"Oh Yes We Need a Little Christmas, Right This Very Minute..."

I’ll admit, we’ve been lacking a little Christmas spirit around these parts lately.  I know I’ve mentioned once or eighteen times that work has been busy for both my hardworking husband and myself.  And because we’ve both needed to be close to the office in case we got called in (and our respective offices are a couple of hours apart), we haven’t been able to spend as much time together as we otherwise would have.   Kind of a bummer.

Back in November I ordered a live Christmas tree from the Boy Scouts.  I was so excited to start a great family Christmas tradition; I imagined we’d play Bing Crosby and sip hot chocolate or eggnog as we decked our ah-pah-tu halls, appreciating the twinkle of the lights of Seoul as we added lights to our lovely and pine-tree-smelling Christmas tree.  I had even purchased a Christmas tree stand, some ornaments, and some peppermint Hersheys kisses.  Alas, my Christmas vision was not to be.  There was a mix up with the Boy Scouts and they sold my tree to someone else—for the best I suppose, as it turns out.  My sweet husband hasn’t been able to come to Seoul since Thanksgiving, so any decorating that got done would be done by yours truly.  And to tell the truth, I was feeling worn out and grouchy, and guilty that I would be leaving my husband to go back to the States for Christmas, even though he was remarkably sweet about the whole thing.  At the same time, I knew I was just being a big brat—that Christmas isn’t about decorations and working hard isn’t something to complain about and I have too much to be thankful for to ever be justified in feeling sorry for myself.  And even if I wasn’t going to be with him, I at least wanted to put up some decorations for my husband to enjoy when he brought a bunch of soldiers down to Seoul.  So on one of my off-nights in Seoul, I chastised myself into some kind of holiday shape and headed out on a Christmas tree hunt.

I set out for the Express Bus Terminal Shopping Mall, which I had heard contained a big section of Christmas stores this time of year.  My sources didn’t lie—the Mall is a few long underground corridors between subway stations that are lined with shops selling everything from pantyhose to cactus plants, and it did indeed have a large holiday section.  A lights-flashing,tinsel-sparkling, santas-dancing, ajummas-decorating, holiday section.  It was a bit overwhelming.  I got sidetracked by the wrapping paper and bow store, and then by trying to find the perfect ornament for the Army Wife Ornament Swap, and then had to rush to find a fake tree before everything closed for the evening.

Let me just say, fake pinecones on a fake tree is really not my style, but you do what you gotta do.

I maneuvered my fake Christmas tree box back onto the subway, and somehow made it home without knocking anyone over.  I created a Christmas Pandora radio station—complete with Bing Crosby—and got to work.  

First order of business:  the pinecones have to go. 

That completed, I put the sections together, then took off all the little plastic sleeves.  I am still finding those little buggers in corners and under furniture, two weeks later.  My plastic tree was still looking a little sad until I bent all the branches around to mostly cover the metal rod in the middle.

And once I got the lights and ornaments on it, it was looking almost respectable.  I didn’t have garland or a tree topper, so I made do with sparkly wire ribbon from the wrapping store.  A table runner made a decent substitute for a tree skirt.

Not bad, huh?  I mean, it’s nothing like the beautiful live tree decked out with a couple decades’ worth of lights and ornaments that I’ll enjoy while I’m home in Alabama.  

But it did make me feel a little more merry.

Christmas Cards

I sent my Christmas cards out last week, but I almost didn’t—I almost talked myself out of it at the last minute. 

My first plan for the cards was to make them, but North Korean craziness and a month of night shifts made that plan impractical.  My sweet and hardworking husband, chained to his desk until nine or ten at night most nights, gave his approval for whatever I came up with.  I ended up just picking up some Korean cards with English translations from one of the vendors at the post exchange (PX).  I was in a hurry, and I thought that it would be fun for my friends to get a Korean Christmas card.  It was only later, when I was addressing the envelopes, that I started to worry.

One of the things I always thought was funny in China was the use of English phrases in random, and sometimes wildly inappropriate, places.  I remember a lady I interviewed showing us a photo album from her daughter’s wedding that was inscribed with such meaningful and eloquent phrases as “Hit me baby one more time” and “It’s too late to apologize” (ok, this song wasn’t out in 2005, but it was a similar phrase from one of the popular break-up songs of the year).  The lady pointed the phrases out proudly.  “Look—English!”  “Umm hmm, very nice.”  There’s also the infamous use of random English phrases on t-shirts and other items.  Oh, if only the middle aged ladies who proudly sported curse words on their apparel knew what they meant.  Or if I could figure out what “happy life sunshine” meant, exactly.

