A Jumble of Topics

I don't understand the postal system. I know a bit about how it works and the "behind the scenes" sort of dealings with the mail, largely in part because my father used to work at the post office sorting mail. I also did some casual work doing the same job back in the late 1980s.




My parents have sent me three small packages within the last three to four weeks. The first package, my dad was told, would take fifteen days to arrive. That coincided with the Korean thanksgiving holiday, Chuseok. For that holiday, the Koreans have three days off plus the weekend (unless the holiday lands on the weekend). The fifteenth day would have been on the Saturday before the holiday, thus no mail (there is no mail delivery here in Yesan on the weekend). So, since the next three days after the weekend were holidays, there was also no mail service. The next possible day for me to receive the package would have been the Thursday immediately following the holiday. I did not receive the package.

That Friday, I did get a package. It was not the first package (which I really wanted quickly because it contains the cord for my camera so I can download my pictures). No, the package I received was the third package (which I also needed). It has now been nearly a week and I still have not received the first or second packages. Weird. The third package only took eleven days for me to receive. This experience has left me wondering if the other two were sent surface mail (though I don't think that was how they were supposed to go, especially since my father was told the first one would only take fifteen days for me to receive). If that is the case and they were sent surface mail, then it will take about six to eight weeks before I will receive them.

In other news, last weekend Sarah and I went to visit Lorie in Hongseong where she lives. Hongseong is about a twenty minute bus ride from Yesan and is a little bigger than Yesan. The streets are also wider, and they actually have sidewalks there - Yesan doesn't have sidewalks.



We had a great time walking around the town, shopping, stopping to have some pizza (man, it was soooo good!), and of course visiting Lorie. The pictures I've scattered in this post are all from Hongseong.




One place we stopped at had the best frozen yogurt! It had a fruit taste to it, but we couldn't put our fingers on the exact taste. It might have been a mix of tropical fruits though...regardless, it was really good. I took a picture of the yogurt because the spoons they use are so cute - they are little shovels! Sarah and I both got frozen yogurts, and Lorie had some kind of latte or fancy type coffee. We aren't sure why, but Sarah and I both got two spoons with our yogurts. I can't remember the name of the shop, but it was really cute and colourful and we remember how to get there so the next time Sarah and I head up to visit with Lorie, we are going back for more frozen yogurt!



This tree was also in the shop. It's not real, but there are hundreds of little slips of paper with Korean writing on them, and these pieces of paper are literally attached everywhere to the tree. It would have been nice to have someone who knew what this was about (or someone from the shop who spoke English so we could have asked what it was about) to explain it to us.



Canadian Thanksgiving is coming up in a few days (October 8 to be exact), and Lorie is going to come visit Sarah and I in Yesan. We are going to have some kind of celebration meal, but it won't be turkey. I'm really going to miss that this year because I always enjoy turkey dinners at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I think we are going to have spaghetti and try to find some spaghetti sauce that is similar to what we get back in Canada. At least that is what we were thinking of having; it could change I suppose.


I was talking to my parents the other day and they were telling me my older brother and his wife are going away for Thanksgiving this year, and my younger brother and his family aren't going to be making it up for the holiday either. And with me on the other side of the world, they are going to be alone for Thanksgiving - the first time ever I think. Even before we were born, my grandmother was living with my parents so if no other family came for the meal (or if my mother's brothers didn't invite them over), they wouldn't have been alone. They are going to see if there are any church suppers being served for the holiday and go to that. It makes me kind of sad to think that they aren't going to have any of the kids over for the holiday. I'm sure my brothers and their families will be there for Christmas though, and that's the main thing I think - having family around for that special holiday.


Well, I've rambled on quite a bit in this post so I will end here. Have a Christ-filled day!