Fun and Randomness before the Holidays!

Being in a foreign country for the holidays can bring many worries, challenges and new experiences.  As you can imagine, T.G. and I have see them all so far.  I want to put this blog post out before the real holiday blog (holidays were wonderful, by the way) just so y'all can get a feel for pre-holiday craziness in South Korea.  

 
In the spirit of the holidays, the leaders on post do their best to bring holiday spirit all around the post to make those of us far from home not feel so out of touch with the fact that it is a major holiday that is highly celebrated in the United States.  For instance, there was a tree lighting on Yongsan on December  2.  Unfortunately, we were unable to attend due to T.G. working a night shift that night.  They also put up very festive decorations around post at places like the commissary, the fire station and The Dragon Hill Lodge.  I believe Santa even visited The Dragon Hill!  

T.G. and I managed to take advantage of his schedule and take a trip to Busan, as previously mentioned.  We also had the military ball on the 14th, which was my first official military function.  I found it quite fun and exciting to see T.G. and his colleges dressed in their dress blues or tuxedos, enjoying a night outside 'the office' just having some fun!

Side Note:  Nicolle and I bought these dresses in Itaewon on the Thursday before the ball, picked them up on Friday after alterations and were ready to go on Saturday night….talk about customer service!

I completed my Korean Language Class after 10 weeks and learned a lot, but have decided to take this next session off, due to a lot of planned travel.  Missing class is frowned upon.  But I feel that I learned a lot in the basic course and now my friend, Nicolle, will be taking the same class this next session, so we can study it all together!  If I decide to take the next course, I can test in and move forward with my Korean Language learning.  

Many of you already know, but T.G. has offered to stay in Seoul for an extra year in hopes to put him in a position that he would prefer later in his career, not to mention that we still have a lot to do here…nothing is official as of yet, but it's looking that way.  Luckily, we have amazing foster parents for our babies at home and all have agreed that they want to continue to care for them until we get home.  

Speaking of our babies, since we have extended another year, our landlord agreed to allow us to have a small dog or cat.  SO, we adopted Colby from the vet shelter on post!  He's the sweetest thing and I just know he will make an awesome little brother to Mr. Chedder once we are all together again.  

I've also started watching one of Julie's children, Rachel, on Wednesday afternoons.  Julie, my flower school teacher and dearest of friends, has had some schedule changes at the flower shop and her nanny, who was from the Philippines, had to return to care for her own family, so I offered to help out.  Rachel is the cutest 6 year old and we have a lot of fun together.  I hope we can learn a lot from each other!

Amongst all of this, we managed to get our Christmas gifts sent, on-time, as far as we know and even sent Christmas Eve goodies to each of our families.  Many of the gifts we chose were from areas in Seoul, where we found unique things we knew people would appreciate the fact that the item was from Korea, others we ordered their favorites from the internet…why buy people junk they won't really use or want, right?  Just before Christmas, T.G. had to work a tough stretch of five nights in a row, but at least he was off for Christmas!  More to come about Christmas later!

Busan, South Korea (December 2013)

T.G. and I decided last minute to take a weekend out of Seoul to visit the second largest city in South Korea, Busan. We made our way to Busan from Seoul via the KoRail (http://www.korail.com/en/), which is such an easy way to travel around this country! 

We were excited!  Can't you tell!!

Busan is a beautiful seaside city that has so much to offer!  We stayed at a hotel in the Heaundae Beach area and loved it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Busan

When we arrived in the late evening, we got checked into our hotel and grabbed a quick dinner at the chicken and beer place across the street.  The first full day, we ventured over to Jalgalchi Market, which is a HUGE fish market…even larger than the one in previous blogs. Luckily, the subway in Busan uses the same T-Money cards that the Seoul subway uses and they are built very similarly.  This made is super easy to move around the city with no problem! After the market, we walked around Taejongdae Resort Park for the rest of the afternoon and saw some beautiful ocean views!  

The second day, we went to an area called Centum City, which is home to Shinsegae Dept. Store and tons of other AMAZING shopping…not much was actually bought, but we had so much fun seeing all the different things there are here!  The Bexco center is located in this area as well, and if you can believe it, T.G. actually passed up seeing a Michael Jackson tribute, "Thriller", that was showing the weekend we were there!

Our third day was spent at the Busan Aquarium, where we saw a penguin feeding (they actually call them jackass penguins!!) and a shark feeding!  After that we walked along the beach boardwalk and found ourselves down a sea side trail that had more beautiful ocean views that were also very close to our hotel!  

On our last day we basically checked out of the hotel and made our way back to the train station, via subway, and headed back to Seoul!

Just like in Seoul, the shopping is amazing in Busan and should not be missed…there is a market in the Heaundae area that is not very large, but you could walk down it a hundred times and not see the same thing twice!  We found a few treasures and gifts along the way. It may have been a quick little get-away, but we sure enjoyed it and hope to go back in the spring when it is warmer!  

Thanksgiving with Happy Surprises!

Happy Thanksgiving from Seoul!  We had a very successful Thanksgiving party for our friends and T.G.'s co-workers.  There is a restaurant on-post that makes turkey and ham to-go, so T.G. and I provided those and our guests provided the remainder of the sides.  

Many of you may or may not know, but my job during the holidays at home is to set the table, complete with center pieces and place settings, so preparing for this gathering was right up my alley.  We fell into some dumb-luck and happened to rescue this abandoned dining room table from the trash outside our apartment!  We (I) was starting to stress about table space for food and eating, but during the snow flurries the day before Thanksgiving, we found this table and it ended all of my fears.  We got into the apartment and I scrubbed it with a toothbrush for a couple hours and it was just perfect for holiday decor and deserts!  

I spotted it while looking at the snow from our window.  The area to the right of the pavilion with the cream color stacks of furniture is where we found the table.

Around 2pm our friends starting arriving and seemed to have had a nice time getting to know one another, especially those from T.G.'s work.  We all know how nice it is to get to know your co-workers away from work stresses!  Our Korean friends even brought some dishes to share.  Julie was very excited about the turkey.  Having spent time in the states, she knows the joys of American holiday foods!  

Our holiday cocktail: Sparkling Cider Pumpkin Beertail!
 http://www.brit.co/pumpkin-cider-beertail/

Our yummy spread of food!

And dessert, of course!

Flowers made with Julie

A few of my favorites from home... 

More beautiful flowers, thanks to Julie!

All-in-all, I have to say it all went really well!  While we greatly missed being with our families, it was nice to be surrounded with friends and knowing that we may have provided them a place to celebrate while missing their families too.  

NOW:  ON TO CHRISTMAS!  Happy Holidays everyone!!

ONLY IN KOREA!

My fellow military wives and service members frequently find ourselves out and about in Seoul or other parts of South Korea and often hear ourselves commenting on day-to-day occurrences as 'only in Korea'.  I cannot claim to have come up with the idea of documenting these occasions, only that I wanted to start my own list while we continue our adventure.  These synopsis are not meant to be hurtful or have any sort of negative connotation.  They are meant simply as ordinary, day-to-day cultural differences observed while in this beautiful country.  Some will be funny, some will be dumb, but none are meant to be hurtful.  I have been fortunate enough to meet some amazing native Korean friends in our short time here and have no intention of offending them by stating these funny, little, living-life experiences.  

My hope is that I will come back to this posting and update it throughout the remainder of my time here in South Korea and one day be able to look back and smile at the silly things I remember.  So, with that, check back frequently for new experiences!  

O N L Y   I N   K O R E A:

• Walking down the sidewalk, at any time of day or day of the week, you will find yourself in fear of being run-over or at least side-swiped by a person on a motorcycle or moped.  We have come to the conclusion that these individuals must have passed their driving test to have a license, but then threw all the rules out the window as soon as they walked out of the DMV building.

http://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2948139

       

• As many of you may know I am a bit of a shopoholic.  T.G. may say this is an understatement, but at least I'm good at finding bargains!  Now, I know we have great shopping in the U.S.A., but I have to say that it doesn't hold an candle to the shopping available day and night here in Seoul.  First of all, when you enter most of the subway stations you will find anything from coffee shops or full restaurants to beauty stores or clothing stores readily available from around 0900 to 2200.  It's amazing and that's only in the subway stations!  There are so many unique areas in Seoul to shop, depending on what you are looking to buy or just browse.  So far, I have really enjoyed spending hours walking around Namdaemun Market and other street-type shopping that is available.  You can find anything your heart desires and the prices are AMAZING!  I went out with three girlfriends to Namdaemun the other day and nearly got all of my Christmas shopping completed in just one day!  Also, there are several areas that only do night shopping, which starts at 2400 and ends around 0400-0500.  Apparently, that is where the really good deals are, but I have not been quite yet.  Soon I hope!  Here are a few pictures of my shopping adventures thus far!

Namdaemun loves Christmas like me!!

Hello Kitty Cafe:  Hello Kitty 24/7!

Meyongdong street food outside all 
the amazing stores!

A cute pair of kitten heels I picked up 
in Dondaemun.

There's even decent shopping on-post.  
Those blankets behind me are the warmest
 blankets in the world!

The market just outside our apartment…one stop shopping
 for most daily-life things!

Check out this link for more detailed information!

http://seoulistic.com/travel-to-korea/seoul-shopping-11-best-places-to-go-shop-for-korean-fashion/

• There has been one rather unfortunate occurrence that we have come across that is less than appealing.  Often times when we find ourselves on a packed (or unpacked) subway car there is a foul odor that is somewhat inescapable.  After several rides and observation, we've come to the conclusion that some of the people (mainly older gentlemen) are secreting years and years of kemchi, garlic and soju from their pores.  It is such a distinct smell that once you smell it, you will always remember it.  It is also noticeable when in small spaces , like an elevator.  Now, I have to say this odor is much more tolerable than the frequent, but random smells of raw sewage smelled when walking around any area of Seoul, but still not the most desirable either.

CHECK BACK SOON!  YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THESE!!

Our First Visitors!

Well, we've had our first visitors survive the trip/trek/journey to South Korea.  My parents flew in on November 3rd and flew out on the 11th.  We had such a fun time with them here!  It's funny how you don't realized just how much you've learned and grown until you have to show someone around a giant city and navigate it for them.  T.G. and I have managed to learn how to survive in this huge metropolitan area for over three months now and I have to say that we are doing very well for ourselves!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea

A huge applaud should go to my parents for being the first 'guinea pigs' to join us in this crazy tour!  They were courageous in trying new foods, hopping on subways and dodging scooters on the sidewalks.  They were game for whatever came our way and that says a lot!



On our first full day, we took a tour called "Seoul Historic Sights".  This included visiting the Jogyesa Buddhist Temple, the Gyeongbok Palace, the National Folk Museum, the Blue House (like our White House, but blue…) and a major amethyst dealer in Seoul.  The tour was very nice and a great way to introduce my parents to Seoul and the complexity of the city.  We were driven by bus to each stop, visiting historic and beautiful sights, all while remaining in downtown Seoul.  It was pretty incredible!

Day two consisted of going on a scavenger hunt for brunch in Itaewon, somewhat unsuccessfully, since the place I had planned was not open on a Tuesday morning for some reason…so again, the adventure continued while we tried a few different coffee shops for sustenance before I had to go to my Korean language class.  While I was there, T.G., Bob and my Mom toured around Itaewon and managed to find my Mom some awesome boots!  I was a bit jealous, but that will all be made up later, I assure you. That afternoon, the ladies and gentlemen parted ways.
The boys went on a manly adventure to Noryangin Fish Market and finished the day with, what were said to be, 'delicious winnings cooked by Bob'.  They cooked up octopus, clams and some 'questionable, clear-eyed fish.  I'll let the pictures do the talking.

We ladies, to include my Mom, myself, my friends Julie and Nicolle, went on a shopping adventure in Dondaemun!  Specifically we went to the seven story monstrosity of a 'mall' called Doota. We're talking six enormous floors, each organized by category, topped with a shopping-feuling food paradise on top!  My sweet friend, Julie, who is from Seoul, drove us to the area, shopped with us all afternoon and then took us to a traditional Korean dinner.  It was a fantastic day full of fun and friends!

Day three consisted of riding on the subway to Seoul Station and shopping at Lotte Mart.  Since that is where we got Carmichael (and she and Bob were instant BFFs), we decided to go back and see if there was a friend for her.  Unfortunately, all available would have been little boyfriends for sweet Carmy, so I had to pass on that idea.  Luckily, my Mom and I made up for the lack of companionship in stocking up on plenty of other fun finds!  After that, we had a low-key rest of the day, which included my Mom and I taking a nice walk around Ichon-dong.

Day four was the big DMZ day.  T.G. escorted my parents to the north part of South Korea to see the DMZ, JSA and 3rd Tunnel.  For those of you who know Bob, you know he was very exited to learn and see the history in store.  I was unable to join the tour due to my Korean class, so I stayed behind in Seoul while the others when to learn about Korea's historic divide.  Upon return, my Mom was in awe of the sadness and amazing differences she learned about North and South Korea.  Bob returned with his hat full of knowledge that will undoubtedly fuel more research and learning in his near future.  Surprisingly, everyone was up for a fun dinner at The Navy Club (on-post), followed by the "Seoul Lantern Festival" that happens every November.  These lanterns and lights were an amazing sights and I'm so proud of my parents and husband for taking that event on after the huge day up at the DMZ.  Everyone was in great spirits and excited to see the sights.  (My Mom's camera was used for all of the pictures of the day…)

Day five started off with lounging in the morning, followed by a delicious 10 course meal at SamcheongGak.  This luncheon was specially organized and facilitated by my friend Julie.  She was so proud to share this cultural experience with my family that we also invited our dear friends, Nicolle and Jacob to join us.  Two hours and ten courses later, we strolled around Samcheong Park and took in all the fall colors and scenery.  That evening we picked up Mr. Pizza, T.G. and my favorite pizza take-out near our house and stayed in with our friends.  It was a really beautiful fall day!

Day six I took my parents on an excursion to Namdaemoon Market.  A lot of people do not understand the chaos that is, Namaemoon Market, especially on a Saturday, but my dear parents got the experience it at it's best and in the cool rain!  To no one's surprise, my Mom and I made a huge dent in our Christmas shopping lists and even managed to make a few fun purchases for our selves.  Bob enjoyed looking at various hats and street foods.  He even found our lunch restaurant down one of the food alleys, where wet enjoyed yummy, freshly-made Korean food!  I even got to try out some of the Korean I have been working to learn!  That evening we were all so tired from the full and busy week and crazy shopping day that we stayed in and played Farkle.  Nice quality time!

Day seven we loaded up the Kooridoor tour bus to discover what Danyang had to offer.  As it turns out, it is a really beautiful place to visit and get out of the city.  I don't think we could have chosen a better time of year to visit this area of South Korea.

While it was a very chilly day, the fall leaves where amazing shades of gold, rust and fiery red!  Being in the 'country-side' really showed us all what beautiful and mountainous area South Korea holds.  My Mom even managed to make it through Gosu Caves!

Several of my native Korean friends had no idea where or what Danyang was, but I am so glad we took this tour!  We all throughoughly enjoyed this full day!  On our way back into Seoul, which was a four hour bus ride due to traffic, we decided to have an easy dinner at Fresh Burger and come home so my parents to pack in preparation for going home the following day.  I sure am glad we visited Fresh Burger while we could…it is now out of business, just a few days after we ate there.  Darn!

On Monday, we took Mom and Bob to catch the bus from The Dragon Hill Lodge to the airport.  I'm happy to report they are home safely and their return was as uneventful as when them came over.

It was so much fun to show this amazingly overwhelming city off to my parents.  I can't wait until our next guests come and we are even more comfortable here to show it all off!

P.S.  Mom, please feel free to add any comments about things I may have missed…it was a lot to cover!!  You guys were real troopers!!

Beijing, Amazing Beijing!

As many of you know, T.G. and I took a USO sponsored tour of Beijing, China!  What amazing opportunity for us!  The simplicity of taking a tour on our first "excursion" out of South Korea was just perfect.  Many people plan their excursions on their own, without a guide or assistance from the local community, but for us, on our first attempt to explore Asia, this was the best way to go.  We were met at the airport by our guide, Eric and bus driver.  From that point on, Eric and the bus driver took care of all of our transportation needs, that part was most helpful.  We arrived in Beijing around 0930 on Friday and our first stop was our hotel.  We stayed at The Doubletree by Hilton in the financial district of Beijing.  Eric got our whole group (21 people total) checked in and we all went our separate ways to get settled in our rooms and have lunch.  T.G. and I walked around the area of our hotel looking for a local restaurant to have lunch, but had no luck finding someone who spoke English or had an English menu, so (as most of our fellow tour group) we went to the McDonald's next door to our hotel.  Luckily, it tasted just like at home!

For some reason we got a Happy Meal box with a toy...I'm not sure which one of us they though was a child...

Later we met Eric and the rest of the group to go on our first tour: The Lakeside Summer Palace and Beijing Olympic Park.  The first stop was The Summer Palace.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace

The gardens were beautifully maintained and the lake had a lot of boat activity.  This was a beautiful introduction to the Chinese culture.  Our tour guide, Eric, told us loads of stories about the history of emperors uses of the palace and what it is used for now, which is mostly tourism.  We walked around the palace for about an hour and a half before we loaded the bus to go tour Beijing Olympic Park!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Green

We had limited time to wonder around the park, but it was so interesting to see where so many athletes competed for metals and the beautiful structure of the "bird's nest".  While we didn't get to go inside, it was just amazing to see it from the outside!  (On a side note, "Bird's Nest" is also a delicacy in China.  It consists of the spit and vomit used by swallows to prepare and solidify their nests.  It is collected with delicacy, boiled for hours, and - you know know, it doesn't matter, it sounds gross.)

After the park, we were taken back to our hotel to wind down and have dinner.  T.G. and I had dinner at the hotel with our friend Mark, then we all had after dinner drinks at the hotel lounge.  It was a great first day in Beijing!

Day two, we started with a delicious breakfast provided by the hotel and then it was off to The Great Wall of China!  Words cannot express the amazement one feels standing on this ancient structure, seeing the voluminous mountains and hearing the history involved.  T.G., Mark and I started to climb the wall together.  Unfortunately, my asthma and altitude intolerance kicked in after a while and the boys had to keep climbing without me.   As you can see from the signs, ascend the Wall with caution and at your own pace.  At first I was disappointed to not be able to go all the way, but then I realized that I was standing on The Great Wall of China, surrounded by thousands of people and ancient culture and at that point I just stood on the landing and took it all in.  I had never seen or felt sights like this before.  Many of you know I am not the most religious or spiritual of people, but in that moment, I felt something, that is for sure.  It was the feeling of complete and total awe.  Goosebumps and all!

T.G. and Mark managed to climb to the peak of the area of The Wall that we were at, so many of the pictures are from T.G.'s vantage point.  I'll let them speak for themselves...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

Visiting The Great Wall of China was by far our favorite part of the trip...

After The Great Wall, we went on a tour of a jade factory, lunch at a Chinese food restaurant and then on a tour of The Hutong area of Beijing.  At the factory, T.G. bought a 'Jade Family Ball', which is actually three jade balls hand carved within one another.  Our family ball has a dragon (man), a phoenix (woman) and many other symbols that are supposed to bring good luck to your family.  Needless to say, the items in the pictures are not inexpensive. For example, the hand-carved ship that T.G. is standing next to took three years to complete and costs $61,000!

The Hutong Tour was not really our favorite part of our visit.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong) We arrived to, what appeared to be a very under-developed and impoverished area of the city and were herded onto rickshaws (bikes with a carriage, driven by a Chinese man).  We rode through the very narrow alley ways through dirt and dust to learn about the meaning of a traditional Chinese doorway and visit a traditional Chinese home.  The one pictured is the one we visited.  Mr. Wong's family has owned this 10 room shanty for the last 200 years.  His daughter, who just got married, is the only heir to the property, which is worth 8 million U.S. dollars!  By American standards, this property might be condemned, but Mr. Wong was very proud to show this beautiful home that he shares with his wife, 14 cats, one dog and countless birds.  The price was astounding to us.  Once we left Mr. Wong's residence, we were taken back to the bus to head back to the hotel, or so we thought...

This bus ride took over two hours due to Beijing traffic.  Many of us had been talked into paying to go see a 'real KungFu show'.  The plan was for the bus to take us from The Hutongs to the hotel and then the theater to see the show.  Since traffic was so bad, we went directly to the theater and those not going were placed in a cab back to the hotel.  The show proved to be mediocre, at best, by the majority of us.  More like fake KungFu with a predictable storyline that was super cheesy.  Live and learn, right? 

Once back at the hotel, T.G., Mark and I walked to Papa Johns (very similar to home), also next to the hotel to eat and then had cocktails in the lounge again before turning in for the night.  Day two was great due to our visit to The Great Wall of China!  Absolutely amazing!

Day three included a visit to Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven and Tea Tasting.  Full day, yes.  While all was very informative the entire group seemed to be running out of steam at this point...of course, we all made the absolute best of it!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City

(pause for quick Chinese lunch and visit to the silk factory)

The Silk Factory was really interesting and I got a 100% silk quilt, quilt comforter and free pillow shams!  

http://www.silk-road.com/artl/silkhistory.shtml

On to The Temple of Heaven!  There may or may not have been some photo-bombing by new friends...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Heaven

The departure day from Beijing included an in-room couples' massage by two very kind, non-English speaking women (from a group that regularly provides services to hotel guests).  It was a full 90-minute massage for a mere $23 - hard to beat no matter where you live. The ladies were so impressed by our $20 tip, they asked if they could return the following day to do another massage...WE WISH!  It was a lovely way to start a day of travel.  We met Eric in the lobby and he took us to the second most famous restaurant in Beijing for Peking Duck (I know...I know...Duckie ate duck, but when in Rome, right?)  Then we were dropped off at the airport, just as we were received.  What a great adventure!

  

What I have found very strange, is that I felt this huge sense of relief upon return to Seoul.  I told T.G. that is isn't like I'm 'home', but at least it's familiar.  It's funny how our perspective changes with travel!  

I hope y'all have enjoyed this LONG blog entry.  We had so much fun that we just couldn't wait to share our stories and pictures and put in a big plug to visit Beijing!

NOW, on to our next undertaking!