 And of course English-speakers aren’t always the ones laughing about inappropriately appropriated language—I’m sure many a Chinese kid chuckled over Brittney Spears’ tattoo that meant “strange”.  There are actually entire websites dedicated to Chinese tats gone wrong.  I used to joke with my Chinese friends in high school that we should make a shirt that said something like “I’m a dummy trying to look cool” in Chinese—if we styled it well, we decided, it would be a great hit among the unsuspecting English-speakers.

So, back to my Christmas cards.  I’m trying to learn Korean, as you know, and have gotten far enough to read the hangul on the front of the card; I also understood some of the message on the inside, including a couple of the old-style Chinese characters.  When I bought the cards I didn’t think too much about it;  reasoning that “‘New day, new morning” probably makes more sense for a Christmas card in Korean.  But does it?  I mean, I assume since the Korean guy selling the cards spoke Korean it’s probably not as strange as say break-up lyrics in a wedding album, but what if the Korean message doesn’t match the English message of “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” at all?  What if the tone of the card is more suitable for an elderly person getting over a loss or looking wistfully at the past and hoping that somehow the morning will bring the good things written in the Chinese characters?  The realization hit me.  I had become one of those people that I used to mock—people who buy things with foreign words on them because they look cool.

To all of the Korean-speakers who read our Christmas card, please accept our wishes for a blessed and joyful Christmas season, and forgive my not speaking Korean well enough to pick out an appropriate Christmas card if the one I sent is actually more suitable for a grieving grandmother.

Yesterday

Whew.

Snow!

Why We're Working Long Hours, or What's Going on in Korea

Busy busy busy.  To tell the truth, it hasn't slowed down very much since Thanksgiving.  Or more accurately, the day before Thanksgiving, when North Korea lobbed artillery at a South Korean island (Yeonpyong Do), killing four people.  Why did North Korea do it?  The stated reason is that South Korea fired into its territorial waters, forcing the North Korean forces to respond, but South Korea has carried out live-fire exercises from that location for years without getting much more than a tongue-lashing in the North Korean news.  North Korea has always disputed the South's claims to the maritime territory in that area; after the Korean war, neither the Chinese nor the North Koreans had the naval power to deny the UN alliance's claims to the islands, and North Korea does not recognize the UN-drawn Northern Limit Line separating the waters of the two countries.  But it's not clear why North Korea would decide to act on the issue, in this way, at this time.

It's possible the move was designed to give the "Young General" successor Kim Jong Un some credibility with the military, who can't be happy that a 20-something kid with no military experience is suddenly a four-star general in line for the throne, as it were.  Or it could have been intended just to land North Korea a top spot in the nightly news--it sounds like it would be counter-intuitive, but in the past, North Korea has carried out provocations in order to better their bargaining position when it came to things like aid and diplomatic concessions.  A more unsettling possibility is that the progress of North Korea's nuclear program has given the Kim regime more confidence that there will not be military repercussions for his actions.

The incident has been much in the news here, even nearly a month later.  It was the first time since the Korean War that the South Korean people saw images of destroyed buildings and shell-scarred landscapes on the nightly news, and the South Korean public was not happy with the South Korean military's perceived weak response.  The BBC noted, "During the Yeonpyeong incident, North Korea reportedly fired 170 shells while Southern forces fired 80. Satellite images seemed to show many of them falling far from their targets.  There were reports of equipment not working, of troops not fully prepared."

The local news here has definitely not been as impassive as the BBC--President Lee's administration has been criticized strongly, even after he replaced the Minister of Defense.  The new Minister, perhaps sensing the current political mood, has said that the South Korean military will respond with air strikes should the North carry out such an attack in the future--a change from the proportional response of the past.

Which brings us to today.  South Korea said yesterday that it intends to carry out another live-fire exercise on Yeonpyong Do for one day between 18-21 December.  No one is sure how (or even if) North Korea will respond, but the Minister of Defense's comment about air strikes suggests that the South Korean response to any attack will be much stronger than it was on 23 November.  There are several diplomatic initiatives underway to relieve tensions; the Governor of New Mexico currently in North Korea for talks (in an unofficial capacity, he says), and the Deputy Secretary of State is in China for talks with a senior Chinese official who recently returned from North Korea.  Other countries in the region are urging restraint.

