Monday, Day six: odds and ends

I got up soon after Geoffrey left for work, had a breakfast of sardines, cheese and crackers, and a banana. I checked my mail, put a picture of me and Geoffrey eating eel soup on Facebook, edited my blog from yesterday and put in a wash.I them wrote four post cards. Later I showered and got dressed. When the wash was done I hung it on a rack outside on the porch to dry (doesn't seem dryers are the norm here).

I went out at about 2:00 and had oyster soup again, then went to the post office across YongJi-Ro in the GyeongNam government center and mailed the cards, and got stamps enough for six more cards. On the way back I stopped at a cafe on Yongji-Ro, "Caffe All Espresso" and had a cup of Americano. If I had had a book I'd have stayed longer but I didn't so I came right back. These cafes seem to have replaced the tearoom (다방). I'm calling today a day of rest.

Even that short walk, a few blocks each way, and my lower back and and hip were hurting. When I got home I took a 500 mg. Tylenol and am feeling fine now, as of 9:30 in the evening. I watched the latest episode of Big Bang Theory on Geoffrey's computer.

When Geoffrey got home he went running while I lay down. When he got back he called Wayne and we picked him up on the way to dinner. We ate at a place near the lake and had samgaetang (삼계당 is what everyone calls it but their menu has 계삼당 according to Geoffrey), a chicken soup with the whole chicken (a small one) cooked so it falls apart, and it is stuffed with rice. We walked over to the lake and discussed how many miles Geoffrey ran when he goes there. It is 1200 meters around and he does three laps, plus the distance there and back is a total of about 5 klicks or 3 miles.

We dropped off Wayne and went to a bookstore. I was amazed at how Geoffrey worked his way into a tight parking space for the second time tonight. I wouldn't have tried either. At the bookstore I wanted something by Ko Un in Korean, preferably the original Myeo-Nya so I could compare it with my English version, What: 108 Zen Poems, but they didn't have anything by him (strange!). Geoffrey got a couple cooking books for himself, and one for his mother which I'll take back to save shipping. 

As to driving, it is madness here. Geoffrey says there are rules so I guess the trick is in knowing which ones to observe. There is very little police presence. I keep telling Geoffrey he's going to have a lot of habits to unlearn when he gets back to the states.