Maedeup Update

This is my latest maedeup. My teacher had me put a pin back on it to wear as a pin or as a purse accessory. I'm too afraid it would fall off and I would lose it so I opted for making it a wall decoration. You should see the walls in my apartment. Everywhere you look from the moment you walk in the door is maedeup.

A funny thing happened last week when I arrived for class. My teacher and the maedeup shop owner were t having a discussion at the table where I sit. I took my regular spot at the opposite end of where they were sitting and began working. The shop owner then proceeded to carry on her conversation with my teacher in hushed Korean whispers. We were the only three in the entire shop and on a good day, I can understand about 10% of a Korean conversation.

I think they were discussing ideas for new classes. What's the big secret? I was just shaking my head chuckling to myself at how absurd the whole situation was. My teacher had to lean way over the table just to hear what the shop owner was saying.

I don't have class this week since it is vacation week at the maedeup shop. My Korean girlfriends plus my maedeup teacher are coming over for the day on Sunday. I feel SO honored that my maedeup teacher wants to visit me. We are going to do some maedeup and I'm sure we'll be eating something. I also need to start thinking about the maedeup test in September.

What's Hot in South Korea This Summer

I thought the U.S. beef protests had died down but apparently I was wrong. There was more prostingin Seoul this past weekend. I must say they are getting more creative. I thought this was hilarious.

Besides the temperature being in the 90's with a heat index in the 100's, I've been reading about the "Hello Kitty" summer promotion at Korean 7-11 stores. With a purchase of 4000 won ($4 US), you can get (depending on the clerk) one or more world flower magnets. Ever since I heard about it, I've been keeping my eye out for a 7-11.

As we were taking the bus from Seoul home on Saturday, I noticed we passed a 7-11 not too far from our Home Plus (at least it looked that way from the bus). Today I decided to hunt down the 7-11 on my way to yoga class. I walked past the Home Plus and continued walking for about 4 blocks. By now, I was dripping in sweat and getting really thirsty. I had walked a total of a 1/4 of a mile when I saw the sign!

I went in and bought a water along with a few other items to get me over the 4000 won and proceed to the checkout. She totalled the items and I paid. She considered the transaction done so I asked, "Hello Kitty?" She gave me three magnets.

By this time I was late to yoga and in no condition to sweat it up with a grueling yoga session but I went anyway. I wasn't the only one with sweat pouring down my face. We had just completed a set of exercises on our back and were proceeding to sit cross-legged when I looked to the Korean guy next to me and saw a pool of water where his head once once. Yikes!

I came home after yoga and was pretty spent most of the afternoon. I have a book deadline this month so I can't really afford to take any time away from the computer.

More Mexican Food in South Korea

I had heard about a new Mexican restaurant called On the Border in the COEX Mall. It was a great opportunity to meet again with my Korean girlfriends. I hadn't seen them in a few weeks which is a long time in Korean terms. The restaurant was near the Hyundai Department Store but it was still hard to find and the girls had to ask several times to find it. One of the foods I crave is Mexican and restaurants aren't as plentiful as in the U.S.



The above photo shows my lunch which was a chicken burrito and a salad. The burrito came with a white sauce over that wasn't too bad. The chips and salsa were delicious.



Curt (hubby) had the chimichanga. He still preferred the food at Dos Tacos near Gangnam Station.


Hellena had a quesadilla and a bowl of chicken tortilla soup.



Hannah had beef and shrimp fajitas. After we finished eating we picked up some patbingsu, which is sweet red beans and shaved ice. It is combined with some milk and assorted fruit. It is what Koreans eat to cool off in the summer. We brought the patbingsu to a Starbucks for coffee. The Starbucks was packed with people. We had to wait a few minutes to find an open table.

The funniest thing we saw while enjoying our coffee and patbingsu was taking place in a coffee shop right across from ours. Curt noticed a Korean guy with his head on the table while his Korean girlfriend was systematically using her fingers to comb through his hair and then plucking something out every once in a while. This went on for some time and we were really entertained by the whole thing.

