Primus Family "Taste of Asia" Tour: July 8

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.