August 16, 2002: Hahoe Village, South Korea
Yes, you guessed it. It's raining, pouring at intervals too. My folks, being optimistic as they are, didn't think to pack rain gear. So thanks to our new friend in Korea, Mr. Kim, our parapluie (see I am learning my French) has been our constant companion.
Sunday, August 10, we woke up once again at 3:30am (my stash of Cheerios is dwindling - send care-package soon...drop-site: small ricefield somewhere in Korea!). We didn't actually get up till 6:30am when we got packed, ready to leave Seoul.
We ate breakfast outside the hotel - Papa and myself went out to buy egg and ham omelettes on toast while mommy goes for tea, coffee and chocolate milk for me (she reads the carton wrong and now I'm happy to say I'm hooked on coffee milk!). After breakfast it was school for me and church for mommy. She found a Catholic one after entering a few other Christian ones. About 25% of the Korean people are Christian so there are quite a few large steepled churches. Other religions here are Buddhism and Confucianism (more a system of ethics than a religion).
Next it was off to the tourist office, where mommy played on the internet while Papa found out how to get to our next destination and basically what else to do for the next 31/2 weeks. I really enjoyed playing with all the colourful brochures and had quite a collection going until I was told to put them all back! - parents...just can't reason with them...
At the train station we purchased our tickets to Andong (a smaller town where we will stay for a night before moving on to a typical Korean village for a few days). The trip is 41/2 hrs. and cost W15,000/adult (aprox. US $ 14) It's a free ride for me as a 4yr old. Most things are free for kids my age. The train is comfortable and modern and we take on the passing scenery: beautiful hills and mountains, acres and acres of green ricefields, small farms with tiled, gabled roofs. There are small covered greenhouses, some growing ginseng - Korea is known as the ginseng capital of the world. It's a pleasant ride and I fall asleep halfway through it, waking just as we reach our destination.
We find a yeogwan (small hotel) and get a Korean style room or 'ondol' which means sleeping on mattresses on the floor. After a meal of 'Galbi' (a kind of Bulcogi meal, the difference is that it's made of pork rib meat). It is good, I'm enjoying this kind of food - although my mommy is concerned I'm not getting my veggies. Therefore they are supplementing my meals with fruit and Flintstone vitamines. I've been trying to convince them of the nutritional properties of chocolate covered icecream after each meal. - but to no avail. - PARENTS! (can't beat them so have to travel with them....).
On Monday we wake at 6:30am - a more reasonable hour - it's still raining a bit and very cloudy. After breakfast and school we arrive at the bus station to take the 20 min. ride to Hahoe Folk Village and museum. It is a tiny 16th century traditional village surrounded by picturesque rice fields. The many buildings range from the simple thatched peasants' farmhouses to the larger homes with more than one courtyard. We will be staying here for a couple of days.
Mommy is very excited as she sees many photo opportunities. Unfortunatly all the local tourists wandering around feel the same way. Most of them, toting new modern digital cameras - some even have camera capabilities in a cell phone! I think my mother must feel a little antiquated with her heavy Nikons and lenses. But she gets them out anyway and takes a few shots ...then it starts to pour.... I don't believe I've seen those cameras since.
I have never experienced this much rain in my lifetime. I don't mind, (I love getting my hair wet..) besides they just bought me a cute Japanese umbrella - pink of course. As for my parents,...well there's talk of building an arc! As a result of the rain, we spend most of our days indoors, venturing out for food and walks only to be sent scrambling back in again.
We are staying at a quaint Minbak (local traditional homestay). There are 7 small rooms with white paper covered sliding doors facing the medium size courtyard. If you have ever seen the movie 'Shogun' (before my time) you'll know what I mean. In addition, there are 2 bathrooms (modern) a kitchen, and a larger living/sleeping room for the owners. Like the others, our room consists of no furniture, only a ceiling fan and thin mattresses folded and piled on one side of the square room. We are fortunate though, as ours has a small verandah attached. It's open on 2 sides and I've claimed it as my private play area and school. The rooms have low doorways on which my Papa is constantly bumping his head (I now know a few more French words!). We also have a shutter window which looks out on to the green hills and a garden of red chilli peppers. At night we set out the large mosquito net, (which fills up the entire room) and the mattresses which do the same - leaving just enough space for the 2 backpacks and daypacks.
The sweet lady of the house has made us delicious dinners - which we've all enjoyed. There have been some other guests as well, first a young family with a boy my age. and then a group of archicture students studing the village. The village itself is beautiful, got that real rustic feel. The homes with their small gardens are enclosed by high walls. So you walk through narrow allyways, seeing the typical rooftops of each place (a mixture of thatched and gabled tiles). Very picturesque. It is too bad the weather's been so dreadful. We shall be in this village till it stops raining....
or the arc is finished.....whichever comes first!