Korean F1 Grand Prix

Soon after getting here, we discovered there was going to be a Grand Prix race in Korea.  Unfortunately, we then discovered that it was on the south-east tip of Korea, the high speed train doesn't go there, and it was really expensive.  We gave up on going after it seemed the planets were not aligning.....   that is until I ran across a FB post from Yongsan.  The USO was coordinating a military tour at the right price and they were going to have a bus running from Osan.  We quickly got our sitter lined up and bought tickets. 

We took off early Sunday morning for the long bus ride down.  A few hours (and a good nap later) we arrived in a drizzly, overcast Mokpo.  The USO really did a great job - our tickets were in the Main Grandstand at around the 10th/11th start positions, 5 rows up.  After finding our seats, we went exploring. 

The raceway and grounds are still under construction.  There were a lot of unfinished areas, mostly parking; for us this meant the drizzly rain was making a muddy mess.   But that didn't stop us from trying to find some food.   Slim pickings there too, but lucky for us, we liked what they had.  There were two vendors set up for food and a few others serving coffees and snacks.  We got some bulgogi and rice, Ronnie found a hamburger, and then we got some coffee and a churro for the stands.  Because it was race time!

The officials went ahead and started the race, but after a few laps behind the safety car, they decided to wait out the rain for another hour.  Yeah, the safety car ROCKED - the new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.  That hour came and went and it was race time again.  The rest of the race was good, there were a few crashes that took out some of the leaders so it was exciting to watch the last few laps.  Ferrari's Alonso led the last few laps and the fans finally started cheering, chanting and getting excited, and they erupted when Alonso crossed the finish line. 

All in all, the F1 was a great race to experience.  I hear there's a F1 track opening in Austin, Texas....  sounds like we're gonna have to hit that one, cause at least I know there will be smoked turkey legs. 

Zen Hiking - the Good Bus Tour

Kinda like the Magical Mystery Tour, but not really.  That's for another post  :)

Recently at work, we realigned and Civilian Training came into the Education Services/Force Development umbrella.  With that, we welcomed Ms. Chin to our office.  Ms. Chin is delightful and loves that our family loves to explore Korea.  She brings by bits of information on events and festivals and is encouraging me to use the very little Korean I know.  In getting to know one another, she found out that Ronnie and I love the outdoors and Ronnie in particular loves hiking.  She immediately invited us to join the hiking club.  

Yes, a hiking club - on base - and we had no clue.   Turns out there's a good reason though, the club is mainly for the Korean Civilian Service employees but anyone can join them.  

So, Ronnie joined them for a hike to Seoraksan this past weekend.  The directions to the bus were go to the bus terminal and look across the street for the bus that says "Good Bus."  It was easy enough to find too - the bus was right where she said it would be and "Good Bus" was right where you would find "Greyhound." 

The weather was wonderful, the traffic was heavy, and the hiking was fantastic.  The leaves are turning over here, which is why traffic was so heavy up to the mountain.  In general, hiking trails aren't cut like they are in the States; they mostly are staircases straight up the side rather than switchbacks.   Hearing this, it was a good thing I decided to stay home with the girls.

Ms. Chin wasn't able to go on the tour, so she asked her friend Ms. Kim to watch over Ronnie to be sure he didn't fall off the trail anywhere.  Ronnie said she took care of him alright - every time she was eating, she was feeding him too.  An orange here, snack cakes there, and a full Korean dinner after he got something off the snack bar.  

After a few hours of hiking, they made the long, traffic filled trip back to Songtan.  Ronnie's summary was that it was a good trip, pleasant company, and nice to have someone lead the way.  We're hoping to join them on another hike in the spring. 

You Sure You Want Us to NEO?

I warned you before, and last night just proved the point again.  Do NOT mess with the women at Osan.  They just might want to reconsider the NEO process and keep these fierce women here to fight the mini-Jonger. 

Then again, we would only be proficient at handing them their a$$es in Crud. 

The call came out about two months ago that the Seoul Sisters (the team who won the tourny back in the spring) had called to see about when the next one was.  As soon as it was even mentioned, it was game on.  The trophy had been taken away from Osan and it was time to earn it back. 

With Ronnie being at the OSS, rather than the squadron, and me in the FSS, I was a little worried that I wouldn't be on the Lady Draggin team.  Quickly, that thought was dispelled with the formation of an Active Duty team.  

We had more than a little fun practicing and getting some game strategy together.  Over the course of a few weeks, I spent more time with the team than with my family.  To say that we have an awesome group of ladies in this squadron wouldn't be enough, because awesome isn't a "good enough" word for what they are. 

Finally, it was time for the tournament.  We drew one of our favorite teams to scrimmage against, the 7th Air Force.  It was a close game, but we lost by a few lives.  On to the second game, where we played the Active Duty team.  This team formed quickly in two weeks, and we practiced a lot with them.  It came down to the last lives on both teams, with our fearless leader Jenny receiving the ball.  She quickly made mincemeat out of Amanda and the crowd erupted!  

Our third match had us pitted against the 7th again.  With one loss on the board, we needed a win.  Again, it came down to the wire with the last lives on both teams, and with Jenny taking her final stand.  We were on the big table and Jenny was playing against Tricia, who we lovingly refer to as Gumby or Legs Magee.  Jenny took a long shot and missed the hit by millimeters.   And with that, we were out.  

