Saturday, August 15, 2015

Jonah Gets Staples

We have become quite the regulars at the hospital here. 

Jeff has had appointments off and on for a month or so. All for a blood clot that developed in his leg as a result of traveling to Hawaii and back twice and Dallas and back once.

I've had the normal OB appointments to check on peanut.

Jack had a nasty virus a few weeks ago.

Jonah got an ear infection from having a blast in Hawaii swimming every day. 


And yesterday.....


Jonah got his first set of staples! 

Yep, my sweet boy had to get two staples in the back of his head. 

He was playing in a basket full of blankets that we have in our living room and fell backwards onto the ledge of our giant living room window. 

He's lucky he didn't knock himself out. He came running in crying and of course the first thing I did was open my arms and hug him. To which I got a handful of blood from the back of his head. 

Talk about scary!
And of course this would happen before daddy gets home from his training. 

We were able to get the bleeding stopped a little bit and headed to the ER. After cleaning him up they finally found the source and it was much deeper than they had originally anticipated. The doctor said that stitches would have been much harder to do and said they would just staple it and it would be quick and easy. 

So after some lidocaine, that's what they did. 

He is feeling much better today, thank goodness. 
Never a dull moment. 

Friday, August 14, 2015

Holding On to Me

One of the most common questions I get since moving to Korea has been 

"What's the most difficult part of moving to a new country?" 

I'm never really sure how to answer that question but I think I'm figuring out that's because the answer is not what you (or I) ever expected. 

The hardest part about moving to a new country is holding on to who YOU are. 

We've been here about six months now, and this is me checking in. 
I have been through a myriad of emotions and the thing I've found most difficult is not getting lost, not losing myself, and not losing what makes me, me.

Imagine this for a moment. 

About three months before "the big move" you have a yard sale, and sell about 1/4 of your belongings to prepare for an extreme downsize.

Then about two months before, you have to decide out of what's left, what half of it you will leave behind for two years. 

One month before, the movers come and pick apart your stuff and pack it all up, you are left with two suitcases to your name for the next 3-4 months. 

Next, you drive your car full of sentimental things (baby books, photo albums, your grandfather's Marine uniforms) to your parents house to store. All that stuff, the heart of your belongings is left there, and your car. 

The worst part comes next, you have to say goodbye to friends and family and tell them you aren't sure when you will see them again. Each time you hug one of them, they keep a little piece of you. Not much is left by the time you get on the plane. You also have to part with your dog, your best friend, the one that loves you unconditionally. She cries and barks as you walk out the door with the suitcases and you cry and hope that someday she won't remember that you left her.


When you actually get to your new home, you are excited! You want to focus on anything but everything you left behind. You've basically been stripped of your life and now is your chance to start rebuilding it! 

Experiencing a new culture is fun, it really is. New things are enticing, they are exciting, and they are time consuming. The first 3-4 months are filled with you trying to pack in as much "Korea" as you can. You post TONS of photos to show family back home and you are "livin' the dream." You get your car back (and with that, some freedom) and your get your stuff back from the movers, and everything seems to be falling into place!


I distinctly remember waking up one morning and thinking, "Whoa, where am I? Who's life is this?"

Before I moved I spent my time working in the tutoring lab, doing math homework, crocheting, making crafty things, reading, taking walks with my family in the evening, visiting the library, working out, browsing Target, spending our summer days outside in the backyard.

Here, in Korea, my life had become totally different. Every day I was out shopping or exploring. Instead of driving we took the subway. I hadn't been to the library since our hotel days (and only to get movies). Our neighborhood is not conducive to nightly walks. Art supply stores (like Hobby Lobby) to get supplies for crafty-ness are harder to find. I wasn't in school and I didn't have a job. And the biggest change for our family; we have no backyard :( 

Almost everything that I enjoyed that made me who I am... was gone. I kept buying more stuff for our home to try and make it feel more like home. One day I realized, it's never going to feel like home. The next two years will likely feel like we are living in an extended-stay hotel.

The sooner you realize that your life will NOT be the same and you can't go back, the sooner you can really start moving forward.

