Yup, definitely getting old. It's 10:51 on New Year's Eve and I'm sitting at home in Ramsey. The worst part about that, I actually prefer this to a packed bar. Plus I'm cheap so tonight cost me $6 bucks total, just enough for a Papa Murphy's Pizza. Finally, a pregnant wife usually isn't too keen on spending a night in a bar. :) So I will live vicariously through the analysts I work with. Three of them headed to Chicago for the weekend, a little more exciting then Ramsey. Hopefully they will have better stories about New Year's Eve then me.
We are bringing in the new year with the best movie of the year however, the Dark Knight, on blue ray, on my big TV. You got to love the magic trick of making the pencil disappear, I'm going to watch that in slow motion after the movie is over.
The pregnant belly is no longer hidden. Laura decided that it was pointless now, so first day back from Christmas, no more jackets, large sweaters, or other belly hiding clothing. She said a couple of people stopped her to ask her how far along she is. She keeps claiming it gets bigger every day, I usually answer that I think that's the point. The kid is pretty much kicking constantly now, between the ribs, right in the bladder, and everywhere else on the stomach. I'm able to feel that now so it's pretty cool.
I'd like to talk a little bit about the absurd notion of a push present. In case you don't know what that is (I didn't) supposedly the jewelry companies of the world created a push present idea where the dad is supposed to buy the mom a gift for carrying the baby. I always thought the baby was the gift, as the mom you get to feel something grow inside of you, get really big, and then have it all go away and you get a kid for it. So what if sometimes it includes throwing up, swelling, and a little pain at the end. Laura keeps reminding me that she expects one, I keep reminding her it probably won't happen. So we'll see.
Laura also found some book that said I should be doing things like cleaning the bathroom, scrubbing floors, and doing all the dishes now. I'm not a big fan of things like that, but I suppose I can pitch in here and there. Although I keep reminding Laura that my brain just really isn't wired to notice dirt, so she may have to remind me sometimes.
120 days left until the kid walks into the world. The way it kicks constantly it will probably be running at 2 months. I will leave you with some New Year's resolutions, which are usually absurd because everybody breaks them.
1. Play as many video games as possible before the kid's born
2. Figure out how to use proper language around children, sometimes Laura gets a little out of hand with swear words
3. Start working out again, my goal was to have Laura and I meet at our weights by the end of her pregnancy, but she's not doing her part
4. Clean the house every other month (hopefully that's good enough)
That's all I can think of right now, I'm sure next year's New Year's will be more exciting, maybe we'll be able to take the baby to the bar. :)
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Cancun trip
So I know you are not going to believe me, but Cancun is cold man. We probably saw a grand total of about 5 hours of sunlight the entire time, it was 70's, windy, and cloudy for most of the time. I didn't get a lot of sympathy from people at work since it was around 0 at the same time, but hey I was expecting 80 and sun, so I'll complain if I want to. :)
We headed to cancun for my high school friends wedding. Kelles as we like to call him. For the first part of the trip we stayed at the nicest hotel in Cancun, Moon Palace. Great food, great service, great atmosphere. The second part of the trip, we stayed at the cheapest hotel, my choice of course. Terrible food, they couldn't even make hot dogs or french fries right. It was on the strip though so we got to go in the ocean for a couple of days and played a little beach volleyball. Both were all-inclusive and I tried to ask for a pregnancy discount since Laura could not drink. I didn't get it.
At the beginning of the trip we saw some Mayan ruins and we snorkeled in the cold water. After we snorkeled we had "beach time". This involved Laura and I huddling underneath towels to stay warm.
The wedding was on Wednesday, which was one of the nice days. Everything went off without a hitch, and it was a great wedding. Some great pictures of Kelles during the wedding, my favorite is the prewedding drink and smoke. Another highlight was Carrie's (the bride) brother dancing with our waitress at the end of the night. Overall we had a great time there.
We met my college buddies and their wives Adam, Krista, Dale, and Jessica at the second half of the week. Good times getting together and having a few drinks, although most of the time we served ourselves. We learned that Dale can't handle a boat on the ocean as he headed out for a 6 hour shipping trip and then forced the boat to turn around after an hour or so due to a little seasick issue. He claimed there were 8 foot swales, but I'm not so sure. :) You can also ask Dale and Jessica to perform at future events as they were called up on stage one of the nights. Both of them did a little stage dancing, I believe the worm may have made an apperance. They have video if you can convince them to show you.
There have been a lot of requests to see Laura's baby bump, some claim it's not even there yet. Laura has requested that you send pictures of your belly first, and then she will post some pictures of her belly. If you take a look online, you may catch a little glimpse.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
So that's it, good vacation, nice to take a break in the middle of December.
We headed to cancun for my high school friends wedding. Kelles as we like to call him. For the first part of the trip we stayed at the nicest hotel in Cancun, Moon Palace. Great food, great service, great atmosphere. The second part of the trip, we stayed at the cheapest hotel, my choice of course. Terrible food, they couldn't even make hot dogs or french fries right. It was on the strip though so we got to go in the ocean for a couple of days and played a little beach volleyball. Both were all-inclusive and I tried to ask for a pregnancy discount since Laura could not drink. I didn't get it.
At the beginning of the trip we saw some Mayan ruins and we snorkeled in the cold water. After we snorkeled we had "beach time". This involved Laura and I huddling underneath towels to stay warm.
The wedding was on Wednesday, which was one of the nice days. Everything went off without a hitch, and it was a great wedding. Some great pictures of Kelles during the wedding, my favorite is the prewedding drink and smoke. Another highlight was Carrie's (the bride) brother dancing with our waitress at the end of the night. Overall we had a great time there.
We met my college buddies and their wives Adam, Krista, Dale, and Jessica at the second half of the week. Good times getting together and having a few drinks, although most of the time we served ourselves. We learned that Dale can't handle a boat on the ocean as he headed out for a 6 hour shipping trip and then forced the boat to turn around after an hour or so due to a little seasick issue. He claimed there were 8 foot swales, but I'm not so sure. :) You can also ask Dale and Jessica to perform at future events as they were called up on stage one of the nights. Both of them did a little stage dancing, I believe the worm may have made an apperance. They have video if you can convince them to show you.
There have been a lot of requests to see Laura's baby bump, some claim it's not even there yet. Laura has requested that you send pictures of your belly first, and then she will post some pictures of her belly. If you take a look online, you may catch a little glimpse.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
So that's it, good vacation, nice to take a break in the middle of December.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
It's a .......
Well if you want to just know the sex of the baby now, you can jump to the link below and check out the pictures. That way you can avoid having to read the whole explanation of the day :).
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410/BabyPhotos#
So today was the halway point ultrasound. It sounds like we lucked out and got an early one that people don't normally get at around 8 weeks, but this one was definetely a lot cooler. Although not everything went exactly as planned. When we got their they asked Laura if she had drank a lot of water in the morning. I guess we missed the memo that Laura was supposed to have a full bladder. They proceeded to have her drink 3 small glasses of water very quickly. Not a great idea.
We were about 20 minutes in when Laura said that she did not feel very good. We all kind of froze for a second and then I realized, yup, she's going to ralph. Due to my cat like speed I was able to grab the trash can and get it to her in time. So back came the water and some orange juice. This was the first time Laura's thrown up the entire time, so we gave the nurses some greif about that. Also, for those of you who know the eye surgery fainting story, I just wanted to let everyone know I did not faint. So if you are keeping score, wife vomiting right in front of you, not a problem; watching a giant eye on a TV screen, find me a chair.
Other than that everything went pretty normal. We spent about an hour going through all the different body parts, measuring the leg bones, arm bones, stomach circumfrence, and size of head along with other things. Pretty cool technology overall. We were obviously waiting for the gender announcement which they made us wait about 30 minutes for, although both Laura and I had it figured out a little earlier than that. If you haven't looked at the pictures yet, now would be a good time. Pretty obvious that a baby boy is on the way. Not sure if the kid will like having that online in the future, so we may have to take it down at some point, but we thought it was pretty funny.
They keep telling us that the kid is pretty active, so I'm just imagining a one year old running around the house constantly screaming or something. We keep wondering if other babies just lay still in the stomach. We thought the legs and feet looked pretty big so we're hoping that Laura has a 6-6 uncle we don't know about. Time to start buying the basketball hoop and Twins jerseys, although we will also be OK if he wants to be in dance and play chess all day. :) Maybe.
So start sending in your baby boy name suggestions. We currently have none. Laura always had girl names picked out. My top choice right now is Maximus Meridius. Sorry Dale, Laura has vetoed Wilson and Billy so far, I'm still pushing Jimmy. But now we can eliminate half of the baby name book, so that's good.
