I was sitting in Starbucks today, waiting for Nikolas to get done with turkey bowl practice and I realized that I haven't blogged in a while. So here is the update.
Pretty much Nikolas has been really busy with work. He has been leaving early and coming home late. So his job is in full swing. There have been some bumps along the way but thats what happens with a new job.
Colt has started to adjust to being in a country with no grass. Him and I were walking on post near family housing and noticed that there are areas where dogs can run off the leash. I was so happy for him! So now that is where we take him every now and then. He isn't getting any bigger, so we think that he is finished growing.
I am doing well. The baby is growing quite well. She loves to kick me all the time. It is so cool. It is like little pops. Every now and then, she will give me a big kick right in the stomach! Pretty much I love it. I am starting to read to her. I got all of those princess books with the happy ever after endings and of course the classics, "if you give a mouse a cookie" and "cloudy with a chance of meatballs." I am getting really excited to see her! As of right now, I am about 26 weeks. My next appt. is the 23rd of Dec. The day is coming soon :)
Thanksgiving is tomorrow for us, so I have to prep today! Nikolas has the turkey bowl tomorrow morning against the enlisted soldiers. The officers are going to get there butts kicked! It will be fun to watch. So keep it locked in.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
BABY!
So yesterday was the big day! The ULTRASOUND ( I wish there was a way that you could magnify that like they do on tv). So the baby is about 22 weeks along now and healthy. The heart rate was about 153-158 ( I don't remember) and it weighs about 1lb 1oz. How they can tell how much it ways is beyond me because the way that my feet been hurting lately it doesn't seem that small. Guess the whole increased blood volume and water weight comes into play. I know that you are all dying to know what the sex is.........well you are going to have to wait.....no I am kidding it is a GIRL! AHHHHHHHH. Nikolas and I were thinking that it was going to be a boy. We have been calling it a boy, so I hope that they little one isn't gender confused when it comes out. The thing about the whole finding out the sex has been an interesting experience. I guess the ultrasound tech doesn't tell you what the sex is because some people have complained when the tech said something. So the solution....to not tell anyone. Well if anyone knows me, I am not taking that lying down! So I pretty much coaxed it out of her. She was freaking out that I was going to complain and I was like just tell me and I won't. I was nice about it laughing with her telling her that it was fine and some people are just jerks. She was very nice. When she was doing the ultrasound I go, "ITS A BOY" and she looked at me like, "Crazy American, it isn't." So after trying to get a straight answer out of her, I finally was like, "Can you check for any extra appendages?" Finally she said there was nothing there. So YAY!
I think Nikolas might be a little nervous having a girl first. The whole daddy daughter thing scares him a little. He will do fine though, she can still play all the boy sports and there will be NO pink in this house. I even told him that. I have never been a pink kinda gal. It reminds me of my neighbors Pam and Sam. They have a little girl, Natalie, who I want to adopt but anyway. She is the girly girl! I mean it is so cute cause her mom is the same way. Sam is more of the soccer, sports kinda guy. Cheerleading and dance not so much. Well Natalie started soccer this year and I guess she is a monster on the field. So there is hope for a girly girl but a sporty kinda lady. We will see what she grows up into!
Overall, the nesting process has begun. The monster has awaken. It is bad! I think I need to go to rehab for it. Hahah. Well that is all from over here!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Hey All!
It is Halloween time! Pretty much this is my favorite holiday because all the good scary movies are on, the little ones are trick or treating and it is the start of fall. Well maybe over in the states but not so much over here. I don't really know if Halloween is included in the Korean slew of holidays? Oh well, all I know is that they had Halloween decorations all over the shops on post, so it reminded me of home. We were able to get a pumpkin and carve it. I am turning into Martha Stewart! Scary I know! HAHAH, I should be her for Halloween. I think Nikolas might freak. My mom was nice enough to send us some window clings and door decs for our home, so I think I might be the only one with them up. Don't really care! They have trick or treating on post and some haunted booth thing at the bowling alley on post this week. So I am hoping that we will be able to head to it. All and all not much has been going on. We FINALLY got our last shipment, so that means I can actually make dinners! YAY! Nothing was broken, which made us very happy. Korea is starting to feel like home. I will blog later this week, cause the next ultrasound is on Tuesday and we find out the sex of Folgert 1.12 (ROTC Joke).