Please say a prayer for the leadership and military forces here.  But please don't worry--we're quite safe in our basement and tank, respectively.

**Quick disclaimer:  everything I've written is my personal opinion and is based on news reporting--it's unrelated to my job and to any policy of the U.S. government or military**

Famous

It seems I single-handedly necessitated an ah-pah-tu notice, in English!

Meh.  Guess that's what I get for not doing laundry for two weeks.  But you know, sometimes laundry (or inspecting the "veranda") is just not that high up on the priority list.

Army Wife

Did you know I'm an Army Wife?  There are so many stereotypes associated with the term.  And I fit almost none of them...for which, on the whole, I'm thankful.  But as you might imagine, it was with a bit of trepidation that I entered the world of the Army Wife Socials.

My initiation, dinner with the Battalion Commander's wife, was a blessedly simple, low-key affair.  Having been raised in a good southern household, I knew to bring a small hostess/thank you gift (Godiva hot chocolate mix), dress appropriately, and show up on time, not early.  My not knowing how to navigate the strangely-numbered, inexplicably dead-ending streets of the on-post housing made sure of that last one, but I was only two or three minutes late--still within the window of acceptability.  When Marli answered the door in jeans, announced that her oldest daughter was changing out of her gymnastics clothes but would be with us shortly, and brought out a big pot of pizza soup, I began to feel much more at ease.  We chit chatted a bit, then talked shop; not only am I an official Army Wife, I am also the Company Family Readiness Group Leader, and since I've only been an Army Wife for a few months and have never been a part of an FRG, I needed help.  Marli was great, repeatedly saying things like, "There are not huge expectations on you for this--just do what you can do" and "let me know how I can help".  Hooray!

Event two, a luncheon, was less personal but more awkward.  The Armed Forces Spouses Club of Korea is a serious affair.  There are multiple Volunteers Of The Month, numerous committees, and all kinds of work to be done.  There are also several Generals' wives, all of whom (as far as I can tell) hold some flavor of supervisory office.  These women may not wear the rank on their collars, but don't be fooled--there is definitely a hierarchy here, it's just harder to figure out.  Since I came with Marli, I was allowed to sit with the "field grade" officer wife set--mostly Majors/Lieutenant Colonel type wives.  I recognized exactly one other woman--the wife of Mike's Battalion Commander in Germany (who had, on the occasion I met her, been called "a real b****y hag", but turned out to be a very nice retired Lieutenant Colonel).  I thought I might get a chance to say hello and introduce myself--her husband apparently thinks very highly of my sweet soldier (and rightly so!), and I was curious how she had adapted to the Army Wife life after herself being in uniform.  But she was seated at the Generals' Wives' table.  Oh well.  Lunch was fine, the speaker (3rd generation American-in-Korea, who runs a medical charity and has made several trips to North Korea) was good.  But when someone got an award for answering her email in a timely manner and attending a last-minute meeting on a Saturday, and when the lady running the show announced to the room that her mind just wasn't on business, since her daughter's gerbil had died, and she couldn't stop thinking about the little guy, and she had to tell her daughter when she got home from school...hmm.  I don't mean to be harsh--I think these ladies are probably very nice, and this organization probably does a lot of good.  My life is just different, is all.

Last night was my third Army Wife social event--a coffee at the Brigade Commander's Wife's house.  Having become slightly more familiar withe post housing, I wasn't nervous about finding the place.  I was a bit...not nervous exactly, but wanting to make a good impression.  The invite said to bring an ornament under $7 to swap; since everyone shops at the post exchange, I wanted to buy an ornament off post.  I had intended to find a beautiful Korean handicraft, but the night of the fake Christmas tree shopping expedition I ran out of time before I finding something perfect (I've explained to you my exasperating shopping habits).  I did, however, find appropriately cute Christmas wrapping paper.  So I pulled out a glass ornament that I bought in Bahrain on a port call, put it in a cute box that had originally contained Chinese tea, and wrapped it in the cute Christmas tree paper--all the while feeling a little nervous that I hadn't found that lovely and unique handicraft.  But there was nothing I could do about it at that point.

