Facing Opportunities and Fun

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01/24- Mon. This day takes me back to memories of the high and lows of camping away from the amenities that we grow so accustomed to in our homes. Do ever recall being away from home and becoming very ill without the comforts of familiar medicines? Today I was reminded of one time in particular. As a kid my family was camping and waterskiing at Crawford Lake. I became extremely ill and soon an outhouse became my closest friend. At the time I just wanted to die. A memory that lies quietly until times like today. My day was planned to have lunch with a new acquaintance. This was to be a great opportunity to get to know one another better. My body, however, decided a completely unexpected agenda. Yes, I became very ill. My day and night was spent in bed and the restroom. I pray Matt does not encounter this fate.

01/25-Tues. Went downstairs and actually engulfed a croissant and warm tea. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kim and Ms. Lim. Mr. Kim was kind enough to order flowers for me to present to the owner of our new apartment that we will be renting. We met the flower delivery driver and then proceeded to the our new place. The owner was so excited to get the bouquet of beautiful flowers. Her husband showed me this state of the art monitor with buttons that control air temp, turning on the gas for the stove, lights, reporting utility usage, security system monitor, calling up the elevator to our apartment and more. Okay so you all know how talented I am with electronics....oh my where was Matt. The prompting buttons are in Korean. Let's hope I do not blow up the place. Just kidding......! Ms. Lim took the manual and is going to have this translated for us into English, thank goodness. We have access to two rooms to host fun parties with bar counters and everything. We also have access to the Karaoke room across from one of the (25 people) party rooms (these are free to use). They have 2 bedroom guest rooms for 40,000W ($40) a night. Great deal for our guests who come visit. The excercise facility has alot of equipment. I have attached a video of our new place to view.

01/26-Wed. My hubby, Matt's Birthday today. His assistant Ms. Bae hosted an office party for him. Ms. Bae and Ms. Yoo helped me to coordinate a big surprise dinner for him tonight. 21 RSVP's, for just relocating to Seoul I think this tells alot about how the Koreans embrace and welcome us here. Something to be learned for all of us! We ended up have at least 25 attendees at the party. Matt was encompassed by people who admire him forboth his work and new found friendship. The meal from Wang Thai was very tasty. His Birthday cake turned out to be better than anticipated. You must see the attached video in order to really appreciate this fun celebration. Matt was requested to model his mens Traditional Hanbok for all. It was fun to see him out of character. This was a night to remember!

0/27-Thurs. I met Phyllis Corvi and we traveled from Somerset via subway to our first Korean Culture and Language course. Ms. Sunok Moon is a very special lady. Today we learned Korean vowels, greetings and goodbyes. We studied the Gujeong (Lunar New Year), GuJeong ChaRay (ancestors memorial services), SungMyo (memorial service at the ancestral grave site) SeBe (special bow to elders), Sebe Don (gift of money to the children) and Seol Eumsik (the various Korean dishes that are served on this day. We also learned about the traditional costumes, the male and female HanBok. Our cooking lesson included SuJeongGwa (a traditional drink with ginger, cinnamon, dried persimmon). We made JuJuBe (Korean dates) filled with honey & pine nuts, dried persimmon flower designs with pine nuts, chestnuts (peeled and washed eaten raw) and Ginko nut (roasted). A lovely meal was also prepared for us this week. Next class we will prepare our own meal. Very informative class.

01/28-Fri. Met with Michelle from Asian Tigers at our new apartment to receive the keys and review all of the manual operations. She has been so very helpful. After our meeting I caught up with Pam and Monique at DHL for lunch and booking our travels arrangements to Thailand. Soon enroute to meet a friend who introduced me to some key staff at Shinhan Bank. I will be working with a group of 10 helping them to enhance their English speaking skills.

01/29-Sat. Ok, so I am not superwoman. I have been ill all week. I continued to get done what I needed to while feeling so very sick behind the scenes. My goal is to not disappoint so I continued with a smile on my face no matter how hard it became. By today, my body completely shut down. Matt was so kind as we were trying to move on our own from Somerset into City Park to continually stop our progress for my bathroom breaks. Which I must say at times were 4 or more per hour. He took me to the Hospital on base in our trip with a load of stuff to the apartment. They provided me with some meds and I must say this made a huge difference. I was very slow moving so Matt did most of the trips up and down with loads of our belongings. I graciously helped to organize and unpack. I am so blessed I was not alone during this time. The beauty of our day was to be in our new home that is stunning. We can see in two directions out all of the living spaces and we have a great view of the river. See the attached video tour of our home. What more could a girl ask for.

01/30-Sun. Today is our grandsons 3rd Birthday. I so miss not being there to celebrate. I know that he will have an amazing time. His parents are fantastic! Still feeling weak today, but not running to the restroom every 5 minutes. Matt and I went shopping for kitchen (cooking) items, bathroom towels, bedding and food. Busy day. We finished the majority of unpacking. I have a small amount to organize, soon to be completed. I so love this place!

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Photos

First Friend in Seoul
Ms. Pong from Somerset, Jacobs Deli

Matt Surprise Birthday
Michelle, Dustin, Ms. Pong, Pam, Karen , Matt

Matt's Cake
Happy Birthday

Welcome Home Girly Fun!
Michelle from Asian Tigers, house representative.