Our time in Korea: Week Three in Review

We found an English speaking church here in Korea near our apartment complex so we started off our third week going to a church service.  It was so awesome and we ended up going out to lunch after the service with a few people from the church.  It was such a nice afternoon to be able to spend time with other believers, share a meal and continue to learn more about Korean culture.  We actually met a guy from NC who is stationed here in Korea through the military and a family from the states who have lived in Georgia and SC! Such a fun day and week look forward to going back next week.

Monday we just stayed around the apartment most of the day and went to a mall near by and just walked around and had dinner.  We stocked up on a few more items and supplies we may need once we have Charlie with us.  Late Monday night we received updated pictures of Charlie as his foster mom had taken him to the agency for his appointed monthly check up.  So this was a nice treat as we had really began to miss him!

Tuesday we signed up for a free food tour in Insadong. We ended up being the only two on the tour and spent about two hours with our guide John.  It was awesome, he took us to a few markets and explained the basic Korean dishes and key ingredients Koreans use in their recipes.  For the most part we just walked through Insadong with John talking about Korean history, politics, his view on what is going on currently in Korea regarding his generation, John is in his early twenties. 

So much Kimchi! We learned that Koreans have separate refrigerators for their Kimchi :)

Yes, that is pig's head 

Yummy egg bread

Wednesday we booked train tickets to travel about 2 hours south of Seoul to Daegu.  This is the city where Charlie was born and where his birth parents are from.  We took the KTX train that travels at top speed about 200 mph! It was nice to be able to see a lot of the country as we traveled South.  We toured around Daegu taking in all the sites and spent a lot of time thinking about his birth parents and how God has orchestrated it all!  There is a tower in Daegu and we hiked to the top and took a lot of pictures of the city to share with Charlie someday.  It was a special day and we had a great time.  

Thursday we spent NewYears Eve watching the movie Star Wars: The Force Awakens :) Brent has been dying to see it so our friends from church here told us where we could see it in English.  They also recommended watching in the Starium Theatre which apparently is the largest screen in the world!  I have to admit I have never watched any of the Star War movies but it was really good! Brent caught me up on all the history of Star Wars all night.  He said he felt like a kid again watching, we had a great time :) We made it back to our apartment by 11:00 PM and brought in the New Year in our pajamas drinking coffee and eating cheesecake! We were originally going to try to experience the New Year in a big city but it was so cold out and we opted for the warm comfort of our little apartment. 

Friday we visited the Korean War Museum which was absolutely amazing!  We spent our entire day there and did not see it all.  We plan to go back this coming week to finish touring.  We have a better understanding of the Korean War and the relationship between South Korea and the US. We had read a lot about the Korean War before traveling here but able to learn so much more by being here.  This museum is a must see if you ever visit Korea!

Saturday the weather was much warmer and broke into the 50's!! We stayed outside all day touring around the parks on the Hangang River.  So many people out biking, skateboarding, kids flying kites, and families spending time together.  We walked, and walked and walked!  It think our phones tracked that we walked about eight miles! As the sun began to set we rode back into Insadong and tried more Korean dumplings and street food.  We justified this by having an active day outside! 

We anticipate hearing of our custody sometime next week!  Looking forward to another week in Korea and continue to count down the days until we see Charlie HyeonWoo again. We miss him so much!

Our time in Korea: Week Two in Review

We have stayed busy with touring around Seoul.  This past Sunday following our busy week of meetings and court we took it easy and rested.  In the afternoon we got outside and walked over to the  World Cup Park which is a large park full of trails and areas you can look over the Hangang River and the World Cup soccer stadium.  You could also look over and see the Hangang Park that is located on the river banks.  We could see people out running, walking, biking, and skateboarding.  This definitely seems like a popular place to get outdoors in Korea!  We plan to visit the Hangang Park next week.  We familiarized ourselves more with the surrounding areas of our apartment and took note of the many parks surrounding us to take Charlie once he is with us :)

World Cup Stadium

Monday we went out to the same area as the Seoul Tower in Myeong-Dong.  Brent had researched a popular traditional Korean restaurant known for their delicious noodles and dumplings.  This place did not disappoint and we really had great practice with using our chopsticks and eating noodles :)  We are getting better each day! The rest of our time in Myeong-Dong we just walked around the shops taking in all the views of the city and the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations.

Tuesday we checked out another area of Korea, Insadong known for it's markets, art, and antiques and where a recommended street vendor who makes hotteoks (similar to a fried donut with cinnamon and sugar melted on the inside) this also researched by Brent :)  It was delicious!  We walked and shopped in this area all afternoon and it was really neat to be able to see the older buildings of Korea and it's architecture.  

Wednesday we decided to take a tour of the Gyeongbokgung Palace.  It is the largest palace in South Korea and was built in 1395.  It is absolutely beautiful!  The weather was beautiful this day and had actually warmed up to be comfortable as the tour is all outdoors. We joined the English speaking tour versus walking around and reading information at the sites.  We were so glad we did this as we learned a lot about the history of Korea during this tour. 

Changing of the guard

Entrance of the Palace 

The King's throne

Banquet Hall for parties

Private quarters where the King and Queen would drink coffee.

During our tour we learned that behind the exit of the Palace is the "Blue House". The Blue House is the executive office and official residence of the President of South Korea. As Brent and I exited we took a picture of the Blue House.  

After touring the Palace and seeing the Blue House we decided to try some Korean BBQ.  Brent again had researched out a recommended place so we hopped on the subway and found our way.  The food in South Korea has not been disappointing it has been amazing! When ordering Korean food they give you so many little side dishes with your main meal including soups and salads.  When eating Korean BBQ they bring your meat to you raw and you cook it at your table eating it along with all your cute little side dishes :) We had a good time cooking and eating together.  

 Thursday and Friday was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We ended up hanging around the apartment more during these two days just resting and spending time together.  We found a church service to attend on each of these days, more details in the "Christmas in Korea" post.  We have enjoyed our time in Korea so much and we are grateful for this opportunity to be able to learn and experience as much as we can during our final wait until we get to see Charlie again!