Judging by the size of his suitcase when Eric and I picked him up from the bus terminal, I could tell my parents sent him over with some goodies. When we got back to our apartment, I felt like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting to see what goodies were waiting for me inside my brother’s luggage. Piece by piece, my brother unloaded: 5 boxes of Kraft Mac n’ Cheese, three jars of peanut butter (1 chunky, 2 creamy), 7 Skor bars, one can of refried beans, burrito seasoning, Pepperidge Farm Milano Cookies, Starbucks Via, and two bottles of my cherished Philosophy face wash. In addition to these much missed items, my parents sent over our Christmas gifts, so we could use them while still here. For me, there was a thick, knitted ivory wrap, a necklace, and a pendant and for Eric, an ipod touch. I found all of these things extremely overwhelming; with them we received not only a little piece of America, but a little piece of my family as well. After delighting in our Christmas goodies and catching up, we called it a night around midnight, giving into that day’s fatigue.
Friday night kicked off our fast paced weekend. To start things off, we met up with our friends for some drinks downtown. It was fun, but Matt was still jetlagged so he and I excused ourselves early to catch up on some sleep so he could have energy for the remainder of the weekend. Saturday was spent showing Matthew around Gwangju. We explored our local bakery, the busy streets of downtown, and the memorial park out in Sangmu. Saturday afternoon, we were treated to lunch by my friend and colleague, Sue. Sue took us to a restaurant, new even to Eric and I, where we ate roasted pork with a multitude of side dishes; it was delicious. After allowing our large lunch to digest through a movie and a wii room visit, the three of us made our way to Ilgok where we met our friends, Luke and Holly, for samgyutang, a popular soup composed of a whole chicken, rice, ginseng, and other natural goodness. We all struggled with de-boning our chickens with chopsticks and a spoon, but it made for some laughs.
On Sunday morning Matt, Eric, and I got an early start to head out to Jeonju. There we wanted to show Matthew the traditional hanok village and the old royal courtyards of the Chosun family. Unfortunately, the heat and humidity did not let up so for every hour we spend walking around, we spent an hour drinking cold coffees, sitting in the shaded courtyards, or eating toast (a toasted egg sandwich). Regardless, it was nice to catch up and show Matt some sights outside of Gwangju. However, as we were ready to leave, we happened upon a traditional drum performance. A group of ten kids treated the surrounding crowd to a multitude of traditional songs. It was a nice treat before our departure. Upon our return to the city, we caught dinner at VIPS, a western-style buffet with western offers. We gorged ourselves on Caesar salad, caprese salad, pizza, quesadillas, and a bottle of chardonnay (do we know how to be classy or what?).
Unfortunately, Eric and I had to work the remaining two days of Matthew’s visit. On Tuesday, Matt was a good sport and came to my school for a visit. I introduced him to one of my seventh grade classes and needless to say they were excited. They asked him an array of sincere, funny, and invasive questions, but I expected nothing less. Since my seventh graders had to take a listening test that day, Matt and I were free to grab lunch off campus. It was nice to have this one-on-one time to discuss family, work, and love.
Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and I had to say goodbye this morning. I was so thankful to have my brother visit, even if only for a short while. His visit, combined with the thoughtful gifts from my parents, has given me the boost I’ve needed. Thanks for a great week big brother!
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