The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Hey Everybody! Yesterday we went to Yongsan Base and Dan signed in. We walked around but couldn't get into the PX to buy food because Dan wasn't registered yet in the system. Mom and I each bought a box of Girl Scout Cookies (peanut butter for me and thin mints for her)... we were craving familiar "American" food and that certainly hit the spot. Since the ID card office was not open there wasn't too much more we could do, so we said goodbye to Dan and Mom and I headed back to Camp Casey to meet with Sally the Landlord and give her our deposit and first month's rent. We had no food, no pillows, blankets or sheets, but thankfully an Army Wife who I had met online left us 4 converters (some dishes, a blender, and a mini-Christmas) so we were able to plug in our electronics.

We took a walk down the road and found a small shop were we bought two pillows and a blanket (skipped the sheets because they were a polyester/fake silk material) so we at least had something to sleep on. Then we stopped at a store and bought a small pan, some cereal, milk, bananas, bread and jam. We couldn't get peanut butter because, as the small store clerk said, "only foreigner like peanut butter- Korean no like peanut butter." So, while I unpacked my suitcases and put away the few things I had, Mom brewed us so tea of the stove and we had frosted flakes, bread and jam, and green tea for our first meal in the new apartment as we listen to music from the laptop.

Today Mom and I rode the hour and a half back to Yongsan to meet up with Dan. We went to the Korean Memorial (I'll put the pics on the next entry, I don't have a way to download them from the camera now) which was really fascinating. After a nice lunch, we washed some laundry, I took a nap and now we are about to walk over to the PX and do some grocery shopping and find some much needed things for the apartment.

Tomorrow is my first day of school and I'm really excited! Not only am I ready to start working again, but I'm looking forward to meeting some Americans who I can make friends with. After walking around the Camp Casey area I've noticed that most of the wives here are either Korean, very young, or look completely miserable and bored. I'm really hoping to find some people like me- teachers who are interested in traveling during vacations and taking advantage of the nightlife, shows, and Korean dinners.

Well, that's all for now, sorry there's not too much to report but we haven't done anything too exciting to report- just settling in and finding that I'm really gonna be needing my stuff from storage ASAP! Thanks for all the messages you have been sending, it's so nice to hear warm words from friends. Lots of love!! --Erin

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