Eating out, again

I got up when my alarm rang. Chris was back from PT, said they canceled PT for him – whatever that means – so he went running. I woke up my laptop, and drank a quart of water. I swished and drybrushed and exercised while listening to an audio. I boiled water for coffee. Kurt called me on skype and guided me through loading audios onto my phone. I saw Nela had messaged me to turn my phone on. When I did, she called to tell me that it is Korean custom to bring something to someone who has a new house. We were going to Sue's house for lunch and she just moved in. I wondered what I could bring. I completed my call with Kurt, downloading an mp3 and listening to it to make sure the down load worked. I finished my coffee morning routine, irritated that I had to keep watch on the time because of the lunch engagement. I was so sick of having to eat out just because I am afraid to refuse the invitations. I just had time to water the flowers. I put the one that hadn't been planted in a bag and then I started down the hill to meet Nela at the school. But just then Anna drove by and gave me a ride. She said she would pick me up at 5:15 for the dinner with the OAL. I waited for Nela and we walked to the gate. She had a flan to bring as a gift. We waited for our contact. I forgot her name, but she gave us a short ride to Sue's apartment. It was cute, small, on a hill. She invited us in. I handed her the plant, and Nela the flan. But the Korean ladies who came brought laundry detergent. They told me that bubbles equal money so it stands for prosperity. Ok. We sat around talking while Sue and her sister finished the food. Sook played with the cat, December. Then we were invited to fill plates and sit down to eat. It was all good, and all Korean so don't ask me what I ate. All I remember is the spicy squid kimchi and the acorn jelly. She cut and served Nela's flan and a plate of sliced melon. The melon was really good. Then we talked for hours. I did not know what protocol covered when to leave. Chris called to say the plan for the evening had changed. So I used it as an excuse to say I had to leave. Then everyone got up to go. Sue handed each of us a bag of food to take along. I looked forward to having it in a day or so. The lady who drove us gave us a ride home. I worked on the scarf project, and then took a shower. I put on my best black pants, and then went through a number of tops, changing jewelry as I went. Finally I decided to wear something that matched my purse – black jacket and pants with a red top. I stood outside until Anna and Bernie drove up. We picked up Myra and drove to the restaurant, taking only a few wrong turns. We were shown into a private room where we sat at a sunken table. The waitress brought us a menu but Anna called Suzanne to explain that we were waiting for three more people. When the OAL, and Jessica and Mrs' O'Rourke arrived, the waitress came back. Anna ordered the set menu. It was expensive but we did not realize how much food was involved. Mrs. Faller was very nice and easy to talk to, as were her companions. She asked us about life on the base and what we liked or didn't like about Chinhae. Our women spoke glowingly. There were a lot of nice things to say. We had a good time commenting on the foods as they were brought out. It seemed like the more we ate, the more they brought out. The driver came back at 7:30 to pick our guests up, but we did not leave until after 8. There was some discussion about how to split the bill. I paid Anna and she used her credit card. Bernie covered Myra, and our guests insisted on paying their own way. Then we went outside and took a few pics. We said our goodbyes and they were off to their hotel. The four of us stood around the car talking. I said I wanted to see this Chinhae haven that they talked about all evening. We got in the car and they decided to go out for coffee. We talked about the things we did not tell the OAL. When we arrived at the coffee shop, I told them I had things to do and was going to walk home. Anna gave me a ride. She said she always looks out for me. Then she went back to the shop. I went in and told Chris about my experience. He laughed. I gave him a hot pepper that I rescued from the table at the restaurant. We watched an episode of CSI. He went to bed and I stayed up to ponder our snow job and post to my blog.
* Here are some of the hats we wore to the restaurant yesterday. *