It has been ages since I wrote on this blog. I now have new one called Iowa TOY 2014 that I plan on updating throughout this next year. But sometimes, oldies are goodies and as I reread about the flight to South Korea, I could not help but realize I never wrote about one of my favorite memories from South Korea. Seeing my daughter this weekend, we reminisced about this particular part of the South Korean adventure.
The day after my arrival in Busan, South Korea, my daughter and I rode a bus to her school - about a 10 minute ride from her apartment. She taught at a poor inner city school that was at the end of a winding street. In South Korea there are no names to the streets and the only markers are various buildings so you can find your way around the city. Once we got to her school, we realized we had forgotten some things at her apartment so I told her I would return to the apartment, scoop up the items, and return to her class. She asked if I thought I could do it and my pride got the better of me as I insisted I could.
I hopped on the bus, got to her apartment, scooped up the items, and hopped back on the bust towards her school. As I was traveling it suddenly dawned on me I had no idea where to get off. I also realized I had no South Korean currency, did not speak any of the language, and had a cell phone that would not work there. What was I to do? All the buildings looked the same. After riding for 1 1/2 hours I remember my son-in-law had said you cannot ride the bus to the end of the line because it winds for miles and miles throughout the mountains and the city. I hopped off the bus, went underground, and crossed to a bus headed back towards where I thought her school was. As the streets turned from four lanes to two lanes, I knew I was getting closer. At that point, I felt a tap on my shoulder and the lady behind me pointed out the window. There was my daughter Kate running alongside the bus, waving her hands, and yelling, "Mom!" I stood up, signaled for the bus to stop, and tumbled off into her arms. Both of us began to laugh so hard we were crying. She said she told another teacher she thought she had lost her mom. She decided to go down towards the street and only had 20 minutes between teaching classes. It was at this point she saw me looking blankly out the window of the bus trying to find a familiar landmark.
We learned after that experience. Next trip around South Korea I had currency, a book with addresses written in it, and a cell phone. I am not sure I could expect to be lucky enough to have someone familiar flag down the bus if I got lost again. I still smile when I think about this part of the trip!
