I was hoping to get to the school before 6 so I would peek in on class but I didn't make it. It's uphill, you know. Mrs. Park who runs the school had bought me a gift. They had planned to take me to dinner but didn't realize I was leaving so soon. The day before Jennifer brought home several blouses that one of her co-workers sent me as a gift. The Koreans seem to be very generous. Jen's superiors also told her she could have the morning off on Wednesday so she could take me to the airport.
The facility was even nicer than I had originally thought. The Kindergarten is separate from the part where Jen works. Jen has had preschoolers in the past but I guess these students were not enrolled in the Kindergarten.
Here's Jen at her desk:
This is the library. The teacher facing us is Michael and the other is Joe. They are the ones who went to lunch with us on Friday.
There was a garden:
Here's the playground area:
We went back to the apartment to change and then onto Bupyeong Station for last minute shopping and dinner. I wanted to try more Korean food but by the time we got there it was pouring rain. It started getting late so we ended up at KFC. The menu was different so I decided to go for different. I ordered Garlic Roast with a side of cole slaw and a Coke. I'm not sure what kind of meat I got but it definitely wasn't chicken. It was pretty nasty. I had a few of Jen's fries and my coleslaw which looked different but tasted much like the US KFC. I told Jen we should at least go for coffee so we went to Holly's Coffee. It was a nice place to relax for a bit. It's sad that this trip is drawing to a quick close.
I was up packing until just after midnight then awake at 5 to get ready to leave. Abby still wanted to go with us to the airport even though Jen was off to take me now. I couldn't believe she was willing to get up so early to go with us.
It took us about 20 minutes to get a cab. They don't come by the street in front of the apartment all that often, and 3 of the driver's drove off after hearing English. We finally got one. He talked to us quite a bit, but we didn't understand any of what he was saying. We were meeting Abby at Songnae Station. I believe he wanted to take us all the way to the airport, but we made it very clear we only wanted him to take us to Songnae Station. Traffic was very heavy but we finally made it to the Station. From there we took another bus which was a shuttle to the airport. I'm sure the subway would have been faster because of the traffic, but it would have required several transfers which are not all that easy with heavy baggage. It probably took us 1-1/2 to 2 hours to get to the airport.
Jen wanted me to cry really badly. She kept saying I wouldn't see her again for 4 more months. Abby offered to cry but that really wasn't what Jen wanted. Well, fortunately for me there were no tears, but I will really miss those hugs. She's a beautiful person inside and out if I do say so myself. She was a wonderful hostess. It was really different having her to treat me to dinner and such. I'm very proud of my baby girl. She may be all grown up, but she's still my baby girl. And I love her friends. I believe they genuinely care about one another like friends should.
This blog would not be complete without another toilet. I found this one at the Seoul/Incheon airport. These Asians may have some squat toilets but they are miles ahead of us on some of the other ones. This one had a seat covered in plastic wrap. There was a button to push which caused the plastic wrap tube to advance to clean plastic. Genius.
The trip home went as well as could be expected. I slept more than I hoped--not really comfortably but OK for an airplane. The trip from Seoul/Incheon to Tokyo I was seated by a Korean lady who was traveling to Jackson, Mississippi with her Mom. This lady has lived in Jackson for the last 9 years. Her mother had never been on an airplane before. This little lady was glued to the window not wanting to miss a thing. I enjoyed talking with the daughter. They were also on my next flight but I didn't get to talk with them again.
The trip from Toyko to Atlanta I was seated beside a young Phillipino man who was traveling to the US for the first time. He had flawless English and I would have suspected him to have been born in the US. He explained he worked in a call center. I assured him I had never gotten anyone at a call center with his kind of English. The flight attendants didn't give him the correct documents and at first insisted they had. I believe they assumed he was an American. When they saw his green passport, they gave him the correct form. He was going to be working in Florence, SC for just over a month. What a scenic place to visit. (Sorry, Debbie.) He was very kind and helpful during the trip.
My flight to Charlotte was delayed. I arrived approximately an hour late but didn't not experience any of the turbulence the captain promised us. Thank you, Lord! He has been very gracious to me in allowing me this experience. I had good flights, a great time with my favorite daughter, and I didn't even get lost. YAY! Now who wants to go back with me for another visit.....
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