Meet my friend awesome friend Shannon.  She wrote this piece.
She is amazing, witty, talented and just down right fun to be around.
When I read this I did a hand to forehead and thought "why haven't I written a piece like this"?!  

If you just found out you are moving to South Korea, you’ve probably been busy scouring the Internet for information.  If you’re like me, you went straight to Google and typed in things like “What is it like to live in South Korea?” or “What is kimchi anyway?”  Maybe you typed in “Is the winter that cold and the summer really that hot?”  Let me stop you right there and say yes, I’ve lived through one summer and It. Is. Extremely. Hot.

The good news is that there are endless articles and blogs (like this one!) out there that will help manage your expectations and prepare you for your move.  I spent countless hours on my quest for information and felt relatively prepared for my move.  That feeling stayed with me right up to the point it was time to get off the plane and I hit the ladies room!  Once I really got into living everyday life here, I encountered so many new and RANDOM things that I had never read about on the Internet…and honestly, why would I?  For the first several months, I felt a little ridiculous every time I stepped out of my apartment and attempted something new.  Let’s just say I made a lot of rookie mistakes.  But hey, that’s all part of the fun!

In an effort to save face for all you other Internet researches out there, I’ve created a list of completely random things that you will undoubtedly come across during your adventures here in South Korea.  Now, I know you will read some of the items on this list and think, “uh duh, that one is completely obvious!”  Okay, let me explain myself.  When you are new here and are ready to venture out, the experience can quickly turn into sensory overload.  Your brain will be working overtime to take in ALL the sights and sounds of this foreign environment.  If you are going to be living in the city, let me tell you…it is busy, busy, busy!  In this moment, you will understandably overlook the completely obvious…hence my list!

1.  Check Please.    Your first eating experience in South Korea will most likely be at a restaurant.  Now if you went straight for the fast food, proceed as normal.  If you are eating at a sit down restaurant with a wait staff, checks are not paid at the table but at a cash register by the door.  This took us a couple days to catch on to but we get leniency for jet lag on this one.  And don’t forget….no tipping at restaurants in Korea – how awesome is that?!

2.  Sliding Doors.  Now, I’m sure you’re thinking “I got this one!”  But hear me out.  We all know about sliding doors, but you’re probably thinking about the automatic ones they have in the United States.  In South Korea you need to look for the button on the left or right hand side of the doors so you can push it to OPEN said doors.  I’ve looked like a complete fool standing and waiting in front of sliding doors on more than one occasion.  I will go ahead and throw escalators into this category too.  SOME escalators do not move until you physically stand in front of it….I know, duh!

3.  Square to Spare?  I could probably spend a few pages writing about the public restrooms here in South Korea but I will keep it short and sweet. The restroom idiosyncrasies I’m pointing out are not consistent across the board, but you will undoubtedly come across them at some point.  First, and perhaps most important, be sure to check for the location of the toilet paper upon entering the restroom because SOMETIMES it will be located OUTSIDE of the stall.  By the time you realize this, it is usually too late!  It’s okay, we’ve all been there.  If you survive the toilet paper debacle and approach the sink, you may see a contraption that looks like a pole with soap sticking out of the bottom of it.  And yes, it is indeed soap-on-a-pole.  I’ve also encountered soap-on-a-magnet (so it can stick to a magnet holder on the wall).  You will also see an everyday bar of soap sitting in a plain ole’ soap dish.  The common theme here is public soap people.  You’re either for it or against it but either way, it takes you off guard the first time you see it in a VERY public setting.  The term “public bar of soap” seems a little counter-intuitive to be, but when in Rome….  As a back up, I like to carry a little hand sanitizer in my purse….just sayin’.

4.  What’s Your Number?  The first time I took the kids out by myself in Seoul, I felt so accomplished!  As I waited in line at the ticket counter at the aquarium, I thought “no big deal here.”  After waiting in what I thought was the ticket line, I approached the counter to finally buy my tickets only for the women behind the counter to point out the ticket machine.  Make sure before you hop in a line to look around for the ticket machine and pull a number!

