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!

Day 6--Mom's Birthday and Mike's Change of Command

Friday was a big day for us!  It was Mom's birthday, and also the day that Mike took command of Cobra Company.  Mom and I took the subway up to Camp Casey, and while the guys were rehearsing for the event, we put together our contribution to the Change of Command reception--a festive veggie tray.

Rehearsing

More rehearsing

The change of command ceremony, though simple, is rich with tradition.  The unit stands in formation while the guidon, the unit's flag, is passed from the First Sergeant--the senior enlisted soldier and principle advisor to the commander, to outgoing commander, from him to his boss--the Battalion Commander, who then passes it to the new Company Commander--my sweet husband.  This symbolizes the passing of the responsibility of command, and the trust the unit places in its leader.  The Battalion Commander then gave a brief speech, praising the company and the work of the outgoing commander, and welcoming Mike.  I was introduced as well and presented with flowers.  I have to say, I was pretty proud to be there as CPT Kim's wife.

The commander in his new office

Why is there a flower picture on the wall in the office?  Happily, we get to redecorate...

After the ceremony, Mom and I hung out for a bit while Mike took care of a couple of work items.  We were in Mike's office, right next to the company meeting room, while First Sergeant was giving his weekend "behave-yourself" safety briefing to all the guys.  I think Mom was a bit shocked at his soldier-friendly language; I wouldn't have noticed except for her reaction, having grown used to sailors' language.  When we were leaving we had to walk out past the door of the room, and one of Mike's soldiers saw us.  "First Sergeant!  The Commander's wife is still here--you're swearing!"  Mike poked his head in (Mom was outside by this point)--"Oh it's ok, she's in the Navy."  So true.

We took the subway back to Seoul, riding part of the way with Kyoungmin Unnie.  I got a kick out of this guy's hat:

It might be hard to see in the picture, but it says "Love-Holic"

 We had a celebratory dinner that night at a great Italian restaurant in Itaewon.

Mom had to fly out on Saturday, so we did one more brunch at the Flying Pan that morning.

Yummmm

We wisely took the airport shuttle bus instead of driving, and got Mom checked in with plenty of time to spare.  So much more convenient than driving!

It was such a great visit!  Who's next?

Days 4 and 5

Mom and I spent most of Wednesday in Insadong, the great artsy-craftsy shopping street.  My sweet husband was amazed (and I’m sure grateful that he hadn’t been with us)—we walked the entire street, not once, but twice.  And since one of the similarities my mom and I share is shopping style (the compulsive look-at-every-single-option style), it took us most of the day. 

  

We took a break for lunch at a vegetarian temple food restaurant off of one of the Insadong side streets.  The décor was charming—the sit-on-the-floor section had “ondol” floor heating, and the table section we chose had some great antique furniture.  The food was pretty good too.

Then back to the shopping.  Mom found a beautiful painting and a great celadon vase, which we bought after checking just about every other pottery shop on the street, just to make sure there wasn’t a better or less expensive option.  Hehe.

I found a great wallet to replace my current one, which has pretty much fallen apart—again, after checking almost every store on the street that sold wallets, just to make sure there wasn’t a color I liked better.  We picked up a couple of gifts, and were finally ready to head home for the day.

I woke up Thursday to the yells and cheers of little kids (we’ve been sleeping with a window open since the weather has been so nice), and came out into the living room to find Mom leaning out the window in fascination.  There’s an elementary school down the street, and being on the 34^th floor we had a great view into the schoolyard where there was some kind of fall festival in progress.  The kids were holding hands in small circles, twirling around to the commands of music and a guy with a microphone.  The music would stop, the guy would yell something into the microphone, and the kids would scream and run to form bigger circles.  Too cute!

We spent the afternoon browsing in a series of antique shops in one of the neighborhoods of Seoul.  I’m looking for a small desk and maybe a coffee table, and I have a great spot in the ah-pah-tu for one of the wooden chests that I’ve seen several places here.  Unfortunately, most of what we were looking at was out of my price range, but I have a better idea now of what I want and how much it will cost.  And we had a lot of fun looking around. 

Dinner was tasty Thai food from a trendy restaurant in Itaewon.

What a fun day!

