And now, some good news...

I was runner up for a contest run weekly on a Flickr group called Seoul Photo Club, and my photo got published in the Korea Herald!

I have been admiring this Flickr group for a long time- a year or more. And once we moved here, I thought maybe I'd add to the pool, but gosh, the photos are soooo good. I worked up my courage though, and posted just one, the picture of Rowan dressign in hanbok at the traditional village. Not the most technically great photo, but I thought the subject matter made it interesting. They thought so, too!! Still, I was horribly embarassed my on-camera-flash, quickie snapshot won. (If you go check out the photo pool, you willsee that this is NOT false modesty on my part- these people totally rock the photography!)

It was neat the photo was of one of the kids, but I missed getting a copy of the paper due to all the Cleo-butt-cancer craziness. Never fear, I found one in the sad, empty little Hannam Village library. They archive them after a week in a cupboard full of yellowing newspapers from God only knows when. I am pretty sure this particular Wednesday edition will not make it to the cupboard. Shhhhhh!

More photos, and some rather suckish news

These photos are from Changdok palace, one of the largest palaces in Seoul (there are about a gazillion.) We had to go on a guided tour, when last I was here they let you wander at will but no longer, so the photos are sort of ...eh. Too many people (like about 50 in our tour alone) and not enough time!!! The pand and pagoda pictures are from the area behind it, a royal garden that is one of my all time favorite places in Korea.





So okay, after you've perused lovely photos of Changdok palace and the "Secret Garden" behind it, I've got some bad news.

Cleo has cancer. :(

Its inoperable, its a rare cancer and its all around her butt. We thought it was a swollen gland, but when I took her in to get it looked at, they said cancer. I've had her out to Seoul University Vet School, and they unfortunately concur. They can replace a dogs organs and clone it out there (for serious!), but they can't do anything for poor old Cleo. No butt transplants have yet been perfected, and its spread, besides. We aren't real keen on radiation or chemo, for a dog, especially *our* dog, who would not understand or enjoy going through that. So its to hell with the diet, lots of food and love, and we'll enjoy whatever time we have. I take her back Wednesday and should hopefully know more about what to expect as far as time then. Prayers are always appreciated, I'm sure you all know how much Cleo means to us.

Insadong

Last weekend we went to Insadong, an area of traditional homes and building in Seoul. It was SO cool to see all the tile rooflines and little beautiful courtyards.
Kimchi pots- you know I love them!!!
We ate lunch at a fabulous restaurant inside a traditional home. It had a wonderful courtyard with fish and flowers, and paper doors and windows, and the MOST beautiful old wooden floors you ever saw. We ate on the floor, and had the traditional Korean meal.
It came with a gazillion side dishes, including dough porridge I had always wanted to try. We also ordered a seafood pancake for Gryphon, who loves all Korean pancakes and soups! Mark liked the fish. (It was yummy- just smoked fish!)
The stone gate at the front of the restaurant- no idea what it says as my knowledge of Chinese characters is virtually zero now. Well, I know numbers, and person and mountain, but that's it!!
The outside of the restaurant.


Mark and the girls wandering down one of Insadong's twisted alleys. I guess I have a thing for walking pictures!!

Skype

Skype is a *free* video call service we have been using to talk to our friends and relatives in the US since moving here. It is easy to use, all you need is a webcam and microphon (most laptops have these built in now) and did I mention its FREE???

Here are the girls Skype-ing with Olga and Val.They love to talk to their friends about Webkinz and DS games! Good thing it's, you know, FREE!!

I'm Cami Beaudry on Skype, look us up!!

Mountain hiking

We went hiking last weekend, but I haven't had time to get the photos up until now. AT this moment I am waiting for the household goods to arrive (they are late!!) and annoyed, so I decided to get these up to take my mind off it!

Bukhansan National Park is mountain range north of Seoul (Buk means north,Han means river, San means mountain). One of the mountains in the park is Tobongsan, where Mark and I used to go and hike on weekends. Now, hiking in Korea is not like hiking in say, Washington. There are hordes of people, for one thing. Also open air restaurants and snack stands all the way up, and tiny jewel like temples tucked into the gullies. Korean take hiking very seriously, and dress in hiking clothes and carry hiking poles and whatnot.

I finally got to buy an item I have long coveted- a scarf map of the park!! It has all the trails, temples and mountains on it. Sooo cool, I always wanted one.