5.  Wait for the green man!  This tip is really more of a public service announcement.  Seoul is full of pedestrians…and if you are moving here, you’ll be one of them.  There will come a time when you are waiting at a crosswalk for the green man to tell you it’s safe to cross.  If you’re like me, you’ll look both ways and think, “no cars coming, I got this…” but DON’T be tempted!  As soon as you step off the curb, a speeding car and/or motorcycle will literally come out of nowhere.  Ask me how I know this!  Stay safe and wait for the green walking man.

6. License and Registration.  If you happen to build up the courage to obtain a license and drive (good for you and God Speed!), this one is for you.  There may come a time when you look in your rearview and notice flashing police lights.  Here in Korea, flashing police lights do not mean pull over, you’re in trouble…they simply mean “hey, I’m a police car driving around with my lights on” or something like that.

7.  What street do you live on?  Gotcha – that’s a trick question!  There are NO street names in South Korea.  To navigate your way around, you need to know the City (known as the “si”), the district (known as the “gu”), the neighborhood (known as the “dong”), and the number (or range of numbers).  There are other abbreviations, but these are the main ones and are needed for GPS navigation.  If you are walking, the directions will mostly likely be based on landmarks.  For example,  “take a left at the alley just past the McDonalds and look for a large blue sign, it will be three shops down from that!”  Most of the time, this actually works

In an effort to save you from RANDOM information overload, I will bring my list to a close and leave you with this….living in Korea is a full-on adventure like no other!  Remember to explore and take baby steps everyday and before you know it, you will forget that these type of things seemed “odd and out of place” when you first got here!

Shannon originally wrote this piece for Koreaye, another FANTASTIC source for those of you living  he  re in Seoul!

Yes, this really is a post about an airport.
Excited, aren't you?
You should be.
Incheon Airport is no ordinary airport.

I can't tell you the number of times I have flown in and out of this airport and each time I find something new, exciting and different.  Before writing this article I briefly (like 30 seconds) considered taking a field trip to Incheon just to take more pictures and find things that are still hidden to me.  Alas, I decided not to and to just go with the knowledge I have in my head and the pictures I have on my card.

Let's start with knowledge:

International Departures and Arrivals are probably the easiest I have experienced of anyplace I have traveled.  The staff is super friendly and very helpful.  Most speak good English.

Do you have a long layover or want to just spend some time at the airport, no worries....there is plenty to do! 
  
Movie Theaters - there is not just one, but TWO movie theaters in the airport!  Don't want to see a movie?  How about going Ice Skating instead.
The Ice Skating Rink is open year round and is in the Transportation Center.  Ice Skating is not your thing?  Did you bring your golf clubs?
The Golf Course -  (They are killing me!) is located in the International business area.  I have no idea how good or big it is...if you decided to hang out there one day please let me know - and PLEASE for the love of God and all things good, TAKE PICTURES and share your experience with me!  :)
If none of these are your thing, how about going to the Spa?
"Spa on Air" - have your first "Korean naked spa experience" (I am assuming it is a naked spa, as I have not been to this spa) here at the airport where you can enjoy saunas, sleeping rooms and massages. The spa is open 24 hours a day so no matter what time you arrive you can enjoy a nice bit of Korean tradition.
Speaking of Korean tradition, why not check out the Korean Culture Museum or have a Traditional Cultural Experience while hanging out at Incheon? Have kids with you?  Stop off at the Children's Playroom!
Have you been on a long flight and need a shower before you can continue on?  No worries, Incheon Airport has thought of everything.  They have showers you can use for a small fee - located at the Transfer Service Complex - 4th floor.  Need to get your hair done after you shower?  Just pop into the Beauty Salon on the bottom floor.  Oh, but before stopping at the beauty salon  you should drop your dirty clothes off at the Dry Cleaners.
I almost forgot to mention the Free WiFi throughout the airport and the Rest & Relax areas where they have lounge chairs (or couches - I'm not sure which they are - they call them loungers) for sleeping.
If all that isn't enough there is FREE Entertainment throughout the airport on most days!

Check out all the things I did/saw on my short walk through maybe 1/16th of the airport.

Welcome to Incheon:  These guys were on the 1st floor singing their hearts out to anyone that would listen.  I stood on the 2nd floor looking over listening in disbelief....a concert in the airport.  Oh, and just for the record, this wasn't the only musical entertainment in the airport. 

Once I went though the gate to the international side this young lady was making sweet music on this Grand Piano!

And she was accompanied by these two lovely ladies.

