She's here!
Aww, hugs and pink jeans!
On our way to the apartment to drop off her suitcase and then hit the neighborhood!
Our first stop was a makgeolli place across the street from our apartment. Makgeolli is an unfiltered, carbonated Korean rice wine that, like soju, is sold in almost every restaurant and bar, only not as strong. It's generally poured from a kettle, drank from bowls, paired with a Haemul Pajeon (a savory, seafood and vegetable pancake) and makes for a nice treat. We thought that would be a good place for her to begin her Korean adventure.
As it turned out, the makguelli place we chose was the perfect place to take her. Right when we walked in, this woman with the tape recorder came over and tried to interview us for the radio. Our lack of Korean got in the way of that, so she coached us through a few phrases she had us yell into the mic and called it good at that. We were pleased that Jess was already getting to experience some of the many strange things that happen to us, but the radio interview was only the beginning. Things continued to get better and better as the night went on.
While we were eating and catching up, a crazy woman behind us began screaming into her phone. It was all in Korean, so unfortunately, we had no clue what she was screeching about. While the woman was doing her thing, and we were staring, Jessica made eye contact with an older man and involuntarily winked at him. The man was drunk enough to take the wink to mean, "we want to talk to you," and began bridging that gap between stranger and father...
First, he ordered a dessert and had it sent to our table. The dessert he chose for us was Patbingsu, which would have been warmly welcomed by Koreans, but is not something we really enjoy. Normally, patbingsu is like a sundae, but made of shaved ice and sweetened milk instead of ice cream and topped with red beans, candied fruit and cornflakes. No joke, Koreans love it. This one, was more like a punch bowl of strawberry milk filled with chunks of watermelon, honeydew, cherry tomatoes and ice cubes. It wasn't the standard patbingsu, but it was just as terrible. It's the thought that counts, right?
While we were 'enjoying' our new dessert, he called Andrew over to his table for a chat. This sort of thing happened all the time in Ulsan and was one of his favorite things about going out in Korea, so Andrew happily went to join him and his wife. Right when he sat down, the man ordered his wife to chug the rest of the makguelli and then handed her bowl to Andrew so that he could drink from it. From there, he proceeded to explain to Andrew that he was in the electronics business, that the woman was not his first wife, but actually his second, and that he had a daughter that was studying in Seattle. He also felt the need to clarify that his daughter was from his first marriage and not his second. He never used the word daughter during any of this explanation though. Every time he spoke of her, he referred to her as his 'girl baby!' When Andrew told him that the three of us were from Seattle, he got really excited. That connection gave him an idea as well. He got serious and asked Andrew if he, Judy and Jessica would be his babies and if he could be our 'Korean Papa!' It was amazing! Of course the answer to both of his questions was, 'HELL YES!'
Girl Baby, Korean Papa, Boy Baby
In addition to the patbingsu, Korean Papa bought us a refill on our makguelli kettle and in the end, paid our entire bill. He made Andrew exchange phone numbers with him and made us all promise to come to his country home for a picnic the following weekend.
Within hours of being in the country, Jessica had made it on the radio, gotten a new daddy and was invited on a weekend getaway. This trip was starting off well!
After the makguelli place, we decided to show her another treat in our neighborhood, one of the many tent bars that pop up on the sidewalks after dark.
친구야! Chingu Ya!
(Wow, friend!)
It was much later by this time, so the tent was pretty quiet. It was a welcomed change from our intense, new Korean Papa.
The tent bars piggyback on the surrounding buildings' restrooms, but they at least provide toilet paper, which is more than many walled bars and restaurants!
Vandalism (or maybe studying)
5 W
Work Will Win
While Wishy Washy Won't
WOMAN WITHOUT, MAN IS NOTHING
WOMAN, WITHOUT MAN IS NOTHING
ABLE WAS I ERE I SAW ELBA
