Korea Nice
Ok. Lesson learned. We are super excited to be back and we knew we needed to take it easy with kids but it was all just so fun and exciting! However... It was getting to be less than enjoyable with the kids losing their patience pretty much everywhere. Let me just tell you, it is SO embarrassing to be the center of attention on a silent bus when you are the only foreigners there in the first place AND your baby is screaming. Literally mortifying.
To try and avoid this, we made a conscious effort to do one activity a day and be mindful of letting the kids be more "in charge" of the pace as well as pack backpacks with snacks and activities. It was still a little tricky because most Korean snacks are sweet and the packets Lucy has are twice the price here. We also still do not have a cellphone service so we either have to download shows from Netflix when on wifi or watch things only when on wifi. But we're figuring it out.
Bongeunsa Temple
New day, new week, new plan of attack. Besides, we start work stuff this week so we don't want to go back to work exhausted! The whole point of having this time is to adjust and recuperate! But, we don't have too much to do at the apartment so getting out of the house is necessary. We did take it easy for the morning and decided to visit a temple after Lucy's nap. There was one relatively close to us called Bongeunsa Temple.
We had a nice walk in Gangnam near Coex mall looking at all the fun buildings on the way. And the temple is just right in the middle of it all! It's a really beautiful temple and there were prayer services going on in several of the buildings which was really fascinating to see and hear. The monks were all changing but in different rhythms and styles. Most likely different prayers but since they were in Korean, I couldn't tell. But still fun to hear nonetheless.
The lotus flower was clearly an inspiration for design in this temple.
You may be wondering why there is a swastika on that building. Or maybe you weren't and now you are...fun fact, the swastika was not originally a Nazi symbol. It is derived from Sanskrit origin meaning, "conducive to well-being". Here is a little blurb from what I found on this site:
Gangnam-style
After the temple, we went to Coex mall (stark contrast!) For some food and air conditioning. We perused a few shops but we didn't want to push it.
If you have not listened to Gangnam Style or haven't in a while, go ahead and refresh your memory 😄. It was a big deal for Korea and they are very proud that this became and made them more popular. Gangnam was already cool and is where we wanted to live when we moved back but now people who aren't familiar with Korea, can get a little taste of the quirkiness of this city.
However, despite just doing the one (ish) activity, and since we went later and at the kids' pace, it ended up being dark as we set home. The fun thing about nighttime is all the exciting lights!
The less fun thing is tired children. However, a nice guitar player greeted us from where he was playing on the street. He complimented Finn and Lucy's pretty hair color and then asked where we were from. We said the US and politely told him we were trying to get home but he insisted on singing a song. I'm so glad he did and that we stayed because this will definitely be one of my highlights of the whole time being here and just a reminder of how kind Koreans are and how much our kids have helped bridged that culture gap. I wish I had captured the whole thing on video but what I do have is priceless!
This is one of many cute interactions we have had with Koreans since being here. People are generally delighted when they see the children and have struck up conversations with us as a result—much more so than when we were here last time. A lot of people give them treats, or when they find out we are from Idaho they either don't really know or know about potatoes! Sometimes the interaction is only in Korean and we smile and politely try to understand or offer what limited Korean we know in appreciation but we definitely feel welcome here for the most part. The children are definitely not shy and have made friends with people on the subway. They played the entire ride one day with a nice younger lady and she was happy to entertain them. It was really quite adorable.
We were trying to get home the other night, and it was late, and we couldn't find our bus transfer and a nice older lady, who spoke substantial English, told us she would pay her cab fee. In the meantime of waiting for a cab, she explained that she was a refugee in Chicago for three years during the Korean War and the Americans were very helpful and supportive so she wanted to help pay it forward. It was the sweetest thing and we were very frazzled and very grateful!
This time around is already feeling more rewarding. It's definitely way more stressful in regards to the kids but that was expected to some extent. I just feel less exposed I guess would be a good way to put it? Like, I know I look and sound and act differently in pretty much any given situation but knowing that and being ready for that is almost calming.
I know people look at us and pass whatever judgement they are going to pass and that's fine. I always mistook staring as negative when really they were just interested and maybe even thinking how they could talk to us. A couple of days ago when we went to KFC, Brett went up to order something else and I could tell both people behind the counter changed their body language in that they were both a little giggly and nervous. It wasn't that they were ignoring Brett, they were unsure how to talk with him in English. And on the other hand, we feel just as bad about not being able to communicate in Korean.
We always are very appreciative of anyone that even attempts English and even if they don't and just speak in Korean, we just appreciate the effort to say hello! It has definitely helped to see such a difference in friendliness and generosity that maybe I wasn't as open to last time. It's definitely a more humbling as well as empowering time so far.
