June 17, Tuesday Farmer Lee’s
Again, we got up this morning at 5:30am. Today Kyle and I were to weed some of the fields. Insook wants the weeds mostly gone before the rainy season starts. We went out to the soy bean field that we planted yesterday, and started weeding. Kyle and I got that field done in 2 hours and then went to the house for breakfast. Breakfast was the same as yesterday but with a fried egg as well. Very good and fresh food. After breakfast we headed out to the sweet potato field to weed that too. While we were weeding one of the neighbor ladies stopped over while we were weeding and asked us, “bop?” We think she was asking us if we wanted rice, but we had just eaten breakfast. We really had to work hard to get the sweet potato field done before lunch. We were able to get that one done in 2 hours as well.
It seemed that Young-mi came down to check on our progress, and she seemed very pleased and also seemed to feel bad at the same time. She was pleased to see that we had got all of the weeding done already, but she also felt bad that we were working so hard. Angy and I explained that we actually enjoyed it. It’s not like we have to do this kind of work 8-9 months out of the year.
I am sure that most people think we are a little weird to go onto vacation and work on a farm. Well I agree that does sound weird, but that isn’t really what we were going for. We want to interact with people on a more personal level. Really see what some people are like in these countries. Anyways.
After Young-mi saw how much we had done she said that she doesn’t want us doing anymore the rest of the day. So before we headed up to the house we stopped at this really neat building by the stream. It looked really old but apparently it was only around 100 plus years old. It was a small shelter with three rooms and a traditional clay tile roof. It was also surrounded by a nice stone wall. We walked in the shelter for a few minutes and then headed down towards another house that had just been built last year.
This other house is a traditional style Korean house that is built using clay and wood. It was actually surprisingly large and modern on the inside. The house has all the amenities that you would expect in a modern house but built with the raw materials of the earth. One of the biggest benefits of this style of house is that it retains heat very well in the winter and is able t stay significantly cooler in the warm summer months.
From there Angy and I walked back up to the house. I took a little power nap and Angy typed on the computer for a while. Pretty uneventful. Soon thereafter we were called to lunch. Another one of Young-mi’s delicious and fresh meals. It feels so good to be eating so many fresh foods. Angy and I were talking and we noticed that Young-mi was deep in though. We were both wondering what she was thinking. Young-mi noticed that we both went quite and spoke up. She asked what we wanted to do tomorrow. The reason she was asking is that is supposed to rain all night and all day tomorrow. Because of this there will be no work to do tomorrow and we will just be inside all day. She suggested that we might want to get a head start on the remainder of our trip. She said she would give Angy and I time to think about it.
We talked and decided that it would be best to start a little earlier and go to Busan in the morning.
After lunch Young-mi asked if we wanted to hike up the mountain a little bit to get a good view of the countryside. We agreed and headed off. Young-mi started our trek up the hill with little Young-in in the stroller. After a while she started to get tired of pushing, so I asked if she wanted me to carry her in the carrier. She said sure, and I was very pleased. Young-in is such a cute and well behaved for a 5 month old baby.
After walking up and almost reaching the top it started to rain. Being such a small community we were able to just walk up to the neighbors house and wait it out. The neighbors came walking up shortly after we had arrived. The owner is a young man from the mega-city of Seoul who just like Young-in and Insook, needed to get away from the craziness of the city. He walked up to the house with his mom who had come to visit him for the first time since he had moved to the country. His wife still works in an elementary in Seoul. She comes to visit him every weekend. It will unfortunately be a lonely life until his wife can get transferred from the city the country. He works, cooks, eats, cleans, and sleeps all alone 5 days a week.)
They invited us inside and his mother brought out a table with a big plate of bright red juicy watermelon slices and small red grapes fresh from the garden. Delicious! Not too long after that we had a couple more visitors. Two older women from the village. One of these older women was in her nineties and still kicking. I observed how the young man and one of the older ladies kept trying to get this fly but never succeeded in getting it. Well, this older lady very confidently in one fell swoop smacked the fly in mid flight and flicked onto the ground without a second thought. I was quite impressed.
After eating the fruit and Angy and I pretending we knew what everyone was talking about it was almost time to leave. Before we headed out, I asked if it was all right to take a picture of all of us together. Thankfully everyone agreed and I set up the camera and snapped the photo of all of us on the timer. When you look at the picture you should be able to pick out the fly catching older lady. But, in case you can’t she is the woman sitting by the door on my left.
We said goodbye (anyeong-hi gyeseyo) and headed back down. I carried cute little Young-in down again and snapped some photos. There should also be a couple photos of me carrying the little one. It is very beautiful and peaceful up where they live. Although I don’t envy the work, I certainly am jealous of the beauty, serenity and sense of community that they have up there.
After our little walk Angy and spent a little bit of time shelling out green beans. We didn’t really do all that much before dinner. I think we just sat around and updated our blog with new stories and pictures.
Dinner, of course, was delicious and fresh. We had bulgogi, brown rice (from last years harvest), lettuce, cucumbers, green peppers, hot peppers (fresh, fresh, fresh), kimchi, and to drink a homemade wine from her friend. The wine was pretty good. It tasted a lot like a port wine but not as much bite. I also want to mention how Young-mi told us before the meal that we were going to finish the bottle. Angy and I reluctantly agreed (Yeah right).
After dinner we gave them a couple more presents. A postcard, a little jewelry box with the skyline of Minneapolis and the cherry on a spoon, and a bag of chokecherry tea. All Minnesota themed of course.
We all thanked each other back and forth for everything and headed to bed. Angy and I need to be up and packed by 6:40 am to be able to get to town and catch the 7:20 train to Busan.
P.S. The Lee's grow many different vegatbles on their farm. They grow brown rice, soybeans, small black beans, big black beans, sweet potatoes, peanuts, cucumbers, lettuce and persimmon trees. All organic and all delicious.
