Some random comments and pictures.

I'm sure most of you can tell that Lisa has been writing most of this blog.  I've been writing at the end of the day, sharing pictures from my camera, and hoping the rest of the family is o.k. with that.  Of course, we've had a lot of time to reflect on the trip, so here are some random thoughts/comments:

• July is the RAINY SEASON in the part of Asia we visited.  There was no helping it, as this was the only time to take the trip.  I just wish we could have seen more of the attractions in sunny weather.  The temperature was fine, it just got really old being wet all the time.  It also made the pollution in China seem worse.
• People are generally really nice, and will help you if you ask.  Using your hands helps a lot.
• China is definitely progressing.  They're in this stage where they finally have prosperity.  This means that no one starves to death, and many have cars, better homes, etc.  Unfortunately, they really love their cars, and will drive anywhere rather that walk or use public transit.  It was a 20 minute train ride to downtown Beijing, but our guide preferred the hour plus drive in her van.  I'm sure this contributes to the pollution, and traffic is insane.
• Pedestrian common sense varies from country to country.  In China, the rule is to keep moving.  If you stop, you will never get across the street.  Lines on the road mean nothing - if there's a space, it's occupied by a vehicle or pedestrian.  In Japan, people observe all the rules, wait at crosswalks, etc.  In Korea, it's a mixture of both.  On the main streets you observe the rules, but in the back alleys and side streets it's similar to China only less crowded.
• Recycling really varies.  I'm not sure there is any official recycling program in China, but recyclables were left out for people to pick up and turn in for money.  There are few public trash cans, and they are not used anyway.  The amount of litter, even on our hike, was astonishing.  Ironically, not a drop of water is wasted.  Our host showed us how to use a plastic basin to catch the water while we were waiting for warm water in the shower.  If she heated water for tea, any left over was poured into a special container, so that it could be re-used.
  In Japan, they have a recycling program, but it is very confusing and requires wrapping, etc. You have to take the labels off of all bottles.
  In Korea, they recycle everything, and everything seems to get piked up on a different day.  One day the bottles were gone, the next day the trash was gone, and yet another day the paper was gone.  One really good thing is that they collect food trash for compost.  Every house has a small plastic container and several orange bags.  You put all food trash in the orange bag, then put the bag in the container.  The farmers use it.
• On all the Asian countries, space is at a premium, so houses are designed small and efficient.  There usually is not a dryer or dishwasher.  If there was a dryer, it is part of the washing machine.  In Japan, they have compact electronic controls for just about everything.  

Here are a few pictures that I didn't have at the time of previous posts:

A nice Korean lady shared her umbrella with me.

Lily and her foster parents.

Our stinky, hot, Chinese van.

The patio area of our Korean home.

Crazy Japanese shopping area

Chinese grocery store.

Lily was really happy that most Japanese women are her size - so she bought a dress.

Miriam shared more pictures.

Miriam posted more pictures to Facebook.  You can view them here:   Lisa's Facebook

July 12: Time Travel

This was our last day in Korea.  As if it wanted to leave us with a lasting impression, the rain came down in force.  Poor Chris fears he has a foot fungus, and no one has dry shoes anymore.  We had most of the day free, since our flight for Hawaii didn't leave until 10:00 p.m.

We rushed around in the morning trying to get the place back together.  Then we walked to the subway station and put our bags in lockers.d said he's like to see a movie, and two hours in a dry theater sounded good to everyone but Chris.    He decided to do more exploring and shopping.

In Korea, you get to pick out your seats for the movie.  They show you a screen with open seating, and you pick where you want to sit.  Of course, when we got into the theater, no one observed the seating.  We watched World War Z in English with Korean subtitles.

After the movie, we walked around spending our last Korean money, and then ate a lunch that included the traditional Bi Bim Bop that Chris wanted all along.  From there, we went back to the subway station, and took a bus back out to the airport.

Although our flight left at 10 p.m. on the 12th, by virtue of the international date line, we arrived on Kuaui at 3:40 p.m. on the 12th.  Got our car, hit the grocery store and had pasta and sausage for dinner.  It was really nice to sleep on a regular bed again, and everyone crashed pretty quickly.

Our last Korean meal

Hawaii at last!

July 11 Imperial Palace, Seoul Tower, Authentic food.