Having read the "Company Commander's Spouse Survival Guide", completed level I and II of the "Army Family Team Building" online training, and perused www.marriedtothearmy.com, I knew that coffees--an Army Wife tradition--are social gatherings usually hosted by the Senior Spouse.  I had to refer back to the "Company Commander's Spouse Survival Guide" to find that dress is "casual".  So I popped on my blue Ann Taylor sweater dress (which brings me happy thoughts of the night my sweet husband proposed) and new black boots, made sure a coworker was going to cover the first hour or so of my shift, and headed off to post housing.  Only to be greeted at the door by two ladies in jeans.  Sigh.  And again, only one person I recognized in the room.  And I was the lowest-ranking Wife.  And--remember, I'm working nights and had just woken up--no coffee!  What kind of a coffee doesn't have coffee?!  But I am a southern woman by birth, and I can chit chat with just about anyone when the occasion arises, so it was going to be ok.  And truthfully, I had fun.  The ladies were cute and very nice, I was able to find a beverage suitable for pre-shift consumption and someone to chit chat with, and best of all--my ornament was "ooohh"ed and "ahhh"ed over.

And I was able to leave gracefully after the ornament exchange to go to work.

Need an Idea for a Christmas Gift?

Get your loved ones a Spam gift set!

Randomness

1.  Christmas shopping today.  I'm still on the night shift, which makes doing anything other than work more difficult, but luckily for me, E-Mart stays open until midnight, and Dongdaemun shopping district is hoppin' until five in the morning.  So tonight, I closed down three different shopping malls.  First, to the Express Bus Terminal Underground Shopping Street, for a Christmas tree.  More on this later--I'll just say here that I'm sad to not be putting up a live tree this year.  Next, E-Mart for a couple of food items and a small Christmas gift for my sweet husband.  E-Mart is great.  Tonight's discovery--to be filed under "Only in Korea"--canned meat product in the organic section.  They love their Spam here.  Next, on to Dongdaemun.  It was mostly the fashion malls that were open so I didn't buy that much (clothes shopping just hurts my feelings here because nothing fits; I don't even bother trying to shop for shoes), but it was fun to wander around, and fun to not feel like it was weird to be wandering around at 2:30.

2.  I was not happy with the ah-pah-tu this week.  First, the Yellow Tie Guys (all the employees that man the security booths and maintenance offices wear yellow ties) woke me up at 2:30 p.m., the equivalent of 4:30 in the morning for a day-shift worker, for either a survey or some kind of election, not sure which.  Which, add another example to the "I really need to learn this language" pile.  I didn't know which block to put a stamp in, so they compromised by just having me sign my name, then write "wife," and sign again.  Who knows?  The next day, they woke me up at 10:30 a.m. to tell me there was a water leak in the apartment below.  Since I haven't done laundry or run the dishwasher since Thanksgiving (I told you I was a little behind on household chores), I was fairly certain that I didn't cause the leak, but ok, come have a look.  Kyoungmin Unnie saved me--my realtor didn't answer the phone when I called, and Mike was out in the field, so I called her and she translated for me.  Such a blessing to have family here!  I went back to sleep.  My realtor called half an hour later; I explained the situation, she called the ah-pah-tu, then called me back--the leak's not an emergency, and the maintenance people aren't going to come until after 4 p.m.  Perfect.  I went back to sleep.  An hour later, the doorbell rings again.  It's the Yellow Tie Guys.  Seriously?  Ten minutes, then they leave and I try to sleep again...only to be woken up, again, half an hour later.  This time after they leave I tape a piece of paper with a big red X over the doorbell.  Back to bed.  1:30 p.m., the doorbell rings again.  I am really, REALLY wishing I knew how to express anger politely in Korean.  Instead, I open the door and tell them, in English, that I have a 15 hour shift tonight  and really need to sleep.  I'm pretty sure that they didn't understand what I said; I'm also pretty sure that they caught my meaning from my facial expression and tone of voice.  Long story short, the maintenance guys have to order a part, and they're going to fix it sometime next week.  I'm going to try to disable the doorbell.

3.  Ok, #2 was more of a rant than I intended.  I get cranky when I'm sleep-deprived.

4.  It's impossible to dislike living in a country that has heated subway seats and heated public toilet seats.

5.  It's funny--Mike and I have seen each other at least once every week since we've been in Korea, but I still miss him a lot when we're apart.  In a weird way, it feels like we're more distant during the short separations than we were when we were living on separate continents.  I think it's mostly because we're both busy, and on different schedules, and since we know we'll see each other in a couple of days we don't make as much effort to write long emails or catch each other at a good time for meaningful phone conversation.  Or maybe it's because after getting used to actually being together, phone calls and emails just don't cut it.  Whatever the reason, I miss my husband!

