Anyong haseyo!

Hello from Seoul! We're here and we are loving it! We arrived safely yesterday night after a flight that can be summed up in three words:

Long

Looong

Looooooooong.

It was definitely not the most enjoyable thirteen hours, but it was worth it. We didn't have any trouble in the airport and quickly found the bus we were to take to the Guest House. We checked in to our room, which is nice (except for the lack of hot water and the very hard bed). We then ventured out to eat and found a restaurant close by. The staff found an English menu for us, but it was a little difficult to communicate. The food that Travis ordered was meant for two people, but it was beef and I don't eat beef. They tried to explain but we didn't understand, so another staff member had to come out and finally we understood. Travis ended up ordering a beef soup and I had a dish with buckwheat noodles in cold broth. Of course we also had kimchi, too. After dinner we went back to the Guest House and crashed since we hadn't slept in twenty-four hours.

After our first day in Seoul, we've already learned numerous lessons.

1. Never travel in a taxi without the address where you are staying after 6 pm when the "Free Interpretation" number is closed.

2. Find out exactly where the subway station is so that you don't walk four blocks out of the way in monsoon rains.

3. To go along with number two, listen to your wife when she tells you that you should have your own umbrella. Don't say that you don't mind getting wet and not have an umbrella or a raincoat.

4. Don't believe the waiter when he assures you "no meat" and then brings a platter with ham skewers.

5. Don't use an electronic toilet with many buttons written in hangul. If you do, you will not know what button means flush and you will have to press all of them, resulting in a large puddle of water on the floor and an unflushed toilet.

6. Bring way more money than you think you'll need, because you will want to buy everything.

Because of the heavy rain, we decided to visit COEX, which is a huge underground mall--probably the biggest we've been to. There were hundreds of stores and restaurants, along with a movie theater, aquarium, and a Kimchi Museum. We spent lots of time in the bookstore and got Joel three or four books in hangul, a puzzle and a map of Seoul, and a Korean cartoon with a penguin named Pororo. We also got a stuffed Pororo at the toy store. We found quite a few items that were made in Korea that we bought for us and for our families. We enjoyed lunch at a Japanese fusion restaurant, and had a yummy snack at Red Mango of a waffle and frozen yogurt. We visited the Kimchi Museum and learned a lot about the history, how it's made, and the health benefits. After we left the mall, it had stopped raining, so we headed to Insadong, which is a street with many little shops and restaurants. We found more there to buy (of course) including a hand embroidered turtle in a little frame that means long life and happiness. It will look so cute in Joel's room! We found a great Korean restaurant for dinner and enjoyed seafood stew and Korean pancakes. That was the end of our day--we were so tired!