"Gotcha Day"

April 16th will forever be known to us as "Gotcha day".  That is the day that JinSeong was finally able to be a part of our family.  I prayed for a healthy, happy, loving child for a long time.  Little did I know that when I was saying those prayers that God's answer to those prayers was JinSeong.  He became my son the day we got his referral, but it took 16 months for him to be able to be with us forever.  Gotcha day will be a special day for the rest of our lives. 

That morning was long.  We got up early and did some last minute errands before heading toward Eastern.  We decided to eat lunch near there so we would not be late. (we are usually late for everything we do)  We found a Popeye's Chicken, I could hardly eat because I was so nervous.  I had no idea what the rest of the day or our trip would have in store.  Looking back now I know I was not nervous, but terrified.  How was he going to react? How was I going to react?

 When we arrived at Eastern our social worker told us he and his FM were already up in the play room.  We went up and started playing with him.  We were able to ask a few more questions and  get a little more acquainted with him.  After about half an hour they told us it was time to go have a blessing said with other families that were receiving their children.  His FM was wonderful.  She brought a Pororo pillow for him to have when he was missing "home".   Carson, his FM and myself all shared tears and hugs.  JinSeong never cried.  His kissed his "omma" goodbye and got in the van with us and was quiet as a mouse the whole ride to the hotel.  Might have had something to do with the other family in the van with us, their daughter was having a complete meltdown in the back seat.  I would like to think it was because his FM did a great job of preparing him for this.

Sweet JinSeong and his Foster Mother

We arrived back to the hotel around 2:00 in the afternoon and we had a great time playing.  Around 5:00 he went from happy and laughing to screaming in holy terror.  I timed it and it lasted 23 minutes.  Carson ended up putting him in the back carrier and going down for a walk outside.  The next 30 hours or so were pretty much the same, screaming and crying and us hurrying down from the 17th floor to the streets of Seoul to walk him and try to console him and get him to stop crying.  He wanted to be anywhere but in that hotel room.  Frankly he probably wanted to be anywhere but with us.  He only wanted Carson to hold him, he didn't want me to come near him. In the end of course we all survived, but it was difficult for all three of us.

Hanging out in the Hotel

Sunday the 15th

We knew one of the places we wanted to see while in Korea was JinSeong's birthplace.  We had asked our agency to find out the location for us so that we could make plans to visit.  Our caseworker checked with the social worker at Eastern and we were told we would be given the information once we arrived in Korea.  On Thursday after our lunch with the other adoptive families we spoke to our social worker and she gave us the name of the hospital and an address.  She seemed very hesitant to provide this information and kept saying we could only look at the outside and could not go in.  She repeated over and over, "pictures of the outside only".  We are not sure why she was so adamant about this, but we did as she asked and only took pictures of the outside. I did venture up the steps to the entrance, but did not go in. The entire metro ride there and back and walking around the block to the better part of the morning.  I hope someday he will be glad we at least have pictures of the building...

Incheon Women's Hospital

After our trip out to Incheon we went back to Iatewon for some lunch. Carson finally was ready for American food and had a quarter pounder at McD's too. We topped it off with Baskin Robbins. You would think in Korea they would have odd flavors like fish or rice, but nope they were normal. Maybe it was because we were in the American neighborhood... We spent late afternoon at EMart. It is kind of like a Walmart, it has food, beauty aids, electronics, some clothes. It is a pretty neat place to go. It isn't in a skyscraper, but is in a "regular city building". It is kind of narrow and is on 3 floors of the building. To get from one floor to the next you take flat escalator and the shopping carts have these nifty little things on the wheels that keep them from rolling away on the escalator. We bought several books and lots of Pororo items here. We found Pororo crayons, doodle pads, band aids, cups, bowls and of course a stuffed Pororo just to name a few things.

Escalator at EMart

After shopping we took our groceries and Pororo items back to our room and decided to go check out the view of the city from North Seoul Tower.  The tower is located on Mt. Namsan and gives a 360 degree panoramic view of the city.  We knew from one of our travel books which metro line would take us there, however it basically just said after the metro walk for 20 minutes. Did I mention it is located on a mountain?  We knew there were cable cars that you could ride to the top, but at dusk, it was hard to tell where exactly those cable cars were... we walked about halfway up that mountain before we figured out where the cable cars were, so we trekked back down to ride them back up (LOL.. I was not LOLing that night though...) Once there it was worth the hike up and down.  With a population of over 10 million you can imagine that the city views go on and on forever.  No matter which direction you looked, all you could see were lights.  Lights from buildings, street lights, car lights... pretty awesome view. 

View of tower from the entrance

It's a long way to home

Love Birds at the tower

Carson on Fear Factor

Saturday the 14th...

Saturday was a fun day in Seoul.  One of the things Carson wanted to do most was go to the Noryangjin Fish Market.  We had watched an episode of "Anthony Bourdain No Reservations" on the Travel Channel about a year ago and this is one of the places he went.  Since that time Carson has said he was going to go there and eat sannakji too. 