Trash Bags and Pity Parties

I had a mini-breakdown last night.  It's been kind of a rough week; nothing huge, just small things that added up and wore me down.  It was my first week back on night shift, and I couldn't seem to get a solid block of sleep, plus work is still a bit crazy due to recent current events here.  I was looking forward to having the weekend to sleep in, clean the ah-pah-tu, do some laundry, and in general regroup, but Mike couldn't come down to Seoul this weekend because his work is also still a bit crazy, so if I wanted to see him I had to go to Dongducheon.  I woke up Saturday evening, excited to go see my sweet husband but feeling like I really should stay in Seoul and impose some kind of order on my living environment there.   I compromised by folding the clean clothes that had never made it out of the laundry basket after I washed them a week ago and taking out all of the trash (I still had a turkey carcass in my kitchen--I know, gross).

Taking out the trash here in Korea is a bit more involved than it is in the States.  In San Diego, all I had to do was bag everything up and dump it down the trash chute.  Here, I have to sort everything into separate bags:  paper, styrofoam, glass, plastic bottles, vinyl (still haven't really figured out what's supposed to go in this one, but most people put non-bottle plastic trash here), cans, other metal trash, lightbulbs, and food.  Only the food has to be dried (in place of a garbage disposal in my sink, I have a food spinner that is supposed to sling all of the water out of the food), bagged by itself, and put in a separate place from all the other trash.  Oh, and anything that doesn't fit neatly into these categories has to be thrown away in a special trash bag that you have to buy from the local convenience stores.  Did I mention that the trash room is on the bottom floor in another building?

Now, this system is probably better for the environment, but it is not nearly as convenient as throwing everything into one trash bag, maybe setting aside a few cans or bottles that can be recycled, and tossing the lot down a chute or in a big garbage can that the garbage man picks up.  I'm usually conscientious about it, but on rare occasions I have given in to my laziness, dumped everything in one bag, and either taken it on base to throw away (even though the dumpsters say "no outside trash") or bought a big mixed-trash bag ($2 or so) and put everything in that to throw away in the ah-pah-tu trash room.  I know, shame on me.

So back to Saturday night.  I had a gross turkey carcass, a bunch of bathroom trash (no way I was about to sort that), and random kitchen and cleaning items that needed to go.  I decided to go with the base option, but halfway down the elevator started feeling guilty and changed my mind.  So I walked over to the Mini Stop convenience store to buy a trash bag.  Only they don't put them out on the shelves, so I had to ask the girl behind the counter.  I said it in Korean first--apparently poorly, because she didn't understand.  I said it in English.  Blank look.  I said it again in Korean, miming throwing something away.  Oh, she said, she has 10 small bags for 3,500 won (just over $3).  But my stuff won't fit in a small bag, and anyway I'm on my way to the subway and don't want to take the other 9 bags with me to Dongducheon and back, so I shake my head no, and ask if she has a big one.  In Korean, then English, then sign language.  Yes, she has 5 big ones in a package for 10,000 won.  At this point I'm visibly frustrated.  No, I just want one.  This time the Korean works on the first try, and I pay, thank her and leave.  I toss everything in the $2 trash bag and dump it in the trash room.  Then I start crying.

Why can't I learn this language!  I've been here almost half a year, I should be making progress!  Why are there so many trash rules, anyway?  I miss the U.S.!  I was rude to that girl, and it wasn't her fault, and I couldn't even tell her why or that I was sorry because I don't even have the vocabulary of a toddler!  And my house is still a mess, and I'm frustrated with my boss, and I haven't worked out in a week and a half, and I have an hour and a half ride before I see my husband, and...and...and.

I spent 15 minutes or so on a bench outside the subway stop getting myself together, then headed up to Dongducheon, where my sweet husband picked me up from the subway stop even though it's just a short walk to base, gave me a long hug, and let me vent for the better part of an hour.  And even though nothing had changed--I still don't speak Korean as well an Junie, the ah-pah-tu is still messy, work is going to be ugly when I go back tomorrow--the world seemed much more merry.

And, since Mike lives on base, I can throw all the trash into one big trash bag.

