Two Weeks in Korea January 28, 2015

Just a brief update and a few pictures….

We arrived in Seoul a couple of weeks ago and spent two days at the hotel on post while Scott in-processed to the area. After his briefings, we were put on a bus headed to Daegu (Camp Walker) and have been living in the hotel, looking for a place to live and trying to familiarize ourselves with the area. No luck on a place to live so far, but at least we have a spot at the hotel until February 21. Hopefully, we will know more by then about living arrangements.

We did not have too much trouble with jet lag or acclimating to the time difference or weather. We left Dallas in the early morning hours on a Saturday and arrived in Seoul on Sunday evening. We pretty much stayed awake on the plane for the entire trip (especially after having to RUN through the airport in San Francisco to make our connecting flight), so by the time we got to the hotel, it was actually local time for bed and we were READY! It didn’t take more than one or two nights of going to bed at 6:30 to make the rest of the switch.

Libby, our dog, did fine on the plane rides but is probably getting tired of being boarded here at the hotel instead of being with us. I am missing her, too, but we go out and spend time with her 3 or 4 times a day. She will be happy for us to find a permanent place to live just as much as we will.

Last Friday night, we finally ventured off post with the kids to find a place to eat. We were not able to find the restaurant that was recommended to us but were so hungry, we finally just went into a restaurant that looked clean. It was a traditional Korean restaurant with shoes off and floor seating. No one spoke English. We couldn’t read anything. The waitress finally just pointed at some pictures and started bringing food. It was pretty funny, and fortunately, the food was pretty good…although we are not quite sure what everything was….I know there was kimchi, rice, veggies, some type of noodles, and some kind of meat (pork, I think). She also brought soup…what we figured out was “Ox bone soup”. All in all, it was a great experience! We got a kick out of ourselves for being so adventurous, and I think the ladies got a kick out of us as well…they kept laughing anyway.

On Saturday, we took a subway tour to learn our way around using the Metro. I am so glad we did. We all feel pretty confident about how to get around and were introduced to some of the busier areas of Daegu. EWorld was our first stop…an amusement park, restaurant tower, ice skating rink, etc. Then we made our way to the Seomun Market, rows and rows of street vendors, selling everything from clothes to packaged anchovies, fresh fish to fresh veggies. We ended the tour with lunch and shopping downtown.

I attended the spouse orientation 2-day brief, obtained my Korean driver’s license, signed the kids and myself up for a basic Korean language class beginning in March, and got every travel brochure offered. Scott and I picked up our car yesterday which is a blessing! I am ready to ride with an American driver! More on Korean driving at another time.

While we don’t have everything figured out and are not settled yet, we know that God has gone before us, preparing the way for our time here. I am confident in His Words, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 And not even finding a place to live could bring more peace.