South Korea a land that I lived for close to a year,We finally left for good.Let me tell you what I will miss about this country and its people. To do that i must also also write about the things that i will not miss.
Airport:South Korean Airport is one of the best in terms of neatness,structure,checking in and they even have a play ground for children,there is also Korean cultural musical display area where you can listen to Korean music playing live.To me it the best airport in the world,at least in my world but if you know of any other please let me know.
Hospital:If I am given a chance to take away only one thing from South Korea it be their Ulsan teaching hospital. The equipments are world class and up to date,the clean environment minus the smell of a hospital but fresh and clean air. You get treated first without any mention of how you are going to pay the bills,your health comes first and when you want to leave a receipt is given to you which you either take to a cashier or pay with your credit card on machines placed around the hospital.
Language:I picked up the basic language which is useless because Korean language is not spoken any other country in the world. Koreans don’t speak the English language which i found very odd considering all the English tutorial the attend everyday. (more…)
I forced myself to watch the Dark Knight yesterday night,it is not my type of movie although it is a well made movie.I had to watch it because of my first son who loves those kind of movies.I slept off most of the times because i was so tired I haven’t had a good night sleep since i left South Korea.My kids have not adjusted yet to the time difference they sleep in the afternoons and stay awake all night,that will not be a problem if they will just be on their own allowing me to sleep.I went to Century 21 mall that is opposite of the world Trade centre today,bought clothes for my kids and gift items for friends and family members.Just wondering how i survived today after going to bed by 5.30am in the morning I was still able to shop all day;maybe i was excited that i have to be in the financial district On my way back I dosed off in the cab,I can actually walk back to our hotel but couldn’t drag my tired and sleepy legs while carrying a suitcase of things.Well am doing it again, dozing off I can’t even type now.I am going to bed now but check out the video to see if The Dark Knight is your kind of movie.If you are a Batman movies fan then this is a must watch movie this summer.
Our last week in South Korea was very eventful,I will try to summarise the whole week in this post.We will be in a 12 hours flight to London by the time some of you get to read this.We are going to have a very safe and cool flight,I love it when I fly business class just for the leg space for a long trip.To all my friends and all the wonderful people that I have met online and offline this video is for all for you.
SAUNA : I went to the Korean traditional bath house for the last time last week Saturday;the bath house is a building with different section of bathing water of varying temperature.Everybody gets naked and move about in your birthday suit,you have to be comfortable in your own skin to be able to do this.Lest I forget the men section is different from the women’s section.If you pay extra money you will get a special scrubbing from one of the workers there,you whole body is scrubbed and massaged it is feels awkward initially but later became very relaxing.I felt very clean and relaxed afterwards and I slept like a baby that night.
DENTIST:We visited the dentist for our annual dental checkup,my husband and I got a our teeth scaled and cleansed our mouth felt a lot lighter and cleaner afterwards.Some days after my husband took Chinedu there to get his own teeth scaled and cleansed too.
GOLF:Our Golf practice suffered a lot during these days because we didn’t have time to go playing Golf.We went to the Golf club to say our goodbyes and they were all sad to see us go,we felt very sad too.I took back my Golf shoes to the shop were it was bought for an exchange for a more comfortable fit;guess what! that was the largest female size in Korea so I ended up collecting a size in the male’s Golf shoes.Well its better than feeling uncomfortable in a female shoes,just hoping that it is not too obvious that it is a man’s shoes.
BANK:I went to the bank to close my dollar account,change all my accumulated Korean coins to notes.Then withdraw all the the money in my Korean local account, which was not much anyway.
ACUPUNTURE: My husband and I went to the Korean oriental clinic to have an acupuncture to release all the stress and bad energy we got during the packing up period.Both of us slept off before the whole procedure which normally lasts for 1 hour was over.
SCHOOL & TAEKWONDO: My kids have been home for school which was a whole lot of headache trying to keep with them.I am very grateful for teachers for being able to handle other people kids day in day out.Chinedu joined Kachi in his Taekwondo academy; he has been home for about 6 weeks now so I enrolled him for that period he had a great time there.They will both miss their practice but life goes on for the better.
