slept straight through the night again, it was very quiet all night. sleeping on the floor in Korean style is working out fine.
6:00 got up to go to bathroom. nobody else was up yet. sawn e up soon after i went to the bathroom. soon e woke up but was too tired to get up. we talked for a while about some family matters.
7:00 soon e and i got up. big sister was already up. she and awma slept on the floor in the living room. awma was still under the covers but was fighting a losing battle with all the activity. had half a glass of fresh milk. 7:18 ji-yang left for school. brother-in-law is eating breakfast. big sister and awma putting on makeup. soon e is taking a bath. part of a small mountain is visible through the glass wall on the balcony side. 7:37 hae-ryon left for school. 7:40 my calves and hamstrings not aching this morning. sawn e made a glass of soy drink for me: blended soy beans with water and a little salt. it's healthy, tastes very good, and also filling 7:45 soon e, big sister, and awma having breakfast. i told soon e that here breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all the same: rice and many little side dishes. 7:50 brother-in-law left for work. today is a really important day. sawn e is driving Awma, big sister, soon e, and me to hakkun's grave had a really great hot bath. put new blade in sensor razor. sawn e vacuumed. 1 advil. leg muscles not aching but a little uncomfortable. 9:05 big sister applied four of the magnetic patches on each of my knees. soon e and big sister got cloths and, on their hands and knees, meticulously went over the kitchen and living room floors. 9:24 big sister was pretending to sing with an invisible microphone and making dance moves. she wanted soon e and me to demonstrate ballroom dancing. we did a few steps of waltz, fox trot, and quick step. but i've really forgotten everything. 9:30 soon e put some meat on a paper plate and put the plate in a plastic bag. we're going to stop to buy soju. soon e said it's for hakkun to eat and drink. soon e was going to the supermarket. i asked her about bbang (bread). she suggested i come with her. it's chilly but beautiful outside today. as soon e and i walked to the supermarket, i thought to myself, "i never want to leave this place". soon e was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and skirt. i could tell she was a little cold. i insisted, as a gallant southern gentleman, that she take my jacket. at the supermarket, the sound system was playing a Korean version of "somewhere, over the rainbow". i thought, "give me a break". it actually turned out to be remarkable. it was a sort of free-form acoustic version and made me feel all the more attached to korea. in the supermarket, i spotted myself in a full-length mirror. it was a perfect chance to take a rare picture of myself. i took several. soon e came over and i took one of us together.
on the way back, we stopped at a pastry store. i got a loaf of bread with walnuts and chestnuts. back about 9:55. had a sizeable chunk of the bread with some milk. it was great! 10:09 shut down laptop. the cemetery is only about 70 km from seoul but the trip took more than 2 hours. big sister went to sleep for a while. i nodded off from time to time. sawn e is a very good driver (she has 11 years experience). |