I have had to find new ways to hold on to ME. I found some things I could do that I did before. (I.e. pedicures, lunch at Charley's Steakery on post, visiting the library every week). 

Other things, I have had to accept and find different avenues of doing them. Where I used to paint a lot of my projects, more of my projects involve less messy-ness since we have no outdoor area to utilize. Our nightly walks have been replaced with watching "America's Got Talent" or "The Voice" as a family and then reading more books at bedtime than we used to. The one thing I do still wish I could change, is that darn backyard. My kids would be a lot happier if they could play outside all day like they used to. 


I'm still trying to figure this all out, and now with a new baby coming I'm more nervous than ever. But, the thing I try to remember is that the alternative to this situation was being away from my husband for an entire year. He makes so many sacrifices for this family. I am more than happy to follow him whenever and wherever we can.  










Sunday, March 1, 2015

Dragon Hill Lodge

Whether you are PCSing in/out or just visiting Seoul, The Dragon Hill Lodge on USAG Yongsan is a great place to stay. It is located on Yongsan’s South Post, convenient to Gate 1 for going off-post, and central to pretty much everything on-post. Not to mention, it’s a gorgeous hotel. Many times during our stay, folks were just sitting and reading in the lobby’s seating area or working on their laptops at the tables downstairs by the windows.


Cost: Nightly rates vary based on rank, leave status, PCS/TDY, number of guests. For those on leave, rates for a double occupancy room range from $72-$93. This is probably the best rate you are going to find for a hotel in this area of Seoul. For those who are PCSing in or out and are receiving TLA for reimbursement, rates are higher. $230 for double occupancy and if you are a family of four, you will be paying  $290. The PCS rates are even higher for those with a family of 5 or more because you will have two rooms.  More rate information can be found here: Guestroom Rates. If you are traveling for leisure, the Dragon Hill Lodge (or DHL to many of the locals) often has tons of specials that can get you more bang for your buck. You can find them on their website here: Special Offers

Reservations: Reservations can be made online on the Dragon Hill’s website by clicking Reservations (first option at the top of the page). If you are making reservations for 5 or more people, they ask that you email them instead at reservations@dragonhilllodge.com. If you are PCSing inbound, it’s recommended that you make your reservation in advance (we made ours as soon as we had our flight date). It is also recommended that you reserve your room for 60 days. You aren’t charged anything until after you check-in, there is no penalty for an early check-out, and you never know how long you will have to stay there waiting for housing. You don’t want to have to change hotels with all your luggage in tow! If you need to cancel, you must call and do so before 6pm local time on the day you are to check in, or you will be charged for one night’s stay.

Room: Our personal experience PCSing with a family of 4 was a room with two double beds. We had a small kitchenette that included refrigerator, a microwave, a toaster, a sink, and a very small coffee maker. Dishes and eating utensils were also provided; free wi-fi and cable TV as well. All outlets were American 110v. Housekeepers cleaned our room every day and brought us fresh towels and more coffee pods. No laundry services but there are FREE washers/dryers on every floor.

Naturally, with two little boys, these are the only photos I took of the room. We were there for a month so they came up with new games to play everyday.





Places to Eat: One really nice thing about this place is that there are many choices for breakfast, lunch, and dinner without even leaving the building! For quick options, they have Subway and Pizza Hut. They also have an ice cream place called Sundaes and a place called The Deli which serves a variety of baked goods including donuts, croissants, breakfast burritos, lunch sandwiches, cakes, pies, etc. We got breakfast from here a lot. For a nicer restaurant, there are Greenstreet (American food), Oasis (Mexican), and Sables (more upscale). We tried Greenstreet and Oasis during our stay and both were good. Greenstreet has a different cuisine buffet every night and children 4 & under eat at the buffet for free with the purchase of an adult buffet or entrĂ©e. We didn’t try Sables only because we had two small children in tow and it seemed to be more for adults only, but I’ve heard it’s good as well. There’s also a Pub located inside the hotel, and Burger King & Popeyes are only a short walk away.