FLIGHTS & HOTELS:Trying to book flight and getting a good hotel accommodation posed the greatest challenge. It is not always easy for a large family like mine to go on holidays,getting a place that can accommodate us all wasn’t an easy task. My kids are still too young to stay in a different hotel room from us so our search for an apartment hotel with kitchenette.It was difficult because we wanted a hotel in Manhattan close to Broadway and all the actions that the big Apple got to offer.The second problem was it is in the middle of summer,the rooms are either booked some of the days or not available out all.Anyway all that are sorted out now,we were able to get a hotel close to Heathrow Airport London because we have a few days stop over in London.
PACKING:The moving company took our luggage on wednesday,our packing did not end until the day we left.I was still packing stuffs the morning we left which was as early as 5.00am.The taxi picked us up by 6.30am for our flight to Seoul the capital of South Korea.My kids loved the trip and we spent the weekend in Seoul.I am packing up again to leave for London by 8.00am in the morning,with kids you can’t afford not to.
SOUTH KOREA:Will I miss South Korea? Well! that’s a big question for a new post another time.
The packing is finally coming to an end and for those of you who are wondering why it is taking me forever to finish. These photos will help you understand what I have to go through, my kids climbing inside the boxes, unpacking boxes.
I keep chasing them round the house to collect whatever they have removed from the boxes.They throw in some of their toys as their own way of helping out.
Another major challenge was choosing what to carry with me and what to send through cargo. I don’t like making choices especially when it comes to clothing, shoes, and jewelleries. I wish that I could carry everything with me but how can even think of carry so much in a journey through different continents. Our travels: from South Korea (Asia) to London (Europe) via New York (North America) then to Toronto (North America) back to New York to London before heading to Nigeria (Africa).I have to drop these stuffs and I was sad but on a second thought that will be a good reason to go shopping. Do you think am vain for having an emotional attachment to material things? the most painful being my box of perfumes, why do I keep buying perfumes? Okay I just packed them away.I went shopping today and was looking for what to spend my money on very strange indeed. When I finally found a gold pendant that I like I couldn’t buy it because I forgot my alien card at home and there was no way a South Korean shop can charge my AMEX card for any good worth more than $500 without a picture identity card, my student id card didn’t have my passport attached then I searched for my press card at lest that one has my passport photo but guess what for the first time it wasn’t in my wallet. I was saved from an impulsive buying by nothing having any id card with me.I had a very strange conversation the other day when I went for lunch this lady told me that I should not pack my money in my check in luggage at the airport, I asked her who does such and how much money can one have that you can’t get a travellers check if you don’t have an account in the country you are visiting. I later found out that she was looking for an avenue to brag about how much money her husband gives her. Good for her but I don’t discuss such topics but I will gladly listen if you want to supply me such information.At least my best friend and I always have a good laugh each time we remembers this timeless advice.
I am excited about the New York trip because I will go to Manhattan for a shop till I drop adventure. Honestly that is not the only reason why I have been so happy lately. My best friend thinks that my happiness has something to do with money. Can money make one extremely happy? Sometimes I wonder why couples fight and argue because of money. The lack of communication and understanding in a relationship can to turn this to an issue
Do you get attached to your possessions?
These are some of the numerous photos about TOTAL AKPO FPSO Project in Ulsan,South Korea.I started the FPSO AKPO category by telling you about Our Project is over,next i wrote about what the project was all about in the post AKPO PROJECT.I told you about the naming ceremony and the dinner party in the post AKPO FPSO Project Dinner Party.I also posted about the TOTAL AKPO FPSO Project farewell party,which rain almost ruined.I then ended it with the video of the sail away and the post TOTAL AKPO FPSO PROJECT SAIL AWAY.The next time you read about this huge project; which is the best and largest in terms of technological innovations of it kinds in the whole world at present will be about the installation and I will be in Nigeria then.I am so suprised that i have not heard anything about this project on CNN yet,if it were something negative the news would have been all over the world by now.Remember you heard and saw it all first here.
Posted By tyna 
Jul 23, 2008 