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Korean Thanksgiving (Chuseok)
Nikolas has a 3 day weekend starting tomorrow because of the Korean Thanksgiving. I wanted you to all get an idea of what it is:
Chuseok (Hangawi)
As one of Korea’s three major holidays, the other two being Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Dano (the 5th of the 5th month of the year according to the lunar calendar), Chuseok is also referred to as Hangawi, which means the very middle of August, or August 15th according to the lunar calendar. As an agrarian society throughout history, Hangawi was the day in which Koreans thanked the ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends. Although the exact origin of Chuseok is unclear, Chuseok can be traced back to a religion related to the moon from ancient times. The sun was considered natural, but the full moon that came once a month to brighten the dark night was seen as a grateful presence. Therefore, festivities took place on the day of the largest full moon, on August 15th of the lunar calendar, and thus became, and is to this day, one of the most important days of celebration.
Chuseok Customs
On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).
Charye (ancestor memorial services)
On Chuseok morning, family members gather at their homes to hold memorial services in the honor of their ancestors called Charye. Formal Charye services are held twice a year during Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Chuseok. The difference between the two services is that during Seollal the major representative food is white tteok-guk, a rice cake soup, while during Chuseok the major representative food is freshly harvested rice. After the service, the family members sit down together at the table to enjoy some delicious food to symbolize their blessings.
Beolcho (removing weeds around the grave) and Seongmyo (visiting ancestral graves)
Visiting ancestral graves during Chuseok is known as ‘Seongmyo’ and during this visit, family members usually cut the weeds that have grown around the graves in the summer season. Taking care of the ancestral graves such as removing weeds is called ‘Beolcho’. This custom is considered a duty and an expression of devotion. On the weekends, about one month prior to the Chuseok holidays, Korea’s highways become extremely congested with families visiting their ancestral graves to fulfill their ancestral duties.
Ssireum (Korean wrestling)
In the past, the strongest of the villagers gathered to hold wrestling competitions. The sport of wrestling on sand while being surrounded by spectators has become a traditional favorite in Korea. The last wrestler standing was considered the winner and was acknowledged as the villager’s strongest man and took home cotton, rice, or a calf as his prize. Today, Ssireum (Korean wrestling) competitions are still held as a folk competition, a one-on-one game to determine the strongest man in Korea.
Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance)
Mothers and daughters dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean dress) gather around in a circle, holding hands, and sing together. This dance originated from the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasion when the Korean army dressed Korean mothers and daughters in military uniforms and had them circle a mountain peak to make the Japanese think the Korean military was greater in number than it actually was. Through this strategy, the Koreans were eventually able to defeat the Japanese.
Chuseokbim (Chuseok dress)
Traditionally on Chuseok, the head of the household would buy new clothes for everyone, including the servants. This custom was known as Chuseokbim. Usually, a traditional hanbok is worn, but nowadays newly purchased clothes are not limited to hanbok. Today, families put on a modern type of hanbok called Chuseokbim and hold Charye services, and afterwards, they enjoy their time together.
Chuseok Food
Chuseok is a time for rich plentiful harvests. Therefore there are many fruits and newly harvested rice with which rice, tteok, and drinks are made from.
- SongpyeonSongpyeon is one of the representative snacks of Chuseok. This rice cake is prepared with rice or non-glutinous rice powder that is kneaded into the perfect size, then filled with sesame seeds, beans, red beans, chestnuts, and a host of other nutritious foods. When steaming the songpyeon, the bottom of the rice cakes are layered with pine needles, which fill the rice cakes with their delightful fragrance. On the evening of Chuseok Eve, the entire family gathers together to make songpyeon under the bright moon. There is an old Korean saying that says that the person who makes the most beautiful songpyeon will meet a good-looking spouse. Therefore, the single members of the family try their best to make the nicest looking songpyeon as they laugh out loud in merriment. →Click here to view how to make Songpyeon
- Alcoholic Beverages Another major element of Chuseok is the alcoholic beverages. This traditional Chuseok drink is made of newly harvested rice and is also known as “The Hundred Year” Drink. People who look forward to this major holiday are also rich in generosity and like to share their generosity over drinks.
