Down South... Wednesday, February 9

Headed down to Chang Won, a city just 40 minutes or so from Busan, to see K-Gere's new house. After my tutoring, Snickers and I picked up Granny-K and off the three of us headed down south. Snickers and I had an Adidas bag loaded with extra clothes but Granny-K came with a purse literally filled to the brim with Hersey kisses... hahaha. Seriously, the only other thing in her purse was her wallet. She must had been packing about a hundred chocolate kisses... hahaha.
I really had no real expectations for what I'd see but definitely wasn't expecting the house I walked into. It was a beautiful bungalow tucked away on a side country road. The house looked recently gutted and newly renovated. I was most impressed by the outside side and backyard though.

K-Gere somehow managed to transport his massive pots of oriental medicine in the making, so they sat in the backyard beside a very cool picnic table. The picnic table had a BBQ built right into it, like the tables at various Korean restaurants.

K-Gere's new house sat riverside so it was quite pretty. Unfortunetly however, because of the sharp cliff that stands between his backyard and the river, Kimchi slipped one day and it wasn't until much later that K-Gere discovered his hung-to-death dog. Kimchi was Snickers' dog and Chumchi was mine but they lived with K-Gere.

Now only Chumchi lives with K-Gere. She's much bigger than I remembered but still a very happy dog. She doesn't have her overly-hyper brother Kimchi to play with but instead amuses herself by taunting the caged chicken that lives beside her house and attacking her shadow in the sun.

We had no real plan today except for spending some time with K-Gere. He treated us to a beautiful feast at a local restaurant and then took us on a little drive. Along our drive, he had us stop at this particular mountain spot. It looked quite touristy. Turns out it was where the former Korean President died.

I remembered when it happened too, when the Korean President jumped to his death that is. I was at Snickers' boxing bout when the news hit. Junior Mint turned to me and told me then that my anticipated boxing bout, scheduled for the following week, had been postponed consequently. I had dieted like a mad women to get my weight to an all-time low so in my disappointment and frustration, I walked into the women's bathroom and punched the wall. That's also when I first met Snickers' mother. Definitely not a good day, nor a good first impression.

Anyways, back to our moutain visit today...

At the base of the mountain stood three houses. One was of the former President's childhood home, one home was were the security lived, and the third home -- a much larger, elaborate and highly gaurded home -- was were the President once lived. Turns out his wife still lives there which for me sounded rather depressing and strange.

I can understand wanting to stay in the house where you and your former husband lived but having to look out the window everyday and see the very spot from which he jumped to his death just sounds too painful. Not to mention the fact that you'd also have to see all the morners on a daily bases visiting your late husband's monument. No thanks.

I know many Koreans viewed this particular former President as a very humble and respectable man but I really can't understand why Koreans treat suicidal deaths the way they do. I've always believed that there's always a better choice than death and that suicide was kind of like a coward's way of dealing with a problem. It's not really dealing with a problem as much as it is just passing it on to someone else to deal with.

Last year the wife of one of Snickers' friend's committed suicide. She woke her two daughters up, fed them breakfast, and then while they were playing she went into the bathroom and hung herself. It wasn't until a bit later, when Snickers' friend returned home (after a friend's funneral ceremony I should note) that he found his dead wife in the bathroom. Needless to say, he's never been the same since and it really dragged him and his in-laws through hell and back. A year later and he's still dealing with the ripple effects of that one act.

The suicide rate in Korea is alarmingly high and even I know of some Koreans who committed suicide, one of which was a former student of mine who told me ahead of time.

Ahhh... terrible, just flat out terrible.

Despite today being a joyous occasion, I couldn't help but feel sad walking up the mountain, knowing that I'd be seeing the very spot the former President took his life and pondering if his wife was looking up at us.

After the hike up and down the mountain, I asked if we could leave. I felt sad for the former President's wife and didn't good being there.

K-Gere ended up taking us to a traditional market to do some food shopping cause just like his son, the way to my heart is also through my tummy. I scored a couple of handfuls of strawberries after some random seller when I noticed I had no money on me. I stuck up a conversation with him and gave me them for free... sweet.

K-Gere cooked up quite a storm for us back at his house, so I sent Snickers into the kitchen to take notes while Granny-K and I laid on the bed chatting. The other day Snickers told me she cried after he told her about me missing my family and my mom being sick again. Granny-K has always been very sweet to me but I think she hearing my story struck a soft spot with her. Snickers is convinced that I can do no wrong in Granny-K's eyes and claims that I am now one of her favourite family members, as she is mine ;)

Of course Snickers is my favourite among the Kim's but K-Gere and Granny-K are tied for second place. Third place would definitely have to go to the twins. Initially Hyun Jun was the favored of the two but Su Sung has certainly warmed up to me a lot lately. And as for Mama Kim... hmmm... no comment... hahaha. I'm trying, I really am but I just am not comfortable with that woman, sorry Snickers.

Anyways, spending my evening with my all-time favourite person (Snickers) and my two favourite in-laws over an open fire of oysters made for a delightfully delish evening. Throw in the fact that the two men -- K-Gere and Snickers-- were in charge of the cooking and cleaning, and ya, definitely a perfect night!

K-Gere's move down south has certainly done him good so it was nice to see a much more energetic and giddy K-Gere. He was so happy that we had traveled down to see him that he had trouble falling asleep. Consequently, he kept us all up till the wee hours. I was about to call it a night when all of a sudden K-Gere reappeared, wearing silk pjs and sunglasses and a tub of ice cream. He loves his ice cream just as much as his son, Snickers... and he's just as silly as Snickers, too.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Why do Americans choose from just two people to run for president and 50 for Miss America?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not sure.
-- Author Unknown