DAY 15- JEJUnity

So now it was off to Gwanju Airport and a trip down the Jeju. This trip was complicated by the fact that POSSLQ, once we had tickets, packed her passport and other ID in her checked luggage and put it in the belly of the plane. This meant the luggage had to be pulled out of the belly of the plane. Unfortunately the doughty lads at Asiana Air pulled Jae's bag instead of POSSLQ's. Another trip to the belly of the plane and, finally, after everyone else cleared the entry area we actually got to the plane before everyone was on it. Thank god there had been a delay due to the foggy weather.

Jeju is a tropical (though it snowed while we were there) resort island off the bottom of Korea which is jam-packed with things to see and although I normally despise the tour bus approach to a vacation, the 2.5 day tour we took was quite useful.

This was also the day I really entered the BORG collective as we arrived at Jeju with Ed's three parents (which should be the name of a Korean sit-com) and Jae's more traditional two. All nine of us and our luggage piled into a small van, with the luggage taking the front seat and the rest of us being shoe-horned into the remaining bench style seats in the back. Again, a decision was made to keep the luggage with us and head out on "activities."

The activities included visiting the end of Jeju which has been turned into a massive tourist attraction because a Korean soap opera called "All In" was shot there and in typical Korean style this economic success brings the folks out, not the beauty of the place.


A MEMORIAL TO A TELEVISION SET

This also included (by ferry) a small island off of Jeju. Very pretty and on the ferry back I took my quite predictable pictures of seagulls. In fact, here are two pictures of birds from that day, and another one from the next day (just to get any birdwatchers all het up):


BIRD FROM THE FERRY


BIRD ON THE BEACH


SOME HIDING BIRD

And for another mystery friend - The International Sign for Pizza Ahead (Kimchee Style!):



The rooms weren't quite what we expected. Instead of a three-bedroom condo style arrangement we had a room with a loft (loft did not have ondol flooring) for 4 people. Fortunately I looked for the little man behind the curtain and discovered a small kitchen that served as POSSLQ and my bedroom.

And, as noted above, we were now in the collective. The responsibility Koreans feel for their friends is fearsome and cannot be avoided. The fact that I needed new shoes was a constant source of conversation and suggestion. When my shoes came untied on one of our walks I was physically restrained until I re-tied them. Any food good enough for one person in the group is good enough for them to force on everyone else. Quite weird. On the plus side, the fact that I pretty much took every bit of food and drink offered to me worked as a big plus - I was doing what they wanted.

This group-focus is weird to me and I really never got used to it.

And I asked another one of those bean-pancake questions. Korean BBQ features big old leaves of lettuce with which you make something like a burritto - a bit of meet, some sauce, maybe a piece of garlic and some of that bowl of stuff that you don't know WTF it is. Then you stuff the whole thing in your mouth and eat it all at once.

I innocently asked why we didn't ever put our fried fish into a similar package. Ed cocked his head sideways as he does when I ask something for which there is no answer. I asked again and pointed out all other cooked meat is treated this way.

Same old answer, "it just isn't done that way."

In retrospect I'm thinking the difference may be that all the other meat is cooked at the table while the fish is fried in the kitchen?

Maybe? I dunno, but don't do it!