O-so-se-yo!

O-so-se-yo means "Welcome" in Korean, something that I say A LOT through out my day working at the bank when Koreans come in to do banking.  Weird, it has kind of become habit now.


I am so sorry I haven't done a blog in a while now, things have been busy lately (which busy is always good!).  The biggest news is that we received our car & our household goods that we had in temporary storage in North Carolina.  But most of our other things still sit in long-term storage till we go to our next duty station.  We are sooo excited about having our own car here & now we don't have to fear breaking down in the 19th century-old Kia :o)  The car made it well except for 6 like little dents/dings on the hood.  It looks like something may have fell on it but they gave us $600 up front and then I guess going to pay the rest of it exceeds that.  It should be a relatively easy fix BUT such a hassle to do in Korea.  It certainly isn't severe so we might just wait until we get back to the states.


This past Monday was Korea's Chuseok.  Chuseok is kind of like our version of Thanksgiving.  Families get together but the difference is that they remember their ancestors & things like that.  ALSO, they don't eat turkey :)  They eat "ddeok" those rice cakes I posted a while ago but kind of a variety of them I guess.

One of the associates at the bank brought me ddeok & another brought me meat because I guess that is the "traditional" thing to give each other.  It seriously smelt SO bad I had to stick it in its own drawer in the fridge.  Every time I open the fridge at work I gag because their food smells like permeate through even plastic bags!  Fun.

So mainly I decided this post was going to be about Korean scenery.  I haven't posted pictures up in a while of it and it really is sooo pretty!  So here is a few.  My personal favorite is when we are driving over the bridges driving into the middle of Seoul.

I was so excited when I found out that I could start doing pottery again.  Upstairs on post has a place where you can paint and fire & what not for super cheap.  Here is the first thing I doodled around with, not fired yet so the colors aren't that ugly I promise.  

And this is the second thing I am working on.  I think going to do just 4 plates, 6 is getting boring lol!

We hope everyone is doing well!  We miss all of you a TON & hope we can find a good time to make it home at some point during our 3 year tour here.  It is just a lot harder & expensive than we initially thought it would be.  Love you all!!!!!!!!!

Another day in...paradise :)

HELLOOO everyone!  I stumbled across this on my way to work today & thought I'd share.  Such an amazing flower :)

Things have been good & quiet around here lately.  The rain has FINALLY stopped, or at least decreased a lot.  It is about time, about 2 and a half months of straight rain was getting a tad old.  We actually had a typhoon (Pacific name for hurricane) hit last week.  It ended up turning at the last second and making landfall in North Korea.  We didn't get a whole lot from it, mainly just an awesome breeze!

Mike & I, along with his company finally went to a Korean baseball game.  Yes, yes, I know what you are thinking "they place baseball in Korea?".  And actually it is HUGE here, way more exciting than the states.  We saw the LG Twins play some team, which I forgot their name, but it was a lot of fun.  The stadium is located in downtown Seoul, called "Jamsil".  It is actually the Olympic Stadium.  

I think my favorite thing about the game was not the game but what food they SOLD at the game.  As 'Americans' we are used to nachos, hamburgers, beer (which they had plenty of that).  At a Korean baseball game...this is what you get.........

YEP, that is exactly what you're thinking it is.  Dried whole squids, dried squid tentacles, and pretty much...some more dried disgusting stuff.  And let me tell you, Koreans were picking this stuff up like crazy.   I am still amazed at the TOTAL differences in customs, food, clothing...everything.  Kids receive these as "treats" in their everyday lunch boxes when we are eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  SOOO strange.

Michael & I went out to dinner again with my coworkers at the bank.  We actually just were audited today & yesterday and I am SO relieved for it to be over.  They pick apart every single thing and try to find your mistakes.  Koreans have an extremely "anal" work ethic, which is great, but can be a bit much at times.  We received a 9 out of 10 so we won't be audited again till next year thankfully!  Oh yeah, and I am officially the ONLY American that works for the bank in the country of Korea (besides the woman in charge of all the branches).  So basically I'm like the superstar.  I think I deserve a raise or something...LOL

The man on the far left is out new associate (a transfer from a different bank), Mr. Park.  I looove him.   He is so funny & a great person to work next to.  He has been to more places in the states than I have.  Ha!  If you are wondering what we ate it was Samgipsal (Pork) with Dwenjang (Red bean paste/pepper paste), Bop (rice), that kind of thing.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!  Love & miss you all!

Monsoon season at its worst!

Things in Korea have been well...even MORE wet!  This past week (if you didn't see it on CNN or anything) we received over 20 inches of rain in less than 2 days.  A record rainfall amount that has ever occurred (in 2 days) in Korea.  Korea has great drainage but since it was a chronic flash flood, naturally it couldn't keep up.

