In the morning, I wrote her a note telling her I had a friend coming to visit overnight and to please not do her laundry after I go to bed. I met Brian and we went to class. I went up and talked to the teacher, again, in Korean to tell her about my roommate situation. She told me I had to talk to the dormitory people, so I did that at the second break. I explained my situation and asked for a single. Unfortunately there is not one, but I will have a Korean roommate on the 2nd floor. And I can move there on Saturday. Classes went well. Even though it is below my level, the activities the teachers had us do were very good. A lot of games/interaction help students learn the new vocabulary words.
After class, I was off to visit Hwa Sun and Jaebin! The subway station right by my dorm has 2 lines going through it which is nice. What's even better is that one of them takes me right to Hwa Sun's station! The only problem is that it is not a very common route, so not knowing in advance, I actually need a timetable so I know when the trains come. I ended up waiting about 15 minutes, but it was not a big deal. Next time I know! While I was waiting, I thought I should text Mr. Lee (the doorman at SWS) because he had my old cell phone number but not my new one. Sometimes he would call me and I didn't want him to wonder why I wasn't answering if he had tried. So, he called me right away and we had a broken conversation in Korean and English. He is so sweet. I think I mentioned before, but he graduated from Kyunghee University with a degree in Economics in the mid-60's (after telling us this, Amanda and I tried to figure out his age!).
I made it to Hwa Sun's and even got lucky-someone was also going into her building as I arrived, so I was able to just jump right into the elevator and go to their house on the 21st floor! They were just about to leave to let me in as I arrived. Jaebin gave me another big hug. I showed them my textbook and my handwriting (they thought it was cute). We had a little snack and then Jaebin's friend came over. After they played and Hwa Sun and I talked, we went to the little playground for their apartment complex and played soccer-Jaebin and his friend against me. It was fun, but I wish I had been wearing my tennis shoes. Then Jaebin's friend's mom met with us and we returned to Hwa Sun's home. The mom's talked while I played with the boys. Then, Jaebin's friend and mom left. Hwa Sun ran over to her mother-in-laws. Jaebin tried to teach me how to play a pokemon game on his gameboy. I "helped" Hwa Sun prepare dinner. She made the ddeokboki (rice cake and vegetable dish) that Amanda and I had had last week, because I told her I wanted the recipe. Basically, she has bulgogi (meat in a soy sauce) in her fridge and uses that as a base for many dishes. Then it was adding the rice cake and carrots, onion and green onion. Pretty easy. She also made samgypsal (remember from yesterday? Pork). We ate and then I played with Jaebin more. She must have popped out real quick because she came into Jaebin's room with ice cream! :) She (unknowingly) bought one of my favorite ice cream treats with the selection she had got. I asked her where I would be able to buy a pillow (since I never got one) and she said I could borrow one, but she felt bad because it is "old and smelly". (It doesn't look old and is not smelly, haha) While she was preparing that, her husband arrived home and they gave me some bread to take back to school with me. They also looked up the train schedule so I know when I should go to the station and not be too late or too early.
Hwa Sun and Jaebin walked me to the station and I headed back to Kyunghee. When I got here, I waited for my friend Min Kyung. I met Min Kyung in 2009 with the GOA'L (Global Overseas Adoptee's Link) trip; she was a volunteer. We chatted for a long time in my room before heading to bed.
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| My new (old) pillow and the stuffed animal dog that Jaebin INSISTED that I take to school with me. (Last year he sent me to Inje with a different stuffed animal) |
1. I, Mike, remember seeing Jaebin's picture and how cute he is. It was nice hearing about your getting together with him and his parents. It was great hearing about how nice and helpful they are to you.
ReplyDelete2. Now that you've flown to Korea again, mom asked me to mention a conversion which took place when you & Phil were little and your mom was driving you two somewhere in Michigan. When passing a hospital, this conversion occurred"
Your mom: "Phil, this is where you were born."
You: "Amy, too?"
Phil: "No, Amy. You came on an airplane."
We're all certainly glad that you came. You've done some interesting coming and going on airplanes since then. In northern European countries, in Spring--while many human babies are being born--storks are coming to nest on many people's rooftops. When a child asks. "Where did I come from?," some parents said: "A stork brought you." Because you're a modern kid, it's seems appropriate that you "came on an airplane" instead of being brought by a stork.
3. I had to laugh at your comment about students at a study-table each being "in his own little world." I once had supper with some deep-thinking people and a young woman there said: "I get the feeling that each person at this table is in his own little world."