Hannah said that the girlfriend was plucking gray hairs. Honestly, these two looked like they were in their early 20's. We asked Hannah if this was something you see couples doing in public and she gave us a funny look and said, "No."

The only bad news of the day is I have a sore tooth and it is sore even when I don't chew on that side. I was hoping to be able to wait until we visit the U.S. this Christmas to have it looked at but now I'm not so sure. I just don't like going to the dentist so I will be deciding soon if I need to see the Korean dentist Curt saw. I'm wishing and hoping the pain will just go away.

Conclusion of The Tale of Three Taxis in South Korea

In case you were unaware of the saga, you can click here to read all the gory details that led to the action we took. We filed a formal complaint with our local province against the two taxi drivers who overcharged us a month ago. We finally got a Korean resolution. Curt (hubby) received the following email:

안녕하세요!
인천 서구청 교통 민원과 입니다
선생님께서 접수하신 불편신고에 대해서는
과태료 10만원이 부과되었습니다
이번일로 인해 한국에 대해 좋지않은 인상을
심어주었을까 염려스럽습니다.
그점 사과드리고요~~
남은 여행은 즐겁고 좋은 추억으로
다시찾고픈 한국 여행이길 바랍니다.
돌아가실때는 좋은 추억과 좋은 인상을 가지고
돌아가셨습 좋겠습니다.

Basically, they found fault with the drivers and each were fined 100,000 won ($100 US). They also hoped that this wouldn't tarnish our opinion of South Korea. I had hoped that we would receive some type of compensation but that wasn't the case. When we first filed, we were offered 100,000 won ($100US) by the taxi company to drop the complaint which we refused. We still are out our overpayment to the taxi drivers of 100,000 won and the time it took that night to come to some sort of understanding.

My feelings have not changed and I am still very angry at the feeling of being held hostage by these unscrupulous taxi drivers. I don't know and doubt that they were punished any more than the fine which was half of what our overpayment was to begin with. I still wish to warn all travelers to South Korea to be very leery of the taxis at the Incheon airport. If you can have a Korean meet you at the airport, you will be a lot better off.

It's All About the Food in South Korea

This was Curt's (hubby) choice on a recent shopping trip to our local Home Plus (like a U.S. Target). We have some of our best meals in the Home Plus food court. Most the choices are 5000-7000 won ($5-7 US). It's way too much for me to eat but Curt always takes up my slack. He had bibimbap with the usual sides.



I chose the above assortment because I was hungry for some shrimp. I didn't notice until Curt pointed it out that the soup had octopus in it which I don't like. I ate around the octopus and he finished the rest of the soup for me.


We also went to E Mart which again is like a Home Plus. We were looking for ink cartridges for our Korean printer. We found a hot dog shop and as we waited for our food, we noticed this sign on the wall. It reads "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!" We got a laugh out of it. I think my territory is "large" enough thank you.


The hot dog shop is what we would call in the U.S. a fast food restaurant but in South Korea even at McDonalds, everything is made to order. So it took at least 5 minutes for our hot dogs, I mean hamburgers to arrive. No ketchup and mustard here. Mine was supposedly a cheese hot dog. It did come with cheese along with some type of coleslaw, sweet pickles and a dark sweet sauce (bulgogi). It was interesting to eat and very delicious.

I also heard from the U.S. that a Dr. Fish (fish pedicure) type spa has opened in the United States. It was even on Good Morning America yesterday. I am surprised at how much it is: $35 for 15 minutes and $50 for 30 minutes. Here we pay 2000 won ($2 US). Of course, we have to purchase a 8000 won drink to accompany the Dr. Fish. I wondered about the U.S. Department of Health and Safety's perspective on it. We have seen stories about people getting nasty infections from Dr. Fish but I think they went in with an open sore or something that festered after the Dr. Fish. I had told Curt that we should open one when we return to the U.S. and I guess someone beat us to it.

