It's been about a week since Mom and Dad came to visit. It was short and sweet, packed full of wonderful experiences with two people we love dearly. It had been over a year since we had last seen each other. Rebs went via KTX train and Seoul subway to eventually pick them up at the Incheon Airport. They bussed back and then taxi'd here. Their arrival date was June 18th, my mom's birthday. So while Rebs was in transit picking them up, I was home getting good food from Costco and making the ugliest, but most delicious carrot cake known to man, finishing just in time for their arrival.
Over the following week, we did all sorts of fun and active things to give them a glimpse into our lifestyles across the sea, as well as experience a country and culture that was equally foreign. It was fun to watch them shed their timidity slowly, but surely. My dad and I took a bike ride on the riverside path near our house. We took them to the local farmer's market and tried some new foods (no silk worm larvae though). We went swimming together at a local indoor pool that I frequent. We took them to the climbing gym to meet our local climbing community. We also went to Gyeongju (경주), Korea's old capital, to meet our friend Chris who acted as our tour guide as we biked around the city. They got to see some Buddhist temples and old carvings in the granite rocks around the mountainside. And they also got their first experience of Korean food, bibimbab (mixed veggies, rice, and an egg in a hot bowl). While we were around the apartment, Rebs and Mom bought some pots and dirt to plant the seeds Mom brought over to help Rebs start her herb garden up on the rooftop. (We already have basil, oregano, and cilantro already sprouting after just a week!) We went together as a family to get acupuncture. And we had our friends over for a barbeque on the rooftop, so they could all meet Mom and Dad. We played a Korean version of "Catch Phrase" that I made up using different words and phrases you use and hear as a foreigner in Korea. The girls won (of course), and their prize was hugs from Mom and Dad.
The most important thing about my parents' trip, in my eyes, was that we just got to spend some quality time with them. Living over here, we only see our families on Skype every so often. You don't realize how much a hug is worth until you have to go without. We got to catch up with them. And even though we went all over the place and showed them many things, we made sure to savor our time in relaxing in each other's company, reveling in the depth of conversation. There is sometimes this imaginary barrier to a Skype call that keeps you from getting beyond the surface. So getting to spend so much time with Mom and Dad helped us to break past that barrier. It meant a lot for my parents to spend the time and money to come to the other side of the world just to see us. Now I feel like they know us better, and how to relate to us more. Thanks Mom and Dad!