Shoppette: There is an AAFES shoppette inside the Dragon Hill Lodge, but be advised that you will need a rations card to buy anything from here (this does not apply to the sponsor). If you don’t have your rations card yet, have your sponsor go to 1st Replacement and get a stamp on his/her PCS orders. Dependents can use these stamped orders for the first 30 days in country until they get their rations card.

Pets: Pets are unfortunately not allowed in guest rooms. If you are just arriving in-bound, your pet may stay on the loading dock (in kennel) for one night. The next day you must take them to the Yongsan Pet Care Center (or make other arrangements) to stay there for the duration of your stay at the Dragon Hill.  The Pet Care Center is located at Building 5256 on South Post and their contact number is DSN 736-6426.

Pool/Gym: The Point is the Dragon Hill Lodge’s Gym and Pool and it is free for guests. Be sure to bring your room key with you to the gym, as you will need it to get on the elevator back into the guest rooms area of the building. We did not use the pool during our stay, but both my husband and I thought the gym was very nice. They have many cardio machines (treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes) and also plenty of weight-lifting machines and equipment.

Other Amenities: Inside the Dragon Hill, you also find many little shops including:
Destinations - travel agency
Blossoms - flower shop
Clippers - beauty salon
Community Bank – full-service bank & ATMs that distribute USD and KRW (Korean won)
Creases - 24hr dry-cleaning
Bagman - bag and purse shop
Dongbu Rent-A-Car
The Discover Seoul desk - for tours, travel, and local event information and tickets
Dynasty - reproduction antique furniture
Needle & Thread - custom dress maker
Sports Massage
Gallery Gift Shop
Tweeds - custom suits
And more than I’m sure I’m forgetting!


Dragon Hill Lodge
Address:
Unit 15355
APO AP 96205

Phone Number:
DSN 738-2222
from Korean Cell Phone 050-3338-2222
International 82-2-790-0016

Website:

Saturday, February 28, 2015

Itaewon & Sweet East

Today we decided to explore a neighborhood we hadn't been to yet.


Itaewon (Eee-tay-wahn) is a very popular neighborhood among the expats that live here in Seoul. It's right outside USAG Yongsan. It has an antique furniture street, a fashion street, and tons of amazing restaurants. 

We've heard that at nighttime, the place turns into bar/club central. Seeing as we have two little minions in tow with us at all times, we decided it'd be best to go during the day. 

Itaewon is very different from other parts of Seoul we've seen so far. There are street vendors literally lining the sidewalks. The sell socks, hats, funny t-shirts, more socks, fried squid, toys, anything they can make a little money on. 

And the amount of store fronts in this place is astounding. Everywhere you look, there's an entrance or stairs leading down or up to a doorway, or an alley with more stores. It's crazy. Koreans love to shop!


This toy vendor (above) was set up in the ramp going down into a parking garage.



When we go somewhere new, we usually try to have one shop/restaurant/activity planned... and the rest we kind of just discover along the way. 

Today our plan was to hit up a dessert cafe called Sweet East.
While I love a good chocolate pie, one of my absolute favorite desserts is funnel cake. Never in a million years did I think we'd find funnel cakes in Seoul. But we did. And holy moly, was it good!

Sweet East doesn't just serve your normal, boring fried pancake batter. 
They've taken it one step further and created a menu of specialty funnel cakes! Cookies n' Cream, Chocolate Banana, Strawberry, and Carmel Apple, or you can just get the Carnival Classic.



The lady at the counter was very sweet and spoke very good English. The funnel cakes come in regular or small sizes, and they also have quite the drink menu as well. 



We ordered a regular sized Carnival Classic funnel cake for the boys' and I to share and my husband ordered a piece of carrot cake. He also ordered a Pumpkin Spice Latte and I opted for a White Chocolate Mocha.


These two could hardly contain their excitement.

The whole cafe was just adorable. Very clean, modern vibe. 
I also thought the bathroom was super cool and different so I had to take a photo.


The bathrooms we're behind a sliding wooden barn door. And on the inside was all stone (almost like stained cement). I was also relieved NOT to find a squatty potty. Yay for American toilets!

Anyways, enough about potties.
Almost all the tables were filled when we arrived (a good sign!) and it only took about 6-7 minutes for them to make our funnel cake and bring it to our table. They also brought glasses of water for the boys for free.