Something Smells Kinda Funny Around Here

We are into the steamy, hot summer here in South Korea. I've noticed recently as I pass by the oriental medicine clinic on my way to yoga a very strange odor coming from the clinic. To be perfectly honest, it smells a lot like marijuana. I know it is illegal in South Korea so I am really wondering exactly what it is I'm smelling.







Another stinky thing in South Korea came when I recently had a cheeseburger set at my local McDonald's. The tray came with this paper on the tray. The part that irked me was the "Clean & Safe." You wonder why Koreans are reacting to the U.S. beef importing when we have even American owned (at least last I heard) buying into the hysteria. It just offended me by insinuating that American beef is not clean, let alone safe.


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Advertising in South Korea

The Koreans have a unique way of advertising their businesses. Last week, a new beer hof (bar) opened near our apartment. The music and dancing girls began at about one in the afternoon. Even with all my windows closed, I could hear the blaring music and the nonstop Korean pouring out of a microphone.

This isn't the first we've seen this in our neighborhood but this time it was close enough for me to capture some of it on our video camera. Korean girls DO NOT normally dress so scantily but it is common for these type of dancers to dress in very short shorts and skimpy bras. They also always have lots of blown up props to draw attention along with a disco ball.

The bar was on a rooftop and with all the noise, the bar generated three patrons in the course of the afternoon and evening. I don't know if I would call that a success but at least it only lasted one day.

New Development at Yoga

After yoga, we always sit on the floor around a table and drink some tea. Conversations go on around me in Korean and I usually have a conversation with my 72 year old yoga buddy. It has been this way since I started back in March. Last week as I sat down to drink my tea with my yoga buddy, the manager (owner) came out. She doesn't teach very often but she recently told me in her limited English that she really wants to learn English. She sometimes joins us for tea but what was unusual this time was that everyone got up and left as soon as she came into the room.



This left me and my yoga buddy. They began a conversation that got more heated by the moment. After about 10 minutes, I asked him what was going on and he didn't want to tell me. After five more minutes, I asked again and he said that the manager was complaining that we were talking in English too much. My yoga buddy was really offended and was letting her know. I was really shocked! I asked him if someone had complained and he first denied it but later confirmed that it had happened.



Apparently, people are wondering what we are talking about. In our defense, most of our conversations he interprets for the others because a lot of times I am asking questions. I know a little Korean but not enough to carry on a conversation. I do talk to the other women in the dressing room even if we don't totally understand each other. I've had most of them show me their phones which have pictures of their grandchildren.



Finally, after 20 minutes, she looked at me and said, "Becky! I love you!" I said, "Kamsamnida (thank you in Korean)." We then got up and left. My yoga buddy was really angry and I was still in shock that the whole thing happened. I have no idea who would have complained about it. My yoga buddy also said that they complained that when he spoke English, he spoke very loudly which isn't true at all.



Honestly, this did upset me and I wondered how I would feel about yoga. I am only going on Tuesdays and Thursdays right now because of how busy I am. When I went the following time after this incident, everything was as it always was. I decided to do a little shopping after yoga, and as I exited Home Plus, I ran into one of the yoga ladies. She speaks absolutely no English but we seem to communicate fine and she is one of my favorites. She always has a huge smile to greet me. She insisted on taking me for mandu for lunch. My bag was pretty heavy and she also helped me carry that with her taking one handle and me, the other handle. It's a common thing to see in Korea.



She ordered mandu for us and honestly, seven mandu fills me up. Somehow that got lost in communication and after the mandu came the pork cutlet above for me. I thought I would die! I was so full but I had to at least make an attempt and I ate half of it. She was watching everything I was doing and I didn't want to offend her.



While we were waiting for our food, she wanted to see what I bought at Home Plus. So I pulled out my spaghetti sauce, potatoes, milk... She was fascinated with what I bought. We had a great lunch and parted afterwards. It was a wonderful experience.