Laura's belly is starting to make its presence known, which she tries to fight every day. We're starting to feel some movement, but no violent kicks yet. That's all for now, I'm still trying to convince Laura to let me put up some pictures of the belly, but I want to stay married for right now so I'll follow her advice that I better not put them online.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410/BabyPhotos#
So today was the halway point ultrasound. It sounds like we lucked out and got an early one that people don't normally get at around 8 weeks, but this one was definetely a lot cooler. Although not everything went exactly as planned. When we got their they asked Laura if she had drank a lot of water in the morning. I guess we missed the memo that Laura was supposed to have a full bladder. They proceeded to have her drink 3 small glasses of water very quickly. Not a great idea.
We were about 20 minutes in when Laura said that she did not feel very good. We all kind of froze for a second and then I realized, yup, she's going to ralph. Due to my cat like speed I was able to grab the trash can and get it to her in time. So back came the water and some orange juice. This was the first time Laura's thrown up the entire time, so we gave the nurses some greif about that. Also, for those of you who know the eye surgery fainting story, I just wanted to let everyone know I did not faint. So if you are keeping score, wife vomiting right in front of you, not a problem; watching a giant eye on a TV screen, find me a chair.
Other than that everything went pretty normal. We spent about an hour going through all the different body parts, measuring the leg bones, arm bones, stomach circumfrence, and size of head along with other things. Pretty cool technology overall. We were obviously waiting for the gender announcement which they made us wait about 30 minutes for, although both Laura and I had it figured out a little earlier than that. If you haven't looked at the pictures yet, now would be a good time. Pretty obvious that a baby boy is on the way. Not sure if the kid will like having that online in the future, so we may have to take it down at some point, but we thought it was pretty funny.
They keep telling us that the kid is pretty active, so I'm just imagining a one year old running around the house constantly screaming or something. We keep wondering if other babies just lay still in the stomach. We thought the legs and feet looked pretty big so we're hoping that Laura has a 6-6 uncle we don't know about. Time to start buying the basketball hoop and Twins jerseys, although we will also be OK if he wants to be in dance and play chess all day. :) Maybe.
So start sending in your baby boy name suggestions. We currently have none. Laura always had girl names picked out. My top choice right now is Maximus Meridius. Sorry Dale, Laura has vetoed Wilson and Billy so far, I'm still pushing Jimmy. But now we can eliminate half of the baby name book, so that's good.
Laura's belly is starting to make its presence known, which she tries to fight every day. We're starting to feel some movement, but no violent kicks yet. That's all for now, I'm still trying to convince Laura to let me put up some pictures of the belly, but I want to stay married for right now so I'll follow her advice that I better not put them online.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Am I supposed to eat my kid?
So you know all of those pregnancy books and websites that tell you what to expect as you go along; why do they believe the best way to describe the size of the kid is to compare it to food? They compare it to things like watermellon seeds, pears, and even a pineapple which is my wife's favorite. They really couldn't think of anything better then a pineapple? Just what a pregnant women wants to envision giving birth to 5 months down the line. It would be like comparing them to animals and saying now it's the size of a shrimp, now a hamster, and now it's the size of a porcupine. Real nice. I guess from my standpoint at least they compare it to foods that I wouldn't eat anyways, mainly fruits and vegetables. We may have a problem if the size comparisons were things like swiss cake rolls, hamburgers, and pizza.
We also had a dry run of what dinner will be like a year from now when Amy and Mike brought over their 6 month old Natalie. Basically a lot of noise, a lot of pounding, and a lot of moving around. Very entertaining and very cute, but just a little different then the current dinner situation at the Becker's which usually involves sitting in the living room, watching TV, and eating things like a bag of doritios, some Hickory Farms beef sticks, and a Diet Mountain Dew. Although it did cause us to use our dining room table. That's right, the table we've used about 10 times the whole 4 years we have had it. The table was just glad to be used for something other than holding mail.
It was fun to get to see how a 6 month old reacts. Basically you just need something that can make some noise and that they can try to grab. In our case she was fascinated with a water bottle. So no toys will be bought by us, I'm just using things I find around the house.
Finally, what is up with the lead time on daycares. I contacted a daycare this week and was told the next opening was in December of 2009. What are people doing, picking a daycare and then making a baby? Do parents just go around putting their names on waiting lists in case it happens? I'm asking the question when we go to the next one on Wednesday, need to learn in case we have a second kid. Although we'll wait and see how this first one goes before making any more.
Doctor's visit next week I think, Ultrasound in two weeks, Cancun in three. Can't wait.
We also had a dry run of what dinner will be like a year from now when Amy and Mike brought over their 6 month old Natalie. Basically a lot of noise, a lot of pounding, and a lot of moving around. Very entertaining and very cute, but just a little different then the current dinner situation at the Becker's which usually involves sitting in the living room, watching TV, and eating things like a bag of doritios, some Hickory Farms beef sticks, and a Diet Mountain Dew. Although it did cause us to use our dining room table. That's right, the table we've used about 10 times the whole 4 years we have had it. The table was just glad to be used for something other than holding mail.
It was fun to get to see how a 6 month old reacts. Basically you just need something that can make some noise and that they can try to grab. In our case she was fascinated with a water bottle. So no toys will be bought by us, I'm just using things I find around the house.
Finally, what is up with the lead time on daycares. I contacted a daycare this week and was told the next opening was in December of 2009. What are people doing, picking a daycare and then making a baby? Do parents just go around putting their names on waiting lists in case it happens? I'm asking the question when we go to the next one on Wednesday, need to learn in case we have a second kid. Although we'll wait and see how this first one goes before making any more.
Doctor's visit next week I think, Ultrasound in two weeks, Cancun in three. Can't wait.
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Doctor's visits
So about three months in we got to go to our first doctors visit. First off, the baby doctor's office, much faster than the normal doctor's office. The one where you make an appointment, show up 10 minutes early, and still wait 30 minutes to get into a room. Then a nurse comes into the room, does a quick check, and then you wait another 30 minutes. That's why I just avoid the doctor. Anyways, this one much faster, they put you in a room on time, and the doctor comes right away. Nice.
So Laura starts going through all of the checkup and the doctor asks how we told the family, so Laura explained the skydiving thing. Funny thing is that the doctor she called to ask if it was OK to go skydiving, is the same doctor in the room! She informed us it was the first time she had gotten that question.
We got to hear the heartbeat which was pretty cool and fast, so then we were pretty sure there was a baby in there. Then they asked if we wanted to try a quick small ultrasound, which we did. So we got to see the kid for the first time, very strange, you basically see the heart beating and then our kid was waving it's arms and legs all around. Crazy! Our doctor said it looked like a teddy graham, which it did. So first doctor's appointment ended, we are definitely having a kid, and we are not having triplets, oh well. No TV show for us like John and Kate + 8.
So a month later we have the second appointment. Pretty much a letdown after the first one. Laura weighs in, they ask her how she's feeling and that's about it. I was like really, that's it. The one crazy thing was that when they tried to find the heartbeat the doctor said the baby was moving around a lot. I told Laura I pictured a little mini baby running around in her stomach, in slow motion. Probably taking after it's dad, the great high school cross country runner. :) Let's hope not, cross country not very exciting to watch.
Next doctor's visit in a couple of weeks, ultrasound early December. Should be exciting!
So Laura starts going through all of the checkup and the doctor asks how we told the family, so Laura explained the skydiving thing. Funny thing is that the doctor she called to ask if it was OK to go skydiving, is the same doctor in the room! She informed us it was the first time she had gotten that question.
We got to hear the heartbeat which was pretty cool and fast, so then we were pretty sure there was a baby in there. Then they asked if we wanted to try a quick small ultrasound, which we did. So we got to see the kid for the first time, very strange, you basically see the heart beating and then our kid was waving it's arms and legs all around. Crazy! Our doctor said it looked like a teddy graham, which it did. So first doctor's appointment ended, we are definitely having a kid, and we are not having triplets, oh well. No TV show for us like John and Kate + 8.
So a month later we have the second appointment. Pretty much a letdown after the first one. Laura weighs in, they ask her how she's feeling and that's about it. I was like really, that's it. The one crazy thing was that when they tried to find the heartbeat the doctor said the baby was moving around a lot. I told Laura I pictured a little mini baby running around in her stomach, in slow motion. Probably taking after it's dad, the great high school cross country runner. :) Let's hope not, cross country not very exciting to watch.
