We are back in Korea after a fabulous, refreshing trip to the U.S. We are all still suffering from jet lag, which is quite unpleasant, but our batteries are recharged and we are happy to be back in our own home and to see our friends here. Sophie is alternately overjoyed to be back amongst her familiar toys and super-grumpy because she is tired. Nonetheless, her imaginative side has begun to shine through. Here are a few recent examples:
Sunday, while eating lunch with her Mickey Mouse fork, she held the fork to her ear like a phone: "Hello, Mickey Mouse! I want pizza crust!"
Later during the same lunch: "I singing the "I Love This" song. I love thiiiis, I love thiiiis, I so happeeeeeee, I eating my dinner!"
This afternoon, trying to capture Mommy's attention while she is absorbed in a book: "Mommy, hold me up to see that little girl [in a picture on the wall]. Otherwise, I gon go pee pee on you!" I did not manage to keep a straight face, although we did later discuss the correct way to request favors and the fact that it is never okay to deliberately pee on your mother, even if she is ignoring you.
We have decided that if Sophie were a tea, she would be "constant comment." She talks non-stop these days! Here are a few of her recent gems:
Sitting on the potty, apropos nothing: Guess what, Mama! You a sillypuss!
Riding in her stroller during this afternoon's run (repeatedly, for about 10 minutes): My put on my running shoes, run all the way to BUDDHA PARK!
In reply to my asking whether she'd like to swim like Mama and Dada when she is older: When my two, my go swimming!
Discussing Keegan's absence at dinner a few nights ago:
Sophie: Dada go to work.
Mama: No, Dada is going to a restaurant.
Sophie: Dada have meeting.
Mama: That's right. Dada is having a meeting at a restaurant.
Sophie: That really silly, Mama.
Her three current favorite things to talk and wonder about are:
When are we going to go to another hotel? (We stayed in hotels for the past two weekends, and apparently hotels are waaaay better than home. The chief attraction seems to be that during bathtime at the first hotel, Mama put her feet in the bathtub with Sophie. At Sophie's request, this was repeated at the second hotel, further adding to the hotel magic.)
When are we going back to the Rainbow School? (We visited Sophie's playschool last week, and she loved it! This is a very good sign, since she'll start two days a week in September.)
When is it my birthday? (One week from today! But it is very hard to explain that concept to a toddler.)
Today, after eating lunch in the food court at Home Plus, I was holding Sophie on my lap and loving on her. After she looked up and gave me a kiss, she said "I love you." It was pretty great. It was the first time she has ever said "I love you" unprompted.
This evening at bath time, Sophie was playing with a blue submarine toy. She thought it was an airplane, so I explained how it was a special boat that goes under the water. Then I started singing a particularly rousing version of "Yellow Submarine." When I finished, Sophie looked at me with concern and said "Submarine blue, Mama." It's very hard to explain things to your poor, ignorant mother sometimes.
One of the best things about living overseas is the opportunity to adopt the rhythms of a new society and perhaps even a new geography. As we enter our fourth spring in Korea, the changing seasons and yearly holidays are beginning to feel more natural to us. Here springtime starts late, well after backpacks and packages of pristine school supplies proliferate in the aisles of the local department stores to mark the start of the school year in March. Here early spring means cherry blossoms and azaleas in April instead of daffodils and crocuses in February or March. I have never seen the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., but I have been to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae, South Korea and seen the whole island erupt with snowy flowers for the briefest beautiful spell each April. Keegan and I have tried and failed twice to catch the peak of the azaleas blooming at the azalea mountain not far from our house - maybe next year will be the charm.
Daegeumsan, 2010 - Too late for blooms.
Daegeumsan, 2012 - Still a bit before the peak.
"Ummmm....yeah. You guys brought me here too early for the full effect."
When we eventually get it right, we will see an entire hillside carpeted in purple.
Living in Korea, and especially out in Deokpo Beach, we are able to watch the less glamorous members of the plant world as well. All of the local gardens look neat and fresh, with orderly rows of stakes and seedlings. The garlic has begun to sport its puffy purple blossoms; soon we will see it drying by the side of the road or hanging in clumps from the eaves of traditional houses. The ripe scent of fertilizer graces the infamous "stinky spot" on our running route, much to Sophie's delight. (Well, she likes to say "Stinky spot!" I don't think she likes the smell.) Right now, the rice paddies are being cleared and plowed for the spring planting. We've had a few good, soaking rains, long leisurely afternoons good for nothing but napping while the water pours down from the sky to fill the waiting rice fields.
Spring is also the season of windy afternoons and yellow dust storms bringing dust from the Chinese desert and pollution from Chinese cities. The yellow dust is foul and can force people inside when it is heavy, so I won't linger on it. But how about that? We live close enough to China that the sands of the Gobi desert can affect our lives.
In the parks and at the playgrounds, eager mothers and children swarm, enjoying the first few days of short-sleeve weather after the chilly winter. In our parking lot in the evening, a gaggle of schoolkids and toddlers run wild and pedal all manner of bicycles and tricycles while their parents chat and welcome hard-working shipbuilders and inspectors home from work.
Enjoying the gorgeous azaleas at our apartment playground.
Deokpo Beach is beginning to have a festival atmosphere on weekends, complete with sunbathing English teachers and intrepid children braving the chilly water with enviable joy.
Here's hoping that pleasant weather endures for a while before the steamy days of summer begin. Especially since my mom and dad will be here in two short weeks!
