Jeju Wandering

Spent the day wandering Jeju in the escort of our driver, arranged by Professor Choi. We visited Jeju Village, a recreation of traditional Jeju Korean life. We bought some cool stuff there, too.

Then, after some cabbing around the island we settled in Jungmun, where we decided to check in to the Hyatt for some relaxing beach time. We're right on the southern most coast of Korea now, and there are guests from all over. It's just beautiful, and very reasonable too. So much so that we're extending our stay here one night... a much needed rest before we take Lily into our care.

to Jeju

After a traditional Korean breakfast prepared by our hosts, we did a little shopping at a nearby department store. Stores have everything here, including a really cool play set for kids, so Max had fun diving in the balls and rolling down the slide. Miya bought some Hanbok and other cool things.

We then flew to Jeju island where we were escorted to the university guest house to stay. Professor Lim took us for sushi and we enjoyed a good night sleep for the second time.

This picture of from the Lee residence in Busan.

Go Giants!

Our new favorite sport... Korean baseball

A Great Surprise

We went to the local Social Welfare Society that originally handled Max's case. To our surprise, they had arranged for Max's original foster mother to meet us there. She cared for him for eight days in November 2005 before he was moved to Seoul. She was happy to see him doing so well, and we were grateful for her presence there. We made a cash donation and they gave us a bag of tourist information and other goodies.

Gone fishing

Some pics of the things peddled at the Busan market.

Chiba

We're in the company now of Mi-Jung, Mr. Lee and family as we enjoy this sprawling port city. Everything here smells like fish, which was expected since Busan is one of the busiest seaports in Asia. The markets are crowded with fresh catch and wares and we caught a few bargains there.

This mess of wires of all kinds is symbolic in many ways. Juxtaposed to the gleaming glass buildings and posh services so prevalent, the old street markets still thrive on narrow winding streets. The population density in the major cities forces everyone on top of each other -- no space is wasted, and you're likely to find a mechanic or a butcher shopped in a 30 square meter alcove at the end of an alley. The development here has been accelerated -- there is no time for fancy packaging. Only for pure pragmatism and a tenacious rush toward post-modernity. The ensuing culture clashes are interesting to witness.

Faster than a speeding bullet

The train from Seoul to Busan reaches speeds of 300 km/h in its journey. Max being a train buff, was very excited, but fell asleep anyway.

Myeoung-Dong

Tonight we went to one of the older neighborhood markets to look around. A million neon signs, plasma displays, imitation designer bags, upscale boutiques, Korean soup kitchens, and sushi bars crammed into a four block area. And about two million people. Lots for every sense to enjoy.

Contact

We went to see Somang today at the Foster parents' home. They've taken very good care of her.

We also dropped off donations and letters to the Social Welfare Society, both for the children's hospital and the receiving center. If you were counting on us to carry a letter or package, know that it is delivered.

Tomorrow to Busan for a visit to Max's birthplace and a Korean pro baseball game. I will let you know how the stadium brats are.

Rise and Shine

Max and I have been taking walks in the morning. We're still a bit lagged and not on Seoul time. Here are a couple of pics in front of Sogang University, where Professor Choi is faculty. I thought perhaps being the first to see the sun of a new day, the Koreans would be early risers. Actually, most things are closed until at least 9 AM, including coffee shops! Luckily, this morning we found a Starbucks open... ahhhhhh, globalization.

shop, shop, shop... eat, eat, eat

We spent our first full day in Seoul shopping Markets here, malls there... capitalism is thriving here. Mrs. Lee,Young Sook showed us how to do it. There is some negotiating on prices, and no gratuity. Overall, things are fairly priced and though some things are expensive, they are not unreasonably so.

After a long hot day of spending, we were taken by Mr. Choi and Mrs. Lee to a traditional Korean barbecue. Our friend Dave from Madison came with. A friend of Mr. Choi owns a lodge in the mountains of Seoul. They had caught and killed a wild pig... I'm not sure if they hunted for it or if it was just unlucky enough to come on their property, but either way, we feasted on its flesh and drank Soju until late in the evening.

We were in the mountains, so there were lots of interesting flying things. This moth or butterfly was as big as my hand... we didn't eat it.

Morning Calm

We arrived in Seoul yesterday here, today there. Figure that one out.
We're 14 hours ahead of CDT, so we are quite literally in the future. It feels like the future, too. Seoul is very big, very modern, and very densely inhabited. They call Korea the land of the morning calm. It's anything but; Neon signs blink throughout the night and a chorus of trucks engines and car horns began their work just before sunrise. Still, after some delicious food, we slept great.

We're staying in Professor Choi's apartment. It's a well-appointed and efficient flat on the 17th floor in downtown Seoul, within sight of Sogang University. We're humbled and immensely grateful for his putting us up.

The picture is the view from our bedroom.

Travel Day

While offline we managed to make tracks from Madison to Chicago with little difficulty on Sunday. Had Mexican food at Maria's near the Rosemont... stay away.

Here's a quick pic of Max during the check-in at O'Hare. We're on our way.

RSS

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-M

We're Off!

We got our travel call this morning and will be going to Korea soon!

Flight info:
Aug 25, 1PM CDT: Flying out of Chicago O'Hare on Korean Air #KE 038 to Seoul, Korea.
Aug 26, 4:50PM Korea Time: Arriving in Seoul
Sept 10, Noon (Korea time): Departing to Chicago on Korean Air #KE 037
Sept 10, 10:35 AM CDT: Arrive Chicago O'Hare

Lodging:
Aug 24, Sofitel Chicago O'Hare: 1-847-678-4488

Bruno (our dog):
Ruffin' It Resort: http://ruffinitresort.com/
1-608-310-4298

While in Korea: all over the place. How to contact us:

- Cell Phone: 010-2898-8639
- Skype: username "Pfliegaphonic"
- email: pfliegaphonic@gmail.com
- THIS HERE BLOG

More later... gotta pack!
-Mike

Movement

Finally.

We recently received our I-600 approval which means Lily's Visa application is on its way to D.C. to the National Visa Center. In turn, the NVC cabled Korea (we can't agree whether that's the U.S. Embassay in Korea or the Korean embassy in the U.S.). Whatever the case, we should be traveling soon!