Next doctor's visit in a couple of weeks, ultrasound early December. Should be exciting!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Telling other people
Thank god we've finally told everybody. Probably one of the most annoying parts of the whole process. :)
Of course my sister complained that I didn't mention her in the first blog post. What she didn't know is I would get to that later. The fact that she didn't believe me for about 5 minutes, so I almost just hung up on her. I'm such an honest person, I don't know what her problem was, but yes Val it was very important that you know. My favorite part is that she said she would not wait as long to have kids, without conferring with her future husband first. I told her maybe they should talk about that kind of stuff. :)
We had to tell Steph through Skype on the computer since she's over in Korea, and she was very excited. Other family and friends found out as we went along. Including some people finding out because they read this blog since Laura didn't get to everybody fast enough. Laura did get to tell her Korean relatives when she was over there and they were all very excited about it.
The day before I told some of my coworkers one of them told me to wait to have kids because I was still young and should just enjoy life. It was tough to supress the smile that day to hold it in. I told another we would be needing an infant Halloween costume the next year.
The really bad news is that we believe we have lost the bet with my college roomates on who would have a kid first. We kind of figured we were in trouble, but we were hoping someone else would have news first. So now we owe a dinner I think to all of them, so not only will this kid cost me money (just read some parents spend 17,000 dollars on random baby stuff the first year, ridiculous, my kid will learn to play with a cardboard box, I'll at least draw a face on it) but I have to pay off a bet as well.
That's it for now, seems like everybody is aware now, so I'll keep posting updates as we go. For now, back to watching poltergeist while I can still watch movies like this without worrying about scaring a little kid to death (like I was when I watched this movie when I was 5 because of my babysitter, the flying things in the room, a little traumatizing). I'll probably post something on the first couple of doctor visits soon.
Of course my sister complained that I didn't mention her in the first blog post. What she didn't know is I would get to that later. The fact that she didn't believe me for about 5 minutes, so I almost just hung up on her. I'm such an honest person, I don't know what her problem was, but yes Val it was very important that you know. My favorite part is that she said she would not wait as long to have kids, without conferring with her future husband first. I told her maybe they should talk about that kind of stuff. :)
We had to tell Steph through Skype on the computer since she's over in Korea, and she was very excited. Other family and friends found out as we went along. Including some people finding out because they read this blog since Laura didn't get to everybody fast enough. Laura did get to tell her Korean relatives when she was over there and they were all very excited about it.
The day before I told some of my coworkers one of them told me to wait to have kids because I was still young and should just enjoy life. It was tough to supress the smile that day to hold it in. I told another we would be needing an infant Halloween costume the next year.
The really bad news is that we believe we have lost the bet with my college roomates on who would have a kid first. We kind of figured we were in trouble, but we were hoping someone else would have news first. So now we owe a dinner I think to all of them, so not only will this kid cost me money (just read some parents spend 17,000 dollars on random baby stuff the first year, ridiculous, my kid will learn to play with a cardboard box, I'll at least draw a face on it) but I have to pay off a bet as well.
That's it for now, seems like everybody is aware now, so I'll keep posting updates as we go. For now, back to watching poltergeist while I can still watch movies like this without worrying about scaring a little kid to death (like I was when I watched this movie when I was 5 because of my babysitter, the flying things in the room, a little traumatizing). I'll probably post something on the first couple of doctor visits soon.
Monday, October 27, 2008
We're Having a Kid?
Ah, the reason for the question mark being, do we have any idea what we are getting into. I think not. So in case you are one of the people my mother has not found and told, and somehow you stumbled onto this blog instead, Laura and I are expecting our first kid. I've decided to blog a little bit as we go along, but the first few will be recapping some of what has already happened since I had to wait until we told everyone. To answer the few questions everyone asks.
1. due date is end of April
2. We don't know what it's going to be yet, probably will find out in a couple of months
3. Yes, this was right on the timing I had laid out in my excel financial plan 4 years ago, pretty impressive
Today's post is on how we and the fam found out.
Us
We were open to the possibility of a kid and after a few weeks went by we decided to try the pregnancy test. Mainly because Laura was going to go skydiving Labor Day weekend and we needed to see if that would be OK. So we got the pregnancy test, but supposedly it's harder then it looks on that commercial that shows the pee hitting the stick. (Laura loves that commercial) First test a little inconclusive, second test showed the positive, we bought a 3 pack and figured we shouldn't waste it, so the confirmation was also positive. After the excitement of finding out, a look of shock crossed both of our faces as we realized life would be a little different in 9 months.
Friedrich Family
Back to the skydiving thing. First of all Laura did actually call the nurse line to ask if a pregnant person could go skydiving. (The answer is no in case you were wondering, duh, but of course she doesn't listen to me) It was Labor Day weekend and Laura had planned on doing this with her mom for a long time. So as we were sitting around the table the day before skydiving, Ginny asked if Laura was excited about skydiving. Laura's line was supposed to be "I can't go skydiving, the baby might fall out". Instead she gave a weak no, looked away, and Ginny read it right away. Lots of hugs and excitement. One family down, one to go.
Becker Family
The difference with this side, is that it's the first grandkid, and they've pretty much been asking when it would happen since we were married. I think they were close to giving up hope, and hoping Val would give them a grandkid someday. We bought baby bibs and took them down to the campgrounds where they were at. When we got there Dad had gone fishing and took like 2 hours to get back. He finally came, we told them that we had another gift from Laura's family in Korea. So they opened the bag for a glimpse and then there was screaming and more screaming and some more screaming. Probably went for like 2 minutes straight. Don't forget we are in the middle of a campground site. Awkward. Aunt Becky conveniently brought over a pan at this time, probably to make sure nobody was dead, but she didn't catch on.
From there we've slowly told friends and family so almost everyone knows. If not, you're free to tell more people. That's it for this blog, trust me, I'm sure there will be more good stories as we go.
1. due date is end of April
2. We don't know what it's going to be yet, probably will find out in a couple of months
3. Yes, this was right on the timing I had laid out in my excel financial plan 4 years ago, pretty impressive
Today's post is on how we and the fam found out.
Us
We were open to the possibility of a kid and after a few weeks went by we decided to try the pregnancy test. Mainly because Laura was going to go skydiving Labor Day weekend and we needed to see if that would be OK. So we got the pregnancy test, but supposedly it's harder then it looks on that commercial that shows the pee hitting the stick. (Laura loves that commercial) First test a little inconclusive, second test showed the positive, we bought a 3 pack and figured we shouldn't waste it, so the confirmation was also positive. After the excitement of finding out, a look of shock crossed both of our faces as we realized life would be a little different in 9 months.
Friedrich Family
Back to the skydiving thing. First of all Laura did actually call the nurse line to ask if a pregnant person could go skydiving. (The answer is no in case you were wondering, duh, but of course she doesn't listen to me) It was Labor Day weekend and Laura had planned on doing this with her mom for a long time. So as we were sitting around the table the day before skydiving, Ginny asked if Laura was excited about skydiving. Laura's line was supposed to be "I can't go skydiving, the baby might fall out". Instead she gave a weak no, looked away, and Ginny read it right away. Lots of hugs and excitement. One family down, one to go.
Becker Family
The difference with this side, is that it's the first grandkid, and they've pretty much been asking when it would happen since we were married. I think they were close to giving up hope, and hoping Val would give them a grandkid someday. We bought baby bibs and took them down to the campgrounds where they were at. When we got there Dad had gone fishing and took like 2 hours to get back. He finally came, we told them that we had another gift from Laura's family in Korea. So they opened the bag for a glimpse and then there was screaming and more screaming and some more screaming. Probably went for like 2 minutes straight. Don't forget we are in the middle of a campground site. Awkward. Aunt Becky conveniently brought over a pan at this time, probably to make sure nobody was dead, but she didn't catch on.
From there we've slowly told friends and family so almost everyone knows. If not, you're free to tell more people. That's it for this blog, trust me, I'm sure there will be more good stories as we go.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Korea Day 8
Day 8
Our last day on our own was pretty uneventful. We bummed around Steph’s apartment until noon then headed back to Seoul to do some more shopping in Dongdaemun. First, we dropped Mom off at the Korean History Museum :). We had dinner with Pastor O’Neil, his wife Jennifer & their 3 children – John, Grace & James. They made us our first “American” meal that we’ve had on this trip – spaghetti!! As much as I love the Korean food, I think I’m ready for some pasta, pizza, potbelly’s, mcdonald’s breakfast…yum. Anywho…the O’Neils live at the base of the Seoul Tower – amazing location and it was so interesting to hear all about their time in Korea and their missionary work here. Later in the evening, Steph, Corey & I went to a Wine Pub so we could meet a few of her friends here. They had lived here anywhere from 3-6 months and were originally from St Louis, Canada & England. I thought it was pretty cool that this random mixture of people found each other in South Korea no less! As we headed back to Steph’s apartment, we stopped to have a little snack @ a vendor stand – ricecakes dipped in a hot sauce called dokboki – delicious, but super hot!
