A Walk, Coffee and Scrabble

We went on a walk around Jecheon today.  The weather is warming up and it's pretty exciting.  We're supposed to get temperatures in the 60s on Wednesday.  And while part of me worries that spring temperatures are coming too soon for many parts of the world, I'm happy that winter is ending.

Amy and Ben invited us to have coffee and play Scrabble with them at their favorite spot, so we pointed our meandering toward downtown.

Boys playing in an alley.

It seems to be mostly older people who live in houses, though we've never managed to get any straight answers out of our students or coworkers.  This is a pretty typical setup, the houses are slightly below street level with their roofs actually overlapping in some places.  Everything is built for space here.

Gate to a courtyard that connects several houses.  This is the most common type of gate we see in our area.

Stone balcony.  That's where you'll find kimchi storage jars. 

We know that these are used for traditional cooking and heating, but we're not sure quite how.  They're ubiquitous around our neighborhood. 

Also ubiquitous.  With our students love of computer games, you'd think they'd have their own computer.  But, everyone uses these rooms (PC Rooms).  The sign says "Sam Bo PC Game Bang."  Bang is pronounced "bong" and means room.

We walked up to the stadium because we've never been there before.  This is inside the stadium.  There's also an amphitheater, a soccer field, basketball courts, a croquet court and, of course, some outdoor exercise equipment.  There were a few people out and about, playing and flying kites.

 

Animal sightings:

A dog nervously peaked out at us from his house.

Then he saw this cat.

And he came out to bark at it.

We tried the peanut bread today.  There are actual peanuts in it.  It was pretty decent.  But, we've completely fallen in love with Jeju tangerines.  If you ever have a chance, eat one.  They're tart and not really like any of the small oranges you get in the states.

My cappuccino.  Next to it is the small pot of liquid sugar that came nowhere near my coffee.  Ben and Amy were definitely right, this place actually serves good coffee.  No sugar needed! 

Flower.

Ben's mocha.

Amy's iced vanilla latte.

Ian's drip Kenyan blend.  We also split a waffle, which was a little too soft, but still quite decadent and delicious.

Ben and Amy really cleaned up in Scrabble.  I narrowly beat Ian by 20 points, but Amy beat me by over 25 and Ben had another 20 or so on her.  It felt good to actually use my brain.  Thinking back, I'm not sure if I've ever played Scrabble.  I really liked it.

Well, it's lesson plans and bed time in Korea land.  Good night!