This is the hokduk man. While there's many hokduk vendors in Nampo, he was apparently the first. People will shun all the other sellers, and form a big line for his stand. For the majority of you who don't know what Hokduk is, it's a doughnut type pastry with melted brown sugar inside. Simply amazing.

The other day we went to Songdo beach. It's not as big or as crowded as the more popular Haeundae, but there were still plenty of people there, albeit on the other end of the beach. Many Koreans like to hang out in inner tubes, and not many people seem to actually swim at all. There is also a tendency and a general acceptance of going into the water fully clothed.

Appearance

"Elijah, your face looks orange. You were in the sun a lot this summer?"

"I think maybe you gained *just a little* (holds up his fingers) weight in America."

Comments on physical appearance are fair game in Korean culture. If you're ever offended, you have to remember that they're not trying to rude, they just think about things differently. While they're rather too honest sometimes, it's usually because the students genuinely care about my health. But I don't think I'll be taking their suggestions that I go to the hospital next time I look tired or have a cold.

It's kind of hard to see but the guy in the middle is trying to sell some goods on the subway. Various vendors make the rounds through the subway cars selling different things, usually with some sort of demonstration. Kind of like an infomercial, but in person

Things are really busy here, so excuse me if I play a little catch up.

Alvin showcasing a classic Korean grocery store ploy. This one seems fairly legitimate as the free stuff is labeled the same as the product. But I've seen other goods which seem like they're just randomly stuck on as a bonus.

The other night, a couple of friends and I stopped in at a church to see a gospel choir...sung by Koreans. It was pretty fun to watch.

Yeongdosam Park a few nights ago.

Lovely Yeongdo in August. For the majority of my time back so far there's been fog blanketing the mountain. Even if the rest of Busan has fairly clear visibility, you can count on the island having fog.