Tomorrow, we are heading to Ilsan to stay with our cousins for the remainder of our trip. We are driving up to tour the DMZ(de-militarized zone) that divides South & North Korea. Should be really interesting! Not sure if I’ll have access to internet for the rest of this trip so this may be my last blog until I’m back in the states! Can’t believe we only have 2 more days!!
Our last day on our own was pretty uneventful. We bummed around Steph’s apartment until noon then headed back to Seoul to do some more shopping in Dongdaemun. First, we dropped Mom off at the Korean History Museum :). We had dinner with Pastor O’Neil, his wife Jennifer & their 3 children – John, Grace & James. They made us our first “American” meal that we’ve had on this trip – spaghetti!! As much as I love the Korean food, I think I’m ready for some pasta, pizza, potbelly’s, mcdonald’s breakfast…yum. Anywho…the O’Neils live at the base of the Seoul Tower – amazing location and it was so interesting to hear all about their time in Korea and their missionary work here. Later in the evening, Steph, Corey & I went to a Wine Pub so we could meet a few of her friends here. They had lived here anywhere from 3-6 months and were originally from St Louis, Canada & England. I thought it was pretty cool that this random mixture of people found each other in South Korea no less! As we headed back to Steph’s apartment, we stopped to have a little snack @ a vendor stand – ricecakes dipped in a hot sauce called dokboki – delicious, but super hot!
Tomorrow, we are heading to Ilsan to stay with our cousins for the remainder of our trip. We are driving up to tour the DMZ(de-militarized zone) that divides South & North Korea. Should be really interesting! Not sure if I’ll have access to internet for the rest of this trip so this may be my last blog until I’m back in the states! Can’t believe we only have 2 more days!!
Korea Day 7
Day 7
I have go first start today's blog by commenting on my husbands!! I just read both of his posts...and just have to say I was laughing so hard I was crying! he is a much funnier blogger than I will ever be - so he's the official family blogger for future vacations.
Matt: I can't wait to come back and see our beautifully painted basement ceilings...er i mean see your beautiful face! glad to hear you're missing me and ready for me to come home!
Now for today's blog:
We ended up not going shopping last night in Dongdaemun b/c we were so tired after our thai massages….so our plan was to go at somepoint today. We headed back to Seoul today to have lunch with Oppa & Oni (our cousins). Steph’s friend Joe also came to translate for us. We ate a traditional Korean meal(can’t remember the korean name right now…) – chicken steamed in ginseng, rice & chicken broth. Each person gets their own pot with what looks like a cornish hen(bones and all). It was pretty delicious, but definitely not as spicy as we’ve become accustom to eating.
After lunch, we went to visit the Korean War Memorial. There were several statues/sculptures depicting the human struggle during this time that lead you into the Memorial Hall. These sculptures were pretty powerful and really showed the struggle that soldiers & refugees went through during this time. One statue in particular that was really moving for me was one called “Statue of Brothers”. This was a statue of two hugging soldiers-one fighting for North Korea, one fighting for South Korea. This statue represented all of the families that were torn apart by the Korean War. There were many instances where brothers & family members were separated and forced to fight against one another. I found out that to this day, there are still thousands and thousands of families that are separated due to the unresolved Korean War. The South Korean government has been trying to help families reunite, but it is very difficult as the only way out of North Korea is to flee through China.
Although these sculptures reflected a “serious” time in history…we couldn’t help but take some silly pictures-so be sure to check them out J
The aircrafts used during the war were also displayed outside the memorial hall. I don’t know my fighter planes/jets that well, but they seemed to have very small planes/helicopters as well as massive fighter jets & submarines. We took plenty of pictures of these as well…so for those of you in the know…please view the pictures to get more details on the types of aircraft used in the Korean War. ,
Inside, there were displays walking you through the history of the S Korean military & government. Most interesting to me was the chronology of how the Korean War played out – where the battle lines were drawn and how close S Korea was to surrendering. Within the 1st 3 months of the war, N Korea had pushed their way to the very southern tip of S Korea. Had it not been for the intervention of S Korea’s Allies (US/GBritain/Spain to name a few), S Korea would’ve been overtaken. They also had rooms & rooms displaying artillery, swords, uniforms – did you know that women fought in the Korean War? Ok…I’ll stop rambling about the museum….but all in all, it was very interesting.
Next, we headed to Namdaemun to do some shopping. Suprisingly, Corey was the only one that got anything!! After a few hours of shopping, we traveled by bus up the Namsan Mountain to see the Seoul Tower(the tallest building in Korea). We ate dinner there as well which was beautiful with the night lights of Seoul in the background. It was funny to hear from our cousins that this was their first time in Seoul Tower as well as the Korean War Memorial…considering they live so close!!
After Seoul Tower, we did a little more shopping in Dongdaemun, where again, Corey was the only one to purchase anything! Who knew he was such a shopaholic?!? There was one particular salesman in one of the stores that was really infatuated with Corey…and kept telling him to take his shirt off! Corey was having some trouble deciding on what size to get and this guy kept insisting that he take his t-shirt off to try on the shirt…when he did, he couldn’t stop commenting on Corey’s abs…it was strange & hilarious at the same time. We got a picture of Corey and his “friend” so check that one out too!
Tomorrow, we are going to relax-maybe do a little shopping; then meet up with our old Pastor & his family from Algona who have been living here for the last several years.
I have go first start today's blog by commenting on my husbands!! I just read both of his posts...and just have to say I was laughing so hard I was crying! he is a much funnier blogger than I will ever be - so he's the official family blogger for future vacations.
Matt: I can't wait to come back and see our beautifully painted basement ceilings...er i mean see your beautiful face! glad to hear you're missing me and ready for me to come home!
Now for today's blog:
We ended up not going shopping last night in Dongdaemun b/c we were so tired after our thai massages….so our plan was to go at somepoint today. We headed back to Seoul today to have lunch with Oppa & Oni (our cousins). Steph’s friend Joe also came to translate for us. We ate a traditional Korean meal(can’t remember the korean name right now…) – chicken steamed in ginseng, rice & chicken broth. Each person gets their own pot with what looks like a cornish hen(bones and all). It was pretty delicious, but definitely not as spicy as we’ve become accustom to eating.
After lunch, we went to visit the Korean War Memorial. There were several statues/sculptures depicting the human struggle during this time that lead you into the Memorial Hall. These sculptures were pretty powerful and really showed the struggle that soldiers & refugees went through during this time. One statue in particular that was really moving for me was one called “Statue of Brothers”. This was a statue of two hugging soldiers-one fighting for North Korea, one fighting for South Korea. This statue represented all of the families that were torn apart by the Korean War. There were many instances where brothers & family members were separated and forced to fight against one another. I found out that to this day, there are still thousands and thousands of families that are separated due to the unresolved Korean War. The South Korean government has been trying to help families reunite, but it is very difficult as the only way out of North Korea is to flee through China.
Although these sculptures reflected a “serious” time in history…we couldn’t help but take some silly pictures-so be sure to check them out J
The aircrafts used during the war were also displayed outside the memorial hall. I don’t know my fighter planes/jets that well, but they seemed to have very small planes/helicopters as well as massive fighter jets & submarines. We took plenty of pictures of these as well…so for those of you in the know…please view the pictures to get more details on the types of aircraft used in the Korean War. ,
Inside, there were displays walking you through the history of the S Korean military & government. Most interesting to me was the chronology of how the Korean War played out – where the battle lines were drawn and how close S Korea was to surrendering. Within the 1st 3 months of the war, N Korea had pushed their way to the very southern tip of S Korea. Had it not been for the intervention of S Korea’s Allies (US/GBritain/Spain to name a few), S Korea would’ve been overtaken. They also had rooms & rooms displaying artillery, swords, uniforms – did you know that women fought in the Korean War? Ok…I’ll stop rambling about the museum….but all in all, it was very interesting.
Next, we headed to Namdaemun to do some shopping. Suprisingly, Corey was the only one that got anything!! After a few hours of shopping, we traveled by bus up the Namsan Mountain to see the Seoul Tower(the tallest building in Korea). We ate dinner there as well which was beautiful with the night lights of Seoul in the background. It was funny to hear from our cousins that this was their first time in Seoul Tower as well as the Korean War Memorial…considering they live so close!!
