South Korean Adventures

Housing News

2007-06-07T19:10:00.000+09:00

We had two bits of housing good news. First, we found someone to move into our apartment. We were looking for someone to move in that would want all our furniture and household items and we found them. We have also heard from our next duty station, and were told there will be a duplex ready and waiting on us when we arrive.

Here is a picture of our next home:

Island Hopping

2007-06-05T13:36:00.000+09:00

Since Bonita is leaving tomorrow, we decided to move ourselves closer to the airport and do a little sightseeing along the way. We found a hotel on Yeongjong Island and spent the day climbing on beach rocks (I had to kick my shoes off to scale that one) and exploring Muui Island and Silmi Beach. When planning the trip, I was reading the brochure, and could not figure out why it was extolling the virtues of the slimi (read as slimy) beaches. By the time I realized it was a typo, Silmi Beach and Island had been christened Slimy Beach and Slimy Island.

There was a bit of uncertainty when we walked from the bus stop to the ferry crossing. When exploring alone, my philosophy has always been "when in doubt, keep walking" but that is tough when you have company. We pulled it off like pros and found the ferry. We arrived on Muui Island at low tide, and if you click on the picture, you can see all the boats stranded on the extensive mud flats. By the time we left, the Yellow Sea was back to the sea wall.

Today was truly an adventure, because other than a little information from the internet, we were winging it. Besides, if everything goes smoothly, then it is not an adventure is it? At some point one must weigh what they think to be right against what one is told to do. I knew we were supposed to catch a bus on the other side of the road, but the bus driver that stopped told us otherwise. *sigh* Sometimes you can second guess yourself too much. Other than that teensy little hitch of driving off in the wrong direction, everything went pretty well. LOL

From the hotel, tomorrow's trip to the airport will be a short shuttle trip rather than a 2 hour bus ride. After the past couple of weeks, we could all use the extra sleep.

A Day of Rest

2007-06-03T18:04:00.000+09:00

..... at least for the aged. The younger ones amongst us headed to Soyo Mtn. after chapel services.

Here is Ever and Erin with some of the current Snelling "sons." With so many coming and leaving Korea, this group is always changing.

There were card games at the Food Court for the rest of us. After a floundering start, the females came back and won a decisive victory. The chaplain said it just took us a couple of hands to remember our old signals, but we will neither confirm nor deny that report.

Babbling Brook

2007-06-01T13:26:00.000+09:00

Today's events included:

A stroll up Cheonggye Stream - a recently restored part of Korean history.

The tiniest of peeks into the markets of Dongdaemun.

A trip back to Insa-dong with her finalized shopping list in hand.

Korea Folk Village

2007-05-31T23:51:00.000+09:00

Today, we took a USO trip to the Korean Folk Village. This is a picture of the Farmer's Music and Dance performance.We were able to see Korean food, clothing, and housing styles from the past. There were many artisans working their handicraft skills in pottery, basket and bamboo weaving, paper making, and other traditional arts. There were all sorts of unexpected moments lurking here - especially at the woodcarvers booth. One surprise was in the garden. Here I am with a small crop of Hemp. We contemplated pinching off a small souvenir to laminate and mail to my mother but figured that could easily get out of hand. We are too close to leaving for an international incident.

Afterwards, we sent the girls back to Dongducheon and took a walk up Itaewon looking for more souvenirs before heading back home ourselves.

Happy Anniversary

2007-05-30T13:00:00.000+09:00

The traditional anniversary gift for the 20th year is china, and since I do not need any plates I will just take a country instead. Do not let it be said that I am hard to shop for! ;) The chaplain is in the field right now, but we are going to China next month for a belated anniversary trip.

Bonita and I did some baking and had cookies, cupcakes and a cake delivered to an unsuspecting chaplain in the field. Because there was no groom available, I had lunch with one of my bride's maids instead! Bonita and I rounded the girls up for another trip to the galbi restaurant on Soyo Mtn. after our sneaky little delivery of baked goods.

Here is a picture of our new step cabinet, the anniversary souvenir to ourselves. There are three pieces to this cabinet, so it can look like this, you can turn one the "step" pieces upside down on top of one another to form a buffet style cabinet or you can set the top step off to the left and make another low cabinet. Since the doors and drawers come out and can be turned upside down, you can turn the step pieces around or on end if needed. There are also drawer handles and sliding doors on the other side so it does not have to be kept against a wall. This thing is too neat, and since it is so adaptable it is perfect for the ever moving Army family.

And a little child shall lead them.......

2007-05-29T13:15:00.000+09:00

The destination of choice today was the CO-EX Mall. Now Betty Lynn and malls mix like oil and water, sooooooo I used this as an opportunity to catch up on some work while *ahem* Erin led our visitors to CO-EX. After much prayer, they made it there without a hitch, and were able to catch the recently released Pirates movie.

Coming home was a bit of a different story. Erin was going to put Bonita off at our subway stop, then she and Ever were going to stay on the train and head to Camp Casey. Weeeeeeeeell, Erin sent a cell phoneless Bonita packing at the wrong subway stop. Although she knew she was at the wrong place, she had the smarts to just stay put and I made my way to her. I started hollering "Marco!" as soon as I got off the escalator and found "Polo" studying a subway map with an attendant.

What would a trip be without a little bit of blonde induced adventure?

Hikers on Aisle 6

2007-05-28T18:02:00.000+09:00

Anything touristy is a long subway ride away. Since I am trying to plan Bonita's visit in such a way as to avoid exhaustion, we decided to stay close to home today.

What would a visit to Dongducheon be without a trip to Soyo Mtn? Bonita was a trooper, and we made some great pictures as we dragged ourselves up and over the mountain ridge. Afterwards, it was a late lunch at a Galbi restaurant that is conveniently located at the end of the trail.

With full tummies and tired footsies, we headed home for a quick clean up before a trip to another Korean landmark - E-Mart!

Bonita had the opportunity to explore the Korean "Wal-Mart", and we brought home a nice collection of snacks. This trip, like the trip to Insa-dong, was a reconnaissance mission and most of the purchases will be eaten - or at least sampled - so we can be sure that no suitcase space is wasted on undesirable treats.

Palace Tour

2007-05-26T20:18:00.000+09:00

Here is the changing of the guard at Deoksugung Palace. We were able to view this ceremony and then we headed over to Changdeokgung Palace for its English (yea!) guided tour.

After making a rubbing of Korean tiles, buying some postcards and touring the Changdeokgung grounds we headed over to Insa-dong for a quick peek and review of the shopping available there. Bonita has a long list of souvenirs to buy, so we have to plan this smartly. I am keeping an eye out for '07 Christmas presents, but so far all I seem to find are things I want for myself!

Market Day

2007-05-25T12:54:00.000+09:00

Bonita's first full day in Korea is Market Day. We took the walk to see, taste and smell (fishy!) all along the way. It was a great way to stretch legs that had been on an airplane too long and provided a leisurely way to start the Korean tour. Also, if jet lag had reared its head, we would not be too far from home.

The girls went through the market on their own. That way, they could look at and eat what interested them, and we older types could do the same. Look out ATM, here we come!

The Eagle Has Landed.....

2007-05-24T00:51:00.000+09:00

.....and she brought a little birdie with her.

Bonita and Ever have arrived for their Korea visit.

Bowling

2007-05-15T12:46:00.000+09:00

Tuesday nights are dollar bowling nights, so after the Bible Study everyone heads over to Casey Lanes.

With soldiers coming and going, the faces change, so we have spent the past year bowling with a variety of folks. In the meantime, our bowling score averages have increased. Here is Chris (soldier) and Kevin (Army kid) and they are two of our current bowling night attendees.

Of course, cutting edge minds like Erin's can do two things at once. She can bowl AND stack the announcement placards up on end. The stack made it to about 12 high and had the attention of the entire bowling alley before finally toppling. It is a good thing she has Chang, the manager, wrapped around her finger.

Captain D's

2007-05-05T21:47:00.000+09:00

The chaplain got wind there was a Captain D's at Osan Air Force Base, and decided he wanted some fish - American style.

After our journey, the chaplain mentioned how his folks used to drive 45 minutes to King's Table Restaurant or over an hour to Po' Boys Restaurant. As a child, he remembered passing all those perfectly good restaurants along the way, because 45 minutes in the midst of hunger pains is a LONG way. He has now surpassed his parents, as we traveled over 6 hours - round trip - for his fish and chips.

There were several vendors there with some type of outdoor festival in the parking lot. Since they were taking down their tents, we managed to buy ourselves an anniversary present at a great discount as we walked to Captain D's.

"Look, point, purchase." That is my 15 minute shopping philosophy.

All dressed up....

2007-05-04T13:46:00.000+09:00

Jon and Mira at the Division formal.

I tried to get dressed up, but it just did not work out. I found out the end of April that a formal was scheduled for tonight. Since I was about the last to know, there was no time for mother to mail me the formal I had left at her house for this very purpose. I initially decided to just skip it, but the chaplain asked me to try and find a dress (Shopping! Oh, joy!) and go with him. After a herculean effort on my part that spanned three days, I finally found a dress. Not a perfect dress, but appropriate and (most importantly) cheap.

To make a long story short, in a distracted haste to get off the subway I managed to leave my dress on the train. Since it was not turned in to the lost and found, I managed to spend the evening at home in my t-shirt and flannel pajamas. Cary was jealous.

When I was telling Mira about my dress, she said, "Oh! It is a good thing you did not come. There was another dress there just like it!" Hmmmm...... I wonder if she found it on the subway!

Road Construction

2007-05-01T18:42:00.000+09:00

The Chief of Staff of the Army and his wife, General and Mrs. Casey, recently visited Korea. I was invited to attend a meeting with Mrs Casey (2nd from my right) in order to share a little insight into being a non-command sponsored family member. It can be a dangerous thing to ask for my opinion, and here they were giving me an opportunity to give an opinion in a very "official" forum.

We attended a "pre-meeting" a couple of days earlier in order to review the topics. Although I told the chaplain I had been trained in the proper care and feeding of a General's Wife, the pre-meeting was a very good idea because it allowed us to become familiar with the topics addressed. Without any topic overlap, the planning meeting provided the focus that would be necessary for a successful meeting (you know how scattered women can get).

Non command sponsored family members now outnumber sponsored family members about 5:1 in our battalion. Things like housing, transportation, health care, education and financial issues are hurdles that must be overcome in dependent restricted areas like ours. These days, more and more spouses are willing to jump those hurdles in order to keep their families together and with more and more of us living up here successfully then sharing our experiences with other spouses (I call us the "Move to Korea Evangelists") the family members here will only grow. So, while we may look like a group of mild mannered women, we are actually road workers and this meeting was one step in paving the way to making Korea an accompanied tour for ALL Army families.

Baking

2007-04-28T23:40:00.000+09:00

And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my which bodyis given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Luke 22:19

Since the chaplain has been planning a special communion service, we decided that we wanted to use something besides the chapel's styrofoam wafers for the elements. I went to Yongsan searching for something that would be appropriate to use as unleavened bread, but the one day I traveled down there was the day the commissary was closed for inventory or something. Grrrrrr........

I should not get too growly, because it turned out for the best. I did a little research, discovered whole wheat flour at our little commissary (THAT was a miracle!), and decided to bake the communion bread myself. I found a recipe that made 8 small "loaves," and although I have not tasted it, even if it tastes like styrofoam, it sure looks better!

Sleepless in Dongducheon

2007-04-27T14:38:00.000+09:00

After the Manchu Mile, we managed to squeeze in about 3 1/2 hours of sleep before we had to be up and going again. The annual Volunteer Luncheon was held today and we had been invited. 2-9 was named the Volunteer Battalion of the Quarter, and I received the 2006 Volunteer of the Year award.

After the luncheon, we took a bus back to Camp Casey and took a LONG nap! After the nap we headed out to the Food Court to watch the Manchus limp around after last night's march. You can always pick out the 2-9 guys the day after the Manchu Mile!

It's Just a Mile.....

2007-04-27T05:45:00.000+09:00

....but what a long mile it is!

Last night 2-9 walked the Manchu Mile again. Here is the 2-9 Unit Ministry Team all smiles before they stepped off.

The Manchus marched and I chased them around - of course I walked portions of the route backwards, so I could meet all the companies and pass out snacks, peppermints and take pictures. I managed to condense my walking into about 8 miles, but the soldiers had to walk 25.