So you get to learn like I do!
Chuseok (Hangawi)
As one of Korea’s three major holidays, the other two being Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Dano (the 5th of the 5th month of the year according to the lunar calendar), Chuseok is also referred to as Hangawi, which means the very middle of August, or August 15th according to the lunar calendar. As an agrarian society throughout history, Hangawi was the day in which Koreans thanked the ancestors for the year’s harvest and shared their abundance with family and friends. Although the exact origin of Chuseok is unclear, Chuseok can be traced back to a religion related to the moon from ancient times. The sun was considered natural, but the full moon that came once a month to brighten the dark night was seen as a grateful presence. Therefore, festivities took place on the day of the largest full moon, on August 15th of the lunar calendar, and thus became, and is to this day, one of the most important days of celebration.
Chuseok Customs
On the morning of Chuseok Day, Songpyeon (type of Korean rice cake) and food prepared with the year’s fresh harvest are arranged to give thanks to ancestors through Charye (ancestor memorial service). After Charye, families visit their ancestors’ graves and engage in Beolcho, where weeds around the burial grounds are removed. As the night nears, families and friends enjoy the beautiful view of the full harvest moon and play folk games such as Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance).
Charye (ancestor memorial services)
On Chuseok morning, family members gather at their homes to hold memorial services in the honor of their ancestors called Charye. Formal Charye services are held twice a year during Seollal (New Year’s Day) and Chuseok. The difference between the two services is that during Seollal the major representative food is white tteok-guk, a rice cake soup, while during Chuseok the major representative food is freshly harvested rice. After the service, the family members sit down together at the table to enjoy some delicious food to symbolize their blessings.
Beolcho (removing weeds around the grave) and Seongmyo (visiting ancestral graves)
Visiting ancestral graves during Chuseok is known as ‘Seongmyo’ and during this visit, family members usually cut the weeds that have grown around the graves in the summer season. Taking care of the ancestral graves such as removing weeds is called ‘Beolcho’. This custom is considered a duty and an expression of devotion. On the weekends, about one month prior to the Chuseok holidays, Korea’s highways become extremely congested with families visiting their ancestral graves to fulfill their ancestral duties.
Ssireum (Korean wrestling)
In the past, the strongest of the villagers gathered to hold wrestling competitions. The sport of wrestling on sand while being surrounded by spectators has become a traditional favorite in Korea. The last wrestler standing was considered the winner and was acknowledged as the villager’s strongest man and took home cotton, rice, or a calf as his prize. Today, Ssireum (Korean wrestling) competitions are still held as a folk competition, a one-on-one game to determine the strongest man in Korea.
Ganggangsullae (Korean circle dance)
Mothers and daughters dressed in hanbok (traditional Korean dress) gather around in a circle, holding hands, and sing together. This dance originated from the Joseon Dynasty during the Japanese invasion when the Korean army dressed Korean mothers and daughters in military uniforms and had them circle a mountain peak to make the Japanese think the Korean military was greater in number than it actually was. Through this strategy, the Koreans were eventually able to defeat the Japanese.
Chuseokbim (Chuseok dress)
Traditionally on Chuseok, the head of the household would buy new clothes for everyone, including the servants. This custom was known as Chuseokbim. Usually, a traditional hanbok is worn, but nowadays newly purchased clothes are not limited to hanbok. Today, families put on a modern type of hanbok called Chuseokbim and hold Charye services, and afterwards, they enjoy their time together.
Chuseok Food
Chuseok is a time for rich plentiful harvests. Therefore there are many fruits and newly harvested rice with which rice, tteok, and drinks are made from.
- SongpyeonSongpyeon is one of the representative snacks of Chuseok. This rice cake is prepared with rice or non-glutinous rice powder that is kneaded into the perfect size, then filled with sesame seeds, beans, red beans, chestnuts, and a host of other nutritious foods. When steaming the songpyeon, the bottom of the rice cakes are layered with pine needles, which fill the rice cakes with their delightful fragrance. On the evening of Chuseok Eve, the entire family gathers together to make songpyeon under the bright moon. There is an old Korean saying that says that the person who makes the most beautiful songpyeon will meet a good-looking spouse. Therefore, the single members of the family try their best to make the nicest looking songpyeon as they laugh out loud in merriment. →Click here to view how to make Songpyeon
- Alcoholic Beverages Another major element of Chuseok is the alcoholic beverages. This traditional Chuseok drink is made of newly harvested rice and is also known as “The Hundred Year” Drink. People who look forward to this major holiday are also rich in generosity and like to share their generosity over drinks.
