There is a lovely group of Korean ladies who have held a standing date once a week with expat ladies for the past 20 years. They are so kind that the door is always open for newcomers like myself. I'll admit, it was a little intimidating the first couple times. They took a month off in the summer and my first few times were their first times back, so they were happy to see each other and were busy catching up.
At the same time, I was throwing my kiddos into a new school where friends had not seen each other all summer and were busy catching up, and I expected my children to jump in and make new friends. I knew I had to keep going to the International Ladies and culture new friendships so I could empathize with my kids as well as set a good example. Now (a couple months later, as I am late posting this) I am so glad that I did. All of the ladies who attend are super sweet. They are well traveled and educated and wise and full of laughter. Most of the women are Koreans and Lockheed wives, but there are some others that are engineer wives from other companies, who just happen to be of other nationalities originally. There are ladies from Korea, the US, Taiwan, the Philippines, France, Mexico, and maybe more that I cannot remember.
The locals plan events for us all within an hour drive or so. We have taken hikes, gone to coffee, went on leisurely strolls around lotus ponds and the arboritum, and more. There is often coffee and always food involved. On hikes we bring snacks to share and sometimes have little potluck lunches. When we eat at restaurants it is something authentically Korean and I usually do not like it, but I try a bit every time and hope they don't notice that I don't like it. I covet my standing Tuesday dates and look forward to them each week.
The first Tuesday I did not know what to expect. We went to a place called Kingdom Coffee. It was an odd place that had a strange mix of decor. They wanted to be super fancy with gold overlays and marble floors, but then used wagon wheels for tables.
The next Tuesday it was raining. We grabbed our 'brellies and walked around the pond anyway.
Look how massive these lilly pads are!
It was near the end of lotus season and I can't wait to see them next year when they are in full bloom!
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| Joanna, Sheila, Mimi, Bongja, Dawn, Tisha, me, BockIm, Mb, Victoria, Laetitia, Leana, Deok Soon, Sophia, Mimi |
Most of the blooms are pink, but there were a few of these, too. Notice the lilly pads are different as well.
I tried squid and it was ok! This was just tiny pieces of the tenable and it did not look like long tentacles at all. I also had bibimbap, which is a bowl of rice with other things piled on. The idea is to mix it all up, but I mostly just ate the rice.
Since it was a rainy day we were done getting wet but weren't ready to go home yet, so we went for coffee. The ladies always get coffee or tea, and I think I'm the only one to drink hot chocolate.
After this lotus pond, I was inspired to take some photos at the lotus pond right behind the kids' school. All the expats call it Pruggio Park and Lotus Pond because it's right beside Pruggio Apartments. It's actually called Chojeon Park.
Cattails always remind me of Grandma E. We used to find them by her house when we were little.
I love these vibrant orange mushrooms.
Now is the end of the season, mostly with the remains of blooms.
But still a tiny bit of new life.
I like the yellow seed case inside the pink petals.
Crepe myrtles all the way over here in South Korea.
The old and the new.
[August 27]
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