Hi friends! Like always, thanks for coming back for another week! I really hope y’all enjoyed last week’s blog post telling about our trip to Seoul. We truly did have an amazing time. I also uploaded a ton more photos to facebook, so if you haven’t seen those yet, definitely check them out!
This week was a little weird. By the time the middle of the week came, the entire area around where we live was basically shut down because of the fear of the coronavirus. Before that happened though, I did venture out on Monday afternoon to a new coffeeshop. It’s not new, because I have written about this coffee shop before, it was just a new location… A Twosome Place! I had received some questions about the name of this place, and it is called that because it has coffee and dessert. This place is about a fifteen minute drive from our apartment, and it was so worth it. I had never been to this part of town before, and it was beautiful. It is situated right off the Ansong River and has amazing views of Pyeongtaek and Camp Humphreys, as the base is right across the river. That same night, I even took Buddy and Anton back there, but it was too dark to get a good view of the area and Anton complained that we drove fifteen minutes just for coffee.
On Tuesday when the boys got home from, Anton asked if we could take him to the commissary for groceries. We needed a few extra things as well, so off we went. Well.. Tuesday was the day that a lot of people started to freak out about the virus. Command started telling everyone affiliated with the base to have enough groceries to last for two weeks in case you got quarantined. I knew it was going to be bad when it was a Tuesday night and there was hardly any parking available. After walking around and getting some food, which by the way, the entire back wall of chicken, pork, and beef was all gone, we went to checkout. I think we waited in line for about 30 minutes. They had about 12 lanes open to check out, but the lanes were about 10 carts deep. It didn’t look that bad, but once you got to a line, you were able to see that there were several carts going down the aisles that you couldn’t see at first.
After that, I pretty much stayed home for the rest of the week. Wednesday was mine and Buddy’s five year dating anniversary. But as of Tuesday, everything off base was off limits. Now, it was really just off limits for soldiers, but it was highly recommended for dependents and civilians. If it was a necessity such as going to the bank or a grocery store, that was permitted. But anything for a social life, such as going to a sit down restaurant, a bar, shopping for fun, or a movie was a no go. So we stayed in and celebrated at the apartment. Besides picking Buddy up from work on Friday because we got a new couch and then taking him lunch on Saturday, that was the only time I left the apartment after Tuesday night.
It is crazy to think that I have spent the past five years with Buddy, and that we have now been married for a year. For those that don’t know, we actually met on the dating app, Tinder. I was on it as many of my friends at college were on it and I decided to just have fun swiping to see who I could match. I definitely had a type that I was swiping for, and that was military. If a guy was in a uniform, that was an immediate swipe right. So one night as I was in my dorm room, I swiped right on this guy in uniform, and it popped up that we matched, which meant he had already swiped right on me! Within five minutes, I had a message from him saying he was going to bed soon but thought I was beautiful and he would message me tomorrow. I didn’t think much of it, but when I woke up I had a message from him. Through out the next week, I found myself messaging other guys less and this guy more. After a week of messaging, I got brave because I had nothing to lose and asked this guy if he finally wanted to meet up. For those that I have told the story of our first date, they usually say that I lost my mind. Long story short, I drove an hour to meet this guy at a coffee shop in his hometown. It had also snowed several days before and there was still ice on the roads. When we got to the coffee shop, we didn’t even get coffee as he asked me if I wanted to go on an adventure. I said yes, and hopped in his truck as we then proceeded to go down a twolane country road that had zero street lights. FIRST TIME WE HAD MET EACH OTHER. I constantly reminded him that my best friend and roommate at the time knew I was with him and if I didn’t call her by a certain time, she would call the cops. She was from the area up there, so I knew I was somewhat safe with her knowing. We ended up driving to the Reelfoot Lake area, and unbeknownst to me at that time, Anton lived right across from where we went on our first date! So as soon as we get to the lake, Buddy’s truck is sliding down the road on the ice, so he says he has to park and we have to walk the rest of the way. Now mind y’all, I was dressed for a coffee date. Nice boots and a light jacket were all I had on top of my outfit. I was not dressed to walk on five inches of snow and ice. He kept saying that what he wanted to show me was just around the corner, no, it’s just around this corner, hey, I think it’s around this corner. Well, about 50 corners and what felt like 2 hours later, we finally made it to the end of the road where the lake was. Y’all, it was worth it. The sun was setting and we went up on a pier and it was beautiful.
After we left the pier, the sun had set and we had to walk back (what we later drove and figured out it was 3 miles each way) in the dark with just my phone’s flashlight because his phone had died. I had three huge blisters on my feet for days after this date. On our second date, I met his mom and sister as we met them at a Steak and Shake. That next weekend, he went home with me and met my parents. Because three weeks later, he left for Ft. Sill for two months. Also, our very first date when he got back home was on May 28th, which is when I sank up to my hips in Tennessee quick mud, much like quick sand but it is mud. Then with muddy boots and pants, he made me climb a hill (I hate heights). We’ve had many dates since where I have fallen and sprained my ankles. More of our dates go wrong than they do right, but they always make for the best stories. He has forbidden me from ever wearing heels again for a good reason. Except one time I sprained my ankle wearing tennis shoes (although we were racing on a path in the woods), which I was also wearing when I fell and broke my elbow in three places. I just don’t walk well y’all. But I am so happy that even five years later, we still go on exciting dates. My husband is definitely my best friend, and I am so happy for that.
Hopefully this is a better week. I went out today (Monday) to get fresh air and get out of the apartment for a bit. It did me some good to get fresh air and sunshine. I went and found a new park I have been seeing around. Then Buddy got off work an hour early today because there was a power outage, so when he got home, I made him hurry to get ready. We went to a new coffee place called Archive. It had an amazing view of the river. Then after we got our coffee, I took him to the park. We walked around for a bit, it is actually a campground where RVs can park, but there’s also several playgrounds and has a walk/bike path along the river for several kilometers. We didn’t see until after we played on the playground that children above the age of 10 cannot play, but we played on the zipline and slides and had so much fun just being with each other and in the fresh air, although it was a bit chilly.
I also want to ask y’all for prayers. With the coronavirus paranoia, Delta has suspended all their flights from Seoul to Minneapolis until April 31st. That is the flight I took to get here. We are supposed to be going home in early April for two weeks. Our flight is through American Airlines, and thankfully, American hasn’t cancelled flights yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t. So please be praying and thinking good thoughts that we are able to go home and see our families, we are so looking forward to these upcoming two weeks and we would hate put it off.
South Korean Living 