She did let me take a picture of her. I really need to learn her name but I have a hard time remembering Korean names. They are very different than U.S. names.

A Trip to a Korean Dentist

Curt (hubby) has had a tooth that has been bothering him for awhile now. He decided to visit a dentist here in Korea instead of waiting until our U.S. visit at Christmas. He's a lot braver when it comes to dentists than I am. I had a tooth start to hurt shortly after we moved here but it only hurt to eat on that side. So I only ate on the opposite side and saw my favorite dentist during our Christmas visit. I ended up with my first root canal and I was happy to do it in the States. I have a extreme fear of dental work due to some nasty experiences as a child.

But I promised Dr. Isaacson that if I did indeed go to a Korean dentist I would take pictures for him. So this is for you, Dr. Isaacson! I'm just so glad it was Curt and not me in the chair! I researched the local dentists with my yoga buddy, Mr. Choi. They all had their chairs lined up one after the other and you could watch someone being worked on not only next to you but as you wait in the waiting room. We found this dentist that has a partition so you can't see people being worked on from the waiting room, and he also had a private room (very important to this American). Mr. Choi said that he was very expensive but I told him I didn't care, so we made an appointment.

The appointment was for Saturday and luckily my Korean girlfriends were coming over to help me with my book and for a sleepover. They were happy to accompany us to the the dentist. The photo above is Curt filling out the paperwork with the help of Hellena.



The dental office was a little taken aback by the arrival of Curt and his entourage (me, Hellena, Hannah and Jennifer). They thought we must be pretty important.


Here is Curt in the semi private room (no one was in the other chair until later) waiting for the dentist.

Some of those scary dental instruments.

The back counter was covered with stuff.

This is warning you to not using your cell phone during the exam. That's an important reminder for Koreans.

Here is Curt's x-ray. It's funny in Korea he is 51 when he is actually 49.

This was the other chair area. I looked into Curt's bucket and it contained a couple of dental scraps. Yuck!!

They also assigned three assistants to Curt instead of one. The dentist came in and spoke very little English. He sprayed air on Curt's tooth to make sure it was the correct tooth. It ended up being two areas that were bothering him. The dentist gave Curt some Novocaine and then did a little drilling of some decay and filled the areas. He said that if he still had pain, then he would need a root canal.

While Curt was getting worked on, I sat in the waiting room with Hellena and Jennifer. The receptionist kept apologizing for how much this was going to cost. She was clearly upset. We are not on the National Health Care plan and the total bill was 200,000 WON ($200 US). Normally, it would have been 7000-30,000 WON ($7-$30US). I told Hellena to reinforce to the receptionist that it was OK! The staff was also commenting on how tall Curt is (just under 2 meters). They had never seen anyone so tall.

After Curt was done, we were told that if he needed a root canal they would put the 200,000 WON towards it. The root canal would be an additional 100,000WON ($100US). So far so good, no more pain. I asked if they offer gas (laughing) and they were really surprised I asked and said that it was only for children.

Of course, we had to have some lunch afterwards. We found a restaurant that specializes in gamjatang. I didn't know it was made with pork spine but it was really good.

Lots of sides. Hannah was picking up each black bean with her chopsticks. I asked her why she didn't use a spoon and get a lot more for the effort. She gave me a funny look and said that they wouldn't taste as good. After lunch, the girls went back to Seoul and we went home. It was a great time.

Pink and Orange

Pink seems to the the mandatory color wore by little girls here in South Korea. It may be as little as a hair bow or shoelaces but I have yet to find a little Korean girl without some pink on her. One time when I asked my Korean girlfriends what their favorite color was, they answered "pink." Backpacks come in pink and blue along with pencil cases and everything else you can imagine. We also have seen a few little Korean boys carrying pink backpacks. I'm sure it's gotta be hand me down from an older sister. Maybe that's what starts the pink trend with the 20 something Korean males. They love their pink shirts and ties.



