Yesterday morning, I went and had a blood test done at the hospital. It was such a nerve racking experience, I was glad to have a friend with me in the same boat. We wouldn't find out the results until later in the afternoon. So we decided to go get lunch at the Sindodrim shopping center. We were so stressed out, that I said, "All I want is to sit in one of those massage chairs (that were at the jimjibang, Reagan and I went to)." Rina replied, "I think there is one upstairs!" So we headed up, and there they were. The best massage chairs you could ever sit on. The timing was just right.
Rina to the left and Hae-ran, our nurse to the right.
I wanted to buy this one, but it costs 3,500,000 won which is about $3,500.
Afterwards, I met up with Robin, and we headed to one of the ancient tomb sites that was on my list of things to do here. Before we left, we went to the Korean version of Chinese food. I don't know what traditional Chinese food is, but I do know that Korean-Chinese food is very different from American-Chinese food. Below is jajamin, which is a black bean noodle dish, that is popular amongst the bachelors here. I don't like beans of any kind, but it was actually ok. It is Robin's favorite dish here.
I had to use the restroom as soon as we left, even though I went at the restaurant, so we went to a little cafe to have a smoothie. On the menu, it stated yogurt smoothie, and so we ordered two different kinds. Instead we got bowls of yogurt topped with strawberry and chocolate sauce. Robin had a variety of cereals on her yogurt dish. The yogurt wasn't very sweet. It tasted like plain yogurt you might get at the grocery store. It was different, but still good.
We took a very long walk and bus to the tombs. The bus we took didn't have our stop written in English, so we had to look at our directions in Hangul and try to watch the reader board to match the letters. We finally arrived at our destination. Yesterday, was one of the hottest and humid days I have experienced here in Seoul. It took us over two hours to arrive at our destination. We were so hot and frustrated. When we got off the bus, we saw an enclosed area that looked like a small park. I felt so embarrassed that I drug, Robin, all over town to get to a small park. However, when we entered, it was completely different than what we had anticipated. There were tall trees and walking paths all over. Although, the tombs are located in the middle of Seoul, we couldn't hear any cars or unnatural noises at all. All we could hear were the sounds of chirping birds and the loud cicadas. The paths were covered in old growth trees and streams of water trickled all around us. The tombs were incredible. It is amazing how far they date back. The stories that go along with each one of them is interesting in itself. The tall hills that you see were created for each person. They buried the body under the mound. On top of the hill are statues. I don't know the symbolism for each character, but I do know, there is a peacefulness about the area, that is unlike any of the historical monuments I have seen so far. The palaces are breathtaking, but I actually enjoyed the serenity of the tombs a lot more.
Those were just a few of the tombs at this site.
Afterwards we ate dinner and had a bulgogi stir fry with my favorite, rice cakes! During dinner, I checked to see if I had wifi. I told myself, I wouldn't ruin a good time with, Robin, and I would wait to see the results. My curiosity got the best of me. I looked at my email and it stated that I was not pregnant. My heart sunk, but I put on my best face until the end of dinner. She wanted to go and get pedicures, but I told her I needed to get home to the family. She understood, so I tried to catch a cab, to get home as soon as I could. When I finally flagged a cab down, he showed me the big X sign with his arms, and told me it was "too far." I started to get upset, but I went onto the subway. I had been having issues with my subway card all day and had put more than 30,000 won on my card. It told me I had no money when I tried to go through. There are buttons everywhere in Seoul to get help whenever you need it. There are buttons in each bathroom stall, elevator, dining areas, and more. I rang the bell and started to feel myself crying. By the time one of the security guards reached me, I had lost it. I was sobbing uncontrollably. He begged me not to cry and told me to follow him to the information office. In the office there were five men staring at me as I tried to stop myself from crying. When I was younger I would hiccup when I tried to stop. In their office I did the same. I wasn't necessarily upset about the subway card and I wasn't thinking about not having a baby, I was just crying, for what seemed to be no reason at all. When I finally got home, it was so good to see the Hong family. Junggi had me watch a video he had found on TED the night before. I don't know if he was showing me the video to make me feel better, or if he just found it and wanted to share it with me. Either way, it was perfect timing to show me the video after a long day.
It is about 15 minutes long. It is well worth your time to watch it. I hope you do.
After watching this video, I thought I could make a list of amazing and awesome things we take for granted. One of the things that I thought of right away was the gift of good timing. It was good timing that Junggi shared this video with me, it was good timing that I was here in Korea to meet all of the Korean adoptees, and it will be good timing when we finally do get pregnant.
Thank you for all of your prayers and concerns. They were not wasted, but are being saved for when the time is right.
Here is another video I want to share with you. It is in Korean, but these are some of the people I became friends with over the past week. They are staying at a place designated for Korean adoptees. The police and Pastor Kim work together to try and find some of their birth parents.
I haven't learned a lot more in Korean words, but I did notice Japan and Korea use the same word for beautiful. Mena, which sounds like meena. Life can be the real pits some times, but in the scheme of things life is mena! :)
I cannot wait to see and hug you all!!!
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