Whew. Just coming off a week on the night shift, and my sleep schedule is a bit off. I have to say though, the 12 -hour shifts aren't as bad as I expected; I guess the pace is more relaxed than on the ship. I have one more day of work tomorrow (on the day shift, unfortunately for my messed up sleep cycle), and then get to enjoy a glorious four days exploring Seoul and enjoying everyday life with my handsome husband! Mike has a four-day weekend as well--it's the first time he's been able to come down to Seoul since I've been moved in at the ah-pah-tu. But I've been able to go up to his place at least once a week, which is nice. I mostly hang out in the barracks while he's at work, sleeping, browsing his extensive TV show collection, and taking care of domestic chores. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really enjoying being a housewife (or I suppose barrackswife). Of course getting to spend time with Mike is a pretty big part of that, but I'm actually enjoying the domestic chores, too.
My last three-day weekend I did a few loads of laundry--including battling some stains on a couple of Mike's dress shirts that have lived in the dirty clothes pile for several months, cleaned the kitchen, put up the rest of the privacy vinyl sticky stuff on the windows, and cooked, a lot. I made black bean hummus, zucchini bread, beef stroganoff, sweet potato fries, chicken pot pie, and rice crispy treats. I would say I was a regular Betty Crocker, except I'm still a bit new at this housewife stuff, and not everything came out exactly as I'd hoped. Turns out Old Bay isn't a great substitute for cumin, and Bisquick gets really fluffy if you leave it sitting in the bowl too long. Still, my sweet husband ate everything (or at least waited until I wasn't looking to throw it away), told me I was a great cook, and thanked me profusely for stocking his fridge for the week. And the chicken pot pie was pretty good, even if the top was too fluffy. I think for next week I'm going to do a beef curry, either chicken pesto pasta or lemon honey chicken, and perhaps another kind of bread. It's so nice, cooking with all of the gadgets and dishes we got as wedding gifts! So nice having time to cook! And so, so nice, eating meals with my husband on a semi-regular basis.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
More on the Ah-pah-tu, and a Great Discovery
Have I mentioned that I like my apartment?
I timed it yesterday--it takes me 13 minutes, door to door, to walk to work. Well, as long as they haven't surrounded my building with barbed wire and body-armor-clad soldiers (don't worry Mom--it was just an exercise). I'm enjoying the views from the apartment, the air conditioning (a box in the ceiling of each room, controlled with a remote), and the ample space.
I timed it yesterday--it takes me 13 minutes, door to door, to walk to work. Well, as long as they haven't surrounded my building with barbed wire and body-armor-clad soldiers (don't worry Mom--it was just an exercise). I'm enjoying the views from the apartment, the air conditioning (a box in the ceiling of each room, controlled with a remote), and the ample space.
The last photo, taken from one of the bedrooms, shows the Korean War Memorial and the building where I work behind it.
There are a couple of quirks to this place--the water in the kitchen sink is controlled by a foot pedal, the laundry room smells like kimchi and was clearly not built for American appliances (the movers moved them in through the kitchen window and creatively finagled them so I can open both the washer and dryer at the same time), and there are consoles and buttons all over the place that play seemingly random nintendo noises and are all labeled in Korean. It just adds to the charm, I think. Actually, I had kind of hoped to live in a smaller "villa"--a few floors of apartments with a nice Ajumma landlady who made her own kimchi and smiled at my attempts to use Korean; my sweet husband, however, really liked the idea of his wife living in a penthouse with a security guard and modern amenities. And I have to say I'm really happy we got this place. So convenient!
Speaking of convenience, I made a fantastic discovery today. Several of my coworkers live in this area (one actually lives in my building, five floors down), and one of them mentioned a Korean restaurant in the complex. I took a lap arounds today on my way home from work, and came across a hole in the wall restaurant that has a menu written on the wall, two Ajummas behind the counter cooking up some magic, and another folding kim-bap (rice, pickle, and sometimes meat, wrapped in seaweed--kind of like Korean sushi) by the door. But wait, it gets better. There are no tables, and as I'm standing there working out the Korean menu, I notice a busboy hurry back into the place with a tray of diner remains, grab another tray, and take off to another building. I place my order with the kim-bap Ajumma, and my hopes are confirmed--she asks for my tower and room number! It's like room service, at my house! And it's about $4 for pork dumplings and a kim-bap roll!! Hooray!!! And YUMMM! This place is going to be a staple. Now if I could only learn enough Korean to place an order by phone...
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Moved In!
