Korea, Day Two: Secret Garden

Hello, everyone!

We are leaving in a moment to do a little shopping. Yes, it was actually Daniel's idea to shop. He is full of suprises.

We will meet with our new little one at 1:30pm and then leave for the airport. I will share our experience with you when we are back in WI-FI range and Jake is asleep. We are preparing as many things for him as we can fit into carry-ons...foods that he likes, books, toys, my video i-pod...we want to make this flight as easy as possible for him. I'll let everyone know when we arrive on Friday in LA. I should be able to blog and make calls after immigration.

Yesterday was a full day for us. We had an incredible meeting with Sean's foster Mom. I am including her picture here but will not use her name for privacy. The baby in the picture is 7 months old and will be going to NYC soon. The young man is her son. After loading us up with gifts and sharing photos, she told us of Roo Da's time with her. She has had many foster children, yet she remebers him well and carries his picture. We look forward to meeting her again with Sean. We left with each other's address and look forward to corresponding with her and her family. Okay, it's campy to say...but, HOW COOL IS THAT? =)

We also met with both the director and the founder of ESWS. The current CEO will be in PHX for our celebration in September. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch here at Eastern, including traditional Korean foods such as Kimchee and Be Bim Bop. (Yes, Terri, I now know what the bowl looks like!)

Afterwards we met with Jake and his foster Mom for a visit. He does have stranger anxiety, but not to the degree that Sarah does. He has the most fun-loving personality, and is both smart and cute. Yes, I am biased, but it is a fact. =) We can't wait for you to meet him!

The travel log should begin here, but I will have to fill in the details later so we can be on our way. The pictures are of a palace with a Secret Garden. SO BEAUTIFUL! Yes, we rode the subway everywhere today...look at us, getting around Seoul and only getting a little lost. =)

Enjoy the pictures!

Korean Fun 101:Korean Folk Village

Hello, everyone! I'm just hoping to spell correctly at this point. I think we have slept 5 hours in the past 50 hours, so my wits are a bit dull. We had a great day and wanted to get in as much as possible. Daniel is STILL out walking around the area while I write this blog. He is having the time of his life.





We set out right after meeting Jake today for Seoul Station and the train ride to Suwon. Just a bus ride from there, we visited the Korean Folk Village. I'm including a few pics here. Remember how disappointed I was when I visited Seoul last year that there was "just too much city"? Well, I found the trees and it was beautiful. (Okay, the mosquitos are the size of a half dollar, but we left when they arrived. In fact, this is mosquito season. Did you notice the bites on Jake's face in the pictures?)





We "strolled" through the Namdaemun market afterwards. Found out that it is around the block from Seoul station. Okay, so we were AT Seoul station and still took a cab. We knew it was close, but the intersections (rotaries) are a bit intimidating at 6pm. Namdaemun is kind of like a park-and-swap, except the stands are in front of shops and there are two humans for every square foot of space. =)





Dinner was at Tony Romas. I needed that comfort food after putting in such a long day. =)





Enjoy the pics. They were all taken at the Folk Village. If you know your Korean history, this village is modeled after lfe in the early Joseon dynasty, circa 1932.

More tomorrow after we see Jake again. =)



Love,





Chris

Meeting Jake!

Hello, everyone! Okay, I cried for maybe a minute when we saw Jake coming down the hall...but I pulled it together. Yes, he's adorable, of course. We visited for over an hour and had a wonderful time. Jake is very happy and very chatty. It did take a few minutes for him to warm up to us and the fact that all of these folks were staring and smiling at him. However, he took to Daniel pretty quick, and even did the "reach" for him as they were leaving. Yes, it made Daniel's day!

Jake (Byul) is crawling well and can stand on his own. He is not walking yet. We can easily tell that his foster family loves him a great deal. He has two foster sisters and an amazing foster mom and dad. We have lots of wonderful photos of his first year that were given to us today...we can hardly wait to share them with you. Until then, here are a few pics and a short video. I promised Daniel that I would make this quick so we can begin our sightseeing. =)

By the way, we will meet with Jake tomorrow at 1pm. We will leave with him at 1:30pm on Friday. This will be a tough trip for the little guy...he is getting over a cold and will miss the comfort of his foster family. We are stocking up on his favorite foods and will have plenty to keep him entertained on our trip.

Until my next blog, have a wonderful day and enjoy the photos!

Love,

Chris

Hello from Korea!

Hello, everyone! We made it! We are currently blogging from Eastern Social Welfare Services. They have a great business center...easy to use and very convenient since our cells are not working yet. Well, you can call us...we just can't call out. =)

We do not know when we will meet Jake yet. You can bet I'll take lots of photos and blog immediately following our visit. We will travel to the Folk Village just south of Seoul today. We want to take advantage of the amazing weather we are having. It's like Phoenix in November. =)

I'll have more to share later on today. =)

Love,

Chris

Leaving for Korea

Hello, everyone! I'm blogging from the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX in Los Angeles. Our flight leaves in just over an hour for Seoul, South Korea, where we will meet Jake and escort him home this week. Daniel and I are feeling a little guilty about our short week away, but we are very much enjoying being a couple for awhile.



We've had a pretty easy trip so far. Spent most of our wait time and flight from PHX looking at Korean travel books and making our "wish list" of things to do.



We will arrive in Seoul's Inchon airport around 6pm on Tuesday. Seoul is 14 hours ahead of us, so we will make it home earlier than we will depart on the 29th. =) It is about an hour ride to Eastern Social Welfare Services, so I will try to blog again when we get settled. Daniel is anxious to get out on the street to try the food vendors and experience the city streets at night.

Happy Birthday, Jake!

Hello, everyone! As most of you have heard, we are traveling to escort Jake home next week. Jake celebrated his first birthday with his foster family on Sunday. We will celebrate with him in just a few weeks. Daniel and I will leave early Monday morning and arrive in Seoul at 6pm on Tuesday. Keep checking back on this blog and I will update as we go. We will meet Jake on Wednesday morning and will also meet with Sean's foster mom on Thursday morning. Our return flight brings us back to Phoenix on Friday afternoon (August 29th).

Until then, here are a few picks from the summer. Enjoy!