A taxi picked us up and brought us to the pension where we would be spending the weekend. It was a death-defying trip up and down a huge mountain. The views were spectacular and the sky was sooo clear. I was so glad I came.
Oh the pension. This is a hotel of sorts where you are provided with the bare essentials: a floor, mats for the floor, blankets to cover you once you are on the floor, and pillows to rest your weary head from hitting the floor. Lots of floor action. There was a bathroom without a sink, equipped with communal showers. The water ran out (WATER RAN OUT. At a HOTEL) on the second day, so we were all pretty upset that we had to "shower" using our hands and a hunkered over position to catch the trickle that was the water in order to cleanse ourselves from the odour that was the island. There was a lot of fire. And thus, a lot of burning odour. It's hard to get that smell out of your hair. A bed and a shower: who'da thought they were luxuries? Me, now.
Breakfast and lunch were pretty, pretty Korean. They eat pretty much the same thing for all three meals, so kimchi and rice were staples at the pension, alongside some other diddies: sea kelp soup (caught at the ocean five minutes away), tiny fried fish (a little larger than smelts, but come on...I couldn't eat them), and other such gross-ities. We ate at the nearby "Scrambled eggs, toast, coffee and sausage" restaurant nearby. It was well worth the $6 to have some food sticking to my ribs. But DINNER at the pension. Dinner WELL made up for the lack of goodness at breakfast and lunch. Oh dinner. Where have you been all my life?
Dinner started when the sun was still out, so we could fully appreciate the glory of the setup before us. Laid out under a tree and alongside two fire pit barbecues, was the table ready for everyone. Traditional side dishes littered the tables and copious amounts of meat were brought out on platters. Raw meat, of course. It was up to us to barbecue on the open flame (clearly I enjoyed this more than others). It was really amazing. And this happens to be my favourite of the Korean foods: barbecued meat with hot sauce in a lettuce wrap, so I was happy (it has a name. My throat is just too sore to actually care what it is right now). In the distance, we saw the sun set between the mountains, and life was really perfect. After two hours of barbecuing, we all REEKED of fire pit and were stuffed to the gills. It was amazing.
Of course, after Will regaled us with taunts and tales of his sexuality, and Jeff got ultra upset about an ex-soldier challenging a civilian to a fight, the mood at the table changed a bit and I was more than happy to hit the hay early (and by early, I mean 8:45). Hey, there was a lot of living to do on Saturday and I was prepared to rest heartily during this Chuseok weekend.
Here is a photo of what we didn't eat this weekend: the goat tied up next door. Pet? Dinner? He was a rambunctious fella, regardless of what his function really was. Thank goodness too. I'm reading the Poisonwood Bible and the girls in the story eat disgusting goat stew in the Congo.
Saturday's breakfast was a let down but we had the sausage (totally suspect meat) and eggs to look forward to. Then half of us hit the beach while the other half hiked up a super enormous (wow, adjectives) mountain. I'm glad I chose the former: the weather was perfect for reading and relaxing and tossing around the Frisbee. I got way too much sun for early October, but who's complaining? Not this guy.
Another amazing dinner waited for us later in the day. This time due to the rain, we dined inside instead. What a great setup. You might scoff at the "sleeping on the floor" bit, but really, you get used to it and really start to love this country living. Even the Squat-Showering part. We headed out to the beach for some campfire and firecrackers. Here we are hunkered down against the wind and the cold, waiting for the action to begin. Don't start asking if I'm dating these men, because I know you want to. I prefer to keep my friends and my man-friends lumped in seperate piles.
All in all, the weekend was fab. I'm so glad I decided to forgo the weekend at the Temple Stay and hang out with my friends. I'm also glad I didn't have to work on the weekend (guaranteed at the TS) and that I wasn't woken up at the ungodly hour of 3:30 (again, typical at the TS). I'm sure I'll be prepped for it come January. I'll need some good relaxin' before Leanne and I hit the East Side. Yeah, we're slangin' it up for this trip. Expect a LOT of "Sister Friend"s. I know how much you all love those.
There WAS a bit of drama (Dan and I got in yet another fight about nothing after us girls locked our door and went to bed early...he loves to fight more than I do) and it was only "solved" when we hugged it out by the barbecue pit (my eyes are rolling heartily right now). Why do men act like they wish women wouldn't? Oh, and of course there was the inevitable conflict about Canada vs. America (the differences in military, politics, GDP, economy). Really? Is there any comparison? Sure we look the same and speak the same language, but The Great North is so superior in so many ways, why bother arguing? ;) I managed to get two four-hour naps in. I can't think of a better way to whittle the day away. Well, I can, but this'll have to do for now.
Happy Chuseok, SK. And Happy Thanksgiving Great North.
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