After about 15 hours traveling (12 hours from SFO-Seoul and a 50 minute flight to Daegu with short layover), I arrived in Daegu at about 5 a.m. SF time, but something like 9 p.m. here.
We weren't sure we would make the connecting flight from Seoul to Daegu, but we had plenty of time to spare. I asked the ticket agent to put a priority tag on my luggage when I checked in at SFO since we had such a short time to make our connection, so my bag was one of the first ones to come off. The plan was for me to get to the gate and try to hold the plane until Sue and Elizabeth arrived. Elizabeth had a mini-drama and took much longer than me or Sue to get there, but eventually she made it, we boarded and took off. Our flight was very bumpy due to the weather and there had been a slight chance that they were going to cancel it, but luckily we made it.
Jin Hee was waiting for us at Daegu Airport with a driver and a mini-van. We drove through Daegu and eventually arrived at our dormitory, all the while looking out at the busy, bustling city, the neon, markets, smell of grilled meat mixed with exhaust fumes and people out and about. It felt very good to be returning.
Our dorm is the same place I stayed in 3 years ago, but the rooms are nicer. I was in a room that had four bunk beds with desks under them. I had to pull my mattress off of the bunk and put it on the floor. Now I have a very nice room with two regular beds, a table, a small refrigerator and a nice bathroom with a fancy toilet that has all kinds of buttons which I suppose will do things like heat the seat and possibly squirt water (so I will not be touching any of the buttons).
Jin Hee was great and did her best to meet our many requests. Elizabeth wanted to change rooms because she wanted the view out of the front of the building. It seemed like a silly request, but Jin Hee let her do it. We all have name cards on our doors. Mine said "Rickcard" - I folded it in half so it only says Rick.
This morning after a decent sleep, I got up early and went to a little 24 little restaurant and had bi bim bap - rice with various kinds of vegetables, red chili sauce, sesame oil and a fried egg. It was a good breakfast. I returned to the dorm and saw all of the neighbors who come to the campus to exercise. Lots of elderly folks walk around the grounds and a group of ladies gathers under the trees by the vending machines to do morning exercises together. I'd love to join them because I really need some easy, regular exercise.
After taking a little nap I ran into Elizabeth in the hallway and she said she was going to D Mart. I joined her and Sue to see what exactly a D Mart was.
D Mart is a kind of supermarket I guess. They had baked goods, vegetables, meat, and lots of packaged goods. I bought a bottle of barley tea because it was very hot while Elizabeth and Sue stocked up with things like cereal, sugar, milk, etc. I'd rather go out for bi bim bap in the morning than have corn flakes. After I paid for my tea, I noticed a pair of Obama socks, which I had to buy. The cashier laughed when I paid for them.
From D Mart we returned to a little produce store we had stopped in on the way. I got two kinds of plums - small red ones and bigger yellow ones. They are all really sweet and delicious. I love buying fruit in countries where it is grown locally. Unlike in the US where fruit is picked before it is ripe, in places like Korea, Japan, and even Argentina, it is picked when it is ready and travels short distances to be sold. These plums are the best plums I've ever had.
On the way back I stopped in the office which is on the same campus as where we are staying (when I was here 3 years ago, that was not the case). Chan was there along with several young office workers. I asked him for a cable for my computer. He sucked air in between his teeth and said something about wireless. I told him Elizabeth had wireless but I didn't. He was talking to the young guys at the desk. It all seemed so complicated (as things with Chan usually are). I told him Mi Sim had told us we could get a cable. One of the guys reached into a bag and pulled out a cable. I told Chan Sue needed one too. He sucked air through his teeth again. The young guys came back to my room and helped me get on to the internet.
Pretty soon Sue was knocking on my door to see if I wanted to go out for lunch. Elizabeth doesn't eat Korean food I think. Sue doesn't eat pork or beef, so we went to a restaurant nearby that serves samyetang - a small chicken in soup that is stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, chestnuts and red dates. It is served with shoju infused with ginseng. It is supposed to be very tonifying. It was the perfect thing to do after a very long trip.
I'm trying not to nap, but I am feeling a little sleepy and I don't know what else do to, so I think I am going to take a little nap and then maybe head downtown to see if I can find a Korean phrase book.
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