Chris and Miriam got up early and went to the Imperial Palace.  I had already seen it on my last trip and the other kids were sleeping in.  The palace grounds are huge and include temples and residences.  One of my favorite parts was the old residence, which had heated floors.  They had an elaborate system of fires and pipes under the floor that carried heat.

Guard at the Imperial Palace

At Imperial Palace

 Around noon, those of us that did not go to the Palace headed out to the Seoul Tower.  It's in the middle of this huge park.  ON the  map, the walk to the tower did not look that long, but it ended up being a pretty long uphill walk.  About halfway, we took a shuttle to the top.  By the time we reached the tower, it had of course decided to rain again.  It was a nice ride up, but our pictures are not so great.  Lisa Cuzzone commented that they should charge you based on the distance you could see, not a set fee.  At least it wasn't crowded.

Looking back down part of the path to the tower.

Our Korean Lily with Korean Lilies

View from almost the top of the path.

View from the Tower

The Cuzzones were meeting up with some Korean friends, so we decided to have a traditional Korean dinner.  The kids had bulgogi (a beef dish that was cooked in front of them), I had a seafood pancake, ( really a flat, pizza size omelet with seafood), and Chris really wanted Bi Bim Bop.  Bi Bim Bop is normally served in a very hot stone bowl.  It includes a base of rice, vegetables, meat, and a raw egg on top.  The bowl is so hot that it cooks the egg while you stir around the other ingredients.  Unfortunately, this restaurant served a Bi Bim Bop that was really more like a salad.  It was a cold bowl full of sprouts and abalone.  It was good, but not what Chris expected.  We sat on the floor and ate Korean style, which was killing me by the eend of the meal.

Our meal Thursday Night.

July 10 - DMZ, Food Court, Baseball

Yesterday morning we got up early and walked over to the Cuzzones' hotel.  It's about a mile through the downtown area. The bus for our tour of the DMZ left at 8 a.m.  It only takes about an hour to get there from Seoul.

 I don't know why, but I always pictured the DMZ as a barren wasteland with prison fence running through the middle of it.  Instead, it was lush, green, and actually a conservation area for wildlife, since virtually no people live there.  There is one small town that used to be occupied by US soldiers, but now is a farming village.  The fence is still there, but the land is really beautiful.  We stopped at a few different points. We had to go through a couple of checkpoints and show our passports. We stopped at an observation deck area, which was also tourist central.  Many of the tourists were Korean.  There is also a small amusement park here, but it has been closed for years, since the North-South relations are so bad.  (Also, it was raining like crazy again.)

The second stop was at Tunnel #3.  In the 70's the North Koreans dug several tunnels under the DMZ, which were routes to get to Seoul.  Four of them have been discovered, but the belief is that there are more. We were able to go down and see Tunnel #3.  Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, We walked down a ramp that was over 500 meters long, and at about a 20% grade.  We could see where the tunnel came out.  The north Koreans actually rubbed the walls with coal, so they could say they were mining if they were caught.  Then we walked back up the ramp. (ugh!).  We watched a short video, and then went on to another  observation point, and a train station set up for trains to North Korea. This observation tower had a very strict limit on photos.  You could not stand past the yellow line to take photos.  So of course, the only photos you could get were of people looking out over the DMZ. The train is also out of use - Just a beautiful building sitting empty except for a couple of soldiers and a gift shop.  The bathroom was interesting.  There was a very modern sink, with this blue egg shaped thing hanging off to the side.  It turns out the blue thing was a bar of soap.  You wet your hands, rub the bar of soap, and then wash.

The DMZ is staffed by Korean Soldiers employed by the US.  The US stopped sending our guys after some of them were killed.  We were not allowed to take any pictures with soldiers, but a couple of them seemed to like hamming it up.  From the South Korean point of view, reunification will happen sometime.  NOt sure what Kim Il Jung thinks about it.

Of course, the tour had to "exit through the gift shop", which meant the whole tired hungry busload of us had to stop at a ginseng "Museum" and listen to a promotion of their products.  When we returned to the hotel, we all pounced on the food court in the basement.

Chris, Lily, and Quincy went with Nick Cuzzone to see a baseball game in the evening.  They said it was lots of fun.

Razor wire at the DMZ bus checkpoint.

Good Korean soldiers.

This symbolizes reunification.

Do not take a photo past the yellow line!

