Random pics from our first few weeks

After our first weekend, we busied ourselves getting accustomed to our life here.  Here are some pics to give you a glimpse.
 

Our apartment building, we live on the 13th floor



The view outside our kitchen window



Most Koreans don't have dryers, so we dry our clothes the old fashioned way.  I'm getting very used to this and am pondering to do this when I get back to save energy.  We know our clothes are clean when they're crispy!




 Outdoors + Playground = Happiness

 

Lindsay being Lindsay



We have a Costco in Daejeon!   



Lindsay with a slice of Bulgoki pizza



Lindsay loves fishcake skewers (eomuk kkochi) - she can eat three in one sitting!







As most of you know, we have been homeschooling Lindsay.  I came prepared to do the same here and brought my big box of homeschooling books.  Sam thought it would be a good opportunity for her to learn the language and meet people by attending school while we're here.  The area where we live is considered the "Silicon Valley" of Korea with lots of research institutes and companies.  To accommodate the families that return to Korea after having lived abroad, there is a school here that offers the Korean equivalent of ESL classes.  We visited the school to see if Lindsay could attend, and they said that given that we'd only be here for a short time, and that Lindsay did not have any documentation from her previous school, that they could not accept her as a student.  We accepted that and went home.  The next day, Sam mentioned that at work, and then a co-worker told his wife who teaches piano to a third grader who attends that school, whose mom mentioned it to his teacher, who, along with the mom, went back to the school and strong armed the administrators to accept Lindsay as a student.  A very interesting lesson as to how things get done around here.  

Lindsay's mugshot for the school application

I love the Korean school supplies!  So cute and colorful!

Daedeok Elementary School

Her smiling face when I pick her up 

I was worried about how Lindsay would adjust to school, given that she hadn't been to "school" since Kindergarten, and then to throw a new culture and language into the mix.  Her first day went great.  A boy in her class told the teacher that he thought L was "beautiful" and then he proceeded to give her 1000 won!  Another nice girl bought her two belts from the school store.  Lindsay felt quite welcomed to my great relief.  She has adjusted nicely and is now reading Korean!  She's slowly starting to speak it, albeit with a heavy American accent.  We're proud of her.   Oh, and we made her write thank you note to the boy and give the money back.  :O)