It was a short trip, not as short as the last one though, but so very worthwhile! Thanks to Soren's help I was able to get on a plane early Thanksgiving morning and arrive in Seoul Friday evening. No Thanksgiving dinner for me but you won't ever hear me complain about that!
Wandering the beautiful Narita airport in Tokyo I found some unbelievable dioramas, completely made of origami. I couldn't choose a favorite out of the dozen or so, but this is a pretty good representation of the color and detail.
Sunset in Tokyo, Land of the Rising Sun.
I had to stop and think if the sun was setting in the east or the west.
It was pretty fun to fly into Incheon and feel completely comfortable with the airport, getting through customs, etc. I was welcomed by all the Jensen's since it was a Friday night and nobody had to worry about homework or school the next morning, and oh, did I feel the ♥!
Seth was kind enough to let me use his room (I have the best grandkids!), and I slept like a log for 10 hours straight. Kind of embarrassing, but I didn't feel any jet lag after that.
First order of the day Saturday: Bowling, on base, complete with pizza, spicy wings, and MANDOO! Who cares what kind of game one bowls with company and food like that?!?
Saturday night preparations for Sunday included haircuts. Talented Hyuna took care of all 3 boys in short order! We were also treated to some incredibly delicious turkey soup that she made for dinner. (And Sunday night we had all the Thanksgiving leftovers plus a fresh apple pie. I didn't miss the feasting after all!)
Didn't get an "after" picture of Gabe
Didn't get a "before" picture of Alex
This is actually Seth's "Before" picture, but I like it enough to use it twice!
Beaming Deacon!
Wonderful support from friends
Monday Hyuna and I met Sven at his office and enjoyed lunch at a nearby restaurant. It was chosen because I told them that one of my favorite Korean dishes is bibimbap, and I wasn't disappointed!
Sven and Hyuna have been painting their living room, and are working on the trim and finishing touches. It is beautiful. I loved how they would take advantage of a few minutes here and there to paint a ballister or touch up a spot.
After
(Haha - just noticed the red slippers! I took the "before" picture when I was there 2 years ago!)
Tuesday Hyuna's parents came over and we all went to lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. It was wonderful to see the Kim's again. I don't think they've aged a day since I met them more than 13 years ago!
Every day we would take the boys to school and walk with them from the parking lot. It is an amazing school, and I think I took more pictures of the school than anything else while there this time. Following is a random overview of the Seoul Foreign School in pictures. So I don't become repetitive, everything is state of the art. I wish I had taken pictures of the band, orchestra and choir rooms. I'm pretty sure they would leave any school in the U.S. drooling.
The soccer field is the redeeming feature of the school as far as the boys are concerned. Every day after school they would play soccer with their friends for an hour or so, in shorts, no jackets, and the eldest in his stocking feet.
The large building is the gymnasium
Beautiful detail of the traditional gate at the entrance of the school
The larger of the two auditoriums, with access to the soccer field underneath. The music rooms are also in this building.
One end of the high school building, next to the auditorium. The middle school is the building in the very back of the picture.
The hill up to the school is quite steep (ask Sven to tell you stories about when the road was icy!). After school it is lined with dozens of the yellow school buses.
This new apartment building is just below the entrance gate of the school. The first home Sven & Hyuna and the boys lived in (after moving from their high-rise apartment) was there until it was torn down to build this building.
Now the walk takes a little bit longer, but it's easy. And I didn't get lost when I walked home by myself one day and took the following pictures of their neighborhood!
I love how there's artistic detail everywhere. I don't love how bad the air pollution is.
Alleys and nooks and crannies everywhere!
Home, Sweet Home!
Tuesday Sven and I went with Alex to his Tae Kwon Do class after school. We walked up to the third floor of one of the typical buildings, just like I've seen in movies.
On the walk home we stopped at a corner bakery. Oh my!
We took home the large one on the left. I could have eaten the whole thing myself!
Sven is buying a traditional German fruitcake. I could have eaten that all by myself too. The trays of almond crisps looked dangerous. Good thing we didn't get any of those.
These looked like giant kiwis covered in pine nuts, but I don't think that's what they were.
The cakes were stunning, but according to people at church they would much rather have one of the homemade cheesecakes Sven & Hyuna are famous for!
Cool building just down the street from their home
The dip in the sidewalk is much deeper than it looks in the picture. I'm guessing it was something like this that caused Sven to fall about 10 years ago while rollerblading, and is why he is going to undergo shoulder surgery in less than 2 weeks :/
Alex is proficient at boom whacking - too bad my video won't download so you can see for yourself! The Christmas program his 1st grade classes and the kindergarten classes did was too cute for words.
It was kind of cold. Actually it was VERY cold. So Seth made sure his jacket was in his backpack....
I left a big chunk of my heart in Korea (again).
Thank you Sven, Hyuna, Seth, Gabe & Alex for sharing your world with me!
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