Well I have been saying that I am going to get a blog up so that I can share our adventures in Korea with family and friends. I have finally got it up now let me see if I can keep it going!!
Our adventures started 2 March with a wonderfully long plane ride that started from Memphis-LA-Seoul. While on our nice long layover in LA we had dinner with my cousin and her finace. It was nice not to have to spend 6 hours inside the international terminal of which we will never fly through again!! The plane ride over was GREAT!! If you ever decide to fly over and visit fly Korean Air. The food was great as we had a choice of Korean or American. We were lucky enough to fly in one of their new aircraft which had little dvd type screens in every headrest in coach and lots of leg room. We never once had to pull out our dvd player for Zane as he got to choose from lots of kids movies down to the newest release. Jim and I also go to choose from movies we wanted to watch and you had your choice of languages as well. We landed at Incheon International Airport at 0500 and had to wait until 0800 for the bus and that was hard. All we wanted to do was shower and take naps!! We did eventually get to Yongsan and the Dragon. They wouldn't let me check us in and I had no idea how long it would take for Jim to turn in his dental records and orders. We finally got to our room and all got to clean up!! The naps never did happen but both boys were out by 6:30 that night of 4 March. Zane decided that 3am would be a good time to wake up but I convinced him to go back to sleep with the threat of no movies, tv or swimming that day and it worked!! We all slept until 6am and Jim had to be at in-processing at 7:45. Zane and I didn't do much but wander around and play outside at the nice play area that the hotel has set up since I was stationed in Korea back in 2000-2001. Zane loved playing and even got to play with a lot of other kids!! We actually went off post and into the area around the base, Iteawon, on Saturday and Jim showed us where he lived when he was there back in 2000-2002. All had a good time and Zane finally learned that mommy and daddy weren't joking when we told him there would be lots of people. He even went so far as to buckle himself into his stroller so no one would take him. He has gotten a lot more comfortable since then so we are back to working on the listening. It snowed on 10 March and I am glad we had Zane's snowsuit with us as he played out on the playground and had a blast.
11 March, we took the new KTX, bullet train, from Seoul to Daegu, where someone from Jim's unit picked us up and took us to our new home, Camp Carroll. We did have a minor accident with an escalator at the Daegu train station and all I remember is falling backwards and hanging onto Zane so he wouldn't get hurt. There wasn't an elevator and one would have been nice. We are all fine but I will have some bruises to show for the outing!!
Our new little base, is just that small. There is a small commissary but we have decided that it will do for small things. Once a month we will have to go to Cp Walker to the big commissary. I guess it is a good thing we shipped our small freezer. Oh yeah I can't even go shopping without Jim, yet. I have to get a rations card and for a family of 3 we are allowed to spend $800 a month on food. I will be shopping off post for fruits, vegetables and other odds and ends. I will need a tortilla press if anyone in Texas is willing to send me one!! It will be cheaper and easier to make what I will need. There is a very nice gym, indoor and outdoor pool. The outdoor pool has a water slide and spray pad. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time there in the summer!! We went for a walk around the post tonight and there are lots of hills but we like where we are going to be living. Over the next few days we will check out the town and see what we can find. I really want to find the fruit and vegetable market and check out prices on fresh meats, if possible.
I will post pictures to the sight over the next few days. I just wanted to get everyone some information about our new location and how we are all doing.
Lovea and miss you all,
Jim, Liz and Zane
Our adventures started 2 March with a wonderfully long plane ride that started from Memphis-LA-Seoul. While on our nice long layover in LA we had dinner with my cousin and her finace. It was nice not to have to spend 6 hours inside the international terminal of which we will never fly through again!! The plane ride over was GREAT!! If you ever decide to fly over and visit fly Korean Air. The food was great as we had a choice of Korean or American. We were lucky enough to fly in one of their new aircraft which had little dvd type screens in every headrest in coach and lots of leg room. We never once had to pull out our dvd player for Zane as he got to choose from lots of kids movies down to the newest release. Jim and I also go to choose from movies we wanted to watch and you had your choice of languages as well. We landed at Incheon International Airport at 0500 and had to wait until 0800 for the bus and that was hard. All we wanted to do was shower and take naps!! We did eventually get to Yongsan and the Dragon. They wouldn't let me check us in and I had no idea how long it would take for Jim to turn in his dental records and orders. We finally got to our room and all got to clean up!! The naps never did happen but both boys were out by 6:30 that night of 4 March. Zane decided that 3am would be a good time to wake up but I convinced him to go back to sleep with the threat of no movies, tv or swimming that day and it worked!! We all slept until 6am and Jim had to be at in-processing at 7:45. Zane and I didn't do much but wander around and play outside at the nice play area that the hotel has set up since I was stationed in Korea back in 2000-2001. Zane loved playing and even got to play with a lot of other kids!! We actually went off post and into the area around the base, Iteawon, on Saturday and Jim showed us where he lived when he was there back in 2000-2002. All had a good time and Zane finally learned that mommy and daddy weren't joking when we told him there would be lots of people. He even went so far as to buckle himself into his stroller so no one would take him. He has gotten a lot more comfortable since then so we are back to working on the listening. It snowed on 10 March and I am glad we had Zane's snowsuit with us as he played out on the playground and had a blast.
11 March, we took the new KTX, bullet train, from Seoul to Daegu, where someone from Jim's unit picked us up and took us to our new home, Camp Carroll. We did have a minor accident with an escalator at the Daegu train station and all I remember is falling backwards and hanging onto Zane so he wouldn't get hurt. There wasn't an elevator and one would have been nice. We are all fine but I will have some bruises to show for the outing!!
Our new little base, is just that small. There is a small commissary but we have decided that it will do for small things. Once a month we will have to go to Cp Walker to the big commissary. I guess it is a good thing we shipped our small freezer. Oh yeah I can't even go shopping without Jim, yet. I have to get a rations card and for a family of 3 we are allowed to spend $800 a month on food. I will be shopping off post for fruits, vegetables and other odds and ends. I will need a tortilla press if anyone in Texas is willing to send me one!! It will be cheaper and easier to make what I will need. There is a very nice gym, indoor and outdoor pool. The outdoor pool has a water slide and spray pad. I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of time there in the summer!! We went for a walk around the post tonight and there are lots of hills but we like where we are going to be living. Over the next few days we will check out the town and see what we can find. I really want to find the fruit and vegetable market and check out prices on fresh meats, if possible.
I will post pictures to the sight over the next few days. I just wanted to get everyone some information about our new location and how we are all doing.
Lovea and miss you all,
Jim, Liz and Zane
Pictures:(not sure if in order)
Zane at the Seoul Train Station
View from our hotel of comissarry and some of post
Zane at the Katusa snack bar with dinosaur
Zane playing at the play area at hotel in Seoul after it snowed.
So glad to hear that you are finally there safe & sound! How far did you fall? It sounds like you were lucky to go through that and not have major injuries. We are so glad Zane & you are okay! LOL about Zane fastening his belt in the stroller! : ) Did he like the 'fast' train ride? Really enjoyed your blog! Look forward to the pictures!
ReplyDeleteLove ya,
Kay, John, Grandma & PaPa