Weekend

We had a nice weeekend. Friday night we had dinner with the Jangs at a place very near our apartment. There are similar places in town and called "family buffet." We had just spotted one downtown on the top floor of a department store, and I recognized it as a place we had lunch here in 2010 with the MBA trip. There is a salad bar, all sorts of small sized items, lots of sushi, steak to grill. It's easy to try a lot of things. The Jangs are so friendly. Keun-yung (mom) asked Michael questions about school. I shared a story about being at a porridge restaurant by myself (I thought I should go while I was on my own because Michael is not interested). It was pretty much a big bowl of delicious pumpkin soup - I heard a blender so it's hard to say exactly what else is in it, but I think some sweetner along with a starch - though it was very smooth. (Ban chan is time name of all the side dishes ... and I am always happy to see shrooms, which this place served.) So the story is that I forgot I needed to pay! Either one pays immediately like at McDonald's or you pay at the end ... but they don't bring a bill to the table, so I forgot. I thought the woman was telling me to bring my plates, and then I figured it out. How embarrassing. Prof. Jang told about being in the military in the 70s and actually liking it because there was basically unlimited milk and juice. Korea was so poor then. We said that is no incentive for Justin as he gets ready for his duty. He is applying to serve with an American unit. We were also talking about the upcoming Chuseok holiday. I think it's the biggest holiday in Korea. There is a Thanksgiving element, but there is also ancestor-related elements. I told them there was an article in the Korea Herald about the stress of the holiday. Some advice was about getting enough sleep and drinking enough water. Part of it said women get frustrated because they are busy doing all the cooking while the men are watching tv. I told them it was so funny because it sounds like the States. And Prof. Jang knew American men would be watching football. They took us down by the river after dinner for a nice walk and view of the area. There is a walking bridge over the river that is fairly new. Hw drove on a route that would be the shortest to take our bikes.

Saturday morning we took the bus to the street near campus that has several sport shoes stores. A couple have many brands, but 4 or 5 are a single brand (Reebok, Adidas, Nike, Converse). We were looking for shoes for Michael, but the biggest size in any store was 10. So he came home sad and with no shoes. Michael said maybe they could order a bigger size, adn I told him to work on his Korean language :). Justin said to try a department store. Late in the afternoon we met the Ji family at the park (the family who befriended us). The boys rode bikes together with Luna, the sister. Then we went to Pizza Hit for dinner. Mr. Ji drove. Driving is hard enough here (I rejected renting a car fairly quickly after arrival; all the Koreans were correct who said they didn't think I should get one), but I don't know how they squeeze into some of the small parking places. At Pizza Hut we told Mr. Ji Michael likes cheese crust and pepperono, but then we let him order from there. There is a phrase (chu gi yo) that is used to get someone's attention. I feel like we have not been able to use it because the service people are so attentive. Later Michael and I laughed about the Ji family getting the waitress over and then all the back and forth between the waitress and family, and they said chu gi yo a few times during the course of the meal. It seemed like a lot was going on just to order pizza. The pizza was kind of like BBQ chicken, and I told Michael later I was proud of him for eating it and not saying anything about pepperoni. He said it was delicious, and I thought so too. The family invited us to spend the Chuseok holiday at the kids' grandparents, but after sleeping on it we realized it would be too much - 4 to 5 hour drive; 3 full days; it's a bit challenging (and sometimes tiring) to communicate. And we've both been a little sick and could use some recovery time.

Sunday we went to church - biggest crowd yet. Lots of people who are here somewhat long-term leave on summer holiday. We met Mr. and Mrs. Baker, both teachers at Michael's school. They are from South Africa. They are very kind and straight-forward about being Christians and what it really means; for example, we were talking about the role of the church and men at church given Paulo is not with us. She reminded me of an older Emi. She does the Christian after school club, and it is meeting on Wednesdays. That is the day we can really use something for Michael to do - good providence! She said there are often Muslim or Indian children in the class. They make it a priority to clearly explain salvation to all the children and they let the parents know they will be reading the Bible. Please pray that this class will have a lasting effect on all the children - Michael included. Who knows how God can use it. Pray for the Bakers' ministry in the class.

Thanks for keeping up with us. It's been about a month since we arrived. I remember the first morning looking out the window from the Lotte Hotel (same view I had on MBA trip) - mountains in the background, big city in all directions, and lots of Korean letters on signs all the way up the buildings. And to myself I thought, "Am I crazy to have brought Michael here?" And right about the same time, he said, "I am really excited to be here." His adjustment to Korea and HFS (school) have been remarkable. But I believe he needs to get interested in learning to speak the language - please pray for that too.

God bless.