I woke up when Chris got up at 6. I went back to sleep several times. I got up at 7 when he came back for his shower. I drank a quart of vinegar/salt water. I e-mailed my neighbor to see if she could cut my hair. Chris gave me a pair of jeans that needed patching, and he went to work. I did my exercises while listening to an interview on electrical sensitivity. I took a shower and got dressed. I boiled water for the nuts. I started making breakfast and Skype rang. It was Faye and we talked for half an hour. Then I put on my coat and ran next door to beg for a haircut. And she was able to do it on the spot. What a lifesaver! I tipped her $20 which was all I had. I asked for her sewing machine which she said needed fixing. I brought it home to work on later. I ate seed crackers. I made and ate breakfast. I got dressed and redressed until I was satisfied that I had done my best even though the effect was not quite what I wanted. I put some cashews and pieces of chocolate in a baggie which went into my purse. Then I put on my warmest coat and walked to Chris' building. Along the way, I ran into Jessica so we walked together the rest of the way. Then I called Chris from the lobby and he came down. We all talked as the group grew. Then we split up into two groups and got in two vans for the trip to Busan. We were with Burt and Tom and Mr. Pak. It was a long trip because of all the stop-and-go traffic. When we got to the ROK Navy base, Ms Pae explained who we were (I guess) and they let us on. Then we went as close to the gathering as we could get. The ROK band was playing a Beatles tune. The weather was beautiful and I did not need my warmest coat. We got out and eventually were shown where to sit. Each seat had a 'radio' and headset so each attendee could hear the speeches in their preferred language of English or Korean. My unit did not work, but only one speech was in Korean so it was ok.
A bell rang as each speaker was introduced and they then took their seat. The flags were paraded in front of the crowd as we stood at attention for the playing of both national anthems. Then the speeches began. After the speeches (various generals and the ambassador), each was invited to proceed to the ribbon area. A few other men were called to go as well. Then we all surged down the hill to the front door. We were invited to take pictures, but I was too short. They cut the ribbon and there was clapping. Then people milled about, visiting the refreshment table where a huge cake sat, or taking the tour, or talking. We talked first, then gathered for the next tour. I took pics inside the building. Chris introduced me to a lot of people. I toured the bathroom on my own. When we got outside, we visited the food. I had some fresh fruit. Others got cake, cheese and crackers, cookies. As Chris stood talking to a group, one of our vanmates asked me to nudge Chris to leave. So I did. He departed the group, but got in another conversation on the way back to the van. Eventually, we did get back and started the trip to Chinhae. (We did not stop at the fabric market.) The trip back seemed shorter. Chris regaled the group with stories I have heard before. When we got back, the weather was colder and I was glad for my coat. We dropped by the post office to check for mail, but there was none. Then we walked home. We passed Kelly and she asked if we met the ambassador. I said no but the new haircut made me feel more confident. We went home and changed our clothes. Chris gave me his coat which needed a button sewn back on and a broken button replaced. I looked through my bag of buttons to find a similar one. We ate supper while checking e-mail. I did yesterday's puzzle, saving the one for today for tomorrow, since there is only one on the weekend. I looked up the incident where our ambassador to Korea was stabbed. That was a year ago and I did not notice a scar on his face today. Chris chose Horatio Hornblower for our movie. So we watched the first one of the series. Chris went to bed, while I stayed up to blog and clear the latest e-mail.
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