So it's Korean thanksgiving here now, 3 days off!  No turkey to be had but we tried some traditional glutenous rice cakes with red bean paste and honey inside.  Not quite stuffing and mashed potatoes but when in Rome, right?  Kate could hardly swallow hers.  I thought they were okay. ...We've connected with a church that has a English service and met some people there that we might be hiking with tomorrow so that's cool.  Still rains a lot here though so it might not happen.  What else? Hmm...pretty much learned all my students names now and mostly the correct pronunciation of their names.  Rolling along with the fact that this is a business we're working for and all that that entails.
I think I'm going to start taking Korean classes next week.  Be good to get some of the "Hangugeo" down.  Opens up another world when you can speak some of the language.  Liberating.

I'll sign off with one fun story from the English Pastor (he's from the States) regarding language:  He thought he was telling a Korean in Korean that he needed faith to believe in Jesus Christ.  And he found out that what he actually said was you need head lice to believe in Jesus Christ! 
Now that's a head scratcher if ever I heard one...
peace,
Nathan

South Korea is a country of contradictions--this is what one of the Canadian English teachers told us when we first arrived, and we're beginning to believe it.  Perhaps anyone, entering any culture, sees its contradictions, and it is only within your own culture that you cannot see them. Or perhaps when you first enter a culture you try to make sense of things by means of comparison--or contrast.  Enough anthropological rambling...here is my perception of one of the contradictions (not to be confused with the definitive truth of how it is here).
  
Earlier, Nate mentioned the insanity on the roadways.  It is  scary--even riding my bike on the sidewalk.  Suddenly, a motorcycle doing pizza delivery will drive onto the sidewalk, and speed up behind me until I swerve out of the way.  Then he parks directly, I mean directly,  in front of the restaurant.  Cars consider sidewalks fair game too--even as an ideal location for a U turn.  There are no head checks.  Cars have the right of way--even when you are walking on a crosswalk and even when you have the light.  I almost kicked a vehicle in a moment of fury and determined that there is no respect for human life here.  Nate, with his more measured response,  says there is a system and we just need to learn it.  He's probably right.  Everyone else seems happy as a clam.  If you grow up with this system, I'm sure riding a bicycle on the sidewalk is not nearly as harrowing.  But when we were driving with our Korean boss, who has spent time in Canada, I asked him how he found driving in Canada--"oh, it's easy," he said. Two seconds later, we were nearly t-boned by another vehicle.  "You see."

Contrast this crazy, seemingly inconsiderate approach to driving with the extreme politeness around taking photographs.  If you are taking photos and someone notices they are in your way, they will do the limbo, the fast exit, lay prone on the ground, just to avoid interfering with your photo.  They will apologize, look embarrassed and offer to take the photo for you. 

Now, put these two scenarios together.  Nate and I were trying to take photos at the entrance to Dak Galbi Street (remember, dakgalbi is Chuncheon's number one food).  Cars whizzed between us as I took this one of Nate (I had to back up to include that stellar chicken in the photo).  Meanwhile, people wouldn't come anywhere near us.  They didn't want to ruin the photo. 

So you see, there is this strange contrast--what I consider extremely inconsiderate driving etiquette and extremely considerate photography etiquette.  

My conclusion, drawn from my minor analysis, is that in Korea, you can mess with real people.  But don't ever mess with their memory making.  Not ever.

For those days when we're feeling grumchy (grumpy and grouchy), there's our new friend Crunky ( we assume an amalgamation of crunchy and chunky). Chocolate chunks with crunchy rice bits....Crunky--why not?  
Behind the Crunky is our funky wallpaper.