The DMZ

Ryan and I made a trip to the DMZ Tuesday, the 23rd of December. The DMZ stands for the Demilitarized Zone, a 2,000 meter area between North Korea and South Korea. This was a trip worth taking, and I recommend it to anyone that ventures this way! It was eerie having a North Korean soldier stare you down, all the while staring them down. The rules were strict - no communicating with the North Koreans in any way - no smiling, no gesturing, no winking, etc. A part of me feels sad for the North Koreans, knowing they have no freedom. I pray that one day this conflict may be resolved and Korea will either unite as one or live peacefully. Who knows, maybe I will live to see it all happen.

The stare-down between the ROK (Republic of Korea) Army and North Korean Army.

Is it appropriate to smile? Not so sure looking back...

A North Korean Soldier posted outside of the building. He stood there for a little while, then got a buddy, which you will see in the next picture.

Looking at you, looking at me. The North Korean Army takes pictures of the tourists from the ROK side and uses the images as propaganda. I could be famous there now - who knows.

Me - being goofy. Not sure this was appropriate either, but at least I had my back to the North Koreans.

Ryan with a ROK Soldier. All the ROK soldiers posted at the DMZ are 10th degree black belts in Tae Kwon Do. They mean business. The sunglasses are worn to "intimidate" the North Korean soldiers, but my theory is that they just don't want you to know where they're looking.

Korean War Memorial at the DMZ. At this point, we were surrounded by 3 sides of North Korea. Some of the landscape is pictured below.

Signs posted every 10 meters between North and South Korea warning people of crossing the country line. The sign includes English, Hangul (Korean), and Chosŏnmal (North Korean Language). No one should misunderstand the ramifications if lines are crossed. Mine fields are on either side of the signs.

A look into North Korea. The day was very foggy, so the pictures aren't very clear. I hope to go back, and maybe I'll have better luck with the weather.

Another peak into North Korea - the village of Kichong-dong or "Peace Village," as it was called by the North. United Nations Command troops called it "Propaganda Village" because over the years the North broad casted its propaganda from loud speakers located in the vicinity of the village. Although North Koreans work the fields by day, they are all removed from the area before dark and only a small custodial staff actually lives in Kichong-dong. All the lights go off at the same time every night. The North Koreans pay to light a ghost town. Interesting...and weird.

The Bridge of No Return - crossing this is also a big no-no.

This cross lights up every night in South Korea proclaiming religious freedom to the North Koreans.

Memorial for the August 18, 1976 ax murders by the North Koreans to ROK soldiers and American soldiers. A tree we being cut down by the ROK Army when the North Korean Army attacked and killed the soldiers with an ax. The tree was being chopped down to gain visual fields from one guard tower to the next on the South Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line. The North Koreans "justified" their actions by stating the tree had been planted by Kim Jong-il himself, and cutting the tree down was a dishonor to their leader.

Interesting websites with more information:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/dmz.htm

http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Culture/DMZ/dmz.cfm?subject=jsa

Out and About

Ryan and I bought tickets to see Alegria Cirque du Soleil showing in Seoul through the 27th of December (yes, Ryan is here visiting!!!!!!!). We loved it! I went to Cirque Hawai'i with some friends this past summer, but Cirque du Soleil was much more elaborate than the one in Hawai'i. Apparently, there are 13 different Cirque du Soleil show varieties, casting people from over 55 different countries, and performing in over 40 different countries. This is one of the perks of living in the middle of a HUGE city! If one ever comes close to your city, you should go. The strength and flexibility these people possess is incredible (some of it was so incredible that it didn't seem real)!

Our Tickets

A Picture Before the Show

In the Spirit

I took some action at work last week and finally assembled & decorated the unit's Christmas tree (sadly, I seemed to be the ONLY one motivated enough to do it). The ornaments used in years past were traditional glass colored balls, but I switched it up this year! Every time someone walks by now, they say, "awwwww." See if you can tell what I used to get the Women and Infants Care Unit in the Spirit of Christmas (and delivering babies)!

The Little Things

I am so happy to FINALLY have a vacuum. My apartment came with a central vacuum, and it only worked the first night (Oct 20th) I moved into my apartment (for those that know me, I probably burnt the poor thing out). Since then, I have had many visits from the repair man with no reviving results. I have been using a measly Dustbuster to vacuum corners that get dust bunnies to get by. My Dustbuster will be glad for a break. My apartment manager just now left my apartment, leaving behind a brand new shiny red vacuum just for me! I'm going to get straight to work!

Thankful

I'm a little late in saying Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, but....

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

I have done some reflection and have so much to be thankful for. Here's my list:

1. My loving Ryan, who supports me in all I do, loves me through it all, and who is my eternal optimist. I know I can ALWAYS count on him for an encouraging word, and just knowing that makes me smile :) I can't wait to be back home and living with my best friend again.

2. My wonderful family (immediate and extended), who can't wait for me to get home. I know I have so many prayers from them that lift me up.

3. Crystal, her husband, John, and their 3 little guys - Calvin, William, and Henry. They are my family here in Korea, and they make sure I'm never alone for too long.

