Our Asian Adventure!

We are HOME..and sunburnt!

I think one of the strangest things about traveling here is that when we return "home"..we are really, technically, still traveling.  Traveling..travelers?  I like it!  Anyways, it was a great trip, definitely an eye opener to how different the rest of Asia is from Korea..and really very different from one country to the next.  If you're wondering "How so?", well, Koreans hawk loogies like 324 times per day and the other Asian countries..while I'm sure they might need to, don't do it at RESTAURANTS.  Yea, so, that's a brief example :o)

I was thinking...after this vacation, while in Korea, we will have gone to:

Korea (obviously..for TOO long)   :P

Japan

China

Italy

Greece

Turkey

Singapore

Thailand

Malaysia

Plus Mike has been to a TON of Middle Eastern countries while being deployed.  Crazy to even think about that!  And surprised some moments and places haven't actually made us crazy :)  Or has it?  Ha.  There is one thing that I always, always think after each trip and that is how happy and thankful I am to be AMERICAN.  I can't really explain why it's just something that you feel when you observe how other places and people work.

We actually were able to get a quick glance at Indonesia on the way into Singapore.  We had no idea how close they really were..turns out we were only a short hop away from Australia.  That is like Mike's DREAM.  But we'd literally have to win the lottery..like twice before we could go.

Our first bit and I say bit because...Singapore is expensive!  But it's pretty cool because they  have plastic money.  And here I thought Korean money was like monopoly money!  But the Singapore dollar is about $1.20 something so the U.S. dollar is stronger, however, the price of everything totally makes up for the gain in currency.  Like....a pair of Gap jeans was like $200 US.  HOLY MOLY, they weren't $200 worth of cute!

Some fun facts about Singapore (these are credible because it came from a Singaporean...how weird does that sound...Singapor-EAN.)  Which brings me to my next point, Singapore is like an Asian bag of nuts.  Ok, I just made myself laugh..they are pretty nutty but what I really mean is that Singapore is no one nationality.  They are a mixture of Chinese, Malaysian, Indian..and so on.  EVERYONE and I mean everyone speaks English but at some point in their schooling, they choose an additional language.  So for example, if your family is primarily Indian, you'd choose to speak a dialect of India (which there are 27 dialects of Indian, not sure if you knew that) or you could choose Mandarin (Chinese) and so on.  So it's pretty neat because I feel Singapore embraces all cultures and no one seems so different unlike here, where everyones eyes squint the same!  I always say we'd be better off if they put us in the local zoo.  Hey, that's an idea!  

Anyways, I'm getting distracted...

Average cost to purchase an average car:  $150,000

Cost per week to park in the city:  $500

Estimate for a government owned 2 B/1 B condo:  $500,000

Estimate for a private owned 3 B/2 B condo:  $1,000,000 +++

In other words. O-U-T-R-A-G-E-O-U-S

In case you can't read the signs below:

No smoking:  Fine $1000

No eating/drinking:  Fine $500

No Flammable Liquid/Gas:  Fine $5,000

YOWWW-E!  No wonder the city is like, perfect!

Amazing...I feel like I should change my favorite color from red to green so I seem to have an obsession with green after not seeing it for like half a year here!  Those Floridians reading this are probably like...ok..yep..that's a tree.  But it is sooo much more than that to me :P

Can you spot the Buddhist monk?  Hmmm wonder if you're supposed to take their picture?

A fun cool place to visit at night!  Lots of neat restaurants and just a great atmosphere.

So this nifty little hotel, well not little, is called the Marina Bay Sands Hotel.  Not sure if you'd heard of it or if they advertise it at all during the states but it is COOL.  The top of it, that boat looking thing, is actually a bar, infinity pool, and so on.  This is actually a view from our hotel we stayed it on the 38th floor.  Shew!  Definitely the highest up I've ever stayed...Ha!  But the hotel is really neat, we didn't stay there because the hotel is a bit out of the way from the center of the city, not to mention, it's a small fortune to stay there.  When I say small fortune, our hotel was $300 something per night and that was fairly REASONABLE!  

Singapore is so, so beautiful.  I could literally brag about it for hours.  It is so quaint, yet so big and busy.  You never feel overcrowded or smothered.  You are never pushed, stared at, or..I don't know I'm out of things LOL but anyhow, it is so much better than Seoul.  The only downside?  The HEAT, holy taleedo--it was like mid 90s but with 70% + humidity.  Yowww it was incentive to go indoors and enjoy the b-e-a-utiful AC that they had.  

The greenery was like this all over!  Couldn't get enough, especially coming from the beautiful brown and sticks of Korea.

