Some days...

  Some days being an Ex-patriot living abroad are better than others.  You hear about all the fun things going on at home.  People (mainly my Father) brag about the better weather, and believe me in the Winter time the weather in Austin is better.  Family gatherings occur.  School events and sporting events take place.  Girl Scout Cookies go on sale.  You hear about them all and get the highlights of everything and you hang on every word.

  You remind yourself that you are having the experience of a lifetime.  I wouldn't trade anything my family is going through right now.  We have bonded together more in the last 7 months than could be imagined.  We will have inside jokes for YEARS that no one else will get.  We have discovered biking, the Korean language and we will be the family to beat at charades forever (we can act out anything!).  We are seeing parts of the world most people only get to see pictures of.  We even got to stand on the Great Wall of China, spend Christmas in the tropics and we have had the opportunity to experience Korean culture on a very different level. 

  Some days though, are much harder than others.  When there is a family emergency and all you can do is hear about it.  You think of all the things you could be doing to help... but can't.  Jumping on a plane isn't always the answer when there are only a few flights per week and they are usually booked for weeks in advance.  So you do what you can.  You update friends and you call your family for info sometimes way too late at night their time because the time difference is CRAZY and you just can't wait.  You ask questions that sometimes seem silly.  You spend way too much time checking Skype hoping someone is online that knows something....anything.

  Finally, you remind yourself over and over that you won't take certain things for granted ever again: family, even my siblings;
beloved pets, I didn't realize how much Daisy and Dagwood keep me company during the day;
best friends, and you know who you are!! as well as all my other friends;
holiday traditions, I'll never miss another Arbor Day;
house decorations, I didn't expect to miss the hassle of re-decorating but I do, for all the seasons and holidays out there (yes, even Arbor Day);
and your own backyard, I even miss the garden weeds and all, having coffee outside, and grilling!!

  It's not possible to list all the things I miss, or list all the things I will do once again upon my return, whenever that is.  But I know I have grown as a person from this experience.  Hopefully for the better...

First time in months!

It has finally been warm enough today that for the first time in months I did not wear long johns under my jeans, I put on tennis shoes instead of snow boots, I left the apartment without gloves AND I am currently only wearing one pair of socks!   I'm still wearing two shirts though....let's not get carried away.  

 I've added some pictures to the Namhansanseong Fortress entry to take a look back if you saw it previously with no pictures. 

Time to get out of the apartment!

  It's hard to imagine that I now think 45 degrees F or higher is warm but after an entire month of January below freezing, it is.  I had no particular place in mind I just knew it was time to get out of the apartment.  We had been in most of the day on Saturday except for a short walk along the river in the afternoon and dinner out at David's new favorite place "The Fry Pan".  I didn't want to let another beautiful day go by without spending some time outside.  You just never know when it is going to get cold again and even snow here.

  I searched for a few destinations online and although there are a few more palaces in Seoul I want to see, most of them are known for their gardens.  So waiting for Spring for a visit just makes sense.  We decided on Namhansanseong Fortress because it is close by.  We plot the route on the subway, pack some water and some snacks and off we go!

  We have become very adept at the subway system and even emerge at the correct exit to head to the fortress.  We were waved off by two taxis so we figure it couldn't be very far.  Little did we know...

  I spotted some steps leading to a trail and several people heading that way so I suggested we just walk up the hill.  After all, we were here to enjoy the outdoors and get in a walk anyway.  We were definitely going to get in a walk!  By the end of the day we walked well over 4km and that's not counting the vertical up and downs we did!  The trail was beautiful.  The views of Seoul were spectacular.  We even saw some of the foxhole systems leftover from the war.  It was fascinating.

Bench!  Taking a quick rest break along the path.

Seoul in the background.

Some more of the beautiful views along the trail.

  When we finally reached the fortress proper David recognized the place as one of the destinations of an earlier field trip.  Evidently they came here as a school back in September.  It just happened to be the one field trip I didn't attend this year! 

Finally the Fortress after 4km.  None of these people were on the trail with us and I'm not sure where they came from!

A little bridge over a frozen stream.

  There were so many people in the fortress itself enjoying the same beautiful weather we were.  Tired from the 4k trip,  we ended up only staying for about 30 minutes and then making our way back home.  This time we found the right bus back to the subway station so the next time we come we can take the bus UP the hill and enjoy the fortress.

Sometimes things just sneak up on you.

