Some of you have ask  if I can get many of the comforts of home here.  Most of the time I can.  Our commissary (grocery store or supermaket for you civilians) stocks it's shelves from California.  All produce, milk, meat, eggs and everything else comes from California.  Our milk is ultra pasturized so it will have a longer shelf life, but it is still organic.  The main problem here is if you are not at the commissary when they stock the shelves you many not get the item.   I had a friend tell me she bought cherries one morning, I went late afternoon, and they were all gone.  Bummer....I really wanted the cherries.   The same is true with most fruits, you must hit the commissary right after they stock it, or they are gone.  The good news is there are tons of little grocery stores in Seoul that have a wonderful fruit selection, they are quite a bit more expensive, but you can still get what you want if you are willing to pay more.  I love going to the Korean grocery stores, you never know what you are going to find.  For example, the picture above.  I have NO IDEA what kind of fish that is or what you would use it for, but it makes a great picture.  I am sure the other people in the market think I am nuts, I am always taking pictures of their food.  The other problem I have run into with shopping at the Korean grocery store is that sometimes it is a guessing game.  The kids and I love to buy Korean candy which is very interesting - some of it is great, when some of it is downright disgusting.  I am getting better at it though, I am learning to read the language and have a few words under my belt, so it is getting easier.  The other thing I have found very helpful, is when I am looking for something in particular at the Korean grocery store, I ask a Korean friend to write it down in Korean so I can find it or ask for it in the store.

The other thing I can do, which I have not done yet, but I am making a list, is I can go into the commissary and ask the store manager to special order items for me.  If our supplier in California has it then they will order it for me.  I have a list of things going that I cannot find here: Weight Control Oatmeal, (thanks to Staci for sending some to us), RAO's Pasta Sauce, soy milk boxes, Chef Paul Purdhommes's Poultry Magic, & vanilla paste. I am sure I will add to the list over time, but as you can see, the only things I cannot get are more specialty items than regular items. 

Another note about food here, all our chicken and eggs are from CALIFORNIA.  We don't have to worry about eating bad chicken or eggs, and none of us are eating either one while in Seoul.  You ask - why are you telling us this?  Well, if have been following the news, the bird flu is here.  Robert would be having a cow. They have pretty much contained it, but I will not eat chicken or eggs in Seoul for quite some time. 

If you have any questions for us, please feel free to email or leave a comment with your question & I will try to answer it.  Have a great day!

check out where we are going on vacation in June....

http://www.picresorts.com/en/Saipan/Index.asp

For all you mom's out there, you will get this...

BOY 3 went pee & poop on the potty ALL DAY yesterday!  Today he is doing fantastic as well with only one accident & that was while we were out & about!  I can see the light!!

Yes, you heard me correctly.  SQUAT POTS.  Once you leave the westernized area of Seoul and start heading out into other parts of Korea, this is how you go to the bathroom. And from what I understand, this is a nice one. Note to self:  Always carry hand sanitizer!

Boy 1 and I standing in what use to be North Korea.  Where we are standing was a huge battle, where many lost their lives in the Korean War.  This is the only building left standing in this city, which at one time was the 3rd largest city in Korea. In the building behind us over 200 people were found dead.  (I couldn't get the whole story because of the language barrier)

This checkpoint was about 500 feet from where we were standing in the first photo.  From what I could understand, once you go through this check point you will be heading into North Korea.

Boy 1 & I were invited to go white water rafting this weekend with some friends. Boy 1 is on the end on the right side as you are looking at this photo.  We were very excited to go, boy 1 had never been before and this was a great reason to get out and see more of Korea.  We were on a USO tour; we headed north; yes, north, towards North Korea.  This was our first time outside of Seoul.  It was amazing, rice fields and ginseng fields were plentiful (see pictures).  The bus ride was about 2 hours.  When we finally got to our destination, we unloaded the bus where we had to dress up in this nice river attire, lifejacket and helmet.  Asian’s take water sports very seriously.  Everyone had to help carry the raft to the river, through the rocks and down a cliff.  I’m starting to see why the helmets were required.  We were rafting in an area that was created by a volcano.   There was volcanic rock everywhere. Our tour guided called it their Grand Canyon – it was NOTHING compared to the Grand Canyon.  The water on the river was VERY LOW.  We got in our boats in the FREEZING cold water & set off, only to find ourselves dragging the raft out of the water 5 minutes later because we were stuck.  Our guide took the raft a little further down the river while we hiked along the rocks, we got back in the raft to only find ourselves hiking on the rocks again a few minutes later.  I think we hiked more of the trip than we did ride.  It was great fun even though there was no white water rafting.  The area was beautiful & we plan to do it again after monsoon season when the river is high. 

This is our house.   While looking at the picture, there are 3 rose bushes just below the right side of the bottom window.   I don't know if you can really see them or not. I dug them up out of my neighbors yard and replanted them in my yard.  I did this because her house is going to be renovated, and the workers will end up destroying any living things.  Anyway, I hope they survive.  I have never dug up, then replanted rose bushes.  They really don't look too happy at this point.  They look all sad and droopy.   I hope it is because they are in shock, but will survive.  Any suggestions? 

Next, notice the chairs on my porch?  I bought theses at a great little store called "The Chosen".  They were only $14 for the big chairs and $10 for the little chairs.  I love them.  I like to sit out on the porch early in the morning drinking my latte & talking on the phone to my friends in the states.  (since I can do that now!!)

 

All is good in my world again...  yesterday we received a package from BFF1 which contained our router & my Starbucks frothing cup. Not only can I make a great latte now, but I can call my friends on my Vonage, stateside phone number while I drink that latte!  I feel so much more connected now. 

Hubby and I went out on our date this weekend.   We were trying to find a street called Insa-dong, it supposedly has great antique shopping, bookstores (doubtfully in English), art galleries, and traditional Korean cafes.  We did not find it.  Instead we found Cheong gye cheon, or city hall area.  Here they were having the Seoul Friendship Festival, which would have been really cool if we had found it earlier in the day.  The festival  had tents set up from different countries, we were able to visit the booth from Brazil where we bought candy from Brazil and had some ham and cheese fried things which were good.  The USA tent was selling girls scout cookies.  In city hall we found this bar....JS TEXAS BAR.  I got a kick out of it.  Not only is it about Texas, but JS is  my hubby’s initials.  Very cool indeed.  We had to take a picture.  We should have had a beer here.  What were we thinking?  This weekend we are going to try once again to find Insa-dong. I think we will be successful.

Girl had field day at her school this week.  She had a great time, as you can see by the expression on her face! 

Girl's new classmates