Trip update #2

Wow, so where to start... first of all, it's lovely to see the folks, and it was really nice to hang out, albeit briefly, with my mom's extended family. They were all nuts about Ruby. Ruby looked a little deer-in-headlights for a while with so many new people and places, but she adjusted pretty nicely and had a great time with the relatives.

Then we came down here to Pohang. I have to say that I panicked at first. The part of the city that my parents live in (northern suburb) is not at all suited for children. This whole place is surrounded by massive construction projects, so it's smelly, noisy, and dusty. And there are no sidewalks, traffic lights, or stop signs, so it's really dangerous to go walking or driving. Which doesn't stop us, of course, because what 19 mo old wants to stay cooped up in a miniscule apartment all day long? There were no toys at my parents' place except the few books and toys we brought for the plane ride, and not even a mall or other indoor play area nearby. And I wasn't about to have her watch TV all day either. So this whole last week, I've been riding around with my parents to find good places for her that are relatively close by. There's a beach not far from here that she loved (and I did too), and there's a couple little playgrounds in a nearby apartment complex. We also bought some toys for her so she's better about sticking around at home. The adjustment cost a little-- Ruby's been sucking her thumb a lot more, nursing more, and reacts badly to strangers. But she's still bright and happy, and is sleeping well, and eating well, so I'm pretty content.

We'll be here this week and a bit into the next and then we'll head back up to Seoul for a couple days and then back to Minnesota. More updates will be coming!