Our 1st Trip to E-Mart

So, here it is....the part of the story you've all been waiting for...the shopping trip! Yesterday, we made our first trip to a big store, Korean style! One of our neighbors took us to E-Mart, a store similar to Target, but it's Target on steroids...three levels of shopping with everything from clothes and shoes to automotive to seafood. We started when the store opened on the top floor which has the housewares. We got our hangers, our drying rack (because dryers are few and far between in Korea), our garbage cans (because Koreans are diligent about sorting their trash), and a Swiffer type sweeper to try to keep our (fake) hardwood floors clean. That was pretty uneventful, though our blonde children are like celebrities here, and they get a ton of attention from Koreans who like to practice their English in conversations with our kids!
Then, of course, we headed downstairs to get some groceries and things like soap and shampoo, laundry soap, etc. Some of the major cultural differences started to appear here...for instance, there was a Korean salesmen of sorts next to every type of soap in the store (or so it seemed to me). All I wanted to do was pick out the cheapest shampoo I could find (Pantene was available at about $9 per bottle), but this woman wanted to help me pick it out. I finally managed to do that and get some body wash, and then it was time to get laundry soap. This woman really wanted to have a conversation with me about laundry soap...in the end, I was pleased to understand that I had chosen the right soap (by accident) for a top-loading washing machine. I don't have fabric softener yet, but I do have spot remover, so I'm happy! Next stop...groceries! At this point, I was beginning to see the side of Eric that I had seen during our card game at PFO where we got a glimpse into seeing how we would react to cultural differences. He was fading fast, so we split the list, and attempted to "rush" through getting the few basics we needed (cheese, oil, sugar, etc.). It was tough, though! I'm excited to go again without him so that I can take my time and find what I need! All in all, I was very pleased with what we found and how easy it was to recognize the same  items we have here just written in a different language.

Check and check!

Passports….check
Visas….in progress
Luggage….check
House packed….check
Immunizations….check
House cleaned out for renters….check
Tried Korean food….check
Learn Korean language….in progress
Deodorant stocked up on….check
Suits purchased….in progress
Nanny hired...check
Trip to Mississippi for PFO….scheduled
Suitcases packed….in progress
Tearful goodbyes….scheduled
It's hard to believe how close we are! Five more days until we leave for Mississippi, two weeks in MS, then ten days back in Washington before we leave for Seoul! Can't believe it!

Annyong haseyo

In our "spare time" (this doesn't really exist, but sometimes it feels good to put your feet up!), we have been working on learning the Korean language. We started in April when we checked out a Korean language program from the library (CDs and a workbook), and thought we could listen to the CDs in the car and learn a few words. Eric followed along in the workbook while I drove. The WORST way to learn the language it turns out! We probably learned about 100 new words in about a half hour, which means that we learned one new word--the first word on the CD. Hello = annyong haseyo. Needless to say, we did not continue this method! We learned a few words when we went out for Korean food including thank you = kam-sa-ham-ni-da, rice = bap, and beer = maekchu. Eric’s students have been teaching him several words each day, and he has been coming home and teaching the kids (though I don’t know that I’ve learned any of them yet!). Kennedy regularly tells me that she needs to go to the hwajangshil (bathroom).

Personally, I have been working hard on learning Hangul (the Korean alphabet). Thankfully, it’s turned out to be easier than I thought to read the characters. I have learned all of the letters (I just have the vowel digraphs to go!) and most importantly, I learned that each character is actually a syllable usually made up of two or three letters. Of course, I still have to learn the actual Korean words, but I’m learning to read American-ized Korean words (for instance taxi = t-aek-shi and hotel = hot-el). Check out the site on the right if you want to learn more!

We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re making progress!!