Gumi Friends (not Gummy)

When living in a foreign country, I think it is extremely beneficial to create friendships of many kinds.  This weekend Trevor and I were able to spend some time with some friends who live in a place called 구미 (Gumi pronounced goomi).  I've mentioned them in a previous post when they came to see us in Ulsan so it was our turn to give them a visit.  They were extremely hospitable and provided us with memorable experiences.  

The first day we were in Gumi, we went on a hike that led to a waterfall.  Although the waterfall was more like a small drizzle (I've seen more impressive water action coming from my kitchen faucet), the hike was very beautiful and definitely worthwhile.  There were so many picturesque spots throughout the hike so excuse us exceeding our photo quota for the week.  Just past the waterfall, there was a small "cave" (more like an indent in the hill) that was set up as a meditation/worship area for Buddhist monks.  The view from the cave showed most of the mountainside all the way down to the valley below.  I'm saddened that our cameras couldn't catch the full splendor of the beauty around us.  Just so you are aware, these pictures don't even do it justice.  

Coming back down from our hike, the Kim family showed us a booth in the park where a famous man was doing traditional calligraphy for free.  He used a brush and ink to write wise sayings on thin cloth-like paper using old Chinese characters.  He worked so decidedly with every stroke and you could tell he had been doing this for a while.  My favorite part to watch was the area where he makes a series of small characters.  You can really see the detail and focus he puts into his artwork.  The one Trevor and I got said something along the lines of if you have family, and your family unit is good, then everything else will be good too.  Here's a video of the calligrapher at work.

That night, the Kim family treated us to dinner.  We had what is called samgyeatang which is basically a soup with a whole chicken stuffed with rice.  The soup came out literally still boiling it was so hot.  This meal is tricky for me because you have to pick off the pieces of chicken and discard the bones yourself.  I still struggle a little bit with chopsticks and I'm a slow eater to begin with so let's just say I didn't come in first place as far as finishing the meal goes. 

The next morning, we all took a drive to go to a traditional Korean Buddhist temple.  It is just starting to be fall here so the leaves are beginning to change so there were so many colors and once again pretty pictures to be taken.  The temples here were similar to the ones I posted about from our 4th of July adventures but some of these ones were even perhaps a bit more vibrant, detailed, and colorful than the first.  It was such a nice day to walk around, enjoy nature, and gaze at the beauty around us.  

After seeing the temples, the Kim family took us to dinner AGAIN (they are so nice!).  We had more traditional Korean food.  This meal mainly consisted of a huge variety of side dishes (note that each individual dish pictured contains something different) with the main attraction being pork.  My favorite was the pork that was red and spicy.  I'm pretty sure it was cooked on an open grill because it tasted kind of like that grill-charred taste that you get.  So good!

Our weekend was so much fun and it wouldn't have been as accessible and easy without the generosity of the Kim family.  

Seriously this is how my pics look when I'm putting together the blog, then they turn into scrambled eggs when the blog is actually viewed.  NO clue how to fix it.  Sorry again!