The picture below is actually of the Han River (major river running in the middle of Seoul) and it was so full that it ended up covering portions of the major highway, leaving it impossible to cross.

Seeing as Koreans can't stop their life for work, cars were driving & literally started to flood.  Crazy!!  I was the lucky duck that had to WALK to work in this.  My new Target rain boots came in handy.

There were a few mudslides at the mountains nearby and I think more than 40 something people have died.  It has been really sad but thankfully, we have sun today and everything is soaking up very quickly.

Other than that, things have been relatively quiet here.  I discovered (sort of) this new candy that you're going to think sounds awful BUT it is amazing.  It is..drumroll please..chocolate covered fried rice.  Now before you say "ewww" or "that's odd" it is kind of like a chocolate rice crispy treat.  The reason why I am telling you this is because of the container that it is in...see if you notice anything, strange.

Yep, "CRUNKY"...not "CRUCHY".  I was laughing so hard when I finally took the time to read the label!  Ohhh you Koreans :o)

Since on the days it isn't raining here, it is hot and humid.  Both Shep & Danny have discovered this creek that runs in this new high rise neighborhood nearby.  They love it and yes, BOTH, go swimming :)

Wish us luck as we stick out the rest of Monsoon season and pray for NO typhoons this year!  Hope you all are having a great weekend so far!!  We love you all & miss you!!!

Our new "Whip"

Hello everyone :)  Hope you all are having a GrEaT weekend so far!  Things on this side of the world are..still wet.  I think out of the past 20 days (literally) we have had about 18 days of rain & by rain I mean no sunshine and non-stop rain.  UCK, it is getting old.  Actually, right now the sun is shining and it so bright to my eyes.  When this season ends, which is should be in about a few weeks (if we don't get any typhoons) then comes to HOT season.  Like 95 hot with 99% humidity hot.  Then comes the beautiful followed by the bitter winter. I never thought I'd say this but I am so, so ready for the winter.  YES, it is very cold but at least the skies are clear blue, you can have the fresh air, crack the windows, and what not.  Right now, our house is so humid, has this odd musky smell, and I am having to bleach everything almost daily to keep it from molding since that is very common in Korean houses.  SO this Florida gal is ready for the winter :o).  

A new E-Mart opened up, kind of like a huge version of a Korean "Walmart/Publix".  I've seen this drink since I've moved here but it just sounds horrible to me.  Who would want to seriously drink a drink that said SWEAT on it?  Yuck.  It's a sports drink here, kind of like a gatorade.  Mike says it isn't bad but I will pass.  It even LOOKS like sweat.  Ew!

One of the newer places we've been to is called Jeongja.  Jeongja I think is the second richest area in the specific region we live in.  It's about 8 subways stops away so it's pretty close.  They try very, very hard to be westernized so that makes it even more appealing to us :o)  Anyways, they have this restaurant called "Butterfinger Pancakes" & everything in it is imported, butter and all.  So it has a replica of a state-side breakfast which is AWESOME.  One funny thing is though is that we both didn't eat more than half of our breakfast because I think our stomachs have adjusted to not eating that type of "heavy" food anymore.  WHAT IS HAPPENING TO US :)

So this is a really popular snack-type food in Korea.  Rice cakes (go figure, right?)  A rice cake in Korean is "dok".  So they literally call this "Rainbow dok".  It is pretty much tasteless but a hint of sweetness to it.   I don't mind them, they bring them to work ALL the time so I have grown to like/tolerate them.

This is another version of type of "dok" here.  It's much softer/chewier than the rainbow dok but on the inside (if you are wondering) is a crushed bean paste.  Sounds awful but I like these better than the rainbow dok.  The texture is just WRONG but I can stomach a few :)

Every Wednesday's and Thursday's on base the Food Court makes an optional Korean lunch you can buy which is Bulgogi (beef), steamed white rice, and kimchi.  You KNOW you've been in Korea for too long when this is what you order 2 days a week over Subway or Pizza Hut :)  But it is so, so good.

