Wandering around Asan and Cheonan

So, today Dyra and I decided we wanted to see something in the area. I did some research last night and found ten things that we could go see. Dyra, Bermet, Xian-Chen, and I left this morning determined to find at least one of these places. We did not go to any of these sites, but we had an amazing day of exploring the province.
We took a bus to where we thought would be the Korean village. We ended up in a state park. It was beautiful. There was a statue commemorating a Korean general that fought the Japanese invaders. We decided not to hike today (it was about 90 degrees), but we are planning to come back in a few weeks to hike now that we know how to get there. We also met up with Dan, the student that picked me up from the airport, and an English teacher that was in the program at Soonchunhyang a few years ago. They told us that the village was too far from the park and recommended that we go to Cheonan, the largest city in the province.
We took their advice and caught a bus to Cheonan. Bermet speaks Korean so she asked the bus driver to let us know when to get off for Cheonan. We got off near a gas station five miles out of Cheonan! Poor Bermet felt so bad, the driver must have misunderstood what she said since we got off at the city limit, not the city. It turned out alright when we found another bus that took us to Cheonan.
In Cheonan, we went to an open air market. It was so fun to walk by fresh fruit stands, fish stands with live octopus, and street vendors that made street food. We ate fish on a stick with soy sauce from one of these vendors and shopped at a few of the stores. I bought these beautiful Korean soup bowls and a tote bag for my school books.
We decided to find a place to eat. We found this cute Korean restaurant off the main street. It was owned by a mother, her daughter, and her son. We came to eat at about two, so the restaurant was empty. They were so excited to meet us and we were able to talk with them with Bermet translating. We had a soup that had kimchi, tofu, and pork. We also had several side dishes (one of course was kimchi). After we ate, they offered that the son could drive us back to campus. It was nice after a day of confusing buses to have a ride back.
I had fun today because even though we were lost half the time, everyone had a great time. We enjoyed having the freedom to explore and find things "off the beaten path."
Tommorow, Bermet and I will be going to a church in town. Bermet is Protestant as well and will help me understand the Korean in the service. The family from the restaurant will be joining us as well. I am very excited to go to a Korean church. We are hoping to attend service every week together if possible.