Happy New Year!!

Our first Jewish Holiday in Korea. I made matzoh ball soup and kugel for everyone and Benjamin dipped apples in honey. Thanks Mom for sending the matzoh meal! We lit the holiday candles and talked about having a sweet new, happy and healthy year for our family and relatives and friends. Not to mention we wish for some big changes in the White House!! Benjamin wishes for Sadie to be healthy and not have to go to the doctor. Next week we will travel to Seoul and stay at the military's religious retreat center for Yom Kippur. We've already received our information and memos (unclassified) from the Lt. Colonel Rabbi in Seoul. We're really looking forward to meeting other Jews in Korea. I think it will be quite an experience and can't wait to write about it. Shana Tova!

Bongmu Butterfly Park

My new friend Cassie told us about this great park in Daegu. So we packed our lunches and headed out. There is a butterfly museum and conservatory. There is also a lake where you can rent these great duck motor boats. Benjamin had a blast riding and steering the boat. Sadie had a fun time trying to catch butterflies. It's really great now that she's walking around and able to explore things on her own. Steve was fascinated by the butterfly fossil because butterflies don't have any hard parts so apparently it's a rare find. The weather was perfect and it turned out to be a fabulous day for everyone.

The Beginning of Fall

Every weekend is a little bit like summer camp for us. There is so much to do and see and take advantage of while we are here. At many parks you see these rock paths. The idea is to take off your shoes and walk along these rocks that hit acupressure points in your feet; believed to have health benefits. Benjamin and I tried it. It really hurts!!! The rocks are pointy and jab right into your feet. I guess I'll need more practice. Benjamin was able to make it further than I was. I've been seeing these rock paths all over since we moved here and just thought they were for decorative reasons until a friend mentioned it to me at a park one day. And then this day, we saw other Koreans walking along them.

Trash Talk

Let's talk about trash. I've never trash-talked so much in my life. I'm literally talking about trash! It kind of reminds me of Car Talk on public radio. Everyone calls in to Click and Clack and describes their car problems by imitating the sounds the car makes when it pushes 60 mph. However, in Korea we've encountered a whole new world of trash. I wish there was a radio station I could call into and ask my trash questions. Let me explain further. In Korea, garbage disposals are illegal, there are very few public trash cans that line the street and recycling is basically mandatory.

Everything must be separated. It's not like back home when you get your nice blue bin and stick your newspapers and bottles inside it and then place it on the corner. You need to buy special government stamped trash bags for the trash that gets burned. The rest gets recycled. This includes any scraps of food that would normally go down a garbage disposal. The trash shed behind our building basically has three rooms: one for the food (which I think gets used for compost or fertilizer), one for plastics, glass and cans, and one for card boards and paper. And not to worry if you think you are putting something into the wrong bin because the trash policeman whose job is to patrol the trash house will straighten you out. Frankly, I avoid this all together and make it Steve's job. But it's pretty disgusting to have to scrape all of your food into one container or clean out the special traps placed in your sink. And sometimes it's just confusing as to what trash is considered recyclable and what is burnable. Hence my many conversations about and complaining about the trash come up with my other American friends. It just always seems to pop up in a conversation.

So next time you turn on that garbage disposal or throw some trash into your Hefty Glad bags, please think about us separating our trash, going down twelve flights and about 250 feet to our fly infested and who knows what else, smelly trash shed.

Hanbit Apartments

Here are some shots of the apartment complex we live in. Each section has almost 20 floors. We live on the 12th floor. There is a covered parking garage and right at the bottom of the apartments is a small strip of shops and take out restaurants. You can get pizza, Chinese, fried chicken or Korean food. They deliver by motorcycle. There is also a dry cleaners and small market for when you run out of milk or ice cream. Towards the bottom of the apartment complex is the Hanbit Children's House where Sadie goes to school. The main street we live off of is lined with little markets, and shops to buy ice cream, candy and toys.

What we love is the convenience. We can walk to town where the open market is to buy fresh produce. Also, many farmers drive trucks around with a loud speaker and sell their produce. The other day a truck filled with fresh picked garlic drove by. It's too expensive to own a store front so this is how many Koreans sell their goods.

Children ride their bikes all over the complex and play. Space is so limited here. It's amazing the things we take for granted back in the States. Backyards, grassy areas, open fields and parks. They just really don't exist here. I'm craving a green lawn for the kids to run around in. However, Steve's enjoying not mowing a lawn or taking care of home maintenance in general.

We've met some really nice neighbors, Korean and American, in our building. We're really finding apartment living to be fun and convenient and easy with the kids!
The best part is we don't have to worry about Steve losing his keys again, since all we have to do is punch in a code and the door magically opens!!

Some Facts

National Flower - Mugunghwa (Rose of Sharon, can withstand insects and disease and blossoms around the country from July - October. Reflects the perserverance and determination of the people.

Country Name - Republic of Korea
Capital City - Seoul (10 million people)
Currency - Won
Language - Korean, written form - Hangeul
Location - between Japan, Russisan Far East and China
Population - 49,044,790
Calling Code +82

Taegeukgi

The above title is the name of the Korean flag. It symbolizes thought, philosophy and mysticism of the Far East.
Symbols: The circle is the essential unity of being.
Yang being positive, Yin being negative - together they represent duality.
For example; heaven and hell, night and day, fire and water.
The 4 trigrams represent duality of opposites and balances.
Top left - heaven. It's opposite, lower right - earth.
Top right - water. It's opposite, lower left - fire.
The circle represents the people, the trigrams the goverment and the white background land/peace/unity. All 3 elements represent the nation.

Herb Hillz

We took a fun field trip with the kids to Herb Hills this weekend. The military sponsers mini trips and excursions almost every weekend to many spots all over Korea. Today, we took advantage of a fun, family field trip to Herb Hillz. We were quite pleasantly surprised to find this great park in Deagu. It had a beautiful herb garden, rides for kids, and waterfalls. Even some fun arts and crafts cottages. Benjamin made soap in the shape of a teddy bear. These trips are really cool for us to take advantage of during our stay in Korea, super cheap and also another great way for us to meet other families and friends. Steve and I have just signed up for an overnight trip in October to learn zen meditation at a temple in the mountains.

Benjamin's First Day of Kindergarten

We are so proud of Benajamin. His first day of Kindergarten was a success! I can't believe how grown-up our baby boy is. Benjamin is attending Daegu American School on a base called Camp George. Jack, the dog (see picture above) will be home-schooled this year by Jenny. Many of you who know Jack I'm sure will also be happy to know that he had a bath recently.