Around this time last year some friends and I took a Saturday to visit the country side of Korea and attend an apple festival. This would be the third apple festival we’d visited in two years, searching for a taste of home, and we finally found it in this one.
As our bus dropped us off at the orchard we walked through countless rows of beautifully ripe red apples. In a scene that it rare in Korea, we were immediately surrounded by westerners, all of whom were decked out in their best fall plaids. It was as if we stepped out of Korea and into small-town Americana.
Our first stop after arriving at the festival was to join in a pie baking class. The ingredients were set out and we were ready to get to baking. There was an instructor who was trying to lead the class, however it seemed that they seemed to neglect the fact that most of the people in the room had made many an apple pie in seasons past. We rolled the dough, filled our pies, cut shapes into the tops, and pinched the sides like pros. When we were finished we put our names on the dish so they could be distinguished when they were ready to be picked up.
While the pies baked in the ovens we got to go apple picking. It was so fun getting to wander the rows of apples in search of the best ones to take home. Once we’d filled our baskets, we went back to pick up our pies and listen to music. The lead singer of the band that was playing happened to be from Chicago as well. It was the first time I’d met a fellow Chicagoan since the Cubs had won the World Series, and it was wonderful to finally be around someone who understood and shared the same excitement and pride for our home team.
The apple orchard we were visiting also happened to be a winery and offered tours showing us how the apples were processed and stored before giving us a tasting of the sweet wine. We all bought a bottle and went back outside to where the band was, listening to music, drinking wine, and eating apple pie until it was time to go back home to Incheon. It was the perfect fall day.
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bbm travels 