Random things

I figured I would make this post a hodge podge of things. We finally got all the camera memory sticks from several cameras, the camcorder, and even my phone and moved all the pictures to the computer. So it was like Christmas (the ones from the camcorder were quite literally Christmas!). I wanted to post a few with the kids for the family to see.

Benjamin tested for his yellow belt in Taekwondo class

Ashley started part day preschool and here is the first day of school

Ashley, wearing a cool Korean hair accessory. You can tell by the picture she does not like it.

This is Ben getting a haircut. For a few extra dollars you can have a massage, which is what he really wanted.

James tried to kill us (aka, this looks like fun)

We thought that since Ben had Spring Break and James had Thursday and Friday off from school, we would do something fun since the Korean children were all still in school. So James wanted to take us to a place called Gangwha Island. We drove a little over an hour just to get to the bridge that went from mainland Korea across to the island. Next, we drove across the island to a small port on the other side to get onto a ferry and then went across the water (about a 10 minute boat ride) to another island (Seokmo Island) then we had to drive another 20 minutes to get to Bomunsa, the temple that James wanted to see. While on the boat Ashley decided she had to use the bathroom. After she saw the one available, she decided to wait. The traditional bathrooms here are affectionately called “squatters” by Westerners.

After we got off the boat and arrived at the temple’s parking lot, I took Ashley back to the bathroom. However, it was also a squatter; she did try to use it, but I guess it was not ladylike enough for her. We then ate lunch at a small restaurant, eating Korean style (sitting on the floor). James and his friend from school, Ryan (who is from Taiwan and decided to accompany us on our adventure) ordered for us. The kids and I stuck with good, old-fashioned Ramen which was a little spicy. The banchan, which are the little bowls of various items they serve you with your meal, were quite interesting. We did try more than normal, but still shied away from certain things. There was even a bowl of tiny shrimp as shown below that, except for Ben, we all tried. They didn’t have much of a taste and were a little crunchy.

After eating, we headed up the hill to the temple and quickly discovered how steep it really was. It actually felt like someone had a hand on your body, pushing you back while you walked. After that minor obstacle, we finally arrived at some flat land where we could rest, complain and rehydrate. We looked around at the temple and saw a very big Buddha lying down.

Next came the part where James tried to kill us. His main focus for this trip was to get to the top of the hill where they had a large Buddha image carved into the side of the mountain. It was on a Korean TV show that he is watching and thought it would be great to see it in person. The first warning sign we had was literally a sign: it stated that it was 419 steps to climb to get to the top. Thankfully, there were a number of switchbacks so there were places to rest on the way up. Ben was the first one to get to the top and was very proud of this fact; I was the last one up and was happy I didn’t stop and turn around part way up. The view was spectacular and the Buddha carving was pretty interesting to see. I guess the story goes that if you make the effort to get to the top, you can make a wish and your wish would come true (since you made such a big sacrifice). We’ll just say that my wish was a big one.

On the way back down, several older Korean ladies that were resting talked to us and congratulated us (at least that is what James told us; of course, when we first got here and he was practicing his Korean, he told a cab a driver he was assigned to the library instead of the Embassy). The boys decided to look in the gift shop and Ashley and I decided we needed water and a snack so we headed over to a bench. While we were sitting there, we (or should I say Ashley) were approached by several Koreans that wanted to take her picture. Once they started to take photos of her, then more came over. Now I know what Brittany Spears feels like with the paparazzi around here. I bet there were at least 9 people taking photos. The boys finally came out of the gift shop and we went back down the hill. After the hike down, we thought we deserved ice cream so we each got our own, then drove back to the ferry and headed home.

The view from the top of the mountain. You can see the stairs (with the paper lantern decorations) in the bottom left corner, Bomunsa temple is in the center of the photo (the slight clearing halfway down the mountain), and you can also see the island's coastline in the top right corner of the photo.

What an experience!

This past weekend we went out another outing…this time it was for me. I saw somewhere that you can let your feet soak in a tub with these special fish that only eat dead skin. So I thought, “Why not?” After all, I had to try it once to say that I did it.

Here's a photo of the front of the building. The spa was on the fifth floor (you can see where it says "Bread Dr Fish Spa Books").

The name of the place we to was translated (somewhat awkwardly) to Restree. When we got there, we found out the rules were that you had to buy a drink in the café and then you could purchase the Doctor Fish treatment for an additional 2000 Won. We each got a drink. James and I went with Caramel Macchiatos, with the kids going for juices: strawberry for Ashley and kiwi for our normally not-so-adventurous son, Benjamin. We sat at a table and enjoyed some breads with butter and jelly while we waited.

