My Valentine

We met - and found we were kindred spirits

We dated - and became best friends and fell in love

We got engaged - and couldn't imagine being apart

We got married - and thank God every day for our life together

Happy Valentine's Day to the love of my life!

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"Love is looking into someone's eyes and seeing everything you need."
-Kristen Kappel
      

Up the Hill

There is a tree-covered hill behind our apartment complex with some dirt trails winding upward and branching out in various directions.  Dulce and I were out for a walk and decided to explore, following an older Korean gentlemen going up the hillside in front of us.  When we got to the top, I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few other people walking on a well-worn dirt path along the ridge.  However, this wasn't just an ordinary walking trail... it was a fitness trail lined with exercise equipment!  As I mentioned in a previous post, Koreans seem to love random exercise equipment :)  This trail is a hidden gem and it's so close to our apartment.  As an added bonus, there is an open area at one end enclosed by a hedge with a tall monument.  This is the first place I've found for Dulce to run free.  Enthralled by a sense of freedom, Dulce leapt and sprinted around, grunting with a fierce determination to move as fast as she could.  I swear she was smiling the whole time :)  This is going to be "our" park that we will visit frequently.

This is one of my favorite pieces of equipment - you stand on a rotating disk and twist your lower body from side to side while holding onto the bar in front of you.  When I was young, one of my grandmothers had a similar disk at her house that we found was more fun to sit on and spin around :)

Weights... outside?

Grab a red handle and turn the wheel - it's a simple workout for your shoulders.

A memorial to fallen Korean patriots

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"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."  -John Muir

Going Brazilian

Last night, we hit the town with a group of friends and ate dinner at a Brazilian Steakhouse.  We ordered drinks and each got a plate with a fork, knife, and tongs.  Side dishes were placed in the center of our table to share including salad, beans, potato salad, and rice.  The waiter came around often with giant metal skewers of beef and chicken.  Some of the meat was taken off the skewers completely and some you had to grab with your tongs as the waiter carved a piece off.  There was no limit to the food.  For the "dinner" price, you could eat as much or as little as you wanted.

My favorite part was the grilled pineapple coated with cinnamon - it was heaven on a skewer :)

After dinner, we hit up one of our favorite hang-outs on the main street of an area called the Sinjang Shopping Mall for the remainder of the evening.  It's not a "mall" as you normally think, but streets brightly lit with neon lights and lined with many stores and street vendors.

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"Since there is nothing more worth having than friends, never lose a chance to make them."  -Francesco Guicciardini

A Walk Outside

Our apartment is in one of the many high-rise buildings within a gated complex that is a 1/2 mile in circumference.  Dulce and I took a walk around to check out what the complex has to offer.

There is a small soccer field with artificial turf.  This is very popular with the older kids that live here.

There are multiple playgrounds with swings and play equipment.

There is a single golf green which I'm sure won't take long to master :)  There is a fitness center behind the windowed walls beside the green.

There is a badminton court and some outdoor exercise equipment.

Just outside the gate, there is more random exercise equipment.  We saw this in a park in Seoul as well and people appear to use it often.  A lot of people here ride bicycles or walk to get where they're going.  It seems that fitness is more of a lifestyle normality here than it is in the States.  I have seen very few overweight Koreans since I've been here which makes America seem, in general, like a very fat country.

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"Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise saves and preserves it."  -Plato

Steak or Stake?

Waiting in traffic, this restaurant was beside us for a while.  It's just another example of things that are "not quite right" here.  The funny thing is, it looks like the word "stake" has already been changed - perhaps it was correct to start with?

It wasn't only the sign - the menu was proudly displaying the misspelling as well. Hmmm... a t-bone stake could kill 2 vampires at once, right?  :)

Related Posts:

More "Not Quite Right"

A Korean Dog

Korean Beachwear

"Not Quite Right" Busan Edition

"Not Quite Right"

Lost in Translation

Vaguely Familiar

A Laughable Snack

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Homophone: (hm-fn) one of two or more words that are pronounced alike but are different in meaning, spelling, or both

Happy Happy E-Mart

E-Mart is a large store that is comparable to Walmart.  It has everything from appliances to clothing to food.  It has two floors with ramp escalators to get up and down with your cart.  The escalator is actually magnetic so that your shopping cart sticks to it.