4. My awesome job as a labor and delivery nurse. I get to see little miracles born everyday. Not many people can say they share that special moment with a new mommy and daddy. I see unconditional love on the faces of many parents, and I can't wait until I get to share that special moment with Ryan.

My list could go on and on...I have so much to be thankful for! Most days I have to take a few steps back from life to see what I take for granted. Even halfway across the world - away from all I know - I have many blessings to count.

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

Well, it snowed in Seoul today! I didn't get to see much of it - only got to look from the hospital windows at work. The snow had stopped (and none of it stuck) when I got off work at 4:00pm. Bummer! If I'm going to live in the cold, then I want snow. Just being cold is miserable - snow at least makes the drab winter pretty (until all the cars make it dirty, of course)!

The snow does seem quite fitting, considering I've been listening to Christmas music for a week now. I accidentally didn't pack any of my Christmas CD's to bring to Korea and was very sad when I discovered this. Thank goodness for iTunes! I told Ryan one day over the phone that I was downloading Christmas songs, and he broke out singing "I Believe in Santa Claus," a song from one of my favorite Christmas albums (Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers). Last year Ryan and I drove from Louisiana to Ohio for Christmas, and I think he heard the album at least 25 times (much to his dismay). The drive is about 17 hours, and I forced him to listen to Christmas music the entire way there and back! He can blame my Christmas music preferences on my parents :) I hope everyone is staying warm - I've heard it has been snowing in Ohio and Kentucky, too!

Call Me Ma'am

I finally had my promotion ceremony on Friday the 14th. It's official - I'm not a Lieutenant anymore! Woo Hoo!

Crystal pinning me to Captain!

Serious

Silly!

Group Photo

Unlucky Number 4

My first thought is of the Tower of Terror at DisneyWorld & DisneyLand. For those that don't know, it's a ride portraying an elevator horror from 1939, where the elevator lift plummits 13 stories to your (gasp!) death (or maybe just your stomach lurching into your throat). Thirteen stories. You were asking for trouble. As many of you probably know, 13 is quite unlucky in the U.S. Most buildings completely skip the number when numbering the floors.

Thank goodness I can get 13 out of my system in Korea. I can use it all I want (and I may even claim it as my lucky number while I'm here)! One number to stay away from? Four. Four is Korea's thirteen.

I technically live on the 4th floor of my building. Heaven forbid. Thank goodness no one knows. My apartment is labeled as #501, and the elevator buttons are numbered 1, 2, 3, 5. Whew! Glad I got around that one! At least I was born in 1983, the year of the pig (the pig in Korea is very lucky). Maybe the good luck from the pig and the misfortune from the 4th floor apartment cancel each other out. That's my hope so I can put my superstitions to ease!

My Cribs

People have been asking me for pictures of my apartment, so I finally took some the other day. I don't want you to get too excited...I warned you all that my place was pretty bare inside. Here are the pictures to prove it!

(I'm having some trouble getting all the pictures to show up when I post the blog, so click on the blog alone - so it is the only one on the page - and check back later. You may see more or different pictures, depending on which ones Blogger decides to pick and choose to show!)


Living Room with Sunroom doors on the left and sliding door to Mudroom on right.

Living Room with Sunroom doors on the right.

Living room with Kitchen on the left (sliding glass doors go to the Utility Room). In mid-right, doorway to the Office and Master Bed & Bath. The 3rd Bedroom (not pictured) and Guest Bathroom are to the far left.

The Guest Bathroom.

Kitchen

Kitchen again with dining table in bottom of picture.



The Office.

The Hallway looking from the Office to the Master Bath on the left (where the light is on the floor) and Master Bedroom straight ahead.

The Master Bathroom.

The Master Bedroom.

The Master Bedroom again.

The Sunroom (off the Living Room).

View from small porch off the Sunroom/Master Bedroom.

Hope you enjoyed my tour! NOW COME VISIT! :-)

(Sorry about the crazy formatting - Blogger does whatever it wants!!!)

Tag...I'm It!

My cousin, Sara, tagged me from her blog to write about a picture in my picture folder on the computer. I had to pick the 4th folder with the 4th picture and write about it. Here is the lucky pic:

Who is this? RYAN! I was actually emailed this picture by Ryan himself within the last couple of months. The email he sent read this: "See - I have always used one of these." When I scrolled to the bottom of the email and saw the picture, I laughed out loud. Here's why:

Ryan reads before going to sleep just about every night. He has a reading pillow that he uses, and I HATE IT. It weighs about 20 pounds, and it ALWAYS ends up on the floor by morning. I make the bed in our house, so I ALWAYS end up tripping over it. When I trip over it, it doesn't give (because, as I said earlier, it weighs 20 pounds). As a result, I repeatedly try to talk Ryan into getting rid of this reading pillow and buying a new one that weighs about 19 pounds less. He refuses.

