Autumn Comes to Seoul

Weaver Adventure Blog for Week of October 25, 2012

So, the Seoul summer has definitely migrated south for the winter.   The leaves here are changing rapidly; the morning commute requires a jacket; the alarm goes off in what seems like the middle of the night, and we are, as usual, quite busy with school, work, projects, and life in general. 

A few updates: 

Getting acclimated:  We are adjusting more each day to our adopted city.  The stress around a trip to the store or to a new part of town is all but gone after some months of apprehension about getting lost or just wasting a lot of time.  We are avid users of public transport now and when we do need to take a cab we can communicate pretty well where we want to go.  I haven’t had to “phone a friend” in a couple of weeks, so that is progress.  Finding a parking spot when we do drive is still difficult, but I haven’t been ticketed or towed lately so, again, progress. 

Getting involved:  Through the kids’ school we have gotten involved with a small group of expats.  There are many activities and outings, and one we have tried is Scottish Folk Dancing.  Practice is once a week at the British Embassy, and the endpoint is the St. Andrew’s Society Fall Ball in late November.  Not sure I will go in a kilt and full regalia, but it looks like fun.  It’s an all night affair, with a big English breakfast the morning after.  I will try to get some pix and video to share.  Or perhaps not…

Getting visitors:  Pretty excited about a steady stream of visitors from the home office.  Over the next few weeks we expect a half-dozen or so travelers to swing through Seoul and say hello.  So far, however, no family or friends have made the journey, but we are hopeful in the new year a few will get on a plane and come check out our new city.

Getting out of the city:  We have not ventured out of the city much yet, but I had a chance to play a round of golf a few days ago and, while my performance was not pretty, the scenery was amazing.  The course we played is about 60 km from Seoul.  Here are some pix that some of the other players took.  Enjoy.

Until next time,

Weaver