The ups and the downs of the trip....

Thought I'd make a list of the good/challenging, ups and downs of the trip... Today, just some of the ups... will get to the downs soon.

Good

- Like being here with friends - 5 families from our Korean Connection group are here with us. It's great to feel comfortable with people you know.

- Getting to know "new" people and families on the trip too - from all around the country

- We bought Claire a beautiful new hanbok today...teal blue and pink, with matching shoes, headband and "bokjomani" or little purse/bag

- We took the subway today - they are so clean and easy to use (after we got help from a friendly Korean young man)

- Both Jaden and Claire are making new friends and solidifying old ones... Love that the kids all sit in the back of the bus as we ride from one place to another and talk and laugh and have fun together while the parents sit in front and talk, and laugh and have fun together too!

- Seeing new things, learning about new things - sharing them with the kids

- Toilets here have lots of buttons on them with all kinds of various activities (bidet, seat warmer, washing and drying your bottom (see photo)

- Going to new places in Korea - in the past we've stayed mostly in Seoul, but now are getting out of the city and experiencing new places (Tomorrow we go to Busan - right on the ocean, with beautiful beaches)

- Visiting the hospital where Claire was born and meeting a nurse and the actual doctor who delivered her! An unexpected event - didn't think we'd do anything there but get a chance to see the room where she was delivered and the hospital as a whole. Claire got to sit in chairs that her birthmother would have sat in 8 years ago! This means a lot to an adopted child!!!

- Walking out the door of the hotel and into an awesome shopping area - with restaurants and every kind of fashion store, etc. Lots of young people hang around here and it's fun to just be in the mix.

- Knowing the experience of being a minority.... Us Caucasian blonde haired people stand out like a sore thumb here :)  

 

Ok, off to bed. We need to be on the bus at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow to go to the KTX high speed train station where we will take a bus to Busan.