"Hey Mom, may I join you on your trip to Korea?"
"The Koreans will love my blue eyes."
"I know," said Whitney. "They will love your blue eyes and your cute smile."
"I just think I will miss all the kids too much."
"Who can take care of them?"
"Dad!"
"OK, let's go!"
Elise promised she would not cry for 22 hours during take off, landing, the entire flight, switching flights at the Beijing Airport, and getting on a second flight to Busan, South Korea. She promised to sleep most of the way. She promised to be a happy girl.
She kept all the promises.
Whitney and Elise in the airplane restroom - fun!
Everyone on the plane liked her.
They survived four hours at the Beijing airport.
Here she is!! They made it.
What a beautiful sight!
Here's your new granddaughter!!
We were so excited to see her.
We just wanted to hold her and hold her.
We couldn't stop playing with her and trying to make her smile and laugh.
Welcome to Busan! Elise took a nap and Bryan took Whitney for a short walk around the neighborhood.
At the traditional Korean market, this woman prepares crab, fish, dried fish, live fish in tanks, and more!
After a good night's sleep, we were off on our first outing. We had to stop by the Mission Home, which gave lots of missionaries a chance to meet Elise.
We knew the Sister missionaries would adore her, but we didn't realize the Elders would too. They were all smitten!
Now we are off to Beomosa Temple, one of the four most important temples in Korea, and just up the mountain from us.
Protecting from evil spirits
Whitney and Elise (in backpack) at the first gate. Notice the lanterns. There was some kind of celebration or festival taking place that night.
All of us at the second gate
The week before Whitney came, we had killer rainstorms, including a typhoon! The four days she was in Korea, we had perfect weather - beautiful.
At this point, the Korean harmonies (Grandmas) started noticing Elise. The rest of the trip was spent letting little cute ladies hold Elise, take pictures, touch her feet, grab her hands, speak Korean to her, sing to her, etc. These ladies were selling a "roof tile". You can pay money, write a wish on the roof tile, and they will use it somewhere on the temple. Of course she wanted to take a picture of the cute baby.
This cute little woman came out from her worshiping, played with baby for a long time, then kept following us around hoping to play with her some more.
Elise brought joy to lots of people. The Korean grandmas love babies, and they really love Caucasian babies with blue eyes, probably because they are such a rarity.
Old wall and bamboo
Of course Elise was always in a good mood.
At Buddhist temples, they make lunch for anyone who comes along. It is always rice, kimchi, and other vegetables to go on the rice. Buddhists are vegetarian and around the temples they have little gardens which helps supply the food for the monks who live there. The harmonies kept motioning for us to come in and eat. We decided to join them!
...which meant that one of the Grandmas stole Elise and just started speaking Korean and singing little songs to her. All of the other ladies were very jealous!
Elise is looking at her in disbelief. "Who is this woman holding me and what is she saying?"
Whitney, being the brave mom, pretty much gave up the fight and let everyone hold Elise, play with her, sing little songs, make funny noises, etc.
Notice we were all sitting on the floor, and using Korean (metal) chopsticks. Volunteers come and cook the food, serve it, and clean up. We know people who volunteer at their "temple" one day a month or one day a week.
One of the rules is that you have to eat "every grain of rice". They want people to appreciate the people who worked in the garden to grow the food, the people who prepare the food, and the blessing and energy that food is for our bodies. One problem arises if someone else dishes up your food. In one temple, a lady gave me a bowl of noodles with sauce, but the sauce was so spicy that my nose was running continually, and my eyes were weeping. I had to keep drinking glasses of water and blowing my nose until I finished every last bite. At one temple, a guy gave me about 10 sheets of seaweed...I sneaked back to the serving dish and put them back - whew!
Elise is still hanging in there with the first lady who grabbed her!
Bryan plays with Elise in the lunchroom.
Whitney and Elise in front of many statues.
We walked down the river before going back home.
I was so lucky that night.
I got to give Elise a bath
in the kitchen sink! She was agreeable and happy, as usual.
Now baby is so tired! What an angel.
The next day we dropped by the office and this time, Vicky met us with flowers. She wanted to hold and play with Elise.
Vicky LOVES babies! (Who wouldn't?)
The outing for the next day was to go up Geumjeong Mountain and take the cable car up the mountain, then hike around up on top.
View from the cable car
Once at the top, Elise took a nap in the backpack, and Whitney got to walk around and discover the old fortress!
