Well I got here without any complications, unlike last time. My b-sister was there and ready to take me home. My sister turned out, can write and read English better than she can speak it. I realized she got distracted if I tried to talk to her so I just stayed silent until we were safely home. Everybody else on the road seemed just as easily distracted. It seems to me, that road signs and driving courteously is out the window here. I have noticed that Koreans have no sense of personal space when walking around, and this is similar when driving. You are allowed to creep across an intersection when no one is coming, even with a red light. Cars, trucks, mopeds switch lanes when they feel like it and if you're not ready, it's your fault. Or lines depicting lanes are only helpful reminders that there should be 2 cars on this side of the road. But if you can fit 3, go for it.
Once we were home, my b-sister made me what I like to think of as a college kids meal. Rice, spam, kimchi, and an egg on top. I wasn't complaining. I was happy the food was starting. And boy was it. My b-parents got home a little later, they had taken a weekend trip to Dokdo island, which my b-dad told me with a smile is "japanese land". Maybe it's devious to go there? Immediately, it had began.
My b-mom was overly motherly the last time I was here, and she didn't disappoint.She immediately told me to sit on the heating pad, and fed me though I wasn't hungry. The apple of course was cut in tiny pieces to make it easier. From here on, my food with be cut up for me. She started massaging my feet. I had some skiing socks on so it probably made her think they were swollen again. They started asking me questions, have I practiced with chopsticks, did I learn Korean, do I want to say anything? By this time, I had been up for 24 hours and just wanted to sleep. I felt bad, but I told them I had nothing to say. We figured out that we all have google translate on our phones and this is our way of communicating. Especially between my b-mom and I. She will still try speaking to me, give me a look, and then pull out her phone. Her look by the way, is probably the same one I've been accused of giving people. I know where I get it from at least.
Can we talk about Korean TV for second? It's insane. Remember those cardboard houses you could buy where you could color in everything on the outside? There was this talk show last night, where 6 people sat there with a set behind them that looked like those houses. And who knows what they were talking about but it was all very entertaining to the audience. Soap operas are big here, and not to sound racists, all the soap stars look the same to me. It was fun watching them half awake because my mind just filled in what they'd be saying in English as I dozed off. There is one channel for all the military service people that is in English. It was a nice break though we watched Dr. Phil and Jeopardy. Maybe I can get them to let me watch American Idol ...
Yesterday was a girls day. We stayed around Incheon and went down to the Incheon Sea at Walmido Park. I was at first afraid she was going to make me ride on the ferris wheel and mini roller coaster. Thankfully, it was just the "pleasure boat". We took a tour around the harbor area between the mainland and the main bridges that go to and from the airport (Incheon National Airport is on an island). My b-mom and I went, sister stayed behind, and it was nice to be with just her. We fed the seagulls, she held my hand, we took pictures. Unfortunately, at the time, my sister was my wifi hub so our conversation on the boat was a little one sided. For lunch, went to the fish market where they have the best seafood. It's Korean BBQ on the half shell. Everything is cooked on it's shell, and the juices are put into a small pot of soup. If you leave the shells on the fire too long, they burst. We had huge plate of clams, oysters, and scallops with the small pot of soup with later was a pot of ramen. I thought we had made a pretty good dent in all of it for 3 women, and then came a giant bowl of more noodles. Yes, I was still hungry, how did you know?
We dropped my sister back home and my b-mom and I went to the supermarket. Lotte world. It's huge. It's like Costco on steriods. It's at least 5 stories tall, and has everything you could possibly want. How you would get a couch on their escalator ramps and out the door, I don't know. But we were there for "raw materials" because my mom was going to teach me how to make kimchi. She had to use the restroom, so she left me in the snack and candy aisle to pick something out. I don't know that any of it is, so i just waited at the end of the aisle, closest to the checkers. I could see her coming back, looking a little frantic though she'd only been gone a minute. Maybe she forgot what aisle I was in or thought I had gotten lost. A terrible joke would have been to actually move aisles, but I'm not that mean. I waved to ease her anxiety, and she immediately noticed I had put nothing in the cart. The look again.
We got home, unloaded, and she began to explain how to make kimchi. Which is simple she said. Just like learning Korean, it's all simple. Ingredient-wise it actually is simple, but like any good cook she doesn't use measuring cups. Some red chili sauce, a couple handles of dried red pepper, some garlic, some fish sauce, a vinegar of sorts (it said pineapple flavored on the bottle), and voila! Kimchi! You have to let it sit for a couple days of course. We had dinner once the b-dad got home from work, mind you it was only 4 hours since lunch. Once I was completely full and now tired, he gave me a lesson on the Korean alphabet. I'll agree with him that the alphabet is simple, though the difference in sound between "j" and "ch" is very minute. One is "harder" than the other. But yes, the alphabet is simple, it's the vocabulary and actually speaking that is difficult. Sure I could probably learn how to read signs but I still wouldn't know what it meant. We moved onto something more interesting, I helped him with his recumbent bike, which he designed himself. Even the brackets to attach the wheels he made and a friend welded it together. He's much smarter than me. He did use stainless steel for part of the frame, but he seems to know what he's doing and what he wants out of it. He asked me how to put spokes on the wheels, and the little knowledge I know of it, you need a special stand and tools. He responded with "it's simple - I will try it".
Pictures please!
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