Today was the big day! We got to meet Maya for the first time. After meeting my friend Erin who teaches English in Seoul (pic), we got ready for the big date! A short subway ride took us to the district where Maya’s orphanage is located. A maze of small alleyways with small shops, apartments, small kitchens, and cars and mopeds that you need to watch out for! After some initial confusion about which of the buildings we were supposed to go to, we found the right place and anxiously waited in a small room crowded with furniture and a few toys. A young volunteer brought Maya in and they quickly explained that she is a very shy baby…She held tight to her “Umma” (Momma), Mrs. Kim. She is the nurse who Maya has formed a special bond with. Eventually we moved to the nursery where Maya stays with many little friends. We met some of the volunteers who take care of the babies and the House Mother (pic) who can make Maya laugh so easily!

We got on the floor and played with Maya and her roommates (all much younger than she). Maya took to Daddy (Appa) pretty quickly (yay!). She liked his watch and didn’t want to give it back to him! They toured the room together, ate some fried potato sticks, and played. I got to help dress Maya after her bath, and feed her. I think I’ll call her gumby. She is the most flexible baby I’ve ever seen! Maybe yoga instructor is in her future… :^) When we left she waved goodbye to us, and we were invited to come back on Tuesday for another visit!

After meeting Maya, we headed out for some dinner and sprinted through one of the market districts before it closed. We got back to the hotel room and Jason literally fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. Coffee is definitely our friend on this trip!

Hopefully we’ll post more tomorrow!

Annyong haseyo! Goodbye!

Other Korean words we’ve learned:

Brother (Oliver!)- Oppa (Oh-pah)

Mom- Umma

Dad- Appa

Thank you- kamsa hamnida

Yes- ne (neh)

No- anio (ah-nee-oh)

Water- mul (mool)

Cheese– cheese!