Sweet Date Night

Last Week (August 16th to be precise) we were having trouble accesing our bank account from the ATM's here. David doesn't get his first paycheck until September 10 and we were getting a little worried we would have to wait until we got our money transferred to a Korean bank account to get access (which would take a few weeks because we can't get one until we get our foreigner's card, which we are currently working on and takes some time). We only had about $30 cash left and were plotting how we could survive on it. How our family could eat for only a few dollars a day and go without any other wants. It was a little frustrating because there were a few normal things I would have liked to buy at the store like hangers and spoons, but I was willing to sacrifice. Thankfully, after walking from store to store and trying at least 10 ATM machines, we found an ATM at the train station that would accept foreign ATM cards! Hallelujah! To celebrate our new found access to all of our money Dave said he would take me out to a nice restaurant that night (he knew I had been dying to experience a nice full Korean meal and so of course I was thrilled!). So despite Dave's desires to save money in almost every way (including using a cardboard box for the laundry just to save money), he still knows how to take his wife out and splurge on a good time every now and then! (Thank you so much honey or "yabo" as they say in Korean. I hope you know how much I love and adore you!)

Here is the beautiful moon as it rises over some buildings and clouds on our way to the restaurant.

As pictured above, at a traditional Korean restaurant they have this cool way to cook meat right in front of you. There is hole in the table,which they place a sort of barbequing dish in and then use the funnel hose thing to take all the smoke outside. It is unique and fun watching them cook the meat right there in front of you.

Here is the spread (funny story about this picture: we asked the waitress to take a picture of our family and gave her the camera, and we all smiled as she was taking it. Later when I looked at the picture all she had taken it of was the food. I found it hilarious because I could have easily taken a picture of the food. How did she miss the fact that we wanted a picture of our family with the food when we were all smiling and looking at the camera? Gave us a laugh anyway!). Whether it is a formal meal or just some fast food they always have many side dishes. Kimchi is always one of them. It is fermented cabbage with garlic, anchovies and hot pepper sauce (and probably a few other things). Koreans thrive off of Kimchi. The first time I tried it at a Korean Restaurant a few years ago with David, I just about died because of how yucky I thought it was, however the more I eat it the more I like it. I actually found myself asking for seconds on the Kimchi yesterday! Whoa! My blood must be turning Korean or something!
We usually enjoy the waitresses holding and entertaining Lucy wherever we go. What a parents dream to eat with both hands while someone holds your baby! We are living the life! (As you can also see pictured above, Lucy is obsessed with getting her hands on this camera! She often points when it comes out!)

And the times when the waitress had to do a little work, Lucy had no problem entertaining herself. I think she thought this was one of the better date nights!

With the tables being on the ground everything was just the right size for her.

Ah, look at that cute Korean family! Okay, I guess we are not fooling anyone around here, but we are fitting in a little better these days. You have to give me props because I can use chopsticks with about 80% proficiency (so that means only about 20% of the food I eat goes on the ground, the table, my clothes and my face! I have actually always been a pretty messy eater, so with that being considered I have almost arrived.) I can even eat rice with chopsticks, not to mention, I can take seaweed, wrap the rice, and put it in my mouth all with chopsticks. Piece of cake! Big difference than our first week here. I was practically in tears eating out because I didn't want to offend anyone, but I was hardly getting any food and felt like I could write a weight loss book called "The Chopstick Diet!"

To finish the night we went and bought desseret called "Duck." It is blended up smooth rice with many different flavors and shapes. Our favorite flavors have a red sweet bean crushed up inside or sprinkled on top. Some are like bread or cake, others are more like dough balls or chewy sticks (I will have to get some pictures to help explain the delightful treat). They are really pretty looking and I am debating buying a few of them and stacking them for Lucy's first Birthday Cake. (I don't know about making a cake here! I don't have a cake pan or an oven, so chances are slim!) I am pretty much already addicted to these heavenly morsels! A few nights a week Dave buys them on his way home from work because they are half off at the end of the day. We decided we have to cut back a little or else our pocket book will shrink while our waistlines expand! Although we are just at the beginning of our adventures here, I can already tell there are many things I will miss when we leave!

Anyway, for a day that started with worries about money and going into the ultimate survival mode, it turned out to be nothing other than awesome!