will & t +1

Saturday we met up with our friends, John and Sarah, in Ingu, their little town down South along the coast. We feasted on some duck for lunch, mainly because it’s good and we know when we’re back in the US, this amount of duck would cost $200 or more. Duck might now be my favorite meat. Yes, I think so. (John is trying to center himself for the amazing meal he would soon ingest.)

We’ve gotten quite accustomed to seeing things like this on our table. This little guy makes a nice picture, wouldn’t you say?

The sign out front says it all.

The walk back into town from the restaurant may have been the highlight of the day in my eyes. We stumbled upon some farmers planting rice. I’ve never seen it done and was totally inthralled in the process. This machine threw down the shoots while the man guided it along.

They seemed quite inthralled with us and even suggested we come tromping around in the mud with them. John almost jumped right in, but they soon thought the better of it and one of the guys came to sit with us while we watched instead. (John needs another side note here as he’s sporting Will’s way-too-big-for-him hat. Will ran to the restaurant to grab Sarah’s camera. John took care of the fallen cap.)

These guys were probably 70 or 80 years old and working hard out in the fields. Retirement, huh?! Korean’s “retire” by moving out of the cities into the country and owning farms, working until they die.

He asked us how old we were and maybe what in the world we were doing “here”. I really enjoyed his friendly smile and welcoming presence. He just plopped right down in the grass and did the best he could to “chat” with us. I think I will remember this moment forever: Rice fields, mud, yellow galoshes, and a couple warm smiles.

John and Sarah at the lighthouse in Hajodae. 

As Buddha’s birthday nears (May 21st), the temple sites get more and more decked out for the holiday. The lanterns on the grounds in Ingu were really beautiful.

The rocky coastline near their apartment might have been enough to draw Will and I back out to this place when our beach is too crowded during the upcoming summer season. 

We enjoyed a little cookie and iced coffee picnic on the beach, played in the waves a bit, and told stories about…not sure. Here’s Will, telling a good one.

We waited for the bus on the curb in their sleepy little down for about 30 minutes and were delighted by a little farming family that pulled up in their tractor directly in front of us. The little girl was sucking on a red bean popsicle in her little pink princess dress. I hoped it was chocolate. Nope. Red bean. She just sat there undisturbed by the foreigners taking pictures of her. Ah, Korea. You have won our hearts.

p.s. tumblr just reminded us our blog is now 1 year old. Happy Birthday! And thanks for reading family and friends! We have been blessed to share a bit of our lives with you.