The area has grown up since I was last there- far more building line the entrance street, a school that was in the boundaries of the park gone, far more people. But many things are the same- the beautiful temple complex at the bottom, the snacks sold (dried squid, Gryphon's favorite), the quiet(ish) streams, beautiful rocks and amazing views.

I am sure there will be many, many more mountain photos to come. We took the wrong path, and instead of sort of strolling up (what I remember) to the awesome rock outcropping and temple at the top, we found ourselves scrambling up rocks. I am not a fan of heights, so I was not so happy. Of course 78 year old women kept passing us, so it couldn't have been *too* hairy a climb, but then again, old women in Korea are awfully tough! SO we didn't get to the top on that path. Another day we'll go and get there.

If you click on the Flickr link for the slideshow and watch it on Flickr, you can hit "show info" and then the captions of the photos will appear. Or you can just look at the photos on the blog.

Korean Traditional Village

We got up and were sick of staying home, so we headed out, just the girls and I, to Namsan Traditional Korean Village.

It was SO COOL.

They moved several tradtional buildings and homes, including a Queen's residence, to an area south of Namsan Mountain. They put on performances, have traditional craft demonstrations, and altogether it is just a gorgeous little jewel in the middle of Seoul.

Watch the slideshow for lots of great photos! Be sure to hit the "show info" button, and it will give a description of what the photos are.

Happy Birthday to Gryphon!

Gryphon turned 11 on (our) Saturday, and the day started with a Hogwarts letter! Then it was off to Lotte World, Seoul's version of Disneyland.

Lotte World is a big mostly indoor amusement park, with mascots that are bears(?). It was crowded, but very fun!The balloon ride goes along the ceiling, high above the park. Sort of scary high, actually!!There is also a bowling alley, a movie theater,a swimming pool and an ice rink in the Lotte World complex, along with a mall!

The bridge to the outdoor part, Magic Island. Hmmm, where *have* I seen that castle before??

We opted to skip the peanut roasted squid, and instead were just tickled pink they had...
CHURROS!! A little taste of home!

We were at rest because of this sign.

Gryphon had a great day, hard to believe she is 11!!

Driving in Seoul!

Mark picked up the van on Monday, and I got my official license today, so we thought it was time to take the plunge and drive in Seoul! The weather was just super beautiful, so we hopped in the car and drove to Namsan Tower.Namsan means "south mountain", and it has a tower with a restaurant on top. A cable car or a network of stairs and trails gets you to the top- we opted for the cable car. It is a tradition for couples to come to the top and put a lock on the fence, then throw the key over the side. It symbolizes them being together forever. They are really cool to see, the thousands of locks.

There are recreations of the fortress and signal beacons from the middle ages on top of the mountain, as well as a beautiful pagoda, snack stands and a teddy bear museum.

The day was sort of foggy/smoggy near the skyline, so I don't have great pictures of the amazing view. Seoul stretches as far as the eye can see, in every direction. Below is a view of the Han river and bridges. The girls were impressed with the hugeness- I don't think they quite understood what a huge city they live smack in the middle of until today!

We're going to Lotte World, an amusement park, to celebrate Gryphon's birthday on Saturday, and then hopefully to a mountain to hike on Sunday. So more pictures coming soon!

Seoul exploring

I woke up at 5:30, because the dog was whining, and when I went downstairs to let her out, I was greeted by a bouncy Gryphon. "Hi Mom! I've been up since 2! I'm making waffles!" Ah, jet lag. So I stayed up, and Rowan joined us at about 6. Earliest she's ever been up. :) We walked the dog, unpacked, and waited for Mark, who said he'd come by at lunch. Well, he showed up about 10 and has a few days off to get us situated. But instead of doing paperwork and whatnot, I talked him into taking the day and going into the city. The girls were so excited- they wanted to go to NamdeMun market.We hopped on the subway near the post, and went to the Seoul Station area to get lunch first. Gryphon's criteria was a place we could sit on the floor at. We found one, and had kalbi (ribs) cooked at the table and wrapped in lettuce, with rice, garlic, and of course kimchi and side dishes. SO GOOD. Rowan got all adventurous and though it couldn't tough anything else she had, did try the kalbi and pronounced it "good". Mostly though, she ate rice and lettuce. (But not together, because in Rowan's world, food can't touch.) Gryphon chowed down and tried it all. That's my girl! We practiced Korean, and the words are slowly trickling back in- I pulled the word for garbage can out of my brain somewhere, and garlic, and a few more just arrived out of nowhere. So while I definitely need to study, it does help a great deal to be *in* Korea. Many people said my Korean was good, but I know they are just being polite! :)

We rode the subway then to Namdemun, a wonderland of "stuff". From garlic to rice cakes to towels and Korean clothing, its here. Rowan bought a doll- she named her Mina. Gryphon is searching for a small plaid backpack she saw somewhere, but oddly enough, didn't find at Namdemun. We saw beautiful Hanbok (Korean traditional clothes) and bought chopsticks.

