................Taking Flight...............: Daegu!

We both woke up a little early. We got ready and headed out to Seoul Station. I received messages from both of my Korean friends; they would both be able to meet us at the train station in Daegu.

Again, I made it to the train station on time and wasn't rushed or crazy which was nice. I took a short nap on the train and less than 2 hours later we arrived in Daegu. When we got to the station, my friend Bumsik found us first. It was so good to see him again. I saw him last in August. Then he ended up calling Ahyoung to locate her and we found her as well. I was happy to see her too-I haven't seen her since 2011! Bumsik is a friend from Inje University. Ahyoung was a friend of another adoptee friend of mine. She met him at Michigan Tech where she did a study abroad for a bit. She is so very sweet and kind.

We took the subway to the downtown area. As we were waiting for the subway, I noticed an elderly gentleman staring at us as we all talked to each other. He finally entered the conversation by asking Erin, "where are you from?". We had a short conversation with him before the subway arrived. He was very sweet and told Erin, "Welcome to Korea." Once in the downtown area, we tried to figure out what to have for lunch. Erin said anything was fine, and Ahyoung suggested jjimdak (the chicken stew with noodles). We went there and it was delicious as always. After lunch our plan was to go to Pisan-dong, the neighborhood where Erin was found as a baby. Bumsik and Ahyoung looked up how to get there and decided a taxi would be the best way. We got a taxi and headed to the area. However, the taxi driver had a hard time locating the exact address because it was so dated (33 years) and the streets change names and neighborhoods change often. We were dropped off in the general area and started looking for the address. Bumsik and Ahyoung knocked on so many doors asking for the address location or if people knew of the woman that found Erin. The "neighborhood president" said there was no one by the name of that woman.

Finally we went to a police station to see if they could help or anything. They did some paperwork and talked with us for a bit. They finally suggested a community center of sorts to try and search for the woman. We walked there, only to discover no one was there because they were training for how to run the voting/election booths next month. How unfortunate. We went back to the police station to check on something and then headed out. Ahyoung had to leave because her cousin had just finished military service and was meeting her family. Bumsik stayed with us and helped us get to our guesthouse. We checked in, took a short rest on a bench swing and then walked back to the downtown area for some coffee.

Bumsik talked with us over coffee and then he had to go meet some friends. We walked him to the subway station and said goodbye. Erin and I did a little shopping before trying to find somewhere to have dinner. I ended up getting a pretzel to take back to the guesthouse and eat. We got a little turned around trying to find our way, but eventually made it back. We settled in and called it a night.