Seoul City Bus Tour: Part IV

This was the highlight of the day and we just happened upon it.  We took a cable car up a mountain (which was quite an experience being packed in like sardines) to a place called Nam-San.  As we got to the top we found this war ceremony going on and it was so cool!  Isaac was mesmerized from the moment we got there and Molly kept saying, "I feel like we're in a movie".  It was pretty impressive to watch how precise they were.

This was pretty much the last thing we did.  We went back down the mountain, took the city bus back to the Yongsan base and then took another bus back to Osan which took about an hour.  The kids were so good on the way back.  Aaron fell asleep pretty quick and Isaac sat motionless beside him looking out the window.  I sat across the aisle with Emmaline beside me and she looked out the window as well, humming and 'talking' to herself the whole way home.  Molly sat right behind Emmaline pretending quietly that she had her own little house back there with a window and curtain.  I love it when I can hear her play with out her knowledge that I am listening. It was a peaceful end to a very long, busy, funfilled day.

Seoul City Bus Tour: Part III

When our Korean tour guides wife took this picture she said,

"Uh Oh!  You look like you in New York City.  You tell people, look there are Korean letters on the buildings". 

She made me laugh.  She spoke very good english and always stayed close by to make sure we were okay.  She kept buying little snacks along the street to give to us, which Emmaline loved, but Isaac and Molly would usually look at whatever food item it was with a funny face and she would say, "You try, you like it".  Thankfully they would try it, and sometimes they would really like it, but if not, they would hand it over to me to finish off and most of them I really enjoyed.  And by the way, this is right before Emmaline fell asleep and so that is why she looks a little grumpy.

  When we would go through the busy streets our tour guide would hold up a piece of paper high above his head and just start walking and motioning us to follow.  As we were walking or I guess pushing our way through the crowds, I looked up and thought, "This is crazy!  I can't believe I am on the other side of the world walking through this huge city with my little family."  Every once in a while I get those "Whoa!" moments and this was one of them.  I called out Aaron's name and snapped this picture right as he and Isaac turned around.  Molly was holding onto my hand and Isaac stayed close to Aaron who was pushing Emmaline in the stroller.  Here!  In Seoul!  Amazing!

This was one of those times where I had the bad case of the giggles.  I wasn't laughing out loud, but inside I was ready to bust.  This picture was taken at the National Korean Tourist Center.  When Molly saw that we could try on the Korean clothing, she was ecstatic.  Well Aaron didn't share the same feelings as Molly and just tried to lay low so he wouldn't have to try anything on.  I even said, "Come on Aaron, just try something on". Well once again our sweet tour guides wife looked at Aaron and said, "Here.  Come.  You try on" and Aaron said just very simply and very obediently, "Okay".  I told him later on I needed her around more often to get him to obey so promptly like that.  I think Molly, Isaac and I are wearing what everyday Koreans would have worn and Aaron is wearing what a king would have worn.  Don't we look great?  Isaac and Molly are trying to look tough.  Aaron and I are trying not to laugh.

Molly said she would love to have a dress like this someday.  She felt like a princess.

Seoul City Bus Tour: Part II

This was taken at the back of Cho-Gye-Sa Buddhist Temple.  They had a large glass window on the side of the building where we could see inside of the temple.  There was an enormous golden Buddha with every type of food you can imagine on display.  Many people were inside of the temple worshipping and it made me feel a little uncomfortable watching what seemed like to be a personal or sacred thing for these people.  Isaac and Molly looked very puzzled as we walked away.  The tour guides wife said that it looked like they were honoring someone who had died and that is why they had all of the food inside.  The outside was intricately painted.  Even every eave of the roof was so detailed.

Here is another temple surrounded by buildings.  I couldn't get a very good picture of this one, but I loved it.  It wasn't as detailed with paint as the other temple.  It showed a lot more of the ancient rich wood.  It was also such a contrast to see it tucked in amongst all those high rises.

This sign just cracked me up.  So fancy!  It was inside of a Starbucks.

I can only imagine what this wall will look like in spring.  Molly said it looked magical.

Speaking of magical....look who we bumped into!

Seoul City Bus Tour: Part I

Last Saturday we went to Seoul, which is the capital of South Korea and it was HUGE and AMAZING!  I have been to a few big cities in the U.S., but this was crazy.  In fact it is the second most populated metropolitan area in the world, second to Tokyo. There are 10.3 million in the city itself, but about 23 million in the greater area.  Nice little tid bit of information there, but it really was incredible.  We went with some of our friends on this tour the base offered.  We left at 8am and didn't get back until 7pm.  It was a long day, but the kids were great (even though it was FREEZIING) and we really did have a lot of fun.   I took a lot of photos (yeah), so I'll hopefully have a few posts of our day at Seoul.

Our first stop was the army base called Yongsan in Seoul.  There is an impresive war history museum which we didn't do, but hopefully we will when it gets warmer.  We did kind of walk through a part of it and Isaac loved the tanks.

An interesting piece of art at the museum.

An authentic Korean restaurant we walked by.

This car was parked across from the restaraunt and our Korean tour guide said  "This car would make the 'Lexus' jealous".  I still laugh to think I took a picture of a car, but it was in memory of my Dad.  He probably would have argued with the tour guide on that comment or needed further explanation.  I don't think most of our group even heard him, but I had to pause to look and take a picture of the car.  Aaron just smiled while he waited for me.

Our tour guide taught us how to use the subway and the kids loved it.  Here is Isaac and Molly with the friends we went with.

Aaron snapped this one right after Emmaline had been smiling at the Koreans who were waving and cooing at her.

What a Find!