I couldn't even snap a photo fast enough before they dug into it. Understandable though, it was so good! The little red and black bowls are whipped cream and vanilla ice cream... Perfect! Our coffees were good also. Tasted a little different; not bad, just different. 

All in all, I totally recommend a visit to Sweet East dessert cafe if you are in the Itaewon area. Great service, good prices, and yummy food. 

Sweet East Cafe
34-91 Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul.
Hours: 10am-10pm Mon-Sun
Phone: 02-790-3349
Email: sweeteastcafe@gmail.com
Method of Payment: Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Cash

Directions:
If you are looking at the Itaewon archway, go to the right side of the road and walk toward Suji Deli. Keep going past the Deli (on your left) and then turn left into the first alleyway.
In this photo, the alley is right behind the right-most tree.




Keep walking down the alley until you see Sweet East on your right! (Refer to photo 4).

Happy exploring!


Monday, February 23, 2015

Adventure of the Day: Getting to know the staff at the ER

I had a to-do list about a mile long today.

Go to the immigration office to get my A-3 visa stamp...
Unpack the Unaccompanied Baggage shipment that was delivered this afternoon...
Clean out the Keurig so we can use it tomorrow...
Buy masks for "Hwang Sa" (yellow dust) season...

You know what was NOT on my list?

going to the ER to get a tire removed from my 5-year-old's nose!

Say what?
No, you read that right.
I said we had to make a trip to the emergency room to get a small, toy tire pulled out of my child's nose.


Around 4:30pm today I heard him scream that scream that every mother dreads. 
I ran into the living room and found him flailing his arms and running in a circle. I know people use this expression a lot but he really was running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. 

I immediately grabbed him and started doing my once over. No blood, no big bumps, no out of place bones. 

Me: "Buddy calm down so I can understand you"
Him: (still flailing) "MY NOSE!!!"

I thought he ran into the wall. If you know my sweet boy, you know this is not that far fetched. 

Me: (trying to hold him) "What happened to your nose?"
Him: (holding up his car): "MY NOOOOOOSE!!"

Me: "You hit your nose with your car? Just wait a second and it will stop hurting"
Him: "IN MY NOSE! THE TIRE!"

At this point I'm almost laughing half because I really thought that it couldn't have went that far in there and half because I just laugh when I get nervous (it's terrible, I even laughed when he fell and busted open his head on an escalator when he was barely a year old. It's really embarrassing and I always seem really insensitive or insane, but I really can't help it). 

Me: "Okay, hold on. Mommy will get it out! Which side is it in?"
Him: (STILL flailing his arms) "BOTH!!!"

Yep.
There were not one but TWO tires in his nose. One in each nostril. 
I had him blow his nose so hard that the tissue I was holding and my hand got completely covered in snot. I was able to get one of the little donuts from hell out with the tweezers, but I could barely even see the other one. It was turned sideways and so far up that you could only see the little tire tread of one edge. I was almost impressed. Thankfully, he was breathing fine. He said it hurt, but not that bad.

We called daddy to tell him what happened. "I have to go to the ER, our son stuck a tire in his nose." .... "Wow, okay. I'll meet you there." Not even surprised. That's what being the parents of two preschool boys does to you. Suddenly, everything is pretty normal. 

A medic, a nurse, two doctors, and two pairs of forceps later, the other tire was out!

Our boy was so nervous; on the way in he asked me what was going to happen and I told him. He sighed a big woooo-saahhh and said quietly to himself "Be brave!"
I love that boy, tire-nose and all.

Although, we did have a long talk about this situation on the way home with both children. Both my husband and I are mostly just surprised that it wasn't our youngest stuffing things in his nose. Usually, it's him with the crazy antics.

Not only were we dealing with nose full of tires today, but the Korean "Hwang Sa" or yellow dust is in full swing. The air is full of metals and pollutants coming in by wind from China. The air quality has been between 600-800 for the past two days; anything above 300 is considered hazardous for even the healthiest of people. 

We've been staying indoors as much as possible considering this, but the ER is a short walk/subway ride from our apartment. When in Korea, do what Koreans do. That has been our motto here so far. So today we donned our masks.



