Sunday, April 18, 2010
Moving Day Pictures
Getting our stuff and another busy week. 9-18 April
Well it has been another busy week here at the Heiser home. We received our household goods last Friday, 9 April and it was so nice to sleep in our own beds!! We all slept better, of course Zane is still getting up at the crack of dawn. Last night we finally put up a set of curtains in his room, over his blinds, and this morning at 7:30 I hear, "mommy, the sun wake up." I know that at some point in time this will all stop. The past week he has been getting up, going into the living room and turning on the tv. Now it is even better as we don't have cable hooked up yet so he is sitting there hoping the tv will somehow appear on its own. Back to the household goods getting here as it was an interesting day and I do have pictures to go with the post. The morning started at 6:45 when housing came to pick up the loaner furniture we were returning. They wanted more of it back as they are running out of loaner furniture with more and more families accompanying their soldier to Korea. Now, we were instructed by transportation in the states, not to bring all of our stuff as housing would have furniture for us to borrow. I was on the phone for 5 minutes trying to explain this as they wanted our dressers back, the kitchen table and office furniture. She finally, I think, understood that it wasn't in our household goods. We were only allowed to ship 6000 lbs of our stuff, which me managed to do and then some, and not allowed to bring our own washer and dryer. I do have a loaner set and love the dryer. I have to brag as it is a front load, Whirpool duet and I don't have the washer that matches. Our washer on the other hand is another story. We can't go anywhere once we start laundry as it gets stuck in the rinse cycle and won't go to spin on its own. We have to call this week to set up a time to get it fixed. Our furniture arrived about 8:30 and the lift to deliver our furniture to our second floor apartment was scheduled to arrive at 9:00. The lift couldn't get in the parking lot as everyone's cars were parked, the day just starting and no one had left for work so here are the Koreans calling the owners of the cars to move them. In Korea, you put your cell phone number in the window in case of having to move your car or someone hits you. I am not sure how well it works and we have yet to put our number in the Vue. Our furniture got delivered on the lift and it was strange to watch. Zane would have liked to ride the lift and it was hard keeping him out of the window when the lift would get up to our floor. All of our stuff was delivered in about an hour and a half. Which was great as we spent the rest of the day unpacking and trying to figure out where to put it all. We did have to go and buy a few pieces of furniture so that it could get put away. We bought Zane a closet, they don't use them here and a cabinet for the office. We had to get an extra hanging rack for our room as we had more clothes than 2 wardrobes would hold. We did as we unpacked got rid of 4 a bags of clothes. There are bins out on the street that you can just put your old clothes into and they will come along and pick them all up. Works very nicely! We have gotten all but 5 boxes unpacked. Now these last 5 boxes weren't in the house with us in Georgia while Jim was at the warrant officer basic course but in a storage unit we had while there. These boxes are all full of dishes and other items we didn't use in 6 months and thought we might want them while we were here. We are now not so sure of that idea as some of it will be given away. This is a great lesson in downsizing and learning that you can live with out a lot of your items.
The rest of the week was just as busy. We signed Zane up for Korean pre-school at the Presbyterian Church in town. They are wanting more American students and the children, Korean and American, will all be in the same class. The school is very nice and there are 3 teachers per room and Zane's class will be the smallest. There are 4 American kids starting tomorrow and they all know each other. Zane will go three days a week for 6 hours. He will wear a uniform, and have lots of neat classes. He will get Taekwondo lessons on Wednesdays, we signed him up for piano lessons, there is gymnastics once a week as well as English and Korean lessons. At some point in time over the students will get their summer uniform. Zane had to get a Korean lunch box and slippers to wear in the school.
On the 16th Jim had brigade organizational day, known as mandatory fun day by those in uniform. I helped the family readiness group sell food to the soldiers. Zane had fun running around and spending his time in the bounce house. He doesn't go far from us anymore and is learning who he can trust and can't trust. If he finds someone he likes and will play with him, watch out as he will follow. You have to have an extra set of eyes when out and about with him!! It was a long day and Zane crashed on the couch at 5:00 after getting home. Jim and I just sat and gazed at the blank tv. We get cable installed tomorrow, although I have enjoyed not having the tv on and haven't missed watching shows. We did have to find away for me to watch "Army Wives," and I will get to see the show weekly.