Merry Christmas To Me

Ok, I know it's not even December yet.  And that I got a very expensive birthday present and told my sweet husband not to spend money on me for Christmas.  And that I bought a pricey plane ticket home anyway.  And that I also bought two pairs of boots in the last two months (it's cold here!).   But...I've been talking about getting an internet phone since we got here.  And the kiosk at the PX had a big sign out today saying that the iPhone 4 is FINALLY here!  So, merry Christmas to me.

Part of my motivation in wanting an internet phone, I admit, is that it's pretty darn convenient to be able to access the interwebs from just about any location.  I've become quite dependent on email and Google, and would be sad without Netflix, and Pandora and ChinesePod and a couple of my favorite blogs.  But a not-insignificant part of my wanting a fancy phone is that I'm afraid if I don't go ahead and get one, by the time I get around to it the technology will have passed me by so completely that I won't be able to figure out how to use the thing.  I think I may have made my purchase just in time--the girl at the kiosk rolled her eyes just a bit when I asked her how to unlock the touch screen.  (This is understandable--Junie is only two but she already has it figured out.)  And while I have successfully loaded the ChinesePod and Pandora apps onto my phone, I haven't yet discovered how to turn it off.  But who really uses that function anyway?

So.  Any tips, favorite apps, etc.?

Family

Dinner at Kyoungmin Unnie's new ah-pah-tu last night.  We called to see if we could just stop by and say hello, since Unnie recently got back from the field, and because we hadn't seen her husband and daughter since they've been in Korea.  Mike was the one talking to Unnie on the phone, but I'm pretty sure the conversation went something like this:

Sweet husband:  Hi Noonah! (guys call older sisters or close friends/relatives "Noonah," gals use "Unnie")
Sweet Unnie:  Michael!  How are you?
Sweet husband:  Good!  You're back from the field!  Annie and I want to come say hello, have you eaten?
Sweet Unnie:  Yes
Sweet husband:  Ok, we'll just stop and grab something for the two of us on our way over
Sweet Unnie:  Don't do that, I have "pap" (rice, or a generic term for food).
Sweet husband:  Are you sure?  [thinking, yes!  homemade Korean!]
Sweet Unnie:  Of course!
Sweet husband:  Ok, we'll be there in a few minutes.

So sweet Unnie cooked for us, delicious dubu kimchi with side dishes and fruit for dessert, and we played with 2-year-old Junie (I'm not sure that's how she spells it) and chatted with Unnie and her husband.  I gave Unnie a "housewarming bucket" with some basic kitchen and cleaning supplies--which probably would have been more useful had I been able to get it to her when she first moved in, and they gave Mike and me hats (it's cold here!).  I'm continually thankful for family.

Happy Thanksgiving!

So much to be thankful for.  We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Artillery

I know you've probably heard about North Korea firing artillery at a South Korean island yesterday; if not, this BBC article has some good background.

Just so you don't worry too much--we're fine here.  It looks like this was a more or less isolated incident; South Korea returned fire, but since then it's just been rhetoric flying back and forth--in itself, not at all unusual.  Things are busy for both of us at work, and I'm really hoping this doesn't ruin my Thanksgiving dinner party (especially since I've been cooking ALL DAY), but at this point, it's all precautionary.

And anyway, I work four floors underground, and the armor on Mike's tanks is pretty thick.

An Afternoon at Soyo Mountain

As Mike has already told you, we had the opportunity to spend an afternoon at nearby Soyosan last weekend.  Mike had just gotten back from the field, so exploring the great outdoors wasn't really at the top of his "that sounds fun" list, but he was sweet enough to humor me.  He made sure we were prepared:  canteen, extra warm clothes, moleskin for blisters, muscle rub, scissors, knife, cell phones, and snacks.  Who knew a two-hour hike required so much preparation!?

I think we missed most of the fall colors by a couple of weeks, but it was still a beautiful hike.  Granted, most of the time I was busy trying to keep up with my sweet and more-in-shape husband, but stopping to take pictures did provide a good excuse to fall behind.

Most of the leaves had already fallen, but there were a few trees that still had some gorgeous color.

These exercise machines are too funny!  On this one, you stand on a platform that twists around.

Trying out the features on the new camera...

There were several of these rock stacks in the park; Mike said people build them as kind of an "I was here" memorial.

One of the decorative gates in the park

Statues outside of the Buddhist shrine

Rest break.

Getting back to the flat road was definitely a relief.

And after all that exercise, yummy Korean food!