Ok, yes, I am in 7-11.  They have those here (BTW no 7-11s in Asia sell gas it is just meant to be a grab and go snack store).  The thing you should focus on is what I am holding...a SLURPEE.  I cannot describe how incredible this is.  I actually want one now, despite it still being in the 30s outside.  It was over 2 years and 4 months before I could even THINK about having one.  Korea doesn't see it fit to have slurpees here. I enjoyed every sip of that by the way :)

Singapore by night from our hotel the night before the cruise!  So awesome!

This statue was in Malaysia.  The guy who constructed the Iwo Jima monument that is now in Washington D.C. made this same structure.  This was made to represent the Malayan victories during WW1 and WW2 and their Revolutionary war.  The reason I'm really posting this picture is not because of the history..because that is fairly boring...but you can't see it but it refers to Allah on the engravings.  Most of Malaysia is Muslim & the remaining religions are amongst Hindu and Buddhism.  I know that the Muslim faith seems to be expanding but it's one thing to read about it but another to actually see it being practiced..but that goes with Hinduism and Buddhism as well.  It's pretty neat though!

This is Malaysian food that we ate at in the Patroneus towers (pictured below).  It was good...but let's just say it wasn't fun the entire next day in Thailand.  Okay not fun doesn't even encompass it.  There are no words!  I guess that just makes me more "cultured" or that's what I tell myself at least ;)

If you're wondering what it is..the rice is like a coconut rice with chicken curry a slice of cucumber and half a hard-boiled egg.  I know, weird.  What is slightly more disturbing was what LOOKED like a spicy cabbage side dish (on the very left of the place) which I totally would've been okay with..was definitely not a spicy cabbage side dish.  It was, however, a stinkin' dried like sardine nastiness.  OMG just typing this makes me cringe.  EW.  Ugh, I can't even explain how I felt when I first tasted it.  It literally was like they took like a million fish, drained their fish juice (if that even makes sense) and then made it like a broth they soaked this in..AND to boot?  I noticed a little silver thing after I had tried it..yep..a fish.  Ok, gross, done talking about it..I am reliving it more than I ever wanted to!

There are the beauties!  Fun fact, one of these towers is KOREAN owned as well as the bridge and the other is Japanese.  We had no idea before visiting.  We just figured it was Malaysia or something like that.  You know, something Asian :)  We were able to go on the first 4 floors of it which were just shopping...yes both outrageous and reasonable.  We ate at ice cream...haha!  You could pay like $80/person to go up to the top floor but I guess the tickets book out like 6 months in advance.  For one, I wouldn't care to do that and second, who the heck would pay 80 bucks a person!  Not this gal :)

The most holy Buddhist temple in all of Thailand.  Absolutely beautiful buildings and architecture.  Thai things seems to be loaded with color...kind of obnoxious but for some reason it looks great.

As we were touring the temple, some locals were actually practicing the religion.  I was trying not to stare (like a Korean would LOL) but what little I caught they were taking a piece of paper or whatever it was and rubbing it on the gold statues or Buddhas...ha.  Anyways, whatever they were doing, it was pretty cool.  

Thai monkeys looking for some fruit purchased by their visitors.  And yes, they are free-roaming!

Well, this is another funny story.  We got a traditional Thai massage while we were there and man was that HILARIOUS.  First, they had us get in these genie-like clothes which, I'm honestly laughing out loud just typing this because they were just ridiculous.  So when I thought "Wow, a 2 hour massage" thinking it would be fancy.  Yea.  Wrong.  That little 57 year old mattress on the ground was the greatest "luxury" we had.  What was more funny was watching this 4'11-80 lb. woman try to massage Mike.  I happened to glance over and see this poor women practically using Mike has a human trampoline to try and crack his..entire spine HAHA.  Oh my gosh, it took everything I had to not laugh.  Another great memory to that day :)

Everyone in Singapore talks with a British accent, along with British slang.  Too hilarious "Rubbish"!

Now that's something you'll never see in the states :P

Well, anyways, I could go on and on.  We had a great time.  It was too short obviously, but it was very interesting and allowed us to gain a great respect for other countries as well as see how different Asian countries really are from one another.

Hope you enjoyed the post!  I might put in pictures that I come across here and there on the next couple of blog posts.

We hope everyone is great!!

And sending a big CONGRATULATIONS to the Gent clan on the new family addition :o)

<3 Mike & Britt

Some things about Korea you probably didn't know...

Hello there!