I really wish I had taken pictures of the shopping...I felt like I was in a mega shopping center instead of an airport.  You can get anything from Burberry, Chanel and Coach to candy & magazines for your trip.  

If you have been following me for a while you know Korea is all about themed coffee shops and the airport is no exception to that policy.  Check out the Charlie Brown Café where you can get coffee and snacks for your trip!

And it wouldn't be Korea if Hello Kitty didn't make an appearance:

So, if you find yourself stuck at the Incheon Airport for any amount of time don't worry - this is a great place to mark a few things off your Korea Bucket List!  :o)

OK, so now you have had a few days or weeks to process that you really are moving to Korea.
See, it’s not so bad.  
In fact you might just feel a little excited.  
Have you Googled how great the shopping is? 
We will talk about that in a later post.  Today we are going to continue talking about getting you here.

We talked a little about what to bring and what not to bring.  
Let me ask you a question:
What makes your house a home?
For us it is all the little things – the ‘guts’ of our house.
Pictures that we hang on the wall, games, favorite toys, bedding, and blankets we use to snuggle up on the couch
with.  

Did I mention we have cement walls?  And that many of our pictures are hung using Velcro, super glue, hot glue and anything else I could find to make the pictures stick to the walls?

If you look closely you can see the Velcro in the pictures below.  That doesn't really bother me anymore.  I'm just glad they are staying on the walls.  (A few pictures have fallen to the ground and the frames have ended up in several pieces.)

I couldn't fathom living for 2 years with a government desk again....

The good news is that Post will provide one desk per house and if you need more you can put in an exception to policy (which is easy enough to do) to ask for more desks.  We have 3 of these loaner desks – one for each child’s bedroom.

The other thing that makes our house a home is home cooking.  If you know me or have been following my blog for any amount of time, you know I LOVE to cook.   So, I brought about ¾ of my kitchen stuff (I wish I could have brought it all…..) which was the majority of my weight allowance!  No joke.   When bringing kitchen things you do have to keep in mind that the kitchen here is most likely smaller than what you are used to and know that the kitchen pictured below is a little bigger than in some quarters because we have a 4 bedroom:

We do have pretty good storage in the kitchen:

Another thing to think about is holidays. 
Do you love to decorate for the holidays? 
Do you go crazy with decorating for the holidays?
If so bring your holiday stuff!  I have 10 bins of Christmas in our storage area & I don’t care that it is cramped.  I like tradition.  Do you fondue for New Year’s Eve?  Bring your fondue pot!  Do you have special baskets for Easter?  Bring the baskets!  If it is a tradition BRING IT.  Continue on as normal with family traditions – we have too many changes as military families as it is – continue on with traditions even if it means bringing an extra box of good that you will only use once or twice. You will be glad you did in the long run.

Where will I live?
Although there are always exceptions to everything, enlisted through 03 live in Hannam Village. Everyone else will live on Yongsan.  O4/05 live in Burke Towers, Eagles Grove, Itaewon Acres or Blackhawk Village.  E9’s live in Watkins Ridge. 06 live near the Helo Pad. GO’s live on the Hilltop.

What happens when you arrive in Korea?  How do I get from the Airport to the Dragon Hill Lodge? (If going to
Yongsan)  First off I hope you all have a sponsor.  Each family is supposed to have a sponsor, but sadly too many people don’t do their job correctly and many are left to fend for themselves.  If you don’t have a sponsor, ask for one, if you still don’t have a sponsor ask again. Make some noise. :o)   

So, if you are traveling on the ‘wonderful’ Patriot Express you will arrive into Osan.  Once you exit the plane you will go through customs, which is super easy. Then you will follow everyone out to the buses for Yongsan.  Put your luggage under the bus and hop on.  You will have about an hour to an hour and a half drive (depending on traffic) to Yongsan.  When going through the gate at Yonsan the gate guards will come onto the bus to check IDs.  At this point you have about a 3 minute ride to the Dragon Hill Lodge.  They don’t drop you off at the door, instead they drop you at the top of the hill where your soldier will go to a briefing that about 2.5 hours long and you will walk down the (very small) hill to the Dragon Hill Lodge where you, the family member will check into the hotel.   (Have ID,  & orders with you.)

