Last weekend, April 20-21, and Before... Like the 18th

I'm sitting here drinking a canned coffee from GS25. It's Cantata (original blend, ooo!), and it's actually pretty good. It might be tying Georgia coffee for best canned coffee.

Last weekend seems so far away. I got a major hair cut (pretty obvious there, huh?) and spent time with friends in Cheongju. I bought a cute pair of Korean heels too. I just wish the sidewalks were more even and not brick. I don't know how Korean women can go all day in heels with the brick sidewalks and buses. It's amazing. Let's see...Saturday was Korean class, then donkatsu (aka tonkatsu aka fried pork cutlet), haircut and shopping. Sunday was house cleaning and then in late afternoon I met friends, did a little coin noraebang (karaoke) and went to dinner with a whole bunch of English speaking friends. Libby's parents were visiting so it was a big gathering of people. Very fun. We had samgyeopsal (3 layered pork belly) and kalbi (beef strips, not sure what cut). You grill them on the table right there. Very good.

And.. it turns out I don't really have pictures from last weekend. But I do have pictures from a walk down to the river I took with Tian.. and I have a couple hair pictures and some randoms! Bahaha.

Welcome to JeungPyeong - famous for ginseng! These ginseng people stand beside a bridge and welcome people. It says.... Ginseng District(?) (well google translate says 'failure of ginseng' but that has to be wrong) in the small letters, and Jeungpyeong-gun below that. (gun is said goon, not gun like the shooting word)

These kissing Dutch children also welcome you, and stand beside the ginseng people.

From the welcome signs, Tian and I went down to the walking path to see the blooming trees.

Magnolias? I think? 

The river, with a white crane! 

Okay, so interesting Korean culture time... Down by the river is the sketchiest looking park-like place - but it's not sketchy. They have exercise equipment and a running/jogging path and things like this. Ours just happens to be... unused? Or weathered. Ours is also like a ginormous parking lot for trucks, buses, and random things. If it were America, there'd be drug deals going down, but this is Korea where drugs are illegal so that's not happening. But I would not be surprised if someone sells car parts on the side down there... with the junky old cars... why not?

Proof I'm behind on these blog entries - these river pictures were pre-haircut. 

Not sure if you can see them, but there are the trucks on the left and way at the end of the path.

Those iron man rings are on ropes. Nothing could induce me to swing from them... the ropes are probably rotten. Lol. Oh but notice the construction equipment and parked cars. (no, it's not like they parked and were visiting... there were no other people visible)

Blossoms!

There were also these lichen covered steps leading to a flat cement platform. Not sure what its use is, but I think it has to do with opening valves or something for the river? Like overflow or something. I dunno. But there is a random sign hanging in that tree!