Communication Clicks

For those of you who haven't seen my constant Facebook updates (I try not to put the same things on the blog that I do on FB), we are now wired and ready for communication! Last Monday, we FINALLY got our Alien Registration cards and we are now officially legal in Korea for the next year. The reason that is so exciting is that in Korea, you cannot get cell phones and internet until you are officially legal. So, on Monday, we got our new iPhone 4s (I know, we said we were NOT going to do that, but they turned out to be cheaper than they are back home and the ability to have GPS and bus and subway routes in our hands at all times seems pretty invaluable at this point!). I was especially grateful that we'd ordered them when I lost my iPod touch a week or two ago! More to the point...for those of you that we tended to be in constant communication with before (and that happen to have iPhones), we are in the process of finding apps that will allow us to continue that communication via text and voice for free. So, send one of us an email and we can get it figured out!

Additionally, we are wired via the internet at home now, too. Yesterday, we went and got a wireless router and in spite of the fact that the directions are all in Korean, Eric still managed to get it hooked up by himself, so now our 3 laptops, 2 phones, and iPad can now access WiFi at home! Yay! In the last week, we've talked to our parents and other family members via Skype and FaceTime. If you need contact information for us, let me know. We'd love to talk to you!

One more benefit of internet at home is that I am finally able to upload pictures! There are new slideshows here on the blog (remember if you click on a picture, the slideshow will open in a new window. The pictures will be bigger and you can leave a comment if you'd like!) and on Facebook. I've been having a lot of fun learning how to use Lightroom and my new camera. Hope you enjoy!

The Food Saga

In the last week or so, I have finally begun to feel like I can cook here. That's not to say we've had anything fancy, but at least we haven't been eating out of a box! Another thing that's been really nice is actually having both of us home in the evening. Granted, by the time I walk home from soccer and take a shower, it's about 6:30, but most nights of the week we're both home by 5 or 5:30. 

I have been cooking with a lot of rice because rice is easy to get here and it goes well with the vegetables that abound. I've made stir fry with chicken, peppers, and onions. Then fried rice with all of the leftover rice because I used a mug to measure since I don't have measuring cups! I also made jambalaya and by that point I had figured out that my Ziploc containers have measurements on them in cups, so I was able to measure the correct amount of water. We've also had tacos, more stir fries, and penne pasta with jarred sauces. Like I said, nothing gourmet, but it's better than nothing!

The singles, on the other hand, seem to go out for every meal. That's not to say that we don't eat out, but thankfully it's not every night. There is just about any type of food that you could think of in a restaurant here in Seoul. On Wednesday nights, we get together with the group of newbies and have cheap pizza. There is the classic pepperoni, the cheese pizza comes with corn on it, the sweet potato pizza which is thick and sweet. We've also tried a chicken pizza which has a lot of jalapenos on it and is HOT, as well as the Mexican pizza (I can't quite figure out what exactly is on that one). Eric really likes the Turkish kebab place near school, and I like On the Border, one of the few Mexican places here. 

I have to admit, we have not been too adventurous when it comes to eating out. There is a fish and chip place, a Korean grill place that's supposed to be good, Italian, Chinese, and many cafes in our neighborhood. There are so many places that I would like to try, but it is pretty stressful when I know that it's going to be tough to find something the kids will eat! At that point, you start to feel like you may as well have eaten at home where at least they could have a peanut butter sandwich when they won't eat what you make! Now that the kids finally have a good bed time routine, we'll have to start experimenting with more take out! Now...to convince Eric...

Soccer Starts

One of the things I was excited to get involved in when I got here was coaching a sport. Because they don't offer golf or baseball, it was supposed to be my turn to play in the afternoon and send Eric home to hang out with the kids. After hearing about all that is going on every day after school, on weekends, and simply trying to adjust to life on a new continent, it seemed that this was going to be out of my reach. But, a couple of weeks ago, our athletic director sent out another email asking for volunteers to help out with sports. The plan was that the volunteers really only need to be there for weekend jamborees because high school athletes help out with the actual skills in practice. So Eric and I decided we would each sign up to volunteer with a sport (he with middle school cross country and me with middle school girls soccer). Eric assured me that the seasons do not overlap and there wouldn't be any conflicts, so we sent our emails. Within a day, we'd discovered that "volunteer" does not mean that you only show up for jamborees on the weekend and that the cross country and soccer season most certainly do overlap! So, Eric is running with the cross country team on Mondays and while we are still in search of high schoolers to help with the soccer team, I am practicing on Thursday and Friday afternoons (which is really nice because those are my days off, so by 3:30 I'm ready to get the kids out of the house and go play!). 