Even after 8 hours, the UMT was still smiling - but this time it was the finish line and a new belt buckle to smile about. Here is a link to the 150+ pictures from the evening.

Soyo-san!

2007-04-16T12:59:00.000+09:00

Now therefore give me this mountain.......Joshua 14:12

After seven months, we finally hiked on one of the trails at Soyo-san.

Don't let the stairs fool you, we were just beginning to climb down, and this was the easy part. I do not think any of us knew what we were getting into, but it was fun. Three long grueling hours of fun. It took 2 1/2 hours to climb up the mountain, and 1/2 hour to descend. Not because descending was easy, but rather it was just straight down. After the stairs, the trail really got steep. There were just large ropes in place over the rocks and we just grabbed a rope and hung on while we tried to stay on our feet. We already have plans to go back and do it again.

We are not sure exactly WHICH trail we followed, because when we finally came to a map, the trail we hiked was not on it. We took pictures of the signs, and I will eventually get them translated, knowing a little bit about the trail is always a good thing. There is a temple on Soyo-san, and that is where our trail ended. Here we are near the temple at one of the waterfalls coming off the mountain.

Since it looks like Carolina and I are still going on the Grand Canyon birthday trip this fall, I'd better get used to this climbing business. ;)

Peeps!

2007-04-12T10:16:00.000+09:00

I had to bemoaned my sad situation here in Korea to Bonita. I recently read over 600 million Peeps had been sold for Easter, and I had not contributed to the demise of a single one!

Well, Peeps must hatch later on this side of the world, because after Easter, several shelves of 50% off Peeps showed up.

For the past several years, scientists had been tampering with nature and I had to search through chicks in a host of unnatural colors. Then I saw it! I spied "Sugar Free" Peeps. Without even considering the ramifications of this new phenomenon, I grabbed a box.

As I was about to consume this long awaited treat, I noticed something odd. If you will look closely, you will see that this oversized Peep has NO EYES! Unfortunately, that is just half the sad story. This genetically engineered Peep, like his two sugar free brethren did have eyes - they were in the back of his head!!!

Once this box is finished off, it will only be 100% certified organic, free range Peeps for me.

(Nita, can you bring them with you when you come?)

Girls Will Be Girls

2007-04-11T00:50:00.000+09:00

What happens when you let the girls take the camera for a bit? About 39 pictures of two girls, and all are along the lines of:
Only 6 of which involved others being allowed into the picture with them. They did manage to get a picture of SOMEONE actually involved in a little English, so the evening's "English Lesson" was not a complete loss.
I had printed out about 12 sheets of photos (72 pictures) from their bowling party and should have waited a little later on in the evening before pulling those out. That's okay, we learned words like scissors, cut, pictures and their new favorite: "Can I have another one."

Moksa-nim

2007-04-09T21:03:00.000+09:00

Pastors in Korea are treated a bit differently. Koreans have a very high regard and respect for the office of a pastor and it shows - whether someone is a Christian or not. If anyone ever asks enough questions to figure out Cary is a chaplain, everything changes. Koreans that attend church, not only have a high regard for the office, they really love their pastor. Mira said that by caring for their pastors, the pastors are better able to care for the congregation without any worries of their own.

Let me introduce Mira. There are several Koreans attending our chapel, and Mira is one of them. When she puts her foot down, she means business -- today she put her foot down. Mira told the chaplain she wanted to buy her husband a new suit, but her husband could not have a new suit until her pastor had a new suit. The chaplain could either go to the store and pick out a suit, or she would buy one too big and he could get it altered. As you can see from the picture, he picked out a suit.

He knew she meant it, because this is the same woman that tried to repay Cary for something one day. When he would not take the money, she just folded it, laid it on the side of the road, put a rock on top of it, got on the bus and left. LOL She won, because the chaplain was not going to leave it laying there for the next soldier that walked by. (I ended up with it, and the money has been placed in the Changam Diaper Drive Fund.)

Easter Sunday

2007-04-08T22:00:00.000+09:00

There was a combined Protestant service for Easter, and it was held at the Casey Theater. The praise teams from each chapel played, and here is the West Casey group. Both the girls are singing with the group now. (Look closely, and you can see a peek of Erin's black and white striped socks.......only our Erin.)After the singing and other chapel things, Cary brought the message:Here is the chaplain with his "well-worn-but-nothing-a-little-100-mile-an-hour-tape-can't-fix" Bible. For the non military among us, 100 mile an hour tape is the Army equivalent to duct tape. Hmmm...you might be an ARMY redneck if.....

After a long lunch, he headed to the field for a service there. Now that March is over, guys are back out there training once again.

Easter Pics

2007-04-08T21:58:00.000+09:00

Here we are Easter Sunday. Although I eschew the "Easter Outfit" and all the shopping it entails, I did spring for an Easter scarf during a past trip to Insa-dong. Meghan ended up with turtle spoons and turtle chopsticks rather than a dress, and then there is Erin. I guess it is all in how you look at it - but if you take one look at that outfit, you will see that while we did not decorate eggs this year, we did decorate ERIN!

Here are a couple more pics being printed out for the great grandmothers:

Erin the Scholar

2007-04-07T16:33:00.000+09:00

Here is Erin Dawn hard at work on her US Government mid-term project. She and Meghan are in the same class, and since they are sisters, the instructor said they could do their project together. Their study and preparation skills are as different as they are, so while the end result was an A+, they have been told to not let that happen again.

Erin has a favorite street vendor delicacy (a perfect respite from the stresses of college classes), and she finally introduced us to her discovery. It is just fried chicken on a stick, but it was really, really good chicken. Besides, she is not exactly adventurous in her eating, so do not ever expect pictures of HER (or her Pop) eating silkworms or other such Korean treats.

Arise & Shine!

2007-04-02T08:13:00.000+09:00

Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD

is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:1

We have finished up Camp Casey's first ever revival, and it is amazing to see how things really came together for it. Our chapel's Praise Team played every night. While they had the volume, but they were not the only ones singing. Isaiah says, the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing.....and they did. Those mountains that surround the Camp moved the sound to areas the speakers could not reach alone. They could be heard from one corner of Camp Casey to the other. Isaiah also says the trees will clap their hands, and while it was too dark to see it, I do not know how they kept from it. ;)

Since it was an outdoor event, the weather played a big part. It rained everyday, but by setting up time, the rains had cleared out. Of course, windy and chilly weather settled into its place, but that was tolerable with big coats and mittens. A bigger concern was the Yellow Dust, which blows in every year from Mongolia and can present a health hazard. It has not been an issue at all this season, but this weekend we set yearlong records for the dust count. If it had not rained, we would not have been able to have the event outside. While we were praying for the rain to stop, it had a job to do and did it quite well.

The attendance averaged about 120 plus strays. The strays are the ones that just walked up and joined us when they heard it. We had planned for it to be outdoors and there were alot of speakers all for the express purpose of catching these strays as they were making their weekend trek off post. I guess I should clarify a little bit. Strays are the ones that actually walked up an joined the crowd. There were the ones that I called candleflies - the ones drawn to us, but stayed right at the edge of the circle of light we had. There were also the couch potatoes - behind and to the left of the stage are barracks, and every night, soldiers in these barracks would open their doors during the service. Eight accepted Christ, and other decisions were made, including one soldier that used to help out quite a bit but had wandered away. He is back now.

The retired pastor that takes care of the Korean soldier service each week, Pastor Lee, attended every night. He prayed two of the nights when we closed, and I think they could hear him all the way to Seoul. We could not understand everything he was saying, but it did not matter. Korean has always sounded sing songy to me, but he really did it right. It was 1 part Baptist preacher (an old timey fired up type, not a delicate type) and 1 part wrestling announcer and a smidgen of that Korean song sound. Revelations 8:4 says the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. If we believe that, then Heaven's smoke detectors went off a couple of times last weekend. What a weekend.

The Tourist Within...

2007-04-01T13:13:00.000+09:00

....is trying to get out. Traveling around the area has been abruptly halted by various and sundry volunteer duties.

Chaplain's Website
Calling and emailing all the 2-9 wives living in the US
Calling the 2-9 wives living in Korea
Preparing the latest issue of the Manchu Messenger
Addressing a couple hundred envelopes for the latest issue of the Manchu Messenger
Planning and Coordinating Meetings and Parties
Steering Committee Meeting
Company FRG Meetings
Leadership Meeting
Iron Spouse Meeting
Scheduling Online Chats with the US Spouses
Revival Errands
Baby Showers
Coordinating Volunteers

As you can see, there is nothing here to really "write home about" much less photograph and blog, but it does take a lot of time. I have over 400 volunteer hours in Korea, and 83 of them are in March. One day in my March calendar I wrote, "Nothing!!!" Needless to say, I did not travel that day. LOL

Bonita and Ever are coming the end of May, so that will be two weeks of keeping the Korean roads and rails hot. I am already planning that visit and even have a surprise in the works. Speaking of visitors and surprises, my mother called and asked if we had room for a couple of visitors. She and Audie had talked about it, and would come to Korea if there was still time to plan a trip. As she was speaking, my brain went into overdrive to work out the timing and what we would do when they got here.

"April fools," she said.

Chillin' On The Subway

2007-03-26T19:33:00.000+09:00

Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep....Proverbs 6:10

Here is the chaplain on the subway.
psssst....
This ain't prayer!

English Class

2007-03-21T20:39:00.000+09:00

Every Wednesday at 6, I head over to Aeshin Orphanage to help with the weekly English Class. One of the 2-9 KETUSAs has been carrying on the class as well as he could with his duties, so I am working to get more of the battalion involved. We have purchased books and workbooks for each of the children that are currently participating in the class. We also purchased an extra book for each level so there will always be a blank workbook for making copies.

Currently, I have the Level 1 group, but when we get more guys involved, then I will move to the workers as they are also interested in improving their English. If this keeps up, then I will have a big part of the peninsula speaking with a wonderful little drawl!

The only test of leadership.....

2007-03-20T19:38:00.000+09:00

.....is that somebody follows.

Here are two members of the Unit Ministry Team (UMT) in all their glory. (The third is recording the video and the fourth, the chaplain, is egging it on.) If those of you that know us, were to line up all the UMTs in Korea, it would take you about 3 seconds to figure out which one belongs to the chaplain. While all the other UMTs are standing there in a most angelic manner, it would take someones's UMT about 3 seconds to get started up with the wet willies, singing, thumping ears, performing the dreaded "cross face" and folding each other into submission with various wrestling moves.

It all trickles down from the top.

Graduation Photos

2007-03-18T22:26:00.000+09:00

Here are the girls after their "sitting" for their Senior Photos. Okay, I know. Meghan is a bit late, but better late than never. Besides, if it had not been for Erin, I do not think Meghan would have done it.

Shalom House

2007-03-17T21:07:00.000+09:00

Today, we attended a worship and fellowship service at Shalom House in Seoul. After the services and a meal, there was a birthday party for the three birthdays in March.

Shalom House is a residence for mentally and/or physically disabled adults. When I say residence, do not think nursing home or other such assisted living facility. This is an old and tiny run down house and these individuals take care of themselves and each other. What one cannot do, anothers will do for him. Through Shalom House, they are able to combine their resources - physically and financially - and create a home.

While this home is mostly adults, there is one little girl, about seven years old, living with them. Her family just dropped her off one day and this is now her new family. She is sweet little girl, and does not let her handicap keep her from running all over the place. She will keep all of them young, but also very busy for many years to come.

The founder is Mr. Pak (he is to my left), and he was injured in a hiking accident when he was in his late teens. He went through some low times after the accident, but met a lady that was also physically disabled and a Christian. She helped to give him new insight and to lead him to Christ. Shalom House is the result of her working and sharing with him. Since that time, other Shalom Houses have been set up over Korea. They are not connected in any way, folks would just take the idea and use it where there was a need.

Their residence right now is about 1200 sq feet and they also utilize a mobile storage building across the alley to house 28 people. They are in the process of moving to a new and larger location that is actually handicapped accessible, but the new neighbors are petitioning to stop the move. Right now, they are moving their belongings to the new house slowly, so as to not alarm the neighbors. The last thing they want is picketing and demonstrations, but the longer they wait, the more it will cost because they will have to pay rent on both locations.

As you can see, Shalom House could really use your prayers.

At the food court....

