Going back to where it all started

Monday - the day we have be waiting for, our opportunity to go to Korea Social Services (KSS) to see our children and to meet the wonderful staff of KSS, the Miyashita family from Ohio who also traveled to bring their daughter home and the three staff members from the Michigan office of FAC that will be escorting the other three children back home to the US.


We started our day with breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and headed back to one of our favorite shopping areas parts of the city, Insa-dong.  I was on a mission to exchange the hanbok I bought for Joseph Sung Min for one in a larger version since the one from Omma and Appa can be used for another year or more.  The woman was kind enough to exchange it with no hassles, even without the receipt I left back on the table in our room.  Ooops!! Somehow we were able to pick up a few more items for friends and family and again enjoyed strolling through the streets finding the truly unique items among the more standard touristy items.  This trip has definitely given me a much deeper appreciation of the Korean culture and their arts.  Truly stunning, with an incredible history.  We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our trip to KSS.  (One thing I am not going to miss is the oppressive humidity.  I thought it was bad back in Ohio, but this takes it to a whole new level!!)


The taxi ride to KSS took around 45 minutes and we saw some beautiful mountains and scenery that we hadn't had the pleasure of seeing up close during our previous days in the center of Seoul.  We chatted about our expectations - Amy had been forewarned by her social worker that Elena is very wary of strangers (she is VERY attached to her Omma) so she is not expecting a warm reception but is eagerly anticipating seeing and holding her daughter for the first time.  I, too, am expecting Joe to cry and be squirmy and head straight for his Omma.  We arrived at KSS the same time that Elena In Hee and her foster mom, as well as Jack (Amy's son's foster mom) so she had a nice little reunion right there in the parking lot.


We were taken inside the main building of KSS and waited in a little room with the Miyashita family, their six year old son, Max, is adorable and kept us entertained.  The Miyashitas and Amy were taken upstairs to meet with their kids while I went on a tour of the KSS grounds with Michelle, one of of the escorts from Michigan.  She has been to Korea over 60 times over the past 25 years, so this is very bittersweet for her to see KSS closing.  I can only imagine how beautiful this was back in the day -- even with the grounds needing a little upkeep, I thought the campus was very stately and could picture it filled with kids, being treated so lovingly by the staff.

 The main entrance to KSS

 The placard on the building

 The "famous" rug seen in all of the update pictures

 Another one of the buildings where the older children lived

 The clothes lines that used to be filled with diapers

Me in front of KSS

After the tour, I went upstairs to wait for Omma and Joseph Sung Min and to take pictures of Amy interacting with Elena In Hee.  That girl is absolutely stunning -- and looks like a Monchichi doll.  The cutest. thing. ever.

It was great to see Kyung Sook and Joseph Sung Min again.  He was understandably hesitant around me and sought comfort and safety from his Omma.  He is a very curious boy and checks everything out.  He did let me hold him and I found out that he LOVES to be thrown up in the air and have "up/downs" just like Olivia did when she was younger.  He also likes to be swayed and swung around a little while being held.  In all, it was a great visit and were so surprised to learn that not only Appa and their son (I don't know how to spell his name) and Holmoni came to see us.  It was great to see them again and I had to take a picture of Appa in the Indian's shirt we brought him.  They are just too cute.  I love that whole family.

 Amy holding Elena for the first time. How precious

Amy comforting Elena In Hee

 What a cutie!!

 Elena and her Omma

 Me and Joseph Sung Min

 Omma and her little man

Appa and their little cutie

The ladies at KSS called a cab for us and we headed back to the hotel to do a quick change and head back out to Itaewon to have dinner with the FAC ladies and the Miyashita family.  We had a great dinner (Italian) and got the low down on everything that we needed to do on Wednesday at the airport.

We ended up our evening in Myeong-dong doing some more shopping (Brian sent me on a mission to bring home some music and DVDs for the little big man.  Mission accomplished.  It also afforded us amazing people watching and a glimpse into the Korean night life.

With our agenda all set for our last full day in Korea, we headed to bed with hopes of a good night's sleep -- that will be a commodity from here on out.