This weekend was our middle school soccer clinic at World Cup Stadium in Suwon. I was really excited not only to see the stadium and get out of Seoul for the first time in 4 weeks, but also to be able to say I'd played in a World Cup stadium! Awesome, right? It turned out to not be quite as awesome as we'd hoped. While they had charged our school a lot with the impression we would be in the stadium, we were actually on the training fields which were not in the best condition and so far away from the stadium itself that we only drove by it as we were leaving. A major disappointment. The clinic wasn't run very well, but it was still fun running some drills and interacting with the girls. It was hot and dry and we were glad that it was only a half day clinic! We'll know for next year!

What Would I Bring?

One of the conversations I have with other women on staff is what we would bring if we could go back home and re-pack...I try not to think of it in a negative light, but more as what I would tell someone who was coming here for the first time. For those of you who already have plans to visit: we are very much looking forward to seeing you and we are also very much looking forward to what you can bring us! :)

1. Spices--I brought some Italian seasonings (though why I didn't go out and buy new, full jars I will never know...and guess what? They have Italian seasonings here!). I think I would bring every spice from my cabinet that I use regularly. I was able to find salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder easily. I thought I'd be able to find cayenne pepper easily...not so.

2. Baking supplies--I would bring baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract, baking sheets, and cooling racks. I've found baking soda and powder but in very small amounts for about $5 each. I have yet to find any of the others. Measuring cups and measuring spoons are also impossible to find. And, they're small...I could have fit them in easily!

3. Broom--I know, this sounds weird, and it would be pretty impossible to pack, but the brooms here are really short and they hurt your back especially when you have wood floors and you sweep 3 times a day!

4. Refried beans--my kids love these and after 3 weeks without them, we went on the hunt for them at the international market in our neighborhood. We successfully bought the one and only can they had...for $4.50. If you'd ever told me I'd pay that much for a can of beans, I would have laughed in your face!

I know that there are many other things, but these are some of the small things that it probably would have been easy to throw in if I'd known. Oh well...you live and learn, right?

Sounds of the City

One thing that I was really worried about when preparing to move to Seoul was the noise. So worried, in fact, that I didn't even blog about it--it would've made it too real! I have never lived in a city--the closest I've ever gotten was Ellensburg on a big party weekend--and it's a small town! 

I was worried that there would be sirens all the time, that people would be out yelling down the streets in the middle of the night, cars honking, and that I would never sleep again! I even brought ear plugs with me for when I got desperate. Thankfully, my fears were completely unfounded! I'm sure there are parts of town where some of these things are realities, but we actually live in a very quiet apartment complex and in a quiet neighborhood. Honestly, I think the only noises I use the air conditioning to drown out are the noises of my children opening their doors and walking around on the wood floors (and that is mostly because I hear it whether it is really happening or not...gotta love my "mom ears"). 

I will say that being from the Northwest, we have never experienced the constant hum of the cicadas, and they did take some getting used to, but I'll take that over people any day!

The Weekend

Another weekend has come and gone and thankfully, we had another great one! On Saturday morning, Eric and I took a look at the list of items we still need for the apartment and decided what we were going to search out. We got started early and went to the secondhand store in our neighborhood. We were looking for a desk to turn our spare room into more of an office than just closet space. We discovered the second floor of our beloved store and found more desk and office furniture than I've ever seen in such a small space! We picked out a simple corner desk, filing cabinet, and office chair. Now, we finally have a space for all of our laptops, the transformer, and important documents. What a relief! We really don't have enough kitchen counter space to accommodate those things and still be able to cook!

After a successful morning, we decided to "treat" the kids to McDonalds. We were proud of ourselves for managing the last 4 weeks without it! We walked through the doors, and Eric said, "Ah...it smells like America." The menu was a bit different with the bulgogi burger and a limited choice of hamburgers--the quarter pounder with cheese is all-new here! But, it did taste the same, and the kids were thrilled with it!

