Enjoying Macarons in Korea

It’s been over a month since we arrived on the South Korean peninsula or “the pen” as it’s known in the military community. We hit the ground running. Our flight was from Atlanta was around 14 hours. We arrived at Incheon (near Seoul) and then took a bus for about two hours south to US Army Group (USAG) Humphreys or “the Hump.”  

We arrived at the post hotel, and my commander was the first one to greet us (classy move). We unloaded our bags, and then I took off with my commander to see the installation. Bethany and the kids started settling into our hotel room which would be home for the next couple of weeks until we could find a house to move into. 

We were all pretty tired. Bethany and I both maybe nodded off for about 30 minutes during the flight. Despite the long flight time, I just struggle falling asleep on a plane. When we arrived in Korea, it was early morning (around 6 AM), so we just soldiered on to get acclimated to the time zone difference. To describe the travel from the US as grueling might be an understatement. It’s a travel itinerary neither one of us desires to make in the near future, especially with four small children trading coughs and runny noses in tow.

But the Lord got us thru it. We eventually got over the jet leg and began in-processing. Since we arrived two days before Christmas, in-processing was choppy. There are things we needed to do–find a house, purchase a vehicle, acquire Korean driver licenses, etc., but the holidays delayed those tasks. Then we had the tasks of in-processing into our unit. Lots of paperwork, briefs, introductions go along with that endeavor as well. 

Over time we made progress, and we began settling into our new home. We were blessed to receive a great realtor recommendation, and we found a home very quickly. After living with family, in a hotel room or small apartment for nearly 4 months, it has been great finally having a place of our own again!

Getting moved in always has its challenges. We brought bags of luggage from the US, had household goods delivered, picked up my SUV we shipped from the US, bought a pre-owned van, got license plates, took driver exams, received our unaccompanied baggage from South Carolina all within a 10 day span. Controlled chaos comes to mind reflecting on that time frame. 

Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, we finally ventured out into our community to explore a bit. A fellow chaplain and his wife recommended a great macaron place in our town (Asan, Korea), so we decided to check it out. These macarons were amazing! I’ve included a picture of a few of them my daughter took. We bought them at a place called Macaroo. Wow, they did not disappoint. I’ve enjoyed delicious desserts in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Romania, (sorry Iraq and Kuwait didn’t make the list) and the US, but these macarons might be my all-time favorite.

From left to right, the teddy bear macaron is made with nutella, the clam shaped one is dark chocolate, and the one on the far right (the best) is cookies and creme. 

Who knew we’d find one of the highlights of our Korean adventure so far in a macaron bakery?