2007-03-16T22:51:00.000+09:00

Here is the chaplain with our youngest chapel member:

Great Things

2007-03-14T22:30:00.000+09:00

For Thy word's sake, and according to Thine own heart,
Hast Thou done all these great things,
To make Thy servant know them.
Wherefore thou art great, O LORD God:

We have some great things to tell today. I had sent out several post cards concerning Changam, the Handicapped Children's Home on Jeju Island, and their need for a commercial freezer. Thanks to answered prayer and 2-9 INF along with their big Manchu generosity, the freezer was paid for and installed on 13 March. I had given myself a self-imposed deadline of 30 days, and everything happend 2 days ahead of schedule.

There are about 40 residents at Changam, and the ladies were cooking three meals a day without the benefit of a commercial freezer. This new freezer will save money in their grocery budget, and that money can be reallocated to the rehabilitation services they offer the children. Since rehabilitation is not supported by government funding, freeing up funds for this very important service is a blessing to Changam.

Now I am planning a "Diaper Drive" for Changam, because diaper dollars can be shifted in the budget also. They have 24 or 25 children in diapers, and with a daily allotment of 7 diapers per child, it adds up quickly! You have prayed up a freezer, now let's pray up some diapers! (My goal is at least a month's worth of diapers before we head back to Jeju next month.)

Today's Wanderings

2007-03-13T00:49:00.000+09:00

Someone Call OSHA Quick!!

MWR was putting up a new sign to announce upcoming events, and this is how you get your manpower to the top of the sign in Korea. Attention small business owners: Do Not Attempt This At Home!

Today, I headed to the far eastern reaches of Seoul to meet with the director of a Christian ministry for North Korean refugees. At this campus the students are 18 - 21 years of age, and are preparing to enter University. It was a very informative trip, and I will have the opportunity to go back in a week or so. The director and I even have a special project in the works and once it is given the green light by all the staff I will share it with you.

It has really been amazing how these opportunities just pop up, and when a door opens I go running right through it. With only four months left, I do not have time to be slow about meeting, sharing and helping. Of course, circumstances may cause a door to close in one area, but then out of the blue, something new - like this school - just seems to find me. I thought I would come to Korea and do lots of volunteering like I had done in the past. Instead, I am discovering these ministries and passing all the information along - creating a little network between Korean organizations and military folks. My time here is short, so like a spider (just call me Charlotte!) I am weaving a web that will hopefully hang around after I am gone.

Korean War Memorial

2007-03-11T00:34:00.000+09:00

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

The chaplain had a day off, and we decided to have a sightseeing day. Meghan has classes every Saturday in Yongsan, so we headed south with her. Since the soldier had a free day, we visited the Korean War Memorial. LOL Who would have guessed that his day away would have involved tanks and other such firepower - both primitive and modern. Okay, okay, the weather was cold and windy, and it was a perfect day to be inside.

It took about 5 hours to browse through 5000 years of Korean wartime history, but we enjoyed it. We waited to eat dinner until we made it back to Dongducheon so we could dine at Cary's favorite restaurant - what he calls the "Waffle House." (I have yet to see a waffle in that place.) After some divine cheese and kimchi rice for me and a pork cutlet for him, it was naptime. Full and sleepy in Korea - and loving it!

Traveling to Suwon

2007-03-08T00:42:00.000+09:00

We finally had the opportunity to visit with Daniel's parents. After running some chapel errands in Seoul we headed a little further south and had dinner with Mr. & Mrs. Ahn at her restaurant. D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S.

Since Suwon is a 2 and a little bit hour subway ride, we had to leave shortly after dinner. We are already making plans to go back and next time it will be an overnight trip - maybe two. I am going to hang out with Mrs. Ahn at the restaurant one day and learn how to cook all those Korean yummies. With only four months left, I am beginning to worry a little bit about where I will get my Korean food in the states. If I take some cooking lessons, then I might survive.

Prayer Breakfast

2007-03-07T19:20:00.000+09:00

This morning there was a prayer breakfast for 2-9 and there were almost 100 attendees. SGM Kerns, a member of our chapel and big helper for the chaplain, was the speaker. He will soon be receiving his Masters of Divinity and we will be having a ceremony at the chapel. Although he has already been here a year, he felt the Lord wanted him to stay an extra year (NOT exactly what HE was wanting to do!) and that is going to provide some MUCH needed continuity between the change of chaplains in July. The chaplain calls SGM Kerns his brother and they are very close friends. Well this morning, our favorite blonde said, "You know, Mom, they call each other brother, but Pop and Dale do look alike." I will let you be the judge. Bald heads and Bibles....rofl

Here is Erin and the chaplain as part of the praise team. Erin even talked her Pop into doing some of the hand motions for a couple of the songs.

Right now, the chaplain and SGM Kerns are planning Camp Casey's first ever open air Revival Service. The plan is to have it outside at the amphitheatre from March 30 - April 1. Planning it so early means everyone is in overdrive, but March is the only month when there are no battalions in the field. We will have ALL of Camp Casey to work with.

Catching Up To Do.....

2007-03-02T05:13:00.000+09:00

It has been awhile, so here is a catch up of the past couple of weeks.

There were the preparations to "welcome" the guys back from their month in the field. We had a gathering and made banners and posters and cooked all manner of baked yummies for them. I spent a couple of evenings in the chaplain's apartment baking 25 dozen cookies in a teensy little oven. It was just easier to bake them there than it was to drag all the ingredients home, bake them in my teensy little oven and then tote all the cookies back to Camp Casey.

When the guys come in from the field, they have to take all the vehicles - from trucks to tanks - through the wash rack to clean them up before they can go back to the motor pool. Erin (friend, not daughter) and I worked from 9 PM until 3 AM the evening they rolled back to Casey. We made sure the coffee pot was full and distributed all the baked goods. Since the guys in the tanks and some of the other higher equipment could not always come down, I spent much of the evening walking between rows of vehicles and tossing muffins, cookies, brownies and candy up to them.

We also had our Bowling Party for the Children's Home. It took alot of planning and preparation, but we managed and in the end 41 children from the home were able to come on post and go bowling and then have dinner at Popeye's afterwards. (Sidebar to the VanWinklettes: some of the children were wearing their beads from Christmas!)

Aside from the fun stuff, there was the usual Snelling things with Meghan's mid terms and Erin's graduation tests thrown in for a little extra spice. I am leaving today for an International PWOC Conference so I will type at you in a couple of days.

I did it!

2007-02-18T23:17:00.000+09:00

I have been saying that I was going to do it.........

Here they are stewing in a pot....

I ate a silkworm!!
This is more laughter than disgust - and bad timing with the camera! They were not really BAD, but they were not exactly GOOD either. Maybe a little salt or BBQ sauce next time! Here is Erin eating her first silkworm too.....

I can now check that off the "To Do" list.

Seollal

2007-02-18T20:48:00.000+09:00

It is Lunar New Year! After a hiatus of recovering from Jeju and then just taking care of little things and spending time with the chaplain when he made it in out of the field for a few hours, I was ready to get back into "experience Korea" mode. Today was the day!

Erin, my Korean instructor, and I went to Seoul where we visited the Namsangol Traditional Folk Village and celebrated the New Year there. I was taken to a room in one of the traditional homes and given a hanbok to put on. Here I am lounging on one of the displays. (Ignore that little "Do Not Enter" sign, I really did have staff escort me into the room!)

While we were waiting for the rice cake cutting competition to begin, we had a little time to wander around. The Migook Sarams (Americans) walking around in hanboks were a bit of a spectacle, but I was having too much fun to care. I had seen men pounding rice before, and today I tried my hand at it. I do not believe it is traditionally the woman's role, but I rolled up my hanbok sleeves and took a whack at it. The soldiers there assured me I made a good showing with the mallet, so hopefully, I came away without being a national embarrassment.

When the Mayor showed up, we headed on out to where we would participate in a rice cake cutting contest. I believe I was the first one finished, but it took me about the first third of the rice cake rope to get the hang of it. Here is my picture of triumph!

After cutting the rice cakes, it was time to eat the traditional rice cake soup. Eating this soup on New Years ages you one year, so I am now 41 according to Korean tradition! Of course, when I fly back to the US of A, I will lose those two years when I cross the International Date Line. ;) The gentleman you see eating his way to old age with me is the Mayor of Seoul. I am not exactly who was there for who's benefit, but it did not matter - I just enjoyed every minute of it.

After the main activities, we changed back into our regular clothes and I had the chance to do a little bit of looking around with being so looked at. I have already made plans to come back when it is not so crowded.

Happy New Years, everyone! I am right where I should be during this Year of the Golden Pig!

Heading Home.....

2007-02-07T20:13:00.000+09:00

After so many days of traveling the island, I bowed out of yesterday's tour and spent all day at the Children's Home. It was nice and restful and I got to do a little helping with the meals, a little talking with the workers, and a little reading and quiet time. I have a special project now, and intend to focus on that in the upcoming weeks. (That special project could use your prayers!)

On the ferry headed back to Mokpo, I met three Buddhist Monks, and we spent three hours together just talking, translating and asking questions and reading James. (Yea for my English/Korean Bible!) Song-Ja (kneeling) told me she would be my guide if I ever came to her town. We swapped phone numbers and addresses, and I plan on taking her up on her offer!

Betty Lynn and the Buddhists
(Sounds like an 80's band!)

Seogwipo-si

2007-02-05T22:06:00.000+09:00

Breakfast begins sometime between 6 and 6:30, so mornings at the center come early. After our morning assistances we readied ourselves for a day of sightseeing on the south side of the island in and around the city of Seogwipo. Of course, Seogwipo was expanded last year, so when I say "city" it is actually the entire southern half of Jeju Island.

Our first stop was on the cliffs on the southern coast. There were plenty of rocks to climb and hop on, and not one safety fence anywhere. Afterwards, we wandered over to Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, our first of three waterfalls, and strolled around before heading to the water cruise to see the island from the water. Seeing the island of Jeju and some of the smaller islands from the sea provided an entirely different perspective, especially of Hally-san. From the sea, Hally-san looked like a mountain in the clouds and it was beautiful.

After the cruise, we headed to the Daepo Coast where volcanic activity and other such geological conditions created these giant, black, hexagonal columns that rise from the sea. We made stops at several other scenic spots, but the best was the Hamel Monument at the base of Mt. Sanbangsan. Because the tide was low, we were able to take a long circuit around the shore and see some great sights. Unfortunately, it was the last stop of the day and too dark for photographs. I have a sneaking suspicion I will be back, so I will get pictures then! In the meantime, I will leave you with a great Jeju sunset.

Volun"tour"ing

2007-02-04T19:07:00.000+09:00

Today was our first full day at the the center. While I was not sure what to expect - or even how much help I could be - I soon discovered the center is an amazing place and the staff is incredible.

It turned out that we were able to be of some assistance at meal times, by helping feed the children and cleaning up afterwards. One of the kitchen ladies was absent due to a family emergency, so all the cooking and cleaning fell to one (very hard) worker. Since anyone (including a foreigner) can help with the dishes, this is one place where we were able to shine!

After breakfast, we attended church with the Director, Mr. Park, and he took us to see a few sights around Jeju City. One stop was the O'Sulloc Tea Museum and here I am standing in one of the green tea fields. Since green tea is not a favorite, I passed on the green tea, green tea cookies, green tea potpourri, green tea candy, green tea ice cream.......

Straight Up the Middle

2007-02-03T22:19:00.000+09:00

With both sides of the island covered, today was the day to visit the center. Right in the middle of Jeju is Hallysan, the highest point in Korea, and it is beautiful. Here is a picture of the mountain from afar. A mountain in the clouds was quite a sight from the sea.

The morning involved a late start, I'd told JaeShin to sleep late if he wanted. I checked out of my room, and was content to wait in the hotel lobby. Unbeknownst to me, the desk clerk called a certain aunt up in Dongducheon because my ride had not shown up. Poor JaeShin, he was getting all sorts of calls that morning. LOL When he picked me up, we headed to the airport to gather Miri. After a quick stop at the Changan Rehabilitation Home to drop off our suitcases and eat lunch, we took off for Hallysan.

The first thing we did was head for the snow. There were plans for a stunning portrait in the snow, but a certain member of our entourage pushed another member into the snow, so any attempt at "stunning" was gone. With so much snow, a small snowman army was beginning to appear. Snowmen are sooooo overrated, especially when there are piggies that can be created. My love of swine had nothing to do with the decision to build a piggy. 2007 is the year of the pig and Jeju pork is a famous agricultural product. What a coincidence that I happen to be fond of hoggy things.

