Gotcha day. Full of happiness and intense sadness

Pat now has Gerad Yihyun with him permanently. We tried Skyping last night but the little guy was so shell shocked that we decided to cut things short. He has definitely begun the grieving process which is so heartbreaking. I wish I could be there to help both of them.

Anyway, I will let Pat describe the first day in his own words.

As you noted when we were skyping he seemed to be getting a little freaked out. Up to that point he was completely fine, he had no problem at all coming with me, as he seems to be an easygoing and curious little guy, and I was just part of the adventure. The "elevator" experience that everyone talks about was as difficult as expected, his foster mom was very upset and it was pretty rough to say goodbye. This little guy was the centre of her world for the last 15 plus months, I can't imagine what she must be going through.


So after I hung up with you, I picked him up and put him on my chest and he laid their quietly. I thought he is probably pretty tired so a nap might be in order. I put him in the bed and laid next to him and he fell asleep right away. He woke up after about an hour and called out for his foster mom "eom-am" so I went in to comfort him and he relaxed and laid there quietly for another 10 minutes or so. The rest of the afternoon was great, he had a snack, played for a bit and then we went out. He was good in the carrier, I went down to the E-mart to get some supplies. He didn't say boo the whole time. I didn't need much, the foster mom packed two bags filled with cloths, toys, diapers, prepared food, bottles, formula, you name it. With the bag she gave me the other day I am going to have to buy another suitcase to get all this stuff home. We didn't have to take anything over for him. She had him dressed in a new outfit, which was just one of many layers. I think she thought we were heading to Canada in February.


After we got back he had supper, he ate great, but of course it was all his favourites including Kimchi of the non-spicy variety. Every once in a while he would ask for her, and sob a little, but it would only last a few seconds and he would then carry on with his business.


It wasn't until he had his bath and had his PJs on that it finally hit him, Eom-ma was not coming back. He crawled into bed and laid there sobbing, it was heartbreaking. So I laid there with him and rubbed his back for about 15 minutes until he fell asleep. He has woke up once since then and with a little help fell back to sleep. I suspect there may be a few more of those throughout the night.


Hopefully he sleeps ok and tomorrow goes well, and we can get out and about for a bit.

Pat meets Gerad Yihyun

I will copy and paste Pat's email to me describing his day. Plus, as a bonus, I've added some pics. Weirdly, Yihyun's hair is similar to Van's was at that age lol.

Anyway, in Pat's words:

I was awake about 3:30 am and couldn't get back to sleep, partly jet lag and partly a little nerves about the meeting this morning. So I broke out the iPad for a bit, posted some pics, and read some more of Jian Ghomeshi's book. I could hear the rain starting at about 6am and knew we were in for a wet day, which reminded me I didn't pack an umbrella. At around 7:30 I decided if I was going to make it through the day I better get out and get a coffee. After yesterday's sticker shocker at Starbucks I wasn't about to pay $5 for a regular old coffee, so I went slumming and headed for a Dunkin Donuts. I soon realized I was the only out on the streets not in a business suit and carrying an umbrella. Got a few looks. Fortunately I stumbled on a McDonalds and had a full breakfast and coffee for $3. But I have to say that is the extent of my need for "western" food here. As expected the local culinary choices are great, lots of spice and flavours.

I headed for the SWS office for 9am after a slight panic moment of realizing it wasn't in the same building as the Guest House, luckily it was only a half a block away

Once in the SWS office I was put in a room with two families from Chicago who were also adopting to watch a short video on the SWS. It turns out one of the ladies was herself a former adoptee from the SWS about 30 years ago and was now here to adopt a little boy. Full circle.

After the video I headed out with our case worker to go to the foster mom's home which was about an hours drive. The drive was uninteresting, just a lot of divided highway mostly under construction. There are some mega construction projects on the go around here. They love their massive highways, bridges, and tunnels.

We arrived at her apartment which was right next to a auto repair garage, fitting as he now as a common experience to the rest of the Lewis clan. Up a couple flight of stairs to her apartment. When she opened the door he was right there and seemed excited to have visitors. He was a little shy but yet still very curious, he would come and check me out and then quickly run giggling back to his foster mom. He was very mobile running around playing with a soccer ball, and even showing a few dance moves Gangnam Style. I didn't force things I just let him do his thing and interacted when I could, eventually he relaxed and actually sat on my lap for a while. He has a number of words, and understands quite a bit. We were there for about an hour, she packed up a bag of his favourite toys and sleeping pillow for me to take back and we set off for the journey back to the city. It was great experience, he was so relaxed and pleasant. The foster mom will be bringing him to the SWS office on Wednesday morning for me to spend some more time with them, then leave him in my care. So I will have him for 2 days before we get on the plane. He is obviously very attached to her so expect it be be pretty rough for everybody that morning.

Well that is about it for now.

Pictures (I know I'm biased but damn that kid is cute!)

First full day in Seoul

I spoke with Pat on the phone and his first full day was...well...full. He explored the city with our friend Karen and her boyfriend. It's always nice to have people with local knowledge show you around. Pat was given the full local hospitality experience from Karen's boyfriend Ilhwan. He insisted on paying for everything throughout the day which is so generous and kind. I wish I had been there as I haven't seen my friend in some time. Anyway, I'm glad Pat had a great day. Tomorrow he meets Gerad Yihyun (technically today in Korea)!! I will be asleep when it happens but will find out all about it tomorrow morning when he calls me at work (Pat that is lol).

Here are some pics Pat sent. The first few are before he left obviously.

Bags packed:


At the airport:




The SWS:

The bird has landed

Pat has arrived. When I woke up this morning i had this email waiting for me:

"made it here safe and sound. The flight was uneventful, went through customs in a snap, no lineups. Bus was easy to find, but trip in was longer than expected. It took about an hour and 20. Quick cab ride up the road and I am here. Guest room is good. Has everything I need. Old guy at front desk was funny, seemed excited I was from Canada. Talked a lot not sure what he was saying. Got about 2 hours sleep on the Plane so I am pretty toast. Will head out in a few and try and find a quick bite to eat then hit the hay. Hopefully I will get a good sleep and be on track on the morning."

His first official blog post (through me of course). I believe tomorrow he is meeting up with a friend of ours who lives in Seoul. She and her partner will show him the sights. Wish I was there too but I know we will be back!

Leaving tomorrow

Pat's getting ready. Bags are packed. I'm not going anywhere but I'm as nervous as hell lol. It's strange to have him leave then return with another human being. It's going to be a huge adjustment for all involved. long awaited but stressful nonetheless.

A note about the new blog. You will notice that the name is Hoa Binh to Seoul. This is a bit misleading. Van was born in Hoa Binh and we went to Hoa Binh to pick him up. However you will notice that on the map to the right Busan is highlighted not Seoul. That is because Gerad Yihyun was actually born in Busan but currently lives with his foster family in Seoul. Unfortunately Pat will not actually be able to travel to Busan so Seoul is technically where Pat will be picking our son up from. Hence the name of the blog. Probably a little lame but honestly I had to think up a name in a very short period of time due to my propensity towards procrastination. Anyway, there you have it.

I will update as soon as I've heard that he has arrived safely. In the meantime I have also linked to our old blog for those who are new readers. Click here to get up to date ;)

Welcome!

Hello folks. Welcome to the new blog. Kind of sad to leave the old one but Gerad Yihyun needs to have a connection to his own blog so hence the creation of the "family" blog. I will begin new posts once Pat travels on Friday. Let the new chapter begin....