Was out and about today: Dad's temple, Grandmother's house, Aunt's house. Before embarking on the day-long journey, we filled up on gas, which is quite expensive here compared to the States, but probably comparable to European prices. Filling up the tank cost 64,000 won (about $50). Korea has no oil fields, so it's really at the mercy of oil-rich nations. I don't think the electric car movement has started here, though I have seen a bus that purported to run on natural gas.

There's no concept of self-serve at gas stations here. An attendant asks how much you want, fills it up, hands you your change or credit card slip, and gives you the gift of the day. Yup, you get a freebie with your fill-up. I've only been in the car twice when Dad's had it filled, but both times the attendant presented us with a little something or other: once a packet of tissues, another time, two small bottles of an energy drink. Marketing at its best.

Grandmother's house is up in the northern suburbs of Seoul, about an hour away from where the apartment is. It's still fairly agricultural out there; the people who live in the rental unit next door keep chickens and ducks and rabbits and --- lots of dogs.

Dogs! Yay!

Ahem. Anyway. The four of us (my dad, grandmother, great-aunt and me) had lunch that the grands had prepared. Nearly everything was made from scratch. My step-grandmother hails from the time when you went out into the fields and picked the beans by hand and washed them and ground them into a paste and set them in water and waited until they formed a gel that was one of the side dishes on the table. The only difference these days is that she now has a food processor to grind the beans rather than a mortar and pestle.

I know it's a cliche, but homemade food really does taste much better. My dad usually buys stuff from the store, and while the stuff is made by someone, it doesn't have that "fresh from the fields" taste.

It's really quite amazing to me how far removed I am from the actual process of making food.