As I am typing this--it is snowing....again...for the second time in 3 times totaling more than 6 inches.  Hmm..are we SURE about Germany?  :o)  Germany gets way more snow than Korea, so maybe it's a way of "preparing us"?  Thanks KOREA!

Things over here have been great & I thought it'd be kind of neat to do a blog post on some things you might not have known about Korea & life in general living in Korea.  You know, sometimes we get so wrapped up in 'everyday life' that we forget to take a moment & look around us and see all the amazing things that we see each day.  For example, and this may sound silly, but something so simple as street signs.  After  2 years and 3 months now, I just think it's "normal" but...it's definitely not Ha!  Like this on stop signs...정거장 

If I were to read that it is pronounced Jung-Gu-Jang (STOP in English).  I mean how COOL is that?!  Seriously, that part I just need to look back and realize how neat that really is! 

Ok so some cool and NOT so cool things about being here:

1.  Most Korean homes do NOT come with ovens (or dishwashers..I know...WHAT?!).  In fact, if I make something and bring it into work (usually baking related) they always say, "OHHH, did you bake dis en OH-VAH-N?"  (And sadly...that is verbatim how they say it..quite hilarious.  I have to watch it or I start talking like that too!)

2.  If you hear a Korean eat..and I mean ANY Korean eat..you will no longer want to.  I mean, seriously, it's so disgusting.  In the states, we grow up with "table manners" in Korea...they just don't even know what that is.  It is chomp-chomp, slurp-slurp, not to mention I can practically SEE the food breaking down in their mouths.  It's a good dieting technique for me though ;).  For example, I made Enchiladas for Sam (my new student) and I literally dumped mine out because the sound of him eating was enough for me to not have an appetite for the rest of the night.  I hope you're laughing...but I'm not :)  

3.  While Koreans might not have table manners, they have EXCEPTIONAL manners when it comes to respect.  I mean this by the whole "Respect your Elders".  It is amazing, really.  They have a completely different set of dialogue that they are "allowed" to speak to those who are older or 'senior' to them.  Whereas Americans all respect each other equally (or at least we try to, LOL)  For example, Corey wouldn't call me Brittany, he would call me 

언니  pronounced eon-yee.  Because I am older, I go by that name.  I would call him Corey, though.  Kind of interesting, huh?  If HE was older, I'd call him 형 pronounced hyong.  

4.  Koreans take off their shoes in almost all restaurants (No, not Starbucks or Krispy Kreme) but if you are eating at a Korean restaurant 9 times out of 10 you will be forced to take them off before entering.  Talk about a STENCH.  Phew.  That accompanied with their eating style just about does me in :)  They have a tiny little room when you first walk in, shelves to put your shoes on, and then you just walk in barefoot..socks..no biggie!  Usually the servers where little slippers or something.  If you also go to a traditional place you will most likely be sitting on the floor..which would so not work in the states on account of people not being able to GET UP.  It's neat though, definitely something to do.......once. :)  This happens a lot when I go out with the work people, my knees never appreciate it!

5.  Koreans do NOT talk while they eat.  Seriously, it's weird.  It's almost like...who can eat the fastest.  Americans have a nice conversation over dinner, get an appetizer, maybe even a  glass of wine.  NOPE, not here.  They put all the food down and it's go time!  That I still can't seem to get used to.  I'll try to talk and I just end up saying "Yea..ok" HA  They aren't interested in talking :)  

6.  They have several active Buddhist temples here and many of thing have English services, or whatever they would be called.  Once it warms up Mike and I want to go have lunch with the Monks..yes..Monks at the temple not too far from here.  It's only W 1,000 (about $ .90) and you get to eat with them..pretty neat!  Here's a picture of the temple, RIGHT in the middle of Seoul (next to where the G20 Summit was held last year)  It's called Bongeunsa!  

That's all I will put for today :)  Can't wait them all!

Here are a few pictures I snapped with my new CAMERA.  I finally bit the bullet and bought a shmancy camera.  So I'm trying to figure it all out.  The cutie is Sam, my new 8 year old student.  He refers to me as Aunt Teacher and I have NO idea why, but I don't mind :)

That about sums it up for this one :)  I might do another post before our next vacation.  If not, the next one will be pictures and I'm sure interesting/funny stories of our adventures through Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia!  We will be gone just about a week!

Chat with you soon <3

Mike & Britt

Just some Korea lovin'

It is still Fah-reezing--with a capital F here.