After Seoul Tower, we did a little more shopping in Dongdaemun, where again, Corey was the only one to purchase anything! Who knew he was such a shopaholic?!? There was one particular salesman in one of the stores that was really infatuated with Corey…and kept telling him to take his shirt off! Corey was having some trouble deciding on what size to get and this guy kept insisting that he take his t-shirt off to try on the shirt…when he did, he couldn’t stop commenting on Corey’s abs…it was strange & hilarious at the same time. We got a picture of Corey and his “friend” so check that one out too!
Tomorrow, we are going to relax-maybe do a little shopping; then meet up with our old Pastor & his family from Algona who have been living here for the last several years.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Life in Ramsey Part 2
Day 5
I wake up at 5 AM in a cold sweat. I just had a nightmare. In the dream Laura had come home walked downstairs, looked and the ceiling, came upstairs, and just said "do it again". I couldn't get back to sleep so I decided no time better than the present to paint the stupid basement. So I did that, got paint all over myself including having a couple drops land in my eye, which was great. Stopped at noon to watch the Vikes. As yesterday, they dominate the first three quarters, actually make field goals, no TD's, which means only a 15-0 lead. At this point, it's like watching a bully walk towards you knowing he's going to hit you in the face and not being able to stop it. Vikes blow it, lose the game, stupid Vikes. Twins lose and make up no ground. Worst sports weekend ever! So to make up for that I go upstairs to my chair, play video games and watch TV until I fall asleep. Final recap of the weekend, about 16 hours of video games, not bad.
Day 6
Monday, uggh. Up early to go to work, by this point I haven't heard from laura in about 4 days, wondering if she's going to come back. Thinking, I sure hope she does, starting to get a little bored. Also over the weekend, I was attempting to beat rock band drums on hard when disaster struck. The bass pedal stopped working, I looked down, snapped the thing in half. Taking a page from my Grandpa Becker I went downstairs, found a piece of wood, got some ducktape and got that thing to work. I was pretty proud of my technical skills. Work, class, sleep.
Day 7
At some point when I had to take a bowl out of the dishwasher, scrape off some dried raisin bran so I could eat some more I decided I should start the dishwasher. Amazing little machine. I've been able to avoid the washing machine so far, that thing looks like a lot of work. Laura contacts me, she is planning on coming back, which makes my day. I go home, turn on the Twins down 8-1. I decide to just leave it on, they come back take the lead, promptly give it up, and lose. Pretty much a summary of this season, close but no cigar.
Day 8
More work, more class, which I am in a break right now. Looking forward to the weekend, since the basement is basically done, I'm a free man. I think you can probably guess what I'm going to be doing.
So in summary I have found that bachelorhood is not very exciting. It does involve a lot of video games and TV though, without that guilty feeling that you should go down and hang out with your wife while she watches Project Runway or something. Just kidding, I'm ready for her to come back, but I'm glad that the trip looks like it has been a lot of fun. Definetely a lot more fun then Ramsey.
I wake up at 5 AM in a cold sweat. I just had a nightmare. In the dream Laura had come home walked downstairs, looked and the ceiling, came upstairs, and just said "do it again". I couldn't get back to sleep so I decided no time better than the present to paint the stupid basement. So I did that, got paint all over myself including having a couple drops land in my eye, which was great. Stopped at noon to watch the Vikes. As yesterday, they dominate the first three quarters, actually make field goals, no TD's, which means only a 15-0 lead. At this point, it's like watching a bully walk towards you knowing he's going to hit you in the face and not being able to stop it. Vikes blow it, lose the game, stupid Vikes. Twins lose and make up no ground. Worst sports weekend ever! So to make up for that I go upstairs to my chair, play video games and watch TV until I fall asleep. Final recap of the weekend, about 16 hours of video games, not bad.
Day 6
Monday, uggh. Up early to go to work, by this point I haven't heard from laura in about 4 days, wondering if she's going to come back. Thinking, I sure hope she does, starting to get a little bored. Also over the weekend, I was attempting to beat rock band drums on hard when disaster struck. The bass pedal stopped working, I looked down, snapped the thing in half. Taking a page from my Grandpa Becker I went downstairs, found a piece of wood, got some ducktape and got that thing to work. I was pretty proud of my technical skills. Work, class, sleep.
Day 7
At some point when I had to take a bowl out of the dishwasher, scrape off some dried raisin bran so I could eat some more I decided I should start the dishwasher. Amazing little machine. I've been able to avoid the washing machine so far, that thing looks like a lot of work. Laura contacts me, she is planning on coming back, which makes my day. I go home, turn on the Twins down 8-1. I decide to just leave it on, they come back take the lead, promptly give it up, and lose. Pretty much a summary of this season, close but no cigar.
Day 8
More work, more class, which I am in a break right now. Looking forward to the weekend, since the basement is basically done, I'm a free man. I think you can probably guess what I'm going to be doing.
So in summary I have found that bachelorhood is not very exciting. It does involve a lot of video games and TV though, without that guilty feeling that you should go down and hang out with your wife while she watches Project Runway or something. Just kidding, I'm ready for her to come back, but I'm glad that the trip looks like it has been a lot of fun. Definetely a lot more fun then Ramsey.
Recap of Life in Ramsey while Laura's gone part 1
So after reading Laura's awesome blog on her trip in Korea, i thought I would just recap how life in Ramsey has been over the same time.
Day 1
Had the opportunity to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to drive Laura and the fam down to the train station by 6:00 AM. So I decided to just go ahead and start the work day at that time, this involved working until 5, driving the minivan across downtown, going to school, driving the minivan home, and collapsing into bed. The day also included a text from Laura as she was getting on the plane to Korea that didn't say bye or I'll miss you, but instead said "Hey, don't forget to paint the basement while I'm gone! It better be done right!"
Day 2
Get up, go to work, go home, play some video games, watch some TV, go to sleep. Very exciting
Day 3
Get up, go to work, pass on happy hour because I am remembering Laura's last text so I race home and vaccum the whole basement. This involves breathing in hazardous dust, avoiding poisonous spiders, going deaf because that vacuum is seriously loud, and almost dying from heat exhaustion. I finally finished vacuuming at 2 AM and went and collapsed in bed.
Day 4
Get up, work out, then I get the joyful practice of studying for 3 hours. I'm able to stop by 11 AM because I'm excited to watch the Cyclones, hoping it will be a good game. The cyclones DOMINATED the first three quarters, but they miss three field goals, don't score a TD, and then Iowa makes a couple of big plays and wins, very depressing. To top that off when ISU beats Iowa, which is the norm, I give Christian a week or so to cool down because he probably broke a couple chairs in his house. Does he do the same favor, nope, calls and leaves a message rubbing it in. Great guy. From about 2 to 11, I do not move from my comfy chair upstairs, which has two TV's, one for video games and one for TV. Good end to the day.
Day 1
Had the opportunity to wake up at 4:00 in the morning to drive Laura and the fam down to the train station by 6:00 AM. So I decided to just go ahead and start the work day at that time, this involved working until 5, driving the minivan across downtown, going to school, driving the minivan home, and collapsing into bed. The day also included a text from Laura as she was getting on the plane to Korea that didn't say bye or I'll miss you, but instead said "Hey, don't forget to paint the basement while I'm gone! It better be done right!"
Day 2
Get up, go to work, go home, play some video games, watch some TV, go to sleep. Very exciting
Day 3
Get up, go to work, pass on happy hour because I am remembering Laura's last text so I race home and vaccum the whole basement. This involves breathing in hazardous dust, avoiding poisonous spiders, going deaf because that vacuum is seriously loud, and almost dying from heat exhaustion. I finally finished vacuuming at 2 AM and went and collapsed in bed.
Day 4
Get up, work out, then I get the joyful practice of studying for 3 hours. I'm able to stop by 11 AM because I'm excited to watch the Cyclones, hoping it will be a good game. The cyclones DOMINATED the first three quarters, but they miss three field goals, don't score a TD, and then Iowa makes a couple of big plays and wins, very depressing. To top that off when ISU beats Iowa, which is the norm, I give Christian a week or so to cool down because he probably broke a couple chairs in his house. Does he do the same favor, nope, calls and leaves a message rubbing it in. Great guy. From about 2 to 11, I do not move from my comfy chair upstairs, which has two TV's, one for video games and one for TV. Good end to the day.
