Have You Forgotten?

There are some wonderful advantages to living in a foreign country.  For us, it's that we've experienced being a minority for the first time and exposure to a different culture and way of living.  There have been some things that we won't change our ways on, but living here has forced us to really live with what we need.

I have a great amount of respect for the Korean people.  They are hard working, gracious, and patriotic - sounds like something we know a lot about.  What strikes me is every time we're out and someone approaches us, if they ever get away from admiring the girls, they look at Ronnie and ask if he's military.  When he answers, why yes, I am, the outpouring of gratitude comes.  He's had his hand shook, his cheeks kissed, hugged, and saluted.

You're probably wondering what all that is about?  Especially because Ronnie is definitely not blonde-haired nor blue-eyed. 

60 years ago, North Korea decided to cross the 38th parallel and invade their Southern and Democratic brother.  The Korean War was the first significant armed conflict of the Cold War.  Several UN countries came to South Korea's aid, including the US.  For three years, we fought for the Korean people against North Korea, China and the Soviet Union; but more importantly, we fought to preserve the democratic way of life.  Technically, the war is still going on, as there is an armitice in place.  
As we go into our own Independence Day celebrations, I will leave you with this thought: At a recent squadron funtion, one of the honorary commanders stood up and proposed a toast to the US military saying "Thanks to you, for 60 years, we have had peace." 

Pil Sung Korea!  

Run - Run - Run - Run

I am so proud to announce this - I have worn out my first pair of running shoes!   I've been having some shin splints the last few runs and figured it was because I was working on my speed.  Well, my long, slow run day came and the pain was so unbearable that I cut it a mile short and walked most of it.  I decided it was probably time for a new pair of shoes, just in case that was the cause.  

Now, I'm pretty sure it was.  When comparing the new and old pair, I was able to bend the toe on old one almost 90 degrees; the new shoe I could barely get to 15 degrees.  Now I just need this injury to heal so I can get back to building mileage....   Because we have a race to run!

Ronnie has been selected to represent Osan AB and run the Air Force Marathon at Wright-Patterson in September!   I can't tell you how proud I am of him.  The girls and I  are flying out to cheer him on. Anyway, there is a 5K distance on Friday before the marathon, and a 10K that I'm kicking around the notion of running if I can get someone to watch the girls since it's at the same time as the marathon. 

Now to just get these shoes broken in and we'll be in business!  

Daddy - Daughter Dance

Girl Scouts is also coming to a close since the end of the school year is almost up.  To celebrate, the Council held a Daddy-Daughter Dance.  Holly was so excited to get dressed up and take her daddy out on the town.  Here's their picture as they were leaving...  she certainly looks all grown up doesn't she?

Such Busy, Busy Bees

Sadly, the school year is drawing to a close.  I can't believe my baby girl is almost done with Kindergarten!  Where has the time gone?  Where has my baby girl gone?  In her place is this articulate young lady who can read, write, and do arithmetic. 

To finish out the year, Ms. Burris treated us to a play about life in Korea and the Burris Bees class.  She said that every time they got a new student in class, they would run through all of this information to get the new student acclimated to Korea. The play was really cute and pointed out the similarities between the US and Korea, but also some of the differences.  Holly's part was a "Korean student" and her line explained that they learned to read and do math in school. 

After the play, we had Kindergarten graduation.  Ms. Burris had something great to say about each student and what they taught her.  For Holly it was that she is a miniature version of Ms. Burris, but in a good way that reminded her that it's okay to be silly with the kids.  I'm sure somewhere, Ms. Burris's mom is laughing that the mother's curse is already being exacted upon her daughter. 

We made it through Kindergarten in 3 classrooms, 3 teachers, and 2 different countries.  And Holly is already making plans for first grade.  I keep hoping maybe there's a Sister Celine in her future....   because bless her little heart, she's also a mini-me.

More Adventures in Korean Cuisine

I've decided that I really like Korean food and even have started to crave it along with Mexican and Italian.  Normally sparce of meat, it is a vegetable heavy cuisine that seems to stick with you all day. And if you do get a meal that is heavy on meat, you will pay a premium for it.  But we've found the holy grail, a galbi house right outside the base. 

Galbi is everything American's love about meat - marinated, tender and cooked on a grill right in front of you. It is typically served with lettuce, or other leafy vegetables used to wrap the meat, which is then dipped in ssamjang, a sauce made of fermented bean curd and red pepper paste. Then you get all sorts of banchan to finish out your meal.  Different, but in a good sort of way. 

So, for our first try at the galbi house, we decided to get the "all you can eat" option which included several different types of meats for us to grill.  Figured it was the best way to enjoy a little bit of everything.  And man was it good!  