At least my boys make cute little ninjas! 

I hope you and your noses have a good, tire-free and mask-free day! 

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Journey to Korea Part 2: Seattle to Korea

So you made it Seattle, what happens next?

We arrived in Seattle around 11:30pm the night before our 8am AMC (or Patriot Express) flight. If your flight schedule is similar to ours, I recommend you get off the plane in Seattle, get all your baggage off the carousel, and go find the AMC desk. Don’t worry, there are luggage carts for your to rent for $5 a piece right by the baggage claim carousels; we had 8 big suitcases and needed 2 carts. Take the elevators up one floor to the ticketing level. Come off the elevator and you are looking the airline check-in counters. Go all the way to the leftmost counter and that’s AMC (or Air Mobility Command). Our paperwork noted a check-in time of between 1-4ish am. When we got there around midnight, folks were already lined up; sitting or laying down on the floor with their luggage.

Tip: There are actually two lines to line up in (at least when we flew in Jan. 2015 there were). The one immediately at the desk that you see immediately is for single soldiers and families of 3 or less. Families with 4 or more people are to line up around the corner on the left side of the desk. There should be a sign.

We stayed with our luggage but some people chose to line up their bags and then go find food or somewhere quieter until time to check in.

Right before check-in time, an AMC clerk came around to everyone in the line and gave the sponsor (the soldier) a paper, on which they had to write the family members’ names and passport numbers. I also wanted to note, both our kids were so exhausted by this time they slept through the entire check-in ordeal. Our youngest slept in his stroller; so glad we brought that!


Our oldest fell asleep on his blanket on the floor. I may or may not have just dragged him on that blanket when the line moved forward.


Check in was fairly easy. Same as check-in would be with any other airline. They called families up much faster than they called folks from the other line. I was thankful for that. We were third in the family line and it only took us about 5-10 minutes to get called to the desk. The clerk at the desk asked us how preferred to sit so she could book specific seats for us. The AMC flight had seats in a 2-3-2 pattern so we chose to sit parent/child and parent/child one right behind the other (just like we had done on the previous flights) because it seemed to work well.  She printed our boarding passes and weighed/took all our baggage and we were on our way! If you have a stroller that you will be gate checking (keeping with you in the airport and checking at the gate when you get on the plane), make sure the gate-check tag they put on it says “OSAN.” You definitely don’t want your stroller to get left in Japan! Also, I should mention that I was worried about the size and weight of our carry-ons and they didn’t even end up inspecting them. Actually, they didn’t even ask to see them.

After leaving the counter we went straight to the security checkpoint. As it was super early in the morning, there were only two lanes open but that was fine. It still didn’t take long and it was the same process as any other flight (no liquids over 3oz, shoes off, pockets empty, stroller and carry-ons through the conveyor belt thing). My three-year-old was sleeping and they let me carry him through with me, my five-year-old walked through on his own.

The TSA agent at the security checkpoint had told us about a Children’s playroom in Concourse A so that’s where we headed. We wanted the kids to be as tired as possible for the long flight so they would sleep. The playroom was very nice. Because it was 2am there were a few people in there sleeping on the comfy, padded floor but we let the kids play anyway.


AMC flights take off from the S-gates, which are in the South Satellite. You will need to take the Transit tram (kind of like a subway) to get there. This map shows a map of Concourse A, you can find the Children’s Playroom and the entry to get down to the Transit tram.


The tram does not open for operation until 4:30am so I recommend letting the kids play in the playroom for a bit, getting a snack and COFFEE from McDonalds or Starbucks (the only places that seemed to be open that early), and then head to the tram right at 4:30am.

When we got to the South Satellite, we found a quiet corner near our gate to relax/sleep in for a bit since we still had about 3 hours until time to board. I was worried about finding an outlet to charge our devices but there were plenty around the gate area. There are a few little stores and places to eat in the South Satellite too, if you are hungry or want to pick up a few magazines for the flight.

We boarded the plane right on time. They called for families to board first which was really nice. The airplane was pretty standard. Comparable to Coach class I would say, maybe a bit more legroom though. Television screens in the middle every 3 rows or so and a big one in the very front.