Korea Day 6
Day 6
Today we headed south to Suwon to visit Hwaseong Fortress. This fortress was built by King Jeongio in 1794 to honor and house the remains of his father and was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1997. This place was massive….and the weather was extremely hot today-in the high 80’s. Needless to say, we didn’t stay long. We briefly watched a martial arts show and walked through some of the palace. After an hour there, we decided it was time to go somewhere a little cooler. We headed back to Anyong for Thai massages. This was my first time getting a Thai massage, so I didn’t really know what to expect. First, they massage your feet & legs. Then they massage the rest of your body using a combination of yoga stretches and pressure points. Corey & I really liked it, but we’re pretty sure we’ll be sore tomorrow! Mom wasn’t a fan of the yoga stretches…the masseuse was rather forceful and didn’t really seem to care if your body didn’t stretch a certain way! Tonight we’re planning on going to Dongdaemun Night Market to do some shopping. I’m super excited to finally get some good shoe/clothing shopping in :)
Today we headed south to Suwon to visit Hwaseong Fortress. This fortress was built by King Jeongio in 1794 to honor and house the remains of his father and was designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage site in 1997. This place was massive….and the weather was extremely hot today-in the high 80’s. Needless to say, we didn’t stay long. We briefly watched a martial arts show and walked through some of the palace. After an hour there, we decided it was time to go somewhere a little cooler. We headed back to Anyong for Thai massages. This was my first time getting a Thai massage, so I didn’t really know what to expect. First, they massage your feet & legs. Then they massage the rest of your body using a combination of yoga stretches and pressure points. Corey & I really liked it, but we’re pretty sure we’ll be sore tomorrow! Mom wasn’t a fan of the yoga stretches…the masseuse was rather forceful and didn’t really seem to care if your body didn’t stretch a certain way! Tonight we’re planning on going to Dongdaemun Night Market to do some shopping. I’m super excited to finally get some good shoe/clothing shopping in :)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Pictures
Here's the link to all photos. ll try to upload as much as I can throughout the trip. Enjoy!
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
Korea Day 5
Day 5
Today was the most AMAZING day!!! Our cousin & her daughter drove us to Taebaek City(4 hrs east of Seoul) - which is where we were born and lived for the first few years of our lives. In doing some previous research, I found that this city has changed tremendously in the last 20+ years due to the decline in the coal mining industry. With so much change, we were unsure how much we would be able to get out of this experience. All we had was an old home address, our parents names/jobs & some fuzzy memories - 2 different versions(Corey didn’t really remember much)J. Our first stop was the Tourist Center where we hoped we could get directions to our old home address. We found out that the address no longer existed, so they were not able to provide us any direction. They did, however, direct us to the coal mine - where our father worked. It seemed we were not going to be able to get many specific answers today - as so much had indeed changed. The location of the coal mine was renovated into a new building that housed a Coal Museum. As we were walking through this museum, our cousin April began asking some of the employees if they would have any additional information about what this city used to look like 20 years ago. Luck must've been on our side today...one man (Kwan In Gyu) had lived in Taebaek City all his life. His father was a coal miner and he was a wealth of knowledge. He was able to draw us a map of what the city used to look like - which helped to clarify a lot of fuzzy memories that Steph & I had. He took the rest of his afternoon and drove us around Taebaek to see the entrance to the mine where our father worked(it was still in tact, but not functional), our old home (he was able to look at the old address we had and take us to the exact street!!), the old location of the tofu factory where our mother worked & our school - which was a functioning school up until last year. Steph + I both remember walking up a huge hill every day…and our memories were correct! This school is no longer safe as the foundation is slipping-literally down the mountain.
This man was incredibly generous with his time, knowledge & memories. What’s even more amazing is that he was willing to help complete strangers! Hearing his memories and knowing that it was a first hand account was priceless. I can’t thank him enough!! Also, had it not been for our cousin April (who translated) and her mom who drove us, we would not have had this incredible experience. We are so fortunate!!
As I noted in the first sentence of today’s blog, today was an AMAZING day. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to our visit to Taebaek. There are still fuzzy memories and I’m sure there always will be, but it was an unbelievable feeling to physically walk down the street where we used to live, walk through the school where we actually attended & really take in the city-as different as it may now be. It brought some peace in knowing our history and I can’t wait to go back some day and hike up the Taebaek Mountains, attend the Snow Festival & see all that Taebaek City has to offer.
Today was the most AMAZING day!!! Our cousin & her daughter drove us to Taebaek City(4 hrs east of Seoul) - which is where we were born and lived for the first few years of our lives. In doing some previous research, I found that this city has changed tremendously in the last 20+ years due to the decline in the coal mining industry. With so much change, we were unsure how much we would be able to get out of this experience. All we had was an old home address, our parents names/jobs & some fuzzy memories - 2 different versions(Corey didn’t really remember much)J. Our first stop was the Tourist Center where we hoped we could get directions to our old home address. We found out that the address no longer existed, so they were not able to provide us any direction. They did, however, direct us to the coal mine - where our father worked. It seemed we were not going to be able to get many specific answers today - as so much had indeed changed. The location of the coal mine was renovated into a new building that housed a Coal Museum. As we were walking through this museum, our cousin April began asking some of the employees if they would have any additional information about what this city used to look like 20 years ago. Luck must've been on our side today...one man (Kwan In Gyu) had lived in Taebaek City all his life. His father was a coal miner and he was a wealth of knowledge. He was able to draw us a map of what the city used to look like - which helped to clarify a lot of fuzzy memories that Steph & I had. He took the rest of his afternoon and drove us around Taebaek to see the entrance to the mine where our father worked(it was still in tact, but not functional), our old home (he was able to look at the old address we had and take us to the exact street!!), the old location of the tofu factory where our mother worked & our school - which was a functioning school up until last year. Steph + I both remember walking up a huge hill every day…and our memories were correct! This school is no longer safe as the foundation is slipping-literally down the mountain.
This man was incredibly generous with his time, knowledge & memories. What’s even more amazing is that he was willing to help complete strangers! Hearing his memories and knowing that it was a first hand account was priceless. I can’t thank him enough!! Also, had it not been for our cousin April (who translated) and her mom who drove us, we would not have had this incredible experience. We are so fortunate!!
As I noted in the first sentence of today’s blog, today was an AMAZING day. We couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to our visit to Taebaek. There are still fuzzy memories and I’m sure there always will be, but it was an unbelievable feeling to physically walk down the street where we used to live, walk through the school where we actually attended & really take in the city-as different as it may now be. It brought some peace in knowing our history and I can’t wait to go back some day and hike up the Taebaek Mountains, attend the Snow Festival & see all that Taebaek City has to offer.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Finally Blogging! Korea Days 1-4
After finally figuring out how to access blogspot in English, I'm finally blogging! We are in day 5 of our trip so there is lots to recap!
Arrival
We arrived in Incheon airport Thurs night after 17 hours in the air. No matter how often I fly to Korea, I don't think I'll ever get used to the length of the flight! Corey & I were squished in the middle seats w/ some unruly kids behind us that kept kicking and shaking our seats! Regardless, we finally arrived and were met by 3 of our cousins. Our first Korean meal was at the airport and Mom began her quest to conquer...the chopsticks. It was pretty hilarious watching, but I guess I can't give her too much grief since I'm no master either. Steph met us at the restaurant and we all bused it back to her apartment in Anyong-about an hour away.
Day 1
It’s so exciting to be back in Korea…I can’t believe I was fortunate enough to get back here 2 times in 1 year! Today we headed off to Holt Adoption Agency to pick up copies of our adoption files. When we arrived, as were waiting for our files, the Social Worker took us to the baby/toddler rooms. There were approx 5 toddlers and 4 infants that were waiting to make their trip to the US. Holt typically houses children in their facilities 10 wks prior to when they will depart for their adoptive country. There are several pictures of these adorable babies-they were so much fun to play with!!! It’s just a small taste of how many children there are out there that are in need of homes. It was hard to know these children were either abandoned or given up by their birth family…but exciting to know that they were soon to be adopted! One of my favorite pics is of a particular baby boy that was intrigued w/ Corey. He loved playing with Corey – as long as I was holding him. Once I handed him off to Corey…the flood of tears began!
After Holt, we were off to see Gyongbok Palace which is located in the heart of Seoul. This palace was originally built in 1395 as the primary palace for King Taejo, but destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1592 & just recently restored in 1910. This was my 2nd time visiting this Palace, but it was just as beautiful as the first. This time, they had an area where you could dress up as the Guards & take photos, which with Steph’s insistence, we did. There are a few pics where you will see Steph & me wearing the traditional Guard attire holding very large, dangerous weapons! I felt pretty silly…but I guess it was all part of the experience!