I think we'll have to wait until the memory of all of those stairs--and the resulting sore muscles--fades a bit, but we'll probably try out one of the other three hiking paths once it gets a little warmer.

Update From Mike

Hello family and friends! I apologize for my lack of due diligence with this blog site. My dad calls this "Annie's blog" and questions why my name is even a part of it, haha. Hopefully I can buy myself some time with this entry...

It's been such a hectic past month! I can't believe it's already been

a month since I've taken command. It's been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences I've had in the Army thus far. The Company leadership (First Sergeant, Platoon Leaders and Platoon Sergeants) are extremely professional and competent, and the soldiers are really great. I'm humbled daily as I stand in front of formation, privileged to lead these men. I just returned from two weeks of tank gunnery training. Now let me just say that the Army is a daily grind. There's nothing like a group of Army soldiers getting together and complaining--we have a lot to gripe about.  However, it's those few incredible times where we experience something unique that pulls us back for more. Gunnery is one of those times. There's nothing quite like being in a tank when it's slinging steel down range.

Just being a part of a crew when the 120mm main gun recoils and shoots

a round directly into the center of a target 2500m away is truly amazing.  Both of my crews shot distinguished (the highest qualification) and we all celebrated with a victory cigar provided by Mr. Babin (thank you!). Kyoung Min Noonah was also at the same training site and bought me lunch every day that I wasn't at the range. It's so great having family here, and I'm glad I can be at a place to help her out if she needs it. Her husband and daughter come to Korea at the end of November--please keep them in your prayers. Jean Anne and I had lunch

with Uncle Paul a couple of weeks ago, which was great. He invited us

to come to the class he teaches at Yonsei University-we're hoping to get a chance to go in the next couple of months.

Speaking of family and friends... I MISS THEM! I miss my parents,

uncles, aunts, and cousins. AND I MISS MICHELLE!!! I still can't fully

comprehend how my sister is so much cooler and more talented than I

am. I'm sorry to say I won't be making it back to the states for the

holidays, but you all will definitely be in my thoughts and prayers.

Please keep my cousin Emily in your prayers. Here's a video that Uncle

Dan put together explaining her situation:

Aside from that, not much else is going on. We're enjoying Korea,

especially Seoul. Jean Anne and I hiked up Soyosan, the mountain close

to Camp Casey, the other day. I'm sure she's going to put up some

beautiful pictures, but don't let her entry fool you. We climbed over

1000 steps! I kid you not! My thighs were burning!!! Was it beautiful?

Sure... but it was not the easiest of hikes. I'm not the biggest fan

of walking to begin with, and those stairs were no joke.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers... I will try to publish

 entries more frequently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlCvi1hOuyc

Small Victories

One of the things studying Chinese taught me is that it's no use beating yourself up for not being perfect--instead, you have to just celebrate the small victories.  You greeted your neighbor appropriately?  Great!  Understood the convenience store clerk when she told you the amount you owed?  Fantastic!!  Decoded the recording played in the elevator?  Making progress!!!  Told your coworker that you like to wash your dishes on the subway?  Meh, keep trying.

I have to admit, I've been really frustrated with my slow progress in learning Korean.  Even knowing that it won't just come by osmosis, that it's going to take a lot of work; I've lived here for four months now, and still mess up simple phrases and misunderstand sentences even when I know all of the words that make them up.  And it's frustrating!  But I keep reminding myself that's it's a marathon, not a sprint.  I do, after all, work in little America, live part of the time in little-er America, and spend most of my day in an English-speaking environment.  Even the Korean soldiers who work in the room next to ours speak to us in English (and usually pretty darn good English--there's the maintenance guy who calls me Sir and uses a lot of the point method, but some of the KATUSA soldiers read college textbooks in English).

But baby steps beat just hanging out on the couch.  I worked up my courage today to call my favorite take-out place and order, instead of going over to the other apartment building.  (Should I be embarrassed that the lady not only knew who was calling, but what floor I live on?  I am a pretty frequent customer.)  The conversation went fine, and I'm going to celebrate my dinner!  Even if it did arrive with two rolls of kimbap that I did not intend to order.

Happy Halloween!