I think our coldest temperatures these past two weeks was 0 F with a windchill of -9 F.  GET ME OUT OF HERE, ha.  We have had a little recent relief..these past 2 days and through the weekend (peaking out at 34 F)  Wow, never thought I'd be relieved or even say that I think 34 F is WARM :o)

We are sooo looking forward to some SpRiNg-TiMe FuN-tImE.  I am going to buy a new fancy shmancy camera soon & I can't WAIT to snap some shots of the cherry blossoms, temples, & Korean historical stuff before we head out in October.  Plus, spring is the most beautiful season here so I am looking forward to that <3  

Sometimes on my way home from work I treat myself to a Korean lunch at this cute little restaurant by our house called "The Small House"...literally, in English.  Ha :)  They are the sweetest.  I only bought Kimbop (the sushi-looking stuff, but without the sushi) and I left with 2 bowls of different types of Kimchi and this popular side called "Bu-ching-gae".  It was soooo good.  And just to think when I first moved here I would've looked at this stuff and thought "Um, there's no way I'm eating that".  But now...I LOVE it.  It is so good for you and full of vegetables, in fact I think it's all vegetables.  But woo wee you will smell like something awful after you eat this ;)  I think I'm probably the only American that goes in there lol & I do order in full Korean.  They don't speak a stitch of English!

The snowy mountains, those lumps are graves.  The people aren't actually IN the mounds, but underneath.

Little Danny hopping along.

This is my newest English-studying student, Stacy.  I work with her mom at the bank (and her brother, named Noah, is currently studying in Canada for a year and a half)  She is wanting to study in Canada as well so I am helping her learn English.  It is a lot of fun!  I just met a new student yesterday named Sam and he is best friends with Stacy.  Stacy loves to cook so I am teaching her the 'American way' of cooking and she is really enjoying it.  The other day I used an automatic can opener and she thought it was the best thing ever.  I forget all these experiences are so new to them and I love seeing them get to see a different way of life!  I am having a lot of fun teaching again :o)

Us on the subway!  Our way of transportation for the past 2 years and 2 months!

Well, that's all for now!  We love you guys and hope you had a great new year!  Chat with you soon :o)

<3 Britt & Mike

Fa-REEZING-ness is here!

Holy Taleedo--it is COLD in Korea!

We have finally--which is still too soon (ha), reached cold temperatures here.  By cold, I'm talking lows of the single digits & 0.  Eek..this really just sets the pace for what's to come for the rest of the winter.  In just one..ONE..day we have already gotten more snow than last year combined.  Last year was a fairly mild winter but this Fall and early Winter has been really, really wet.  I'm happy about it though :o)  The snow never gets old to me!  Which..I guess is a good thing because we will be seeing TONS of it in Germany!

Here are a few pics that we were able to get from today!  This is inside of our yard..

Obviously one of the pooches prefers the snow-ness more than the other ;)

We also took the biggin' to the mountain (left Dan at home because of his frozen tootsies) and Mike and Shep had a great time wrestling.  Snow is predicted in the forecast for a couple more days this week into the weekend, so it looks like it's here to stay!

We have just reached right around 10 months left here in Korea.  It's weird to think that this time next year..we'll be attending the German Christmas markets.  I'm not sure if I've posted pictures of those yet but if you have a few free seconds..just google it.  It is A-M-A-Z-ing!  Looks like something out of a fairytale.  Here are a few pictures I snagged off google...

:) !!!!!

So, recently I came across one of the BIGGEST underground shopping malls in Korea.  How I've missed it after 2 years is beyond me.  But..it's probably a good thing I HAVE missed it ;)  I've gone there like 3 times in 2 weeks..and will be going back again.  The deals are just TOO good!

The mall is endless..and it is all underground in the subway station..here are a few pictures..

As you can see...the store names are so original..like the store name "The" in the last picture :o)  Koreans & their imagination...Phew!

Hope you all got our Christmas cards by now, if not, hopefully they will arrive soon!  If you're wondering 1,000 WON is equivalent to around .95 depending on how strong/weak the dollar is.  (Right now, it is almost a 1:1, ugh!)

Hope everyone has a great Wednesday & a happy, safe rest of their week!  We love you <3

Mike & Britt

Fall has come & Winter is soon on its' way!

Guten Morgan

(Good Morning in German)

I've decided to try to learn a new German word or phrase daily..TRY..being the key word :o)  It's definitely easier compared to the Korean language but still has its many difficulties.  I figure it's best to get a head start that way when I'm lost, I can say it, Ha!

Hope everyone's week has started off swell, it's Tuesday night now..this week is moving right along.  Don't know about you but I'm already looking forward to Friday!  

