Drying the harvest

Koreans are big into drying out their harvest so that they can use it year round. I think this is a great concept. However they just lay it out on any old blanket anywhere, beside the trash, on the sidewalk, a parking lot, the playground, etc. I don't think this is such a great concept. I just can't believe that this is just the norm. They are not worried about germs, filth, animals, insects or humans tainting their goods. They don't even have them up off of the ground! Korea must be cleaner than the US. Everywhere we walk these days there is something out drying. Here you can see red peppers - a staple here in Korea, some acorns - I thought acorns were poisonous, two types of mushrooms, and what looks like zucchini.

Fishing in Korea

OK, I normally don't have my mind in the gutter, BUT... I couldn't walk past this sign and not share. This little guy fishing gave me quite a laugh.

Santa on Vacation? In Korea??

We were at the train station today when Stew tells me, "Look Mama, Claus..Ho Ho!" and he points across the platform to the other side. I was surprised to look up and see a Korean man who did somewhat resemble Mr Santa Claus himself. Of course he was dressed for the warmer weather. I personally thought he would vacation at the Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island, FL instead of Korea. I know I would! According to a friend of ours he is a tour guide, she had seen him before. Stew was just excited that he saw Mr Claus.

The wheels on the bus go round and round...

Today Lindsey and I took our boys on the city bus to to go shopping at E-mart. When you catch the bus in Korea you stand up and flag the bus down like you would a taxi as it is approaching. The first bus we tried to catch drove right on past us at full speed. Apparently the driver either didn't like Americans, Kids, or both. The next driver was kind enough to stop and let us ride. We happily got on the bus and took our seats. The boys thought they were big stuff because they climbed up into seats all by themselves to ride. I was proud of them for sitting down like I asked. Stew kept reminding me that he was sitting on his bum. We had a good time with all three boys. Stew and Skoebie even played at the toy area while Lindsey and I shopped for a while. It was nice to shop kid free even if it was only part of the time we were there.

The Show must go on!

On Labor Day here on Post there was a circus. The performers were from the Dong Choon Art Circus. It poured rain all day long so most of the other activities were cancelled. The circus was set up inside a tent, which didn't hold up very well to the amount of rain we had. These performers went ahead with their acrobatics and stunts despite the tent falling down around them. In the second picture I am not sure you can tell, but the guy on the bottom is on a up on table and he is standing on a board balanced on a round tube so he is keeping his balance the whole time side to side. Then this second guy climbs up onto the platform on the first guys head. He also does the same balance board trick, but adds tossing and catching bowls on his head to the act. One raindrop coming through the roof could have been dangerous if it landed just right. In this picture and the one of the tightrope walker you can see the tent ripping because of the rain behind them. This was a fun little circus. The boys really seemed to enjoy most of the performers. We saw, Contortionists, trapeze artists, a tight rope walker, performing dogs, hula hoopers, a chair stacker, an acrobatic lady swinging from a rope, a break dance group, performing dogs and the Motorcycles in a cage. The boys were totally fascinated by the dogs, and thrilled by the motorcycles. I thought since we were so close to the motorcycle cage it might be too loud for them, but they were entranced. Apparently the break dancers are a world champion dance team named b-boy. Who knew that Korea had world champion break dancers. As part of the other labor day activities we had our family picture taken with a piece of moon rock and a guy dressed like an astronaut. Stew got to eat one of his favorite meals "Monkey on a stick". It is actually marinated chicken on a bamboo skewer, but Joe told him once that it was Monkey and the name stuck. Stew thinks it is great stuff. He is a goof. Despite the rain we made the best of things. We even went shopping in the "ville" the little shopping area outside of post and got some incredible deals because business was so slow due to the rain. After all of that walking in the rain we were soaked by the time we made it back home. We then dried off and took one of Joe's guys out to dinner because it was his last night in Korea.

McDelivery Anyone?

Yes, you read that correct McDelivery. McDonald's in Korea delivers. Can you imagine how much worse our obesity problem would be in the States if McDonald's delivered? I still thought it was funny. McDonald's here also features unusual items like shrimp burgers and corn salad on the menu. So, just a short post about how life is different in Korea.

Korean Snow White

We went to Children's Grand Park in Seoul on Saturday. While we were there we watched a show called "Anistory". It it a Korean version of Snow White. As you can see from the pictures of the boys above, it looks like they have the right characters. When we get inside to watch the show... things aren't quite like Disney. When we first meet Snow White she is dressed in rags doing cleaning chores and talking to birds like another princess we know... Cinderella perhaps? Then we meet the dwarfs... little monkeys dressed in costume. The story then begins to look more familiar as the evil witch forms a plan to feed Snow White a poisonous apple. But wait, now we have two princes competing for our lovely princess. How do they compete for the love of a sleeping princess you ask? Well, with sports of course! They each have a seal play basketball to see who wins. The winner gets to wake up Snow White with a beautiful flower. Not a kiss folks! Finally, Snow White, her Prince, and their two seals play beautiful music. Who would have thought that fairy tales would vary so much from country to country? I wonder how other countries stories differ from the ones we were told as children.

Behold the power of a band-aid!

OK, as kids we all knew a band-aid could heal ANYTHING!  Skinned knees, shots, sore tummies, etc. But as adults we have become older and wiser... or have we.  Here in the wonderful world of Korea I discovered that a band-aid could even fix that fender bender you got into.  Yes folks, this is a band-aid sticker covering up this poor drivers parking/driving mishap! And helping hold the fender back in place after such mishap.   As you can see based on the size of the gas cap flap, this is no ordinary band-aid.  These things would sell like hot cakes in the states.  This is cooler than those fake bullet hole stickers.  Yet, somehow, more pratical than the fake baseball through the windshield.  This just made me stop and laugh.  I hope it does the same for you. OH... You gotta love living in a foreign land.