While we are on the subject of agricultural products, we cannot fail to mention these glorious little oranges that are only grown on Jeju. They are quite delicious as is, but they are also very nice in orange or citron tea. The tea is made from raw minced oranges and although it is a little bitter at first, I was quickly addicted and drank LOTS of it during my stay on Jeju.

This was a short travel day due to the late start and the need to get back to the Children's Home at a decent hour. This meant the end of JaeShin's guide duties, but he promised to come to Dongducheon for chili - and visit his favorite aunt.

The East Side

2007-02-02T12:22:00.000+09:00

Today was the day to tour the East Side of the Island and the day started out very windy (10 mph winds with 20 mph gusts) and snowy. The good thing about the wind was the fact that the snow was coming down sideways and not really sticking to anything or anywhere. The bad thing about the wind was that it just made the cold (about 32 degrees) feel a lot colder (about 20 degrees). Fortunately I am of the species with opposing thumbs, and I used the skill afforded me to put on a warm coat - then we were off!

Our first stop was the far end of Jeju called Seongsan Ilchubong, or Sunrise Peak. While we were not there in time for any sunrise views, the Peak and the crater at the top were still a sight to see. Here is a picture of the little hill we were about to climb. Since underground sea water mixed with the lava during the creation of Seongsan - a hydrothermal erruption - it formed a gorgeous crater on the backside. Here I am with the crater after lugging myself up that hill. Sidebar: I am so literate on the the geological science of the area because a few of the info maps were actually in English and if I ever saw English, I read every word.

After our little walk, we went out to eat lunch with another of JaeShin's friends. I am spending A LOT of time with folks I do not even know and probably doing everything an international traveler is NOT supposed to do. Even so, everyone has been so hospitable and JaeShin is going out of his way to make sure I am comfortable and content. His aunt calls both of us several times a day, and I hope she is not threatening him too severely. [But] the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself.... (even when thine aunt doth not threaten thee.)

There was a gorgeous drive on the eastern coast, and even though it was so cold, there were still a few flowers blooming. JaeShin kept telling me how much prettier everything was in the Spring and Summer, but it was not looking too shabby in the dead of winter. Since Jeju is the site for a the filming of a couple of Korean TV dramas, we made a quick stop where "All In House" is filmed. Of course I knew nothing about it, but here is a very popular and well known structure from the show. I guess you can call this a Korean "Southfork." In fact, if you enlarge the picture and look closely, you can see a statue of a camera man coming out of the top of my head!

Our next stop was the Jeju Folk Village, but on the way I had the opportunity to explore more rocks. There are plenty of rocks to see, and this rock wall was along the coast between the road and the sea. For whatever reason, people come through and stack the rocks up in these litttle peaks and the wind does not blow them over. In fact, the rock walls that are so abundant on Jeju to not use any mortar. The rocks are just carefully stacked and the cracks and crevices allow the wind to pass through. It is really an amazing sight.

To finish off an absolutely great day, I had an unexpected treat. At the folk village, there were your typical old houses in the tradition rock and and straw style, but I found pigs and funeral stuff! How perfect is that!!! As you can see, this one and I were bonding, much to the chagrin of the lady that was wanting to feed him. Oink! Oink!

One of the rooms had a disply showing how the traditional meal is laid out for the funeral rites, so I HAD to get a picture of that. This last picture shows rocks that are used to mark a grave. There was no English sign designating this as such, and JaeShin trying to describe what the rocks were used for was quite comical. You had to have been there to really appreciate the all the wild gesticulations that go into explaining a grave marker. All I could think about was how Papa Selwyn would have had a stroke if I had ever designed a monument like this for his Harnett Memorial Park. He gave me the freedom to design different things, but nothing here in Korea is "in keeping" with anything in that cemetery!

The West Side

2007-02-01T21:31:00.000+09:00

Thursday morning meant I got to meet my "island guide" in the light of day. When he picked me up, he told me that we would see the Western side of Jeju. Fortunately, Jae Shin's English is better than my Korean, but the language barrier meant we just said what was important. It was great to meet a friend's nephew and explore the island with someone that had lived there all his life.

We explored everything that was underground and underwater, and then proceded to check out the scenery from the surface. The saying on Jeju is they have plenty of wind, rocks and women and they do not have any gates, beggars or thieves. I can attest to the fact the rocks are everywhere. The rocks have been used to make endless rock fences all over the island. Other rocks have been carved into these stone grandfathers which can also be found in abundance on Jeju. As you can see I made an effort to bond with the little native grandfathers. After this picture, Jae Shin lightened up a little bit and with the help of my dictionary and his phrase book, we were able to have some real (and real funny) conversation.

Jeju is full of legends and history. While it is not a clear view, the rock behind me in the sea is Yongduam Rock. It is a dragon that was turned to rock by something bigger and badder. (The moral of that story is to not upset the ones bigger and badder than yourself.) You can read all about it at this site - www.parandeul.co.kr/yongduam.htm. As you can see, angle and lighting help alot with visualizing the dragon and we had neither.

After a full day of power touring, even the floor looked good when I got back to the hotel. ;)

Let The Journey Begin

2007-01-31T23:29:00.000+09:00

Look out Jeju, here I come.

My big adventure began with the getting there. Jeju is about as far as you can get from Dongducheon and still be in South Korea, so there was a lot of country to cross. Instead of taking the easy way out (plane), I decided to take the KTX (bullet train) and the ferry, because I wanted to actually see the land I was traversing. Besides, I have never been on a high speed train, and as soon as I found out Korea had one, I knew I would ride it one day. After too little sleep and too much last minute packing and repacking, I finally made my way to the subway station.

An hour and a half on the subway to Yongsan and a two hour layover at the train station was completely uneventful - which means I must have just been tired. The ride on the KTX was about three hours, and while it would register as uneventful on the Snelling Scale, the ride was captivating. Nothing takes your breath away like pressing your face to the window and watching the majestic scenery fly by at nearly 300 km per hour............ then WHOOOOSH the northbound KTX passes a mere 24 inches from your face. Forget majestic nonsense, nothing takes your breath away like watching your life flash before your eyes in the reflection of another high speed train. After that happened to me the second time, I decided to forego the scenery and took a nap instead.

I arrived in Mokpo (the south western coast of Korea) with about an hour and a half to spare. There was a sign that said "Mokpo Harbor" and I figured my boat had to be in the general direction of the harbor, so I decided to go walking. Although I had to stop and ask directions, (there are ALOT of places to get on a boat in a harbor) I found my way to the ferry terminal with 10 minutes to spare.

Here are my fellow passengers boarding our ferry for the final four hour leg of the trip. There is also a picture of my "stateroom" on the ferry. Keep in mind it is a Korean stateroom, so I had all the amenities of a floor. Chairs are so overrated. There was a TV in the room, but guess what the odds are for either of the two channels to have English programming. (zip) I spent some time outside on the deck, but it was a wee bit chilly. While chugging along at 20 knots is nothing compared to 300 km/hour, it can still pack a wallop when the temperature is only about 40 degrees.

The scenery was beautiful, and there was rarely a time when an island or two were not in view. When you have islands and rocks, you have lighthouses. At one place, I could count five lighthouses on different islands and points. This lighthouse was the most unusual and one of the largest. I did not see any sea gulls, and that was a little disappointing. Everyone knows a ferry ride ain't a ferry ride without throwing food to the gulls.

I finally arrived on Jeju about 8:30 PM where I my "never met before" friend, Jae Shin, picked me up and took me to my hotel. In the excitemet of trip preparation, I decided I was going all out and reserved a room with an ondol bed - which is an oxymoron, because ondol means no bed. A heated floor and floor mats sounds great when planning, but after 12 hours of traveling, I was beginning to question the wisdom of that choice. Fortunately for me, I was the only traveler and there were multiple floor mats in the room. After I prepared my "bed" it looked more like something from the "Princess and the Pea" rather than anything Korean.

I will leave you with the view from my hotel window:

Still here.......somewhere

2007-01-30T19:51:00.000+09:00

For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

I just realized that two weeks have gone. *poof* Just like that.

The past couple of weeks have been a bit unusual, but things seem to be settling down. I cannot write about it here, but there has been a lot going on and keeping the chaplain really busy. The chaplain (probably the Battalion Commander too) was very glad for this field exercise to finally begin so he could have all the soldiers in one general place at one time. With alcohol off limits, there is a good chance our battalion can make it through the next few weeks without making any more headlines.

Since everyone is tucked securely in their tanks and tents, I am off on a little trip. I will have the chance to mix a little volunteering with sight seeing, so it should be a fun. Stay tuned, because it should not take 10 days for the next post.

hmmmm.....unless I do not have internet access where I am going - then it will take about 7 days.

I Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet

2007-01-21T22:14:00.000+09:00

....and there shall be earthquakes in divers places... Mark 13:8

Seems there was an earthquake on the peninsula last night. After it happened, I just looked at Meghan and said "Did you hear something?" Knowing good and well what I thought it was, but then not really believing it. Meghan was too funny, she just looked at me and said, "DUH! The building just moved!"

Move is a bit harsh, lets just say it vibrated, and we did not just feel it - we heard it. One minute we are just minding our business and going about our evening routine and the next second the building "moves." As far as earthquakes go, this was pretty minor - but it was our first.

Nuclear tests and now an earthquake just goes to show how we really do not know what to expect from one minute to the next.

Culture-fied

2007-01-13T00:12:00.000+09:00

It seems that Miri is single handedly trying to culturize a certain bumpkin. We have already attended Handel's Messiah, Nanta, a Broadway show from Korea, and the ballet. There is an opera in my not too distant future, but tonight it was the Vienna Boys Choir. It was a fun experience, and those boys can sing. I think my favorite part was the encore when they sang three songs from "The Sound of Music."

Of course we could not get together without our customary stroll down the street to offer our financial support to a street vendor and then head over to a convenience store to load up on a variety of chocolate. I have named these little trips our $30.00 walks. We got off cheap tonight, but it was nearly midnight, so our spending options were limited.

The Dust Offensive

2007-01-08T11:58:00.000+09:00

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These last couple of days, I have let my obsessive compulsive self run rampant - like vacuuming four times. Not sure why this is called a disorder - I like it.

************
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Since teen forces that have been drafted into service develop MP3 induced tunnel vision when cleaning, many fail to notice dust bunny agents taking cover. These rogue insurgents were no match for the M.O.M. Radar System and superior fire power from the U.S.S. Shop-Vac. On land, troops led by Mr. Clean attacked the dust bunnies that had dug in on flat surfaces. After much rinsing and wringing of the M1 Abrams cleaning rag, these sneeze inducing forces had been eliminated. In spite of a fresh lemony scent, experts have advised that the air is safe to breathe and there is no evidence of residue or proof of a rumored chemical attack by the Mr. Clean forces.

Remaining dust forces had regrouped and formed a secondary headquarters under the bed and out of the reach of the unweildy vac. Intel provided reports of socks and a book that had been taken POW and were being held in that desolate wasteland. Fears that these POWs would be used as human shields forced leaders to turn to Black Ops. Delta Force Mop with the Top Secret self wringing attachment stealthily retrieved the POWs. Commanders will neither confirm nor deny reports that the destruction of dust forces had anything to do with the recovery of POWs. Rumors of a possible coup by the minority dirt faction might explain the reports, but conspiracy theories are rampant.

Initial reports are sketchy, but more details will be fortchcoming as they are provided.

Just Cannot Get Used To This.....

2007-01-06T00:36:00.000+09:00

I love waking up, looking out the window and finding an unexpected surprise:

Back In The Saddle

2007-01-05T20:47:00.000+09:00

The smell of horsey poo and hay is like a drug for Erin, and she had been cold turkey for too long. Even though she did not have any of her real horse gear, Erin was on a horse and that is all that mattered. She looked like a red-neck bumpkin out there in her camouflage hunting boots, jeans, hoodie and vest - not like someone ready to ride English, must less jump. The Koreans at the stables were all dressed like they were ready for a horse show, so someone was sticking out like a sore thumb. We rented her a helmet and some chaps, then she was ready to go.

