Latest adventures

Wow. Time is going by so fast. Let me see ... Wed. we rented bikes in the morning at the Ulsan Grand Park. They were somewhat low quality (not all gears worked) and low to the ground (my knees were bent the whole time!), so we decided to buy a couple of bikes at a nearby store. We will get a lot of use out of them. Justin helped us with the purchase on Thursday. The price was pretty reasonable and included 2 lights, lock, and bell - which we never would have figured out on our own. Wed. afternoon we went to the pool at the park. It's very nice - indoor and outdoor sections and some waterpark-like features. Michael spent a lot of time in the wave pool. Everyone has to wear a cap, and luckily we figured out the lifeguard said "rent" when he blew the whistle at Michael. The toddler swimming suits with matching caps are adorable. A couple of times a small group of children would say, "hello" and start giggling.

Thursday Justin was coming over to help with the bikes and a couple other things and to have lunch (he helps there too with ordering). His mom called while he was with us and asked if we would like to accompany them to Busan and go to the biggest beach in Korea and then out for dinner with family there. Of course we said "sure." The beach was right in the city so big buildings all around. There must have been 1,000 umbrellas set up for rent. The water was cold and lots of seaweed by our umbrella. But Michael and Justin got a tube and headed down the beach a bit where the water did not have seaweed. Michael today said the beach has been the best thing so far. We went to dinner with Kuen-yung's two sisters, a niece and her boyfriend. The niece was leaving the next day to return to States as exchange student. The restaurant featured sitting on floor and then table had two built in grills where the customers do the cooking. There were lots of side dishes as usual, and the main cooking was eel, shrimp, and clams. Michael was leery, but once I had the eel I told him I guaranteed he would like it. And he did. The style was to take a lettuce leaf and put in some ginger, garlic, etc. and then the eel and some sauce. Yummy!!! There were a variety of clams, and Michael tried that too. He sat by Justin and the boyfriend (who is heading to Univ. of South Carolina next week) so enjoyed the guys. One of the sisters said "handsome boy" about Michael. She speaks almost no English. It was especially funny because that's what one of the construction workers in our builidng calls him. Then we went to a coffee shop that serves a Korean style dessert: shaved ice, some kind of beans, and then ice cream on top. It was good, though we are not sure we would order it on our own.

Friday we had a bike in morning and swim in afternoon day (4 hours at pool). We were smarter about the locker room, renting cap, and renting life jacket for wave pool. We needed to go to grocery store (Lotte Mart) so took the bus there. Michael is not too fond of standing on the bus but will get used to it, I think. We knew there was a Pizza Hut nearby, so we had dinner there. Michael wanted meat, so I suggested a Hawaiian because I like that too. The menu said "bologna sausage," so I said even though it might be delicious, I didn't want to risk it. We noticed "half and half" on menu so ordered 1/2 veggie and 1/2 pepperoni. We also got the salad bar (sign says Salad Kitchen). The plates were on our table and small, and I didn't think they really wanted us to go back for more. But it was nice to see some lettuce. There were several items that were strange to us. The restaurant is very modern looking - maybe it's the chain's new style. The pizza had very little sauce and the crust was not as doughy. It was $25 US or so (a lot for what we got) - but no tipping is required at restaurants. Once we shopped, we took a taxi home with our handy directions in Korean.

Today (Saturday) we biked. There must have been a line of 100 people for the pool at 9:30 - a good day for us to skip. I had told Michael we could look for IPOD at Hyundai Department Store, which requires a 15 minute or so bus ride. Justin said that's the only place he knew that carries them and that Apple seems more interested in China. The department store is unbelievably upscale. There are 10 floors or so and name brand sections everywhere. We said that Grandma would really enjoy looking around. The 10th floor has restaurants - Italian, Korean, noodles, and Kraze Burgers. We had seen the burger place on a street when we were with Justin - so it's a chain. We said "crazy," but he said it's pronounced differently (ah for first a and long a for y). So we decided to try it. Delicious. I had a tofu slice on mine as the main ingredient and there was some cheese, lettuce, and sauce on a wheat bun. Michael had a burger that looked yummy. He also had Chisling Cider (I forget exact spelling - which is like Sprite -not like cider- but not as spicy according to Michael). He is getting a real taste for Korean style Western and European food (Paris Baguette)! The Apple section was fancy and IPODs too expensive for me to be willing to buy. I told him we better do some research. We rode bikes in the park in the evening too - lots of people compared to morning, probably because it is cooler. We tried some exercise equipment in the park. Then we went to the small grocery store in the neighborhood and got ice cream. It was the individual Blue Bell style, and Michael figured out a spoon was packaged inside - smart packaging!

Some of my impressions after a week: do not try to take bus at our regular bus stop when boys' middle school is letting out!, neon crosses on churches, Justin and his cousin bow so politely when it's appropriate, there are a lot of young people with Korean style big, dark plastic frame glasses (I think Norman and my dad should get a pair), Lotte Mart free samples are delicous, how can there be so much unrecognizable prepared food at Lotte Mart?, does the traffic ever let up?, how many streets are there with 8 lanes?, the driving looks challenging and the parking even more so, there are signs all over buildings, look out for scooter food deliverers, Paris Baguette has Lightning McQueen cake, the mountains are beautiful (between here and Busan especially visible).

We are getting into some of our home patterns pretty well. We have a Spurgeon morning and evening devotional (I mailed several books to Professor Jang and got them earlier in the week). We are reading outloud at night - Heaven is for Real, recommended by a couple of friends in US and Justin too. Eating breakfast in our apartment is easy, and we are trying to figure out a few basic lunch or dinner items. Michael is in charge of hanging our wet laundry on our rack on the porch. We have been successful in getting ironing done at a little place in the neighborhood (very little and crowded for workers). The woman there is very friendly. Life is sort of simple with 2 of things: forks, bowls, plates, etc. Michael seems so content. I am very thankful.

Tomorrow we will go to Seoul for a couple days - leaving on the high speed train after church. We are working on getting some pictures posted and making the blog prettier!
Love, Kim and Michael