**Remember if you want to go to the shoppette in the Dragon, take a copy of your orders and your ID card or they
will not let you buy ANYTHING.

Get some rest; you have a few busy days ahead of you.
 
Welcome to the Land of the Morning Calm.

Kapshi, Kapshida!

Click here to read "What?! We Have Orders to Korea Part 1"

So, you just got orders and you are moving to Korea.
OMGosh….you are moving to KOREA.  
WHAT?!?  That wasn’t on our list.
Freak-out mode starts.  
The only thing you have heard about Korea is how much it stinks and how far away it is.

Relax.  I’m here to tell you that Korea is one of the hidden gems of the Army.  
It truly is the “Land of the Morning Calm.”
Embrace it.
Love it.

Now pull up your boot straps and get ready for the ride of your life.  

I’ll answer some of the most common questions I have received from people over the years and I will do my best to answer these questions open and honestly.  I will be answering them from an Army spouse point of view.  I know there are a few differences for each branch. NOW, please note these are MY OWN thoughts and ideas.   And beware that I am an optimist.  I try to see the good in everything and I try to make the most out of every duty station – not only for me, but for my family, friends and all I come in contact with.  In fact it seems that after talking to a few friends lately they mentioned how much I LOVED Ft. Hood.  I had to do a double take and ask them if they were talking to me.  Me, LOVE Ft. Hood?  Now that makes me laugh.  It's all perspective baby, all perspective!  

Let's dive into Korea, which I do love.  After being with my husband in this thing we call an Army life for over 21 years Korea has been my hands down FAVORITE duty station (Fort Hood has been my least favorite - are you surprised?). 

We just got orders to Korea and we are moving in 6 weeks!  What do I do I do first?
      1.  Breathe.
      2.  Have a glass of wine.  I don’t care what time it is.  Sit down and have a drink.
      3.  Breathe again.
      4. Get ready to have the time of your life!
 
Do the houses come furnished? I know we can't bring all of our stuff and I wouldn't anyways but I don't even know where to start. What is the housing like there?

Let’s start with ‘what is the housing like?’  - SMALL. VERY SMALL.  There are 6 of us in a 4 bedroom that is about 1200 square feet.  Thank God we love each other.

Next up-  what you are not allowed to bring - you are NOT ALLOWED to bring big appliances like washer, dryer, refrigerator and freezer.  (I did bring a mini fridge for drinks!) Post provides all of these things.

Post will also supply all big furniture if you choose not to bring your own.  Items they have for your use - broken down by rooms:
Dining room: Table, chairs, buffet, china cabinet.  
Living Room: Very uncomfortable couch & chairs, bookshelf, end tables, coffee table and desk.  
Bedrooms:  beds – Queen for master, twins for kids rooms – they also have some bunk beds and they provide
mattresses.  Some people complain about the mattresses, but for our family they work just fine.  (Just as a side note, king size beds do NOT FIT in most of the apartments on post and if you do by some miracle get it up your staircase, you will only have a bed in your room.  True story.)  They also provide per room, night stands, dresser, chest of drawers, and mirror.

Since you have an express shipment,  a regular shipment, stuff you want to bring with you, and items for storage...how in the world do you keep all of that straight? 

My best advice is to make a list of what you want shipped in each shipment.
Start with what you can’t live without.
What you want to put in storage and then -
What you are going to pack in your suitcases.  
Once you have a pretty clear idea of what goes where start separating items into different rooms. 

Your Express Shipment Ships last.  This is the shipment that gets to Korea FAST. It goes by air. These are the items you will need to keep to survive where you live now and they are the items you will need right away to begin setting up your new home. This is the shipment that should be about 1,000 pounds worth of stuff. This shipment ships later than your bulk shipment. You should plan on shipping this stuff 2-3 weeks prior to your move and then it should be in country waiting for you when you arrive.  (This all hinges on if you are given enough notice to have multiple shipments!  :o)  Even if you don't have enough notice for multiple shipments I would FIGHT for an express shipment because you WILL need it.)

What do you recommend bringing in your express shipment?  
Toys
Extra clothes (check out the weather in Korea so you are prepared for it!)
sheets
enough kitchen stuff to get you by for up to 6 weeks
shower curtains & rings
towels
trash
cans
HANGERS!  No joke - send a box of hangers!!
 small TV
Apple TV
Vonage or Skype VOIP phone (if you want to inexpensive phone calls to the states & have people call you back)

How do you know what 1,000 pounds of stuff looks like?

