Tuesday, Day Seven: House of Changwon

I went to sleep late so I hoped to sleep in, but woke up just before Geoffrey (heard his alarm while in the bathroom) and couldn't go back to sleep. After he left I gave up on sleep and got up. I had a couple hard boiled eggs, cheese and crackers and a banana for breakfast as I read the paper (election news is getting bad, sounds like a tossup).

귀염둥이 (cutie)

I couldn't get the cell phone to come on so I couldn't call Lisa Eash as I had planned (seems I was pushing the wrong button, a girl at the history center fixed it and I felt silly). Lisa is the daughter of Connie Eash of Birmingham Quaker Meeting whom I met when I taught there and whom gives detox foot bath treatments to Pat. We all had dinner at a Korean restaurant in Newark, Delaware back in August before Lisa came over to teach English in Daegu. At that time we agreed we'd meet in Korea, I had hoped with Geoffrey. I sent her an e-mail message to say I'd call tomorrow and probably come to Daegu Thursday for lunch. 

Sarim-ro from the restaurant

I showered and dressed, brought in the clothes which I had left drying outside last night, and left for Changwon House. I walked down the hill and then over to Sarim-ro (Sarim street), crossed the bridge and walked up the hill a bit until I saw a hole-in-the-wall Chinese place and went in. The only person there was the cook and I told him what I wanted, tangsuyuk of course. He served a big bowl of sauce separately which was great because I could control how much I used. We talked a little. He seemed pleased to be able to communicate and gave me a free Coke (which I couldn't drink). 

Beopsu (법수)

teacher and kids on traditional see-saw

From there I walked on up the hill, asking directions a couple of times. I first went in the history center to use the bathroom and ask questions but there was nobody there. Even the information desk and offices were empty. I walked through the presentation of the history of Changwon; most of the panels had some English. I then went out and over to the house (really several houses in a compound). It was interesting but nothing really special. I saw places like this in YuGu in the 1960s, maybe not as clean and fancy but not that different.  

I spent as much time watching a kindergarten class as seeing the place, and took more pictures of them. I even interacted a little, lifting two of them up to put their heads in a cutout of a man and a woman in traditional dress, and later one came over to me and started talking (I didn't understand).  

I took a cab back and had to explain to the cabbie how to get to the post office (my destination), telling him when to turn which way. He said he didn't know Yongji-ro, hard to believe. When I got home I took a nap.

Duke, having just been fed by waitress

At 6:30 Geoffrey and I went back to the International Hotel to pick up Wayne. We then drove back down town to meet Duke and Mr. Kang for dinner. Duke wanted to eat at Wong Ga Ok, a very high end place it turns out that served only Korean beef, but he gave us very vague directions. We parked near the Vietnamese place we went to a couple days ago and walked around Samnam-dong looking for it. We finally found it and Duke and Mr. Kang showed up about five minutes after we were shown a room. Duke ordered the top item on the menu, and the waitress cooked it for us. She was impressed with my Korean, though she did make fun of my pronunciation later, nicely. At one point she wrapped some stuff for me and put it in my mouth, then the same for Wayne and Geoffrey, then Duke. They were drinking beer and soju, and finished with a black raspberry wine. I did have a small sip of the wine and it was good.  

Me (left) inspecting display at Gilsangsa

Geoffrey went to get the car (I was too full and didn't want to walk all the way back) and we took Mr. Kang to the train station,  where we also got my ticket to Seoul for Friday. We stopped at a temple, Gilsangsa (길상사), near the station, unfortunately close enough to hear the trains and under a massive overpass. It was late, but two women went in the temple while we were there. He then drove me through the university where students were still out and about. He said even on a Friday night the study rooms are full. On the way back we stopped at an ATM, and for gas. Leaving the gas station I suggested a better way to get back; Geoffrey was impressed I know my way already.  

But I am still not ready to drive in traffic. It seems barely controlled anarchy. Geoffrey has a sense for what one can do but all the merging and cutting across traffic is frightening, but it seems to work. Geoffrey compared Korean drivers to American saying Koreans don't get upset at being cut off. Stop signs are rare and one way streets rarer; you have to work things out. They just accept things that would have Americans blowing their horns and flashing the finger, if not flying into real road rage. What does this say about the Korean mind?