A new boutique opened up in my neighborhood and this little orange (yes, I said orange) purse was accessorizing an outfit. I walked by it for a week and was just drawn to it for some reason. I really wanted it. Then one day it was gone. Oh, well. A few days later I noticed is had just been moved from the front window to a shelve inside the store.

I was telling Curt (hubby) about it on one of our walks. As we walked by the store, we went it and I picked it up for the first time. I just loved it and so sweetheart that he is, he asked if I wanted it. Of course I said, "YES." The salesclerks were pretty excited to have us in the store and thrilled that we bought something. I never thought I would want an orange purse but I love it!

Han's Deli

We discovered Han's Deli when we were staying near the Suwon Station waiting for our ocean shipment to come it. It had a picture menu and when venturing out to eat with non Koreans, a restaurant with a picture menu is always a good idea.

Recently one opened up near our apartment and we were excited to visit. Their menu is definitely Western oriented from pasta to quesadillas. The picture above is what Curt (hubby) ordered.

I ordered a pasta with white sauce. I forgot the name that they used. The food is great and we also get free sweet pickles!

The restaurant is on the second floor looking over a busy intersection so we always seem to choose the same booth with a window view. This is one of the plants that was bought by friends and family for the opening. We never read the English on it until now. It says: Flower Garden Romantic style & Tomato. My mom would have to agree, tomato goes with everything!

Dinner with a Korean Family

Friday night we had dinner with a co-worker of Curt's (hubby) and his family. They have a six year old boy and a two year old girl. We went to a local restaurant and then returned to our apartment for brownies and ice cream. This is their little girl. They had just returned from 1 1/2 years in Poland. They brought us a bottle of Polish vodka. Both parents spoke English well.

This is their little boy. He knows English pretty well from attending an English only speaking school in Poland. His dad wanted him to speak in English but he was too shy. We had a great time.

The U.S. beef protest this past weekend totalled 50,000 and we avoided Seoul the entire weekend. We had plenty to do around the apartment. It is getting really hot and muggy out so whenever we venture out, we end up getting pretty sweaty. I can't wait for Fall! The air conditioner is running 24 hours a day.

Create & Decorate Magazine

I have a polymer clay project in the August issue of Create & Decorate magazine. It is a butterfly and caterpillar and can be found on page 61.

On a scarier note, we received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Seoul warning Americans to stay away from the beef protests this weekend. They are saying that 1 million Koreans are going to protest the resuming of U.S. beef imports. This has been going on for a few months now but it is getting a lot more violent. Here is the email:

The U.S. Embassy in Seoul is transmitting the following information through the Embassy's warden system as a public service to all U.S. citizens in the Republic of Korea. Please disseminate this message to U.S. citizens in your organizations or to other Americans you know.The U.S. Embassy urges American citizens throughout the Republic of Korea to exercise caution during demonstrations and vigils protesting the resumption of American beef imports and the policies of the Korean Government. The protests, which began eight weeks ago, have become more violent in recent days. Korean authorities stated on June 29 that they would crack down further on violent protesters. They have begun using water cannon and fire extinguishers to stop the advance of demonstrators and have stated that they reserve the right to use tear gas. Up to this point the demonstrations have not been overtly anti-American in nature, but American citizens are nevertheless strongly urged to avoid the areas of the protests and to exercise extreme caution if within the vicinity of demonstrators. The center of protests in Seoul has thus far been Seoul Plaza in front of City Hall, with demonstrators frequently attempting to move north along Sejongno toward the Blue House, the Presidential residence. American citizens should stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to keep the American citizen community informed of any changes in the overall security situation via this email system and the Embassy websites at http://seoul.usembassy.gov and www.asktheconsul.org. The Embassy encourages all U.S. citizens to register their presence in Korea with the American Citizens Services office at the U.S. Embassy or via the Internet at http://travel.state.gov/travel/abroad_registration.html or http://www.asktheconsul.org/.