There was classical music playing throughout the store as we shopped, interrupted every now and then by the cartoonish-sounding store song.  The song is sung in Korean except for the "happy, happy, happy E-Mart" line.  It was hard not to smile when hearing the song while shopping but I'm sure the store employees feel much differently about it :)

They had an amazing selection of rice cookers. 

Is this shrimp, meat, and chips OR shrimp and meat flavored chips?

Either way, we chose not to buy them to find out.

Among the few things we did purchase were pumpkin-filled cookies (we both love pumpkin and they turned out to be really tasty) and some Pocari Sweat which is a gatorade-type drink that tastes a lot better than the name implies.

We met up with one of Johnnie's old Korean friends (this is Johnnie's second time stationed here) who treated us to dinner at a Vietnamese Pho restaurant.  Pho is a soup-type dish made with broth, rice noodles, meat (optional), veggies, and spices. Our friend made us add beansprouts, onion, hot peppers, and tons of spicy sauce because that's how the locals do it.  We were all sweating by the end of the meal but eating spicy food revs up your metabolism, right?  I went with the seafood Pho that had shrimp, crab, and squid.  Eewww I know - but yes, I ate it all (even the squids) and I loved it :)

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"Eat what you like and let the food fight it out on the inside." -Mark Twain

Helloooo Korea!

We made it!  Dulce and I are thrilled to finally be reunited with Johnnie in South Korea!  The 12 hour flight across the ocean was smooth and comfortable with multiple meals, snacks, free movies and games to keep me occupied.  Dulce had to fly in the cargo area but we got her a large comfortable crate and she seemed happy with no ill effects after landing.  Following the sun westward, I ended up seeing 18 straight hours of sunshine - what a great way to start this adventure :)

Collecting Dulce, my bags, and getting through Customs was surprisingly quick and painless with multiple airport employees eager to help me.  I opened Dulce's crate while we were waiting and she became an instant hit with many people stopping to pet her and take pictures.  Seeing Johnnie again was definitely the best part of the trip!  He came to pick us up with a bouquet of my favorite flowers (Gerbera Daisies) and had reservations for us at an amazing hotel nearby in Seoul.

The hotel was pet friendly and had things set up for Dulce.  There was a dog bed, dishes, food, treats, and toys.  She liked the bed but I think she missed Johnnie as much as I did and preferred to curl up on his legs instead.  It was wonderful having the three of us back together again :)

This sign was outside the hotel - reminding me that I am now living in the "land of the not quite right".  I am going to love finding gems like this to take pictures of :)

After a good night's sleep, we drove to our new home.  I love the apartment and I'm so glad to be done living out of suitcases.  I'll do a post on our new place with pictures soon.  Johnnie showed me around town and we did some shopping on base for a few new-house necessities.  In the midst of Korean signs, shops, and restaurants, there are some familiar things to be seen :)

We ended the day with dinner at the Bulgogi House.  In this restaurant, you had to take off your shoes and leave them on shelves in the entryway.  We sat on mats on the floor at tables that were very close to the ground.  A grill was placed in the center of our table and the waitress cooked the meat (pork) right in front of us.  A plethora of small side dishes, sauces, and drinks covered the rest of our table.  

My first 24 hours in Korea were a little overwhelming but so much fun!  There is so much to see that I'm relieved to have an entire year to enjoy it and take it all in!  I'm very excited to have our blog to show all of our family and friends what we are doing and seeing over here.  This year is going to be amazing adventure of photographs, food, language, culture, travel, and more  :)

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"The purpose of life is to live it, to taste adventure to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences."  -Eleanor Roosevelt