I know I’ve been draggin’ you for days now up one side & down the other of the Silleuksa Temple in Southern Gyeonggi province. So let’s stop & get some lunch.

Just outside the compound is the town of Yeoju & this was the only restaurant we could find that was open….and it would appear that we’re also the only patrons today.

We’re sitting at the western-style tables that line the front windows to attract foreigners…but just over there, in that side room, is the traditional eastern-style seating…on the floor.

You can always tell the American section from the locals’ section. See?…silverware.

But there’s also some metal chopsticks in there to try your hand at.

Side Note: No matter how hard I try, I can never hold chopsticks the correct way. And believe me, I’ve tried…it just doesn’t work. They keep slipping out of my fingers. I think it’s because my thumbs are small.

But I’ve found a way to jerry-rig the chopsticks to my hand so that it appears I know how to eat with chopsticks…ok, so from a distance it appears I know how to eat with chopsticks.

Eric keeps trying to teach me, I’m just a really poor student. So like most everything in my life, I’ve found a way to fake it.

There aren’t any menus…we asked & were pointed to a list on the wall.

Since I didn’t recognize anything, I let Eric order for me.

[my first mistake]

So off our little Korean woman went…into the kitchen…to cook Bulgogi for two.

So this is probably where I should confess to being a close-minded, picky-food-eating, ignorant American – a Texas girl who grew up with BBQ, chicken fried steak & TexMex.

I’m a meat-eater…Rrwahrr.

Part of this I attribute to the fact that the only seafood readily available to me as a child was fried fish, fried shrimp & frozen fish sticks. The other part I attribute to the fact that I was a stubborn eater & probably wouldn’t have tried it if you sat it down in front of me.

Keep in mind…all these little plates, the pot of soup on the table-top burner…this is for two.

And that small blue plastic cup there in the corner?…

That’s our only drink. Water 6 ounces at a time poured from the half-liter plastic bottle for us to share.

So a spread like this…while appetizing from afar…to me, isn’t so appetizing up close.

I’m sorry…I know there are some of you out there that can look at this fish…with it looking back at you…and think, “Umm…that looks yummy!”

But I’m afraid that’s not me.

Eric loves Bulgogi….I, on the other hand, get nauseous at the smell of it.

In fact, if I could’ve video’d the smell for you I would’ve done it.

So I steadied my stomach, kept my head turned to the side, jerry-rigged the chopsticks to my hand…

…and ate unsalted white sticky rice with 6 ounce water chasers.