Elise was a good hiker!
Heading down the path, we ran into some little gardens.
Around the corner was the South Gate
and the old fortress wall, built around 1700.
Whitney, Elise and Bryan at South Gate
Another small temple hidden on the mountain trail.
Buddhas are carved into the mountains and are sometimes hidden.
Another great outing with a happy baby and a terrific mom!
"Anyone can hold me - it's OK!"
Back down in the cable car
Tired girl!
The next day, Elise got her first ride on the subway.
Happy girl!
Before we even got on the subway, this woman was making a fuss over her and touching her feet.
Elise looks a little suspicious.
"Why are all these people waving at me and touching my feet?"
Whitney and Elise stand out in a crowd.
On another subway ride, Elise was reaching out and touching this man's arm. He glanced over and smiled. I think he felt very lucky.
Destination for the Day - Yonggungsa Temple
Elise on the elephant statue
Now Bryan is getting a lot of attention from passers by.
Beautiful pagoda, gorgeous day!
We went through this tunnel and down some stairs
to get to the "Buddha of Granting a Son". Of course we rubbed the Buddha's tummy!
Looking over the stone lanterns to the beach
A lot of people think Yonggungsa is the most beautiful temple, because it is on the ocean, where most temples are in the mountains. It is believed that the Gods watched over husbands who went out to sea to catch fish...so that they would return home safely.
Whitney was surprised at the complex process of throwing away garbage, and the fact that the signs are in Korean, Chinese, and English.
Buddha by the ocean
This bridge was being repaired,
so there were about four women who put a huge dish on their heads to carry the mortar (mud) across the bridge.
They went back and forth carrying the heavy mud on their heads, then they would climb up the little ladder and give the bowl of mud to the men putting the tiles on the roof.
The many different statues are bodhissatvas, someone who is on the path to enlightenment, and someone who generally shows great compassion.
Bodhissatvas hidden in the rocks
Whitney will be prosperous after rubbing Piggy's nose.
Next Stop - Haeundae Beach
Clean, beautiful sand and pretty much no one gets in the water.
Since Elise was being excellent, we decided to take a stroll around Dongbaekseom Island.
This house is the APEC house, built for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference. The conference is held here every few years.
We walked around the island and through a little park
and found ourselves in Gukje Market - a large outdoor traditional Korean market.
You can buy pretty much anything here: sunglasses, toys, souvenirs, and food! The tank below contained a lot of eels and some sea squirts in the upper right hand corner.
This tank has scallops, huge crabs, and some other various sea creatures.
Grilled abalone, raw?
Octopus, squid, grilled whole hagfish (looks like a giant worm), or live octopus! Watch it wriggle across your plate!
Pumpkins are not a decoration - they are a food! I liked the way they were stacked up here.
The sign says, "Very Famous Pig's Trotters".
I was happy that Whitney got to see bondegi! Worm larvae never looked so tasty! In the bags are ginseng roots, used for cooking and medicinal purposes.
Moving on, we decided to see the largest department store in the world-
Shinsaegae! It is really beautiful.
If you look right up the center, you can see all the floors in a spiral,
and a fountain for Elise to see!
We did not see 1/100 of the whole store, but we did get a glimpse of the ice skating rink, the theaters and restaurants, and the zillions of shopping possibilities.
The next day we got on the subway for another exciting day of activities. As I held Elise on the subway, four or five teenage girls just stood around her, looking at her and talking, touching her feet, making little noises...
We arrived at Busan Tower
and went up to the top to see the view!
There is a little park, a temple, statues, people playing rock music, and lots of people walking around. Elise, of course, was in a good mood.
so we decided to go to Book Street!
This Buddha was down the stairs from the tower on our way to see the BOOKS!
Elise loved Book Street.
I think this one is my favorite:
We met Vicky and her husband, who wanted to take us out for the evening (mostly to see Elise).
Destination for dinner - Chinatown! Did you know there is a Chinatown in Busan? There was a festival of some sort, so there were many lanterns, and many many people.
Elise was perfect at the restaurant, then Vicky's husband took us all around Busan at night to see the lights, the views, and to go many places we hadn't been before.
The next day, Whitney and Elise had to go home.
Nate was a wonderful father and husband to take care of Claire and Levi for a week!
Whitney brought us tons of "American" items, and took our orders over the phone. We appreciated all the sacrifices made by all of the family so that she could come and so that we could meet the little baby that everyone is talking about!
