Goodman Family Reunion in Seoul/Geoje: Part 3

Sunday evening we made our way down to our island (Geoje) for a few days.  We look Chelsea and Thomas with us and the others would arrive the next day.  It was a great chance for us to be with Chelsea and Thomas alone for a bit.

Ben had to work on Monday so the rest of us decided to go to one of our favorite beaches, Gujora Beach.  E was in heaven with Thomas digging big holes for her and taking her out into the water.  I was in heaven to have 2 fantastic 'babysitters' while I sat and did nothing all morning!  Now every time we go to the beach E always asks if her family friends are coming too.

That afternoon Chelsea and Thomas walked around the boardwalk and played with the starfish.  That evening we went to dinner at one of our favorites, The Turkish House.  (Yes, Turkish food in Korea).

The next day, after everyone arrived, we took a ferry to a nearby island called Oedo.  The owners of this island have made it into a beautiful botanical garden.  It was the first time we've been and were not disappointed!  That afternoon Ben took the boys on a strenuous 15-mile mountain bike ride while the girls and kids napped!

That night we went to one of our favorite Korean restaurants, The Dino Meat Grill.  It is what is sounds like...an all-you-can-eat, grill your own, Korean BBQ meat place.  Everyone loves the authentic sit on the floor arrangement!

Everyone was leaving the following afternoon so we took advantage of the beach one more time.  Again, great to have such good helpers and playmates at the beach.

We feel so lucky to have had the entire Goodman gang here in Korea.  We have such good families and treasure the time we get to spend together!

Goodman Family Reunion in Seoul: Part 2

Our first adventure after everyone arrived was to Gyeongbokgung Palace, a large and famous palace in the center of downtown Seoul.  We briefly watched the changing of the guards and wandered through the many sections of the palace.

Connected to the palace is a folk museum and children's museum.  We wandered around and let the kids play before stopping at the Noodle House for lunch.

On our way home we stopped by a Buddhist temple that was highly decorated for Buddha's birthday which was earlier that week.

Our next adventure was to the top of Namsan Mountain which happens to be my parent's back yard.  There is a large tower on the hill and gives a great central view of Seoul.  This location is also known for it's 'lock fences' where lovers have locked their love together on the mountain.  Of course we had to join in on the tradition.  Most of the gang walked the paths up the hill while mom and I took the kids on the cable car.

The next day most of the gang went on an intense hike to the summit of Bukhansan Mountain.  Jill and I stayed home with the kids.  From what we heard it was a pretty strenuous adventure.

We did quite a bit of market shopping...which is always fun.  Here are a couple gems...

The best event of the trip was to the temple.  It was great to have my entire family in together...couldn't ask for a more perfect day!

Goodman Family Reunion in Seoul: Part 1

Because my parents now live in Seoul they wanted the entire family to experience Korea.  With my brother about to leave for his mission they found this the best opportunity to get everyone together.  We drove up to Seoul for a week then spent a few days down on Geoje.

Bobby and Jill's family arrived first (Chelsea and Thomas came several days later).  We met everyone at Seoul Forest, a lovely park similar to Central Park in New York.  E was thrilled to be out of the car and thrilled to see her cousins!

We loved the fountains.

The next big adventure was to the zoo in Seoul Grand Park.  The zoo was quite large so we only got a glimpse.  We rode the subway to the park which was fun for the kids.  It was also a goal for the trip to try just about every street vendor snack we could.

E thought the flamingo show was hilarious!

The next day was mellow.  Chelsea and Thomas were supposed to arrive the night before but their flight had problems.  We didn't want to do all the fun without them.  We spent some time at a park in Yeouido, an island on the Han river.  From there we had a Costco Korea experience and stocked up on food for everyone.

With kids and jet lagged people we had a bit of down time as well.  Groups would often go to the markets near by while others stayed home with sleeping kids.  E and her cousins were best of friends/worst of enemies this trip but it was great to play together.

Introducing Mittens

This story begins back in March.  It was Ben's birthday and he opened a present with this inside.

He was pretty shocked to find out.  The timing was perfect for this special present as I had just found out a day or two before.

As we progressed with the pregnancy we started explaining to E that she was going to be a big sister.  We would ask her if she wanted a baby sister or baby brother.  She was always insistent it was a girl.  We would even try to tell her that if it was a boy we would still love him, right?  But she always came back with a firm, "no, a baby sister".  As this progressed we asked her what the baby's name should be.  The answer, "Mittens".  We thought the name would be forgotten but she remembered baby Mittens.  

Ultrasounds at 12 weeks.  In Korea the doctor does an ultrasound each visit.  It is fun to see the baby's progress so often!

I had a procedure done at 13 weeks to hopefully help this pregnancy run a little smoother than the last.  It was nice to have my mom and brother here to help out while I was in the hospital and on a week of bed rest after the operation.  I am now back to normal activity until things change (we hope they won't).  

Last week at a check up after the operation (about 14.5 weeks along) we found out our little Mittens is another girl (at least 95% sure)!  E was right this whole time (or shall we say we are lucky it's a girl so we don't have to battle with her).  I couldn't be happier as I was maybe hoping for another girl.  Ben may have slightly hoped for a little buddy but is happy to be outnumbered!  I am due November 8 but she will probably come a little earlier than that.  We have high hopes we can make it to 37 weeks this time!

Camping Korea

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and go on a quick camping trip.  We went to the Geoje Natural Recreation Forest which was about a 40 minute drive from us (still on the island).  We visited the forest earlier this year when it was too cold to do much.

