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Grumble, grumble grumble.
This is what Kevin sounds like when he is sleep deprived and grumpy. Actually, that is the G rated
version and nobody wants to read (or hear) about the adult version. And while I’m on the topic of
grumpy, can somebody please tell me where can I find him a decent cup of coffee on this side of the
globe? Being of the non-coffee drinking variety, I have no coffee radar. Of course as we trekked
across Seoul the last two days, he couldn’t help but notice all of the coffee shops everywhere else,
especially on the other side of the river. And don‘t even get him started about the financial district
near the Social Welfare Society office. Starbucks. Dunkin Donuts. Coffee Beanery. Mr. Donut. Hollys
Coffee. It seemed there was one of each on every block. I assume they are catering to the non-
Korean business people, meanwhile, we chose to stay North of the river and it is more Korean (meaning
no Western commercial coffee chains) and apparently the people on this side of the river hate coffee
because he can’t find a coffee shop anywhere. So good morning sunshine!
But me, I was just happy to see the sun - so happy after the monsoon-like rains yesterday, because
after being trapped in the hotel room yesterday afternoon and being up most of the night, we were
going to need to get out!!! So after our jaunt to the breakfast buffet, I realized there was a good
chance my mother was awake and online, so I emailed her telling her if she wanted to call, now would be
a good time…and she did!!! Sammy was asleep, good boy, and she was beat! She confirmed that Sam was
doing great, so busy and happy he wasn’t focused on us being away. She asked just a enough about us to
appear polite, but really all she wanted was every little detail about meeting Ellie and of course, she
got it, she gets whatever she wants after pulling this tour of duty!
It was shaping up to be a really pretty day - we could see out the window and as a bonus it was even a
little on the warm side, so we decided to head off to Insa-dong. Insa-dong is in the heart of Seoul, it's
a tad touristy but there are a lot of art galleries, Korean craft stores, traditional tea houses and the
odd museum here and there! From the street below we saw what we thought was a toy store,
certainly retro in nature, but we decided to venture up anyway in the hopes of discovering some rare
find that would win the hearts of Sam and Ellie alike. We went up the stairs and as we stepped off of
the landing we realized that what we thought was a vintage toy store turned out to be a one room
vintage toy museum and vintage in this case meant old and gross, and “museum” in this case meant that
the odd dude running the operation charged us KRW 1,000 each (~$1) to look around (and yes he was
charging everyone, not just the Americans). Kevin, cheerfully (we all know Kevin will pay SMALL
amounts for anything that seems to have “entertainment value”) handed over 2 won and readied
himself to be entertained.
I’m not even sure I can describe it well enough to do it justice. It was clear this guy simply thought
ANY old toy was worth saving and the range was endless; there were everyday objects that seemed to
be from the last 30-40 years, including old Korean textbooks, report cards, junk-food packages,
records, telephones, toys, and figurines, boxes upon boxes of model airplanes and cars. Plastic model
airplanes were hanging from the ceiling, green plastic toy soldiers were standing in marching formation,
a “GI Joe” doll area was all set for battle (green blanket thrown on the floor just like we used to do, I
got a picture of that one) and shelf upon shelf of the cheesiest, flimsiest, junkiest toys ever,
including a slew of doll heads with big eyes - creepy! Now I am the girl who still has her Barbies and a
few other ‘important’ toys from my past, so I can appreciate vintage toys, they just weren’t here!
Anyway, I am sure a trip to Insa-dong sounded harmless enough to Kevin and I knew he forgot what
happened the last time I was let loose in this area. When we were here to get Sammy, I decided to
buy 18 Korean gifts; one for each “got’cha day” for the next 18 years worth of anniversaries of our
becoming a family. Nothing too big or expensive, but just a little token to remind him of his culture,
where he was from, etc. and I found most of them in Insa-dong. I knew I HAD to do the same for
Ellie, and Tuesday was the day, which meant a lot of looking and shopping and more looking for me and
Kevin had to hand over the won and even break out the credit card a couple times. I can hear the
collective groan from all who know Kevin - this was not his idea of an exciting day. Ellie will soon learn
that Kevin does not like to shop, personally, I think that if he could, Kevin would have purchased all 18
gifts in the first store we stopped in…and by the way, I am also convinced that he thought that first
store looked just like all the other stores that we stopped in this afternoon, and before he gets his
side of the story rolling, I assure you, they were different, but he will insist they were the same, who
are you going to believe?
Of my purchases, I have many favorites, but one in particular is a wooden stamp that we had engraved
with Ellie's name in English and her Korean name, Sulha, in Korean characters above it...of course I got
one for Sammy too! There was a Korean woman buying a new one for herself, she showed me her old
one and told me her name, in very broken English, and that her name meant happiness. Her stamp was
engraved with flowers on the outside, so I picked one just like it for Ellie. I later found out the
flowers are Orchids which the fragrance is symbolic of the beautiful and good nature of human beings
that could influence other people. Sammy's has a tiger, which is a symbol of bravery, good luck and
protection from disease. I can't wait to give them to the kids someday!
So, Ellie, you can thank your mother for the thoughtful gifts, I wish Kevin could take some of the
credit, (he carried a bag or two if that counts for something) he’ll simply have to make it up to you
some other way.
PS - THE WEBSITE GODS HAVE FORSAKEN US, WE OFFICIALLY CAN NOT POST PICTURES,
WE'LL KEEP TRYING, BUT WILL LIKELY HAVE TO COME BACK AND POST THEM WHEN WE GET
HOME - BOO, HISS!
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Sammy started the day at 6:45am. Yes you heard me 6:45am. Didn’t Sammy get the memo? His Nona
is retired and she doesn’t do early mornings just ask Julia, Sean and Patrick.
We had a good morning made it to nursery school on time...Sam used the potty at school too! On the
way to Miss Beth’s he talked about missing Mama & Daddy but don’t get weepy Lauren, that lasted
for all of 2 seconds, he much rather play with his new light-up pumpkin ring.
I discovered, when picking Sammy up this afternoon from Miss Beth’s, he had taken a short nap, bye
bye 8 o’clock bedtime. It didn’t turn out badly after all…three escape attempts later, including one
request to have his nails cut, and it was goodnight Sammy.
We played some serious computer games today – “Pick a Pumpkin” which finishes with a great country
western song…20 Pick a Pumpkins later with the same eyes, nose and mouth I needed a Mike’s Hard
Lemonade. Thanks Pops!
Don’t tell Ellie we spent some time working on homecoming drawings for Friday.
Per Sam -- 3 more sleeps and Daddy, Mommy & Ellie will be home. Trust me he is not the only one
counting..........
Love,
Mom
NONA'S PICTURES WILL BE POSTED WHEN WE RETURN HOME!
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