Christmas Time!!

OK, I am going to smoosh all our Christmas season happenings into one long post, because I have been neglecting the blog badly lately! First off, Gryphon's band class (she plays alto sax) and choir club gave concerts at various places around the post. The above photo is at a concert at the big hotel here, the Dragon Hill, and below is the Christmas tree lighting ceremony. She had a blast,because they went out to lunch at various fast food restaurants after the concerts!

Christmas shopping was done mostly online, but the girls and I headed down to Itaewon to buy Mark some gifts. We ate at McDonalds, which the kids adore of course. No, we didn't have the Bulgogi burger. We have only had McD's in Korea 3 times, because I prefer to eat all the Korean food, but also because it just seems so stereotypical- look at the Americans, eating McDonalds!! We were hunting up and down the main drag of Itaewon for boxer shorts printed with denominations of Korean money. Yes, that is what Mark asked for!The Boy Scouts on post get live trees in, but you must preorder and I had heard they are in really bad shape- they are sent from somewhere far away. (In case you don't know, while South Korea is forested now, the Japanese cut down every tree in the country practically during the occupation. So, trees are a valuable thing in Korea, cutting one down is really frowned upon, and there are no Christmas tree farms!)So for the first time ever we got a *fake* tree. This is how it looked out of the box. It looked okay put up and decorated, but...still looks pretty fake!We decorated our little scuzzy front porch area.Christmas Eve we went to dinner at the Hartell House. It was yummy, roast beast.

Then Christmas morning came, and the girls had a good one.

Aunt Jill, the doll was a hit!!




We spent a large portion of Christmas day playing Mario Carts!

Then a friend, Matt, came over and we cooked a ton of food for Christmas dinner. Matt is a great cook.

Main course was goose, looking sort of raggedy here because I didn't think to get a photo before carving it all up!!

It was a good Christmas, nice to stay home and not travel, we even got snow (that's another post to come) and the kids have been sledding for days now.

Merry Christmas!!!

DMZ trip with Gryphon

We finished reading some books about the Korean War in school, and so it seemed like a good time to visit the Demilitarized Zone (commonly, the DMZ) that divides north and South Korea.
You can't just pile in your car and drive up there, only authorized tour groups run through the USO are allowed past the Imjin river. So we rode a bus with lots of other people, most of whom were *not* US military or citizens. There were people from Israel, Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Australia on the tour with us.

The first stop was the UN base in the middle of the DMZ, and Panmunjom, where talks between north and south (and the various other countries involved) take place. This is where you step "into" north Korea while inside the blue building to Gryphon's left. Only, it was CLOSED because of swine flu, of all things. And, the weather was very bad, so we mostly just stayed under the eaves and I didn't take many pictures (didn't want the camera wet!). The arrow points to a north Korean soldier standing on the steps (also staying out of the rain) on the north Korean side. Gryphon loves the DMZ, can you tell? It was really a bummer not to get to go in.Here is a South Korean MP, who are dressed very snappily, with reflective sunglasses and super shiny boots, standing guard. Too wet to get a close up! They stand in a Taekwondo stance, and only very tall soldiers are chosen for this job. Next stop was the Third Tunnel, an infiltration tunnel dug by the north under the DMZ to sneak troops in. This had really changed since I was here last- last time I went, it was just a hole in the ground you walked into, with a guard at the end who sat in a chair and stared at the north end, presumably to stop anyone coming in from that side. Now, there is a movie on the Korean War, a tram that takes people down, and its been filled in with cement and water, so no guard required at the dividing line. Drat!
Here is Gryphon getting ready to don her hard hat before we went down. There was a "no pictures" rule, so I left the camera in a locker as requested. Of course, virtually no one else on the tour did, and they were all snapping pictures the whole way down! Next time, I'm bringing the camera!

Gryphon may be grumpy at the DMZ, but as you can see, she finds landmines fabulous. Actually, despite the rain and cancelled portions of the trip, we had a great time together. We are going to go back in the summer, when visibility is better. (I didn't even bother to take photos from the observation areas, where on a clear day you can see Kaesong, because it was so foggy.) And the swine flu (Korea is completely ridiculous about swine flu) is over, too!

I'm cookin in Korean...!

Mark bought a Korean cook book, and I have recently been having a lot of fun cooking Korean food from it. OK, I'll wait while you get up from the floor, where you have no doubt fallen in surprise at the thought of me cooking. Now, I always thought Korean cooking was very complicated, and it is sometimes, but living here means I can get the ingredients easily and it isn't nearly as hard as I thought! And it is very, very good for you.

I was so proud of myself I took pictures, mostly because the ingredients are fun. I need to do a photo-post of the grocery shopping experience, because it is as much fun as cooking! The dates and ginseng are from an alley way market stuffed with herbs, vegetables and squirming fish. Even the regular ol grocery store, eMart, is a total hoot- they sample everything, with uniformed Official Samplers handing it out. They even sample beer!

This particular Korean cooking experience was SamGaeTang, a summer dish that is ginseng chicken soup. Not spicy at all, but very flavorful from the herbs and ginseng. I got a seasoning packet from eMart first, then added ingredients to make it more flavorful.