To try and avoid this, we made a conscious effort to do one activity a day and be mindful of letting the kids be more "in charge" of the pace as well as pack backpacks with snacks and activities. It was still a little tricky because most Korean snacks are sweet and the packets Lucy has are twice the price here. We also still do not have a cellphone service so we either have to download shows from Netflix when on wifi or watch things only when on wifi. But we're figuring it out.
Bongeunsa Temple
New day, new week, new plan of attack. Besides, we start work stuff this week so we don't want to go back to work exhausted! The whole point of having this time is to adjust and recuperate! But, we don't have too much to do at the apartment so getting out of the house is necessary. We did take it easy for the morning and decided to visit a temple after Lucy's nap. There was one relatively close to us called Bongeunsa Temple.
We had a nice walk in Gangnam near Coex mall looking at all the fun buildings on the way. And the temple is just right in the middle of it all! It's a really beautiful temple and there were prayer services going on in several of the buildings which was really fascinating to see and hear. The monks were all changing but in different rhythms and styles. Most likely different prayers but since they were in Korean, I couldn't tell. But still fun to hear nonetheless.
The lotus flower was clearly an inspiration for design in this temple.
You may be wondering why there is a swastika on that building. Or maybe you weren't and now you are...fun fact, the swastika was not originally a Nazi symbol. It is derived from Sanskrit origin meaning, "conducive to well-being". Here is a little blurb from what I found on this site:
In Buddhism, the swastika is thought to represent the footprints of the Buddha. It takes on a liturgical function in Jainism, and in Hinduism the clockwise symbol (the swastika as we know it, with the arms pointing right) and the counterclockwise symbol, the sauvistika, pair up to portray opposites such as light and darkness.I've seen this around many buildings but always forget to look it up. So, now we know!
Gangnam-style
After the temple, we went to Coex mall (stark contrast!) For some food and air conditioning. We perused a few shops but we didn't want to push it.
If you have not listened to Gangnam Style or haven't in a while, go ahead and refresh your memory 😄. It was a big deal for Korea and they are very proud that this became and made them more popular. Gangnam was already cool and is where we wanted to live when we moved back but now people who aren't familiar with Korea, can get a little taste of the quirkiness of this city.
However, despite just doing the one (ish) activity, and since we went later and at the kids' pace, it ended up being dark as we set home. The fun thing about nighttime is all the exciting lights!
The less fun thing is tired children. However, a nice guitar player greeted us from where he was playing on the street. He complimented Finn and Lucy's pretty hair color and then asked where we were from. We said the US and politely told him we were trying to get home but he insisted on singing a song. I'm so glad he did and that we stayed because this will definitely be one of my highlights of the whole time being here and just a reminder of how kind Koreans are and how much our kids have helped bridged that culture gap. I wish I had captured the whole thing on video but what I do have is priceless!
This is one of many cute interactions we have had with Koreans since being here. People are generally delighted when they see the children and have struck up conversations with us as a result—much more so than when we were here last time. A lot of people give them treats, or when they find out we are from Idaho they either don't really know or know about potatoes! Sometimes the interaction is only in Korean and we smile and politely try to understand or offer what limited Korean we know in appreciation but we definitely feel welcome here for the most part. The children are definitely not shy and have made friends with people on the subway. They played the entire ride one day with a nice younger lady and she was happy to entertain them. It was really quite adorable.
We were trying to get home the other night, and it was late, and we couldn't find our bus transfer and a nice older lady, who spoke substantial English, told us she would pay her cab fee. In the meantime of waiting for a cab, she explained that she was a refugee in Chicago for three years during the Korean War and the Americans were very helpful and supportive so she wanted to help pay it forward. It was the sweetest thing and we were very frazzled and very grateful!
This time around is already feeling more rewarding. It's definitely way more stressful in regards to the kids but that was expected to some extent. I just feel less exposed I guess would be a good way to put it? Like, I know I look and sound and act differently in pretty much any given situation but knowing that and being ready for that is almost calming.
I know people look at us and pass whatever judgement they are going to pass and that's fine. I always mistook staring as negative when really they were just interested and maybe even thinking how they could talk to us. A couple of days ago when we went to KFC, Brett went up to order something else and I could tell both people behind the counter changed their body language in that they were both a little giggly and nervous. It wasn't that they were ignoring Brett, they were unsure how to talk with him in English. And on the other hand, we feel just as bad about not being able to communicate in Korean.
We always are very appreciative of anyone that even attempts English and even if they don't and just speak in Korean, we just appreciate the effort to say hello! It has definitely helped to see such a difference in friendliness and generosity that maybe I wasn't as open to last time. It's definitely a more humbling as well as empowering time so far.
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