Peanut's first stuffed animal

The music box for the bunny I've been making finally came! He is now complete :) I think I may make him a jacket later.

Yeouido

Yeouido is home to many Korean business offices, including the Korea Stock Exchange, the LG Twin Towers and two major broadcasting stations KBS and MBC here in Seoul. It is also one of the many homes of the cherry blossom festival. This is the closest to where we live; along the island like plot of land next to the river, there is a 7-km road lined with 1,400 cherry trees ranging in age from 3 to 35 years old. We have had a week of cold so it wasn't too sunny out today; however, I was still able to get some fairly decent pictures. Also in Seoul are these lotus trees; they have large blossoms as shown to the right. They come in a white kissed with magenta and an ivory, the ivory seems to be more common here.

What I've learned from Korea

I knew moving to Korea was going to be a life changing experience. I anticipated being forced to look out for myself; to be more outgoing than I ever have in my life before. I would conclude this is one change that has occurred and will continue to occur until we return to the states. I believe everything happens for a reason; you experience hardships not to test you but to help you gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the things around you. So although I am forcing myself to be more assertive, I have also gained a deeper appreciation for the things I had.

When you are stuck on the BART train and it is crammed as full as it can go, remember to take a breath and think it could be worse... people could be pushing you from every which way until you loose all personal space around you. This is something that happens in Korea. During the busy subway times, living in Korea you must be prepared to be pushed, shoved, bumped into, and practically knocked down!

Acknowledge and appreciate the random acts of kindness such as someone holding the door open for you or the fact that someone says "excuse me" or "sorry" if they do bump into you. There have been many occurrences where I have opened the door to let myself through only to find I get bombarded by Koreans trying to walk through the same door because they won't open it themselves! A courteous reply is very seldom heard, I'd even accept a smile; some kind of act that they even acknowledge that you didn't have to open the door. As Greg and I have learned more to defend for ourselves and act more like Koreans while we are here, we have even been given dirty stares if we don't hold the door open, as if it is expected; yet, they don't even do it for themselves! Greg has pushed a door open hard enough that I can walk through right after wards quickly but it hits the person behind me, they then seem bothered that you didn't hold it for them. Oh the irony of it all!

For those of you who take the bus, be thankful the bus actually stops at the designated stops. Quite frequently I have to flag down the bus I want and if they don't see me, sometimes they drive right on by. Not every bus driver is like this, but during the busier times you find it happens more.

When you consider the cultural differences of the Korean culture versus American culture, it is easier to understand their actions. Here they have dictated politeness; they are required to follow certain customs/rules when addressing older generations. You are taught to not talk to anyone unless you have been formally introduced; this is the reason they do not acknowledge your act of kindness. You also do not act friendly towards anyone you don't know. In a culture that is so over populated, it is understandable that one must push, shove, and defend for themselves in some respect in order to make it in this city. If you aren't as assertive and do things for yourself, a lot of times they'd never get done. It is a little sad but you can very easily tell those who have visited the United States for a period of time because they are the few that appreciate the little things we do on a daily basis.

Our 1 year anniversary

One year ago,on April 13th, I married my best friend. We truly compliment one another in every way; I have never felt so at ease with anyone else but him... he is my better half. Today we spent our first anniversary together enjoying a wonderful dinner at the N Seoul Tower. The N Seoul Tower is the highest point in the city. There is a cable car that goes to the top; however, it was closed due to the high winds yesterday. We resorted to taking a taxi to the top. The tower is home to the Teddy Bear Museum, lock wall, souvenir shops and two restaurants. Many Koreans and tourists who visit the tower commemorate their love/visit by attaching a personalized lock to the lock wall; we took part in this as well. We will add another lock once the peanut is born. One of the restaurants is Korean style and the other is Western style; we dined at the Western style revolving restaurant called the N. Grill on the fifth floor. We enjoyed a wonderful five course meal with our lovely view of the Seoul lights below. Below is a slideshow of our night!