So you get to learn like I do!
Getting it all together!
It has been a while since I blogged about something. So here is the news of the day. We finally have a car! It is a smart car cousin. I really don't know how to describe it, but it is functional. I told my dad that he would have to sit in the back and his feet would reach the dash. It does have a nickname, "the blue thunder!" Who thought of that name, I don't know. It has been amazing not to take a taxi to and from post every day. Getting a little pricey! Nikolas is up at Camp Stanley in processing and starting Junior Officer leader course. So he will be back next Friday. THANK GOD! It has been so boring around here without the man. Last weekend, I met him and Nathan in Seoul for an outing.
Seoul is very spread out and crowded. Pretty much like being back at home but without the massive amount of high-rise office space. It is more housing then anything else. We did get to see the war memorial, which was very cool. There was a museum, but knowing my husband and from what Nathan told us, it would take all day to get through the whole thing. So hopefully we will be able to come back to see it. There was a rock concert going on right outside the museum and it wasn't sixty's rock. It was the heavy metal, screaming, stuff my mom and brother love kind of music. Which made me laugh because I have never heard hard core rock in Korean before. Funny as all can be! After the museum we took the subway to the outer towns to see the shopping site. Cheap suit, Cheap suit, silk suit, was all that they were saying. I think Nikolas and Nathan were contemplating their choices for their silk suits that they want to buy. Can we say the Dumb and Dumber routine? It makes me laugh. We also saw the street vendors selling the pirated DVDs of movies that are still in the theaters and the crap that you can buy that is not the real deal. The nice part of the day was they both were able to come back to Humphreys with me! So YAY for seeing the husband earlier. Nathan met Colt for the first time. I think I need to watch him cause my dog might end up at Casey with him. :)
I did have my first OB appointment this past week. Thank God. I am not a fan of not seeing a doctor when it comes to stuff like this. They put you in levels of pregnancy, so like I am an OBC level. Don't ask what it means, cause I have no idea. My OB doctor here is a man, which is very weird for me. He is the head of the clinic, which is a bonus. All was well with the little one. When the doc went to find a fetal heart rate he was like, " this baby is moving a whole lot." Of course I go, "stop moving in there!" But the heart rate was strong and normal! YAY!! My ultrasound isn't for another month, which sucks but that is when they can fit me in. So we don't know the sex yet, but I am thinking it is going to be a boy. Just this feeling!
The apartment is finally coming together. Yes, pictures will be posted soon. I really want to wait until all of our crap gets here, but I don't think I can wait that long. We have a microwave, which I am SO thankful for. You really don't know how much you use it until you don't have it anymore.
Nikolas will be home tomorrow for a 3 day holiday. YAY! That is all from Korea.
Seoul is very spread out and crowded. Pretty much like being back at home but without the massive amount of high-rise office space. It is more housing then anything else. We did get to see the war memorial, which was very cool. There was a museum, but knowing my husband and from what Nathan told us, it would take all day to get through the whole thing. So hopefully we will be able to come back to see it. There was a rock concert going on right outside the museum and it wasn't sixty's rock. It was the heavy metal, screaming, stuff my mom and brother love kind of music. Which made me laugh because I have never heard hard core rock in Korean before. Funny as all can be! After the museum we took the subway to the outer towns to see the shopping site. Cheap suit, Cheap suit, silk suit, was all that they were saying. I think Nikolas and Nathan were contemplating their choices for their silk suits that they want to buy. Can we say the Dumb and Dumber routine? It makes me laugh. We also saw the street vendors selling the pirated DVDs of movies that are still in the theaters and the crap that you can buy that is not the real deal. The nice part of the day was they both were able to come back to Humphreys with me! So YAY for seeing the husband earlier. Nathan met Colt for the first time. I think I need to watch him cause my dog might end up at Casey with him. :)
I did have my first OB appointment this past week. Thank God. I am not a fan of not seeing a doctor when it comes to stuff like this. They put you in levels of pregnancy, so like I am an OBC level. Don't ask what it means, cause I have no idea. My OB doctor here is a man, which is very weird for me. He is the head of the clinic, which is a bonus. All was well with the little one. When the doc went to find a fetal heart rate he was like, " this baby is moving a whole lot." Of course I go, "stop moving in there!" But the heart rate was strong and normal! YAY!! My ultrasound isn't for another month, which sucks but that is when they can fit me in. So we don't know the sex yet, but I am thinking it is going to be a boy. Just this feeling!
The apartment is finally coming together. Yes, pictures will be posted soon. I really want to wait until all of our crap gets here, but I don't think I can wait that long. We have a microwave, which I am SO thankful for. You really don't know how much you use it until you don't have it anymore.
Nikolas will be home tomorrow for a 3 day holiday. YAY! That is all from Korea.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The wives club
Well....after Nikolas' amazing post, I thought that I would bring you up to date with what is happening cause I guess I don't. By the way, his post made me laugh! So anyway, we are finally getting settled into the apartment. I got to put some pictures up on the wall and put things in its place. For example, the modem for Internet. We had to call the realtor and let her know that we were going to move it into another room. So I let her know that we wanted to move it and someone had to come out here to do it. OK, I am no Bill Gates, but I think I know how to move the modem for the Internet. So when no one came today, I moved it myself. We still have Internet but now it is with our main computer and not one of the laptops.
My first FRG meeting was today as well. It was interesting, pretty much like any organization meeting that you would have in the states, except there is food. Which to a pregnant woman, works out! I got to meet the other platoon leader and his wife. They were really nice. I did meet some other wives who were pretty cool too. I'm not going to dive in just yet. Just testing the water. So the next meeting is in a month. Nikolas is coming with me for sure this time!
My next doctors appointment is tomorrow. Maybe I will find out the sex of the baby! Keep looking for that detail. Otherwise, later Staters!
My first FRG meeting was today as well. It was interesting, pretty much like any organization meeting that you would have in the states, except there is food. Which to a pregnant woman, works out! I got to meet the other platoon leader and his wife. They were really nice. I did meet some other wives who were pretty cool too. I'm not going to dive in just yet. Just testing the water. So the next meeting is in a month. Nikolas is coming with me for sure this time!
My next doctors appointment is tomorrow. Maybe I will find out the sex of the baby! Keep looking for that detail. Otherwise, later Staters!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
humdingers and dillybars- food 4 thought
alrighty. So. Yep. We are alive still. Krista doesn't like keeping you all up to date as much anymore, i guess, so I will HAVE TO blog this one (is that even proper English???) We found a place to live. It's nice. I wish my wife would have picked the other one that was similar so we wouldn't have to walk up three flights of stairs! Colt hates the stairs. It's nice. several bedrooms and bathrooms (which are very interesting here- what's a shower curtain??) um, it's fairly close to base, 25 minutes walking, 10-15 by bike. We also bought a car today. The car's nickname is Blue Thunder........yeah, don't know why. Not sure I want to. Oh well. Krista is slowly getting used to Korea. It's a little different over here. I like the food, but she can't- "texture" or something. Ugh. Yup. I don't know what else everyone who blogs blogs about- blogs maybe? I wonder how many times "blog" can be used in a sentence....hmmmmm. is it like the f-word- can be used in every part of a sentence, subject, verb, adjective, adverb, pro-noun, noun, etc? My IP told me that one. Had enough of my ramblings yet? Didn't think so. Check back later for more. Anyong Hasayeo.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Adjustments and New things
So we have been at Humphreys since last Friday and so far it has been interesting. Nikolas and I went on Saturday to a realtor to look for a place to live. Sunday was just a typical American Sunday. The only exception was that we had college football to watch instead of NFL football. I think for Nikolas it really didn’t matter. He had to report for work at 9AM Monday, so I think he was more getting prepped for that. Monday we got to watch the Packers vs Bears at about 9 in the morning. Unfortunately, just because we are ahead a whole day, we don’t know who wins before you do. Bummer I know. It would be really sweet though. We did look at more places on Monday, which were pretty nice. We decided on a four bed, two baths flat about a 10 minute walk from the gate. It is really nice! We are able to sign our lease on Thursday and move in on Friday!
