I hope you’re not tired yet…we’ve still got a ways to go to get back to the house.

But the turn we just made marks the halfway point, if that’s any consolation.

[Get here late?...Catch up with us in part 1 & part 2]

It’s really odd to see these 3-story apartment buildings right up alongside the tactical training area.

But maybe that’s why the training area is pretty much abandoned all the time.

The families who live here use every available inch of ground to grow their own food.

Ugh…hold up. Moo found more sweet grass.

I hate when she just stops like that. She’s got enough heft on her to stop a bus.

But up ahead we’ll turn right in between this building & the Lumber Baron’s backyard.

See what I mean?….Every available inch.

That’s some kind of fruit tree on the right and the little old lady who owns this garden had a whole mess of lettuce where that bare patch is now.

I haven’t seen her in a while, but then again…I could never even get her to look up at me when we walked by.

They plant even all the way up to the binjo ditches (that’s what they call the irrigation ditches.)

There was a bunch of corn growing right along the edge, but they harvested that not too long ago.

Now it looks like they’ve planted something else. But I can’t tell what it is yet.

Oh hey…I forgot to point out the other crops the Lumber Barons are drying out.

I have no clue what it is. But it looks like the wind has blown the cover off a little bit.

Do you have any idea what it is?

Eric doesn’t know either, but he thinks they’ll use all those old pallets for wood this winter. Which would make sense…he says it snows like the dickens here.

Which also reminds me I need to learn more about how our heated floors are supposed to work.

Apparently, besides the small wood-burning fireplace we’ve got, it’s the only heat for the whole house.

Uh-oh…Ok, here’s the deal with this guy.

That is NOT Mr. Lumber Baron – although Mrs. Lumber Baron is still out here working those sunflower seeds, I see.

As far as I can tell he’s either a family friend or maybe a brother.

But I think his day job must be a taxi driver because he happens to know a few words of English…

like, “Come on! Come on!” or “Yeah, yeah” – not to mention he got that safety vest from some American. It’s the one the guys all wear for PT in the morning.

PT – Physical Training: The reason Eric’s alarm wakes me up every morning around 5am…sometimes 4:45am. They all exercise waayyyy too early.

But Mr. Taxi visits every now & then and ever since he realized Maggie wasn’t going to eat him he’s been bound & determined to pet her.

So we’re gonna have to do the polite thing & stop. Just smile….you don’t have to bow again.

See?…He’s calling out to her already. But here’s the thing about Moo…she’s a wuss.

A big time, scaredy-cat, baby – terrified of strangers. She just doesn’t look it, which is a good thing.

And while technically he’s not so much of a stranger anymore, he still moves around too much for her taste.

She’s a slow bloomer & it just takes a while for her to warm up to people. I think it came from all those isolated walks in the fields we took when we were living in Oklahoma last year. She could run everywhere off the leash without running into a soul.

Ok…hold the camera again, will you? This guy knows I keep dog treats in my pocket & is reaching out for me to give him one.

He wants to see if Maggie will finally take it from his hand….(long sigh)…we do this every time.

I really need to learn how to say, ‘It’s not you. She’s just very shy.’ in Korean.

(He’s trying to make her be still so he can pet her. But she just keeps scooting further & further back.)

Told you…she still won’t let him get near her. He winds up tossing the treat to her every time.

But let’s get going…I think that’s enough awkward embarrassment for a while. I hope they aren’t offended that she’s so shy…crap, never thought of that till just now.

Lovely.

Recognize where we are?…it’s not much further now. That’s the crossroad up ahead. We’ll turn left & go past the restaurant I forgot to point out earlier.

It’s actually a cute little place…but it’s completely out of the way & off any main road or side road, for that matter.

It’s smack-dab in the middle of the rice paddies!

Now that we’ve made that turn, you can see the backside of the place.

See all those brown pots behind the green fence?…

Those are kimchi pots. They use them to ferment kimchi - a pickled spicy cabbage.

Eric loves it – I, however, have yet to develop a taste for it.

(It’s the smell I can’t get past.)

When Maggie & I first got here in May, the lady who owns the restaurant was out tending the garden every day when we walked. But I haven’t seen her in weeks.

I wonder what’s happened to her because all her landscape is starting to get over-grown. And the way she tended to it so diligently makes me wonder if everything’s alright.

But just on the other side of the street is that couple with the yippy dog I told you about.

They live in the little yellow house. All that dirt used to be crops. Now the only thing left are those pepper plants.

Oh but look! They’re out…good, I was hoping you’d get to see them.

Where the Lumber Barons are very friendly & easy-going, this little couple (who I have yet to name) aren’t so much.

I’ve managed to get the husband to smile a time or two when I bow. And the same with the wife, but that’s about it.

You’ve got to check out their backdoor.

Somewhere in the recesses is that yippy dog…hear him?….yip, yip, yip.

I’ve tried calling out to him like I do with the puppy in the slums, but this little guy doesn’t care.

Well…ok, I take that back. He used to sound completely rabid when we walked by, but now it’s more of a contained exorcism kind of yip.

This, I think, is the most interesting part of their house….check out their mailbox.

See?….It says ‘Post Box’ – in English! But all the other writing on it is Korean.

It’s just one of those things that strikes me funny.

[Sorry to cut this one short...I'm afraid it's way late here & I've still got a kitchen to clean, work to prep for tomorrow & I'm just about to fall over dead tired. So we'll keep walking this last little bit tomorrow.]

You can finish-up the walk with us here.