diarios de smiths: the wife's initial report

Yes, we did in fact make it through the 14+ hour flight with minimal casualties. Paxton did fall on his front tooth at the airport (still in DC), and I spent most of the flight wondering if I should try to pull it out a little--it looked a wee incrusted. So guess what I did on our first day in Seoul right after signing up at the embassy and getting our IDs? drum roll.... a visit to the Children's Dental Clinic. That is the actual name of the place. The doctor is a Korean guy with curly hair and an unyielding smile. He spoke English so I mostly understood what he was telling me. We liked him. The good news: his permanent tooth seems unaffected. The bad news: his two front teeth have already gotten darker. Something about the blood supply being compromised... Well, at least he only has what, 3 years? until he loses those.

In the home front, we are liking our living accommodations. We have the same number of bedrooms as before, but we have a den, a much bigger living/dining room area AND everything is on the same floor! Hallelujah! I am loving having the washer and drier close to the bedrooms, so much in fact that if I wasn't 8 months pregnant, I would skip to the laundry room on a regular basis. Everything in the house is wired for American appliances and voltage, so that's been easy. When I got my cell phone (from a Korean company) I had to get it an adapter because it wouldn't fit in any plug in the house.

We have so much furniture that we feel we aged twenty years. The living room has matching couches and a set of side tables. There is a coffee table for the main room and one for the couch in the den. There is an actual dining room table that sits 8! In our bedroom, the nightstands match! We also have a nice chest of drawers and a dresser with a mirror. Paxton even has a desk/shelves combo in his room. I am still wondering what I am going to do with the china hutch and the curio cabinet, I am pretty sure we don't have anything to put in there.

Our grocery store is right outside this residential area, so it's a quick trip. It is very American inside, just take your regular Giant and add a local green produce section, a sushi station, and an Asian drink aisle. I am looking forward to shopping at legit Korean stores, but for now I am thankful that grocery shopping is being so easy. There is also a big Post Exchange at the base. It's like a Walmart, but instead of 20 selections of each item you have 5-8. The base is a small town, complete with a post office, restaurants, a hotel, a bowling alley, a driving range, two beauty salons, a barber shop that specialized in the military cut, a movie theater, a bookstore, a laundromat, etc etc.

I like the convenience of the base, but it's hard to get out without a car. Nonetheless, we are undeterred and have gone out quite a bit. We have already eaten all of our favorite Korean dishes. This baby is tasting a whole lot of red pepper paste and must be loving kimchi, because I keep wanting it. We also managed to find our branch, which is organized as a branch, but it is the largest congregation in Seoul (300+). It is an English speaking branch, and are looking forward to getting to know people.

The city is a story for another post. When we got out from the airport, it was so overcast that I thought I must have landed in Lima. Then the humidity and the mosquitoes reminded me of Virginia. A few days later, the pockets of smells that come up when walking around the city reminded me of New York. And every time I come home, I feel like I do when I go to downtown Lima (humidity + smog + too many people around you = shower NOW). In spite of all this, I am loving the city so that's saying something. All in all, we are liking our new home and look forward to the next two years here.

This post is LONG. If you are still reading, here are a few pictures: