Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Seoul Fever


The fever finally broke. It's been at least 85 degrees (F) night and day since we got to Korea. Now it's 74F according to the Galileo Thermometer. Now it's going to be a lot more pleasant to bike to work and maybe my knees will let me start running. Otherwise I can swim and bike for exercise.
They have a really nice greenbelt next to the Han River here and there's always a lot of people there- so these people take pretty good care of themselves. Their food is mostly vegetable based, so they're not big fatties since it's sprouts and veggies and not meat and pasta every meal.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Air Force Ball


Of course you see all the war movies and what are the people doing when they're not in battle? Dressing up nice and eating while they use mighty words to describe their deeds in the fields of combat. Not me. Julie and dressed up and went to the Lotte Hotel (the guys from Osan and Kunsan came from a LONG ways away!!!) and made fun of all that. It's what I do as a professional cynic. And for good reason- I'm going to be a Captain for a long, long time. So I might as well live it up and enjoy it.
Enjoy the pic- Julie looks really good. I should photoshop someone else onto my face, but I'd probably go to jail for impersonating a celebrity and get 15 to life for it.
And the pictures behind us will go home to the US. They're really pretty and while I never thought I'd ever want to have 'Asian' stuff in the house, I didn't know I'd be this enchanted with the place, either. I hope a straight guy can say 'enchanted' because I love Korea. This place grows on you. Especially when you cut 10-15 minutes off your commute to church across town! Who would have thought there was an entrance to the Gangbeyon Expressway just up the street. If only getting off that thing was as easy. My first attempt got us sent across the river on the Dongjak Bridge. Nice bridge, but it wasn't what I wanted. Oh well, you can't get to know Seoul without getting lost at least 50 times. 47 to go.

Friday, September 19, 2008

The "Don't Mess With The ROK" Demonstration






Today was really quite the adventure. We took a bus up near the DMZ to a firing range for the S Koreans to practice their aerial gunnery, artillery and anti-tank weapons. I pulled the kids out of school for this, because it's why we're here. It was pretty impressive too.
They took us on a bus up to the range, and if I could remember the name, I'd post a screenshot from google earth on here, but it was a wide valley with tanks and planes painted on the ground. So the target set was laid out and it started off with their RF-4C's doing a flyby and popping flares. My Dad would have been in tears. Then the ground artillery started going off and you can see the video of the guys with the tanks shooting. It was really cool- the F-16's and F-15's dropped bombs and the pics and video really don't do it justice, because the ground shook and there were concussions in the air from the explosions. You had to be there. The kids were all impressed. They also had Cobras and Apaches shooting as well.
Some of the soldiers wanted to take a picture with Tabitha and me, so we got one. They're good folks here and they all think the world of kids. Even white ones.
And we got to see the goods they use (tanks, missiles and rockets) to defend this beautiful land from aggression. It's sad really, because they're the same country and there's families divided in all this. And then you drive south and you see the fighting positions dug into the sides of the mountains and the tank traps to slow the bad guys down. But no one is willing to unify the place and let the other side win. But I'm not all that into oppression and starvation myself, either.
The downside to this trip? They had portapotties there and I think they forgot to put in the toilet part, because there was just a hole in the floor. And little girls have to go so we had a series of accidents in the things with the older girls. So apparently those things are just a place to wet yourself or get some on your mom. And Tabitha threw up on the way back, too. We can't have a trip without that anyway.
I got the famous watermelon popsicles. They have chocolate chips in them and they're really good. Violet ate one and it melted all over her. Tired, dirty kids but it was worth it. Besides, it was the first time we left Seoul since we got here. Amazing how fast the time flies here. I'm trying to get the language down here, but it's awful slow going.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Saturday in Seoul

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It's nice to sort of know your way around here. I just wish we had the language down a little better. But that'll come along with time and effort. We called family in the morning and got ready to go out. Then we walked to Ichon Station, and hopped the rails to Anguk Station and went to Insadong Market. We didn't get what we wanted there so we went for a walk down the Cheonggye Stream nearby. It was covered over when they were rebuilding Seoul back in the 1950s, but in the late 1980s when there was some time for the society to start asking for real quality of life venues. It's beautiful and much nicer to stroll along than the fetid ditch that runs through Yongsan Army Garrison. Here's the picture of the thing. It's really a work of art- like these tiles that depict a Korean King and his procession. Beautiful!!!

Here's a picture of the empty subway station since it's Chusok, because they're NEVER that empty. There's always lots of people in all the stations.

And Amanda helped the guy make rice cakes and smash the rice. He was really nice. They love the 'tourists' here.

So we went from soaking our feet in the river to the Namdaemun Market and looked for stuff. I got some stainless steel chopsticks and Spencer actually did the transaction, so the guy gave him a 1000 Won. Those thin, slippery chopsticks are really hard to use. So hopefully the kids will learn how to use them.

We needed to look for dishes, and there was a large display at the Commissary- and of course they were all sold out. Julie had called me at work and asked if she could get them. I told her to get them and we'll give them away if I don't like them. But she didn't and they were out of them. So we're still looking for dishes- but we can't peak too soon, either.

And I should have taken the violin with me to Insadong Market and gotten the bridge replaced. That was Julie's Mom's violin and it sounds too good for me. I'm not up to playing it as well as it sounds. But it does need a little work, so I need to take it to the best luthier there. I need to play more- I was trying to learn the Korean National Anthem. Happy Chuseok, Korea.

And Kim Jong Il had a stroke. I wonder what that means for us around here? The lack of predictability is going to be interesting.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Chuseok






I'm so proud of myself. I wrote Chuseok in Hangul at work on the board from memory and only spelled it with a J-sound and was a little off on the -eok sound. Not bad for 2 months!
Here's a few pics of the view from our friends' apartment- you've seen the lack of view of our place, now see what it's like to be in a real high-rise apartment with a view of the Hangang River. And their place is like 3 times the size as ours. But who could afford the utilities there?
My office had the Chuseok party Tuesday night and we played volleyball and BBQ'd hamburgers and hot dogs- they wanted the American food. So I asked what the ROK military officer in our office what they were going to do for us gringos (I have the term written down at work, but they call us Yankees and the Korean words for 'big-nose') and they just take us out to a Korean restaurant. I called my counterpart a 'slacker' and then had to explain what it meant! He laughed and thought it was funny. He likes the words I teach him- slacker, heckler, etc. And I'm going to ask for an F-4 ride before I leave here. I'll puke my guts up, but what a ride!
Tabitha's party was today and Julie took this picture of Tabitha with two classmates. I had to obscure their faces, since I didn't ask their parents' permission and I wouldn't like it if someone put my kid on the Net without my permission. But their dresses are so pretty. We need to find some for the kids that don't cost $70 each. I saw them on base for that much. So we hopefully can find traditional Korean clothing for less.
I love the gooey rice cakes they have everywhere. Man, those are good. It's rice and something else all mashed up and has a sugary middle. Just a short bike ride away to the E-mart to get some, too.
I guess they're going to open up Kim Jong Il's job- I'll put in a resume and send a get-well card to Kim. I could run that country a lot better than he could.
And the approval came through today for me to stay one more year and get a small bonus. So we're going to be here until 2011. We'll have to fly home every summer Space-A now. That's fine. We'll miss the US if we stay away too long, but Korea has been a lot of fun so far.

Saturday, September 6, 2008

Woori Heros Baseball!


We went to a baseball game last night. It's so different (like everything else) how they do things. The teams are owned by corporations. The Woori Heros (tobacco company) played the Doosan Bears (booze company), so it was one of those!
Anyway, they don't cheer or heckle when the other team is up to bat. They make all kinds of noise when their team is up to bat. And they have cheerleaders that get up and dance- and they have a mascot as well. The Heros won, and we all crammed into a taxi to get home faster than the subway that got us there- it was like 1/3 mile from the station to the stadium.
It wasn't super-crowded in there, the hot dogs were expensive and spicy and I tried dried squid- I call it Octopus Jerky. It's a little rubbery, but not bad.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

North Korean Money


Here's an activity. Print and cut out the North Korean money and feel free to spend it on anything you want. Since they're up there counterfeiting our money, I thought I'd return the favor.
The picture is Kim Il Sung, I think they call him the "Great Father" or something. But all he's done is produce a crazy, nepotistic kid and make things silly around here. But if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be here, I guess.

I signed up for an additional year here. There's an undisclosed amount of money for doing so, and I guess we all have our price. Mine is just a lot lower that I thought.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Young Chang Piano Company of Seoul, Korea




Yesterday, we had an adventure getting a new piano. I went with Chris Chang and Jenny Han down to the Insadong Market to get the thing. Jenny did the negotiating and talked the guy down to W3.8 million and got it delivered and tuned that day. It sounds great, and there's nothing quite like a baby grand piano in your house. Julie has waited many years for this, and she deserves a nice piano. It's not a $30,000 Yamaha piano, but Korean workmanship to me sounds fine (my ear is untrained to know the difference). The guy tuned it manually and it was really cool to watch him work at it. He'd tune one and start working the octaves. I've talked to a piano tuner before (this is why camping at the KOA's is so fun if you're unabashed like me!) but he told me you have to tune them differently than you'd think or they'd all sound horrible. Because I asked him half-jokingly if he used 88 tuning forks to tune a piano, but they don't do that. In the States, they use a computer and it tells them what to set it to, this guy just did it all by ear. I never saw him use a tuning fork or anything. These people have mad skills at things.

We've been playing the currency market lately. We're trying to make a few bucks on the exchange rates to pay bills and stuff, but you really have to pay attention to it and you have to know where to get the things exchanged. Korea is going to strengthen the Won here soon, so it'll drop, but we'll try to make a few bonus bucks in the meantime.

Here's a palace guard changing- I had to shoot it from the car as we were looking for parking, and here's a lady in a Hanbok. You're supposed to ask permission around here to take people's pictures, but I had the window up and we were driving by so I didn't have time. It's a pretty dress anyway. We're going to take our family pictures in traditional Korean clothes for our Christmas card this year, so I guess we'd better get that done.

I'm going to sign the paper to get the Korea bonus pay. You get a few hundred bucks a month to stay another year. It saves the military money in moving expenses, and we have one less move in the career to have to make. Not like I'm fast-tracked to 4-star general anyway. Might as well let Mr (Air) Force keep me happy. And we're saving a lot of money, but as you can see, we're opening the door and allowing a lot of Won/Dollars to get away. Life's too short to let it all get you down. At least I ride my bike to work now so I don't get stressed about finding a parking place when I get to work, and I get a little exercise- it'll be even better when it cools off more around here.

It turns out our utility costs weren't too bad. Our gas bill for the stove was 3,500 Won and our electricity worked out to being about 1,000 Won a day, so being conservative and a total cheapskate was good for us. We're saving a few bucks there by living off-post. They'll give us all the extra utility money back when we leave here in 2011, so we'll use that for a car or something.

Monday, September 1, 2008

Post Labor Day Holiday



So I get one more day off. No complaints there- especially with the kids in school. Tabitha started school today so we just have Violet. HOORAY!!!

Today we hopefully get the piano- if the money is in. The exchange rate is getting up there to where a guy can make a few bucks on changing the money. So you either sit on that and change it back if it drops, or buy more stuff with less money.

Our gas bill is 3,500 Won. We used 2 cubic meters of gas in a month for cooking. I don't know if that's the heat as well. We'll see in the winter if that thing uses a ton of gas, but there's no appliance in the apartment that I can see to heat the place, other than a thermostat in Hangul and some numbers on it. One of the guys at work paid $90 for his summer electric bill and that took a lot of stress away for me. We didn't run the A/C that much- so that's good news.

It's not raining, so I want to go back to Insadong with one kid and spend money.

Korean Curse


The people here are out to get me. I get a day off, and it rains. We could have gone to any amusement park in the city- and had a good time in short lines. But they made it rain here- I'm certain they knew it was Labor Day and all the Miguk's get the day off. But the Hanguk's made it rain. So we paid the rent (the exchange rate was W 1098) and went to the freezing indoor swimming pool. Waste of a day- but it beats working.

Tabitha starts school tomorrow and the other kids go back as well. Then we have just 1 kid at home for a day. We'll go purchase the "Young Chang" brand baby grand piano for W4000, but we'll try to talk the guy down and get it delivered for less. I can't believe how cheap that is for a baby grand piano. Julie's waited over 10 years for this. We may buy another one and ship it home so we can make a buck on selling one. We're saving a lot of money on the exchange rate alone.

Here's a 'Rose of Sharon' the National Flower of Korea. Their bird is the magpie. I haven't gotten a picture of one yet.