The stick looking things are some sort of herb, and of course garlic, green onion, and ginseng and the dates. I used cornish game hens instead of a whole chicken. You stuff the hens with rice mixed with garlic cloves, chestnuts and dates. Plus stuff some ginseng in there too, and seal the hens up.
Then you put the hen(s) in the pot and add chicken stock, more herbs, more ginseng, and some more dates and let it boil a good long time.

It smells just awesome, and though it is a summer food in Korea, I think its best on cold winter nights. Its Gryphon's favorite Korean food.
Add some green onions, salt and pepper, and it makes an awesome meal!

If you want to try Korean cooking, this is a great blog with recipes: http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tofu-stew-doenjang-chigae I recently made the Dwaengjang Chigae from it for Rowan, our book doesn't have a recipe for it. Let me know if you try any of the recipes!

Korean Halloween!

Well, it was a little rainy here for Halloween, but that didn't stop the fun! The festivities started with a potluck soup dinner at a neighbors, before the official trick-or-treat hours. Rowan was aghast that there was trick or treating only from 5-8:30, but that's life on a military base!

Gryphon was a werewolf this year, but the mask smelled yucky so she rarely wore it. Yes, its a sad milestone: she was NOT Harry Potter!

Rowan was a southern belle. She had admired the costume last year but they didn't have her size, so this year we ordered it online. Of course, she had to have a wig.

Gryphon went trick or treating alone with her friend Sidney, which was another big milestone. Sniff, sniff, my baby is growing up so fast! Then they went to a Halloween party before coming back here for a sleepover and to divide up the loot.

Mark and I traded off passing out candy to the hundreds of kids who came around (seriously, more than I have seen anywhere, ever!!) and taking Rowan and various other little girls around the neighborhoods. Amazingly, Rowan decided she was done at around 7 and she and 2 friends came back and handed out candy. Yes, she is actually not feeling good, because that is really weird for her!

It was a good Halloween, one of the funnest parts was meeting so many Korean kids who were trick or treating for the first time. Its nice to live on post and still have that little slice of America, especially on holidays!

Happy Halloween!!

And now for something different...

Instead of the usual pictures+text format, I have put in some videos. Our video camera has been inoperable due to a lost power cord, but it's back in business, so look forward to lots of really boring videos with nausea-inducing camera angles!Rowan's buddy Bella came along with us.

We drove up to Bukhansan National park, to see the fall colors and do a little hiking. Unfortunately, we are 0 for 2 trips to this park, as we once again failed to get to the top. This time, the culprit was not taking a trail that was too hard, last time's trail involved ropes and sheer rock faces, which I am NOT okay with! No, we were sunk by the yummy lunch of Oritang, duck soup. It took along time to eat, and we didn't have time to get to the top.

The lunch was so good though-!!

We did have time to see 3 temples on the mountain, which was nice. The colors are not yet at their peak, so we will take another trip in a few weeks.

A weekend trip, weirdness and waterfalls

Saturday morning, the girls and I packed up the van and headed to Jaechon, in the mid-eastern part of the country, for a gymnastics meet. Jaechon is around 2 hours out of Seoul, through winding roads and mountains.

It is a small town, very rural, with golden rice fields and apple orchards. The girls loved getting out of the city, and seeing the terraced tiny villages and traditional homes.

We got to Jaechon early, in order to do some sightseeing at an ancient resorvoir called Eurimji.

There was a small, sort of frighteningly dilapidated amusement park outside it called Eurimji Land, so of course we had to go. I veto'd anything larger than the mini-coaster.

Eurimji's main attraction was the waterfall, both a man-made one (seen here behind the girls) and a natural one, that was huge and flowed down a gorge behind the resorvoir.
All around the resorvoir were pagodas, and picnic areas, and restaurants. The pine trees here are some of the oldest in Korea.
We also solved the mystery of what the strange looking orange fruits are we see here. There are some growing on trees near our house, but they don't seem edible. Turns out, you just suck the juice out, not really eat it. Its called "kam" in Korean, in english...totally clueless. Never seen one. They are good though!

Then we went to Taechon College for a practice before the meet the next day, and out to dinner with the other gymnasts and moms that our coach teaches. In many ways, it is like being in the US and going to a meet in another state for the weekend, which we did many times. But it is also very, very different! For one thing, after dinner, the kids went alone back to the hotel (due to lower crime and a willingness to watch out for other people's kids, Korean children have a lot more freedom!) and the other 2 moms and I stayed at the restaurant and had beer! I don't remember that ever happening in the US. :) The hotel was filled with little rhythmic girls, just like in the US, but they were all Korean and the hotel lacked a pool but had house slippers available in your room.


Just like in the US, we all went to eat a good breakfast before going to the meet. Only, Koreans don't have "breakfast" food. Its just food. Winner of The Weekend's Most Unpleasant Experience Award goes to...