I'm back to being a day-walker after a few weeks of night shift.  Whew!  Even better--I got to spend a Saturday  with my husband.  It's been a while since we both had a whole day off on the same day, and were awake at roughly the same times.  I was greedily looking forward to having him to myself for an entire day, but it was not to be.  The command leash cell phone rang in the early afternoon--his soldiers needed some supplies for the "haunted barracks" they were putting together for the kids on post.  So off to the post exchange we went, only to discover that the exchange, having pretty much skipped Halloween and gone straight to Christmas, was selling tree skirts and a random selection of pudding molds and ornaments.  On October 30.  But we did the best we could--a couple of pillows to sacrifice for spider webs, some streamers, balloons, and fake snow.

I have to say, the soldiers were pretty creative.  They put together an impressively scary haunted barracks--especially given the time and resource constraints.  The made use of all kinds of stuff--uniform parts, supply tape, chem lights; they even brought a tank up to the barracks.

Everyone seemed to have a good time.  

And my sweet husband got to experience, for the first time, the fun of gutting a pumpkin!

I think he preferred the carving.

 We couldn't find the candle we had bought, so we made-do with a chem light.

Happy Halloween!

Seoul Soccer

Mike and I had the opportunity a couple of weeks ago to go to a FC Seoul game with a few soldiers from his post team.  (My sweet husband organized the outing--he's pretty handy to have around in this country.)

The Seoul team is sponsored by Xi--my ah-pah-tu company

I've never been to a professional soccer game in the states, so I didn't have much to compare it with; still, I was fascinated by a few of the noticeable cultural differences.  First, the stadium food:

Always adventurous eaters, we went with the box meal:  fried squid rings, spicy mystery meat, and pickled turnip with rice.  The concession stands also sold corndogs and beer, which Mike's soldiers appreciated.

Next, the cheers.  The crowd was overwhelmingly for the home team (the visitors section is to the far left in the picture below--I guess not too many people made it up from Daegu), and the fans in the "home" section, the end zone to our right (do they call it an end zone in soccer?) were pretty rambunctious.  One of my favorite cheers was a song that the crowd sang to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It Clap Your Hands."  I had no idea what they were saying, but I knew when to clap!  Speaking of clapping, in addition to the soccer-standard vuvuzela horns, the fan club sold fan clappers (pun intended):

They're made of pretty sturdy plastic-paper

And fold up into a fan

The little things make a pretty loud tthhhwaack when they're snapped shut.

Another difference I noticed, and I wish I'd gotten a picture of this--when the action cam zoomed in on someone in the audience (usually a cute girl), instead of waving and cheering like people do in the states, the girls would get embarrassed and duck down or cover their face with their hands.  Too funny!

It was a pretty good game, and my soccer-fan husband said it was pretty good soccer.  FC Seoul was triumphant, making the crowd happy.  This part of the crowd was just happy to be hanging out together:

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's the Navy's birthday today too--235th!  Last year, since I was deployed on the Nimitz we celebrated together, but this year I'm stationed on an Army base and not even at work today, so I get the day to myself. Or actually, with my awesome husband!  First time ever!!

We celebrated with a great meatloaf dinner and had carrot cake for dessert (thank you, Aunt Mary Beth, for both recipes!).  Unfortunately, Mike got called back in to work to handle some maintenance stuff, and had to spend another hour or so at the office.  He's only been Company Commander for a few days, but I'm already learning to dread the ring of the work leash cell phone.  I've been there myself though, and I really do understand.  There's a great Chinese expression, "mei banfa," that pretty much means "what can you do?"--it fits these situations well.  My sweet soldier husband is pretty excited about this job, and he truly has a gift for this stuff, so I can't complain too much.

While he was at work I went over to Kyoungmin Unnie's place to study some Korean.  She is such a great tutor!  I learned things in half an hour tonight that I've been trying to figure out for three years.  Who knew the Korean alphabet made so much sense?  Or that the Korean word for "sassy" in the movie title My Sassy Girl (one of the greatest romantic dramadies ever) actually means something like "cutesie-drunk"?  (You kinda have to see the movie.)  I'm so grateful that Kyoungmin Unnie is willing to help me.

Oh, and I have to show off my birthday gift from Mike!

Pretty snazzy, huh?  He really does spoil me shamelessly, my husband.  I'm pretty sure this cost more than his Korean car.  I am excited about it, though.  I'm a bit afraid that I'll never learn it well enough to really take advantage of all of its bells and whistles, but I'm going to just keep playing with it until I figure as much of it out as I can.  I'm already thinking that the next time Mike is away training I'm going to spend the day at one of the palaces in Seoul and snap away.  Anyway, here are a couple of quick shots:

Fun!