Sunday with mom and cousins

On Sunday, I met my mom and two cousins. Previously, I had met one cousin, but today her younger sister came along. I met them at a subway station. I was looking around for them, but they were sitting in my mom's car. She drives a Hyundai and she is a pretty good driver.

First, we went to Changdeokgung Palace with a Secret Garden. It is a Palace in the middle of the city. It is one of the few preserved palaces in Korea. It is over 100 acres in area. They require following a tour guide when visiting, partly to get understanding of the history and probably for better care of the area. It has many beautiful buildings and the back half is a wonderful tree-lined area with a couple ponds.

Afterwards, we drove to my mother's house. Sundays happen to be the day for demonstrations in the downtown area. Traffic was terrible even though it was Sunday. My mother lives just outside of Seoul, but it is similar to living in a suburb of Seoul. Her place is new because she just moved into her place in July.

The apartment is 2 bedrooms, den, living room, kitchen, and some other balcony type areas. She has well furnished house. She lives alone and seems to live comfortably. She doesn't have a computer, but is considering because of email and keeping contact with her relatives in Atlanta, GA.

For dinner, my mom bought a couple ducks with Korean side dishes. Since she thought I would be hungry, she had my cousins and I eat before my mom's oldest brother and wife came. It was quite delicious and didn't have to strong of a game flavor.

After awhile, my mom's oldest brother and wife came. He also is in education. He is a principal of a high school in Seoul, so he has a very good job. My uncle can speak a little English, but his wife can't really say anything. Also, I figured out that my mom can say a few things in English and she understand somethings that I say.

Once it was late enough, my mom called Atlanta where her 2nd older brother lives with his wife, my grandmother, and son. I was given the phone and talked to all of them. It was very interesting talking to my grandmother. She has lived in the US since she was about 65 years old and now she is about 85. She still struggles saying things in English and she was a little disappointed that she couldn't say more. I probably should have been able to say more in Korean, but my Korean is so, so, so poor. It was nice to know that I have relatives in Atlanta, New York City, and somewhere in NJ.

As usual, I received a few more gifts. For gifts, I received a scarf, cake, and chocolates. Oh, my cousins and I were all given 20 dollars from my uncle. So, my cousins and I were happy to have some "pocket money" (Konglish).

My mom asked me a few questions. Also, I asked a few questions, but I didn't really have any good questions. I did find out that David was born about 9:30pm and I was born about 9:45pm with a natural delivery. My cousins thought it was a little bit of a strange question since it isn't that much difference in time. At the end of the night, my mother home. My mother is so happy to seem, but I feel so bad when I have to leave. Before I leave for SF, I will spend a night or two at my mother's house.