Erin was really wanting to jump, but these instructors had never seen her ride and most jumpers have their own horse. After they let her ride for about 20 minutes, they moved her to the jumping ring. They placed the cavaletti on the ground and Erin walked her horse, Sugar, over the obstacles. A little bit later, the instructors set up two obstacles and moved the bars into an X so Erin could actually do a little low jumping. I thought she was finished for the day, but they changed the second obstacle into a 2 foot jump and Erin was soaring - literally and figuratively.

At this particular stable, there are about 6-7 elderly Korean men that care for the horses. They bring the horse to the ring already tacked up and then take the horse from you when you are finished. Since Erin has always done this for herself, she asked and they let her groom her horse. I think this surprised the men a little bit, and a couple of them even got a chuckle out of it when she was cleaning out Sugar's ears with a towel and kissing her on the nose.

Even though it is a four hour round trip subway ride, I imagine we will be back.

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T15:58:00.000+09:00

Proverbs 6:9 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.

Two all nighters in one week - whoever planned New Years and Christmas so close together was not thinking about us. We had a fellowship at the chapel where everyone got together and played a variety of games like Scrabble, Spades, Phase 10, Dominoes, Bingo and of course X-Box. We also ate lots of food, so we could start 2007 out with a sugar rush.

At 11:45, we moved into the sanctuary for a prayer service. Afterwards, many went home, but there were a few die-hards that stayed on for more games and such. Even when others had dozed off in the wee hours, the chaplain was still glued to the X-Box. Hey, it was Nascar! They played for about 7 hours straight, and this picture was taken about 6:45 AM.
Erin, a budding photographer, managed to take pictures of a few guys recovering from the chaplain's wild party. The fellow deep in ummmm....... prayer?..... on the sanctuary pew is the new Chaplain's Assistant, Ricky. He seems to have a high tolerance for Snelling shenanigans and is pretty good at Spades too.

And this [shall be] a sign unto you; Ye shall find the assistant wrapped in a swaddling sleeping bag, lying in a pew.

I think we will keep him.

Heart And Seoul

2006-12-30T23:19:00.000+09:00

There is a group of guys that wanted to get off base and out of Dongducheon. There really is not much around here for the guys except for the clubs and they are more trouble than they are worth. Since I am the self professed "Subway Princess" I suggested a trip to Seoul and the Chaplain suggested Bennigan's. We left the chapel walking, and even picked up a few folks along the way. There were 13 in all. Here we are walking to the subway station. This is the same subway station that was just scaffolding in September. I had a picture of it in my "Walk to Casey" blog. Stuff goes up FAST here in Korea!

In Dongducheon, we all got a seat, but it only took a few stops for the subway to get a bit crowded. It was a bit of an adventure for the guys that had never ventured on the Metro. We had to change lines at one point, and while it was a challenge to make eye contact with everyone we were able to work the foreigner angle to our advantage. Four members of the group ended up on the other end of the subway car, so I just hollered one of their names, and when they answered we just let them know which stop was ours. Get off a train - head count - find the next train - head count - get on - head count - get off - head count....sort of like Kindergarten and their first trip to the lunchroom.

As you can see from the pictures - they had fun, but were very careful to not make a spectacle of themselves. One thing the Army stresses is that when you are in a foreign country, you do not want to stand out in a crowd and you do not want to draw attention to yourself. The blonde hair and blue eyes blended in so well, that I am sure no one even noticed we were there. The laid back demeanor of the guys only aided in our efforts to go unnoticed. Like covert agents, we slipped into and back out of Seoul undetected by the general population. (Is it too early for April Fool's?) The food was pricey, but good and there was alot of it. We managed to eat most of it, and the rest was placed in precious little "doggie bag" boxes that none of the guys wanted to carry around. We had two great servers and it would not be a complete blog entry without mention of "Tigger" (Erin sang the Tigger song over and over) and "Cinderella." None of the other servers had such names, but maybe putting us in the "Disney Section" was fitting.

After an extended dinner, it was time to head back. We found these "peculiar" structures all "piled" up on the sidewalk. Like moths to a flame, they were just too irrisistable for our crowd. After a trip back north (Miri joined us in Seoul, so we are now a group of 14) we decided that we would go bowling and that rounded out our evening.

Where's Waldo?

2006-12-30T23:04:00.000+09:00

This is what I was talking about when I mentioned our ability to blend seamlessly into the local population:
You really have to look hard to even see Erin on the subway!

Frozen Assets

2006-12-27T16:38:00.000+09:00

This is the "river" that runs near the apartment. It was solid ice on top, but I don't think it was solid through and through. Come January, it will be solid and I imagine the Snellings will venture out upon it - at least this one will. This "river" doesn't look like much now, but during the monsoon season, it really fills up.

It has gotten colder, but it has not been too bad if the wind is not blowing. We are in the midst of a mini cold snap so our temps are ranging between 2 - 28 degrees. From what I have been told, it ain't cold yet.

Norman Rockwell.......

2006-12-26T17:56:00.000+09:00

Never Painted Anything Like This.....

WOW! It is a good thing we got a nap this morning! Our little Christmas gathering with the guys turned into a 24+ hour marathon with 2 X-Boxes linked up (so four man teams could defend the universe) and a game of cards going on in the background. Here is a picture of the game projected up on the wall. There was also food, WWF, a couple of movies, cooking and presents!

We purchased gag gifts for everyone, and the guys opened gifts, took each other's gifts, then opened some more. Each gag gift was named - things like "Stuck in Korea", "I Miss My Mommy Countdown", and the popular "DFAC Survival Kit" - after the dust settled and these gifts found their appropriate owner, the real gifts were passed out. Rather than a person's name, these gifts had the names of the gag gifts on the tag and were distributed accordingly.

You cannot get that many guys together without the testosterone kicking in. Instead of carols, there was a little smack talk and the "Silverback" chaplain had to prove he ain't too old to take on the younger Gorrillas in the group. Only in our family will Christmas nostalgia include memories of guys clearing out the living room furniture so wrestling can set the hierarchy of the group. After two matches, the king of the jungle had been determined and the furniture was quickly replaced before anyone else found themselves volunteered by the pack to have a go at the chaplain.

Since the party lasted a wee bit longer than planned, hot dogs and cheese fries were not enough. More food was cooked up for supper to keep these guys at their best. The evening before, a lady from chapel had brought us a container of marinating kolbi (Korean style ribs) as a thank you for our help with her daughter's wedding. Well, this kolbi was like the gifts from the Wise Men, because it was just the thing for a quick dinner. Biscuits and sausages were cooked up about 5:30 AM and everyone had a breakfast snack before crashing about 7:30 AM (I knew no one would make it through that last movie.) Everyone was awake again by 11:30 and after a bowl of cereal they picked right back up where they left off. But all good things must end, and everyone was tucked into a taxi and heading back to Camp Casey by 3:30. Whew!

Christmas In Korea

2006-12-25T09:51:00.000+09:00

Normally, this family of Snellings sleep in on Christmas morning, but that was not the case today. (Thanks Erin!) The original plan was to wait and open our presents after the guys leave tonight, but the girls did not like that idea at all.

Since it is Christmas (and we were awake anyway) we caved and told them once they were up and the teeth were brushed they could open their gifts. Never have they been so enthusiastic about oral hygiene.

We were a bit lacking in the Christmas decorations, and Erin took it upon herself to make sure this Christmas was not tree-less. This year, our decor involved 5 bottles of paint and 3 brushes and while we were out one evening, Erin painted the tree. Putting the tree up - and probably taking the tree down - is much quicker and cleaner this way!

After fulfilling all the necessary requirements (and being bent into submission for some transgression), the girls finally got to open their presents. Meghan got a skirt, a notebook of Korean paper and Korean Celadon chopstick rests for her Hope Chest. Erin received a pair of slacks, the notebook and a horse sculpture. Now that presents are opened, the girls are getting ready to head towards Camp Casey and make sure today's guests can find the apartment. As soon as they leave, we are taking a nap!

Christmas With The Children

2006-12-22T22:15:00.000+09:00

This evening was the Battalion Christmas party for the orphanage. The guys built a deck for their trampoline. Here they are working on it:We delivered the deck, a gift for the orphanage and supper from Popeye's for an evening of fun. Popeye's helped us by preparing individual boxes for the children. In fact, when the manager found out what the chicken was for, he went to Burger King to get prizes to include in the boxes. The chicken and biscuits were enjoyed, but the mashed potatoes and gravy were eyed suspiciously before being eaten, if it was eaten at all.
I thought the apple pies would be a big hit, but was wrong. Finally, after one of the KATUSAs started eating a pie, some of the children managed to eat theirs. I cannot imagine the kids not liking mashed potatoes with gravy and fried apple pies, but then they probably cannot imagine someone not liking odeng. (Odeng is that fishy stuff on a stick introduced to you in a previous post.)

Among the items we took with us, were some goodies from three little VanWinkles. ;) I want you kids to know that the things you sent were a hit, especially the beads. In fact, I counted them before I took them and y'all sent 51 - the exact number of children we were preparing for! Thanks kiddos.

Back to Seoul

2006-12-20T20:33:00.000+09:00

I met Miri again for another day of holding babies. We spent about six hours at the orphanage, and I did not realize how tired I was until we were getting ready to leave. Being tired was probably 1 part playing with children and 2 parts sitting in the floor all the time. Here I am on the cusp of middle agedness and my bones are having to adjust to the floor - at least it is heated. These bones are also having to adjust to carrying children Korean style. Here, moms and grandmoms carry the children on their backs. I carried one little girl around like that for a big part of the day, but we finally had to make a change to American style so I could stand upright for a little bit.

On the way home, I tried steamed kimchi mandu and steamed meat mandu. I probably never would have done it, but Miri talked me into it. The stuff must have been good, because this "sampling" turned into dinner as we eventually ate two helpings. Here are the guys making the mandu, and they were amazingly fast at it:This is what I call one of Korea's "micro"restaurants. Five steps in front of these guys is open to the street and one step behind them are two tables with about 9 chairs total. Most folks just order and eat it standing on the sidewalk at the front.

P.S. You pronounce Mandu with an "a" sound like in father - not like the "a" sound in man. If you say it wrong, Miri will sigh deeply, roll her eyes at you and threaten you with a stick the Koreans call a "Rod of Love."

A Hand In The Cookie Jar

2006-12-19T23:07:00.000+09:00

Touch not; taste not; handle not; Colossians 2:21

Today was the day to sort and repackage cookies - there were over 5500 cookies in all. We were up to our eyeballs in baggies, twist ties and chocolate chips. When I retrieved the cookies from the chapel freezers, the ziplock bags from California were full up with cookies............all except one. The Chaplain is in the field right now, so he could not be interrogated concerning the limp little bag of peanut butter cookies. The fact that his favorite cookie in the whole wide world just happens to be peanut butter is probably just a coincidence................

Big thank yous to AL, CA, GA and NC for the cookies and other goodies you sent - You know who you are! Because of you, I was able to traipse in there with more cookies than all the ladies from Yongsan put together. Woo-hoo! Actually, by the time I walked from the chapel to the USO with all the cookies, I was beginning to look like the missing link. My knuckles were dragging the ground like a Cro-Magnon Army Homo spouseian.

Here are the girls packaging some homemade goodies:

And here I am - packaging the packages:
These cookies will be delivered to the soldiers of 2nd Infantry on the 23rd, and I hope to be a part of that Cookie Caravan. Although there were no Generals in our midst today - work day *ahem* - it seems one or two will be making an appearance and delivering cookies. Maybe there will still be room for this missing link to join in.

A Sunday Morning Surprise

2006-12-17T17:16:00.000+09:00

When we got up Sunday morning, there was a blanket of snow. Everything was beautiful and a bit chilly. Fortunately, the wind was not blowing. Here is the chaplain and the girls as we are leaving for chapel.

Remember that huge garden I took a picture of from our window? Well this is that garden now:
And finally, here is the view from the chapel door:
It was the start of a good Sunday.

Last Day With Miri

2006-12-15T23:00:00.000+09:00

Psalm 27:10 When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.

Today is my last day with Miri - she probably needs a Betty break. We traveled into Seoul today but got a late start. That meant we needed to catch an early lunch. Guess where we dined.

