Dr. Fish

Today we decided to walk around the downtown area of Daegu and take a break at this crazy place called Dr. Fish. I had heard about this place before, but this was my first time to actually go there. Dr. Fish is a coffee bar/lounge where you put your feet into little basins full of fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. I cannot tell you how bizarre this felt to us. Scott and I both decided the best way to describe it was a feeling of little bubbles bursting all around your feet. This was truly an unique experience.

Uncle Scott Arrives

We are all so excited to have Scott here with us in Korea! I am pretty sure we have completely bombarded him with attention.

2010

New Years Eve has never been a big deal to me and Jason. We usually make the choice to stay home and avoid all the drunk drivers out on the road. This New Years we watched an Indiana Jones marathon on television right up until midnight. Since Korea is 15 hours ahead of the United States, and that meant no Dick Clark, we were curious how the Koreans would ring in 2010. One of the television channels we flipped to had a huge crowd of people (it looked a lot like the crowd that gathers at Time Square) and a counter that was counting the seconds until the Year of the Tiger (this was pretty cool since in America we count down the last seconds of 2009). Up on a platform they had a man and a woman in traditional Korean dress with the host of the evening. When the clocked finally reached midnight the man and the woman together banged on a large gong. I did not see any kissing like we do in the U.S., but they seemed to be enjoying the evenings festivities. We all headed to bed very soon after and made sure to eat our black eyed peas for luck and turnip greens for money on New Years Day.

Christmas 2009

We had a great Christmas here in Daegu, South Korea. We were far from home and missing family and friends, but we had each other!

On December 23rd we had a huge dinner with some friends of ours the Best family (Jermie, Jennifer, Jaden, Jordan, and Jorgia). The food was wonderful and the company even better.

We got to see family and friends on the webcam and that was a blessing and a curse. I enjoyed seeing all the people I love, but it hurt not to be able to give them a hug.

Act of Charity

On December 22nd, Jason's battalion had their Christmas party for all the families and the single soldiers. As soon as we walk in the door I get roped into serving duties while Jason socializes with all the big wigs. It sounds like I would be miserable, but it was actually quite nice. He got to try to have a good time with Marley in tow. That adorable little child has an uncanny knack for sucking all the fun out of every situation. I could not help but chuckle every time Jason shot me a pleading look. Apparently he gave her whatever she wanted because she ended up throwing up a river of chocolate on the drive home.

As for Jackson, I have never been more proud to be his mother than on that day. Early on in the party one of the Chaplain's assistants made an announcement that they were still desperately short on toys to take to the orphanage this year. Even though we had already bought a few presents, Jason and I immediately handed over all the cash we had on us. The party continues on and I forget all about it. Eventually an announcement comes over the speaker that they are going to have a game of musical chairs for the kids. Jason and I start laughing to ourselves because there is no way our moose of a son is going to loose this game. As predicted, Jackson wins the game and a $10 bill as his prize. He immediately walks over and gives his $10 to the Chaplain's assistant and tell him that the orphan kids need it more than he does. (I found all of this out from the assistants wife. She also told me that her kids almost cried when they saw this and asked if they could give their money.) I love my son, but my favorite thing about that boy has always been his big heart.

ReUp

Jason reenlisted the other day for the last time. He now has only 5 more years until retirement!

Purse shopping

Yesterday was quite a long and interesting day. My friend Jennifer and I boarded a bus at 5 am bound for Osan, South Korea. I brought a backpack of things to keep me entertained for the 3 hour drive and made sure to take a Dramamine just in case. About 20 minutes into the bus ride we all start complaining to the driver to please turn the heat down. The driver responds by pretending he does not speak any English. Thank goodness for the freezing temperatures outside because all the windows were frozen. I spent the entire drive with my face on the glass trying to cool off. By the time we reached our destination I had shed every last extra layer of clothing that I could. It was so wonderful to finally escape that bus and have some fresh air. Our first order business was to spend a couple hours in the PX (the Osan PX is soooooooo much bigger and better than the one in Daegu. It is like comparing a dollar store and a Super Target.) Once 11 am rolled around we headed out to The Ville to get what we really came for........PURSES!!!! Some friends had given us directions to the places with the really good stuff. The first time I read over the directions I had to laugh out loud because it read like one of those cheat books for a video game (you know like jump on the purple mushroom.....go under the fourth black rock....). The directions told us to go down this alley and look for a soup shop and a blanket shop (let me explain something about Korea......there is a soup shop and a blanket shop on every corner!). Then we were to proceed til we came to the end, stop, and pretend to look for something or someone. The lady would find us and take us to the secret room with the good stuff. Holy crap!!! That is exactly how it works. Some of the stores have secret rooms hidden behind walls. Others you have to go up or down some narrow stairs or even through a little tunnel. It was so clandestine and I loved it!!! I feel totally safe here in Korea, but you would never catch me doing the same thing back home. After a couple hours of shopping and a nice lunch we boarded the miserable bus back to Daegu. Six hours in an oven on wheels.....pure hell, but ending up with two Prada bags and a Jimmy Choo with a wallet for $95......priceless!