Saturday the 17th we went to a birthday party for a friend of Zane's at a place called "Little Bear" and he had a blast!! It is an indoor play area with places for kids all of areas. There were cars to drive, trampoline to jump on, zip line, 3 level cargo net made of giant rubber cables. It was a busy place for a Saturday afternoon but they all played. I even got my behind smacked by a little Korean kid and when I told him no in Korean he looked at me like, "the white lady just talked to me in my language." Now some of the Korean parents were very attentive to their kids and behavior and others could careless. One little boy rode a bike down the rolling slide, no one got hurt.
I do have a funny story about trying to find our high value items that got shipped. Jim was trying to locate his X-box and we couldn't find it anywhere in any of the boxes. We were convinced that it hadn't made it on the truck but walked off. I went to move the bookshelf and there was the X-box, in it's carrying case. We thought it was supposed to be in box with a seal but apparently it isn't.
It is going to be another busy week at our house with Zane staring school, Jim is in class all week and I am starting to work with the family readiness group as a co-leader. I will blog again next week with the adventures of the upcoming week.
We did get wonderful news from the church we feel in love with while at Ft. Gordon. They are now video pod-casting their services and we are so excited to catch up on the lessons. We truly enjoyed attending Journey Community Church and all we learned. That has been the hardest part about leaving the states, finding a church community here as not many churches have English services nor to they offer child care. If you would like to check out Journey, their address is www.journeycommunity.net. Now you can see why we feel love with Bobby Smith and the Journey Community.
We hope and pray that everyone is doing well. We do truly miss our friends and family and hope that maybe some of you will come to visit us.
Love you all,
Liz, Jim and Zane
The rest of the week was just as busy. We signed Zane up for Korean pre-school at the Presbyterian Church in town. They are wanting more American students and the children, Korean and American, will all be in the same class. The school is very nice and there are 3 teachers per room and Zane's class will be the smallest. There are 4 American kids starting tomorrow and they all know each other. Zane will go three days a week for 6 hours. He will wear a uniform, and have lots of neat classes. He will get Taekwondo lessons on Wednesdays, we signed him up for piano lessons, there is gymnastics once a week as well as English and Korean lessons. At some point in time over the students will get their summer uniform. Zane had to get a Korean lunch box and slippers to wear in the school.
On the 16th Jim had brigade organizational day, known as mandatory fun day by those in uniform. I helped the family readiness group sell food to the soldiers. Zane had fun running around and spending his time in the bounce house. He doesn't go far from us anymore and is learning who he can trust and can't trust. If he finds someone he likes and will play with him, watch out as he will follow. You have to have an extra set of eyes when out and about with him!! It was a long day and Zane crashed on the couch at 5:00 after getting home. Jim and I just sat and gazed at the blank tv. We get cable installed tomorrow, although I have enjoyed not having the tv on and haven't missed watching shows. We did have to find away for me to watch "Army Wives," and I will get to see the show weekly.
Saturday the 17th we went to a birthday party for a friend of Zane's at a place called "Little Bear" and he had a blast!! It is an indoor play area with places for kids all of areas. There were cars to drive, trampoline to jump on, zip line, 3 level cargo net made of giant rubber cables. It was a busy place for a Saturday afternoon but they all played. I even got my behind smacked by a little Korean kid and when I told him no in Korean he looked at me like, "the white lady just talked to me in my language." Now some of the Korean parents were very attentive to their kids and behavior and others could careless. One little boy rode a bike down the rolling slide, no one got hurt.
I do have a funny story about trying to find our high value items that got shipped. Jim was trying to locate his X-box and we couldn't find it anywhere in any of the boxes. We were convinced that it hadn't made it on the truck but walked off. I went to move the bookshelf and there was the X-box, in it's carrying case. We thought it was supposed to be in box with a seal but apparently it isn't.
It is going to be another busy week at our house with Zane staring school, Jim is in class all week and I am starting to work with the family readiness group as a co-leader. I will blog again next week with the adventures of the upcoming week.
