Busy Living

What have I been up to this week?

Monday:
I finally got a cell phone with my friend/co-worker Diana, who speaks Korean, even though she says she is not that great...she is waaay better than me! I really appreciate her everyday! She waited for me as I picked out a phone which is ultra cool. Okay, so I got a free protective cover that was the lesser of three tacky evils. It was either the black glitterati one pictured with two country kitties wearing bandanas with random butterflies or the white one with some lonely looking Asian girl with phrases "I do" "Love You" all over the back or it could have been some other realllly tacky one that I can't remember. Then I got a free charger, adapter, protective screen and another charger for when I go to restaurants and stuff to charge my phone. Great deal for 120 and 55 activation, considering I paid more for a Blackberry back home.
I am learning my phone, but the cutesy quirkiness of ringtones and decorative text message screens screams to the inner 10 year old girl in me.

Tuesday:
I needed to make a wire transfer home and it took forever. I reckon, yep I said reckon, I will do it every couple of months instead.
Then Diana and I went discovering the area around Samsung Plaza. I have been there before but she had not, so we went to the stationary store, which is full of cutesy things. I bought a notebook that looks like my cat, Lint. Yeah he is a boy but isn't the notebook cute?
I will definitely be picking up some things for AK before I go home. She lives for all things cute and stationary.
Then, I went back to Face Shop, to buy some more 1 dollar masks. It is a simple treat for night time relaxing.
Went home and watched Prison Break. Seriously, I have a problem. I am so addicted to this show.

Wednesday:

Called my family that lives in Suwon to try and coordinate something for Chusok, sorta like Thanksgiving in Korea, that is in September.

After unsuccessfully trying to identify myself on the phone, I asked Diana to call my Samcheon, uncle in Korean, to translate.

She explained everything and they were going to call me back.

A few hours later, I received a call and didn't understand much of the conversation, I tried calling my Unye, older cousin/sister, in Arizona on Skype to help and she wasn't there. Then I tried calling my mom and she wasn't available either.

So with my broken Korean and limited English on my Emo, aunt in Korean, part....we decided to meet at 5 o'clock at my school.

I was so excited! I have never met them before, well let me restate that, I don't remember them. I was too young.

Today:

We met in the parking lot and they immediately showed me pictures of my aunt and cousin. I smiled a lot and Diana translated that they said I looked so much like my uncle. I wanted to hug them all but wasn't sure if that would be appropriate in public. I don't know.

We rode around looking for something to eat and decided to go to my neighborhood and park at my apartment building. We ate the most delicious kalbi, barbecued beef in Korean, and had a great time gesturing and utilizing Diana's dual language abilities.

Then my aunts and uncle came to my apartment and we finalized Chusok plans.

I am so happy to have met my family. It connects me to a part of my life that had long been lost.

As an American, I am always asked why did I choose to move to Korea....this is why.