Modern, but unused train station .

Hanging.

Baxter deciding that now is not the time to be a teenage rebel.

Bathroom at the train station.  Note blue bar of soap.

Our tour guide.

A cool sculpture on the walk home.

Suspended umbrellas - a piece of art.

Baxter and a friend.

Q and L at baseball game.

July 9: Laid back day

So today was the day that we were to meet Lily's foster mom.  This is the woman who took care of Lily from about 1 month to 5 months old, when she came to us.

Chris went out early to buy coffee, and he took Lily out for breakfast.  Then the three of us took the subway over to the adoption agency.  Meeting her foster mom and dad was great.  They remembered Lily because she was the last baby they fostered.  Her foster dad especially liked Lily because she was "spunky".  Foster mom was very proud that Lily had gained so much weight during the time she spent with her.  They were lovely people and fawned over Lily, congratulating her on good grades and other accomplishments.

Unfortunately, there is just no way for us to get in touch with the girls' birth mother.  I'm so glad that Lily at least got to meet her foster mother - who truly loved and cared for her.  Lily loved seeing pictures of her foster mother's grandbabies.  They were wearing these cute "Kewpie doll" hats.

We came home and took everyone but Baxter out for dumplings.  Then we explored our neighborhood a bit more.  We are actually living in an area of old and restored homes.  It's kind of like going to Georgetown, CO, or any historic district where old homes are refurbished and new homes are built to look old.  Today we got off the beaten path a little, and explored some of the little tiny streets.  They wander up the hillside, until they are too narrow for a car to go, and then they continue as stone-paved paths.  Here there were some houses that looked quite old.  The only other tourists we saw were Koreans exploring their heritage.

Chris and I splurged and bought some Korean clothes - modern, but definitely Korean.

This was a laid-back afternoon.  We all napped a little, then went to the grocery store.  Tonight for dinner we had steak (approx. $17/lb), baked potatoes, and a fruit salad.  It was really difficult to light the charcoal in the grill.  Finally, we tossed in a few wooden chopsticks from fast food restaurants, and got the fire going.

Thankfully, it did not rain today, and our clothes are almost dry.

Masks and oxygen tanks in subway - in case of attack.

An interesting garden near the adoption agency.

Dumplings!  Koreans don't use knives, so there are scissors to cut your food into chopstick sized pieces.

The combination plate.

The view from the top of one of the narrow alleyways.

An old style Hanok House.

The entry way.

Really old steps and pathway.

They use old roof tiles to reinforce the steps.

July 8 - a very wet day

Raining, pouring, cats and dogs, sideways, soaked to the skin, wet feet, wet socks, wet in places we didn't know could get wet.  Did I mention that it is the rainy season in this part of Asia?

The day started off o.k. - a little cloudy and some light drizzle.  Chris and I went for coffee and groceries.  Chris cooked up a wonderful hash of eggs, potatoes, bacon, and onions.  The kiwi fruit on the side was fantastic.We were to meet the Cuzzones at noon, so we took off with our umbrellas.  It was warm (80 degrees) but pouring rain.  It was about a mile walk to their hotel, and it rained the whole way.  We decided to brave the storm and go to an area called Namdaenung.  It's a crazy shopping area of narrow alleyways selling everything you can imagine.  Lily immediately found a blouse and skirt that she loved, and everyone found some cheap souvenirs  We stopped at a dumpling shop and got fried dumplings, steamed shrimp dumplings, beef dumplings, and one large beef dumpling about the size of a tennis ball, which Miriam devoured.

For the past several weeks I have been in contact with our adoption agency, trying to set up a meeting with the girls' birth mother.  The last we had heard, she was having some health problems.  We're not sure about the translation, but it seems she was suffering partial paralysis.  However, since then, the agency has been unable to get in touch with her.  I remembered that the Cuzzones had more information about the birth mother's family, so we went this afternoon to meet with their agency to see if they had any additional information that might lead us to the birth mom.  The number they had had been disconnected, so at this point we're out of luck.   Tomorrow, we will meet Lily's foster mom, who took care of her from age 1 month to 5 months.  I'm going to pressure the agency to see if we might be able to get more information.

While Lily and I were with the Cuzzones, Chris, Baxter, Miriam, and Quincy spent more time shopping.  The boys each found new wallets, and Miri found these crazy gym shorts with the Korean flag all over them.

