Rain, Rain, Go Away

Yes I know that I promised to be more diligent with the blog than Matt, but it turns out I have been worse. I am so sorry to leave you in the dark for so long. So much has happened since I last published, where to start....

We officially feel settled in to our apartment and our lives here in Korea. That doesn't mean we don't have our moments where we crave the normalcy of home in America. When I am feeling lazy and don't want to cook, there is no Atlanta Bread Co., Panera, or (heaven help me) Chick-fil-a to run to. Partly this is a good thing, because it forces us to stay home and cook here. We have however, discovered a love for Pizza Hut, which is our guilty pleasure. We have made our way to most of the restaurants here in our ville, the ones that came recommended anyway. We tried one on our own when I first got here that didn't go over so well. Needless to say, we didn't go back. We just recently went to a Korean BBQ place that we always pass on our way to post. The sign was very enticing...it advertised BBQ spare ribs and other delicious dishes. Once Matt saw the sign he wouldn't stop talking about it until we had tried it. So one Friday night we went with another couple to give it a go. First of all, no one spoke any English. Luckily the menu was in English for the most part, but we didn't understand how to get the meat that was being barbecued in the pit. Usually at the Korean restaurants they bring the meat to you raw and you cook it at your table on the griddle. We didn't want that, we wanted the true BBQ. After lots of gesturing and broken Korean/English we got our order taken. We still didn't really know what we were getting. Once the food arrived, we realized that we had ordered ribs, pork, and sausage links. All of the sausages were different flavors: some were spicy, some were plain, and some had corn inside (weird I know). At a typical Korean "beaf and leaf" restaurant, you get your meat, rice, and then a bunch of condiments. The condiments include things like different kimchis, tofu, bean paste, raw cloves of garlic and other unknown items. You also get a plate of lettuce leaves. The idea is to put rice, meat and whatever else you want on the lettuce and then eat it like a wrap. The whole process takes quite a while. It's no wonder the Koreans are so skinny. They are burning calories preparing their food. However at this particular "BBQ joint" the lettuce looked like something you would go in your backyard and pick. It looked just like a plant's leaves. Where is the iceburg and romaine when you need it?! Also, unless you order a drink such as coke or beer, you get a tiny cup of water. The cups are more doll size than human size. In Korea the waiters don't come to your table to check on you and refill your drink, you have to press a button when you need something. So, since our cups were so small we were constantly needing a water refill. BUT, the button on our table must have been hooked up wrong, because every time we pushed it signaled to another table. So the waitress was always passing us by going to another table. The whole experience was very amusing. If you are a carb-lover like me eating at Korean restaurants can be very frustrating. I am always eagerly awaiting the bread basket only to remember that carbs don't really exist in Korea. It is experiences like these that are the ones we will look back on and laugh about. We are well on our way to making lots of memories.

Monsoon season began at the end of June and just finished last week. We had four weeks of solid rain. I think we had one sunny day in there. My rainboots have definitely come in handy! We were all so happy to have monsoon season over, and we had a week of beautiful sunshine. Now we are back to another week of rain due to typhoons. I have never experienced weather like I have here. To have weeks of just rain, is so crazy. Hopefully the worst has passed and we can look forward to the sun next week. The good thing about the rain, is that is cools everything off nicely. I know my Southern friends and family are dying in 100+ temperatures and terrible humidity.

Matt has been doing well with his job, he has been getting a decent amount of flying time, although not lately with all of the bad weather. He is getting a lot of good experience flying in different settings. I know they have been practicing hoists with the medics, and they fly a lot up around Seoul, close to the DMZ. Everyone takes shifts going up to Camp Casey. They go up there for a week to cover that area and then another group switches out with them. When he is gone, that week is a slow one, but I have lots of friends to keep me company. The people here have been so nice and welcoming. It has made the transition so much easier. We are so blessed to be surrounded by good people. This weekend we are going up to Seoul for some more exploring. Seoul is such a cool city, I wish all of you could experience it. There is so much to do, and see. Plus there is LOTS of shopping which is perfect for me! I miss you all so much, and I will update you with more stories soon! Love to you all!

