Updates

Greg finally got his contract to teach in the Spring! We found out it is a 3 year contract although I'm not sure exactly how that will work if he is starting in the Spring. Classes start March 1st and we will be leaving early February to attend a new faculty orientation. We also finally negotiated our housing which will be ready February 9th or 10th. We will be staying in a 2 bedroom apartment at DMC Ville in Seoul. It is currently the place Greg is staying at now. It features heated flooring, it's fully furnished, we get free breakfast during the week and there is even a maid that comes once a week! Of course there is also a gym, indoor pool and sauna. You can view the details of our place clicking on the picture below.



After many requests we also found out we can have pets at the Ville. They accept pets that do not make noise so we just have to hope no one complains about them. SO excited we get to take them, it has been the last thing we have been trying to negotiate.

Sims Family Adventures

Sims Family Adventures

Departue Update

Well, we found out the University will not be paying for our housing until March. In the U.S. that wouldn't be a problem because we would just find an apartment and pay for it outselves until then. However, in Korea it's a little different; Greg found housing that would only be around $800 US dollars a month. They have this thing called key money where you put down a ridiculously large amount as your deposit to make your monthly rent lower. So, the place we were going to try to get... requires us to put $10,000 down as a deposit! By requiring a larger deposit the landlord is able to accept a lower rent because he also collects the interest of the deposit.

So, Greg is coming back to the United States at the end of December. We will be staying with his family until we leave together in March!

Greg's Apartment

Here are some pictures of Greg's apartment I took from a video he sent me.




Here is a video of the outside of the apartment:

Departure

Greg left for Korea today... so far I've been tracking his flight and he still has 4 hours to go. I'm hoping he lands safe and I should have videos up soon of the hotel he is staying at. Taking him to the airport today, I realized how much longer BART really takes... he almost missed his flight but we did meet up with his boss as he checked in right before us. I think when I go over I will stay the night in San Fransisco...

UPDATE:
Greg landed safely at 5:30pm Seoul time. I woke him up and got to video chat with him for a couple hrs. Skype is great! I think it will definitely make being apart much easier. Video will be up soon.

Traveling with Pets

Traveling with our two kitties is turning out to be much more confusing than I originally thought it would be. The Korean Consulate says they need to have their rabies shot in a min of 30 days to bypass the quarantine period when we arrive. They also need a health certificate. I also called Korean Airlines, as this is probably going to be the airline we use and they confirmed their policy, stating it was the same as what the Korean Consulate said. Korean Airlines was very confusing too. Originally the lady told me I can only bring one pet per person, but then she was trying to say I can put one in the cargo area and bring the other cat as carry on if they weigh less than 11lbs including the carrier. Unfortunately, Oliver is 13 lbs with the carrier and Baloo is 15lbs. They are going on diets today.

I went to the vet on Tuesday and they informed me they were having a shot clinic on Wednesday and that once they received their rabies shot, they would need a checkup within 10 days. Well, I drove my cats in their carriers an hr to the vet Wed. night only to find out I was misinformed! We have to get the health certificate within 10 days of our flight!

So now, I'm having Greg call the airline back to confirm things since I apparently can't get things straight. Our only other solution will be to have Greg fly back just so he can help me bring them.... I don't understand why we can't just pay an extra fine to have them both in the cargo area.

UPDATE:

I've talked to many airlines again and have confirmed how to travel with pets. Korean Air will let me take 1 as a carry on item if they are less than 11 lbs including their carrier and the other can go in the cargo area. So they are on diets, only getting half of what I normally feed them... it seems to be working, Oliver is now 10.6lbs when I weigh him outside the carrier. I'll confirm their weight when we go to the vet.

If they kitties are both over the weight limit then I will have to ship one of them using Korean Air Cargo. It is a little bit more expensive and it will also take longer to get him. So, we will have to see which route we have to take once they are weighted in their carriers.... I'm hoping Oli is down enough.

Airlines

My goodness there is a very big difference in prices around the holidays if I travel with Korean Air! Dec. 22nd it is around $870, but the rest of the week its over $1,000! Then the day after Christmas it drops down to $660 and drops again Jan. 2nd to $570 but only for that day. So far... Jan. 2nd looks like the day I may be leaving just based on the prices of the ticket (it's not set in stone yet). Bummer....

I'll keep you all posted as to exact dates when we decide them.

Newspapers

I just ran across this as I was searching for some Korean videos, Seoul has it's own English newspaper for foreigners! How cool is that? Greg leaves in a couple weeks, so we are packing up our apartment as much as we can before that.

Recent studies in Korea also found American food is causing many Koreans to become overweight. To counteract this pandemic, they have been making gym membership much easier especially for kids. My goal: to lose as much as I can before we go over... 1. because I'm limited on the clothes I can bring and 2. maybe then I won't stick out as much... 3. to be healthier! I am wondering though, from what I've heard and read so far regarding the culture, they work hard from 8-6 and then you are expected to go out with coworkers... so when does family time happen? When would people find the time to work out and try to stay healthy? Guess I won't know till I get there.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog! Our departure is approaching fast...During our time there, I will be posting blogs and video blogs documenting our travel and adventures in Seoul. You can follow our blog by subscribing below.