This is one of the neatest places I have ever been.  It was wet and had a distinct smell that I guess could be described as fishy, but it really wasn't a bad smell.  We walked around all the vendors and Carson decided what he was going to sample.  He ended up with a couple different things.  The first was sannakji (octopus legs) and the second was a shashimi platter.  I did not eat anything here (I had McD's again), but I did enjoy watching Carson eat all the raw fish. 

After the fish market we headed out to the Grand Park, which is where the zoo is.  From the metro exit it was a little trek up to the zoo entrance.  One could either walk, take a tram or a sky lift.  You only live once, so we splurged and took the sky lift.  There were so many people at the zoo you "couldn't stir them with a stick".  I guess the fact that it was a Saturday and the fact that it is practically free (3000 won) might have had something to do with it.  There were a lot of baby animals at the zoo.  For the most part the zoo was just okay.  Most of the exhibits were a little run down and frankly the animals looked kind of sick.  The last exhibits we saw helped redeem my impression.  It was an African exhibit with hippos.  

Friday the 13th...

Okay, so I am a few weeks behind on these posts, but I am going to try to get caught up tonight... 

On Friday we had did our usual breakfast routine of walking down the street to Tour de Jour and Paris Baguette to see which had the best looking pastries.  After breakfast at PB we hoped on the subway and went to The National Museum.  Typically I love to go to museums.  I love to see "old" things.  Korea is an ancient civilization and to say they have "old" things in the museum is an understatement.  The problem with this is the only things invented 2000 years ago were pots and axes... I have to say if you have seen one pot you have pretty much seen them all, and the same goes for rusted iron axes...  We did see one very interesting jar from the 1st century BC.  It was pristine, this is the one artifact that did interest me.  There were tons of school aged children their that day, and I seemed to interest them.  There was one particular group of kids that appeared to be about 9 or 10 years old, every time a couple of the little boys saw me they would say "hello" in English and when I would respond back they would just laugh and giggle.  They were very cute, but a little ornery too.  We had lunch at the museum.  Carson had an omelet filled with fried rice.  I found this to be very funny.  I have seen an egg in fried rice, but never fried rice in an egg.  I had pork schnitzel and udon soup. 

Korea National Museum

Jar from 1st century BC

Lunch at the National Museum Cafeteria

After the National Museum we took a subway down toYeouido Park which is a large island on the Han River and walked by the shore and watched all the young couples riding bikes and having a good time.  We walked over to a nice park and looked for the beginning of the cherry blossoms.  This was one of the cooler days while we were in Seoul and the riverfront made it even cooler.  It began getting late so we headed to Iatewon which is the "American" neighborhood.  Here there were tons of street venders and American resteraunts, including McDonald's.  I had a Quarter Pounder with Cheese, french fries and a Coke Zero.  Taste just like McDonald's at home.  In all I ate at McDonal's three times while in Seoul which is funny because I have not eaten at  McDonald's in the states three times in the past five years. 

I am trying to keep up with my blogging while here, but so far that has proven to be a chore.  We have been very busy during the day and when we get back to our hotel at night I have went straight to bed.  I think we have adjusted pretty well to the time difference.  Seoul is 14 hours ahead of Arkansas.  So as I write this post, everyone back home is heading home from work on Thursday and I have just woken up on Friday, getting ready for a fun packed day!  We have done a lot of walking and a lot of stair climbing!  I am so glad I had been exercising prior to coming otherwise I would be in pitiful shape!  The Zumba has paid off as far as my endurance goes.  My legs are still sore, no amount of training can prepare you for the amount of stairs.  They are mainly in the subways.  We have conquered the subway line.  I think I could even handle it on my own if I had to.
It is very easy to get around and there are signs in English everywhere.  The announcements telling the next stop are even announced in English.  There is also gas mask stations in the event of a nuclear attack!

Gas Mask Station

Our second full day in Seoul was on Wednesday April 11th.  We First visited the Gyeongbokgung Palace.  Construction began in the 14th century.  In 1592 the Palace burned during Japanese invasion and it was rebuilt in 1865.  We arrived just in time to see the changing of the Guards. The Palace is located in the middle of the city, so it is strange to see ancient buildings surrounded by skyscrapers.  It was beautiful and the details in the craftsmanship is amazing. 

Changing of the Guards

The Emperor's Palace

Ceiling of Emperor's Palace



After leaving here we went to Insadong.  It is an area of town that has shops and restaurants.  It is a few blocks long and wide.  Every nook and cranny literally has a shop selling something.  We bought a few future gotcha day gifts for JinSeong here.  We also had lunch at a cute little Korean restaurant.  Carson had Octopus bibimbap and I had pork and rice (I'm really ambitious with my food lol)

Jill standing outside of Saramgua Namu (people and trees). 
This is the restaraunt we ate at.

After lunch we headed to tour the Changdeokgung Palace and took a guided tour of the Secret Garden.  At the time of the Emperor's reign only the royal family were allowed in the garden, hence the name...  Since Korea has had such a long hard winter the trees are just now beginning to bud, but there were many ponds and pavilions in this area that were fun to look at.  This Palace too was in the middle of the city.

