So, our life isn't just beaches and gorgeous sunsets...yes we are still living a normal mortal existence with ups and downs, as follows:
We had been looking forward to going to the Seoul Zoo all week (well actually all month we have been trying to take Lucy for her Birthday). Finally Saturday came, and I was ready for a fun day! We filmed Lucy making animal noises and talked about going to the Zoo with her. I packed all of her animal books to read along the way. After all our preparations, we stepped outside to a little drizzle. Oh Man! We were blessed with beautiful days the entire week, and then, of course, on Dave' day off it was raining! After all the preparations and planning, I was in an "a little rain never hurt anybody" mood, so we travelled on the Subway to the Zoo anyway. We couldn't find it in us to leave the subway station. It was down pouring and we couldn't imagine very much joy on Lucy's face as she watched the monkeys from under a poncho, so with an optimistic spirit we decided to change our plans for the day. We had been wanting to check out the Costco in Seoul, so why not today? Costco is indoors...we should be fine, right?
Well, I'm sure you can tell just from the sheer fact that I took a picture of the Costco building that it took us a lot of hard work to get to this coveted place!
We had been given some pretty simple instructions, just get off the Subway at a specific station and get on the bus that says Emart. After wandering aimlessly in the rain for some time looking for this magical bus, I started begging Dave to take a taxi. Luckily (or not Luckily) we asked some people how to get to Costco and they told us we had to go to a different Subway station. So... back to the Subway. I just realized that this isn't sounding as miserable as it was, so what can I say to get a little more sympathy? Maybe the time we were spending would help paint the picture. We left our apartment around 11:00 a.m. and it was now 3:00 p.m., so the entire four hours was spent either on a subway, transferring subway lines, or wandering in the rain looking for non-existent buses (plus I think with a toddler that doubles the hours!)
The other good news at this point is that Lucy stepped in a puddle (where was her mother?) and I figured once her feet were wet I might as well let her experience puddle hopping. Another one of my brilliant Mom ideas, I know! So one of my personality flaws is the "do first, then think" characteristic. I always want Lucy to experience life to the fullest, and sometimes it gets me into trouble. Usually the worst damage caused by my mentality is stained clothing and big messes for me to clean, but this time her feet were soaked, which meant she had to go barefoot the rest of the day, which meant she couldn't do any walking, which meant sad sad Lucy. Hopefully all these crazy "live life to the fullest" experiences she has been blessed with, by her well meaning mother, add something good to her personality...or else I am just making my life a lot harder than it has to be.
So we get off at the newly recommended subway station and are still struggling to find the correct bus, and I was exhausted, so we broke down and spent the extra dollar and took a cab to Costco. After looking at a map we realize the Costco was directly in between the two Subway stations we got out at, so we might as well have just taken a taxi from the first stop, but that would have been too easy, right?
Now the misery has gone on long enough to start taking on a very comical aspect. We wanted to look around before we bought a membership, but they said "no" so we were at a loss. Should we pay $35 for a membership when we don't even know if we will like the products, or prices, or ever want to travel to this place again? Just when we started contemplating sneaking in and taking a look, I saw the guarantee on the wall "If you are not completely satisfied with your membership at anytime, you may request a full refund." So the decision was obvious...buy a membership, go look around, if we don't like it we will ask for a refund!
The products were divine! They had Cheerios, instant oatmeal, Costco muffins, and more! Too many delicious sights for an American Immigrant to handle! How could we resist? Well, the prices were pretty high. I can't remember the details on most products, but I do remember specifically for a small bag of dried blueberries it was over $20. So we decided to think it over with some good old Costco Pizza. I haven't had pizza since we have been here, and although we bought Korean Bulkogi Pizza (Bulkogi is Korean for Fire Meat), it still tasted American and I was in heaven! Even Lucy got to try a little. She is still pretty sensitive to dairy, so I didn't let her have any cheese, but she sure liked the part she got! Her favorite part was the olives, which surprised me (I have never been a fan). And then another small mistake (like number 10 for the day) Dave went to get cups for water, which cost 50 cents each, and then there wasn't any water, only soda. We were so annoyed because neither of us are big soda drinkers, and it so did not quench our thirst! At the end of our meal, after drinking a lot of soda, we see the water machine, with free little water cups. But on a day like this, what is another extra dollar?
And the verdict is...get a refund on our membership. Between high prices and how long and hard it would be to haul products with us on the Subway, we decided this would be our one and only trip to Costco in Korea. So, a little embarrassed, we returned our membership and won the shortest Costco membership record!
Time for a fun trip back home...I begged Dave not to even try looking for the right bus, and just take a Taxi (which I just realized I started pronouncing like Koreans "Tackshi"). I just wanted to get home, regardless of the cost.
Here we are outside Costco waiting for a Taxi in the rain, barefoot daughter and all! Lucy really loves holding the umbrella, or anything metal. She is always trying to hold the pole on the Subway (and I am always trying to distract her hoping she won't grasp the many invisible germs on the pole). Let me share another little Wendy Personality Clip with you: to get this shot I squatted down and just forgot about the flowing skirt I was wearing, so the bottom half of my skirt was pretty soaked for the rest of the day! Dave says I will do anything for a good picture. So far in life, I have found that to be true, but sincerely hope that I would never risk my life for one, if ever presented with the opportunity.
Well, we found a Taxi, but of course, it was the kind that charge a lot. Dave said he knew for some reason we shouldn't take black Taxis, but then he couldn't remember why until we got inside. So we got charged double for the ride back to the station, but at this point we had already wasted a little money on travel (in fact admission to the Zoo is only $3 for adults, so I am pretty sure between all the Taxi's and Subway rides, it cost more for us not to go to the Zoo, than to go to the Zoo) and so a few extra bucks didn't really matter at this point. We were just laughing at this point (although, I could still see David cringe every time the meter went up).
Finally the end of our long day was in sight, as we entered the Subway station to head home. I could tell it was going to be a long ride, because all the trains going by were packed like sardines. Luckily our train wasn't quite as packed as sardines, but there was still no chance of getting a seat. So I just sat on the ground of the train (in my soaked skirt) and nursed my very tired little one to sleep. Although conditions weren't ideal, I was just glad that she slept the whole way home. That made the trip a lot easier and it is so very precious to hold your sleeping baby every once in a while. I know my baby days with Lucy are numbered. Every day she is acting older and older, so I really soaked the experience in.
All in all, kind of a miserable day, huh? But there were moments I really enjoyed and we laughed pretty hard, so it was better than staying home. I mean how boring would that be to just stay home all day on a rainy day? Oh well, someday we will make it to the zoo...hopefully before it is snowing!