Honestly I’m a bit of a freak and I put things in a laundry basket and weighed them on a bathroom scale.  It worked well for me.  
 
Main shipment (ships out first) - I sent this shipment out 8 weeks prior to our arrival and it was here in country 2 weeks after we arrived. That is right; it took 10 weeks to arrive.  If you are moving during off season your things may arrive early – moving during peak season, you might be waiting much longer!  I have a friend that it took 3 months for her things to get here.  Be PREPARED for anything!  (This is why you must FIGHT for an express shipment IF you are on short notice to move.)

Storage, anything you can live without for 2 years. Once things are in storage it is amazing how you realize you can live without them!! When we moved back to the states we ended up getting rid of more than 1/2 of the things we had in storage. This is typically the last piece of your move.

Who pays for storage?
If your soldier is in the Army, the Army pays for all storage - it will be stored where ever you are moving from. I’m assuming the same holds true for the other branches of the military.


How many bags do they let you check? Carry on? We have 2 car seats, a pack n play, bottles and formula. Do you suggest bringing those things and just clothes/toiletries on the plane?

Each family member can check 2 bags of 50 pounds each....the active duty person can have one bag that is 70 pounds and one that is 50. Each person can have a carryon bag as well. Honestly I wouldn't bother with car seats - now I know your babies are young and this might freak you out, but once you get here you don't use them if you don't have a car. You can't put them in cabs or buses or on the subway....this might be one thing you can do without - or you can have a family member send to you in the mail. If you feel you need them, bring them...but generally they are not used unless you have a POV. I might opt to send the pack n play in the express shipment. There is a loan closet & it is amazing how giving and caring the military community is here – let your sponsor know you need one when you arrive and I bet they can find one for you. Bring bottles and formula. They will let you bring enough formula on the plane for the trip, but they need to know in advance. Check the rest. Our commissary is totally stocked with formula.  Bring clothes, toiletries...you will probably be in the Dragon Hill Lodge for a few days before you get to your house. Pack like you are going on vacation for a couple weeks.

 I’ve heard you can’t shop at the Commissary, PX or Shoppette until you have your Ration Card. Is this true? 
 
Unfortunately yes, BUT the good news is that there is a way around it!  Just carry a copy of orders with you EVERYWHERE YOU GO!  You can get into and buy things at the PX, Commissary and Shoppettes for 30 days after arrival if you have orders – and they must have the command sponsor part with your name on them. Easy as that.  While we are on the subject, always having a POA on this post is a good idea too.  Just sayin’ – you never know when you are going to need it.   

Should I get my international drives license BEFORE I get to Korea? 

Really there is no need.  It is super easy here, you can do it on a walk in basis or you can make an appointment.  But once again you are allowed to drive ON POST for 30 days before you get your international license as long as you are carrying orders with you.

Do you have more questions?  Please feel free to submit them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer
them on my next installment of  “What?!  We have Orders to Korea?”

Good luck with your move and I look forward to seeing you around the peninsula! 

Trish

I originally wrote this for Koreaye, another GREAT source for moving to Korea. 

Click here to read What?! We Have Orders to Korea Part 2.

I know, I know, we have been here for 3 months (as of tomorrow) and I still have not showed you guys my entire house.  As I told my MIL, I had all the boxed unpacked and the house pretty set in the first couple of weeks, but I ALWAYS tweak it for weeks/months to come.  

                                             This is what our front porch looked like as we were moving in:   

And this is what it looked like up until 2 days ago.  I have now moved the bench inside (I have plans for it) and am looking for a cute little bistro table to put on the front porch (better than a bench for sitting and chatting with friends and family).  I also have a couple of more plants out front.  For all my Texas & CAV peeps, notice the Texas flag and CAV flag? They will both always be in my heart and on my front porch!

Ganesha made the trip back to Korea with us too....Ganesha has logged more miles in his passport than many people I know.  Thailand ---> Korea ---> Texas --->Korea.  I wonder where he will go next?

