City Tour

It's been quite a day. My feet are tired, my legs are sore, but we got to see and do SO much.

We woke up this morning and called our little Monkey. It was so great to hear his voice and picture him playing with Mr. Potato Head. Then we went back to our room and watched the highlights from the inauguration. After we got ready, we headed out for the Seoul City Bus tour. This was such a great way to see the city. You can stay on the bus and just ride through the landmarks, or you can get on and off as you choose. We ended up taking the subway to the first stop in Gwanghwamun or downtown Seoul. This was a different area than the one Eastern is in. There were a lot of business men and women rushing around, and we even stopped at Starbucks! By the way, the women here are amazing. They are all dressed super fashionably, and walk around in high heels all day. Also, no one wears gloves or hats, which is unbelievable since it was freezing today (Although nothing like Chicago when I left, so I'm not complaining.).

Our first stop on the bus tour was Deoksugung Palace. It is a beautiful place right in between skyscrapers and businesses. We were lucky enough to get there just as they were re-enacting a changing of the guards ceremony. It was so interesting to see their traditional dress and ritual.

After the Palace, we made our way to the Namsangol Traditional Korean village. It's a restored village that shows how people lived years ago.

Next we visited North Seoul Tower. It is located on top of a little mountain, that we were very glad we didn't have to climb:). The bus dropped us off and we walked a short distance to the tower entrance. We were able to see the whole entire city and it was amazing! Unfortunately the day was a little overcast, so the pictures don't really show what a great view it was...so use your imagination!

We stopped at Insadong market next, and it was a great place to souveneir shop. It's an entire street of art/jewelry vendors. We got some really neat keepsakes, like a painting with Spike and Monkey's name written in Korean, a beautiful vase, and a few other things. While we were there, we were stopped by some local college students who were working on a class project. They had to find some Americans to interview, and we were happy to help them. It was so fun to see how proud they were of their English, and so nice for us to really be able to talk to someone else.

Finally we went to another palace called Gyeongbokgung. This was the biggest one that we had seen by far. It was truly beautiful and so amazing to see all of the different rooms and buildings and their uses.

We stopped for a bite to eat when we were done with the tour. I am really enjoying all of the food here. I've definitely been much more adventurous than normal and am loving all of the spicy red pepper paste they put in everything. My new favorite thing to eat is called bibimbap. It's a delicious combination of vegetables and rice with a heaping portion of the previously mentioned paste. It is so delicious. We had the best bibimbap at a restaurant across from the palace. The owner spoke very good English and was telling us all about how she makes the food, including her kimchi, pickled cucumber, and mushroom salad. It was amazing! One of the things we find the strangest as far as eating is concerned, is that we have yet to eat at one restaurant where they give you a napkin. They usually have something similar to a kleenex box at the table with tiny paper napkins that you can pull out. Maybe I'm just a messy eater, but I miss having something to wipe my face and hands with!

Tomorrow, we have a busy day. We are meeting Dr. Kim for lunch at 11:30. We are hoping to be able to visit the agency's nursery and hold the waiting babies afterwards. Then at 4:00 there is a special gathering for visiting adoptees, and adoptive parents in honor of the new year. And at 5:00 we will be getting Spike forever. I am so extremely nervous and excited. I can hardly wait to start getting to know him. I am praying that he can sense that we love him and that he is safe with us. I know tomorrow will be so difficult for him and his foster mother. I take some comfort in the fact that we will honor both his foster mother and birth mother by giving him the best life we possibly can. He will always be loved unconditionally, and we will constantly strive to make the best decisions that we can for him. He will have a brother, mother and father who will support him no matter what. And we will never forget this beautiful country and culture that he is from. Our lives will be better because of him, and we can only hope to return the favor.

Sending you all of our love from Seoul!

P.S. If any of my friends who have been to Korea can tell me where to find the bookstore, I would appreciate it. For some reason, we can't seem to locate it, and we really want to buy some children's books.

P.P.S. Just wanted to let those of you know...yesterday we gave our social worker the care packages sent with us. They will be delivered to your children very soon!