ode to the high heel wearer

i salute you korean high heel wearers.

your strength and endurance amaze me. you don't wear high heels only on special occasions. your high heels are what nikes are to americans. you wear your heels to go on walks, on buses, on subways, up the stairs, to the park, while hiking, all while carrying babies in your arms. you never seem to show fatigue or pain...do you have toes made of steel? i strive to have the high pain tolerance and perseverance you show daily.

sincerely,

the amateur high heel wearer

p.s. sorry for the lame photo. this pic doesn't even capture some of the crazy heels i see on a daily basis!

grandmother's memorial dinner pictures

stairs we ran up and down as kids when we visited korea long ago.
grandmother's bed.
my dad's youngest sister and her husband
my dad's older brother and older sister
the fam
the delicious food.
so good.

kyung jin & kyung pyo

i've spent a lot of time with these two. they are funny, entertaining, and just lovely people. they enjoy annoying each other, as true brothers and sisters do. i like hanging out with them.

getting to know family...

june 22nd was the anniversary of my grandmother's passing (my father's mother). my family gets together to have a short "yehbeh" consisting of singing some hymns, reading scripture, prayer, and of course, eating. my aunt (my father's older brother's wife) is an amazing cook and she puts together a huge spread. prior to the evening gathering, my cousins kyung pyo and kyung jin picked me up from the seoul train station and we had lunch. i picked their brains for memories they had of grandmother and how they remembered her. all of my memories of her are from when i was just a little girl so i often wonder what it would have been like to know her as an adult. both my cousins confirmed my memory of her as being a kind-hearted, generous person. she loved her family very much. i soaked in all of the memories and funny stories they shared. it was great.

she was my only grandparent. the only grandparent i had the opportunity to meet. it's a strange thing to miss someone you didn't know too well, but i'm so glad i had the time i did with her.

it's a real joy to spend so much time with my family here. they are no longer "family in Korea", people who i've known through pictures more than in real life. they are family.

photo highlights from the trip (or moments i remembered my camera)

cuban sandwich from paseos.  one word: yum.
theo's chocolate factory.  i bought a gift pack for pete.  flavors include: coffee, nib brittle (ground cacao bean), coconut curry, bread & chocolate, vanilla chocolate, hazelnut crunch, fig fennel & almond, chai tea.  they are all really tasty.  i think i ate about 500 chocolate samples at the factory.  our spunky tour guide was raving about all of the health benefits of chocolate which just fed our (the tourists) fire for eating chocolate.  near the end of the tour she remarked she'd "give in" and taste a sample with us, but that she'd need to be careful or she might eat a whole chocolate bar (!).  i thought, "seriously!?" she made this comment after she had dished out dozens of samples and i had already consumed about 5 pounds of chocolate : ) ha!

flowers from pike's place market.  such a great place.  i think people who work with these flowers must be in a good mood all the time.  who wouldn't when surrounded by such beauty!

oliver, the master chopstick eater.  so cute. so smart.  i love his mama too.

ovi loves his grandpa dash.

besties.
japan.  tokyo. sushi. awesome.
green tea kit kats

after writing my summary of the trip I realized I left out some pretty important activities.  so, i was able to have lunch with peter's grandparents: ted & gladys, and Caleb Smith (a cousin) after church.  it was so great to visit with them.  everyone looked great.  i was thankful to spend the afternoon with them.  i just love and admire them so much.

i had lunch/dinner dates with so many great, dear friends who i miss so much.  friends from gulf drive (our old neighborhood) rock hill and grace & peace.  i was able to rub bellies and babies that i hadn't seen before we left!  so wonderful.   

in seattle, susan & I had lunch with some family friends.  we always called them "howard's family" (it's a korean thing).  they were gracious, kind, and generous.  they took us to a really good thai restaurant, which i was excited about since good thai food is kind of hard to find in daegu.  i'm glad to know susan has a "family" in seattle to fall back on. 

and a note about the japanese grandpa.  i called him to see if he wanted to show us his garden, but he never answered his phone.  he did call back, literally as we were walking out the door to the airport for my flight back to seoul.  he was dear and sweet, lamenting our ironic timing.  i've since looked him up and have discovered he's a well published author in the field of environmental science.  he's a pretty fascinating fella.  matsuo tsukada.  you should look him up.

back in Korea!

The last leg of my trip was wonderful.  My friend's wedding was beautiful and wonderful.  Getting to see my girlfriends from college was an added bonus.  we try to have our "reunions" every year so i'm glad i was able to be part of this annual tradition.  they are a group of fantastic women who i adore very much.  we always have such a good time with one another laughing hysterically, goofing around, reminiscing, and encouraging each other through the different storms of life.  i hope we will always maintain our friendships until we're old and wrinkled.  

aside from the wedding, i spent a lot of time with different friends and family.  a few of my friends are pregnant or recently had a baby so it was fun to see their new little creatures squirming around.  i was able to see lizi, peter's sister, her baby belly, and dear little oliver (our nephew).  he's quickly approaching three years old and he's a total riot!  he's talking up a storm and is totally adorable.  we played hide & seek together and practiced using chopsticks.  he's so smart...he's becoming quite a little man.  

i left for seattle shortly after the wedding and had some nice, low-key days enjoying the beautiful weather and outdoors.  susan and i went to different parks for walks and ate at some really good restaurants...i had my first cuban sandwich which was amazing.  we also went on a chocolate factory tour of theo's chocolates.  they are the only organic, fair trade chocolate company in the U.S.  it was really interesting and tasty!  

my last few days in the states zoomed by and i arrived in seoul just a couple days ago.  my flight went very smoothly.  i was pretty tired from the jet lag, but was overjoyed to see peter and my family waiting for me at the airport.  reunions are my favorite. 

i will post some pics from my trip soon!

full heart

i've spent the past week visiting with as many people as possible. i've crammed almost every moment that i wasn't already spending doing various errands with visiting people i love. i wish i had another week to spend more time with family and friends, but all good things must come to an end. (i'm sorry if i didn't get to see you during this visit!!! i just ran out of time!)

this weekend i'll be hanging with my college friends to witness a dear friend get married. i'm looking forward to it.

i missing peter tons and thinking of him often. i wish he was here with me. it's fun to compare things here to korea now that we've lived there for over 6 months. now i'm just taking in each new day slowly and enjoying all that happens. let the wedding festivities begin!