Life in South Korea

So, these are just some little observations about life in South Korea and living on base…

The apartment – I like the apartment and I am so grateful to have 4 bedrooms and all the storage space. This may sound weird, but everything seems lower. The kitchen counter is the prime example. It seems lower than in the states?? Which means the cabinets are lower and I have to bend over to get stuff out of the cabinets, all of them. The dishwasher seems lower too. I just don't remember having to reach so far down to put things in or take them out. I don't think it is lower by much, but enough to make a difference in that I feel it in my back. And the fridge. Ugh, we have had side by side fridges for 10+ years and this one is freezer on top, fridge on the bottom. But, my mom has that kind and I don't feel like I need to kneel on the ground to take food out or put it in. Maybe I am just the Jolly Green Giant in Korea? Ha! OH! No garbage disposal either. Why? I wish I knew. I take that back, I wish I could put one in!

TV- This is hard to explain. We get some current programs, like Survivor. But some programs we don't get at all. I am sure there are all kinds of reasons. We have a Sports Channel that can start with Fox Sports, then next is an ESPN program and then next up an even broadcast by NBC. You don't have to change the channel! We watch NFL on Monday mornings. By the time we get up, the 2^nd game is starting and we could have 3 different games to choose from. We do get to see the Today Show live in EST if we stay up late enough. For example with the Today Show, if you watch Friday night, you are watching live Friday morning.

Dining – When dining in a restaurant, they take your order, deliver your order and after that they don't have much to do with you. They don't come back to check in and see how everything is like you would expect in the states. A lot of restaurants don't have forks, just chopsticks and spoons. And those are kept in little boxes on the tables. Korean food is tasty and when we have dined at Korean restaurants, you get all these little side dishes to go with your meal. Kimchi is the most popular. We have had marinated bean sprouts, pickled veggies of all kind, egg dishes, and the strangest one we have had is acorn jelly/jello. I asked Adam for a Korean cookbook for Christmas so I too can make acorn jello, not. But, I would like to make bulgogi, which is a marinated beef dish.

Driving – I just got my Korean Driver's License through the AF. I haven't driven yet, but we pick up the car Friday morning in Seoul and Sunday I am already planning to drive to E-Mart with the Kinard girls and Rachel. I am sure this adventure could be a post all by itself. I do know that Koreans are crazy drivers and some freeways have these express lanes for buses only.

Telephones & Cell Phones – I feel like such an old fart complaining about this. The phone system is difficult. We have a VOIP phone for our home phone so we can have a CONUS number and a Korean number at the same time but, we have no voicemail. Our cell phones are the cheapy prepay minute phones, so we don't have VM on those either. We get tons of random texts in Korean. Oh and when you call a number and for example, it is no longer in service, that message is in Korean. So, you don't really know what message they just told you, but her voice is very pleasant.

McDonalds – They have different items on the menu. We like the bulgogi burger, which is like a hamburger, but the patties are marinated or dipped in this tasty sauce and then put in the buns with all the fixings. Yummmmmmm. They should make those in the States. We heard they have a shrimp sandwich much like a filet o fish, but shrimp. Oh, and the Koreans are stingy with the ketchup! That is a serious problem for us b/c Rachel could eat a bowl full of ketchup with a spoon. At the McD's in Seoul they pulled out a laminated card that had English, Korean and pictures on it so you could order. Do you want to know how to say Sprite in Korean??? It's Sprite. There, you know a word.

Koreans love Rowan – I wouldn't be surprised if Rowan has a thing for Asian women. They love him. And it isn't just Rowan. Last weekend we were on the Subway in Seoul with some friends that have 2 boys, so we had 5 kids on the train. This older woman missed her stop b/c she was watching the children and not paying attention to the subway stops.

OK, that is it for now…. We still haven't received our Household Goods from the States and we are anxious. This temp furniture is the pits. I tried to get the kids to ask Santa for our stuff, but they prefer to ask for new toys. My latest offering is that if I get our stuff before Christmas, I will no longer complain about the Dallas Cowboys being on every frickin' weekend in every place I live. This is a huge sacrifice for me….