Here is our tray with the drinks we ordered...the Caramel Macchiato tastes as good as it looks!

When we were finished with our refreshments, we walked over to the tub and rinsed our feet off and put them in the tanks. The kids kept pulling theirs out and you can imagine how much we were laughing. It tickled a lot! James discovered that if you only placed your heels in it was easier to take. I was brave and placed both feet in. It was kind of weird how the fish would follow your feet even when they weren’t in the water yet, they were definitely ready for it! Ashley refused to let the fish “kiss” her feet and Benjamin might have had a few fish nibble on his feet (he insisted that he did, but we didn’t actually witness it). On the other hand, I enjoyed it very much once I stopped laughing. I would definitely go back, but maybe next time without the kids.

Afterwards, we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. They had absolutely wonderful service and food. The afternoon kind of made us feel like being back in the States (except, of course, for paying money to have our feet chewed on by fish). For anyone that wants to visit us, I will be glad to pay the bill for the fish treatment.

A little about food

Wow…boy how we take things for granted. I went to the commissary craving Cracklin’ Oat Bran cereal and I was looking forward to having a bowl for lunch. I looked and looked but did not find it. How disappointing is that? I know my kids still ask to go to certain places to eat, like Olive Garden, Chick-fil-a, and Chuck E. Cheese to name a few. They have gotten used to eating at the Pizza Hut in Korea and have tried more types of juices, candy, and ice cream then I can count. They enjoy going down to the local Family Mart and picking out something new to try. All in all, I must say our kids have adapted quite well to living in Korea and I give them both kudos. James and I are also trying new things we had Kimbap (the Korean California Roll) with tuna fish. I was kind of afraid to try that since all I could think about was “food poisoning”. James ate half the roll; I guess he needed to get his $1.25 worth of it before seeing my point. We are looking forward to the weather warming up so we can venture out and eat at different places. Keep checking back and I will write about all the different juices and goodies that we have tried along with a few pictures I managed to get at local eating establishments.

COEX

I am a little behind on posting. The week before last, we visited the COEX mall. COEX is the Seoul Convention and Exhibition Center. The mall is underneath the Center and is the largest underground mall in Asia (I don't know what kind of competition it was up against to get this title). Since we have been here we (mostly Benjamin and I) having been anxious to get our hands on good Mexican food. We were not sure where to begin to get good tasty chips and salsa. So I asked Ben’s teacher and she suggestioned that we try “On the Border” at the COEX mall. We were all up for that. What’s 45 minutes on a subway, riding three different trains, to eat lunch? We had another couple join us with their two kids. We got off at the subway station and started walking toward it and it was like being in heaven. We went inside the mall and stood at the entryway for awhile so the kids could play with the touch screen info map. We quickly found “On the Border” and walked around some more before they opened up. As we were walking through the food court I noticed a Sbarro Pizza. See, I told you it was a true mall. We finally ate lunch and it was delicious. Ben ate several bowls of chips and salsa. It satisfied our Mexican craving, but I do truly miss Jose’s back in Seaside, California.

Since we were there we went ahead and went to the COEX Aquarium. It was really neat. We walked under an arch and James read it and it said “strange things”. We were surprised that it was not strange animals or fish, but strange exhibits. We had a wonderful time and would definitely do it again.

Here we are posing in front of a display made to look like a traditional Korean home:

These next few photos are part of the display of strange habitats

The first one shows you what happens to those fish when you flush them:

Here's the kids lying on a bed and looking at some strange, upright fish in the headboard:

As we were leaving, we actually saw a penny-pressing machine for the Aquarium. Instead of pennies, it just smashed round pieces of plain copper, but to the same effect:

Yellow Sand / Asian Dust

We noticed that the Koreans wear surgical masks over their mouths and noses so we decided to check into it. Apparently, Yellow Sand season is upon us in Korea. In the spring, dust from deserts in Mongolia is carried by winds across China, picking up their pollution, and is carried to Korea (as well as parts of Japan). An Air Quality Index of 100 of more starts to cause concern, and levels over 300 require changes in outdoor activity and you shouldn’t even go outside if it is over 800. Here’s a look at what it was one day in late February:


We went to a local pharmacy and bought masks for everyone in the family. Then we realized that they were way too big for the kids’ faces so we had to run to Emart to pick some more up. We have already had to wear them a couple of times. Luckily, just like weather forecasts, there are Yellow Sand forecasts available on the internet (click here if you want to see the current levels in Seoul), so we know when to expect higher levels a day or so before it happens.

