Day 3

Once again we made the most out of our time learning about Jacob's homeland.  We started our day at Gyeongbokgung Palace.  This place was amazing!  You cannot put into words how wonderful this was to see and how large it was.  For $3 each and we had so much fun seeing a structure that was built in the 1300s.  We met a Korean History professor, he was so excited to meet  Americans who were interested in the history of the Palace.  We really enjoyed speaking to him. It took quite an effort to break away :)

We also got to see the changing of the guard - it was amazing to watch the detail the men put into this event.

Brian with a Palace guard - needs a hat.

Next we sent to Seoul Tower.  You want to use the cable car (otherwise it is a very very long walk to the tower).  We had a wonderful time getting to see all of Korea from the top of the tower and also putting Jacob's lock at the tower.

One view from the top of the tower

Jacob's Lock

We finished up the day at Seoul Station/Lotte Mart for some dinner and shopping.  Once again we had a wonderful traditional Korean meal.  The Korean people really take pride in their food preparation.  This meal was similar in style and presentation to the more expensive meal at the Museum (for a fraction of the cost).  We have been spoiled by Korean food.

Later at Seoul Station we had a Korean pastor approach us and hand us a gospel track.  We talked for 30 minutes or so.  He was so excited to hear of our faith experience and how similar our worldviews were.  He was part of a group starting a church in the downtown metro area.  It was a great conversation.  So cool to see how God allows people to cross our paths to encourage us.  He was very pleased to hear we were adopting little Jacob Cho.

We are so amazed there is no waste in South Korea (there are no trash cans in the streets).  That sounds unusual, but they recycle everything (I mean everything)!!!  There are bins for plastic, food, paper, cans, glass and vinyl.  We have much to learn here.  If you don't want to recycle you have to buy a special bag at the convenience store for 'other' trash.  It is not cheap.  In practice this encourages people to reuse as much as possible. More on this later.  It really made an impression.  We absolutely love this country - so clean, so easy to get around for little of nothing via subway, and the people are so quiet and sweet and helpful.  This is a trip we will always remember and be sure to share our experience with Jacob.

Recycling bins (you carry your trash until you find one of these bins)