From Gyongbok we headed towards Insadong to do some street shopping. This area has many shops that sell traditional Korean items – great for souveneir shopping! We found roasted buckeyes-which Steph/Corey/I all remembered eating. We also got to see how ricecakes were made as you will see in the pictures.
All in all, it was a busy first day in Korea! Jetlag was definitely setting in, so we headed back to Steph’s apartment for a good night’s sleep!
Day 2
Today we got to sleep in J and headed back to Seoul to visit the 63rd Building. On the subway, we encountered a man that randomly sat down in the middle of the aisle with a beer can in one hand(mind you it’s 11AM). He then sprawled out spread eagle on the floor…when he finished his beer, he stood up, stomped on the beer can and kicked it against the wall…very interesting. Just a random subway story for your enjoyment! The 63rd building is the 3rd tallest building in Korea and is actually where a Life Insurance Company is located, however, they have an observatory on the 60th floor where you can view the entire city. They have art exhibits as well and the current exhibit was Hello Kitty. It was interesting to see all the various art surrounding Hello Kitty-this character is HUGE here in Korea! We were able to see some great views from that high and take some great pictures!
Next, it was off on a boat cruise down the Han River. This river runs East to West through Seoul. This was a great way to view the city without having to do all the walking! Before boarding the boat, we walked through an exhibit of bugs/butterflies/other random insects which was pretty disgusting. As some of you may know, I am deathly afraid of bugs…and some of these insects were enormous & weird looking. I kept envisioning that they were going to come to life and jump out of their little glass boxes…I’m just getting creeped out writing about it! Chris – if you read this, I was thinking of you and how you would probably have loved this!
That night, we went to our Cousin’s house in Anyong for dinner. His wife, daughter, & mother (our Aunt) were also there & got to meet Corey & Mom for the first time. We enjoyed a traditional Korean meal…and oh my goodness…did we have our fill! We had so much food, I’m still full. There were many foods that Steph/Corey/I remember eating. We remembered eating kimchi, ricecakes, squid & sesame leaves. It’s been fun(yet a little strange) trying all the different foods & having memories of eating them years ago! All of it was absolutely delicious and it was fun visiting with our Cousins – my Aunt especially adored Corey and was physically feeding him food…it was pretty cute J. After dinner, we were still suffering from a little jetlag so we headed off to bed-we were staying at our Cousin’s since were heading to Andong with family the next day.
Day 3
Today was an early one…on the road @ 5AM heading towards Andong which is 3 hours south of Seoul. We rode in a van with 7 of our relatives (cousins & aunts) -tight squeeze! Andong is where our father’s oldest living brother and his wife live. This is also where we lived for several years prior to moving to the US so this city has special meaning to us. This would also be the first time our aunt & uncle has seen Corey in over 20 years. It was very emotional as they were anxiously awaiting our arrival. Their 4 sons, wives, children were also there so Mom & Corey were able to meet a majority of the family.
This weekend was a special Korean holiday called Chuseok. During this holiday, a sacrifice/offering is made to honor family members who have passed. A feast of food is prepared and set up as an offering. This offering was made to our grandparents, uncles & parents. It was very surreal to be in Andong with our family participating in this special tradition. We also went out to the gravesite of our grandparents + uncle to do this same type of offering. What I wasn’t expecting was that we would literally be climbing a mountain to get there! Their cemeteries are not as they are in the US. Each family owns a mountain or plot of land where their loved ones are buried. As we drove through Korea, you would see gravesites everywhere - some even right next to rice fields or in backyards. It is said that the location is very important and that some families will even seek out advice from professionals on what locations would be ideal.
We spent the rest of the day eating tons of food-I felt like we were constantly eating! We also were able to see some photos of our father, including pictures of when he was in the Korean army. Our cousin Shin Woo Son (the oldest son of our aunt & uncle) decided it was important to show us our ancestry. They have a special book that documents all the lineage…and only MEN are included in this book-which I found interesting. Next came the Chinese/Korean writing lesson for Corey J they insisted that Corey learn to write his name in Chinese + Korean as well as other family members’ names. It was pretty funny to watch! I tried my hand at writing Chinese characters, but apparently I wasn’t really cutting it. There are so many minute nuances…I couldn’t quite figure it out! Once our writing lesson was over, we headed off to the elementary school where Steph + I attended for several years. I don’t really remember much of this school, other than some of the unusual playground equipment.
After lunch, we visited a Korean folk village called Hahoe Village. There are still inhabitants in this village, but it is very similar to what a typical Korean Village may have looked like. You’re home and location were dependant on your status as a citizen. The upper class lived in the center of the village in beautiful, spacious homes while the common people lived in the outer edges of the village in smaller homes with straw roofs.
Next, we went to a Private School for children of the wealthy. This school was more of an etiquette school that taught proper manners/traditions. It was located near Nakdong river and the view was amazing!! Dinner consisted of the traditional bulgogi which is a Korean style bbq…delicious!! I am LOVING the food here!
Some of the more humorous moments of the day would have to be our hotel room & our ice cream run. Our cousin booked us a couple of rooms in a nearby hotel…come to find out it is a “love motel” J This motel is rented out by the hour and the rooms have black lights and mirrors everywhere!!! Be sure to check out the pics! After settling into our rooms, we decided we were in the mood for some ice cream. Our cousin walked us to a nearby convenient store that turned out to be owned by his sister-in-law. Our simple “ice cream run” turned into an all out shopping spree. She insisted we take everything…gum, ice cream, tea, soda, candy…it was ridiculous! I guess I now know what it must feel like to rob a convenient store!
After a good nights rest in our “love motel” we headed back to Anyong on Monday morning. This visit to Andong was full of adventure and excitement. I was an unbelievable feeling to get a chance to see where we lived for a few of the early years of our life(turns out I lived there for about ½ my time in Korea).
Day 4
Today was a lazy day. We got back from Andong mid afternoon & took a nap; did some laundry. Later on in the evening, while Corey & Mom slept, Steph & I went out to do a little shopping. Matt ~ I only bought 1 pair of shoes & a shirt! Shocking, I know. We also visited a local hookah bar that was recently opened by a friend of Steph’s. Katherine ~ this reminded me of you and your hookah! Anywho….like a said-a pretty low-key day.
Arrival
We arrived in Incheon airport Thurs night after 17 hours in the air. No matter how often I fly to Korea, I don't think I'll ever get used to the length of the flight! Corey & I were squished in the middle seats w/ some unruly kids behind us that kept kicking and shaking our seats! Regardless, we finally arrived and were met by 3 of our cousins. Our first Korean meal was at the airport and Mom began her quest to conquer...the chopsticks. It was pretty hilarious watching, but I guess I can't give her too much grief since I'm no master either. Steph met us at the restaurant and we all bused it back to her apartment in Anyong-about an hour away.
Day 1
It’s so exciting to be back in Korea…I can’t believe I was fortunate enough to get back here 2 times in 1 year! Today we headed off to Holt Adoption Agency to pick up copies of our adoption files. When we arrived, as were waiting for our files, the Social Worker took us to the baby/toddler rooms. There were approx 5 toddlers and 4 infants that were waiting to make their trip to the US. Holt typically houses children in their facilities 10 wks prior to when they will depart for their adoptive country. There are several pictures of these adorable babies-they were so much fun to play with!!! It’s just a small taste of how many children there are out there that are in need of homes. It was hard to know these children were either abandoned or given up by their birth family…but exciting to know that they were soon to be adopted! One of my favorite pics is of a particular baby boy that was intrigued w/ Corey. He loved playing with Corey – as long as I was holding him. Once I handed him off to Corey…the flood of tears began!
After Holt, we were off to see Gyongbok Palace which is located in the heart of Seoul. This palace was originally built in 1395 as the primary palace for King Taejo, but destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1592 & just recently restored in 1910. This was my 2nd time visiting this Palace, but it was just as beautiful as the first. This time, they had an area where you could dress up as the Guards & take photos, which with Steph’s insistence, we did. There are a few pics where you will see Steph & me wearing the traditional Guard attire holding very large, dangerous weapons! I felt pretty silly…but I guess it was all part of the experience!
From Gyongbok we headed towards Insadong to do some street shopping. This area has many shops that sell traditional Korean items – great for souveneir shopping! We found roasted buckeyes-which Steph/Corey/I all remembered eating. We also got to see how ricecakes were made as you will see in the pictures.
All in all, it was a busy first day in Korea! Jetlag was definitely setting in, so we headed back to Steph’s apartment for a good night’s sleep!