Ahn nyeong ha se yo

That's the formal way to say hello in Korean. It took me forever to get it right. Ok, I (Jess) have officially taken over the blog and I will do my best to update it regularly. I know many of you want to know what's going on all the way over here so I will try to keep you informed. As you probably already know by now, after many months of waiting Matt and I got a command sponsorship which is what brought me over to Korea on May 1st. It was a mix of emotions for me, excitement to see Matt and experience new things, and sadness at leaving behind family, friends, and everything known to me. When I finally got here (after a 15 hour plane ride) I was definitely in culture shock. Everything looked, smelled, sounded, and tasted different here. Over the next few days I slowly got used to everything and I now feel pretty settled. I will never be able to call Korea home, but I am excited to spend two years here and experience everything.
Let me fill you in on a little bit about Korea. First of all, no one follows traffic laws. Koreans stop when they are not supposed to stop and go when they are not supposed to go. It is very common to run red lights here. Buses think that they have to the right to do whatever they want. And they will. You have to be on your game when you drive around here, because you never know what you are going to see. Matt and I always laugh about the way traffic is directed around a construction site. Someone will be holding a neon stick to direct but they don't know how to use it. They will twirl it around in circles, wave it up and down, side to side, whatever. So you never know what they are trying to tell you. Some even sit on the sidewalk and wave it from there. It is really very funny to see. Everyone in Korea is very nice. Many Koreans speak at least some English, but a lot of times you have to get creative. I have learned only a few words...thank you, yes, no, hello...the basics. Every five days there is a market day in our ville. We call the towns right outside of the military bases villes. At market day all kinds of things are being sold by street vendors. You will find fresh fruit, anything raw (fish, crab, eel, squid etc.) clothes, pots/pans, plants, shoes and much more. It's really fun to walk around and look at everything. They have stands where they sell treats that you can sample. I have found a couple that I like.
We have gotten the chance to see a bit of Seoul, which is an incredible city. There is tons of shopping, and eating to be done there. Itaewon is the ville outside of the Yongsan gate in Seoul. It is a popular place for foreigners to visit. It has lots of American restaurants, streets of bars and pubs, and much more shopping. There is still much to be seen and we have a long list of what we want to do. There will be many more things for me to tell you about soon. Tomorrow I am going on a "social" with the wives in Matt's company. We are going to the tea fields to pick tea leaves and brew our own tea. It should be really fun and I promise to take lots of pictures and tell you all about. We send all our love to all of you!

Long Overdue Update

Sorry for the lapse in updates. Things have been busy. I'm still not flying at the moment; however, I should start my progression training in about 2 weeks. The paperwork to bring Jess here is currently being processed and should be finished next week. Once processed, they estimate that it should take approximately 30 days for approval. Let's hope that they are right. I've had a lot of questions about the effects from Japan's earthquake over here. We never experienced anything concerning the earthquake or the tsunami. In addition, we are upwind from Japan, so currently there are no issues with atmospheric radiation. We've had a lot of Department of Defense from Japan being evacuated here as a transient stop to the United states. I haven't had any personal interaction with it, but that is what has been going on here at Humphreys.

I've had some opportunity to go out and check out the local area. Though I have a car, I'm trying to get used to the public transportation here. It's very good, and quite honestly, the korean drivers are horrible. Red lights are optional... to give you and Idea of what it's like here. What's also cool here is something called T-money. It's a little disc that goes on your key ring and you charge it with Wan (korean money). Every time you get on a bus, train, subway, taxi, etc. you just swipe it pay your fare. Some stores even take it. It's very convenient. It's kind of hard to describe what the local area is like. The actual buildings and establishments are very nice. For example, the local train station is inside a 10 story mall. It's very similar to a Macys. They have baskin Robins here like we have Starbucks in America. What's different is that there really isn't any "landscaping". Every inch of real estate is used for something. If there isn't a building on it, then it's being used for farming. It isn't good or bad it is just different.

Missing all of you and hope everything is well!

Update

It's now been a week that I've been here at Humphreys and things are moving pretty fast. I'm currently in the state of more in-processing for the unit. It's about two weeks worth of things that I have to do. In addition, I'm responsible for helping out at the unit, so it makes in-processing a little hectic. I finally got a car. It's a 97' Kia sportage. It's pretty awesome. Pictures will come of course. It's a huge relief because getting around without the car just takes up a lot of time. Below is the link to some pictures from my trip up to Osan air base and the local town outside of the base. The Air Force Base was pretty incredible. It even had a Chilies restaurant. I felt like I was back home....except for the fact that all the waiters and waitresses were Korean. Unfortunately, I will not be publicly posting a lot of details about my job here. It's not that it's anything super secret, but it's just better to not do so in a public forum for numerous reasons. I would like to catch up with all of you soon. Get a hold of Jess for my skype number. You can call it from the states with no extra charge to you. Once again the link below is for my pictures. I'll continue to write as I find the time. Love you all.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2112605&id=1272652633&l=695e62ad6c

USAG Humphreys

Well, I've arrived. USAG Humphreys (formerly known as camp Humphreys) is much much bigger than camp Stanley. I'll have pictures to follow in the near future. I'm currently settled into on-post officer's barracks. They're not too much to brag about, but it's a place to live so I'm not complaining. For those of you know that know that background with the housing situation, you'll know that living on post prevents Jess from being able to come and live. Currently, I am required to live on-post until my command authorizes me otherwise. This involves a lot of red tape that I still have yet to fully understand. Just keep us in your prayers that it will all get sorted out.

