More to See!

Wow! What a day! After meeting Lily, we set off to do some shopping. First, we went to Holt which is the agency that helped us with AnnaGrace. We left some photos and a gift for her foster mother. It took us quite awhile to get there as it is across the city and as soon as we got out of the subway and around the corner, we saw a barricade where the building had been. They had moved and we didn't know it! However, we used our best Korean language skills and determined where the new location was and finally made it.

Next, we set off for Insa-dong but we got it confused with another part of town and ended up in Itaewon which is the Americanized section of town. With time running out, we jumped back on the subway and finally made it to Insa-dong where we were able to do some shopping. So, I guess you could say that we are now very familiar and comfortable with the subway system! These photos are in Insa-dong. The guys with the cow/panda hats were making some sort of Korean pastry. They reminded me of the Chick-fil-a cows but they were having a great time, singing and interacting with the crowd gathered around.

We had a delightful dinner with our friend Young's cousins. They were so kind to us and I think they enjoyed practicing their English with us. The food they ordered was quite good and we had a very nice evening. It was a 7-course meal as follows:
1. rice soup with shrim--sort of the consistency of watery grits
2. Tofu on salad with a citrus dressing.
3. Fried zucchini and small fish omelete
4. Salmon with citrus dressing
5. Eel with ginger and fried roots with sauce
6. Beef bulgogi on mushrooms and onions with rice and miso soup
7. fruit and iced plum tea

We tried a lot of new things which was fun.

We didn't have a great night's sleep, but I guess that is to be expected. Everyone keeps telling us about the E-mart which is close by. I think it's like the Korean version of Walmart so we are going to check it out a bit later. Lily will be ours at 1:30. We are to meet her and her foster mother at the agency which is next door. At that time, they will have a doctor give her one last check and give us all the necessary paperwork for customs and clothes/food/diapers that we will need for our journey home. We have already been given a big bag of clothes for her and her favorite toy which, unfortunately, is too big to carry on the plane. She was a bit standoffish yesterday when we were at her foster home, so I am hoping that she will warm up to us once we are all together.

They keep telling us that we picked a terrible time to visit Seoul. Yesterday was the coldest day of winter, so far. The snow is the most they have had in 103 years. It sounds like it's not too far off of things at home!

Well, better go get ready for the day. It's going to be great, but it could be really long too! More photos once we get Lily.

Jill