Not completely settled in yet, but I have an apartment in Seoul, about half a mile from work and right next to a subway stop. Yay! I've been exploring the neighborhood a little bit; it's mostly high-rise ah-pah-tu's (apartments), but there are some fun side streets. There's a great bakery across the road, which I'm pretty excited about, as well as a bunch of restaurants and a few mini-marts where I can get my rice ball fix. (I'm not sure what the real name for these things is; I think they're the Asian version of the gas station sandwich--rice balls with a fish or kimchi or meat filling wrapped in seaweed and plastic. Mmmmm.) About half a mile down main road is an E-Mart, which I explored tonight. Kind of like an Asian Target on steroids...it has a bit of everything. Including an entire grocery aisle devoted to spam. Interesting. I'm sure I'll be making more visits in the future--it really was fascinating, and pretty convenient.
I start work tomorrow, officially. I've belonged to this command for a couple of weeks now, since I arrived in Korea at the end of August, but was allowed to take some leave to get settled in and checked in. Tomorrow I start learning my actual job. I'm excited--it's an interesting time to be here, and I think I'm going to learn a lot. I'm afraid it's going to be a shock to my system though--working a full day. I've only been in uniform a few times since I've been here (thankfully, since the terrible polyester "aqua-flage" is brutal in this humidity), and I can tell my feet aren't in shape for my steel-toed boots. It's going to be a good day, though. Because even if work is exhausting, at the end of it, and after a couple hours' bus ride, I get to spend the weekend with my husband!
Mike's living on post up where he works, about a 1.5 to 2 hour bus or subway ride. I feel a bit like I'm sneaking into the boys' dorm every time I come stay with him, but he assures me it's allowed, and anyway we're married. His household goods shipment arrived last week, and we've unpacked all of our wedding gifts. It's fun! My sweet husband keeps exclaiming that things are "real"--as opposed to the bachelor-pad basics, I guess. We're really enjoying having nice dishes and cookware. Now if we could just figure out where to put everything in the one-bedroom, fully-Army-furnished unit...I'm sure we'll eventually get everything put away.
I would have made more progress on the putting-away during the couple of days I was there while Mike was training, except I decided to undertake a minor home improvement. The units come standard with "Motel 8" (as Mike puts it) curtains, and since Mike's room is on the first floor overlooking the parking lot, he always kept them closed. I started my remodeling with new curtains from the store on post, the PX. I then hunted down a Korean hardware store (a hole in the wall about the same size as my first dorm room) and explained/mimed to the very patient Ahjumma (lady) what I needed; amazingly, she not only got it, but she had exactly what I was looking for--sticky vinyl (I don't even know the real term in English, haha) to go over the window to give us some privacy. Score! Then all I had to do was figure out how to get the darn stuff on the windows, with as few bubbles as possible. I won't say it's perfect, but if you're standing across the room it looks pretty good, and it gives us some nice light and welcome privacy. I'll post some pictures later.
I'm excited to be here!
I start work tomorrow, officially. I've belonged to this command for a couple of weeks now, since I arrived in Korea at the end of August, but was allowed to take some leave to get settled in and checked in. Tomorrow I start learning my actual job. I'm excited--it's an interesting time to be here, and I think I'm going to learn a lot. I'm afraid it's going to be a shock to my system though--working a full day. I've only been in uniform a few times since I've been here (thankfully, since the terrible polyester "aqua-flage" is brutal in this humidity), and I can tell my feet aren't in shape for my steel-toed boots. It's going to be a good day, though. Because even if work is exhausting, at the end of it, and after a couple hours' bus ride, I get to spend the weekend with my husband!
Mike's living on post up where he works, about a 1.5 to 2 hour bus or subway ride. I feel a bit like I'm sneaking into the boys' dorm every time I come stay with him, but he assures me it's allowed, and anyway we're married. His household goods shipment arrived last week, and we've unpacked all of our wedding gifts. It's fun! My sweet husband keeps exclaiming that things are "real"--as opposed to the bachelor-pad basics, I guess. We're really enjoying having nice dishes and cookware. Now if we could just figure out where to put everything in the one-bedroom, fully-Army-furnished unit...I'm sure we'll eventually get everything put away.
I would have made more progress on the putting-away during the couple of days I was there while Mike was training, except I decided to undertake a minor home improvement. The units come standard with "Motel 8" (as Mike puts it) curtains, and since Mike's room is on the first floor overlooking the parking lot, he always kept them closed. I started my remodeling with new curtains from the store on post, the PX. I then hunted down a Korean hardware store (a hole in the wall about the same size as my first dorm room) and explained/mimed to the very patient Ahjumma (lady) what I needed; amazingly, she not only got it, but she had exactly what I was looking for--sticky vinyl (I don't even know the real term in English, haha) to go over the window to give us some privacy. Score! Then all I had to do was figure out how to get the darn stuff on the windows, with as few bubbles as possible. I won't say it's perfect, but if you're standing across the room it looks pretty good, and it gives us some nice light and welcome privacy. I'll post some pictures later.
I'm excited to be here!
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