I don't know if I can blog about how awesome an experience it was. First of all I LOVED having some alone time with Craig... we needed it and I love traveling with him... he's so fun!
Second... I LOVED seeing Jeff. Two years went by really fast, but it still is a long time and I was so thrilled to see his face! He looked great other than being super skinny. He always was but he lost a lot of weight! A veggie diet does that to you... and he is paying for it a little bit since he's been home the adjustment back to American food has been interesting for him!
So I will try to detail what we did and give the highlights:
Day One:
Pretty much traveled today It was about a 12 hour flight from San Fran to Seoul. We loved Korean Air. We felt pampered they kept feeding us and bringing us towels and juice and snacks and a cool little bag with warm socks a tooth brush and an eye mask! It was great.... Long but great.
So we arrive in Seoul and don't have our tickets to Pusan so we had to figure out the airport and get thru security it actually went off without a hitch and we made it to Seoul where Sis Choi's husband picked us up and took us to our Hotel so nice to have someone take us...
I tried to take pictures of our Hotels cause they were interesting! The first one was the weirdest. It was so hot I thought I would choke and the floors are all heated and they only give you a hand towel to dry off... seriously! I need a big towel! But, the TV worked and I took a picture of my husbands choice of shows and also to show that if there is TV in the room Craig is happy and he doesn't even care if he can understand it... that's an addiction right????
Day Two:
We finally see Jeff.... We pick him up at the mission home and that's not as easy as it sounds. The hotel clerk and the cab driver don't speak English and they don't understand the Korean that Jeff gave us for the address... So this man walks up randomly and says.... "Mormony Churcy... I know... we walk." So he proceeds to walk us quite a ways and it's not our church... he keeps looking until someone else comes up and he goes and gets a map and they figure it out.... no one is speaking English! It's crazy how nice they were! So this new guy figures it out and says he'll take us... Well he's wealthy and it's a hired car... they were dressed so nice and so sweet to drive us around! It was fun!
We took the subway today to the beach and when we were waiting for the train a guy starts yelling at Jeff and getting in his face about being a Christian. Well this guy supposedly is and was telling Jeff that he's not and all this stuff. He was really loud and it was sad to see. I felt bad. But, no one was listening and these two guys were like don't worry about it he's crazy. So we get on the train and they start speaking to Jeff about how he had the missionaries when he was in high school and how he has a good opinion of the church and stuff. It was awesome to see Jeff speak in Korean and have such a good attitude and shake it off but also have a positive interaction. I am sure others were watching too! That's what his whole mission was about the negativity. Korea is a hard mission... but, he had the positive too! It was cool to see! He had that affect on a lot of people and the gave his card to that kid!
We spent the afternoon at this famous beach in a really ritzy area. Jeff had never been to it so it was nice to experience something new with him. Plus... Korea is just amazingly beautiful!!! I love it!
That night we had the privilege of being invited to the Mission President's home for dinner and testimony meeting. I loved it! I didn't understand most of the missionaries cause they spoke Korean, but wow~ the spirit was SO STRONG. Especially when they sang in Korean. It was the most powerful thing I have ever felt and to see the missionaries really torn up about leaving what has been their home for the last 2 years. It was really amazing!!!
Day Three:
So this day was super fun. We got up and went to the shopping district and got some really cool things. They had all these socks for a dollar and scarves and cool watches it was awesome! We got some great new suits for Jeff too. One was 45$ it's amazing how cheap stuff is there! We went into one suit shop and the guy was like to Jeff... she's so beautiful my heart stopped when she walked in. She's like Angelina Jolie! Funny.... I've never been called Angelina Jolie before but hey, I'll take it right??? Anyway, he gave Jeff a 250$ suit for 100 because he sacrificed his life for the gospel. That's what he said...That was cool.
After shopping we took a bus up to Ulsan and meet the sister missionaries and some members for dinner and then we met a family that Jeff had been teaching. They were so nice and I was impressed with the ease that Jeff has with everyone and how much they all love him and genuinely want to be around him!!!Especially, the ladies!
Day Four:
K so Ulsan is really pretty. We loved it there. We went to the Hyundai ship yard and that was super impressive to see the ships being made. We then meet a man that is not a member but his son is in LA on a mission and he's just really nice to the missionaries and he loved Jeff so he took us to this awesome Hotel buffet. Seriously, I have never seen such a beautiful display of food! It was really sophisticated and we felt so special that he and his wife took time out of their day to meet with us let alone treat us to such a nice lunch... and then give us gifts! Everybody does that in Korea! We were spoiled. We got so much stuff!!!
We took another bus to another city... I can't say it! But, it's the first area that Jeff served and he loved it. It's in the country and it's gorgeous I can only imagine how beautiful it is in the summer/fall. It's amazing. So we didn't have a reservation for this town so we just walked around the motel district as it's called and Jeff calls it the "Shady business" motels. Let's face it, when there are ropes hanging down to cover the parking lot so the wives can't see if their husbands cars are in there it's pretty shady! So we get this Hotel and it's soooo nice! A two person tub... who has that! The lights were all blue disco type it definitely felt like you were up to no good, but we were really tired so we didn't care. Of course, I felt bad for Tricia and Jeff not the kind of hotel you want to spend the night in with your mom/son! Ha... it was funny though! I mean they had everything you could think of that you would need/want cause I am guessing people don't pack bags to stay there!
We saw the Buddhist temple and tried to do kung-fu moves! I fell but Craig and Jeff did good. I think Tricia and I aren't cut out for that!
It was amazing. It was like a fortress! It's crazy how people worship an idol. They were praying in the weirdest way. There is a definite order to how they do it. But, it was interesting to see none the less! We meet another cool family here. They knew Jeff when he first was there and they said his Korean had improved so much! It was really neat to be in their home and feel of their spirit!
Day Five:
We had to go back to Pusan for the rest of the stuff we left at the mission home and then we took the Bullet train (so we have now traveled by plane, subway, taxi, bus, train) to Seoul and there was this little girl that was obsessed with Jeff! She was so cute and kept us entertained on the long ride!
We found a hotel after much walking and trying! Seoul is not typical Korea. It's HUGE! There are massive amounts of people and most speak English. The hotel was small and overpriced, but it was really fun to see it non the less. We were tired today so we crashed after dinner!
Day Six:
We got up and went to the Temple today. It was really cool to get out of the cab, walk up the alley and see the angel Moroni shining brightly. I felt home! We did the first session of the new year and I loved being in the Temple and bringing the whole trip to a spiritual end!
We relaxed in the Hotel for a few hours before heading to the airport. It's far about an hour away. But the Seoul airport was amazing to hangout in. They are funny. They have Chanel and Gucci and all these high end stores all over the place. I mean it's the ritzyest ( is that a word) airport I have ever seen!
I loved Korea.... I loved the food the people the country the experience! It was fantastic! I will miss it... the kim-chi and all I loved it!
I took some crazy pictures of the signs too! They translations cracked us up! My favorite was "WAY OUT" I never got a picture but it was all over the subways!
Yes... we had a long lay over in Vegas so my beloved was able to watch the first half of the sugar bowl! Crisis averted...
It was great to see the kids waiting for us and to see their excitement when they saw Jeff for the first time! We are glad he is home and we are so proud of the honorable mission he served. The change he has made in his life will always be there and he will always have the love of a country and the undying gratitude of those people who's lives he changed... those he knows about and those he doesn't!! Mine included. Thanks Asian Jeff... BJ3.
