Meeting the Neighbors

Our bathroom floor has been constantly wet, so last night a plumber and our landlord lady came over to check it out.  Little did I know this leak (which was a broken pipe) would create a very interesting night.  The only thing we could understand was that it was going to take a long time for someone to come out...and then we finally realized they were going to wait with us until they came and until the job was done.  The landlady was full of smiles, and even though she understood that I couldn't understand her she talked with me for about 4 hours.  I'm not going to say there wasn't some awkward times with the communication barrier, but it once again showed me how friendly people are here.  I had my horrible Korean notes covering the coffee table trying to communicate.  It was pretty pathetic, at one point I was bringing in the plants for her to look at.  Charades also entered the picture.  She at one point walked me to her beautiful house and showed me her garden.  She filled a bag full of grapes, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes for us.

People were in and out of the apartment all night.  The landlady's husband came over.  We also met our neighbor across the way from us and her little son who liked to jump on our couch.  The landlady loved giving him kisses, and he made the cutest disgusted face when I tried to feed him gummy bears.  I later learned that the landlords don't usually help out with problems, because they just own the buildings, and the school owns the apartments and takes care of them.  They just came because we were new in the neighborhood and they wanted to make sure everything went ok.  A Korean co-worker was trying to explain to me this attitude or feeling Koreans have toward their neighbors, but he said it was hard to translate into words.  He didn't really need to explain what it was, because I think I got to experience it first hand. 

(Side note:  they said we couldn't use the shower for 3 days while the tiles reset...guess who was a grease ball for their staff picture today?)

Oh, Hello Seoul

On Monday Chadwick and I went into the heart of Seoul.  It took us about 40 minutes and a couple of transfers on the Subway.  We went to Insadong, which is a tourist and local favorite for antiques and gifts.  We also went to Namdaemun market.  It's one of the largest markets in Seoul, which I was excited about and Chadwick was not so excited about.  I got lost in the maze of streets and enjoyed seeing all the goods.  I impressed myself by not buying anything all day (well I guess I got some treats...they have dip-n-dots here!)  Seoul wasn't as crowded as I had anticipated, but then again it was Monday afternoon. 

I'm looking forward to heading back with my co-workers this Saturday.  My director at the Gaepo campus (pre-k through 1st) is taking us on a tour of the Gyeonbokguna Palace, Samcheong Dong, and Insadong.

Here are some pictures of our first trip into Seoul.

This was a park that we found right off the subway...the crickets were so loud inside the gates!

Outside the park walls were covered with elderly men reading...they were really adorable.

I've been getting daily doses of each of these.

Chadwick's favorite candy is everywhere here.

In Insadong

The market.

Outside a palace (we were sad it was closed on Monday...we'll go back).

By Seoul Station.

These are the stairs I was telling you about at our subway station.  

 

Getting to Know Our Area

We've been having so much fun exploring our neighborhood and surrounding areas.  There is so much to see and take in.  We are loving the transit system here...it's really well organized (all color cordinated which is easy to follow).  We live right between two subway stops, and you can pretty much get anywhere in Seoul for about .80-$1 one way!  I have never walked so much in my life, by the end of each day my legs are wobbly and my back aches.  The subway station closest to us, Kyungwon University, has 158 stairs to get down and up!  It's a good workout, but guess who just found the secret elevator?  It's tempting...and I did give in after being out for 10 hours yesterday (we went into the heart of Seoul-which I'll post later.)

Here are some pics of what we've been doing...

Started a patio garden.  I thought it would be a good green house space, but have no idea about plants.  Chadwick was so excited to find basil.

Grocery shopping is fun and challenging.  Nothing is in English, so it's a bit of a guessing game.  We've been sticking pretty close to what we can recognize, but are trying some new things as well...like the yellow fruit.

We went to Gangnam on Saturday and liked the city feel.

This is not far from our neighborhood...I love all the vegetation.

A park close by.

The road in front of our neighborhood.

There are lots of grocery stores that line our street.  I love how colorful everything is.

We went to a market in Moran Saturday morning.

This was on Friday, the day after we arrived we went to AK Plaza in Seohyeon.

Our first venture out on the subway.

They have these game machines all over our street.

There are lots of resturants in our area...nothing is in English, so the pictures are nice.  I have learned "Kogi an mogoyo" which is something like "I don't eat meat."