While in Insa-dong we learned about the Korean Wedding Ducks and knew we had to get them for our first anniversary. It is believed that Mandarin ducks mate for life; thus, they become a symbol of the partnership between two people. By accepting the ducks, the couple expresses their faithfulness for one another. If one mate should die before the other, they vow to not remarry.

The pair of ducks are hand-carved infusing the carvers spirit into the wood while he works. Traditionally, the grooms father seeks out the carver, someone who is fortunate and possesses the five fortunes (1. he must be rich, 2. he must be healthy, 3. among his family (including relatives) there must be no divorces, 4. he has a "good wife" and 5. he has many sons). Carvers can only make one pair of ducks in their lifetime. When the wedding day arrives, the ducks are wrapped in different colors of cloth up to the neck and carried to the ceremony; they are placed on the table when the bride arrives. After the ceremony, similar to the tossing of the bouquet in the United States, the groom's mother trows a duck to the apron of the bride, if she catches it she will have a boy as their first child; if she misses, she will have a girl.

The ducks are placed in a prominent area within the home. When pointing towards each other in a loving manner, they become a symbol for the couple, reminding them to be patient with one another and love each other. If you walk into a home and the ducks are facing away from each other, it signifies the couple is having a quarrel.

I've found cottage cheese in Seoul!

It has been a bit sad lately how much I'm craving dairy and fruits. I get by with the amount of veggies they have here but I never realized how many fresh fruits, veggies and dairy Greg and I ate until I couldn't really find it anymore! An no I don't think these are pregnancy cravings... even in the United States if I didn't get enough of it I'd crave it. Fruit choices are pretty slim since most things are imported, the only things we have at a decent price are apples, bananas and little oranges. I've been supplimenting my fruit intake by drinking more fruit juices. Anyway, at the knitting group last week someone was telling me about a little shop not too far away from Itaewon running along the base that has many foreign goods. I set out to find it and was surprised how easy it was to get to since it is in an alleyway. The shop is run by a little Philippino lady who speaks English, they didn't have cottage cheese yesterday but said she had ordered some more. I told her where I'm coming from and she felt it was pretty far so now she is going to save me a container to pick up on Saturday. I'm so excited!!!! She even has oatmeal, refried beans and cheaper cheese. I think I may be visiting her more often.

Yesterday Greg and I went to Subway for lunch, I had spotted one last weekend while I was in Insa-dong. I told him I wanted a tuna sandwich and oh my goodness, it was so good! Greg just kept telling me I was nuts, I have literally been dreaming about food it's been that bad. He said he doesn't really get cravings and will eat anything. Sad how I'm this excited about food!

Spring has sprung!

The weather is finally turning warmer and the blossoms are beginning to come out. We currently have a lot of these yellow blossoms but are awaiting the cherry blossoms. They should be out in the next couple weeks; they are so popular there are many places that have cherry blossom festivals!

Insa-dong

Insa-dong is a very big tourist area in the heart of the city. The streets are lined with art galleries, traditional craft stores, antique art dealers, traditional tea houses and restaurants. This is also the area where traditional Korean souvenirs can be found. When we arrived, we were able to witness a traditional Korean wedding; the video below is what we saw. Everyone involved is wearing Hanboks, traditional Korean clothing worn at special occasions. Western weddings are becoming more and more popular so Korean women typically take pictures in their traditional wedding attire and a Western style wedding dress.





We walked up and down the streets admiring all the traditional items and ended up getting a dragon bell. When you ring it, it represents good luck. We got another item but you will just have to wait to see that one!

Bridge Cafe for Greg's Birthday

Along the Han River, there are many bridges, on some of the bridges there are bridge cafes. Really they look like airport control towers. We went to Cafe Gureum or Cafe Cloud. This particular cafe faces the Moonlight Rainbow Fountain of Banp0 Bridge; starting the third week of April, the bridge will have a light and fountain show at night.

The cafe has three different floors. On the second floor there is seating out-looking the other bridges and Seoul city. They offered a small menu and we enjoyed a pork cutlet and combination fried rice. We were hoping to catch the bridge light show but found out it will be happening later this month.