Thursday is coming to an end. It's hard to believe that we were arriving in Korea just one week ago.
Todd has had a wonderful week at Teacher Orientation. He has enjoyed leaving each morning and taking the subway to work. Tonight he went out to have a beer with one of the other teachers. Tomorrow he will continue preparing his classroom for the first day of school--Monday. He is very excited about teaching and seems to have found his niche here. It seems like he's been here a lot longer than a week.
The kids and I went to a shopping center today. We really just need to get out of the apartment so we went for a walk to the 2001 Outlet shops. Basically, it was a 5-6 level department store. There were women everywhere digging through piles of clothes frantically trying to find the right sizes. The clothes seemed to be good quality and if I didn't have the kids in tow I may have joined in the madness.
On the bottom level was a Kim's Club. We bought a few items and then went to get an ice cream cone. Baskin Robbins! Jamoca Almond Fudge. Yum.
We tend to get a few stares when were walking. Not sure if it's because we are Caucasian or that Lia is with us--perhaps both. Lia doesn't seem to notice and hasn't mentioned yet that everyone looks like her.
People never make eye contact or smile. I read and have been told that it's not polite so I'm trying to be sensitive to the cultural difference and yet be myself. While standing at the light to cross the street, I noticed a woman smiling at us. I returned the smile and a bow. She smiled just a little bit more and bowed towards me. It's cultural respectful to bow to one another when meeting. We didn't exchange words but I was so grateful for that one smile. Perhaps I felt acknowledged in this new land and that made my existence here seem worth something.
When we arrived home and were waiting for the elevator the little woman we see almost every day in her shop, Jehovah Jireh, waved at us and then came out to greet us. What a lovely lady. Helen--that's her English name. She spoke wonderful English and we chatted for several minutes. Her daughter is currently studying in Chicago at North Western. I'm sure I'm going to be visiting Helen often!
Blessings from Bundang.
2 comments:
Kim - the Jamoca Almond Fudge comment made me laugh. I remember you and Zach coming to IB Nuts back when I was in high school t get ice cream. I also remember Jamoca Almond Fudge being pronounced twenty different ways. Some people would look at Jamoca, mouth it silently trying to figure out how to say it, then just say "Almond Fudge". Oh so funny. Love the blog and videos. You guys are loved.
Wow, that would be SO hard for me not to make eye contact and/or smile! Loved the video! Looks like a bustling city... and looks clean too! And thanks for all the blogs, it's just wonderful to hear from you! :) Lots of love to you all!
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