The first week of being on a military post, in another country has required us to make some quick adjustments. Nikolas has to adjust to being a Platoon leader. They are throwing him right into it! He is really excited and a little nervous. I am nervous, because I can’t imagine the amount of pressure he might experience. Might experience, shoot will experience. I know that he will do an amazing job. While Nikolas was experiencing his new responsibilities, I discovered all the crap that I had to do just to go to the commissary and to get on Post. I needed to go to spouse orientation, which wasn’t so bad. I found the information to be very useful. It was all about the facilities on post and questions you could ask the garrison commander. The only reason I had to go to this orientation is so I can be issued a ration card.
Unlike the states, in Korea you have to have a ration card in order to shop at the commissary. There are limits on certain items that you can buy in a month and how much money you can spend at the commissary in a month. For example, you only can buy 20lbs of ground beef in a month for two people. You can only get 3lbs of cheese in a month. I told Nikolas that and he about hit the floor. They do not sell chicken here at all! I mean no Perdue packaged chicken, something about how to keep it fresh while shipping it here. Everything is either airlifted or shipped over. Don’t even ask about the alcohol limits. Thank GOD that I am pregnant cause I don’t think I could figure it out. The ration card pretty much lets you into the commissary. No ration card, no admittance! It can be frustrating. I have to have my passport which has my visa on me at all times, my military id card (no change from the states) and this ration card. Ok, Ok it isn’t all that bad.
Nikolas and I finally have a mailing address and cell phones, so we can keep in touch. If you would like our mailing address just let me know by email or Facebook. So like I said, changes are coming and it is hard to adjust to them but, I know that God will help us through it all.
Tto poepket ssumnida
(See you later)
The first week of being on a military post, in another country has required us to make some quick adjustments. Nikolas has to adjust to being a Platoon leader. They are throwing him right into it! He is really excited and a little nervous. I am nervous, because I can’t imagine the amount of pressure he might experience. Might experience, shoot will experience. I know that he will do an amazing job. While Nikolas was experiencing his new responsibilities, I discovered all the crap that I had to do just to go to the commissary and to get on Post. I needed to go to spouse orientation, which wasn’t so bad. I found the information to be very useful. It was all about the facilities on post and questions you could ask the garrison commander. The only reason I had to go to this orientation is so I can be issued a ration card.
Unlike the states, in Korea you have to have a ration card in order to shop at the commissary. There are limits on certain items that you can buy in a month and how much money you can spend at the commissary in a month. For example, you only can buy 20lbs of ground beef in a month for two people. You can only get 3lbs of cheese in a month. I told Nikolas that and he about hit the floor. They do not sell chicken here at all! I mean no Perdue packaged chicken, something about how to keep it fresh while shipping it here. Everything is either airlifted or shipped over. Don’t even ask about the alcohol limits. Thank GOD that I am pregnant cause I don’t think I could figure it out. The ration card pretty much lets you into the commissary. No ration card, no admittance! It can be frustrating. I have to have my passport which has my visa on me at all times, my military id card (no change from the states) and this ration card. Ok, Ok it isn’t all that bad.
Nikolas and I finally have a mailing address and cell phones, so we can keep in touch. If you would like our mailing address just let me know by email or Facebook. So like I said, changes are coming and it is hard to adjust to them but, I know that God will help us through it all.
Tto poepket ssumnida
(See you later)
Saturday, September 12, 2009
ARRIVED!
We are finally here in Korea. The flight was not as bad as I thought it was going to be! Colt was able to come into the country, so all the trouble with getting the paperwork paid off. We arrived at Inchon at about 3:30 pm (1:30 am central time), then headed to Yongsen army base for Nikolas to start his inprocessing.
It was so cool to see how different this city (Seoul) was compared to Chicago. The amount of cars on the road makes Chicago traffic look like nothing. People here drive crazy! I know that Nikolas and I are going to try to get a car and a special drivers license. So we will see how our city/country driving compares to the Korean drivers. But anyway! We stayed at the Dragon Hill lodge, which was very nice but a typical hotel. The view was amazing! The mountains are so beautiful and the arcitecture is like nothing we have ever seen before. We stayed at Yongsen till Friday, when we traveled down to our perminent station Camp Humphreys.
Now lets compare Humphreys to Rucker. Lets just say, I would never think that Rucker looked so good. Pretty much, Humphreys is in the middle of the biggest rice paddy field that you could every imagine. The town is what you would expect as being a rural Korean town. The post has only 1 main gate and a pedestrian gate, which is nothing compared to Rucker. Everything pretty much surrounds the landing strip and air hangers. Luckly, the Px and the Commissary are right next to each other. The chapel is within walking distance from the lodging hotel that we are staying at.
We did start looking for places to live off post. We are number 35 for on post housing list and from what they told us it won't be avaliable while we are here. The places off post are really nice. The security makes me feel better about living in a forgein country. We looked at about 7 places today and are going to look at some more on Monday. I really really liked one of the places today, so the apartments on Monday better be freaking amazing! We will let everyone know, once we get all settled in. Otherwise, the moving journey is almost over!
It was so cool to see how different this city (Seoul) was compared to Chicago. The amount of cars on the road makes Chicago traffic look like nothing. People here drive crazy! I know that Nikolas and I are going to try to get a car and a special drivers license. So we will see how our city/country driving compares to the Korean drivers. But anyway! We stayed at the Dragon Hill lodge, which was very nice but a typical hotel. The view was amazing! The mountains are so beautiful and the arcitecture is like nothing we have ever seen before. We stayed at Yongsen till Friday, when we traveled down to our perminent station Camp Humphreys.
Now lets compare Humphreys to Rucker. Lets just say, I would never think that Rucker looked so good. Pretty much, Humphreys is in the middle of the biggest rice paddy field that you could every imagine. The town is what you would expect as being a rural Korean town. The post has only 1 main gate and a pedestrian gate, which is nothing compared to Rucker. Everything pretty much surrounds the landing strip and air hangers. Luckly, the Px and the Commissary are right next to each other. The chapel is within walking distance from the lodging hotel that we are staying at.
We did start looking for places to live off post. We are number 35 for on post housing list and from what they told us it won't be avaliable while we are here. The places off post are really nice. The security makes me feel better about living in a forgein country. We looked at about 7 places today and are going to look at some more on Monday. I really really liked one of the places today, so the apartments on Monday better be freaking amazing! We will let everyone know, once we get all settled in. Otherwise, the moving journey is almost over!
Beginning of an Excellent Adventure
I have decided to start a blog about our time in Korea. It was a great suggestion from family and friends as a way of keeping in touch. Nikolas and I are excited to also announce that we are expecting our first child next March. We are so excited! Well I think I am more excited than Nikolas. He is just a bit nervous but an excited nervous. We will be having our first born over in Korea so that will be interesting. I am a little nervous about having a child in a different country so far from family and friends. The bright side is the fact that my parents are going to be coming over hopefully in time to see the little rascal enter the world, but it is all up to him or her.
Well back to Korea. We leave this Wednesday at 12:35 from O’Hare. We are taking our puppy Colt with us. I am not looking forward to him having to travel in the cargo hold for almost 14 hrs. I am so nervous about it. The vet down in Alabama gave us some medication for him, so he isn’t as edgy on the plane. I wish my doctor gave me some medication so I am not as edgy on the plane. I am a little anxious about sitting on an air plane for almost 14hrs. Not my first choice but I rather be with Nikolas then anything else.
Once we get to Korea, we will hopefully give updates as to progress in a new and excited country. Pictures will be taken, and memories made. Well look out Korea the Folgerts are taking you by storm.
Well back to Korea. We leave this Wednesday at 12:35 from O’Hare. We are taking our puppy Colt with us. I am not looking forward to him having to travel in the cargo hold for almost 14 hrs. I am so nervous about it. The vet down in Alabama gave us some medication for him, so he isn’t as edgy on the plane. I wish my doctor gave me some medication so I am not as edgy on the plane. I am a little anxious about sitting on an air plane for almost 14hrs. Not my first choice but I rather be with Nikolas then anything else.
Once we get to Korea, we will hopefully give updates as to progress in a new and excited country. Pictures will be taken, and memories made. Well look out Korea the Folgerts are taking you by storm.
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