The trip to Korea; first impressions of Kangnung (Gangneung); Borum (Daeborum, first full moon of the lunar year); public baths; visits to Ojuk-on and Jong Dong Jin; cherry blossoms; observations on Korean marriage and wedding customs.

May - June 2000

The Buddha's Birthday; a Korean wedding; homes and apartments; Tano Festival (Kangnung Dano); Norae-bangs (Karaoke or Singing Rooms); visits to Kyong Po and Sogumgang; the Korean educational system; a doctors' strike; divorce; hanbok (Korean traditional costume); and superstitions.

July 2000

A trip to Seoul (Kwangjang Market and the Korean War Memorial); Kang Nung's traditional market; Korean "comfort food," a cafe; Yangpyong and a Summer Arts Festival at Battangol Art Center; Korean motels (yagwons and minboks); Toksu Palace; Kyobo Bookstore; a traditional wedding ceremony; at the beach; pat bing su (an icy summertime dessert); matchmaking; and Korean spending and saving habits.

August 2000

Teaching private English lessons; college majors; drinking customs; a disaster and the response from Kangnung officials; pest management; a Celadon festival in Kangjin.

September 2000

Sogumgang; Chusok; Cheju Island (Jeju); Korean cab drivers; Hallim Park; Sogwipo; adopting a cat.

October 2000

Visit to Daegu for KOETSOL; lesser Korean holidays; a norae-bang (singing room); helpful Koreans; trip to Andong: Doson Sowon (Confucian Academy), Pusoksa (Pusok Temple), a Buddhist worship service, Folk Museum and Hahoe Folk Village, hanbok; trip to Seoul: Namdaemun Market, fireworks festival and dense crowds, a new friend, Insadong, traditional tea ceremony; Confucian Festival (Yulguk-je) at Ojukon, Kyongju World Expo.

November 2000

Korean children pay a visit; attitudes toward cats; negative western influences; advertising; economic changes since the 1997 fiscal crisis.

December 2000

Trip to Yonju; some Buddhism basics; ginseng market at Punggi; how sesame oil is made; Korean home remedies; fish market; pojagi; noray-bang again; wealth and conspicuous consumption; sharing; gardening and farming; Christmas; a visit in Inchon; a Korean French restaurant; an automobile accident; Konglish.

January 2001

New Year's Eve at Jeong Dong Jin and the Millenium Hourglass; New Year's sunrise at Jumunjin; social interaction among strangers; a new student; shipping costs; missing home; Korean veterinarians; Seoul: Coex Center and a textile exhibit; new friends from New Zealand; Korea's interest in American pop music; Solal (Lunar New Year); traditional games.

February 2001

A "Buddhist monk for a weekend" program; Dongdemun Market in Seoul; Korean traditional tea culture and a tea ceremony; visiting a fortune teller; Valentine's Day and White Day; farewells.