We weren't planning on going into Seoul this weekend and will definitely being laying low. American beef sales just resumed this week and the first store to advertise selling U.S. beef sold out in 5 hours. It was also 30% cheaper than Korean beef.

This whole beef about the beef reminds of the problems Oprah had years ago with Texas beef producers. I'm learning that no matter what country you are in, DON'T MESS WITH THE BEEF!

Tonight is dinner out with a co-worker of Curt's (hubby) and his family. They have two kids who will also be going along. Dessert is at our house and I'm cracking open that box of brownies I paid way too much for.

The Tale of Three Taxis in South Korea

I've been wrestling for a few weeks with three incidents involving Korean taxis that occurred over the week that my sister visited. I am not new to taxis in Korea and I've heard all kinds of stories, especially involving Incheon Airport. We know that if you are approached in the airport by a taxi driver instead of catching one at the taxi stand, you have a good chance of getting ripped off, and it did happen to my husband one time years ago. The only problem I have encountered is my inability to flag a taxi. At least in Suwon, the drivers seem relunctant to pick up the foreign girl, but other than being a little irritated, I've managed.

I've been waiting for my temper to cool but that just isn't going to happen for some time so let's start the story with Taxi #1. Curt (hubby) ended up flying back to Korea from a business trip the same night that my sister was getting in and would be arriving two hours before her flight. I took the Suwon to Incheon Airport bus to meet him and to have some dinner before the girls got in. I arrived at the airport without any problems and was able to meet Curt and have a wonderful cheeseburger dinner.

We were planning on taking the bus back to Suwon but the last bus left at 10:40 pm. As it turned out, our visitors arrived late and we had to take two taxis back to Suwon. We went to the taxi stand for our area where it clearly states that the cost will be 70,000WON ($70 US) plus tolls. We've done this enough times to know it comes to about 80,000 WON ($80US). The first two taxis lined up were very anxious to take us. Curt got in one taxi with my sister and cousin. I was in the other taxi with my niece. By now, it was around 11:00pm. My taxi driver clearly was the leader of the two. He took my namecard, which has all my address information and he programmed it into his GPS. Curt's taxi was to follow us.

We went screaming down the highway at 120 - 150 kilometers per hour only slowing in the speed camera areas. We would be home in 45 minutes - or so we thought. My taxi driver had his radio screaming so I didn't hear that Curt had been calling me and that an hour had gone by. I finally answered and he said that we had passed Suwon some time ago. As I looked out, I saw the sign for "Everland" and I knew we had overshot Suwon by a good 10-20 miles. The driver pulled off at the next opportunity and said that he had gotten lost and he knew where to go now. Sure!

We did end up home after about 1 hour 45 minutes. Then came the shocker. He said we owed 360,000 WON ($360US)for the two taxis! Are you freaking kidding me????? We refused to pay that. After about 15 minutes, I tried to call both my girlfriends and my yoga buddy. No one answered but of course it was well after midnight. My yoga buddy called after a few minutes and I told him the situation. He talked to the driver and finally told us we had to pay. No way!!! I left Curt with the taxis and took everyone up to the apartment and got them settled in. I told them to go to bed and I would see them in the morning.

I came back down and Curt was still arguing with the driver. He even had Curt get into his cab to look at his GPS. A funny thing too, HE NEVER TURNED ON HIS METER! He finally did when we were haggling about the price. Curt said that his driver never turned his meter on either. Not a good sign!! I told Curt to charge it so we could reverse the charges later. Of course, the driver didn't take a credit card - isn't that convenient. Luckily, I had my camera and during the negotiating, I took a few pictures of the taxi.

We finally agreed on 260,000 WON ($260 US). We know if we had called the police it would have been worse since they probably wouldn't know English and would only get one side of the story so we did what we had to do and paid. The next day, my yoga buddy came over and got all the information and filed an official complaint with the province. We could agree to get the overpayment of $100,000 WON ($100US) refunded if we agree to drop the charges. I said that we would drop the charges if we get all of our money back. After what we went through, it is the decent thing to do. If the charges proceed, each driver will be fined 200,000 WON($200US) and have a mark on their permanent record, supposedly. Don't always believe what you hear in South Korea.