I met most of the individuals in my flight company today. It was a very surreal experience...much like that feeling you get if you have ever transfered schools mid-semester. It's all part of it I guess. Most people thought it was funny that my last named matched the post. I think I'll keep a running tally of how many times I get a "Humphrys at Humphreys" joke. I most likely will not be flying for some time. I will be busy doing other things (what I'm not exactly sure) for the moment. The rumor is also that I will be spending 4-6 weeks at K-16 air base (just outside Seoul) going through what they call "green platoon". Essentially it's a place where all the new pilots go to learn how to fly in Korea. That's all I know really right now. Hope everyone back home is well. I miss you all very much

Same Old Same Old

Just checking in. There is nothing new to report here at Camp Stanley. It looks like I might be here another whole week due to some force protection exercises here at the camp. My day primarily consists of eating, studying, working out, sleeping. I wish there was more to say but it is what it is. I'll be sure to keep y'all updated

Cultural Awareness Day

Yesterday we had our cultural awareness day. This consisted of a morning session on local customs and courtesies, lunch at a local Korean restaurant, a visit to the the 2nd Infantry division museum on camp Red Cloud, and a visit to a DMZ observatory.
The customs and courtesies class was interesting based on the fact that some things are so different than what we are used to as Americans. For example, Koreans don't really talk during meals. This will prove to be difficult for me. Also, Koreans hand and receive objects to one another with tho hands (The right hand with the left hand underneath the right forearm). I could go on, but I think you have the idea.

The local restaurant was a typical Korean style "Steak House". It was a table with a huge pan of cooking Bulgolgi (Marinated Beef) along with community dishes of Kimchi (pickled cabbage and other vegetables. It's the staple of korea...it's eaten with every meal), rice, and mystery vegetables for everyone to eat from. It was pretty good!



The 2ID Museum was pretty cool but very brief because we were short on time.



Here's a picture of a random city




We ended up at the unification observatory. It's an observatory that you can see North Korea from. It's hard to make it out, but in the distance in the picture below is North Korea. You may be able to barely some buildings. These buildings were built as North Korean propaganda to give the appearance that they were making progress; however, no one ever lived in those buildings. It was strange to be that close to North Korea.



What's also interesting about being out in Korea is the language. I've learned some basic phrases but that's about it. What gets me though is the Hangul, or written Korean. It was kind of funny being in the Observatories museum because obviously nothing was in english. So...we just stood around staring at pictures with a bunch of hangul symbols. There were about 90 Americans in this museum all standing around pretending to be interested but having no idea what anything meant. Even things like the trash cans. There were three trash cans with different colors and symbols. I had no clue which one was for what, so I threw my trash away when no one was looking, crossing my fingers that it was the right now. I probably screwed up their recycling program.



The temperatures here are in the mid 30s with lows in the mid 20s. For those that have asked about flying, I won't start flying for at least another 2-3 weeks. It's still the same old same old here at camp Stanley.

Inprocessing

Well I've made it to Korea. I'm making this blog so that you as family and friends have a way of keeping up with myself (hopefully Jess soon enough) throughout our time here. I'll try my best to keep it up-to-date.

Here's the brief run down on everything up to this point. I arrived in Korea last Thursday, February 10th. I was told that I would be staying in the luxury hotel Dragon Hill Lodge for four or five days while I inprocessed on the base USAG Yongsang, located near Seoul. What they failed to mention was that it was true for everyone except those who fall under the 2nd Infantry Division. That would be me. The next morning I was shipped off to Camp Stanley which is approximately 20 miles north of Seoul near the city of Uijongbu. This place is not the greatest, but it is what it is. I'll spare you all the boring details, but I'll be here until approximately Feb. 24th just doing paperwork and stuff. I haven't had much interaction with Korea and the outside world due to the fact that we are not allowed off-post for the duration of our stay here. I do hear really nice things about USAG Humphreys and look forward to seeing if they are true.

If you get the chance to try some Korea food wherever there might the place to do so, try Bulgogi. I don't know what it is, but it is awesome. It's some kind of beef (no not dog...it's illegal here to eat it now) on rice or noodles. Sometimes they serve it with cheese....even better.

Tomorrow, Feb. 16th we go on some sort of cultural adaptation tour. I'll write more as I find time. I hope everyone is well and I look forward to connecting with you through this blog. Please keep Jess and I in your prayers as we try to navigate Army red tape, figure out how to get her over here