Its a good thing I warned the girls that Koreans might touch them or their hair and would talk to them, because Rowan got a lot of that. Gryphon is not too old, but she *looks* older, so she got comments but not as much touching. Rowan actually enjoyed it, for someone normally so shy. She thinks it is great Koreans are so friendly, and she is not shy in Korea because people are nice. They *are* so nice- so helpful if you look lost, and always smiling, it is so great to be BACK!

We had planned to go out and eat with one of Mark's friends from work tonight, but when we got home around 3, Gryphon and I crashed. We are soooo tired. Rowan, on the other hand, did cartwheels all the way to post from the subway station, drug Mark to the park 3 times, went to the Burger King playland, and stayed up until 10. She apparently has no jet lag. Tomorrow is paperwork day- I need to get my license, a ration card, get us into all the various military systems. I'm sure we'll get an early start, at like, oh, 3 am, since we'll be up!!

SO good to be here. What an adventure, and the girls are amazing- nothing phases them!

On Our Way

Sunday we got up and drove back to Woodbridge, to the neighbor's house to say goodbye and pick up our suitcases and cat. While I rearranged luggage, the girls said goodbye to Nina, Delia and Ben.It was pretty sad, the kids have been such good friends- playing dogs, having sleepovers and just getting along so well. We will miss them so very much! We loaded the suitcases into an airport car, and headed to a hotel near Dulles for the night. Grammy and Papa followed us with the cat, who was actually very sweet and loving in the hotel. We think maybe we got the wrong cat!

Next morning, we got up and went to Dulles, and checked in. Our luggage was fine (I was worried it was over weight!) and the cat was okay to go (some confusion at the last minutes, so I was SO relieved!!).

Then onto the plane, where the beautiful flight attendants were waiting. The girls *love* the KAL flight attendants- they are so pretty! And they dress really beautifully, and bow, and are really just super pleasant. Gryphon enjoyed pushing the call button and getting lots and lots of peanuts and drinks. They had in seat movies and games, so the girls were well occupied, and we ate bibimbap (rice with vegetables) for lunch. The flight actually went somewhat fast, considering it was 7000+ miles and 14 hours!





The only wrinkle was the cat. Rocko was drugged, as per the vet's directions, with Dramamine. Supposed to work better than Benedryl for cats. Well...not so much. I gave her some on the way to the airport, but she howled at take off, so once in the air, I took her to the bathroom and gave her more. Then she somehow got out and ran around the plane! Yes, through the first class cabin, back down to the flight attendants area. I had to catch her and stuff her back in. I have no idea how she did it- one minute she's in the carrier, safely stowed under the seat, the next she was out! The latch was still closed, she didn't chew a hole, I guess she pushed the zipper about 1 inch and that was enough. So she rode on my lap after that, in the carrier, to be sure she wouldn't get out. I gave her yet more Dramamine. Nothing. More? Nothing. I am sure I way overdosed her with the stuff, so we'll be getting something different for the ride home, or better yet- we'll fly when she can go under the plane!! But she made it, no one was too upset, and thankfully there were 3 babies and one very, very irate toddler on the plane who screamed more than enough to cover any meowing. And the girls were great- they needed almost nothing and are such wonderful travelers that I could focus on the darn cat.
Mark and a guy he works with (I forgot his name!) were waiting for us, and we got into a van and drove to Seoul. It was so weird to be back, but so much older and with the kids! The weather was really cloudy and foggy, so they didn't get the full effect of how large Seoul is. They were tickled by our house, immediately unloaded all their stuff into their rooms and ran to the park next to the house. Then we drove around post and Mark pointed out the sights. Its much smaller than I remember! Rowan crashed about 8 pm on the couch, and Gryphon just after her.

We made it!!