shopping with Aisha and got momentarily lost on the way back.
Saturday morning we left the Jeonju Hanok Village to drive towards Namwon, South Korea's city of love. We had a spectacular and wet experience walking around Namwon Gwanghanru Park dedicated to the famous characters of the romantic love story. Then we had a tofu sit-down lunch and were all dragged to the folk museum. This was a change of plans from hiking Jirisan Mountain due to the rainy weather. Everyone was so exhausted as there has not been much time to rest this week. Even tomorrow, I must arise at 7 am for a US Embassay briefing at 8. Next, we arrived at a family style hotel but with traditional sleeping arrangements. The evening activity was a trip to a Buddhist temple in the forest. Dinner here was very plain and the kimche tasted like very strong vinegar. We came back to the hotel and went straight to the convenience store for chocolate treats and other filling foods.
Today, I woke up with another mosquito bite. That's a total of three now!! I am so glad to be back and to have anti-itch creme here. We had an American breakfast this morning at the hotel! Eggs and bacon whoooo! We drove along the Sumjingan river, not polluted by industry, towards Hadong. This area of Hadong was and is famous for its lovely tea. We all participated in a tea ceremony, and I happened to sit down on the hostess matt so I served those at my table. It is important to hold the cups with two hands and not to spill anything. In the afternoon, we toured another Buddhist temple deep into the countryside. I've never seen bigger bugs in my entire life.
Well hope that is entertaining for now! Miss you all!! Mom, when I come home, I will have a list of foods I would like you to prepare. I was really craving your enchiladas the other day :(
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