We were on the plane for about an hour before the pilot finally came on the intercom and told us that we had to “de-plane” because there was a problem with the plane’s GPS system. Both our kids were sleeping at this point so it was a huge inconvenience, but what can you do? I’d rather wait and that be fixed than take off in a broken airplane, for sure! They did, however, let us leave our carry-ons on the plane if we chose to. We left most our stuff and only took our “snack bag” and our blankets and wallets (with the passports, IDs, and boarding passes in them) with us back into the airport.  We didn’t end up getting back on the plane until 3 hours later. This was by far the hardest part of our trip. It had been such a long journey for most all of the passengers already; everyone was ready to get back on the plane and go.

Finally, we did re-board the plane and get in the air. They fed us breakfast shortly after takeoff (even though the delay had caused it to be closer to lunchtime).  Breakfast was your choice of eggs or pancakes, a plain bagel with cream cheese, a fruit cup and whatever you wanted to drink. The flight attendants were great. They brought us drinks (free) whenever we wanted and were also very understanding of our children having to go potty every 5 minutes. (Okay, that’s a little dramatic… it was more like every hour. But, it felt like more often).  They also fed us lunch, which was your choice of beef or chicken, pasta salad, a roll, chocolate cake, and crackers with cheese.

Tip: It seemed like they sat all of us families who had small children up front. So, if you are a family with older children or have no children I would suggest requesting to sit towards the back of the plane. (:

We landed in Japan about 10 hours after takeoff. They asked us to remain seated and a Customs Agent came on the plane to do a walk-through. They let the passengers staying in Japan off first. After that, they took all of us going through to Korea to a terminal (a holding area).  There were not a lot of outlets available there to charge devices so if you need one, find one quickly upon arriving. There were also vending machines with candy, snacks, water, and soda and restrooms. We were there for about an hour.  Our three-year-old ran laps around some of the chairs in the terminal and our five-year-old slept like a rock the entire time.


It was a pretty short flight from Japan to Korea. Two hours maybe? I can’t remember for sure. Everyone on the flight slept almost the entire time. Upon landing at Osan, Customs came on board again and did another walk-through and then we got off the plane and were taken to the 2nd floor of a building to get briefed and start filling out paperwork for Customs. The briefing was about 15 minutes and then we went down the hallway to stand in line and wait for our turn to check-in with our IDs and fingerprints. The line took about 45 minutes to get through. After that we went downstairs to get all our luggage and declare things for customs. There were people there readily available to help those of us (families) that had a lot of bags. The hardest part was digging through our bags to find the things we had to claim. The only things we claimed were two small foldable knives, my prescription medication, and the fruit we had brought for snacks on the plane. We laid all this out on the table and my husband (the sponsor) had to answer that he wasn’t hiding anything else. They let us keep everything but one of the knives. We had no idea this was going to be a problem or we wouldn’t have brought it. My husband had the option to stay longer and fill out paperwork for them to ship it back to someone in the US or give the agent signed consent to destroy it. He signed consent for them to destroy it so we could be on our way quicker. This whole part of the process felt very rushed and our kids were exhausted and cranky.

We stopped for (another) potty break after clearing Customs and then continued out to the busses to go to Yongsan. They were nice charter busses. Families and officers going to the Dragon Hill Loge hotel on one, and soldiers going to barracks on the other; luggage went underneath. It was about an hour ride to Yongsan.

When we arrived at Yongsan, we were taken to the 1st Replacement building just across the parking lot from the hotel.  We were told to leave our luggage on the busses and had to sit through a 30-minute briefing there (with our children) and fill out more paperwork. Luckily, there is a small play area in 1st Replacement’s building and I took the kids out there while my husband (the sponsor) stayed in the briefing and the briefers didn’t seem to mind. After, we got all our luggage off the busses, took with us what we could, and crossed the parking lot to the hotel to check-in. Our children found new energy and were very excited that we had finally made it and we were too!




If you made it this far and you are still reading, then congratulations! If you can get through this ridiculously long post, clearly you are resilient and will do JUST FINE on this journey!  Happy travels!