day 2: mokpo, home sweet home
we couldn’t resist buying bikes—i chose the painfully slow, but oh-so-cute mint green cruiser & aaron opted for a lime green bike with 20” wheels (gangsta, eh?). mokpo is fairly bike friendly, with lots of sidewalks & bike paths, but every trip is like an obstacle course, replete with omnipresent pedestrians, various makeshift food stalls, and near-collisions with the random cars and motorbikes that seemingly appear out of nowhere. needless to say, riding on the road is out of the question--traffic laws here are vague, if not practically non-existent. it only takes about 20 minutes to bike from our apartment to our school, and we can criss-cross the city without any serious effort. accident-prone as i am, i’ve already managed to fall and scrape up my knee—accomplishing such a feat on a cruiser is no easy matter ;)
exploring mokpo:
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| foggy mokpo harbor |
gatbawi rock & mt. yibamsan:
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| gatbawi rock |
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the one on the right kinda looks like darth vader
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| mt. yibamsan in the background |
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| mascots of mokpo! |
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| top of mt. yibamsan |
koreans exchange presents, usually food-related, during chuseok, so we were lucky enough to receive a crate of frozen mackerel & enough dried seaweed (keem) to last us until next august. all the stores, even the 7-11's, are stuffed to the gills with various gift boxes, containing everything from asian pears to dirt-caked ginseng. one in particular caught our eye:
yep. it's your garden variety spam, all gussied up and ready to party. weep, ye people of walmart, for your beloved spiced ham has moved on to bigger and better things! (no offense to all you secret spam-lovers out there)
WARNING! food porn ahead!
our manager invited us to eat chuseok dinner at her grandparents’ apartment. they live on the top floor of our school, and her grandma tends to all the nearby gardens. the food was amazing—sweet beef ribs, the BEST kimchi (perfectly salty and spicy, with that almost carbonated flavor that is characteristic of true kimchi mastery), tofu soup, and raw crab (a mokpo specialty), followed by fresh fruit and a traditional fermented sweet rice drink for dessert. all the tables except ours were divided up by gender—a remnant of older times, i suppose. strangely enough, contrary to hallowed american tradition, no one ate themselves into a coma. as much as i love korean food, i’ve gotta admit, the whole experience left me jonesing for some stuffing. anyone want to fedex a box of stovetop to korea? just kidding. sort of.
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| tofu soup |
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| raw marinated crab |
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| various veggies--maybe ferns?? |
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| sweet beef ribs |
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| tempura crab-stuffed peppers, squid & shrimp |
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