Mouth on FIRE

We are just about finished with Day Two in Korea. Thankfully, we all slept pretty well last night.

We've had a good day. We unpacked some more of our stuff and organized our little apartment to make it feel a little more like home. The cable guy came to hook up our TV service. He didn't speak English and we don't speak Korean but somehow we managed and he showed us how to find CNN--he thought that was imporant. We just laughed and laughed after he left--pictures, pointing and charades are a universal language when other barriers seem to keep us from communicating.

We waited the rest of the afternoon for the phone guy and determined around 4:30 that he probably wasn't coming so we went for a walk around the neighborhood. The streets are busy with cars, buses, taxis and people . . . shops line the streets and each of them seem to be busy with customers.

Just about a block from our house we found a small park. The kids played for a little while and we watched some boys play baseball. It seems that Koreans are passionate about baseball.

After our walk we grabbed a taxi to E-Mart. E-Mart is a cross between Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Hyvee and Best Buy. It's 4 levels high--enormous! Each floor has greeters and each department has sales people--they are everywhere!

As I was checking out at the E-Mart, the cashier greeted me and I smiled. I have no confidence in saying Hello in Korean. After she rang up my items she asked me a question and I just stared dazed and confused. She then picked up a bag and I smiled, "Yes, I do need a bag." I'm sure given time I will be able to communicate on some level. My friend, Bethany, is praying that I learn the language--it will be a true miracle if I do.

When we got home the kids were exhausted. We should have tried to eat before all of our running around. Todd decided to do a little walk around the neighborhood and find something to bring home. I've been trying to keep the kids awake until he gets back!

Well, he found a tastey beef dish--and yes, I'm pretty sure it's beef, or at least it taste like beef. It looked spicey and I typically can't eat foods that are too spicy but I thought to myself, "you have to try it. you're in korea!" So, I took my first bite and wow!!! burn my lips off hot! i ate several bites, trying to be tough and adventurous but my lips and tongue are numb and still tingling--it's been about 15 minutes since my last bite. Wow! Note--any sauce that is red, is mouth on fire, HOT!

I'm thankful for all the ways that we can communicate while here. We were able to talk to several friends today--it was wonderful for us and the kids to see people they know and who know them.

We are going to have some noodles and get to bed. I'm sure we will sleep well tonight!