We did get wonderful news from the church we feel in love with while at Ft. Gordon. They are now video pod-casting their services and we are so excited to catch up on the lessons. We truly enjoyed attending Journey Community Church and all we learned. That has been the hardest part about leaving the states, finding a church community here as not many churches have English services nor to they offer child care. If you would like to check out Journey, their address is www.journeycommunity.net. Now you can see why we feel love with Bobby Smith and the Journey Community.
We hope and pray that everyone is doing well. We do truly miss our friends and family and hope that maybe some of you will come to visit us.
Love you all,
Liz, Jim and Zane
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Easter Weekend, Nai-nai's visit and birthday celebration
Well here we are and another week has gone by and I am not sure where they are going. We are getting more involved with life in our community and doing well. Zane and I are going to playgroup once a week and have meet a great group of moms and kids. It is nice to have time with other adults and of course kids for Zane to play with. Well a lot has happened since my last post and I should probably let you all know what has been going on in our lives. Last Wednesday, 31 March, we signed the lease to our new home. We started moving things in the next day after Jim got off of work and finished on Good Friday, Jim had off, YEAH!! We also had our loaner furniture delivered as we didn't know when we signed the lease when our stuff was going to arrive. Well the following day Jim got a phone call letting us know our stuff was here, yes and it is getting delivered this Friday. I am so looking forward to sleeping in my own bed and possibly getting a good night's sleep. Of course I am not sure of where we will put everything as Korean homes don't have as much storage/cabinet/closet space as American homes. I will figure it out or get rid of a lot of stuff!! I am sure that we will be going downtown to find some furniture to help solve that problem but not until our stuff is in the house. I will take pictures of the before, during and after so you can share in our enjoyment!! When we moved in on Friday we didn't realize that we wouldn't have internet connected yet and it took until Monday. How did we ever survive without this wonderful form of communication?
My mom flew in on Saturday April 3 and we had a wonderful visit with her. Zane just stood there at the airport talking to her and couldn't even give her a hug. I think he was so excited that he had to tell her everything. We then took her over to Camp Walker, as we needed to go to the commissary, grocery store, and well we stopped at Starbucks as well. Here in Korea, mom had to surrender her ID and get a visitor badge so that she could be on post. They wouldn't even allow her to go into the commissary with us even to look. I made the trek into the store to get her Cheerios and a few other items that she so misses from the states oh yeah and Zane his yogurt. We headed back to our home, of course stopped to get her ID first. Mom and Zane played for awhile and then we walked down to the market for our weekly supply of fruit. I am learning that I need to do a bit more bargaining for my fruit as I am paying to much. We pushed Zane down to the market in the stroller and he loved that we had to go over the bridge that spans the train station. He would have stood there all day if possible. He even got to see a train and loved being above the train. We did eventually get to the market and do our shopping. The walk home was a bit more interesting as we used the stair underpass to get to the other side of the tracks and well decided that we could walk up the middle section instead of the stairs as it would be easier to push the stroller. Needless to say it was a great calf workout and a little harder than we thought, next time I will carry the stroller up the stairs or better yet Zane just needs to start walking and building up his endurance. That night we went across the street to a little restaurant where you cook the meat in front of you. Well it was interesting as I thought I had ordered a plate of mixed meat when in fact I ordered all duck. We did end up with pork and beef and no duck and know now what we ordered really was and won't order it again. Zane wouldn't eat and finally after figuring out that was all there was going to be decided to try the meat and loved it! Unfortunately for him there wasn't much left but he did get to eat some. We even got my mom to try soju, Korean rice alcohol and she wasn't a fan. Sunday morning mom and I tried out a very small church around the corner. It was a nice little place and I might go back but we are still searching for a church home in our area. We need one with childcare and that is hard to come by but I will keep on looking. Sunday afternoon we headed onto our small base and took Zane to an Easter egg hunt sponsored by the commissary. All the kids who participated had a great time. We came back to our house and friends came over for a very late brunch and birthday cake. We had a good time and it is always nice to get together with friends. Monday was mom's last day here and we took a walk and checked out the area around our house. Zane walked and we even checked out day care for Zane but I think I will keep looking. I have heard of a few good schools and we shall see what happens. I would like to help with the English classes on post but need childcare and well that is an issue on this base. It is itself a whole other can of worms that I will work on over the course of our stay here. When we got back to the house Zane curled up in his bed and went to sleep, guess that walking tired him out but he seems to think that when the sun "wakes up," it is time for him to get up as well. I will be finding black out shades as 6:30 is just too early!! Mom made it back to her house safe and sound. We will see her again in June and maybe even get over to China to visit her in August when all of the fall field exercises arrive. It is nice being a 4 hour plane ride away. Of course it is nice to have Facebook, Skype and email to keep in touch with all of our friends and family who can't be here with us.
