D80 -- Memory lane

Mr. Huchun met us at the entrance of Gate 17 outside Yongsan (the US military base in Seoul) and escorted Elva and I on to base. Like all military bases, Americans in general are not allowed on to Yongsan unless you work for the military or for the US government. Once on base Mr. Huchun drove us around so I could see all of my old hang-outs and also see the two homes where my family used to live (more on this later).

We stopped for lunch at the Townhouse, which is similar to a food court in a US mall that sells a lot of fast food. When I was in high school the Townhouse was the only place on base that was open 24 hours. My friends and I used to spend a LOT of time there on weekends since there was nothing else you could do at 2 in the morning. Being dorky high school kids, we used to call it the Funhouse. Imagine my surprise when I walked by the cashier at the Townhouse and realized she was the same cashier that worked there when I lived in Korea. Even crazier was the fact that she recognized me. Now most of you are probably thinking that this means I must have eaten a lot of fast food when I was in school, since how else would she remember me? But I choose to believe that I have such a sweet and generous personality that I leave a lifelong impression even on those with whom I have only a casual interaction. Elva of course went with the former theory.

After lunch Mr. Huchun went back to work and left us to walk around Yongsan so I could see some of my old hang-outs. I was trying to describe to Elva what this would be like for her if our roles were reversed. It would be like her taking me to San Antonio after not being there for 10 years, then having only an afternoon to show me her childhood home before leaving and probably never seeing it again. It was a strange feeling.

We walked back to the housing area where my family had lived (called Embassy Housing) and visited our two homes (one was from my dad's first tour and the other was from his second tour). I was relieved to see that Embassy Housing had changed very little from when we lived there. Both our houses looked the same, albeit with some new paint and a few minor updates. Here is a nice little then and now comparison:


After walking around base we decided to visit the National Museum, where we saw lots of great artifacts, including a 12th century incense burner made of celadon. We have a replica of this piece at home, and we never knew that it was an incense burner.

The Huchuns took us out to dinner that night, and we were treated to a traditional Korean feast of Kalbi (barbecued beef short ribs) and LOTS of veggies. The Korean diet is quite healthy because it consists mostly of raw or steamed veggies and small amounts of grilled meat. We are kicking ourselves for not taking a picture of our dinner feast, but the batteries had run out of power.

-Tom