Hello From Mike

Hello family and friends.  I was really excited when Jean Anne brought up the idea of writing a blog.  We’ve both experienced a lot since our wedding in March and feel this is a great way to keep everyone in the loop.  WARNING: I am awful at keeping up with these kinds of things (as some of you well know), but thankfully I have a wife who is very disciplined and consistent. 

The idea of writing a blog is fascinating, since it gives me a venue to write about everything and anything… but first I’ll start with my job in Korea.  I am currently serving as the Assistant Operations Officer for 1-72 Armor Battalion.  I’m mostly in charge of making orders and plans for our battalion’s training events.  I am slotted to take over Charlie Company as their company commander in October (which I’m awfully excited about).  My living situation is not too bad… I reside in a one bedroom apartment/barrack/dorm on base in Camp Casey.  Although the amenities are few, it has all the necessities.  I’ve been trying to get involved in the community, but for some reason all of my current activities revolve around sports.  I entered a 1-72 AR Battalion soccer team into the Camp Casey intramural league and it’s been so much fun.  (As many of my friends and family know, soccer has been a huge part of my life since a very early age.)  Our team is currently 4-1 (we should be 5-0 but we gave a game away) and looking very strong.  We have a great mix of players, including soldiers who played in college to a non-commissioned officer (NCO) who played in the Haiti National team youth program to couple Korean nationals who are unbelievable (all units have Korean Augmentees to the US Army--KATUSA-- who are Korean Army soldiers who work directly with and for US Army units).  I have also started playing more golf.  We have a soldier in our unit who gives free golf lessons on Saturdays.  He’s a former professional golfer who played on the Canadian and Nike pro tours, and spent many years as a golf instructor at some of the most prestigious country clubs in the country.  He volunteers his time every weekend to instruct both kids and adults (who does that?!).  I also started playing tennis again, which is pretty fun. There is another soldier in our unit who was once ranked #700 in the world.  He attended the Bollettieri Academy in Florida with Andre Agassi, and is the without a doubt the best tennis player I’ve ever been around, so it’s been good to pick up pointers here and there.  

We were fortunate to get an incredible living situation in Seoul.  Jean Anne has been pretty reserved about explaining our Ah-pah-tu, but it’s AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It’s really unbelievable.  My wife is amazing, as she could live pretty much anywhere and truly be content and happy… but as for me, having lived in numerous locations the past several years, I love the amenities here haha.  We have a fitness center as well as a golf driving range (I’ll be sure to attach photos later on), the location is unbelievable, and there are countless restaurants within a block radius.  It’s definitely the nicest apartment I’ve ever lived in.  We’re so excited for family and friends to visit… Mrs. Babin is visiting in October (which I’m thrilled about!), and we hope we get many more visitors during our time here (although I should probably talk it over with Jean Anne before I invite the 1-72 AR soccer team over, haha).

I love food.  I REALLY LOVE FOOD.  And although the Korean food in Los Angeles is quite extraordinary, the food here has been spectacular.  Couple observations:  1. It seems that spicy food is spicier here than in the states… case in point: Kimchi here is sometimes potent enough to burn lips.  2. No matter what cuisine you eat, there’s always pickled something.  It reminds me of my dad’s utmost insistence on having kimchi every time we ate spaghetti at home.  3. There is a lack of western steakhouses.  I’m not talking about Outback or anything like that… I’m talking about USDA prime dry-aged meat that is cooked in ridiculous heat to a perfect medium rare.  Although I do feel like the trend is catching on here… we recently ate at a steakhouse that was on par with couple of the steakhouses I’ve been to in Los Angeles and New York… the only issue: its mucho expensive (meat import tax?!).  But my wife spoils me from time to time.  4. Kalbi (Korean marinated beef) is EXPENSIVE.  Or at least relative to pork.  You can eat Sam-gyub-sal (Korean bacon/pork belly) pretty cheap, but Kalbi cost adds up.   5. No one will ever come close to my grandmother’s and gomo’s naengmyun, but a few places here do it pretty darn well.  For those of you who don’t’ know, naengmyun is a cold North Korean noodle dish that is quite fantastic.  Other food notes: street food is pretty awesome.  We’ve been to several open air flea markets including Namdaemun Market and the food’s been incredible.  I definitely need to start taking pictures of the food and posting them.  We’re actually going to a French restaurant in Itaewon tomorrow and I’ll be sure to take pictures.  Charcuterie is my favorite food… nothing beats pates, terrines, and salami (ok maybe steak, sushi and Korean BBQ). 

Next topic:  I could write a whole chapter on driving in Korea.  I’ve driven from Camp Casey to Camp Yongsan twice… and both times I thought I was going to get into a serious car accident.  YES, the drivers are JUST as crazy as people say.  I initially thought, “how bad could it really be?”  But I have been proven wrong COUNTLESS times.  The traffic is pretty crazy, and the number of lanes will just decrease with no notice.  I’ll be driving in a three lane roadway and then all of a sudden it becomes two, and everyone is fighting for position to get into those lanes.  Insanity.  However, the ONE SINGLE DIFFERENCE that has stood out to me is this one simple fact--and I believe it explains everything—in America, drivers are emotional and cranky, but if push comes to shove they will yield, even if only at the last second.  In Korea, THE DRIVERS DO NOT CARE IF YOU DIE!  I’m serious… they can care less if their unyielding tendencies cause your death.  So in light of that fact, everything pretty much makes sense.  I didn’t bring my car over but bought a “hooptie” for a thousand dollars.  In Korea, there is a huge advantage in driving a sub-standard car (especially if its sub-standard compared to the guy in the next lane).  Let me explain:  during those times when you have to barge your way in and cut people off in order to survive, it gives one piece of mind and extreme advantage when you don’t care if your car gets dinged up.  I tend to notice that my ’97 Hyundai Sonata with 193,000 kilometers on it will ALWAYS get the right of way to any high performing German feat of engineering.  HOWEVER, during my most recent trip from Camp Casey to Seoul I was praying with the utmost fervency that I would be spared any jarring run-ins with my fellow drivers.  I wasn’t so worried about my car… that was irrelevant… I was worried about the wedding presents I was transporting, especially the CHINA!  “Oh Lord, you can take this car, but please spare the china!”

Sorry this post is so long… but here’s couple more random notes to finish it off.  I love sports documentaries.  When We Were Kings is my favorite of all time but I’m fascinated with anything that chronicles competition in this manner.  I think the 30 for 30 ESPN series is incredible as well as HBOs Hard Knocks.  I also think random documentaries, like The King of Kong, that capture the eccentricities and competitive fire of random people are SO fascinating.  Next in line of this genre:  Pulling John.  SO INTERESTING!  I was spell-bound for 90 minutes.  I was on the edge of my seat and SO fascinated by the world of competitive arm wrestling.  If you think I’m crazy, youtube “John Brzenk” and you’ll thank me later.  Fantasy Football season is also starting.  I’m a big proponent of the Auction Draft.  For those of you who have never done it, I highly recommend it.  I could probably write a whole blog post on fantasy football so I’ll refrain, but I’m really excited about this NFL season.

I think that’s it for now… I probably won’t write for another month or so haha, so I had to get it all out of my system.  Jean Anne and I want to thank all of our family and friends who constantly keep us in their prayers.  We love and miss you all (especially all of my cute cousins!).