Mom's Visit, Days 2 and 3

No fun stories from day three, because I had to work.  Not only did we not get to play, but my sweet momma stayed in the ah-pah-tu all day, CLEANING!  (Goodness, I must be a mess--both my husband and my mother clean for me!)  But I finally have an organized linen closet, sock drawer, and craft chest.  So much work!  Dinner was delivery Korean soul food from the ajummas downstairs, and it was pretty yummy.  And I got to see my sweet husband today!  He had to come all the way down to Seoul after work to pick up a car key, and while I feel bad that he had to make a round trip in one evening, it surely was good to see him, if only for a little while (darn the Army and 6 a.m. formations...).

Yesterday was fun, though.  Mike had the day off from work, and the three of us took on the massive and crazy Namdaemun Market.  Frommers says that if you can't find it in this market, which has been going strong since the 15th century and takes up multiple city blocks, it probably does not exist.

We even found a "bamboo wife" like we had seen at the Folk Museum.  The idea is that a guy would wrap his legs around this thing when he slept in order to keep cool.

I've been to this market three times so far, and I have yet to visit without getting lost.  But that's part of the fun, I guess.  We enjoyed wandering and browsing (at least Mom and I enjoyed it, and my patient husband got to see first-hand where I get my shopping habits from, as Mom and I both compulsively tried to compare every item in booth after booth...) for most of morning.

Even the most tireless shoppers must eat, so we set off to find the restaurant street.  Mike found it, and led us through the chaos on a recon run before settling on a bibimbap and noodle booth.

A barley rice mix bowl for everyone, and some soup thrown in by the ajumma just to make sure we didn't leave hungry.  Yum!

Lunch restored our energy, and we wandered through a few more side streets before finally deciding to head for the bus stop.  We had a pretty productive shopping day, all in all.

Mom's Visit, Day 1

Mom's here!  We were late getting to the airport to pick her up (I know, I'm a bad daughter) because we decided to drive, even though we know traffic is crazy here.  I discovered a couple of tricks though--when traffic is packed and moving relatively slowly, you just pick someone to cut off, and execute as quickly as possible.  You can't put on your turn signal to change lanes, because the car behind you in the other lane will just speed up to keep you from getting over in front of them.  Also, it's best to keep in mind that the lines dividing the lanes are really just suggestions.

Enough on traffic.  We got to the airport and got home safely, if a couple of hours later than we thought.  Dinner for Mom from the Paris Baguette bakery downstairs (her body was thinking it was time for breakfast), and rest for the day ahead.

We had a great day of sight-seeing Sunday.  But first, breakfast, at The Flying Pan (a pun on Korean pronunciation of "r"s?  We're not sure.  But it definitely is tasty.)

After breakfast we set off for Gyeongbokgung, which was one of the main palaces of the Joseun Dynasty.  It's a beautiful  place, and we were lucky to have some nice weather even though the forecast called for rain.

(I couldn't resist snapping a photo of my handsome husband.)

After touring the palace grounds, we headed for the National Folk Museum.  But first, snacks--a pumpkin bagel sandwich, and iced citron tea.

The folk museum was pretty interesting.  We were guided through one exhibit by a museum volunteer--an older Ajumma who spoke incredible English.  She told us all about the use of human excrement for fertilizer, explained the yoke and harness and how cow slippers prevented frostbite, described the way buoys were used by divers to keep track of their catch of mackerel and cuttlefish, and told us how straw was tightly woven and overlaid with more straw to make a rain coat, and how mulberry paper was treated with soybean extract to make it impermeable to water.  And I'm not rephrasing--she used those exact terms.  Mom commented after she left that there are plenty of people in our hometown who wouldn't have understood half of what she said, not because of her accent (she spoke slowly and enunciated well), but because of her extensive vocabulary.

The next exhibit went through some of the traditions surrounding important events in a person's life, such as birth, the 100th day celebration, wedding, 60th birthday, and death.  The bride's dress in the wedding display looked familiar:

After the folk museum, we took a caffeine / rest break, then walked through the artsy area of Samcheon-dong.  We wandered up the main street, then headed toward the restaurant we had picked out for dinner.  On the way, we walked past the Blue House--the Korean equivalent of the White House.

Dinner was traditional chicken and ginseng soup, called samgyetang, in a restaurant located in an old traditional-style house.  My sweet but inflexible husband was not too excited to have to sit on the floor to eat, but he admitted after the meal that the food was worth it.

We got there just in time to beat the crowd.

Good job, Mom!

More about day two tomorrow!