After lunch, Kennedy and I took off to E-Mart again on the 03 bus, and Eric and Cade headed home to meet the delivery guys. Kennedy and I really enjoyed being able to peruse every floor at iPark Mall and E-Mart with the boys complaining about how long we were taking. The digital department at the mall is very unique. Every floor has different goods such as household electronics: blenders, toasters, irons, and the item we were in search of, alarm clocks. Another floor has computers and game consoles. The interesting thing about it is that there are all these different counters or kiosks individually owned. So, if one counter doesn't offer you a price you like, then you can go to the next counter and see if you can get a better deal...it's kind of weird. Very different from what you'd find in an American mall. Another unique thing we encountered in this mall was the Wedding Convention on the 7th floor. This floor was literally a space to hold weddings. Seeing how we were there on a Saturday afternoon, there was a woman in the white dress and everything. There was a room for the ceremony and another for the reception. And, you could see all of this from the escalator! Kennedy was shocked! 

We were successful picking up a few more small household items and we are starting to feel more and more settled in our little place. Though I still have not had any luck trying to find any type of baking sheet...another day, I guess!

Late Saturday afternoon, we headed to Seoul Forest with a friend and his kids. The kids had a great time playing in the fountains with their new friends! The weather was beautiful, too, which we haven't seen much of since our arrival here! Finally, Saturday night we went to a co-worker's house with our fellow new staff members for homemade desserts--they were delicious and the kids were in Heaven!

Sunday we made it to church successfully, and we're even beginning to feel comfortable there, which is nice. In the afternoon, we made our first attempt to try to hike up to Seoul Tower. It really doesn't look like it's too far from our house, and the signs in the park leading to it are very misleading. At any rate, we probably made it about 3/4 of the way up, but it was hot and the kids were getting tired and we just couldn't make it...another day, I guess!

What a Day!

Thursday was quite a day for me! I spent all day helping with the 6th grade Tech Camp. Our school has a 1:1 laptop program where every student in grades 6-12 get their own laptop assigned to them. Needless to say, the 6th graders were the last to get their laptops and they needed a lot of training on them. I think this may be the most fun I've had since school started, though! They were very entertaining--the things that were important to them, the things they already knew, and the things they couldn't seem to pick up were all very different than what I might have expected! Because I have no set role when I don't have to be subbing in a classroom, I basically get to pick and choose what I want to do during the day, so I try to find the area with the most need--this is only a problem when there isn't anything going on!

So, I actually really enjoyed my day at school--the trouble started after school. I won't normally work Thursdays, but this particular Thursday my job share partner couldn't work, so we traded. I decided to take advantage of this, I join the Thursday afternoon Costco trip. It was easy for Eric to go home and be with the kids, and I could go to Costco by myself--I was really looking forward to it! The trouble started not too far into the drive. It takes about 45 minutes to get there, and this week there were only 4 of us going, so we took a small van. I may have mentioned that drivers in Korea are CRAZY! They weave in and out of traffic, they slam on the brakes a lot, and when these bus drivers get the chance to drive a small van, they seem to really enjoy it! You may have gathered by now that I was starting to feel sick. I was trying to converse with the other people in the van, but I had to look out the window rather than at them. I was trying to breathe steadily, and I even tried taking some ibuprofen. None of it worked. I waited until the very last possible moment to warn the others that I might throw up. It was seconds before I really did throw up. I was grateful to have my huge plastic Costco bags sitting in my lap at that moment. They were really nice even though it must have smelled awful in there, and I now have a new special bond with these 3 people!

Once we got into the store, I was feeling better and grateful to find cold water and get to throw away my bag. I still wasn't 100%, but I was improved. I managed to get the things I needed on the top floor and then make my way down to the floor with the food on it. It was shortly after I arrived on the 1st floor that I realized I no longer had my iPod touch. I keep my grocery and Costco lists on there, so I'm never far away from it when I'm shopping. It turned out that the only way to get back to the top floor was to leave the store entirely and re-enter. So, I parked my cart near the food court (this is something new in Korea--everyone lines up their carts full of groceries they've purchased and go get their hot dog or Bulgogi Bake and no one touches the carts--it's very different!) where a couple of other staff were sitting and exited the store so that I could re-enter and look for my iPod. It was, of course, very stressful because the store is packed (all the time! Imagine Costco in the States right before Thanksgiving or Superbowl--here I would never dream of going before a holiday--it would be a waste of time!), I didn't know where to look, and I had limited time; I only had about 20 more minutes before we were supposed to leave and I still hadn't purchased my groceries yet! I didn't find it, of course. It really is like looking for a needle in a haystack!