Well Zane is down for a nap and I am going to read or maybe even take a nap myself.
Hugs and kisses to all.
Love and miss you all,
Jim, Liz and Zane
My mom flew in on Saturday April 3 and we had a wonderful visit with her. Zane just stood there at the airport talking to her and couldn't even give her a hug. I think he was so excited that he had to tell her everything. We then took her over to Camp Walker, as we needed to go to the commissary, grocery store, and well we stopped at Starbucks as well. Here in Korea, mom had to surrender her ID and get a visitor badge so that she could be on post. They wouldn't even allow her to go into the commissary with us even to look. I made the trek into the store to get her Cheerios and a few other items that she so misses from the states oh yeah and Zane his yogurt. We headed back to our home, of course stopped to get her ID first. Mom and Zane played for awhile and then we walked down to the market for our weekly supply of fruit. I am learning that I need to do a bit more bargaining for my fruit as I am paying to much. We pushed Zane down to the market in the stroller and he loved that we had to go over the bridge that spans the train station. He would have stood there all day if possible. He even got to see a train and loved being above the train. We did eventually get to the market and do our shopping. The walk home was a bit more interesting as we used the stair underpass to get to the other side of the tracks and well decided that we could walk up the middle section instead of the stairs as it would be easier to push the stroller. Needless to say it was a great calf workout and a little harder than we thought, next time I will carry the stroller up the stairs or better yet Zane just needs to start walking and building up his endurance. That night we went across the street to a little restaurant where you cook the meat in front of you. Well it was interesting as I thought I had ordered a plate of mixed meat when in fact I ordered all duck. We did end up with pork and beef and no duck and know now what we ordered really was and won't order it again. Zane wouldn't eat and finally after figuring out that was all there was going to be decided to try the meat and loved it! Unfortunately for him there wasn't much left but he did get to eat some. We even got my mom to try soju, Korean rice alcohol and she wasn't a fan. Sunday morning mom and I tried out a very small church around the corner. It was a nice little place and I might go back but we are still searching for a church home in our area. We need one with childcare and that is hard to come by but I will keep on looking. Sunday afternoon we headed onto our small base and took Zane to an Easter egg hunt sponsored by the commissary. All the kids who participated had a great time. We came back to our house and friends came over for a very late brunch and birthday cake. We had a good time and it is always nice to get together with friends. Monday was mom's last day here and we took a walk and checked out the area around our house. Zane walked and we even checked out day care for Zane but I think I will keep looking. I have heard of a few good schools and we shall see what happens. I would like to help with the English classes on post but need childcare and well that is an issue on this base. It is itself a whole other can of worms that I will work on over the course of our stay here. When we got back to the house Zane curled up in his bed and went to sleep, guess that walking tired him out but he seems to think that when the sun "wakes up," it is time for him to get up as well. I will be finding black out shades as 6:30 is just too early!! Mom made it back to her house safe and sound. We will see her again in June and maybe even get over to China to visit her in August when all of the fall field exercises arrive. It is nice being a 4 hour plane ride away. Of course it is nice to have Facebook, Skype and email to keep in touch with all of our friends and family who can't be here with us.
Well Zane is down for a nap and I am going to read or maybe even take a nap myself.
Hugs and kisses to all.
Love and miss you all,
Jim, Liz and Zane
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