Happy Wednesday!  :)

We are blessed.  Many people ask us how we do it - referring to how we move so often.  This is how - check it out: 

         Not only do we have Army brats, but we have the Marine, Navy and Air Force brats here as well!  Life is good.
                                                                               Joint Forces, Joint Brats.

We live in a neighborhood with a TON of kids (as you can see) - some people might squirm at the sight, but for us it is a little slice of heaven. When you move as much as we do it is nice to come to a neighborhood that has so many new friends ready and waiting to greet you.  The picture above isn't even a quarter of kids that live in our neighborhood.  Our kids are resilient - they make friends quickly.  When you move every few years you tend to jump right in and not waste more than a couple of days being sad.  You plant new roots even though they may be short you know they go deep and wide and you know you don't have time to waste. You miss old friends, but this helps you not dwell on how much you mourn the loss of friends left behind. 

This past weekend two of our neighborhood teens put together a kickball tournament without any coaxing from parents.  They put notes on every door in our neighborhood and sent out Facebook messages announcing when the game would be and ask parents to bring juice boxes and popsicles.  (Girls after my own heart!)  

They even recruited Boy 1 to be a team captain.

New friends, good times, not dwelling on the past - that is how we do it.
(That is NOT to say we don't miss our old friends because we do, we miss them terribly.)

For those of you that know me, you know how much I love my porches (I know that sounds very 'TEXAN', but I really do love MY porches).  I love to have that homy feel when sitting on the porch hanging with Hubby and friends while watching the kids play.  In fact I set my porches before I set up anything else in the house.   I'm sad to say that I did not take any before pictures of either the back or the front porch.  But just to create a picture for your mind....when we moved in the grass was...well, none.  What was there was brown.  Housing blamed it on the drought, I beg to differ.  I lived in Texas during the hottest summer on record and I still had green grass.  Beat 80+ straight days of temps over 100 and I *might* excuse brown grass.  Anyway after much negotiation housing put sod in for us.  They didn't think we could keep it alive.  HA!  They must have forgotten what my yard looked like the last time I lived here.  This is only the beginning.  Next year I hope I remember to post pictures of what is happening in our back yard when I actually have time to plant things.   For now, this is what I have done:

Sorry I have been MIA for the past week, but this is why:

More fun stuff coming soon, I promise! 

Warning, if you have a week stomach and you don't like dirt and grime, don't look at these pictures.  This might make your stomach turn more than the picture of Boy 3's broken arm. 

The car below is a hooptie - aka - 'old beat up car' - we bought this hooptie right after arriving in Korea and although it has only had 1 owner and it has less than 60,000 miles and  we got a great deal on it      -     I don't think this bad boy has E-V-E-R been cleaned and it is 12 years old. 

When we told the lady we were going to buy the van and ask her when it would be available she said "now" and handed me the keys.  Whoa....wait a minute...don't you want to clean it out?  She looked in the glove box pulled a few things out and said 'OK, it's yours'. 

You can't imagine the crap we found in this car....a pair of shoes, TAX PAPERS from 2008, GPS, compass, poncho, lots of paperwork, big metal pole thing and TONS OF TRASH  (not that the other things I listed weren't trash).  IT WAS DISGUSTING, BUT CHEAP; plus it had low miles, a new battery, new tires & snow chains.  However the steering wheel was so gross that  we had to buy a steering wheel cover immediately just so we could drive the thing. 

Finally, after 4 magic erasers, 1/2 a bottle of bleach, armor all, windex 2 rolls of paper towels, shampooing the heck out of the seats, floors and ceiling,  8 hours of cleaning (all together) we can finally get in it without cringing. 

Everyone in the family pitched in to help. Girl said this is the natsiest car we have every owned.  I'll give her that one.

And here are a few before and after photos for your entertainment:
(This is where you might want to stop looking if you have a weak stomach!)

Now that she is clean, she is a pretty sweet ride. (You know, for a minivan.)

Day 1 in country was very productive.  I started my day at about 5AM...hiding out in the bathroom of our hotel room reading so not to wake anyone.   Even though it sounds a little strange, I enjoyed my time in the bathroom reading in the peace and quiet.  Hubby had to report at 7:30AM.  Seriously - on Day 1. 