The first early morning walk around.

The street our apartment is on (it's the one on the left).

First Impressions

So this is our third day here in Korea.  Time is already moving fast.  The flight over was great, I filled it with lots of movies and video games, and the 13 hours went by faster than I thought it would.  (If anyone comes to visit, try to fly Singapore Air, it was magical).  I felt like a dork walking out in our matching school polos, but I was so excited, too.  Everything went smoothly through customs, and Joseph picked us up.  

For about an hour and a half I was gripping Chadwick’s hand until we reached our city, Seongnam.  Our driver was great, but everyone was going so fast and cuts in and feels so close (my car anxiety was all over the place.)  I instantly loved the city with colorful lights and lots of people walking around at night.  We drove a bit more to get to our neighborhood, Bokjeong Dong.  Joseph said he was taking us to our “studio” which made me nervous, because I was thinking I guess we’ll just get cozy if people visit.  So the guys drug our luggage to the fourth floor and opened up our apartment.  Although I got hit with hot stale air and a very unique smell...I absolutely loved it...and was thankful it had 2 bedrooms.  David came over to welcome us.  He gave us maps of the area, transit cards, calling cards, a bunch of food, and our social host phone numbers.  We were super tired and pretty much just fell asleep (on a rock hard bed).  

We woke up at 2:30 here and poked around, and then went out to explore our neighborhood.  It has an interesting feel to it, it’s like a tiny pocket of a big city.  There’s the apartment building section, and then in front there is a long street with lots of stores; small markets, a bakery, bars, lots of restaurants, game hubs.  It’s very quaint and not intimidating at all.  I was surprised to see how quiet it is and how many trees there are (and for Portlanders- RECYCLING!)  There is even a little park, but I guess we’re in a suburb, of a suburb of Seoul.  

Hardly anything is written in English, and when it is Chadwick and I are loving the translations.  I know there is a pretty big expat community in South Korea, but so far in our area we haven’t seen any signs of it.  It’s been so strange to have no clue what things say or what people are saying.  It’s sort of fun, like everything is a puzzle and we’re trying to figure out what things are.  When you’re in a crowd it's almost comforting it feels like a lullaby, and it’s like a game to try and figure out what people are saying to each other.  BUT-I’m hoping I can pick some up quickly because I’m embarrassed when I can’t communicate with someone. However, I’m seeing in that gap something beautiful in humanity...kindness.  We’ve been so impressed with how polite and helpful people are.  

Well, this has gotten quite long, so if you're still with me you're either a really close friend or my Mom (Hey, Mom!).  Here are some pictures of our new home, pretty much how we found it.  It’s fun to be in a modern looking apartment (Chadwick is especially loving the lack of “girly frills and antiques” that I usually surround him by.)

The frosted windows open up into the covered patios

I love these trees behind us

This is the back patio, it's super stinky

The washer, no one has dryers here, I guess that's what the patio is for

Ash, don't be jealous of my brick wall (it's paper)

I guess most Koreans don't get curtains and the water just goes all over the bathroom (there is a drain on the floor).  The wet floor drove me crazy, so we bought a shower curtain yesterday.

A Weekend of Goodbyes

We were so thankful that we got to spend this past weekend with so many friends and family that we love.  On Saturday, I had brunch with the girls, we visited with Grandpa Hamilton, had dinner with Ash, Ezra, Ben, Mal and Wynn, and spent the night playing pool with friends.  We spent Sunday in Gresham visiting family...lunch at the Hardin Ranch, visited the Gadbaugh's in the afternoon, and had a burrito dinner with Bry, Faith, the kiddos, and Mom.  I already knew we were surrounded by people that amaze us and imprint so much on our lives.  I learned that those type of people are not easy to part with and I turn into a crier at goodbyes.

Here are a bunch of pictures...in no particular order...

These girls mean so much to me

I just love this girl

Grandpa Hamilton

Faith, Brynn, Peyton, Luke, Bryan, Mom & us

We celebrated Baby Brynn & Chadwick's birthdays early

The Gadbaughs

Getting a peak at the Hardin's beautiful garden

Pool at Backstage 

Wynnie & Ezra

Good 'ol La Carreta

We love & will miss you all!