Anyong-hazeo,

Sung-il and his Korean family in Cheong-ju have been absolutely wonderful. Each day has felt like Thanksgiving not only for the many wonderful things he and his family have organized for me but also for always having something on my plate or constantly being offered wonderful food. Koreans love their spice and I have embraced it. Typical korean food involves one main dish (or sometimes two with a soup) that everyone shares and takes as needed on a frying pan that is simmering to stay warm until you eat. Surrounded by the frying pan are many small dishes with various vegetables, most of them being kimchi. Sung-il and his family let me try several dishes including mussels, beef, chicken, Korean style pizza, and the best of all...dog. I'm not kidding and it was wonderful. I mentioned that I wanted to try dog before I left Korea and Sung-il stepped out of his way to find a great restaurant that served dog even off season.

Activities were numerous in Cheong-ju. On the first day, I saw the international craft biennale which explores the history and art of craft and is also home to the old tobacco factory which was very interesting. On the second day, I relaxed in the morning and then was greeted by four university girls who took me to Boepeke temple. It was a lot of fun and with four girls who each spoke a little English, it made conversation rather easy. The fall leaves made the scenery absolutely beautiful. Highlights included seeing the biggest gold buddha statue I have ever seen and listening to "The Brown Eyed Girls" during the car ride.

The next day Sung-il and his family took me to Magoksa temple. It was not just his family however, we went with a group of twenty or so Koreans on a tour guide. I was able to experience what it was like to go on a Korean tour adventure. We saw many temples, shrines and finished the day by seeing a fortified castle. If you take the chance to look at the pictures, you will see that I was king for a day as I dressed in the costume of a king about 1500 years ago. I was also reminded how to shoot a bow and arrow. Miraculously, on my first shot I hit dead center of the bulls eye earning me another round of shots. Sung-il called me Robin Hood for the rest of the day.

On the third day, we went to Anong Hahoe folk village where there was a food festival going on. We sampled numerous local foods and walked the street admiring the old style homes. On the way home, Sung-il brought me to a public bathouse. Cheong-ju with its population of 70,000 people has about 80 public bathouses. This just shows you how important they are to Korean culture. We went to a popular which is famous for curing an ancient king and his eye problems. We went often from very cold mineral water to very hot water. We drank the mineral water (a very distinct taste) and even brushed our teeth with the mineral water. Last but not least, we went to a neighbour's restaurant which I ate there three separate times. This became easily my favorite restaurant in Korea. After eating and drinking either beer, soju or rice wine, we went to the parking lot to play foot volleyball. Of the five nights in Cheong-ju, we played three of the nights and one night we were scheduled to play but it rained. Anyone who knows me well knows how much I would love this. Combining my two favorite sports and playing with a bunch of local Koreans...definitely my cup of tea!

Thank you also to the "Yeppeuda" Mi Rim Yoo, her friends and more importantly her family for adding to my experience in Cheong-ju. The food was "mashi-soyo" and the foot volleyball was "jaemiitge bonaeda."

Thank you so much to Sung-il, his wife Une-Jung, their three children Min-Soo, Don-Jin and Na-Young for making my experience in Cheong-ju a very memorable experience. Sung-il is a very "chinjeolhada" and I have many "daedanhada gi.eok."

GAMSAHAMNIDA!