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Osan Market

A couple weeks ago we went down to Osan. Osan is where one of the Air Force bases in Korea is. Going there is soooo different than Army posts. Air Force bases are totally clean and nice, and their hotel is only $28 compared to ours here that is over $75! Air Force people get it good. We stopped in at the market on the way:

Can you tell how HUGE these green onions are? They were about 2 feet long and super thick.

Fish? Anyone? Anyone? You see fish just about everywhere in Korea--even for sale in the subway.

Rick was saying this was sort-of like a deli, where you could get potato salad, pasta salad or other deli food. Except this is a Korean style deli.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

Melon of Water

Nothing like some good watermelon in the summertime. Watermelons can run about $18 at regular stores here in Korea. I got this puppy for $5 or $6 (I can't remember now) at 5 Day Market. It had it's own burlap-ish carrying contraption so I was eager to lug it home--big mistake. The walk home had to be about 2 miles, if not more and it was hot and humid that day like crazy. When I finally got home I was so proud of myself and I wanted Rick to cut open the melon and enjoy my devotion to summertime treats. It didn't happen that way, instead, I think it sat on the counter for a day or two until I tried to cut it myself (that didn't work) so I had to threaten Rick to cut it or else... Once it was cut it was oh, so delicious!

Mitchell's

It's funny to blog about this place because we've only been there twice together but we had a fun time both times and I want to remember it. The first time we went there we went for a comedy show. The comedy show we could have missed. entirely. But the food, so good and reasonably priced. We left right after we finished our slice of chocolate mousse cake, priced at $1.95! We like visiting Camp Red Cloud because it is super nice and clean and I even won an ipod shuffle right there in those very walls. The morale department put on a version of "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" and I won an ipod shuffle--go figure!

KORAIL

I cannot pass up posting about our mode of transportation throughout Korea!



Dear KORAIL Subway System,

You have been so good to us. We can get where we need to go because of you. Not only are you clean and on time but you are inexpensive too! I am so glad you visit us all the way up in Dongducheon, and even go to Soyosan Mountain where we still want to go. You are very popular and have many visitors daily. I am glad I can put my things up above on the racks and never think that they might get stolen. I also appreciate that you are so easy for sellers to walk up and down the aisle trying to sell me stuff I never knew existed. Yes, I did buy 3 pairs of sport sleeves even though I'd never worn the first pair I bought a month ago. I bought a gloucosomine patch even though I couldn't understand all the benefits associated with it. And yes, I bought the cucumber slicer. This little gadget slices cucumbers so thin you can practically see through them. It was very amusing when the salesperson put them all over their face. A few minutes later another salesperson came through slicing cucumbers but this time proceeded to put the slices on other people's faces. Oh that was a good one! I also bought fans that turn into sun hats and some regular old fans but way cheaper than in the market. Shopping while traveling on your efficient train always brightens up my day!

Oh, Korea Subway, you are too good to us. You are speedy and reliable and you keep growing!

May you always remain wonderful,

me

Rick checking out the map

A door that leads to the other cars on the train, choo-choo!

See, nice and clean

People actually care about the elderly here, these seats are set aside for them and they are red as opposed to the normal blue seats. Thing is, men have priority in Korea. Sometimes I'll see a woman give up her seat to a man even if they are about the same age, no thank you.

Symbols of Our City

Don't worry if you were worried the pigeon would get left behind all the other birds and never have a city to represent. The pigeon is, in fact, the symbolic bird of Dongducheon. We even have a couple cartoon characters to boot, which we see on the sides of buildings and on the street divider. Bet you wish the pigeon was your city's bird!

Boots

Do these look cute or what? I tried to get them custom made and it turned out horrible. Loooong sad story but basically I got a recommendation from a girl with really cute custom made boots. So I put in my order after many months of waiting. When I went to pick it up, they looked vaguely like the boots in the picture. They sort of looked like farmer's goulashes when I tried them on... I could give more details but it's just way too depressing.

Have you ever anticipated something that turned out so opposite you could have cried?

Interesting Name

That's an interesting name. That isn't the only store name that's made us do a double take. In fact, we found a store that had the F*bomb in the store name for everyone to read and see. I mean, how do they answer the phone? "{Bad word} lovely, how can I help you?" Rick made me stand in front of the store for a picture but I'll have to white out the bad word because this is a G-rated blog.

Does this make our blog PG now?

Convenience Store Treats

Hot Roasted Squid anyone?

I'll think I'll take melon goodness instead

Speaking of melon goodness--this is a picture of our favorite Popsicle. I wouldn't even call it a Popsicle because it is so much better. It is melon and I am not even a big fan of melon but this is different. It is creamy. It is perfect for the hot and humid Korean life! It is 70 cents. I think it used to be a little cheaper. If you go to e*mart, you can get them cheaper. I don't shop at emart enough!

