We took Mark back to the Busan airport yesterday morning for  his trip back to the USA. It has been a fabulous week having him visit. We were just too busy seeing things, talking, laughing and just catching up that I haven’t had time to write.

Some of the things Mark was interested in was the Petroglyphs that are dotted around the area. So we saw the dinosaur tracks and the whale rock carvings near here. We also visited Bulguksa temple,  a place for which I have framed many a pretty picture. It’s on the  left side of the banner image at the top of the page. This week it was still quite a bit greener and the leaves are just now beginning to show tinges of reds and yellows. Mark missed the fall colors by a week or three. The rest of the place was, as usual, in full bloom with the lotus flowers and dragons painted all over the temples. Below Mark and I pose in front of a large drum.

We also went had mass quantities of good Korean food. Mark likes spicy food and ate it all. We had traditional Korean restaurant food, but he also got a taste of real home cooking.  MyeongHee cooked for us twice while he was here. I waited several months before I got my first home cooked meal here so he’s way ahead of the curve.

Mark’s a dog lover, too, and he got along famously with SaTang. He walked her while I was at work and had fun talking with all the kids that swarm newcomers. Here, they both relax on the sofa.

For only being here a week, he picked up quite a bit of the language. He got really good at greeting and bowing and locals were all pleased with his manners. He brought one of his AIBO dogs to class on Friday and showed it to several students. They were blown away by its singing and dancing and interaction.

Friday during the day, it was market day. Mark had fun just walking up and down the street looking at all the booths selling anything from raw fish, chicken and vegetables to household goods, cheap jewelry and cooked foods. Sometimes its a booth, sometimes its just an old woman squatting on her haunches selling her stuff. After I went to school, he went back three or four more times to look at all the strange things they sell  and the strange people selling it. There’s nothing like it in America.

After a final night of drinking and singing at the Noraebang, we got up early and went to Busan. It was really good to have someone come visit. But it must’ve been wearing me out because I spent nearly all day sleeping on Sunday.