This evening we went to the trendy Insadong area and found a great little restaurant.  The tables had what looked like a big broiler pan in the middle of them.  It was heated from below, and was used to cook our meal.  We had pork and beef, along with lots of interesting relishes, vegetables and a seafood soup.

Did I mention that it was raining the whole time?  We had a brief dry period after dinner, but by the time we started walking home it was pouring again.  Quincy was our navigator, using the GPS on Chris' phone.  I was never so glad to see home as I was tonight.  Making matters worse is the fact that we do not have a dryer here, and all our clothes are drip drying on racks.  It is so humid, that the best we can get is damp panties/shorts.

Ah, well.  It was a good day spent with good friends.  We explored some, and overall had fun, even though we were wet to the bone.

McDonald's Delivers in Korea

A guy hawking goods in the market

Namdaenung

Hamhocks anyone?

Namdaenung

Teenagers are teenagers wherever they are - text, text, text.

More rain

July 6 and 7: Japan to Korea

We said goodbye to Tokyo today.  We had such a wonderful time, and got to see many sides of Tokyo.  Early in the morning, Chris and the kids tried to go back to the Sky Tree, but the lines were just too long.  We spent some time cleaning up the apartment, and then headed to the subway station.  Baxter is really becoming the independent traveler.  He was asking random Japanese for directions to the train, and trying to keep us all on schedule.

We were flying on Airasia, which is kind of like the Southwest Airlines of Asia.  Lots of weird rules.  First, they allow two carry-ons, but neither can weigh over 7 kilos, for a total of 14 kilos.  Well, we've been traveling with our small suitcases and backpacks, never checking bags.  The problem was, the suitcases weighed around 10 kilos, and our backpacks weighed about 2 kilos.  As much as we tried to argue that the total weight was under their limit, they did not budge.  We ended up checking our bags, which was o.k., since the tickets were less than $100 each anyway.  Still it was a little frustrating to watch four beautiful, impeccably dressed Japanese women try to figure out what to do with us.  It took two of them to figure out that 6 bags at $20/bag was $100.  (Yes, that's what they charged us!)

We arrived in Korea, and managed to get the slow clerk at the immigration line.  Not a big deal, but annoying when you're tired, hungry, and hot.  Thankfully, there was a 7-11 at the airport, and we all got a snack before getting on the bus from the airport into town.  We have found 7-11 to be indispensable over here, as they all have ATM's and food that the kids recognize.

The main Seoul airport is at Inchon, which is actually about an hour from the city.  We took a bus, which left us off about 3/4 mile from our house.  We walked to our house, which is in a small alleyway off a fun little street with coffee shops, restaurants, bars, boutiques, and other shops.  In many ways it reminded me of our own Pearl Street.The house is newer (less than 30 years old), but is designed in the style of the old Hanok houses.  We have a modern kitchen and two bathrooms, but all the seating is cushions on the floor, and beds are made by laying out pads and blankets on the floor.  In the traditional Korean manner, we fold up the beds and put them away during the day.  Here is a link to the house:  Korea House

The Cuzzones (Lily's birth sister's family) arrived about the same time we did, but they were picked up by some Korean friends of theirs.

This morning (Jul 7), Chris and I went out for coffee, and then brought the kids Dunkin Donuts.  We spent the late morning and the noon hour trying to text and or call the Cuzzones.  Unfortunately, texting just wasn't happening.  Finally, and ironically, I was able to connect via Facebook.  We hooked up with the Cuzzones, and were headed towards a palace, when the skies opened up and just poured.  Of course, we had forgotten our umbrellas, so we rushed over to our house, and drank some wine while we dried off.

This evening, we had a good Italian meal of Pizza and salad.  The restaurant had colored pencils and paper available, and many of its customers' drawings posted around.  Of course, we added our contributions.  Now I'm rushing to get some laundry done, so I can put it on the drying racks overnight.  No dryer in this place.

On the road from Inchon to Seoul.

Not sure if this is the cure for the hangover, or if it gives you a hangover.

The roof of our house.

Gods in the courtyard of our house.

The courtyard of our house.

flowers on the street

Interest rates are low in Korea, too.

Interesting building.

Seoul City Hall

Some K-pop singers 

Sisters

Our street

They were making a movie in our neighborhood.