Unauthorized

We went on the DMZ Tour a week ago (more about that later) and one of the stops, of course, was the gift shop. Besides some cute little pottery vases and "wire from the DMZ fence" we saw the above lighter. Are you serious? First of all, it seems to have a legitimate eagle symbol on it but hello, um maybe check your spelling! And what is with that statement anyway? Kill anyone who is exciting and unusual and lives in exotio? Who came up with this idea? Definitely. Different. Comments?

Nanta

A few weeks ago we attended a performance of Nanta


We had a fun time. Nanta is a rhythmical theater show about cooking. When it tours outside of Korea the show is called Cookin'. It was fun to do a "night thing" because in Seoul we usually just do tourist stuff during the day. But I think my favorite part about it was the dinner beforehand. I think we had the best bulgogi yet! Seriously, if I would have known how good bulgogi was, I would have tried it more often. The thing about eating out at Korean restaurants is you usually sit on the floor. Sitting on the floor is okay for a short time but not for too long. Also, the places we've been are buffet style, so you have to get up and get your own stuff and then cook it over the fire in front of you at your table. This is okay for starters but honestly, if I go out to a restaurant, I don't want to have to worry about cooking my own food. Anyway, at this place we ate before the show, since we were on a tour with other people, the other lady at our table cooked the food at our real-live table; long legs and everything. Plus, the food was so delicious! The only sad thing is, our pleasant experience was over so quickly. We were sitting there, enjoying our meal, when, without any notice, we we told by our tour guide that we had to leave. No notice, nothing. So here Rick and I are trying to finish our last bites and get some water before our tour left us! And the other sad thing was, we showed up to the performance like 45 minutes early. Have no fear, we snuck some of our favorite Macadamia nut chocolates into the show only to find out later I got some chocolate on Rick's new fancy shirt. Luckily it came out and doesn't he look so good in it pictured above?

After the show we were on the bus back to our starting point. Suddenly the bus makes the wide U-turn in the middle of the street. Some U-turns in Korea require buses to do that (I'm not sure about it--they've got different U-turn laws) but this was weird-ER. Anyway, we look in the distance to see a ton of beef protesters with their candles in the middle of the street. Later that night we saw more protesters before finding our way to Namdaemun. There we found a few bargains before calling it a night. All in all we had a great time!

4th of July 2008, Korea

This 4th of July was really a great one--we both really enjoyed ourselves and were able to celebrate the day while remembering our country. Being on an Army Post often has it's advantages. The entire day was filled with a schedule of things going on here on post. We slept in a little too much so we missed some things in the morning but once we got moving, we had a blast. Never thought I'd be able to climb up into one of these:

The soldiers telling us about their vehicle, I forget the technical name of it, were so nice and helpful. I noticed they all had battle patches on their uniform signifying that they've been to war. I should have spoken up and said thank you for their service but didn't. Can I tell you the area where Rick is is tight and tiny! I feel like I barely squeezed in there and felt a bit claustrophobic (trying spelling that when blogger doesn't have a spell checker! Where'd it go???) It also does NOT smell good in those things. Not like it should smell good but I mean it just smells bad. If you look right where Rick's chin is, you can see the lens they see through. It's called paradiam lenses or something because the driver actually sits lower in the seat but his lenses see above for him. That way if they're getting attacked he doesn't have to worry about his eyes! I know I'm not explaining it great but it was fascinating to learn about.

Inside the tank.

Vroom vroom. Was I on M*A*S*H or what?

We got to meet Chuck Norris. I guess all the guys get to name their tanks. Behind us was Aphrodisiac! (Thank goodness firefox has spell check!!!)

We got to ride in these go-carts. How cool--they set these up for the 4th of July and they'll be here on the weekends throughout the summer.

We got to see "cheerleaders" perform

And another group, The Maxx performed. Rick said it should have been the Maxxx, with triple x's because it was uh, extremely provocative. And even though they most thrusted and gyrated, we stayed because I like dance and this was...sort of dance.

This was so cool and the highlight of the night. I think it was called "A Salute to the Nation". Each state was presented according to the date it joined the Union or United States. A soldier marched a flag to the stage and then a barrel salute was made. The soldiers were totally on task and it was fun to see them in action. Sometimes a barrel misfired and so the guy next in line promptly gave the signal for his firer to go!

It was so cool and so loud!

This video does not do the loud bang justice--it was super loud!

After that we watched the fireworks, which we were pretty impressed with. I wonder if the Koreans in town were wondering what was going on or if they are used to it by now. At any rate, we had a wonderful day!

I upload pictures but then they disappear...what is up, does this happened to you?

Have you thanked a soldier for their service and sacrifice?

Do you have a 4th of July tradition?
Are you going to answer these questions in a comment form or are you going to 'read and run'?

Piryong/Biryong* Waterfall

For all you visual people out there, this is a picture of the waterfall that Rick decided to scale (previous post explains more).  He started on the right side of the waterfall (left if you're looking at it).  He climbed up a little on the side of the hill before starting to climb on the rock part.  I wonder what he might try and do next...

*Koreans use their Ps and Bs interchangably, their Ks and Gs, and their Ts and Ds.