Wednesday Part Two

June 11, 2025

I just woke up from a power nap. I woke up to find Jordan and Luke fast asleep. Jordan told us all that he is immune to jet lag. Clearly he was mistaken. The only one right now who seems to powering through is Aiden.

I earned my power nap. This morning I was determined to find a grocery store. Our host made it sound super close, so we were all up for the adventure. First we went to Starbucks which turned out to be one of the biggest and prettiest Starbucks I have ever been in. Although the barista spoke some English, I was brave and ordered my coffee in Korean. He was very impressed! Or at least I like to think he was.

After breakfast we headed to Hana-Ro Supermarket. At least that's what we thought we were doing. After about 20 minutes of walking, we still hadn't spotted it, so we turned around. Luke was breaking out in hives, so he had to come back to the apartment. Don't be alarmed. That is nothing new. Luke often breaks out in hives if he engages in any physical activity after eating. It's an unfortunate condition, but Luke has figured out a way to work it out to his advantage.

Me: I'm tired from cooking dinner today. Luke, can you clean up the dishes tonight?

Luke: Sorry, dear. I break out in hives if I am active after I eat!

I dropped Luke and the boys off at the apartment and then ventured out again. I was determined. I approached one coffee shop (there are dozens and dozens of them around!!) and asked the proprietor if she spoke English. She shook her head no. I went to the next and asked the same question. Thankfully he did and he pointed me in the direction of the supermarket. After walking for about 10 minutes, I still hadn't spotted it so I went on the hunt for another English speaking Korean. They are a bit hard to come by! Those that speak it, don't speak it well. One man walked with me for a little bit and then pointed to the corner and said that's where it would be. I walked to the corner. No grocery store. I found another woman who was willing to use a translator in her phone. We tried to communicate and then I read her phone and it said "There is no grocery store near her." Then she said something about the store being underground. What??

I tried searching online for the nearest grocery store. I found one that was under 1 km away, so I put that into the map app. I walked and walked and walked. I walked past the green house which is Korean's version of the White House. I walked past an embassy. Finally, I came to the grocery store. It turned out to be more like a small convenience store. The selection was small with hardly any fresh food. I turned right out again and managed to find my way back to the apartment.

It was at that point that I realized our host had sent me the address of the grocery store. It looked like it was only a 4 minute walk, so I headed out again. This time Luke and Aiden joined me. Jordan, my immune to jet lag kid, was too tired. Even with the map and the directions, we still got turned around. Finally we found it! A Korean woman literally walked us right to it otherwise we would probably still be outside looking. It was inside of a mall type thing. We had to walk in a door and pass a bakery, a jewelry store, a wine shop, and then finally it appeared. No wonder I couldn't find it!

Grocery shopping was quite an experience. There were some familiar items, and some very unfamiliar ones. Check out the pictures! We came home with snacks and ingredients for making simple breakfasts and lunches. Nothing much more than that. Now that we know where the store is, and realize that it is only a 4 minute walk, I'm sure we will go back many times.