After eating at my second exotic Korean restaurant in four days, we headed to the orphange where Miri volunteers. I spent the next four and a half hours holding babies and preschoolers. The preschoolers loved me. If I stood up, I was carrying 2-3 of them. I was much more useful on the floor, because I could sit down and hold two in my lap while 3-4 others crawled or climbed on me. The babies loved me - I kept three of them entertained and managed to rock another to sleep. (No rocking chair mind you. There is no room for one. We sat in the floor and rocked babies there.)

There are two groups between the babies and the preschoolers and those little children did NOT love me. I was the boogie (wo)man personified. LOL When I walked in the room, they all ran to Miri and and clung to her like baby possums cling to their mother. She was surrounded, and they were not letting go! One little girl would even pucker up and get teary if I looked at her. I went off to a corner and started playing with the toys and a brave young lady ventured over; however, I think she was more interested in rescuing their precious toys than warming up to me.

The chaplain was very jealous when I told him about it and the preschoolers would have enjoyed him. He has much more stamina when it comes to spinning, tossing and wrestling in the floor with little people. Maybe next time he will get to go with us.

The Wedding

2006-12-14T22:11:00.000+09:00

Today, after a slow start on our day. (We can be rather lazy when we take a notion to be.) We headed off to the Gyeong-gi Traditional Music Center for a performance of a Korean Wedding. It was not quite as serious as Miri thought - it was a mix of a comical play and the traditional wedding ceremony. There was even a man dressed up like a chicken and the folks were trying to kill it to make the approriate chicken dish. (see below) It was still alot of fun, and we had our picture made with some of the cast afterward:

I also got the chance to dress up in a traditional Korean wedding dress. Miri did not dress up - she left me all alone with the two women in charge of the costumes, and did not show up again until picture time.
And here we are at the pagoda just outside the Music Center:

Afterwards, we went back to Miri's apartment, and cooked up some of yesterday's purchases!

A Hard Day of Work.......

2006-12-13T22:23:00.000+09:00

........in my pajamas.

that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Miri had to work today since they are still having finals at Myongji, so I stayed at her apartment and graded exams in my "home office attire". I spread the tests and score keys out on the bed and just worked my fingers to the bone. With a little Excel magic, we managed to get all her tests scored and the grades posted. It was five hours and a late night, but we did it! The hot chocolate and smores gave us the needed energy to pull through. Here we are in her university office entering information on the computers:
I eventually had to get dressed because we went to Emart to gather food stuffs which would ensure our survival over the next couple of days. Here is a shot of me outside the Emart with their hugemongous granite sculpture of a vase of flowers that were too big to be in the picture and a kitty (Bonita & Ever, this picture was made with y'all in mind.) All this granite makes me sorta miss the funeral business! Kay, I want my headstone to look like one of those flowers - then there will always be flowers on my grave! LOL
Here is most of what we purchased. I cannot believe I took a picture of our grocery store exploits, but I still think it is so cool to see Korean stuff and packaging, so y'all get to see it too.
As you can tell, we went a little heavy in the snack food department, but there are still a few good for you items in here! One of the neatest things about grocery shopping in Korea is how companies use free items to entice you to buy their stuff. Their tuna had four cans in a great plastic bowl, the coffee had a little blanket attached to it, and the toilet paper had FOUR free rolls taped to the outside of the package.

You can also eat your way through Emart sampling the food. Thanks to the cunning marketing of the sampling ladies, we bought a few items not on the shopping list - a package of pizza mandu (A delicious collision of cultures) and some sweet potato pastries.

Handel's Messiah

2006-12-12T23:49:00.000+09:00

Went to Miri's again. She is slowing becoming my personal guide and translator! The music department and choral groups from the combined Myongji campuses performed Messiah tonight, and we attended the event. The students did a great job and I really enjoyed it.

Before the concert, we met a little early, and Miri took me to a quaint little restaurant that I had never been to before - Quizno's. It was really good, and there were no little fishies or other surprises lurking in the meal. (whew!) We also found these folks on the street, and they were more than willing to pose with me for a photograph.
Miri told me afterwards these ladies were advertising some sort of Korean alcoholic beverage. Too late, I already had a great picture. Have you ever seen women associated with alcohol and have so many clothes on??? I love Korea!

With This Chicken, I Thee Wed

2006-12-11T15:53:00.000+09:00

Okay, I am a bit behindy on my posts. There are a couple of reasons too! First, is Erin's Dodo Bird Flu I posted about on Oct. 31. I have not ever totally recovered, so my batteries are on a low charge. What I have been doing is going full speed on one day, then crashing the next. I made up my mind about two weeks ago that I probably need to go to the doctor. I think I will call and make an appointment this week. The other reason is the battalion is going to use the chaplain's website in order to get information out to the spouses. I have been doing alot of creating and updating on that site, so this one fell to the wayside.

The Friday we purchased the Hanbok (last post), we were on our way to see the show Nanta and made a little side trip through Gwang Jang Market before we headed to the theatre. After the performance, Miri headed back to Dongducheon with me for a Saturday of Korean cooking a Sunday of chapel-izing.

I do have some pictures I wanted to post. Things like this little treat for the eyes:
(click on it to make it larger if your eyes just cannot get enough)
This is used during the Korean wedding, and is a cooked chicken (complete with head) and decorated with chestnuts and jejube fruit. There is even a jejube in the chicken's beak. Now before you go off heaving and moaning about the ickyness of it all, just think back to your last pig pickin' because a cooked head is a cooked head - no matter what the animal. Jejube fruit is just too small for a piggy, so we just stuff his mouth with an apple instead.

Here are some other pictures of what we have been up to.

Hanbok Humiliations

2006-12-02T22:16:00.000+09:00

I was psychologically scarred as a young child when my mother would take me to the underwear department of Kmart or Masons and procede to hold up various and sundry undergarments to spot check for size. Those memories came crashing back as my friend Mirim helped me recently with a particular article of clothing. I got to stand and watch (and blush) while others talked about me, discussed my height and size, picked out an outfit for me and then DRESSED me. It was borderline humiliating, as I became quite a spectacle at the Gwang-jang Shijang (shijang is market).

At least in Kmart I had racks of clothing, behind which I could make feeble attempts to hide my shame. In Korea's open air markets, there are no such racks - just rows of shopkeepers and a flow of folks passing by with nothing to do but watch the Migook saram (American) get dressed like a child. During this adventure into the depths of my mortification, you should have heard the Korean words flying. Seems my height was a little bit of a problem, but they found a skirt that was suitable. The next major discussion amongst Mirim, the shopkeeper AND the shopkeeper next door concerned finding a short jacket that would be *ahem* big enough around. It seems some Koreans are apt to talk with their hands - pointing and gesturing a bit wildly.......while everyone watches. What a night.

After the joy of trying on clothes in an open market, here is what I brought home:

My own Korean Hanbok.

(Mirim gave me the traditional hairdo)

Here I am in all my Korean graciousness and civility

NOT!

I don't know what is under a Kilt,
But I do know what is under a hanbok!!

Joy to the Fishes in the Deep Blue Sea

2006-11-30T20:05:00.000+09:00

Habakkuk 3:16 When I heard, my belly trembled;

I had a bright idea tonight. I figured Annie, Karen and myself could talk our English over dinner at a local restaurant. Since I have only been to a few of them, Annie picked one out and then ordered for us. I figured I was safe, because Korean restaurants always serve a lot of side dishes..........seems this was a Japanese style restaurant.

If you know me, then you know I am not a fish fan. I can eat Captain D's but if there is another choice, Betty Lynn is not opting for food with fins. Well, tonight was fish night, and there ain't no Captain D's in Korea. Our first course was a big pot brought to the table on a gas burner. It had odeng in the broth with noodles, tofu and several other unidentifiable items.

Sidebar: Odeng is a shish-ke-bab of chopped up fish and flour that has been formed into ribbons suitable for the skewer. (One friend told me that odeng is fish like a hot dog is pork.) While I forgot my camera tonight, I found this picture for your viewing pleasure:

Odeng is one Korean food that I had already determined in my heart that I would not try and tonight it was the main course. I ate a whole one, but I did not do a lot of chewing.

After we finished the pot of soup out came the next round......Sushi. I was expecting tiny slivers of raw fish inside a roll of rice - NOT. These slabs of meat were nearly as long as my finger, almost twice as wide and laying on a roll of sticky rice. Here is a picture of the octopus sushi I found on the internet, and it looks just like what was on my plate:

Since knives are not standard Korean tableware, I had to ask how to eat them. Seems you are supposed to stuff the whole thing in your mouth. I was trying to just politely taste a small piece and without a knife I had the bright idea to bite mine in half. Raw fish does not give, so I ended up with a little rice and ALL the fish - half of which was dangling outside my clenched teeth. "Whole thing!" they both tell me. So there was nothing to do but eat it. Not a lot of chewing this round either. I ate salmon, flounder and octopus sushi but passed on the shrimp (thank heavens for food allergies) and let Annie eat the only serving of eel.

Tonight, I am thankful for chopsticks. While we talked, I was able to pick up tiny bits of food from the soup with the chopsticks and kill time between my acts of bravery. While none of it was really horrible, it is not anything that I will run out and order again. Mirim told me that you have to try something three times before you know whether or not you can like it. I guess I will never know.

Thanksgiving In Korea

2006-11-24T00:34:00.000+09:00

Here we are at the Dining Facility for our Thanksgiving Dinner. Erin's new friend Soon-Hwa joined us for her first Thanksgiving meal. 1-19 Thanksgiving meals tasted better, but this one was fun. (I will just have to remember to not leave all the cooking to the mess hall when Christmas rolls around.)

I forgot to post that CBN came to the chapel last week. In fact I had forgotten all about it until Bonita emailed me and said she had seen the chaplain on the 700 Club. Since the 700 Club is in the same time slot as The Andy Griffith Show, it was a miracle that she had even seen the report. (I have lived with her, and everything stops for Sheriff Taylor and Barney!) She sent me this link to the clip (thanks Bonita!):

<http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/61353.aspx>

Happy Thanksgiving to all y'all way over there

From all us way over here!

Chusu Kamsa-jeol Chukha hamnida!

2006-11-23T07:14:00.000+09:00

Which would translate as Happy Holiday of Thanks for the Harvest!

...Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. II Corinthians 9:11

It is already a bright and early Thanksgiving here. There are a few food baskets to distribute and then it is dinner at the DFAC, formerly known as the mess hall - somewhere along the line, they quit calling them mess halls and started calling them Dining Facilities. It is pronounced dee-fac, because where would the Army be without acronyms? Anyway, a big meal at DFAC and the rest of the afternoon is open for whatever may present itself...except for Meghan's afternoon. The scholarly among us has two classes today, so she will spend 3-9 listening to lectures and other such classroom pursuits of knowledge.

Yesterday was the annual Turkey Bowl. The teams were Captains vs. the Lieutenants, but the Captains (thanks to a chaplain that did not want to lose) recruited a few FSGs, a CSM and an LTC. To avoid any rank conflicts, the referee just named the teams The Old Men and The Young Boys. Here are the Old Men:

And here is how the game deteriorates when Old Men play with Young Boys: (so much for FLAG Football)

Well, the most important thing is the Old Men won the game. The Young Boys can find some satisfaction in the fact that after the game is forgotten next week, some of the Old Men will still be feeling it.

Happy Thanksgivingness from us here in Korea!!
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Happy Birthday to Me.....

2006-11-21T19:34:00.000+09:00

...Early!

I have been doing quite a bit of souvenir shopping for folks back in the States, especially since Christmas is almost upon us. The other day, we went shopping for a Snelling Family Souvenir and found one we liked. It looks like Snelling souvenir purchases will have a dual designation as a "gift." I have my eye on a couple of more Korean Keepsakes.......I just hope there are enough gift giving occasions to get them all!

This is a detail of the artwork on the front:

A wandering we will go.......

2006-11-16T11:52:00.000+09:00

Erin and I decided to go somewhere. We were not sure where we were going, and we even considered traveling down to Osan.

I had it sorta figured out on the map and although I wasn't real sure of on how we would get there. It could not hurt to try. Besides, it is a smallish country - how lost could we get?? I did have the forethought to pack our toothbrushes in my backpack.......just in case we did not make it home. Well, we missed the train and just ended up in Seoul. It allowed us to finish up our Christmas shopping and even get my bearings on Osan. I think Meghan and I will head down there on Saturday.
While we were out and about, Erin was "interviewed" twice and I was "interviewed" once by different Seoul University students. It was probably a class project of some type or a ploy to practice English. The pictures are of us and our interviewers.

