Our Korean Adventure!

Following Golden Week, I had to work on Wednesday and Thursday and then Touma and I were off to Seoul, South Korea. It was a very spur of the moment trip (plans were made AFTER our tickets for the Golden Week holiday had been made!), but it was necessary.

My very dear friend, Ji Yon, was getting married on May 10th and I really wanted to be there. Having spent most of the last 10 years in Japan it means that I have missed many weddings of friends and family. This year seems to be a banner year for both of those things and I was going to try to be at a few if I could. So... Touma and I were off on an evening flight to Seoul.

We flew out on Korean Air from Haneda. I have to sing the praises of Korean Air. The flight attendants were wonderful about Touma - one even filled out the majority of our customs forms! And even though the flight was less than two hours, we got dinner! I would recommend them to anyone. :-)

First up, was the wedding. We arrived Thursday evening and the wedding was Friday evening. We spent the day with Ji Yon's good friend Sunny (she was the perfect tour guide!!) who showed us around a bit and made sure we got to the wedding venue in one piece. At a Korean wedding, friends of the bride go and see her and take pictures before the ceremony begins.

In the midst of taking photos!

Touma was a good date, but since he's only 1 we had to explore the venue thoroughly. It was on the Han River in Seoul, so we had to check that out too!

Checking things out!

My handsome date!(Look at the hydrangeas!! Gorgeous!)

After the wedding, we actually got a ride back with Ji Yon's older sister and brother-in-law, which meant that we didn't have to climb in the back of a taxi. The taxis (the actual cars) are nicer and newer than Japanese cars, but the actually driving had me a little nervous - red lights seem to be optional! Eek!

The next day we had a very low-key morning and then headed out to Yongsan station to meet Colleen. Her husband is stationed in Seoul with the military and she's been there a year. Our connection is funny... we've known each other most of our lives and to top it off she married, Pat, who was a neighbor of ours growing up! Ha! And we finally meet after many years in Seoul.

 Colleen got advice from some friends about where to take us and we ended up at the Korean National Museum. I was very impressed that the museum was free and had a children's museum. It was so great!

Exhibit of different types of bells. Touma thought he was spinning the wheel all by himself!

The kids museum was wonderful for Touma. He even made a little friend at one point. After all that running around, he crashed and we were able to get some coffee and chill for a bit.

That evening we met my friend, Sam. We had been in the same program in Hawaii. He was on his last semester when I entered the program. He actually took a teaching job at a university in Seoul and has been there ever since. We met him and found a nice Korean restaurant and made an evening of it. One thing about Korea that is a stark contrast from Japan is that even if there aren't baby seats or provisions for little ones the staff and restaurants are all welcoming of babies and kids. Even though there was no seat for Touma, no one seemed to be bent out of shape when he started making noise and not being able to sit still.

After dinner we walked around a bit, saw a few of the sights downtown before getting Colleen to her subway and bidding her farewell.

Two Alaskans in Seoul.

The last day we spent the day doing all the "Seoul" things we could. Eating lots and going to a new museum, the Museum of Modern Korean History. This one also had a kids section. Though it wasn't quite as interactive for Touma's age. We also saw some of the famous sites in Seoul.

Touma and Sam (kind of), this is the only pic with Sam in it. I'm so bad at taking pictures these days!

And we also saw the statue of the King (or Emperor, not sure the title!) who "invented" Hangul. I'm thinking that there were some other scholars involved, but he gets all the credit.

I really want to sing Korea's praises on being a kid friendly place. Even though they have a very low birthrate, much like Japan, the people everywhere were much friendlier. From college kids to grannies, everyone was wonderful. If anyone wants a quick getaway (quick from Japan anyway...), Korea totally has my endorsement!

The Golden Week

For the first time in all the years my husband and I have been together, Shimon took all of Golden Week off. Those of you who don't know a whole lot about Japan or Golden Week, allow me to explain. Japanese workers are allowed on average 20 paid holidays a year. Workers generally do two things a) never use the holidays or b) use them when they are sick (even though sick days are allotted as well). This year there were three work days in the middle between two long weekends. However, and this is the real breakthrough, Shimon took those three days off and had a full 10 day holiday!

To save money, Touma and I left earlier (saving about 30,000 yen+) and Shimon followed on the Saturday. We hung around my husband's hometown most of the time seeing some of his friends, going to an onsen in Kyushu overnight, and playing at playgrounds and other places with little guy.

As a picture's worth a thousand words... here are some of the highlights...

Mealtimes became the main attraction!

Trying to climb up is at least as fun as going down

Exploring the swings with Dad

This kid already loves the ocean!

Family portrait...

The kabuto (helmet) didn't last too long!

Changes...

This spring has been full of changes. On March 22, I was contacted by a teacher friend at my old school; the school I loved working at and that I only "quit" because I was having a baby. She wondered if I could come back and work two days a week.

I was conflicted. I had just agreed to be playgroup co-leader for a group that I really loved taking Touma to and that I really loved being a part of. Taking the job would mean that we would only be able to go when I wasn't working. The real turning point was when Shimon asked me to take the job.

Up until that point he had been trying very hard to work and make enough for all of us. I could tell it was beginning to strain him and the 35,000 yen a month from my one university teaching post wasn't quite cutting it. So, he called the day after the job was offered and asked me to take it. I couldn't very well say no.

Start date for school was April 10th. I got babysitting lined up for Touma and proceeded to prepare for part-time work. Nothing really prepares you for the first day of dropping off your baby to go to work. Though I was sad to leave him, I was also glad to be back in "the world" again. Glad to be interacting with students and teachers. It felt really good.

We're still adjusting, but I think going back to work was a wise decision at this point. I'm hoping it proves to be so moving forward.