Does anyone know where we're going?
The last two days have been a bit of a blur. Half the day time no one in the family had any idea what was going on. We spent a lot of time with Mrs. Yoo. On Sunday she invited us to church. Over 8 hours later, we finally returned home. On Saturday she invited us to an event at a local school of Confucianism. I'm still not entirely sure what that was all about. I believe we witnessed a wedding, but I think the couple had already been married. And I think Luke and I were posing as a bride and groom at one point as well. See what I mean? We had no clue. Sunday we went to church and then Mrs. Yoo brought us around to all kinds of different places. Everywhere we went people were talking fast Korean all around us and the four of us just dumbly followed wherever we were led.
It's hard to even explain what we did, so I'll let the pictures do the talking!
Arriving at the school of Confucianism. We had no idea what we were getting into!
The first station involved making a stamp of our names
This lady was breathing down my neck instructing me over and over what to do. But it was all in Korean, so I was completely confused!
After the stamps, we were led outside to a different building. It was pouring buckets outside.
One of the buildings of the school
We entered the next building and were immediately approached by people who started dressing us.
The boys had no choice but to comply. It's hard to say no to a Korean woman!
We all painted our names in Korean. This man was breathing down my neck while I worked. Evidently they didn't trust that the white girl would know what she was doing!
The finished product
The adults were trying to get the boys to pound the bean paste. Jordan was nominating Aiden.
Both boys ended up doing it and so did I. That mallet was hard for me to handle!
Making a rice cookie. The gal in the background with the black shirt and canvas bag is Grace. We are unsure of her role but she was with us everywhere we went. She spoke no English, but loved taking pictures!
A wedding. Two couples were getting married. But everyone was talking in the background, so I'm still unclear if this was a real wedding.
The exact words I said to Mrs. Yoo were, "Did you have a wedding like that?" Her response was, "I don't know. Let me check." Clearly she misunderstood and thought I said I wanted a wedding like that. Next thing we knew, several Korean women were dressing us up. And you just couldn't say no!
Luke and Mrs. Yoo
We ate chicken at the babies' home after church. There were several chicken feet included!
Luke's former orphanage. Mrs. Yoo is dedicating her life to restoring this space to a museum documenting the Korean war and the adoptions that resulted from it. The scope of the project is enormous and she is organizing it all by herself. She says it's her last big job. I wish I could stay back and help her. Several buildings are under construction and she has plans for all of them.
Discussing all of her plans for this space with us
This space is completed. It's the former building where the jaundiced babies would live. They had no treatment so the treatment was just to expose them to as much light as possible. Toys from the orphanage are on display.
I loved these pictures. It shows all the love that was poured into these kids during a very difficult time.
Right behind the babies home is the Sajik Park Observatory Tower
Sitting on the top of the tower. It looks cloudy, but it was actually a very sunny day.
The view from the tower- the building on the bottom right with the green roof is part of the orphanage
Mrs. Yoo's car right by the main gate to the orphanage. It is also right by the parking to the tower. When we arrived, someone was parked there. Everyone has their phone numbers in the windshields, so they called the phone number and told the person to move their car.
Standing in front of the missionary's house. This was where the orphanage was started. I think. Again, the language barrier made communication difficult.
All of a sudden we found ourselves at an archery facility. Like I said, we never knew what was happening or where we were going!
And then we found ourselves eating more chicken! Everyone was talking in Korean all around us and trying to engage with us. The little Korean I learned wasn't enough to participate in any small talk! After this we all were taught how to shoot the arrows. Luke and the boys did great! I struggled. No surprise there!
Then Mrs. Yoo drove us to the university in town that boasted this beautiful view. Again, we had no idea where we were headed. We just let her drive us where she wished. Aiden was pretty done with it at this point!
Our Airbnb in Gwangju. In a couple hours we head out to the airport. Today we are taking a short flight to Jeju Island. We are all excited to see the beach!
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