Ronnie and I watched the rest of the matches and were delighted when the Seoul team was sent packing by the 7th.  We could finally breathe - the trophy was home with Osan.  But it was on to settle the winner: the 7th versus the Fiendettes.  It was more than fun to watch, but was hard to sit there and not cheer for all my friends who were playing on each of the teams.  At one point, Ronnie asked me who I wanted to win.  I replied, "I really don't care because it's not Seoul."  After a great match, the 7th triumphed and won the tourny.

I'm just hoping we'll have another tourny in the spring so I can play one more time at Osan. 

PIL SUNG!

All That and a Bag of Rice

A few months ago, an email was sent out to the base about a race in Pyeongtaek, our big city to the south.  My thought process went something like this:  Hmmm.....  International race, distances I like, nice shirt, and it's free.  Sign me up!  

I was shooting to run a 10K, but it wasn't to be.  With Ronnie training for his marathon, school starting, Ronnie semi-injured/semi-sick, and crud (that will come in a sec) it was too much to aim for.  I backed myself down to a 5K about a week left to go, and knew even that would be a stretch based on the lack of training I have done. 

Lucky for me, the race info went out to a great group of ladies at Osan who all signed up for varying distances.  I was doubly lucky that several of the Draggin Ladies were running the 5K as well.  

You couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather and before we knew it, we were off and running.  Ronnie was well enough to participate in the 5K while pushing the girls in our jogging trailer.  I planned to run/walk my 13 minute/mile pace, which is about what I average with no training.  After the first mile, I fell back in the pack behind the other ladies.  The lack of training reared it's ugly head a few times when my heartrate skyrocketed, but Ronnie and the girls stuck by me.  I figured I may as well enjoy the race if I couldn't actually "race" in it. 

We had a grand time watching the dancers, cheerleaders, and everything else that Korea offers to cheer you on.  As one of my friends noted, Koreans tend to run like they drive: running really fast, then just stopping in front of you for no reason, randomly darting in and out right in front of you, with no care of where you may be.  I felt bad too, I think I tripped a few people by accident when they darted in front of me while I was mid stride. 

About the last mile, I knew I was a little behind my target time and needed to make up some ground.  Ronnie ran up ahead so he could take some pictures at the end and have the girls ready to run me in.  I had just began my run when I noticed a young lady who I had been running alongside.  She and her family were running the 5K as well, and she had fallen behind.  Her dad was doing his level best to run with her and her sister who was stopping and waiting up ahead.  Being that I wasn't going to get there any faster, I offered to run with her to the finish so her dad could catch up to her sister. 

That last mile was brutal, but with Catherine by my side, it went by quick.  Before we knew it, we had caught up to Ronnie and the girls.  As is tradition and where we can, the girls ran with Catherine and I to the finish line, into the cheers of my fellow Lady Draggins, and Catherine with a big smile on her face.  It was a fabulous run and I even got my pace goal - 12:55 was my average.  Not bad for being out of shape. 

We knew we had some goodies waiting for us back at the festival area.  Since Ronnie and I were registered for the 10K, we got a bonus in our bag... a 1 kg bag of rice!   After the race, we hung out for a while and waited for some of the other Osan ladies to cross the finish line.  We meandered about, finding some wonderful oxtail soup, rice, and bean sprouts to munch on from some friendly ladies. 

We found the USFK tent and were chit chatting in there when, in true "we brought a bunch of Americans to the race" style, they brought in some Whoppers and Cokes.  I was too busy enjoying my soup, rice and bean sprouts to eat a Whopper, so I shared mine with the nice woman who gave me the Korean food.  She giggled and went about splitting the burger between herself and her coworkers. 

All in all, it was a fabulous event.  Several of our friends placed and got even bigger bags of rice than we did.  Definitely going to make this international running a "thing" to do...  we had way too much fun.

Air Power

It's that time of year... Air Show Time!  This year we were treated to a performance from the Black Eagles, the ROKAF aerial demo team.  We were also able to get our neighbor, Heather, and some of the kids out to enjoy the performances.   It was a beautiful day and the performances were awesome!  



Better Late Than Never

Sarah, if you read this when you get older, please know you are not an afterthought.  You'll need to refer back to your birthday post. 

We had Sarah's un-Birthday Party today!   FINALLY could get it together enough to throw one.  Holly kept refering to it has Sarah's fake birthday, but I convinced her it was an Un-Birthday a-la Alice in Wonderland. 

The weather has been gorgeous as of late, and today was no exception.  It was sunny and not too hot/not too cold.  We had the party at the park with Sarah's friends and had a great time - two playgrounds, grilled hotdogs and a pinata.  What more could a 4+ year old want? 

 

Six of One, Half a Dozen of the Other

Today is day 365 in the ROK...  we have 365 days left.  I can't believe we're half way through this assignment already. In light of this momentus day, I thought I would recap our favorite photos of our journey thus far.  Enjoy!

(left - First morning in Korea; right - first ride on the subway)

(left - Go, Daddy, Go!; right - playing in the snow)

(left - learning to fly kites in Busan; right - Holly playing t-ball)

(left - cousins!!!; right - River Run)

 (left -CRUD!; right - Operation Sitter Recall)

(left - Cherry trees blossoming in the spring; right - getting stranded in Seoul)

(left - Lotus Lantern Festival; right - playing at the beach)

(left - Boryeong Mud Festival; right - Sevendust concert at Yongsan)

(left - summer, friends and ice cream; right - Mt. Halla overlook)

(left - Hopping to the states; right - Everland)

(left - Air Show fun; right - Lady Draggin Running Team)

(left - Draggin Family; Right - Lady Draggin Crud Team)