Philippines Trip

A quick post from me (James) to get some photos from my trip to the Philippines on the blog. I went to a week-long conference in Manila and spent most of the first few days at the hotel sitting in on a number of briefings. On Thursday, we got a little time to get out and about in the city and on Friday, we went on a tour of the island of Corregidor, located in Manila Bay and site of two very famous battles during World War II.

Here is a photo of Rizal Square in Manila:

This is one of the world famous Jeepneys, one of the public transportation systems in the Philippines:

Another form of public transportation in Manila, the tricycle bike (not made for larger people, that's for sure):

Not public transportation, but transportation nonetheless, here is a boat in Manila Bay:

An ingenious way to recycle old tires and provide a trash receptacle at the same time:

This is the view of Bataan from Corregidor Island:

Topside Barracks (also known as Mile Long Barracks) on Corregidor Island. This large building was heavily bombed during WWII.

This is another section of Topside Barracks showing some of the heavy damage brought about by the bombing:

Flying Solo

James had a 7-day trip to the Philippines the week before last. So I was left to run things as smoothly as possible while he was away enjoying the beach, warm weather and fresh pineapple. I think I should also point out that I finally got my Korean driver’s license a mere three days before he left the country. I managed to survive and so did the children. Ashley started hourly care that week so I managed to schedule her at the same time Ben was supposed to be at school. I dropped him off at the “kiss-and-drop” spot and then took her to daycare and then, since I had a couple of hours without the kids, I went to the gym. What a way to spend some alone time. The week flew by since Ben has Taekwondo three days a week and Ashley has gymnastics once. I’m glad it’s over and we can get back to normal. Two parents are definitely better than one.

Continuing saga of our fish

We have been back to Emart again. After buying the first two gold fish and bringing them home, they both died about a week after we got them. We felt really bad about this and after researching more about fish care, we had to go back to Emart to buy two more fish. Benjamin decided to go with a different color one thinking that it might not die. So we bought the fish, took them home and things were great. Yeah right…Benjamin’s died first (again), only three days after buying them. Then Ashley’s got “the Ich” (short for Ichthyophthirius multifiliis). So we rushed out and bought some things to make the fish get better. It worked well; the spots disappeared and we thought we were in the home stretch, but then a week and two days after bringing him home, we woke up to find him floating. I am beginning to think we are cursed with killing fish, but the kids want to try round three. We’re going to completely empty out and clean the tank, fill it with fresh water and run the filter and oxidizing wand for a week to prep the tank first, and then we’ll see…

Ashley's fish, "Sugar Cube" (in front) and Benjamin's fish, "Hot Rod" (in back) right after we got them home.

Back to Emart

All right, we went back to Emart. This time the sole purpose was to buy two goldfish for the kids. Benjamin wanted a gold one and wanted Ashley to have another color. So when we got there she picked out a black gold fish (a Black Moor variety) and we got Benjamin (he was in school) a gold colored one. We had looked around a little first, then bought the fish and left to go to the food court and have lunch. I really don’t why the States hasn’t caught onto this but here is how you order at a Korean food court. There is one central area that the registers (in this case, there were three) are located at. That is where you place your order, regardless of the restaurant you plan to eat at. After you pay they give you a receipt with a number on it (or multiple receipts all with the same number if you ordered from different restaurants). You then walk around the food court to whichever place you ordered your food from and wait for your number to show up on the digital marquee sign. You pick your food up on the tray and take the tray and dirty dishes back to the same location after you are done. The only problem is you can’t order drinks. They have water coolers located throughout the food court with cups (for free, of course). I guess Koreans don’t drink Diet Coke with their meals. I ordered (I guess I should say that James ordered…) my favorite dish Japchae (glass noodles with some vergetables and rice). My meal also came with this soup which looked like it might have been spicy. I thought I would give it a try and see how it tasted. I started to stir it around and realized there were little pieces of squid in there. So yes, I pretended I was on Fear Factor, found the smallest piece and ate it. It was rubbery and bumpy but didn’t have much taste (just the spicy flavor of the soup). At least I can say I tried it. When we got done eating, James ran back into Emart to buy a Korean microwave. We didn’t have one sent over and found after being here for a month we really miss having one. Plus, we figured that all the other appliance are in Korean and we don’t understand them, so why not get another (plus the kitchen is one of the few rooms in the house that is 220 volts). Electric and electronic devices are pretty easy to get here (it’s a Samsung after all) and it only cost us 93,000 won (I will let you do the math).

Spicy squid soup and Japchae (in background)