So, to say Isaac loves Lego's, is quite an understatement. We went to the local E-Mart in Pyong Taek City to spend our Christmas money and this is what Isaac found. They aren't actually real 'LEGO'S', but they are pretty close to it. The quality is great and they were way cheaper. A set like this would probably have cost over $100, but here it was $50. Incredible!

Isaac loves making short videos with the camera and wanted me to put this on the blog. You get a good look at Isaac's creativity if you listen closely. It is a little wiggly and long, but I know his uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents will get a kick out of it.

Isaac wanted to say....

"To My Uncles, I hope you like this. I know a lot of you loved legos when you were a kid too. So, Enjoy the Show!"

Borrowed Pictures

As usual, I forgot to take some photos when my Uncle and Aunt were here the other day. I'm really good at remembering right as visitors are leaving to snap a few and by then it is too late. In fact I even mentioned to my Uncle that I forgot to take pictures as I was in the car taking them to their taxi and he chuckled saying, "No big deal, just get some pictures from my blog." So here they are. Thanks Uncle Kurt!

Love These People!

A-10 Display on base

The kids in the Korea Hotel lobby

Mr. Yi teaching me Hangul (Korean) language.

Relatives in Korea

I didn't get any pictures of it, but I wanted to at least have it in writing. Today my absolutely wonderful and amazing Aunt Becky and Uncle Kurt came to see us. They are serving a mission right now in Seoul, which is about an hour north of Osan and they were able to break away today to come for a visit. It is hard to describe how comforting it was to see them. I met them at the front gate of the base and it absolutely warmed my heart when I saw their faces. When I hugged them I almost wanted to cry. After we all greeted each other we walked down to the hotel that we originally stayed in and I was able to introduce them to the wonderful Mr. Yi who is one of the managers there. He invited us to sit down and we chatted for a bit. His English is so good and he is so kind to me and the kids. He even spent time teaching me the Korean alphabet today for quite a few minutes. So many Koreans are so giving of their time and willing to help. We all visited for a few more minutes and then Uncle Kurt gave him a card in Korean that explained some of the things they teach to people on their mission. It impressed me how unobtrusive both Kurt and Becky were when they gave him the card. It was done with such love and kindness. I am sure Mr. Yi couldn't help but to feel that from them. We then went to lunch to none other than McDonald's' (Isaac and Molly's choice) and I tried their Bulgogi Hamburger which was delicious. I then drove them around a little bit to show them our area and the base and then brought them back to our apartment. We visited for a little while and I enjoyed every minute. When it was time for them to go, I felt a little squeeze on my heart. Molly wanted to join us while I took them to the nearest taxi station. As we hugged and said our I love you's Molly got very quiet. We watched them get into the taxi and pull away. Molly then said so sweetly and quietly, "I like them Mommy. I don't want them to go." I said, "I know Molly, I like them too and it was so neat to have them here, but we will see them real soon." I think we all felt the warmth and love from that short visit and I feel so blessed to have them so close for a few more months. Thank you Kurt and Becky. It was wonderful.

Huggies in Korea

There is an amazing store here called E-Mart. It is pretty much like a Walmart, but a lot bigger and better. As you come into the parking lot, someone is there to greet you. They bow and point you in the direction you need to go. This continues to happen through out the parking lot and all the way into the store. Once you go in, two employees bow very low and say "Annyong Haseyo" which is a common greeting here followed by something else that I do not understand. The store is huge with multiple levels. There was an employee on practically every aisle just waiting to help you. Aaron and I went down the baby aisle and to my great surprise saw HUGGIES. I can get them on base, but it was still so neat to see it in Korean. Well, I needed some, so I went to get a box off the shelf and an employee standing nearby came over, smiled and shook her head at me while speaking in Korean, picked up the box for me and put it in the cart. She then motioned me to stay and scurried over to get me 3 small packages of pull ups. She too put them in the cart and bowed. I told her thank you and bowed my head. I can't quite bring myself to do the full bow of bending at the waist and making my upper body parallel with the ground, but I do want to show my gratitude. They are so gracious and try everything they can to help us. Well, I looked at Aaron and he looked at me and we both just had to chuckle a bit. He then asked me, "Are we going to have to pay for those pull ups?" I laughed and said, "I guess we'll just have to wait and see." Everyday is truly an experience.

Getting Better With the Snow.......Sort Of

I finally got Emmaline to stand amongst the snow the other day with out her completely panicking. Here is a video of the experience. I also panned around to show our surroundings. Notice the spot Emmaline is standing. She would not take a step in either direction. Silly Girl!

Snow Day!

Okay, so it actually wasn't a "true" snow day for us, because unlike the rest of kids, we still did school. 
I woke up to Molly squeeling in delight about the sight she beheld from her window.  I came to her room and couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.  There was so much snow and it was still coming down.  Well as I had mentioned before, Emmaline is terrified of it, so we did school, played inside for a little bit and then when Emmaline went down for her nap, we bundled up as best we could and headed outside.  I have to admit when I got out there I hung the camera on a tree branch and forgot all about taking photos, because I was having so much fun running and playing with the kids, which I haven't done in a while and it was so nice.  Some other kids from the complex came out to play and I'm always amazed at their ability to make new friends so quickly.  I watched them play and make up snow games.  The boys pretended they were Yedi's and the girls pretended to be lost children in the snow, with all of them occasionally throwing snowballs at each other. After a while of watching, I decided to go back inside to check on Emmaline and saw my camera still hanging on the branch.  Like I said, I had completely forgotten about it.  I hurried and took my gloves off and snapped this shot of Isaac. I love how it shows the snow coming down.  What a fun day!