Good glory, am I a lazy bum or what?! Bob and Kris left a week ago yesterday and I haven't even thought about blogging and just now posted pictures to Facebook... Yikes. In my defense, I've been busy, busy, busy (except for last weekend when I literally got off the couch to cook, shower and go out with my gal pals) with school and various dinners and such. Long story longer, here come the Bob and Kris in Korea posts, quite possibly at a snail's pace...
To avoid the same snafu as Ruth's dramatic arrival, I made sure not only to arrive early (after almost missing the bus in Gwangju - why people hang out and watch tv in Gwangju's bus terminal will forever remain a mystery...) but also to double (maybe triple?) check their flight number and arrival gate. I was a hot mess. When they finally walked through the arrival doors, you'd better believe I sprang off the bench on which I was sitting and obnoxiously bounded toward them, in the middle of the arrivals gate, shrieking and carrying on. Yep, I was that girl. Two hours later, we were safely in my apartment eating some salads and having a few cocktails. What an awesomely weird feeling to have my parents in my apartment, talking with Diane and Desiree, eating a Korean birthday cake.
The next day, we took it pretty easy in the morning (which became a trend about which I will never complain) and around 11:00 took a walk up the mountain (I'm serious) to my school. The pastor and guidance counselor were both there so we enjoyed some coffee with them before walking around the rest of the school grounds. Next we had lunch at a kimbap shop that sells pretty standard Korean food. We got two kinds of kimbap, bibimbap and some kimchi dumplings. What a lunch - Bob and Kris enjoyed the first of so much Korean food and were pretty good with chopsticks too! We continued to tour around Gwangju well into the afternoon, walking through the park, all over E-Mart, people watching at E-Mart and finally to the traditional market in Gwangju. On the way to the market, a man stopped my dad to talk as I was taking a picture. Upon finding out that I was a teacher and they were my parents visiting me, he reached into the black plastic bag he was carrying, produced a flask-sized bottle of soju and proudly handed it to my dad. Bob had a smile on from ear to ear.
That night, we went with Diane and Desiree to our favorite Chinese restaurant. When we saw that the restaurant was filled to capacity, we decided to wait across the street in a coffee shop for a table to open up for us. Eventually, Diane and Desiree went back over to the restaurant to remind the owner that we were still waiting. She came outside and told them that it was too cold to wait outside, and that when a table opened up, she would come over to get us. Not a few minutes later, she came over to the coffee shop with a menu and a notepad so we could give her our order. I love Korea. Maybe 10 minutes later, we were seated in her smoke-filled restaurant, enjoying some fine Chinese food. True to form, it was some of the most delicious food I'd tasted in awhile. It was also Bob and Kris approved :)
The next day, after a leisurely morning, we made our way to Seoul for the first of what would become several trips to my beloved city. This time, we went to Bongeunsa Temple, followed by (the now infamous) fish pedicures. It was fun walking around something so different from anything Mom and Dad had ever seen. I fumbled through explaining Buddhism to them (it's been awhile since I learned about it in Confirmation and freshman year Religion in America...) and we enjoyed walking around the beautiful grounds together. Then, we took a short subway ride to Gangnam to enjoy a fish pedicure. Though Bob may have lost some man points in the eyes of his Iowa and Arizona pals, he'll be the first to tell you it was well worth it! Without divulging details (a man needs to keep a few secrets...), I will tell you that he noticed a serious difference after letting those fish go to work for 20 minutes. Bob and Kris were awesome! They didn't hesitate for a second before choosing the tub with the big fish (maybe well-fed goldfish size) rather than the little fish (maybe starving tadpoles?). I couldn't have been more proud of them :)
These two days were a good preview of what the rest of the trip would hold: Bob and Kris being more than willing and open (as I knew they would be) to trying new and (sometimes) strange things at a delightfully leisurely pace. They were (well, are...) gems!
Next post: Bob and Kris visit a palace and a fish market. Imagine the possibilities!
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