So now I had thrown up in front of my new co-workers, lost my iPod touch, and still had yet to get back home. Thankfully, I managed to not throw up on the trip home, even though we took this little van down the most narrow alleys I've ever seen. The one positive side to the little vans is that they will take you right to your door, so I didn't have to tote my 3 Costco bags, my laundry soap, and my package of paper towels across the parking lot!

I was excited to go to bed and wake up to a new day on Friday!

Taking it One Day at a Time

I continue to be surprised by our inability to get really comfortable here. For instance, I would have thought that by now a taxi ride would simply be a taxi ride that we don't think twice about. I wouldn't have thought that trying to make something in the oven would be stressful. I wouldn't have expected that I wouldn't have a piece of toast until 3 1/2 weeks after our arrival. These are things I didn't expect, but we're managing. We're just taking it one day at a time!
We did finally get a toaster yesterday...and a free one at that! There is a spot in the teacher's lounge where people bring their gently used items, and if you're quick enough, you can get some good stuff. So, that's where our toaster came from yesterday, and last night I had the best toast ever! I think it was the first peanut butter I'd had since we got here, so I really enjoyed it.
Last night we had our open house, too. I'm not surprised anymore when something gets thrown to me at the last minute, but yesterday that something was open house. My principals let me know around noon yesterday that I needed to sit at that table again and answer parent questions. Well, this time it wasn't during the school day...it was in the evening, so I had to find childcare. Thankfully, the same girls that watched the kids last night were able to watch them at their house last night, so they fed them dinner and played, and I got home in time to put them to bed. Anyway, I had to take a taxi to and from school last night for the open house. On the way to school it was raining, and Eric and I had a really difficult time finding an open taxi. When we finally managed to get in one, he didn't know what Hanganjin was, so I told him to go to the Hyatt Hotel (on the way) and when we got there, he pulled in and asked for directions! We were running late because it took so long to find a taxi and now he's stopping for directions!! We were not happy! We finally made it to school, but we were both a bit stressed! On the way home from school, my taxi driver kept telling me he didn't understand my Korean directions, and he would repeat them to be in English. So I would say "wen-chok" and he would repeat "left?". Every taxi trip is a little different than the last!
On Monday night (after the festival that we got back late from), Eric tried to make something for dinner in the oven. We had never turned on the oven, and for some reason, he was completely unsuccessful. It didn't really matter, though, because we didn't have a cookie sheet to bake anything on, nor do we have oven mitts to take anything hot out of the oven with, so I guess we'll be shopping again this weekend!

Korean Liberation Day

Saturday night while we were walking someone handed us a flyer...normally in the States when someone tries to hand me a flyer, I say no thank you, but here they don't understand you when you say that. So, instead, I take the flyer. This particular flyer was advertising a celebration at the Korean War Memorial on Liberation Day which was yesterday. The War Memorial is not too far from our house (it's about a 30 minute walk) and we've driven by it several times (in taxis or buses). It's a place that I really wanted to go, but we just hadn't made it a priority yet. So, I thought this would be a perfect opportunity!

The flyer advertised a parade at 4:00, so we left shortly after 3:00, thinking we'd have time to get a spot along the parade route. Ha! This was no American parade! First of all, the place was CROWDED with Koreans!! There were people everywhere!! As foreigners, we were greeted enthusiastically and a group of teenagers who were in love with our kids stuck with us for about an hour showing us where to go and what to do. They took us to the booth to get the kids' faces painted. Kennedy got shy and wouldn't do it, but Cade sat patiently while a girl painted a star with angels' wings on his cheek. Then we went around to the booths where you could see different aspects of Korean culture such as traditional dress and traditional Korean rice cakes (nothing like you would imagine from the States. These are doughy and soft and you just about gag before you finally manage to swallow it...I don't like them; can you tell?). Then we finally got a glimpse of the "parade". Basically, there were marching bands and different performers down in an amphitheater and we watched it on a big screen hanging above them.