We got a tent site which is just a wooden platform on a rocky hill.  We made a fire to cook hot dogs and s'mores only to have a Korean come over an explain there were no fires allowed....we decided we'd pull the foreigner card and pretend we didn't know.  In the morning we walked around a bit, enjoyed throwing rocks in the river then headed home.  It was a simple trip but nice to get out and enjoy the outdoors...and E thought it was pretty cool to sleep in a tent.

  

Good for the Seoul

Recently I drove (all by myself!!) with Emma in tow to Seoul for a few days in anticipation of Uncle Mike's arrival to Korea.  We had a couple days of girl time.  We did a couple things but mostly enjoyed Gaga's company and help.

Hanging out at Gaga's apartment complex.

One day we went to the toy market to get some dress up clothes for E.  No pictures this time...it was a bit crazy at the market.  After that we went into the city to go play in the fountains outside the big palace.  E loved this!

The next day we stopped by one of the children's museums.  It was inside one of the folk villages and had several traditional Korean things to play with.  E loved the traditional Korean kitchen and made us food in the stone pots for quite some time.

Uncle Mike arrived as well as Ben (via bus from Geoje).  We enjoyed a day at the Seoul Temple together.

We also enjoyed running through the markets, teaching Mike how to use the subway station, and eating at California Pizza Kitchen and T.G.I. Fridays (yes, sometimes we miss our American restaurants!).  A little Seoul is always good for the soul.

A Year as Expats in Korea

It's hard to imagine we've been in Korea for a year already.  We still have very distinct memories of our arrival.  Of course being an expat in a foreign country means you'll have some very different experiences.  We've come up with a list of the likes and dislikes about our situation.  (No pictures so this may be boring...more of a document of memories for us to look back on).

Likes of Expat Life in Korea

-Financial benefits and not paying for much of anything.
-Having a weekly cleaning crew (especially that they clean the bathrooms, change the sheets and iron).
-My huge drying rack on the ceiling of the laundry room that raises up and down.
-The toilets (especially the heated seats).
-Living wedged between the beach and the mountains.
-The ability to walk most everywhere (grocery store, doctors, restaurants, parks, etc.).
-Ben working across the street and is able to come home for lunch.
-Having a Costco fairly close for our American food products.
-The grocery store tapes free items to products like milk and cereal.
-The open air markets selling fresh foods (usually better priced than the grocery store).
-The number of foreigners in our town.
-Inexpensive cultural entertainment (free concerts and events and cheap museums).
-Cheap cell phone plans with unlimited data.
-Super fast Internet speed.
-Public displays of friendship without the assumption of being gay (men walking with arms around each other, girls holding hands and linking arms...just innocent and sweet).

Dislikes of Expat Life in Korea

-Language barrier.  The hardest part.  This makes everything we do hard, including church.
-Trash!  Korea has a strict garbage system of separating trash, recyclables, and food waist.  Garbage must be in designated bags that you must buy.  There are no public garbage cans so people often drop their trash on the ground leaving it very dirty looking.
-Lack of upkeep for public grounds and parks.  They often go un-mowed for several weeks.
-Lack of public restrooms (makes taking a potty training toddler out very difficult).
-Limited parking in town and hardly any parking lots.
-The smells (garlic, fish, smoke...all combined).  We get a lot of nasty smells from the apartment below us coming up the vents in the bathroom. Disgusting!
-Speed cameras.  The roads all have speed cameras that take a picture of you and mail you a ticket if you are speeding.  The worst part about it is the speed limits are so low!  Fortunately we haven't seen any tickets come our way yet.
-Korean's lack of awareness on the road (to put it nicely).  They just aren't the most cautious or respectful or thoughtful drivers.
-Most Korean food...just not our favorite.
-Lack of drive-thru restaurants (sometimes you just want to pick something up to eat!).
-The grocery store process.  You have to bag your own groceries (which includes bring your own bags or buying some).  You can also use old boxes to pack your goods but you have to tape them together yourself.  Then trying to bring in all your groceries from your 2nd floor parking garage, up the elevator and into your 15th floor apartment with a toddler.  Not to mention you have to enter codes to get into the elevator and apartment with your hands full.  Miserable.
-To get a shopping cart you must 'rent' it by inserting a coin (so you always have to have a coin on you).  You get your coin back when you return the cart.
-Limited supply of goods at the stores...not the shopping we are used to.
-Expensive.  Things are just expensive here!  Korea must have some serious duty fees on imported goods.
-Hard and low furniture.
-Hardly any kitchen storage.
-No garbage disposal in the sink.
-The laundry process.  We have one unit that both washes and drys so doing a load of laundry takes about 4 hours.  The dryer isn't much better than just pumping hot air into the machine, spinning the clothes around and hoping they dry in about 2.5 hours.  I feel like I am constantly doing laundry because it takes so long!
-Weird and cheap construction.  Our sink drains directly into our shower.  Yes, so we can see our toothpaste in the shower the next morning.

Both Good and Bad

-The love they have for E, a blond hair, blue eyed cutie.  People often give us things or let us go first or play with E.  This is all great until you are trying to get somewhere and a mob of tween girls attacks you and wants to take pictures with her.  A 2 year old just isn't the best at posing for 15 pictures.
-Renting.  We love having no responsibilities but hate it at the same time.  We need a yard and home projects...I think that is what make us both happy.
-The Korean people.  They can be the most friendly and accepting people but pushy and unfriendly.
-The medical care.  Most care is inexpensive but the same quality we would find in the U.S.  However, they have some different ideas of bedside care than we would.  For instance, when staying in the hospital you need to bring your own toilet paper, soap, linens, etc.  We also had to buy our surgery supplies at the pharmacy for an operation I had.

Overall it is a great place to live.  We have really enjoyed our experience here but always miss 'home'.