...kimchi for breakfast. You all know I love kimchi, and Korean food. I would eat it every day, and often do. But for BREAKFAST?! Even I can't get behind that. Rowan ate a few bites of rice, but even though she loves rice couldn't get behind that for breakfast, either. Only Gryphon really chowed down on her stew, rice and kimchi! Did I mention it was 9 am?! The restaurant was full of gymnasts from all over, it was cute- so like the meets in the US, yet so different!
Then we went to the meet, which was hopelessly behind schedule. Shin Soo Ji, Korea's Beijing Olympian was there, as were all the top level gymnasts, and basically every gymnast in the entire country. And they allllllllllllllll know Rowan. Its a lot of pressure for an 8 year old, when the entire arena stops what they are doing when the loudspeaker announces her name. Everyone is very nice and very complementary, but I know Rowan would much rather just blend in. That isn't going to happen, so I guess it's good they think she is doing a good job, and isn't terrible!

I did Rowan's makeup, but it was unsatisfactory, and Kim SungSaengNim trowled on a whole bunch more. There was a huge gap between the time she went on for hoop, and freehands, and her coach was judging so another woman was coaching her in the back. In the weekend's most surreal moment, Shin Soo Ji, Korea's #2 gymnast Lee Kang Hwa, and Korea's #1 junior (and the hands-down most gorgeous gymnast I ever saw, we call her Beautiful Feet Girl) were all gathered around giving her pointers as she practiced. That certainly doesn't happen for most Grade 2 competitors! (I have no idea how Korean school works, but 2001 is School Year 2 at these meets. I had to explain that Rowan is not extra-smart or anything, just that all 8 year olds would be in 3rd grade in the US!)

Rowan had a hiccup in hoop, but still got second. Her freehands routine was the most incredible routine I ever saw her do- just perfect. She even got an almost perfect score- 2/10th of a point from the maximum! That was probably excessive, but it was really an amazing routine. So she was happy, and her coach was sort of happy (RG coaches are never happy) and that was good.

The meet didn't finish until 8 that night, so we drove to Tanyang and went immediately to find a place to stay. I wanted a traditional type place, but it was dark and raining so the best I could od was an ondol room in a regular hotel. The girls were tickled to sleep on the heated floor, though the next morning Rowan said it hurt her head.
The next morning we got up and drovei nto Tanyang proper, to find some breakfast. Tanyang is a little town, set next to the South Han River and nestled between mountains. I took this lady's picture, wish I could do that! We were about to give up finding anything "western", and go eat kalbi (ribs) for breakfast in despair, when we were saved by...
Paris Baguette!! Thank goodness for Paris Baguette. Coffee and rolls!! No kimchi!! The girls (and I) were very happy for that. Next trip we will bring breakfast foods with us, I had forgotten the "there is no breakfast" thing, and I just cannot overestimate how yucky stew and kimchi are at 9 am.
Fueled up with yummy goodness, we were able to get to our planned destination, Gosu cave. I bought one of those fabulous bandanna maps of the region outside, at a store selling mountain herbs and souvenirs. Gosu cave is really impressive- beautiful rock formations, we even saw a glowing worm type bug!
However, Rowan decided that she is not a fan of enclosed spaces. And then the metal pathway started climbing up a big shaft, and as it got higher, she got quieter. I knew she didn't like high places, and pretty soon, she was done and not going any higher! Gryphon climbed up herself but the cave continued a long, long ways that we didn't get to see. Hopefully we can go back with Mark sometime. Next we drove to the river, where these 3 beautiful rocks come out. It was very scenic, and hoem of 2 of the "8 Scenic wonders of Tanyang".

We didn't take a boat ride, but see the pagoda on top of the hill? We climbed up there for scenic view #2, a natural stone bridge, on the other side of that hill. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when the girls saw the looonngggg staircase up the hill.
The view was gorgeous from the top, though, so that helped. Tanyang is very rugged, and the weather was foggy and cloudy, and the streamers of clouds trailing over the mountains was just lovely.

There was also one of those traditional Korean swings where you stand up and get really high in the area. Here I am (not so high) on it!Gryphon and I wanted San Jae Bibimbap, mountain vegetables mixed with rice (and spicy red pepper paste) for lunch. Rowan had eaten nothing but rice all weekend, because she isn't real into Korean food (or any food, for that matter). I was feeling sort of bad for her- all that excercise and no food! But hunger (or malnutrition) must have got the best of her, because she said the DwaengJongchigae (a not-spicy tofu and veggie stew that comes as a side dish) smelled good and actually ate some!! Gryphon told me to quickly get a photo of her eating *something* besides rice!!
After lunch it was back to the big city. I tokk a photo of the rest area- Korea has great rest stops on the major highways. Tons of food, a park, great big clean bathrooms. The funny thing is, nothign is very far away! In the US, we sometimes drove to Syracuse or Indiana for meets, almost 12 hours away. Here, even Pusan at the southern tip of the country is only 6-8 hours. But even if you don't *need* to rest much, the rest areas are still pretty cool!


Plus, you can get walnut cakes, which actually have nothing to do with walnuts except the shape. They are doughy fried walnut shaped things with purple bean paste inside. I am not describing them well- they are very tasty!!

And that's the play-by-play of our weekend getaway, complete with photos!