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.
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.)
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 had to bring my desk....
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:
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.
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.
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.)
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.)
Can you see the arch? Above it says "Welcome to Korea" - this is where they drop your soldiers off - get off the bus and head down to the Dragon - just about where I am standing while taking the picture.
**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"
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"