On Thursday we had the honor of going to Eastern and meeting with Dr. Kim.  Since there are so many families here this week picking up their children, she was not able to meet individually with us, so we met as a group.  I am guessing there were about 10 families that met together and listened to here speak.  She told about the history of Korea and the hardships that this country had endured.  She gave the history of Eastern and all the many wonderful programs they have for children and unwed mothers.  All of the families had a buffet lunch together prepared by the staff at Eastern.

Dr. Kim

Thursday afternoon we took the subway to a shopping district next to Lotte Department Store.  We shopped at some of the local street vendors, tried some local pastries and walked and walked and walked.  At the underground mall I got two pair of glasses.  They took my current glasses and got the prescription and they will be done this afternoon.  Carson has walked down the street to Paris Baguette and got some breakfast for us, so I am going to close for now.  We are having a great time and loving this city!

Shopping area in Myeong-dong

  



Meeting JinSeong

One Big Happy Family

We left Little Rock on Sunday April 8th at 6:35 am, had a few hours layover in Dallas and departed at 11:50 for Seoul.  Our flight was 14 hours and 50 minutes.  It might be the longest 15 hours of my life.  The constant hum of the jet engines for 15 hours is enough to drive anyone bonkers.  We flew Korean Air and they gave extremely good service.  The flight attendants were so nice and looked as fresh when we landed as when we began.  We were constantly served snacks and drinks.  We also had two meals while in flight.  They were unbelievably good.

Volcano(?) in Kamchatka (Russia)

We finally arrived at Incheon airport at 4:30 pm Monday.  We were met by a driver that Eastern provided.  (for those of you reading this that are coming soon behind us...hang on to your hats, they drive fast!)  We arrived at our hotel, got checked in and walked around for a little on the streets of Seoul.
The district we are staying in is the Mapo neighborhood.  It reminds me very much of New York City but larger.  There are skyscrapers as far as the eye can see.  The area we are in is very clean, I was a little surprised by that since it is a huge city.  There are lots of restaurants, cafes and 7-11's, not many American chains in this area, but there are plenty of pastry and bread shops for when we aren't craving Korean food.  My biggest complaint is none of the convince stores in the area sell Diet Coke or as they call it Coke Lite.  So I have had to resort to Coke Zero, which is in no way an equal.  I did find some this afternoon in another area and stocked up!
Now for what you all have been waiting for...our meeting with JinSeong...
We arrived at Eastern at 1:00 for a 1:30 meeting.  (yes we were actually early for something!)  We were taken to a small room that I recognized from previous pictures we have received.  It had window looking out into the office and Carson could see Mrs. Kim arriving, but didn't see JinSeong.  Mrs. Lee, our social worker at Eastern, had some paperwork for us to fill out and then took us up to the playroom.  We took our shoes of (Korean custom) and entered the room and didn't even have time to get the camera set up before a little ball of energy busted through the door!

Mrs. Kim and Mrs. Lee were close behind him and the took a seat on the floor.  JinSeong went straight for the toys and got in a little car.  He realized he was being watched and then hung his head down and was so shy.  We slowly went to him and Mrs Kim told him we were his omma and oppa.  He played shy for a few minutes, I gave him a Gerber strawberry snack, he gobbled it right down and then began warming up to us.  He got out of the car, but stuck close to Mrs. Kim.  He finally began playing and Carson got him laughing playing with balls.  We were so happy that we got to see the playful side of him and not a single tear!  He also did not appear to be scared of us, just shy.

During this time I was able to have Mrs. Lee interpret some questions that we had for Mrs. Kim.  The entire meeting was about 35 minutes.  They are very busy this week with lots of families here so we did not get as much time as we had hoped for, but we did get good news that we can get him on Monday and have a whole day with him before we have to leave on Wednesday! We have a meeting with Dr. Kim (head of Eastern) and a luncheon with other families that are here on Thursday.

 

We're On Our Way....

The words I have waited 1 year, 3 months, 2 weeks and 4 days to say...

To Canaan's Land we're on our way!!! 

We received the phone call from our case worker today that JinSeong's Visa has been approved and he is ready to travel home.  We leave this Sunday morning for Seoul!  I have so many emotions right now that I'm sure if I can even convey them all.

1.) Joy!  I am so happy  I am finally going to meet my child.

2.) Relief!  I feel like a ton of bricks has been lifted off our shoulders, we no long have to guess when we might be getting authorization to go to Korea. 

3.) Anticipation!  A trip of a lifetime and leaving LR as a family of two and returning a family of three.

4.) Calmness!  I feel a peace that I know is a gift from God.

5.)  Love!  I love this child that has grown in my heart instead of my belly.

6.)  Wonderment!  What will the next few weeks be like?  What will my first words to my son be?

7.)  Gratitude! Jin Seong needed parents and we needed a child, I am so thankful that God brought us together. 

8.)  Pride!  I am going to be the mommy of the most beautiful child I have ever seen.  Let me show you a picture...

Canaan Scout JinSeong