More on More

We have finally ventured beyond the concrete curtains into what Koreans deem "the outdoors." For those that have not heard by phone or email, we have been befriended by a resident neighbor who goes by the name Ingdon, or so we think (in all honesty, we are not quite sure what his name is...we feel horrible about this in case anyone is wondering). He and his family were kind enough to take us hiking this past weekend, and from there the fun endured.

The trip started out well enough. Ingdon was kind enough to drive us a whole 10 kilometers to go hiking, which doesn't sound far, but the drive in actuality took 40 minutes. Whatever time we think it will take to get somewhere it usually takes about double the time we expected. We were happy enough to be along for the ride.

We started out on a dirt road, the first indication of a good hike, as any Montanan knows. Starting from the base we passed a great deal of little orchards and greenhouses for hot peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, and mushrooms. The majority of produce around the region is grown locally, giving sprawl here a more benign definition. We even passed by a traditional style American home; white paint, blue shutters and all. It was reminiscent of rock creek in two ways: one in the aspect that Ingdon informed us that only rich people could afford property like that, and two, well, it was by a river and looked like a ranch. And then, lo and behold, we heard DOGS!!

Now this was a sad sight. There were obvious signs approaching what we were to see. Two dogs were chained up and obviously malnourished during the beginning of our hike. We passed by sadly and I think in some ways, understandingly. We have heard the rumors and they are true; Koreans eat dogs. But what we approached was a bit much...a dog farm. Normally we have no problem with farming edible animals...just not adorable, playful ones that we consider pets. But as Ingdon carelessly pointed at them like the meat bags they were while cordially saying, "We eat those," the hike resumed uninterrupted.

We can't really recognize any of the foliage, at least definitively. Awesome flowers, pretty trees, and really red leaves are about as far as we got. And wouldn't you know it, in true Montana fashion the weather went from sunny, to cold, to rainy in a matter of an hour or two. But what was truly aesthetic was what we got to do upon reaching the summit. At the end of the hike we found ourselves under a tree gently covered in rain, eating a traditional style of Korean food called "gim-bahp," rolled by Ingdons own mother, drinking warm coffee in the presence of people kind enough to share their day with us, who don't mind communicating with smiles. And for the first time, we felt like we were somewhere truly unique.