We drove about an hour outside of Busan to a town called Jinyeoung. We met the owners of the farm and some old women who worked as berry pickers. They were all over 70 years of age, one was 84! They seemed like very tough ladies, the kind of women who have lived hard lives. I think I was quite possibly the first foreigners they've probably met. They were very friendly, asking Mai and I to sit down and drink coffee and eat strawberries with them
Mai's hand holding a 200gram berry...looks like a tomato!What kind of steroids have they been feeding these guys???
This woman was the youngest of the pickers and she was in her 70's. Full od life and vigor as well.
This is the only strawberry I could find...poor me! I'd never cut it as a berry picker.The old women would have simply left me for dead and possibly turned me into kimchi. Long story short, we picked some strawberries and were kindly given some homemade strawberry jam. It was a great example of country hospitality. Oh yeah, I also had enough time to grab a couple of kebabs at Lotte Department Store on my way back to work. I was the envy of my school's break room...poo haha!!!!
Tonight will both be a happy and a sad one. There's going to be a party in Haeundae. It's a going away party. I ususally make nothing of going away parties in Korea because it seems as if someone is always leaving Korea and they are usually, at best, an acquaintance. This time it's Mai, leaving and Amity is on her way as well. Of course, I'll see Mai in a month or so, but life in Korea is going to be strange without her close by. Looks like we'll have a feed of Korean BBQ tonight at a nice little spot in Jangsan (my neighborhood),. Should be 20-25 people there.