  Some days more than others it can be weird just being here.  Holidays are especially that way.  Consider Valentines Day.  I can't believe it is already February 14th.  Not that Valentines Day was one of my favorite holidays but usually we did something to commemorate the day.  The kids usually had something that needed to be done for school, cards to make for classmates or something like that. 

  Then we moved to Korea...

  Here, Valentines Day is mostly a holiday for the very young.  David is even too old!  His school sold kiss-o-grams that you could buy and they will deliver a piece of paper with a Hershey's kiss on it to friend you bought it for.  This High School did nothing.  I'm loving this!! No running around trying to find cards.  No racing to the store to by baked goods.  Nothing.  I'm kicking back and just enjoying the holiday.  I sent an e-card to my Dad, who has been my Valentine every year of my life.  I kissed my husband who has also been my Valentine for a very long time.  And tomorrow for the actual day I plan on stitching the entire day!  Happy Valentine's Day to me!

Crack is Closing!!

  Walked along the river to the Orthopedics office for the follow up visit on the finger today.  An x-ray proved the crack in the finger is closing nicely.  The finger has to stay immobile for 2 more weeks but she is now cleared for sports (keeping it splinted of course).  Although basketball season is almost over she won't miss any soccer except a few practices.

  Negotiating the medical system here has been pretty interesting and it is fairly efficient.  No appointments are needed at the doctor's office.  It's a first-come-first-served system.  Today at the specialist we were in and out, complete with x-rays and a doctors consultation,  in 45 minutes.  It's an interesting concept.  I only had to specify which date I was coming in but not the time.  It has been that way with all the doctors.  They don't even want you to call first.  Just arrive and check-in. 

Making Mandoo

  During the last Korean Language/Culture class we learned how to make Mandoo which is a common Korean food served during Lunar New Year which was February 3rd.  It was not as difficult as I thought it would be.  Ms. Diane gave us a shopping list of ingredients to get and I made sure I had all the right kitchen equipment for the recipe.

  Jason was sent to the grocery store and came back with everything!


  On the day of class we get started.   Mixing and putting together was really fun!

  We even learned a unique way to fold them that is unique to Ms. Diane's family (kind of looks like a leaf).

There are two ways to fix them, boiled in water and fried in a little bit of canola oil in a skillet.  We did both and it was amazing the flavor differences.   It was all good!  We even made a soy sauce/rice vinegar dipping sauce that enhanced the flavors of the Mandoo no matter which way they were prepared.  A good time was had by all!

The Mad Mandoo Makers!

Totally Cracked Up...

  This last weekend, Galen's basketball team attended the Aisa Basketball Tournament down the road at Seoul International School.  There were 3 Korean schools, one from Taiwan and 2 from Japan attending.  All looked promising for some good competition.  The brackets were done in pure round robin fashion.

 Galen's team the KIS Phoenix landed in the semi-finals against one of the Japanese teams.  The Osaka Dragons were going to be hard to beat.  Galen went up for a pass as did one of the Osaka players and came down holding her "ring" finger on her right hand.  It happened right in front of me!  I could hear it "pop" and knew it wasn't going to be good.  Sure enough the swelling was very localized around the knuckle.  The trainer wrapped it and put ice on it, but she did not return to the game.  The Phoenix lost the game by 12 points and the Osaka Dragons went on to win the tournament.

  The decision was made that an x-ray was needed to really assess the damage done to the finger.  Now we just have to decipher enough of the medical system to figure out how to get that done!

   We started with texting our regular doctor from Pangyo, Dr. Kim to get his recommendation on a doctor.  Not only did he know of one, and confirmed they were open (it is Saturday by the way) his directions to the facility were spot on (which is yet another challenge here).  We arrived as they were closing but they fired up the machines and took an x-ray anyway.  A small crack was found and the finger was splinted within 30 minutes.  Another 10 minutes later we were out of there and on the way back to the tournament!  We were more than impressed with the whole system.  I credit an extensive computerized system for the whole thing.  The price is yet another plus.  We saw a specialized orthopedic doctor for 50,000 (about 45 dollars) and then walked out of the downstairs pharmacy for another 8,000 (7 dollars). 

  The official diagnosis is a cracked finger at the second knuckle on the ring finger of the right hand.  She has to keep it mobilized for a while and is out of sports for the next 4 weeks.  She will miss the last basketball game and the final tournament.  All things told she is taking it very well although with any broken bone it is quite painful.