I purchased some original paintings, and this is the artist that did the painting. I have my eye on one of his larger pictures as one of my Korean momentos.
Erin and I spent about 10 hours snacking our way through the one teensy area of Seoul. We found a few yummy and a few not quite yummy items. I was surprised that she was so willing to try different things. She is still in search of the perfect hot dog. I am not so sure this is where she will find it.

Erin found this sculpture on the sidewalk outside Namyang Station. At this point, we were temporarily disoriented. We found ourselves, and them made our way to Yongsan Army Base for a late but substantial supper.

Here we are on the way home - we opted for the easy way home and took the military bus from Yongsan. This is the ride back on the bus after a long, cold and windy day. I was just as tired as I look - and that is pretty tired. The colorful curtains and seatcushions make the bus look like a circus, but the curtains are really nice when the sun is coming in.

Here is another tired tourist. Meghan was relieved to hear we were headed home and not stranded somewhere out there.

After a couple of days of rest, I will be ready to conquer Osan.

Seeing Is NOT Believing

2006-11-14T23:40:00.000+09:00

I wandered into Seoul again, and will probably make this a regular event. There is alot to see, and the public transportation cannot be beat. I have traded in my beloved mini van for a subway car.

As I was strolling through the subway tunnels trying to make my way to the next adventure, I was waylaid by a food vendor. Here is the picture of her automatic treat maker:

The first nozzle is the batter and then the second nozzle is the filling. The cast iron molds are automatically pushed across the hot plate until they reach the other side baked to perfection.

Of course, I had to taste these little things.

Now look closely at this treat:

What exactly do you see? Click it for a larger view, just to be sure.

See that yellow glob of filling in the center of the purple CORN shaped cake? Care to take a guess at what taste sensation I received when I bit into one of these? (Thank goodness it was NOT fish!)

Corn maybe - nope? It was sweet potato. Even though the taste was waaaaaaaaay off in the expectation department, once my taste buds recovered they were still happy.

2006-11-13T23:21:00.000+09:00

Well, the chaplain had to come out of the field for the Chapel Service on Sunday, so it was one night of shelter from the elements.

This morning at 0500 it was time to head back to the training and I got a picture of him all bright eyed and ready to face the chill. (I think he was still asleep, because he did not even try to get away from the camera!) He did get sent off armed with brownies, muffins and cookies for the poor souls braving the weather. Nothing like chocolate chips to enhance a field service.

Embarking On A New Adventure

2006-11-10T09:02:00.000+09:00

UPDATE: I made it there and back, with no problems. I am sure it had more to do with my command of the Korean language and sense of direction than it had to do with Miri's d-e-t-a-i-l-e-d instructions and worrying. Photos will be forthcoming, as soon as I get the ones from Miri's camera.

************************

I am off to Miri's for an overnight adventure. If I am never heard from again, it means I am standing at a bus stop somewhere in Seoul trying to figure out which bus to board.......

If you have to send out a search party, you will need identifying features. I am the ONLY person in Korea with big hair!!

Something Fishy......

2006-11-08T08:58:00.000+09:00

I have seen these things for sale at various sidewalk vendors:

These are pretty ones - some have obvious dark and chunky bits peeking through the bread scales. Now if you see several of these stacked up, what is your initial thinking?

duh! FISH!

Since I am not fond of fish or anything fishy tasting (like seaweed) then I have never braved these fried morsels. Besides, in this neck of the woods, fish means a W-I-D-E variety of species (and their parts) prepared an even W-I-D-E-R variety of ways. ick!

Well, thanks to Meghan and her students I have been enlightened and I have now eaten one. The dark chunky bits are just mashed red beans, and these things are rather tasty. Whew!

Freshman

2006-11-07T18:35:00.000+09:00

Here is Meghan at the bus stop on her first day of college.
Look out Biology 101, here she comes!

Of course, that means a couple of parents have entered the world of tuition. The college messed up and ran her tuition through the credit card THREE times. :O After an initial credit limit heart attack we got that little matter straightened out - actually the college had already began fixing it when I stumbled back to their financial office.

Do not think we are keeping this bliss to ourselves. No way! We are sharing the joy. Meghan gets to pay for all her textbooks, so she had the opportunity for a bit of exhaltation herself! (snicker)

That is not her books she is carrying, but her new "swiftboard" and helmet.

It has alot of different names, but it is basically a jointed skateboard with only two wheels. The wheels are like casters, so they spin around a full 360 degrees. Because it is jointed in the middle of the board, you can propel yourself without ever touching the ground - just twist your feet in opposite directions.

It's Snowing!!

2006-11-06T20:27:00.000+09:00

Not hardly a winter wonderland, but that is a picture of night time snow from our balcony. The weekend was beautiful and today it is wickedly windy and cold. I had heard it got cold in these parts, but I have never been anywhere that got really COLD cold. Although ignorance is bliss, I did a little weather research on the internet and it seems our winter winds come straight out of Siberia. I am bracing myself for a rude awakening.

UPDATE: At midnight, our doorbell rings. Annie (one of my Korean friends) is standing on my doorstep with a pile of clothes. She has brought me 2 heavy coats, 2 scarves, 2 insulated vests and four sweaters. She told me that she got to thinking that I might not be ready for the cold that was coming......now isn't God good!

Erin's Adventure

2006-11-05T19:03:00.000+09:00

Erin has recovered from the Dodo Bird Flu. She had the opportunity to go four wheeling this weekend, (which may explain the miraculous recovery) and had a great time. I am posting some of her pictures for you to see and enjoy. The group went to an ATV course located somewhere north of here on the Korean Training Center (KTC). They had an ATV competition and then free time to explore the countryside. There was some great scenery of the river and the mountains changing colors, and I was a bit envious of her adventure. Maybe next time....

Here are her pictures.

Bird Flu

2006-10-31T09:50:00.000+09:00

We all seemed to be a little congested and sneezy. Mornings are groggy and slow for us all. When I think everyone is up and moving, the truth reveals itself. Erin still has a knack for finding her way to our bed when she is feeling under the weather.
Since she was the first to start coughing, we are blaming her with infecting us with Dodo Bird Flu.

Moving Day

2006-10-29T14:18:00.000+09:00

Most people do not move in with only 6 suitcases like the Snellings, and lifting your belongings up 16 stories can be challenging. Here is how they do it in Dongducheon:

This is a neighboring apartment building in our complex, and someone is moving in. There are seven of these buildings in the I Park complex, so ours looks just like this. The elevator shaft and stairs run up the middle, and there are two apartments on each floor - one on either side of the elevator.

This platform gets filled up, then it makes a high speed run to the moving van waiting below. It is amazing to see how fast this thing runs up and down the rail.

The Seoul Train

2006-10-27T08:41:00.000+09:00

Thanks to a head cold, I have a little extra time this morning. I am finally posting the pictures of a recent trip to Seoul. This trip was the first time I braved the train, subway and buses alone. Once I reached Seoul, I met up with Miri. Miri is a friend that threatens me and makes fun of me, but she still takes me under her wing to show me things and interpret for me.

Here is a link to the pictures.

Would you like hashbrowns with that?

2006-10-26T07:37:00.000+09:00

Job 6:6 Can that which is unsavoury be eaten without salt? or is there [any] taste in the white of an egg?

I was walking to Camp Casey yesterday morning and I gave Bonita Dawn a call. (If you do not know Bonita, she is my long time "partner in crime" from Alabama.) While talking to her, I passed a street vendor selling something that smelled good, and I was hungry. Since Bonita was with me, I was feeling brave and purchased the mystery food. YUMMY! It is some kind of sweet bread - think Jiffy Cornbread, just not as grainy - with an egg right in the center. I tossed the yolk, because I cannot stand boiled eggs, but the white and the bread was too delicious - or maybe I was too hungry. Here is a picture for your viewing pleasure, but it tastes better than it looks:

If you look closely, you can see an uneaten yolk inside the wrapper! LOL

It was so good, that Erin and I are walking this morning to look for the vendor again. These things are 2 for a dollar, so it is a cheap breakfast!

What time is it? Work Time!

2006-10-25T07:16:00.000+09:00

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. I Corinthians 15:58

You have read a bit about the zany adventures of acclimating to Korea. I get to explore, but here is a little about what the chaplain is doing. His work days begin at 5 and end about 11:30. He has been to the apartment twice in the last two weeks, so the girls and I have been spending alot of time chasing him around Camp Casey and helping out where we can - which is more than we would see him if we were in the states. While it may be long days, it is still fun, especially when we see unchurched soldiers coming to chapel to see what it is all about.

Here is a little of what the chaplain is doing:

Leading the West Casey Chapel services, and those services are continuing to grow.
His chapel was selected to be involved in a new Family Ministry being planned, that will involve Sunday School Classes and a children's program. There were already two Sunday School Classes, and now they can be expanded.
Lots of counseling. Not the kind of counseling where folks make an appointment and then come see you. Nope, it is the kind of counseling where folks drop in your office or see you out and about and let you know they need to talk to the chaplain - NOW. That means drop everything, and squeeze in an unscheduled hour - sometimes at 10 PM. Of course, if you come to this chaplain for counseling, you will get nothing but Biblical counseling, no matter what you believe. That is usually an eye opener for folks - mini sermons that are tailor made!
Plays football - okay, this one is work/play, but it gets him in with the soldiers!
Mentors a soldier that will be attending seminary after his upcoming retirement.
Leads a Bible Study and oversees the others that are taking place - there are four with another being planned.
Arranges Battalion volunteers for the USO and orphanage, with a building project in the works for the orphanage.
Handles Protestant Field Services for other battalions without a Protestant Chaplain.
(Hopefully) will soon be the fill-in chaplain for the 100 men stationed at the Joint Security Area on the North Korean border.
He spends his "free time" in the field with soldiers, and someone is always in the field or training.

Throw in a few things like inspections, guests and an evacuation exercise and you get a feel for his time in Korea. Of course, if you know the chaplain at all, then you know that is how he likes it. He heads to the field for three weeks in November, so maybe he can get some rest then.

What Time Is It? Game Time!!

2006-10-23T21:59:00.000+09:00

Well, the Beast did it. They won the Post Tournament. (They bought new uniforms for the tournament, but it is still the same team!) I thought I would have a little bit of a break to do some catching up, but the Division Tournament starts Wednesday night. They won last night in the last 10 seconds of the game. .....whew! That kept us in the winner's bracket, and tonight we ended up playing the same team. It was not nearly as close, and over anxious fans charging the field too early caused a penalty - we had to make our mark on the game! That's okay, it just meant we got to charge the field TWICE! lol

Here is a picture of the Quarterback Chaplain in action at one of the games, and then a picture of the team with yet another trophy:

Yes, Meghan is in Korea.......

2006-10-22T23:23:00.000+09:00

I got to reading through some of the past posts, and realized that Meghan is not making many appearances. Well, she is here in Korea, and working hard. Here she is with a few of the children from one of her classes:

She is really here, and really busy.

She has met a new friend, a wife of one of the soldiers, and her name is Meghan also. "The Meghans" can be seen roaming Camp Casey together, especially on Tuesdays and Sundays.

Devil Went Down To Georgia....

2006-10-19T23:26:00.000+09:00

...and CDB went down to Dongducheon!

Tonight was the Charlie Daniels Band concert. A certain chaplain had been looking forward to that concert every since MWR started advertising it. We thought we would not get to attend because tonight was also the first round of the post flag football tournament - game at 6 and concert at 7. We made it!!

The team purchased new jerseys, so I inherited the chaplain's old one. I handed it off to a certain fiddler from North Carolina, and it now sports a Charlie Daniel's autograph:

That is Annie behind me. I invited Annie and Karen to the football game, and they were able to attend the concert. Neither had ever heard of CDB, but that did not stop their excitement. Mr. Daniels has a pretty busy schedule in this part of the world, and he is looking good to be 79 years old - he turns 80 in about a week. Happy Birthday CD!

We had a great time, and were in need of an evening off. Cary did not come home at all last week due to 4:30 mornings and 11:00 nights every day. It was not planned, that is just how it worked out. I brought some of his work home with me, and was able to help, which meant a few of those late nights and early mornings for me too. My only early mornings were his Prayer Breakfast on Wednesday (which would not have been a late night, except I purchased a new color printer to design and print out his certificates, and it gave me FITS before I got it working) and I went with him to Yongsan this morning which meant meeting at the bus stop at 5:45 am. He had a meeting in Yongsan, so I did not get to spend any time with him there, but we had two hours on the bus this morning. We would have had two hours on the trip home, but his meeting was late and I'd already purchased my ticket so I had to leave Yongsan without him.