For our anniversary (4 years ALREADY, can't even believe it) last week..or was it 2 weeks ago, LOL.  We went to the top of Seoul Tower to the revolving restaurant.  Definitely the best & highest view of the entire city.  The restaurant does a complete rotation once every 1 and 1/2 hours.  It was just amazing.  To give you an idea of Seoul Tower here it is from a distant view...the little lit needle-looking-thing is it.  We were at the verrrry top.  It is a French restaurant, and yes, an actual person from France is the Head Chef :)

This is the view from the top restaurant..or just for 10 minutes at least :)  Seoul looks like this alllll the way around.

It was an amazing dinner & overall experience.  The food was AWESOME and it was definitely a one-of-a-kind anniversary!  Getting there is a bit tricky, it involved the bus, a subway, and an ELECTRIC bus.  Yes, and in case you're wondering..the battery literally died as we were going up a hill.  It was hilarious to say the least.  We were able to jump off and catch another bus right behind it..also electric but thankfully the battery was charged :)

Here's a picture after dinner..wanted to get what a typical subway sign looks like inside.  Of course Mike hates pictures so he refused!

In Manhattan, the subways were just plain disgusting.  Seoul's subways..not so much.  It is PACKED with cafes, restaurants, fancy face-care products, you name it.  It actually ends up being horrible because your shopping temptations are allllllways alive!  

Korea's James Bond movie poster.  Thought this would be interesting and almost a little funny!

Us before we left...

The fall leaves are sooo pretty but almost gone :o(  I think I'm more sad because I know winter is on its way!

Last pictures I promise...this is the tower right before we got back on the electric bus (I didn't die that time :) ).  And the second is a view from our table.

I hope the rest of your week goes GAH-reat!  Love & miss you all.

<3 M & B

6 more years & our new duty station!

Helloooo everyone

:o)

Hope everyone is doing great & things on 'that side of the pond' are going well!  Things in Korea are good..getting colder by the day.  Fortunately, we are still able to pull of wearing shorts during the day but you can forget it at night or in the morning!  Don't know if we are quite ready for that yet.  We are still Floridians-weather-wise at heart :)

So Monday, Mike officially swears in to the Army for 6 more years (at least).  His new date to get out (and hopefully not) is 2020.  Feels weird even typing that number!  But we are very excited & appreciative for both the journey, as well as the job security.  WHICH brings me to my next point...drumroll...our next duty station.  The Army has opened up the amazing opportunity for us to be in.....

We will be in Germany October of next year and staying for at least 3 years.  If we like it, you usually (though it can be iffy) can extend for an additional 2 or 3 years.  Mike is set to deploy June of 2014 if we go to this one particular base (and no, I don't plan on coming home for the deployment besides for a visit).  It looks as if we will be in either Ansbach (central Germany), Wiesbaden (I believe more south-western near the Austrian border), or Landstuhl (around 45 minutes from France).  

We are very excited for our upcoming adventures but are still looking forward to traveling Asia a bit more and experiencing this side of the globe before heading to a COMPLETELY different way of life.  

Talk about brain confusion..I told Mike I'm going to be bowing (what they do in Korea instead of waving) and saying 'Gamsamnida' (thank you) and the Germans are going to look at me like I have lost my mind :o).  It'll be an adjustment..but I think it'll be so nice to be in a more laid-back lifestyle coming from the busy one we live in now.  I have finally achieved being able to read Korean and understand a large majority of it and can speak it, basics only, but nonetheless, I can get around.  And NOW...German?!?!  Ha ha.  I'm sure my blog posts are only going to get more interesting and humorous.

So, that's the 'big' news for now.  We won't know any specific locations for probably a good 6-7 months so right now we are just sitting on Germany in general.  Lots of prep for the pups to be able to go with us but they will both be in attendance while we are there.  Can't leave those stinkers behind!

Ummm, back to Korea.  There was a 'spouses outing' that I went to (which if you know me, I am usually anti-that kind of stuff) but it was a Korean cooking class near the President's house here.  It was really fun & I chose to make Dakgalbi (Dock-gal-bee) which is a spicy chicken dish with carrots, sweet potato (I know..weird), and I actually forget what else at the moment haha.  Typically you eat these type of dishes with white rice and Kimchi (which I just LOVEEEE now) It was really good and I had a great time.  Here's a few shots from the day

I started tutoring again..but this time I am tutoring an older women that lives in the church next to our house (her husband is the pastor) and other high school student who actually studied in Pennsylvania for one year!  It is really fun and forces to me to keep my lesson-planning skills up-to-date :o).

We hope everyone there is doing great!!  

<3

Mike, Britt, Danny, Shep