The driver did admit to the authorities that he got lost and that we had also given him a tip. That was his account of the fare amount. He did give Curt a receipt but then demanded it back before he left. Curt gave it back just to get rid of him.

I also talked to my Korean girlfriends about this and they followed up with an additional complaint against this company. They also contacted the taxi company, which wanted to see my pictures as proof. I was so embarrassed, angry, humiliated... you name it. Welcome to Korea!

The Taxi #2 story begins with my Korean girlfriends finding a large minivan that would be able to hold everyone and the luggage for the return trip to the airport. The van showed up 15 minutes early on the day of their departure. It was a good beginning. It was 6:45am and traffic into Seoul wasn't bad. After an hour, I knew he was lost. We ended up in the city of Incheon and on tiny side streets.

He finally got us to the airport after2 hours - twice as long as it should have taken. My Korean girlfriends had negotiated the price of $100,000 WON ($100 US) for the one way trip. He did have his meter on and to be honest, after it hit 100,000 WON, I stopped looking. My Korean girlfriend, Hannah, called to see how it was going and when I told her that we were lost, she didn't believe me. I had to laugh because it was just too dang funny!

When we got to the airport, the driver was very apologetic and I handed him 100,000 WON and shook my head with a look, "Don't even think about asking for the rest!" He took the money, bowed and we proceeded to the departure area of the airport as quickly as possible. I got the girls through check in and we said our goodbyes.

The trip home entailed riding the same airport bus that I had taken a week previous. Pretty easy after everything else that had happened. I went to the ticket counter and said, "Suwon." I saw that the bus was already there so I got right on and took my seat. I ended up talking to a Russian girl the whole way back to Suwon. All of a sudden, the bus pulled into an E-Mart (Korea's version of Target) and parked. The driver came through and took tickets.

I started freaking out saying, "Hotel Castle" which was the final stop for this bus. Luckily, another Korean spoke English and he told me that I was on the wrong bus. He told this to the bus driver and the bus driver pointed to the door of the bus. I had no idea where I was so I exited the bus. I couldn't believe this was happening to me. Seeing a sign saying "Happy Suwon" (yeah, sure), I knew that at least I was in Suwon but I had no idea how close my apartment was. I got out one of my namecards which has the directions, in Korean, and a map to my apartment. I went to the nearest curb and hailed a cab. I couldn't believe I got one right away.

I got inside the cab, closed the door and handed the directions to the driver. He looked at them and threw the card back at me shaking his head and talking in Korean. I kept saying the name of our apartment building but he wasn't having any of it. Then he pointed to the door and in English said, "OUT!" You have got to be kidding me. I did call him a not so nice name in English and got out of the cab.

Now, I was panicked and wondering if I would ever get home. I called Hannah, almost in tears, telling her my latest story. She couldn't believe this had happened and she was angry. She told me to stay on the line with her and look for another taxi. That's when I noticed the line of taxis in front of the E-Mart. I walked to the first one, got in and handed the driver my phone.

He gave me the phone back and Hannah said that the driver WOULD get me home. I sat back and tried to relax. The driver had been listening to some Korean talk radio when I got into the cab and after talking to Hannah, he switched the station to classical music. He kept looking back at me with a worried look and said, "Okay? Okay?" over and over again. I told him I was fine. I ended up only being about 2 miles from home. I was never so happy to see our apartment.

The picture above is from the first taxi encounter. The phone number has been blurred to protect the guilty. I don't know if this goes on in the U.S. because I've never personally taken a taxi back home. Curt has taken several from the airport to home and has never once been ripped off. My advice is that if you need to take a taxi from the airport, don't go with a driver that approaches you, go to the taxi stand and better still, avoid them unless you have a Korean with you.