Everywhere we went, people wanted to take pictures of Cade and at one point, we even got interviewed about how we were feeling about the event. The War Memorial itself is amazing and we will definitely have to go back sometime soon because there was so much to see, but we couldn't experience it all because there were so many people! There are trucks and airplanes and helicopters...and the kids can climb in and on everything! It is amazing!

Happy Anniversary!

I have to admit, one of the things that I was most worried about in moving across the world from our support systems was losing all of the people that were so willing to watch our kids so that we could go out. As it turns out, I didn’t have anything to worry about! We moved into a neighborhood where there are several teenage staff kids willing to watch our kids as often as we’re willing to pay them! They’re all great and the kids love them already!

So, tonight we took advantage of that and went out for anniversary. We went to a new part of town which we’d been hearing about. We didn’t know anything about it except that there would be a lot of people and street vendors. We heard that we could get in a taxi and tell them Myeondong, so we thought we’d try it tonight without kids. They were right…there were a lot of people and a lot of street vendors! It was a large shopping district with malls, shops, and even an underground shopping area…overwhelming! A little bit of everything! I went into the Forever 21 to find a couple of shirts and it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen! If you’ve ever been in a Forever 21, you know that they are always packed with people and clothes and nothing seems to have any order. This store was 4 stories of the same. Crazy! I did manage to get a couple of shirts in the largest size they had available and without any shape around the bust...everything is so much smaller here! 

We went to dinner at a place called School Food where we had mari and topokki. Topokki is basically rolled rice flour in a dough form (kind of like perogghi). However, this particular topokki we ordered (because we couldn’t read the menu) was the spiciest food I have ever eaten! I had about 2 bites of it, and I think it was the first time Eric has ever left food on his plate in a restaurant! Thankfully, I had ordered garlic and bacon mari (basically sushi). It was an interesting combination, but it was good and we were glad we’d ordered something that wasn’t spicy! After all that, we even managed to get back in a reasonable amount of time…success!

  

School Time

My new schedule started this week (though it's a little off still these first 2 weeks), and yesterday was my first day off with the kids...not a single part of the day went as planned. Because Kennedy did not get into Kindergarden this year, I am planning to homeschool her on my days off. We managed to have "school time" for all of about 30 minutes the entire day. She got frustrated, so we had to take a break, then Cade was being a distraction, then I got frustrated and had to take a break...we didn't even leave the house all day and yet we couldn't manage more than a half hour! I guess we'll build up from there!

Thankfully, today has been far more successful. We managed about an hour this morning, and she came to me and said she was ready for school about an hour before I was ready to get started! Then we spent about an hour and a half in the afternoon, and she even started to get it! We're feeling better today!

Potty Time

We've been here nearly 3 weeks now, and we are now fully in the throes of potty training! That is not to say that we have been successful, but Cade is cooperatively sitting on the toilet about 3 times a day, and yesterday he peed all over the bathroom floor right next to the toilet, so that's a step in the right direction! We chose to not even enter the world of potty training before we left because our lives were so upside down and backwards and we knew it would be tough, so the kid is 2 1/2 now, and we're just starting...hopefully it goes quickly since we started so late!  

First Day of School

Ah…the first day of school…and the chaos that ensues!! Today was the craziest first day of school I have ever witnessed…but that’s probably because I’ve never worked in the office on the first day of school. One thing after another seemed to go wrong…the bells were on the wrong schedule, the students didn’t have their schedules, and the ones that did had major mistakes in them. Needless to say, I jumped into another new role, taking down notes and pointing kids in the direction of where to go for the moment (or the period), and everything worked out in the end, but I think we were all VERY glad that it was only a half day and we had the afternoon to work out the kinks. I’m exhausted and so glad that I have one last day to go off campus and enjoy lunch with new friends and co-workers!

It's a small, small world!