To start us off, the ajima brought out some pork galbi, which cooked up just like bacon.  She also brought all our banchan:  kimchi soup, a scrambled egg, green onions, garlic, and various kinds of kimchi.  I could have made a meal on the banchan and pork galbi alone, but the next course was beckoning.  And our ajima had mini-sirloin steaks for us.  Yum doesn't seem to start describing this.  

After eating our hearts out, we went to settle the bill.  Here's the best part - family of 4 completely full on dinner only cost us $22.  Amazing!    Needless to say, we will be back to explore the other options on their menu. 

And That's the Ballgame!

After weeks of practice and games, the Osan T-ball season has wound to a close.  The kids all had a great time and most of them really improved.  It seems that Holly takes after me though.  She is more interested in the social aspect of team sports as well as watching the birds, flowers, grass, butterflies, etc. rather than playing the game.  Poor Ronnie!  

But she had a great time playing, which I guess is all that matters.

Weekend Fun!

Celebrating my first three day weekend since returning to work! Somehow, Ronnie got a four day weekend out of this... Still trying to figure that out, but anyway.

We've been looking forward to this weekend for a while. Originally, we had planned to go to Busan for the weekend but scrapped those plans because we have "done that". Luckily, we didn't go because we got to enjoy some other fun. On Friday night, the girls had their first sleepover (see the other post).

The Air Force is a pretty small world. You never know who you might run back into, but this time it brought Ronnie and I a present from the Westside. Growing up, Ronnie went to church with Mike; here we are in South Korea and many moons later, and Mike has also enlisted in the Air Force and pulled orders here. We had him and his wonderful family over for dinner Saturday night. Funny thing is I know him from way back when, but he's also the cousin of a friend of mine from high school. You think the Air Force is a small world, you should see the 6-degrees of the Westside.

On Sunday, we headed to Seoul to Bubble World. I had heard about Fan Yang's bubble show when it was running in the states; his brother, Jang Yang, has been holding an open run show in Seoul for two years. Lucky for us we went, because the show is closing soon and the girls had SO MUCH FUN! Holly even got picked to go on stage... well, maybe picked isn't the right word. More like ran into the aisle and straight up to Jang Yang and he said, "okay, come on." She was in heaven and got a "snow storm" of bubbles and even got a big bottle of bubbles, autographed by Jang Yang.

After the show, we decided to bum around Seoul. But not before getting semi-stalked in the metro station. This weird guy was hanging around the turnstiles when we entered the station, then I noticed him waiting for us to throw away our trash before he headed down the stairs after us - yeah, he didn't have any trash to throw away. He jumped in the same train car as us and got off at the same station. But, he really made me nervous when I purposefully headed the wrong way for a few steps and then turned around to head up the right stairs, and he did the same thing. I gave him the stare of all stares, you know the "I know what you're doing and I'm taking all the bags from my husband so he can have his hands free because he has a knife and will cut your ass" look. Luckily, he didn't continue after us, but I was pretty shaken until we made it to our final destination and he was nowhere in sight.

That destination was Dongdaemun, a neighborhood we hadn't seen yet. And I know why my husband hasn't let me go there yet - Dongdaemun Shoe Market. Yes, you heard me right! Rack after rack, store after store, alley after alley of shoes, beautiful shoes! I think I peed my pants a little, angels were singing and the light was a little brighter in this otherwise dark alleyway. I think Ronnie said, Oh my God, I'm never gonna get my wife out of here. But I exercised restraint and only picked up a pair of super cute wedges for 12,000 Won, so Ronnie will let me go back. We all know what I really wanted to do though.....

Unfortunately for us, a lot of the bigger markets were closed. Some were closed because it was Sunday, others because they are only open during the infamous night market. We did get to explore the neighborhood, see the gate, and eat some good food. By the way, Dongdaemun means "Great East Gate." The sun was setting and it was time for us to head on home for the night.

Today, we decided to go with our American tendencies and seek out some water. One of the ladies in the squadron posted some directions to a campsite on the beach that we wanted to preflight for a future excursion. So, we packed a lunch, some beach toys and off to the Yellow Sea we went. It's a beautiful spot with no tourist traps, and not even any facilities. We could tell that the tide comes up pretty far at high tide, so no camping on the beach itself. You can pitch your tent in the pine tree forest, then walk out over the grassy sand dunes and right onto the beach. The camping spot we liked the best looks right out onto the water, but is still under the trees.

After exploring the camping area, we enjoyed our lunch on the beach, the girls went about playing in the sand while Ronnie and I relaxed and listened to, well, nothing but nature. It was really relaxing. Can't wait until we actually camp there.

When it was time to go, we wandered our way back to Songtan, exploring some interesting nooks that may become excursions as well.