This picture of Ryan as a baby was taken at his late Grandpa Buckingham's house. His current reading pillow perfectly matches the one in the above picture. In fact, I think IT IS the one in the above picture. I am going to surrender. For the record, he can keep the pillow, and I won't bother him about it EVER again. I promise :)

I will have to be more careful where I step from now on when I make the bed. (If you're thinking that I should have been doing this in the first place, then you're right). Plus, on occasion, I get affection from the pillow. The little pillow arms like to hug me and say "squeeze" when I'm not paying attention. Just how can I argue with that???

Happy Halloween

One of the goodies in the box my sister sent. I really tried to make Mr. Potato/Pumpkin Head look more threatening, but his smile really makes it difficult! He's now sitting on my coffee table.

Halloween Memories:

Trick-or-Treating in the snow
Kerri and I having matching costumes
Carving pumpkins
Dressing up for the school Halloween party


I don't take these childhood memories for granted. At least not this year. You see, Koreans don't celebrate Halloween. My sister sent a box of Halloween goodies to me about a week ago, and I had it open on my counter when my realtor, Jee, came to the apartment. She was FASCINATED with the Halloween candy. She inquired all about the holiday, and she thought it was hilarious how the bag of M&Ms is decorated differently for Halloween. She couldn't believe the color of the M&Ms was different for Halloween, too. Apparently, she's only seen the traditional M&M colors! She was also very impressed that the candy had come "all the way from the States." I think she asked me twice where it had come from - like I was making it up or something! I had her take a couple of Ziploc bags home filled with chocolate goodness for her two daughters. I hope she snuck a few pieces on her way home!

Happy Halloween, Everyone!!!

Great Expectations

I decided to get a massage. I was a little (OK, a lot) on edge about the move, finding an apartment, finding a car, and starting a new job; I wanted some stress relief and relaxation time. Unfortunately, off-post beauty shops are off limits to Military for the suspicious happenings that take place "in the back." Luckily, there are a few salons on-post that are available to use. I happened to stumble on one in the hotel where I was staying - perfect! I walked in and made an appointment for the next day at 5:00pm. I was looking forward to my one-hour full body massage. In fact, I couldn't wait!

Day of Massage:
Red flag #1: I knew something was wrong when the masseuse (a Korean) walked me into a room where someone else was already getting a massage. There were three massage tables in one open room!

Red flag #2: She asked me to undress down to my underwear - but didn't leave the room to give me privacy. So, I undressed in front of her, the other masseuse, and the other client. WEIRD! I should have left then.

She had me lay face-up, slathered (and I mean that) her hands in lotion, and started rubbing my chest - boobs and all. I giggled, and giggled, and giggled some more. She thought I was ticklish! WRONG! I just couldn't believe what was actually happening! After what felt like 20 minutes, she moved on to my stomach. Also something new to me, but at least not as weird! The rest of the massage was pretty uneventful, but even the technique was very different from back in the States. I was lucky I didn't have any bruises the next day - this woman BEAT the stress out of my muscles (sometimes she smacked me so hard that the crazy amount of lotion she used flew into my face).

Needless to say, I didn’t relax during the entire hour.

If the Shoe Fits...

Crystal, one of my friends I met in Hawai'i, and I were in Itaewon (the town right outside of post) window shopping one Monday afternoon. People were packed on the sidewalk, scooters were zooming by, and traffic was its usual stop-and-go. The stores sell just about everything - from clothes to souvenirs to food. I spotted a shoe store. I spotted a pair of shoes in the shoe store window that I LOVED. In I went. I asked for the patent-leather grey flat in my size - American size 8. Now, I never thought I had overly large feet. In fact, they're quite average for a woman. The sales associate brought me a size 240mm (what they claim is equal to an American size 8). I tried it on, but the shoe was a little snug. I tried on another style of flat - this time a leopard print faux fur with a clip on the toe. It also did not fit. What is the natural thing to do? Ask for the next size up - so I did. Here is the response I got:

Sales Associate (in Asian accent, mind you): Oh no ma'am. That too big. We have to special order anything over size 8.

Discouraged, I left the store. I finally came to the realization that I will not be clothes or shoe shopping here. Most Korean women are the size of one of my legs. Apparently, their feet are tiny, too.

This time, the shoe just didn't fit.

Heart and Seoul

The Seoul Tower view from my hotel on-post.

Moving halfway across the world - $10,000. Taking language classes to learn Korean - $100. Having a realtor that cares - priceless. Let me explain. Upon arriving in Korea, I was given temporary living quarters in a hotel on-post. My adventure of finding an apartment started shortly after arriving. I faced the reality of cleaning my own place and making my own bed once again. Jee, my realtor, was recommended to me by my sponsor, and she was determined to find a placed that I LOVED. And she did. The lease was signed, I received the keys, and my household goods were delivered. She came to sit with me when the cable and internet were being hooked up, in case a translation was needed. Ends up, I needed more than that. As we talked, she asked how I was adjusting to life in Korea. Uncontrollably, my eyes welled-up with tears. I explained that I had no complaints, but I just missed everyone at "home." She listened and gave me a bear hug. She gave me another hug before she left. And she called me the next day to see how I was doing. A realtor? Yes, a realtor. But more importantly, a friend. Maybe I'm in for a surprise. The Korean people might actually capture both my heart and my Seoul.