(Date refresher: This is still circa September 2009)
In the morning, Chris dropped me off at the bus stop and told the driver in Korean where I needed to go. Even though he also explained it to me, it was a bit confusing since I had no bearings. An older Korean woman who had heard Chris speak to the driver, and noticed I was clueless, frantically waved her hands for me to get off a few stops after I had just gotten on. How nice of her, I had absolutely no idea this was my stop. Yet another example of Korean kindness.
During the couple days I was in Andong, I visited the Hahoe (pronounced ha-hwo) Folk Village (Queen Elizabeth II planted a tree there),
sampled the Andong Soju (which didn't taste all that great but was an experience),
walked around a lot, drank tea at a traditional tea house, and visited some other places that I unfortunately can't remember anymore (must have been the Andong Soju, just kidding).
Another great example of Korean hospitality was during the afternoon, I had gotten lost somewhat but was in the process of getting back on track. I walked by two older Korean ladies that were cleaning a park. I must have caught their eye, because they immediately started speaking to me . . . in Korean. While I could not understand most of what they were saying, I managed to understand their offer for bottled water, coffee, and to sit down with them. I obliged and in my limited Korean, communicated to them that I was from the US, my parents were Indian, I was an English teacher, and the coffee they gave me was delicious. This was easily one of my favorite memories of Andong. I also had the privilege of notifying a dak galbi restaurant owner, where I ate lunch, that his shop was in the Moon Guide. That most certainly made his week! I even wrote him a note that he could post on his restaurant door "As Featured in Moon Guide: South Korea." No discount for my services, though!
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