I have three posts I am working on, I just spend too much time proof reading them - and STILL find errors to fix. Grrrrr........ I plan on catching up on Monday. . . . . . . . . . yea right.

Cookie Caravan

2006-10-18T22:50:00.000+09:00

Leviticus 24:5 And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes thereof....

Several have asked what we need in Korea, and between the commissary and PX, we really have all we need. But if you are just itching to send something to Korea, then I have a list:
Cookies
Cookies
Cookies

The USO is sponsoring a "Cookie Caravan" for the soldiers at Christmas time. They are recruiting the wives to bake cookies and goodies to be distributed between December 20-24. If you want to send a few cookies this way, then I will make sure they are given to the USO and shared with the soldiers. I have to have the cookies before December 18. Fix any cookie or treat you would like, but remember it must travel well, and store well.

Legal Disclaimer: The authors and publishers of this site will be held blameless in the event of late cookie arrivals. Wherefore and forthwith all late cookies will be subject to consumption by the receiving family provided they are not fat free, sugar free, caffiene free, gluten free, and/or chocolate free. Any such cookies of the free variety shall be subject to some type of distribution rather than consumption.

If you want to send some cookies, just let me know. I will freeze them until the 18th. For convenience, and ease of freezing, pack them in an airtight bag then ship them in a box the size of a shoebox. I have access to four freezers and shoeboxes should fit nicely in them.

I am volunteering to be one of the 'elves' that delivers the goodies, so I should have pictures and stories to tell.

Thanks!
Betty Lynn

Walk to Camp

2006-10-13T21:51:00.000+09:00

I walk to Camp Casey pretty regularly. The trip is about 3 miles, and there is alot to see. Here are some scenes from my travels:

Bathing Bunnies

2006-10-12T22:20:00.000+09:00

This is Meghan's bunny in the middle of his bath. He goes limp when she is bathing him, even when he is belly up.

The Rest of the Story

2006-10-10T13:48:00.000+09:00

You have read the tale of my Korean washing machine, so here is my state of the art Korean dryer:

This drying rack is on the "patio" outside our bedroom. When I want to dry clothes, I pull the cord and lower it from the ceiling, then throw open the windows and ta-dah!

On a recent trek to E-mart, I saw these drying racks for sale. I told the chaplain that we were going to take at least one of them home with us. If anyone wants one of these babies for Christmas, you had better get your order in. When technology like this hits the market during the holiday season, it does not sit on the shelves long!

"What is E-mart?" Well, I thought you would never ask! Americans here call it a Korean Wal-mart, but it is better. There are no pallets of merchandise blocking the aisle, there are employees everywhere, and it is built UP rather than OUT. This particular E-mart is about 4 stories, and had an escalator that enabled patrons to move their shopping cart up to the different levels. The parking deck is right in the building, so there is no 1/2 mile trek from the back 40 to get into the store.

I had intensions of exploring E-mart after we found the white shirt that necessitated this foray into mass capitalism, but the real me just could not do it. Even with all the neat things, a store is a store, and stuff is just stuff. After about 15 minutes the novelty was gone, BUT I managed to drag myself to the small food court and have a Baskin Robbins ice cream.

Yup! 31 flavors has hit the Korean peninsula - only you would not recognize some of the 31. I feasted upon Red Bean Ice Cream (declining the Pumpkin Pudding, Jasmine Tea and Green Tea flavored ice creams on this trip.) It wasn't bad at all, and the chunks of red beans mixed in were a real treat!!

Erin bypassed Baskin Robbin's "Wellness Flavors" for some sort of Triple Chocolate Chunky Something. What a wimp!

Mushroom Clouds and Pigskin

2006-10-09T16:18:00.000+09:00

I just read on the internet that a certain neighbor of ours has been dallying with glow in the dark munitions. (Maybe the seismic tremors shook up a new hair-do for him.)

We missed it, and would not have known about it if I had not read it online. Do not worry about us, as of this post, all is well.

The only explosions in our area this morning was "The Beast" putting a hurting on yet another team. Cary's unit won the Columbus Day Tournament:

My Favorite Thing....

2006-10-07T08:32:00.000+09:00

An Asian Pear!

I have discovered many new things that I like - kimchee for example - and I have found a few morsels that I will never aquire a taste for - seaweed BLEH!! I shiver at the thought of seaweed. Of all the new taste sensations, Asian Pears are my favorite so far, and I have been chowing down on them since week one. These things are bigger than your average pear, and incredibly juicy.

We were recently given a 7.5 kilogram box(16.5 pounds for those of you that are metrically challenged) of Asian Pears as a welcome gift from the ladies in the chapel. The box had 8 pears in it, so you can see how hugemongous these things are. Normally, we slice them up and two or three Snellings feast on it. When these pears arrived, I was all alone. Although I sliced it, I ended up eating a whole one all by myself. That pear bit back!

Daniel and his family gave us a box of these pears and some dduk cakes for Ch'usok. The pears are divine, and the dduk was good but our American tasters had to get used to the chewiness.
Dduk is made from glutinous rice, and if I remember correctly, the rice has to be pounded until it becomes sticky and it is then formed into balls. These little bite sized "cakes" are filled with either sesame seeds or white stuff. The sesame seeds are lightly sweetened and taste really good, and since we are in Korea, there is a 97% chance the white stuff is rice based.

I have developed an inclination to put my own little twist on the Korean food - like rolling the above mentioned treats in sugar. One night, at Daniel's suggestion, we purchased a bag of little puffed rice cakes - think Quaker Oats, just smaller and much more bland. Of all the items the vendor sold, Daniel said these were the best - NOT! They tasted like puffed cardboard. I had no idea what we were going to do with this bag of cardboard cakes, when I remembered some extra chocolate icing in the refrigerator. Guess what! The puffed rice things were gone in a day.

Ch'usok

2006-10-06T09:24:00.000+09:00

Today is Ch'usok. It is similar to Thanksgiving, with a few extras tossed in. I found a young girl's Ch'usok project online, so follow the link to read more about it.

When I found out this was a gift giving occassion, I thought it would be a neat idea to send everyone a Chusok gift. You should see the gifts!! There are large gift packs in the shops consisting of olive oil, soaps, fruits, and best of all SPAM. Here are a few photos of the gift sets:

This is a Spam Set. The price is 45,000 won, which would make it a $50.00 gift. So this Christmas, forego the fruit cake and give the gift of Spam!

This is Tuna and Sesame Oil. (yum!)

A soap/toothpaste set. There are also gift sets of fruit, and I would show you the box of Oriental pears we received for Ch'usok, but we have already dived into it. Oh well.

Since it would be very expensive to mail all this stuff, I have an idea. Today, lather up in the shower real good, fry yourself up a SPAM sandwich, eat a pear and know the Snellings are wishing you a Happy Ch'usok!

New roommates

2006-10-02T11:19:00.000+09:00

Well, I finally succumbed to the wails of my petless girls. Yet another animal vendor was on the streets with his profusion of potential pets.

Kittens - no
Puppies - no way
Birds - absolutely never, you'll have to be living in your own place miles from me!
Turtle - that is a possibility, but the vendor only had one.
Chipmunks - ground squirrels running in a wheel like a hamster is a sad thing - nope

I am looking for pet grasshoppers or some other cuddly creature, when the girls happen upon:

Dwarf Bunnies

As best as he could in his limited English, the pet vendor assured us they would not make bitty bunnies if if we covered their cage at night. Good grief - there ARE outer limits to my American ignorance! These are RABBITS!! and I do not believe a little nocturnal privacy will hinder their prolific amorosity. I assured the girls that the same gender would be a much better guarantee of birth control, so we have placed our trust in our knowledge of bunny anatomy and hopefully have two bucks.

Since these particular bunnies are too tiny for hasenpfeffer (That is a 7 1/2 in tile they are sitting on) and dwarf bunny hors d'ouvres would be a bit tedious to cook, then I am really hoping these are both male bunnnies.

Chapel And The Ministry

2006-10-01T21:59:00.000+09:00

How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Sunset from the apartment.

We had a great Bible Study and Chapel Service today. Just when I think I can get a handle on names and faces, we get a fresh crop of new faces. Chapel is alot like church, but then also completely different. It is hard for tradition and "we ain't never done it like that" to be an issue when the entire congregation turns over every few years. The necessity of knowing the ever changing congregation and adjusting to their needs is even more pronounced.

At different times, some have made comments or expressed concerns that chapel is not "real" church, or that the chaplain cannot be a "real" pastor, because he is restricted by what he can and cannot preach. (After an initial seething thought, I have to laugh on the inside. I have sat through some real yawners, and I am glad chapel is not like "real" church.) As far as sermons go, they are prepared and never have to receive clearance from anyone other than the Holy Spirit. There is no fear of repercussions from other chaplains, higher ranking officers.....deacons, elders, disgruntled members, etc. ;)

During our time at Fort Benning, a few alluded to the notion that Soldiers were only attending church and accepting Christ because of where they were going after Basic Training. (A false assumption they were all headed to war, and they had to get right with GOD in the meantime.) After listening to the soldiers give their testimony, it had more to do with the fact that Basic Training was the first time many had ever heard about Jesus. All we have to do is share Jesus, and He will take care of the rest. So many of the soldiers had never spent any time with a pastor (shhhh, they do not know the chaplain is not a "real" pastor), attended any type of church service, or even read a Bible.

I want to say thank-you to a few folks from various parts of the country. Because of your concern for the men at Fort Benning, the chaplain was able to give over 3000 soldiers a whole Bible - for many it was their first Bible.

Now that we have left the country, we are considered "on the mission field" by some. As a chaplain, he has always been a North American Mission Board Missionary to the US Army, whether he is stateside or abroad. While the surroundings have changed drastically, the mission has not.

Recycling

2006-09-30T16:07:00.000+09:00

Here is an 18th floor view of the girls sorting our trash.

Here in Korea, you have to recycle everything. Well, technically you do not HAVE to recycle, but it is financially in your best interest to do so. Non-recyclables are placed in a special, individually purchased trash bag, and these bags are smaller than a regular kitchen sized bag and cost 1050 won ($1.11) each. Anyone else out there paying $22.00 for a 20 count box of trash bags? Recycling is not that difficult, as there is a sorting area just outside the apartment, and we have gotten into a new trash groove.

The teensy little trash cans with yellow lids are for food scraps (I said EVERYTHING gets recycled!) that get recycled into feed for livestock. The scraps are picked up every Friday by a small truck that looks like a cross between a trash truck and a concrete truck. Scraps are dumped into a heated and rotating backend. I watched from the window one day, and could feel the warmth off the truck - THAT was a surprise. In spite of the potiential assualt on the olfactory senses, there was no stink involved. (whew!)

Accumulating these tidbits of leftovers has been interesting. We were keeping our food scraps under the sink, but in the early days we would forget this little detail. (Did you know there are good old Alabama fruit flies all the way out here in Korea?) Now, thanks to some advice from Miri, our little scrap bowl stays in the freezer. Also, the sink has a special drain for catching these scraps. There is a 2 part plastic basket under the removable drain. Just remove the drain cover and basket, then toss the pieces of food that have collected there. I did not know until recently, that this basket has a special lid. When you lock the lid down and turn it to the right, the basket will spin really fast and sling all the water out of the scraps and down the drain! A high tech drain, that has got to be plugged into the wall somewhere! What is it with this place and electrified water sources???

Okay, a picture is worth a thousand words, so here is the sink with the oversized drain. (You can click the picture for a larger view-just in case you cannot get enough of my kitchen sink!) The first round thing is the stopper, so I can fill the sink with water. The second is a drain cover that will allow water and food stuffs to flow through, but not utensils. The black one is what covers the drain when you want to start up the Tilt-A-Whirl. Even before I knew about the carnival ride for scraps, I loved this sink!

Since we are on the amazing subject of kitchen sinks, this is beneath the sink. All the pipes in the back are where the hot water flows in the winter to warm the floors. There is a "map" on the cabinet door, and you can adjust the flow of water into each room according to the pipe's number.

I am sooooooooo looking forward to warm floors!!!