SOO, I'm sure you all were wondering about the title "Our new Whip"...welllll we bought a car.  And let me just tell you before you laugh too hard, that everyone here that is military drives little 'hoopties' as we call them.  We picked it up for $600 from a PCSing couple.  It comes fully equipped with a Louis Vuitton steering wheel cover that has melted to it (unable to be removed) and a 'Hello Kitty' driver seat cover to cover the rips in the leather.  And get this, Mike says he isn't taking it out.  HAHA But you know, it is a ride, a very cheap one.  It runs great (for a 1997) and is only temporary before we ship our new SUV out here.  It is a 1997 Kia Credos.  Ok, ok..now you can laugh :)

Ok, one last thing.  Mike's grandmother sent a toy helicopter that you can fly.  It's actually pretty difficult but Mr. Yu and Mrs. Pak got an absolute kick out of it (for whatever reason) so they INSISTED we take a picture with it for his grandmother.  They are so funny and Koreans have the most interesting sense of humor..so I just went with it.  This is inside the bank where we work as well.  You'll see our little currency board to the left and that's where customers see what the daily Won rate is per US dollar.

Hope you guys are doing great.  We miss and love you all!  Have a great rest of your weekend!

Happy Wednesday!!

Woo wee, SO many things to talk about!  How is everybody doing?  Hopefully WoNdErFuL!  Things here in Korea are...wet.  It has been raining for about 2 weeks now and is projected to continue through the weekend.  It is full-force Monsoon season here :)  I will be ordering my Target rain boots tonight.  So, where to begin.  I am learning Korean (or trying to) at least, read and write.  It is so, so difficult but I am really getting the hang of it.  The picture below has me learning the phrase:

Jo-neoun Me-gook sa-ram im-ni-da

"I am from America"

or

"I am American"

I have almost the whole alphabet down and the sounds associated with each.  I kind of don't know why I'm putting in the effort because after I read them..and I can't understand them still haha.  OH WELL.

One of my absolute favorite things to eat in Korea..we call it "Beef & Leaf".  Basically, what you're looking it is pork (dweji-gogi) which is on the very right, just on the tip.  It is basted in this chili-type sauce.  Really good!  Then around the cooker is tofu-kimchi soup.  Mike doesn't like it but I think it is amazing.  It is spicy though, so have your Mul (water) ready!  Then, kind of what makes the meal is the red bean/chili paste (what my friend is reaching for).  It is so, so good..I would put it on anything.  It is full of flavor and has quite the kick so you don't need much.  Basically, you put a bit of that on the meat, wrap the meat in a lettuce cup, and then you put the other little dishes on it as you want.  There are whole cloves of garlic (apparently men here eat 3 a day to help their prostate....ooook) and then onions, radishes, that type of thing.  Anyways, I love, love, love it.

My 2 female coworkers and I went out to dinner a few weeks ago to this awesome, authentic Italian place up the street.  It was really good and had no Korean spins on it (which is really rare).  It was set up like an old fashioned Queens Castle or something.  Here is a picture of the back garden, just wanted to show you how pretty Korea is the spring.

And finally, B.M.K.  She is a famous Korean singer.  She has her own TV show and everything every night.  Well, she is a friend of my coworkers from the bank and we got invited to her wedding!  She married a retired Army pilot, kind of how they knew her.  Her wedding was fancy, to say the least.  The Korean news and press were there.  Really fun!  Mr. Yu (my bank manager) insisted on taking this picture.  He is crazy, lol.

Out front of the CAC where the bank is located.  Needless to say it was raining men.

Have a great week everyone!!!  

Love you all!

Heeeeello

Asha-mika!  (How are you?)  Hope everyone is doing grand.  Sorry it has been a little while, things have been a little crazy on this side of the globe.  Mike has been in and out for training and I have been busy working, and dealing with SHEP

Long story short, I was walking him and Danny.  There is this one really protective Jindo-k dog (remember those cute puppies I posted a while back, that same breed) that lives down the street.  She stays behind her fence but I guess Shep's foot got too close for her liking and she bit underneath and almost ripped off his entire toe.  So to the Korean Emergency Vet we went.  How STRESSFUL to try and find a vet..period in Korea.  Kind of like navigating in a supersized version of Manhattan where things are just on top of each other, making it completely confusing and not logical.  So anyways, he received surgery to stitch his toe back on and so on.  THEN, he decided it would be a great idea to rip out the stitches a couple days later so back we went and now he has staples.  SO it has been quite the 2 weeks, especially doing all of it with Mike gone.  That was definitely one of the hardest moments I've had living in Korea so far.  It isn't a good feeling having no car, no where to ask for directions because no one speaks English, and so on.  Definitely teaches you to appreciate the little things.  But all is well and he is healing slowly :o)

Nothing too different or new has happened here.  Just staying busy and following right along in our weekly routine.  Last week a friend of mine needed to renew her SOFA stamp (yearly stamp that permits you access into Korea) and you have to travel to hours South to Osan in order to do that.  Osan has an Airforce base so we headed down there for a day.  Did I mention they have a Chili's on base :o)  Funny thing is I don't like Chili's too much in the states but I LOVE it here!  A little taste of heaven.  Oh, and Osan has extremely good knock off purses so can't leave there without one of those either!

