Reflections at 2/3 point

As I reflected at the halfway point we've found the Korean people to be very warm and outgoing.

Bathroom arrangements in homes have been interesting.  In most homes, the bathroom is set lower than the rest of the house and is completely tiled.  Sinks, toilets and showers are all together, no stall separation for the shower...there is a floor drain for the water.  In some cases, there are qebathtubs, but they don't have shower curtains to keep shower flow in the tub...again, a floor drain. Food - really only had 4-5 different meals<br>
It seems to several of us that we may not have experience Korean food as fully as we might. This is understandable. Staying in each city for only three days, our hosts have rolled out the red carpet, showing us the best, perhaps most expensive food they could. In the end, it seems we've really experience only five or six real dinner choices. Similarly, our host families have treated us as honored guests (we do the same with our GSE guests), putting out either a gourmet Korean feast or what they believe to be an American breakfast. I've had salad, soup, and several other interesting concoctions set out on the breakfast table. When asked if what we're having for breakfast is what they eat normally in the morning, the answer has always been no. It's usually amusing and sometimes very awkward to eat in this situation. I always feel as though I'm being carefully scrutinized with every bite. Sometimes I expect applause every time a bite of food reaches my mouth. If I don't "clean my plate," my host invariably thinks I don't like the food. Whenever I try a Korean item, I feel numerous sets of eyes watching to see how I'll react. Of course every new set of Rotarians feels the need to show us how to use chopsticks and how to eat a dish we've had three times before. It's all an effort to help is and be polite, of course. At one point early in the trip, I started to get annoyed when one woman practically spoon fed me at the beginning of a meal. Upon reflection, though, I think we've all taken it with a smile. (The other night, I couldn't help myself...when someone tried to show me hoe to use chopsticks, I used mine to pick up a single grain of rice. They thought that was hilarious. Boy, I'm really glad their rice is sticky! There are many more thoughts in my mind, but I have a not-too-frequent chance at internet access, so I'll stop here.