Horseback Adventure

Unexpectedly, we got to ride horses in Korea!  One of our Korean friends (Juho) took a bunch of us foreigners to his hometown in the country to go horseback riding!  We took a train an hour South of Daejeon to a small town called Gimje.  His dad has connections there, so we got to stay in the community center.  It was nice to walk down country roads and look at cows. 
The horses were white and brown.  We just went around in a circle, but it was still fun.  Some of the people with us (a mixture of Americans, a Canadian, and a Brit).  We learned more about how to actually ride a horse instead of my past experience of letting the horse just follow other horses.  No one fell off, but it was close.  Horses are bouncy! 
Riding a horse is one of the many things we did not expect to do in Korea.

Glasses

After 8 years, I finally got new glasses this week.  Glasses are very popular in Korea.  They sell fashion glasses with normal glass in it for the people with good vision.  Here, looking geeky is actually makes you more in fashion.  Having big, thick plastic frames makes you apparently look younger and more attractive.  I prefer the older looking, wire frame glasses. 

A friend of mine and went after 9pm to a shop.  We found a frame I liked, then they examined my eyes to update my prescription.  We waited about 15mins where they had complimentary coffee and tea, then I got my new glasses.  Everything (lenses, frame, and examination) cost about $43, and it took less than an hour.  I think I may get another pair before I leave Korea.

My Birthday!

Thank you all for wishing me a happy birthday!  My birthday here was an extended celebration.  Saturday night we had a joint party at a friend's house.  The joint birthday party was for me and my friend Sujin who happens to be almost exactly the same age as me.  I was born in the afternoon of  March 11 in the US, and he was born March 12 in Korea.  They're the same day!  And the house we were at has an oven!  A real one!  As a treat to myself I baked chocolate chip cookies!  My first batch was gone before it cooled down.  The birthday cakes you buy here are interesting.  They have a whipped cream based icing (they don't have cream cheese icing here!) and its topped with fruit.  There is fruit between the layers too.  They come with candles and streamers that pop.  My friends here gave me a pretty bag, a neck pillow, and little cacti!  Sujin gave Riley and I a good luck charm for couples from China.

My actual birthday on Sunday was a normal Sunday, but it was a nice Sunday.  I opened birthday cards from home (Thank you Laura and Grandmother and Grandaddy!).  I had another cake at a bible study we go to. 

Monday I got a present from home!  Thank you Mom and Dad!  Hershey's is expensive here, and grits are impossible to find. 

Tuesday started normal, but Riley had told me not to make plans that night.  I have to admit he succeeded in surprising me.  He took me to a basement Indian restaurant.  There were cloth chandeliers, and we sat on big, purple couches.  It had atmosphere and the food was delicious!  I have a theory that ethnic food tastes better the closer geographically you are to the country of origin.  Afterwards we went to the Olive Garden, except the one they have here is a locally owned pie place.  I had apple and Riley had pumpkin with Ginseng Tea.  So ends my 4-day birthday!