After getting Hubs out the door I started my search for a car.  By that I mean I walked all over this post looking for a car by peering into windows checking for 'For Sale' signs.  I was thankful the lemon lot was in the same place - the commissary parking lot. There were several beautiful hoopties to choose from - I made a list, check it twice and took it home (to the hotel)  for Hubby to look over with me...oh goodness, which piece of crap will we buy?!?  The suspense is going to kill you isn't it?!  

After searching the streets for a car I headed over to Military Clothing and Sales because even though hubby has  about 900 brown shirts we couldn't find one in all of our 12 bags.  As luck would have it Military Clothing and Sales does not open till 10AM, so I found myself with an hour to waste.  Guess what is next to Military Clothing and Sales?  That's right, my favorite place to get a pedicure ~ AND my favorite girls are still there!!  SCORE!  Check out my toes....

All that for $24 baby!  That included a 1 hour 10 minute pedicure, coffee, walnut cookie, a moonpie AND a 5 minute 'massagie' on my shoulders AFTER my leg 'massagie'.  Can you say heaven?  And my girls remembered me!  (Yes, I am hanging out in the bathroom again & that picture was taken on the toilet..... Don't judge me, all my peeps are sleeping...OH JETLAG how I dislike you!)

Hubs and I met back up after lunch and headed over to housing. 

I wish I had taken my camera with me when we went to look for a house.

House #1 was in a great location, right next door to my old house.  Perfect, it put the kids right on the park!  We knew we wanted this one before we even looked at it, and as we were walking up to it we noticed it had a fence ~ EVEN better!!  All I can say is THANK GOD WE LOOKED AT IT BEFORE WE SAID YES!!  I mean all the houses here on post are tiny (1500 square feet) and they aren't anything special to look, but to be in such a great assignment I can do (almost) anything for two years.  HOWEVER I COULD NOT DO THAT HOUSE for any amount of time.  I'm not even going to talk about the nasty old cafeteria style tiles they have throughout the house because all of the houses have those, but THE DOORS.  They must have been from the 1950's - old wooden dark brown lacquer; painted so many times they can't even shut accordion style doors.  I was in shock.  These would have made great antique garden pieces if you stripped them down to their natural wood...However they do not work in a living/functioning house.  Next up is the light fixtures.  OMG.  I couldn't get over them.  The light fixtures throughout the ENTIRE house were seashells and the light bulbs were BIGGER than the fixtures themselves.  OMG.  I didn't even know what to say. 

House #2 - not much better, but a little, I think.  Maybe it was the lesser of two evils...the doors were better, but the toilet and the bathroom. Oh dear.  The toilet and the toilet lid didn't match.  As I was 'considering' taking this house I ask if they could fix the toilet to make it match....all they would have to do is replace the toilet seat.  The said no.  THEY SAID NO!  Are you kidding me?

We walked around the neighborhood noticing that there were 8 other 4 bedroom houses that looked available or looked close to available.  I wrote the numbers down and we went back to housing to tell them how BAD the houses were.  They really didn't care and told us those were the only 2 we could choose from. That is when I pulled out our list -  they told us those houses were not 'available' and they were still in 'maintenance'.  HA.  We ask to speak to Mr. Dorrough, the head of housing.  What an ass that man is.  He told us that is all they have and that he can't show us anything that is in maintenance, even AFTER we told him we would take something that wasn't even finished with 'maintenance'. We told him that we are more than happy to take a better house 'as is' if it was liveable.  He said no. This is a man on a POWER TRIP. (Most likely one of those GS workers that has been in his job WAY TOO long and needs to get a dose of reality and get shipped back to the US.)   At this point I saw STEAM coming out of Hubby's ears, and that doesn't happen very often (and I must say it is quite the turn on! - I know - TMI.  Whateve's..).  In the end they found a house that had been refinished (that was on our list) and that was surprisingly out of maintance.  It is still bad, but we can do anything for 2 years - and Hubby will not be deployed.

Oh and in the mix of all that I was able to shop around and look for a phone.  No family plans anywhere.  Must take the international phone we have to Ipark Mall to have it activated. Can't do it on post that would be too easy.  They don't have unlimited texting or calling, so for those of you (this includes my stateside friends) that want to text with me you will need to download the ap Kakao  - it is free texting and calling internationally although I have heard the calls are not very clear.  Oh, and I only got 3g.  (Am I pouting or what?)

More on my ROCKIN' ride later.