If you are wondering what the green net is in the apartment buildings..ohhh you know that is just a DRIVING RANGE for golfing.  They fit those dag em things everywhere they can!

The neat thing about Osan is that it is a world different from Seoul.  It is quiet, a lot more personal and friendly.  The drivers aren't trying to run you off the road..you know all the luxuries in life :)

And last but absolutely not least, I recorded one of 300 million commercials it seems like we have here in Korea.  They are soo obnoxious but you can't help but to laugh and be absolutely interested.  To me, it seems like the creators of these commercials have severe ADD but I will let you be the judge of that :o)

Make sure your volume is way up!

Have a great day everyone!  Love you all :)

Mike & Britt

Some interesting Korean news...

Hello everyone!  SO sorry it has been a while since I have done a blog post, things have been kind of busy around here.  Mike finally came home yesterday from his Warrior Leader Course.  He spent about 3 weeks up North, actually really close to North Korea, training how to fulfill an E5 position (since he is an E4).  We are hoping he will promote to 5 by Christmas (which would make him a Sargent)! 

The weather is finally warm WOO, thought I would never see the day.  Everyone raved about how great spring was and how cool it felt but it almost seems as if we went from the hypothermic winter, to a few days of cool, to what is not very humid..and at the moment raining.  Yuck.  But during that smither of spring, the Cherry Blossoms did bloom.  They were the prettiest things I had probably ever seen (and I thought everyone kind of over-rated them).  There was a festival we could have gone to down south which has fields of them...but there was an estimated 60 million people going, sooo we thought we'd pass and just go see the few on base.

So, now for the interesting news (Bad or good, however you want to perceive it).  In Korea, or actually I think anywhere you live overseas in the military, you have this thing called Command Sponsorship (I'm sure you've heard me talk about it in the past).  Command Sponsorship is an approval-based thing that gives family the privileges of having a car, going to the on-base schools, things of that sort.  Last July, Mike and I were put on the Command Sponsorship and thought were to be approved.  We packed up or "take with us" things and Fort Bragg put it in a short-term storage unit, our stuff to leave got put into long-term storage.  WELL, then 2 days before Mike left, the Command Sponsorship became "unapproved" I guess you could say because Korean was to full with families.  So, then we were put on the waiting list.  When we flew me out here, we applied for AIP (to staying an additional year, making it 2 total) because Command Sponsorship was said to have been put on hold for the next 3 years.  A couple days ago, Mike's Sargent came into the bank just to let me know the list started moving again, and it might add another year here.  If you don't want to stay, you might need to pull it out.  So, I called Mike that night (because he was at training) and told him the situation and he said Oh, no problem.  I will pull it out Tuesday when I get back to work.  Something tempted him to check his DEROS (date to leave the current duty station) and it had already been changed to October 2013.  SO, in a nutshell, we thought he had only another year and a half here in Korea..but turns out we have 2 and a half more years.  That was difficult news to hear, there are a lot of positives (like it is good for Mike's career to gain rank & for leadership positions, and I am very thankful for my job) but being away from family and just the states in general is going to be tough.  GOOD NEWS is, we get to ship our stuff we never were allowed to, get to ship our car for free, the whole nine.  And, we get to fly Space A free to the states so now we are starting to plan our visit back.  It looks like we are shooting for December/Christmas of next year..so of 2012.  We will see though.  I might be taking a trip sooner if I can get the vacation time!  Woo, sorry for all that rambling.  And sorry to bring that news.  We are truly always at the mercy of the Army.  We were very caught off guard by that too, so this week has kind of been a tough one.


Now for something funny...


There is this really cool place around 5 miles from here called Yatap.  It has a ton of really good restaurants, neat shopping places, things like that.  We went into this store called Home Plus..kind of like a Korean Walmart.  As we were just browsing through, I came across this MATCHING husband and wife..undergarments.  

Another neat place in Yatap is a really nice grocery store called Kim's Club.  Kind of like a Publix...well a Korean version that is.  It makes me laugh because in the "Imported Section" that have pasta noodles and Heinz ketchup. HA!  Well, they also definitely have some interesting options of things to eat, being Korea.  So yes, right under this..you are staring at dehydrated Anchovies.  EW

And then in this picture, those big black stacks..is actually SEAWEED.  Now doesn't that sound just absolutely appetizing.  How am I going to make it 3 years, haha.

But we love you guys and miss you.  Sorry again it has been so long.  Hope you all have a GREAT weekend and we will chat with you soon. SU-GWA-SE-YO (Bye!)


Love, 


Mike and Britt