Well, our first day of orientations did not go exactly as I had planned…I guess we’re getting used to that, though! First of all, our nanny, Vilma, did not show up on time for some reason. We kept expecting her to show up, and we even walked out to the corner to see if she was coming. Eric had to run back to the apartment to call her (we are impatiently awaiting our cell phones still!) and he missed the bus in the process and had to take a cab to school (his first time by himself!). He arrived to school in plenty of time, but we were both pretty stressed...and then our day started...
Let me start off by saying that the world of international education is very small. That results in a number of things: you cannot go out your front door and walk through the parking lot without seeing someone you know and work with, you cannot walk through Itaewon without seeing someone you know and work with, and you will take on much more responsibility than you ever thought could fit into your job description!

So, today I basically got thrown into a job that I had no information about, which was parent-facing and pretty awkward. I had to sit at a table and pretend that I know I something about the parent contact website that the school has. Of course, I didn’t, so I took down the name and email address of every parent with a question. I thought that list was going to go to someone who would know all of the answers and be able to email…boy was I wrong! Turns out, that person is me! So, here I sit with a list of email addresses and questions…and no answers…should be a busy morning!

Settling In

We had a great (and productive!) weekend. We managed to get a few of the appliances we had been in need of, namely a microwave. We’d been re-heating our leftovers in a pan on the stove…so retro! We also got the all-important iron and ironing board that we will be using on a daily basis now that we get to dress up for work every day again. We had an awesome dinner with one of the families that lives in our apartment complex, and we were successful making it to a new church on Sunday morning. It was a trek, though. I think we’re going to stick with the one that’s within walking distance of our house (by our newly-developed Korean standards, anyway!). Then we successfully negotiated the 03 bus route to and from the E-Mart…we’re practically locals! Cade had his first experience sitting in the lap of an hajima, too (the older, grandmotherly-type like to offer their laps to young kids who have to stand). You know him; he didn’t even blink an eye! Now, it’s back to school!

Busy, busy!

Phew! What a week! We have been busy getting ready for school to start! It's strange. I feel like we have spent so much time thinking about, praying about, and getting ready for our move and transition to this new culture, that I haven't really had the time to think too much about what it will be like in school. We had a lot of opportunity to think about and prepare for school this week, but it will still be different when the kids actually show up on Tuesday than it has been talking about them showing up! I have spent every day being grateful that I am working as a substitute this year and that I don't have to stress about lesson plans or grading this year. I have more than enough to stress about this year without that added stress. 
On that note, though....we are starting to feel a little more settled. We made another trip to Costco this weekend and picked up a few more American items (real cheddar cheese, flour...I opted out of the world's largest bag of baking powder, so I am still on a mission to find baking ingredients!). We picked up a microwave at the local secondhand store for about $50 which is a great deal around here! Today, we are on a mission for an iron and ironing board (should be fun to lug home in the taxi or on the bus!), so that we will officially be ready for school to start...from here on out it will be ties for Eric and heels for me...woohoo!
We've heard that a typhoon is on it's way this week, so that should be exciting for us! We're up for another busy week!!

Life Happens!

Well, our Sunday continued to get worse...the kids didn't want to go to bed and we had about 2 hours of screaming, crying, and frustration from all four of us. I guess we all have to have those days every once in a while, right?

We decided to start off our Monday on the right foot, and we were able to re-establish our normal bedtime routine again for the kids. It's been two nights back to the routine now, and we are all much more relaxed and rested! (If only we'd started it a week ago!)

We have been here almost two weeks now (though it seems like longer...I can't believe all that we have done in that time!) and we have one more week until school starts. No doubt it will fly by! I'm anxious to get all of us on a regular weekly routine, as well. I know that Eric is worried about all that he has to do in the next week which makes me all the more happy that I do not have a classroom this year! I know that the beginning of the year will be busy and chaotic for me, too, but at least I don't have lesson planning and grading to go along with everything else.

The weather was beautiful today: sunny, very warm but with a slight breeze to cool you down. The Koreans are funny in that the women carry around their umbrellas in the sun, too, to shade them. I wonder if there is a season where they don't carry them? We had dinner with a group from school to celebrate one of the girls' birthdays. Cheap ribs and good company, so we had a great night!

I finally got pictures posted of our neighborhood, the city, and our retreat last weekend. If you click on them, it will open a new window and you can see them larger, read the captions, and post a comment. Enjoy!