So it's not a big deal or anything but my momma and our good friend Janis came to Korea for a visit. When mom first told me she was planning the trip abroad, I was ecstatic and a little in disbelief. The idea of us in Korea together was something we always dreamt about so it never completely sunk in until she was actually on Korean soil, calling me from Incheon Airport telling me they had landed safely. They arrived on Monday but unfortunately because of my teaching schedule I was unable to meet them until Thursday evening, which gave them an opportunity to explore Seoul/Korea on their own for a couple days. However, I think I nearly peed my pants a few times waiting in anticipation, having not seen my mom (or any family for that matter) in nearly 10 months and knowing she was in Seoul made for a painstakingly long week of classes. Everyday my students asked me "teachah mom in Korea? Teachah happy?" and with a big grin, nodding "Yeps, you have no idea kids!". I finished my last middle school class on Thursday and bribed a co-teacher of mine to cover the last 40 minute block so I could rush to the bus terminal in time to catch a 9:10 bus to Seoul. I met mom outside Lotte Hotel. I think we must have been crying and hugging for 5 minutes, while a group of businessmen were on our left side parting ways, forever taking turns bowing to each other. Western and Eastern saying hello and goodbye in our own cultural way. I found it amusing. It was almost midnight but mom and I were too excited to call it a night so we grabbed some coffee and lemonade at Tom n Tom’s and sat and chatted for a while.
“Oh, the weather outside is weather”. Actually, the weather outside did not look promising when we woke up on Friday morning. Drizzly with a better chance of rain later in the day. So, we decided it was a good day to visit some indoor(ish) sites around Seoul . However, mom and I had some business that we needed to take care of first. Eastern Child Welfare Society. This is the agency that arranged my adoption. I’ve been in contact with them since beginning “my search” (my journey to locate my birth family is for another post) but I had not visited them, as of yet. I knew the general area where they have their administration building so we decided to just “wing it”. There is a Montessori (“Biblical) School within a mile radius of the agency so when we walked by, mom couldn’t resist a quick drop-in. We were greeted by a woman who spoke only a few words in English but graciously gave us permission to observe a small classroom of little kiddies no older than 7 or 8. Aside from the matching sweatpants/sweatshirt outfits on all the kids (not very Montessori but very Korean), it had the look and feel of a Montessori classroom (including of course the revered Pink Tower!). The Montessori philosophy and Eastern philosophy seem to challenge each other in certain ways so it was fascinating to see Montessori being exposed to these children. I’m sure Mom would have liked to stay longer but we felt we were intruding on their environment so we showed our appreciation and said goodbye. We had found the school with zero difficulty but finding the agency proved to be a bit more challenging. It was like being in an episode of the Amazing Race. Wandering around Hongdae on foot trying to read signs in Korean, a dry cleaner in the alley and 2 taxi drivers later, I finally resorted to using my “call a Korean (friend)” card. Won Moo saves the day once again! Within 2 minutes of Moo speaking to our 2nd taxi driver, we were being dropped off outside of the agency building. We followed the signs to post adoption family services where we were met by a woman who informed us the former Chairman had passed away that day so there was unfortunately no one to assist us. We were however, able to walk through the facility and viewed the infant room where roughly a dozen baby girls and boys were being cared for. I thought I was going to need to check Mom’s purse for small Asian babies before leaving. I’m pretty sure she didn’t walk away with one.
It was approaching noon so we headed over to Gyeongbokgung Palace (“The Palace of Shining Happiness”), which is the largest of the Five Grand Palaces built during the Joseon Dynasty. You could spend half a day just walking the palace grounds and touring both museums within the palace walls. We ate lunch inside the Palace Museum. I think this was Janis and Mom’s first taste of Mandu and I think it’s safe to say it was love at first bite. After touring the palace we headed to Seoul Tower. Taking our taxi driver’s advice, we took the cable car up the mountain to the tower. The fog was so thick at the top that we could barely make out the tower needle but it was good fun walking around and admiring the “Locks of Love”, which has come to symbolize the promise made by sweethearts to ensure their eternal love for each other. So sweet.
We took the subway back to Lotte Hotel. Can I first just say that I was/am impressed by how Janis and mom were able to manuever through the subway stations. You would think they had been doing this everyday for a year. High-fives all around. After getting back to the hotel and taking a short rest, we walked across the street to a Bulgogi restaurant, on the recommendation of a hotel worker. It was a good ending to a good day but we needed to rest up for our tour of the DMZ the following day. Mom and Janis do Korea to be continued ...
I miss you!!
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