Day 2
Today we got to sleep in J and headed back to Seoul to visit the 63rd Building. On the subway, we encountered a man that randomly sat down in the middle of the aisle with a beer can in one hand(mind you it’s 11AM). He then sprawled out spread eagle on the floor…when he finished his beer, he stood up, stomped on the beer can and kicked it against the wall…very interesting. Just a random subway story for your enjoyment! The 63rd building is the 3rd tallest building in Korea and is actually where a Life Insurance Company is located, however, they have an observatory on the 60th floor where you can view the entire city. They have art exhibits as well and the current exhibit was Hello Kitty. It was interesting to see all the various art surrounding Hello Kitty-this character is HUGE here in Korea! We were able to see some great views from that high and take some great pictures!
Next, it was off on a boat cruise down the Han River. This river runs East to West through Seoul. This was a great way to view the city without having to do all the walking! Before boarding the boat, we walked through an exhibit of bugs/butterflies/other random insects which was pretty disgusting. As some of you may know, I am deathly afraid of bugs…and some of these insects were enormous & weird looking. I kept envisioning that they were going to come to life and jump out of their little glass boxes…I’m just getting creeped out writing about it! Chris – if you read this, I was thinking of you and how you would probably have loved this!
That night, we went to our Cousin’s house in Anyong for dinner. His wife, daughter, & mother (our Aunt) were also there & got to meet Corey & Mom for the first time. We enjoyed a traditional Korean meal…and oh my goodness…did we have our fill! We had so much food, I’m still full. There were many foods that Steph/Corey/I remember eating. We remembered eating kimchi, ricecakes, squid & sesame leaves. It’s been fun(yet a little strange) trying all the different foods & having memories of eating them years ago! All of it was absolutely delicious and it was fun visiting with our Cousins – my Aunt especially adored Corey and was physically feeding him food…it was pretty cute J. After dinner, we were still suffering from a little jetlag so we headed off to bed-we were staying at our Cousin’s since were heading to Andong with family the next day.
Day 3
Today was an early one…on the road @ 5AM heading towards Andong which is 3 hours south of Seoul. We rode in a van with 7 of our relatives (cousins & aunts) -tight squeeze! Andong is where our father’s oldest living brother and his wife live. This is also where we lived for several years prior to moving to the US so this city has special meaning to us. This would also be the first time our aunt & uncle has seen Corey in over 20 years. It was very emotional as they were anxiously awaiting our arrival. Their 4 sons, wives, children were also there so Mom & Corey were able to meet a majority of the family.
This weekend was a special Korean holiday called Chuseok. During this holiday, a sacrifice/offering is made to honor family members who have passed. A feast of food is prepared and set up as an offering. This offering was made to our grandparents, uncles & parents. It was very surreal to be in Andong with our family participating in this special tradition. We also went out to the gravesite of our grandparents + uncle to do this same type of offering. What I wasn’t expecting was that we would literally be climbing a mountain to get there! Their cemeteries are not as they are in the US. Each family owns a mountain or plot of land where their loved ones are buried. As we drove through Korea, you would see gravesites everywhere - some even right next to rice fields or in backyards. It is said that the location is very important and that some families will even seek out advice from professionals on what locations would be ideal.
We spent the rest of the day eating tons of food-I felt like we were constantly eating! We also were able to see some photos of our father, including pictures of when he was in the Korean army. Our cousin Shin Woo Son (the oldest son of our aunt & uncle) decided it was important to show us our ancestry. They have a special book that documents all the lineage…and only MEN are included in this book-which I found interesting. Next came the Chinese/Korean writing lesson for Corey J they insisted that Corey learn to write his name in Chinese + Korean as well as other family members’ names. It was pretty funny to watch! I tried my hand at writing Chinese characters, but apparently I wasn’t really cutting it. There are so many minute nuances…I couldn’t quite figure it out! Once our writing lesson was over, we headed off to the elementary school where Steph + I attended for several years. I don’t really remember much of this school, other than some of the unusual playground equipment.
After lunch, we visited a Korean folk village called Hahoe Village. There are still inhabitants in this village, but it is very similar to what a typical Korean Village may have looked like. You’re home and location were dependant on your status as a citizen. The upper class lived in the center of the village in beautiful, spacious homes while the common people lived in the outer edges of the village in smaller homes with straw roofs.
Next, we went to a Private School for children of the wealthy. This school was more of an etiquette school that taught proper manners/traditions. It was located near Nakdong river and the view was amazing!! Dinner consisted of the traditional bulgogi which is a Korean style bbq…delicious!! I am LOVING the food here!
Some of the more humorous moments of the day would have to be our hotel room & our ice cream run. Our cousin booked us a couple of rooms in a nearby hotel…come to find out it is a “love motel” J This motel is rented out by the hour and the rooms have black lights and mirrors everywhere!!! Be sure to check out the pics! After settling into our rooms, we decided we were in the mood for some ice cream. Our cousin walked us to a nearby convenient store that turned out to be owned by his sister-in-law. Our simple “ice cream run” turned into an all out shopping spree. She insisted we take everything…gum, ice cream, tea, soda, candy…it was ridiculous! I guess I now know what it must feel like to rob a convenient store!
After a good nights rest in our “love motel” we headed back to Anyong on Monday morning. This visit to Andong was full of adventure and excitement. I was an unbelievable feeling to get a chance to see where we lived for a few of the early years of our life(turns out I lived there for about ½ my time in Korea).
Day 4
Today was a lazy day. We got back from Andong mid afternoon & took a nap; did some laundry. Later on in the evening, while Corey & Mom slept, Steph & I went out to do a little shopping. Matt ~ I only bought 1 pair of shoes & a shirt! Shocking, I know. We also visited a local hookah bar that was recently opened by a friend of Steph’s. Katherine ~ this reminded me of you and your hookah! Anywho….like a said-a pretty low-key day.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Trip Recap
Well, the trips over and we are back at home. Car was still there, house was still here, no hail damage, and I get to watch lost again in HD after downloading it on itunes overseas. Trying to stay awake until a later tonight and fight the jetlag a little bit. The last hour of the flight today felt like it took forever.
Let's see, when I get asked tomorrow what I liked about the trip here will probably be the top things.
- Meeting the family - obviously this was kind of the intent of the trip, but I was glad it turned out so well. We got some more stuff of their mom and dad's from their cousin today, but the suitcase is locked and we don't have the code. We have pictures though, and it was very nice of the cousin to give them to us.
- Taiwan was a whirlwind, but it was a lot of fun. We saw a lot in 5 days! Highlights would be Taroko gorge and the great scenery there, all of the temples were very cool, and Taipei 101 was great because you could go outside and view the city. We were also very well fed in Taiwan, which I was not expecting.
- I really liked climbing the mountain in Seoul and all of the stops along the way. Why they have workout stations on a mountain is beyond me, but it's awesome to be able to go someplace in a huge city that is so peaceful and scenic.
- The Dr. Fish cafe was a cool experience. One, because Laura and Steph were so freaked out by the fish cleaning the feet and two I thought it felt pretty cool.
- The downtime in Seoul was also nice, a lot of time to just sit around and relax, read a little bit, watch some Dexter on the computer and just chill.
Well that's about it. Back to normal life of work, twins, school, video games, movies, and looking forward to the next trip. I hope this was helpful for everyone, I know it should help me remember some stuff.
Later,
Matt
Let's see, when I get asked tomorrow what I liked about the trip here will probably be the top things.
- Meeting the family - obviously this was kind of the intent of the trip, but I was glad it turned out so well. We got some more stuff of their mom and dad's from their cousin today, but the suitcase is locked and we don't have the code. We have pictures though, and it was very nice of the cousin to give them to us.
- Taiwan was a whirlwind, but it was a lot of fun. We saw a lot in 5 days! Highlights would be Taroko gorge and the great scenery there, all of the temples were very cool, and Taipei 101 was great because you could go outside and view the city. We were also very well fed in Taiwan, which I was not expecting.
- I really liked climbing the mountain in Seoul and all of the stops along the way. Why they have workout stations on a mountain is beyond me, but it's awesome to be able to go someplace in a huge city that is so peaceful and scenic.
- The Dr. Fish cafe was a cool experience. One, because Laura and Steph were so freaked out by the fish cleaning the feet and two I thought it felt pretty cool.
- The downtime in Seoul was also nice, a lot of time to just sit around and relax, read a little bit, watch some Dexter on the computer and just chill.
Well that's about it. Back to normal life of work, twins, school, video games, movies, and looking forward to the next trip. I hope this was helpful for everyone, I know it should help me remember some stuff.
Later,
Matt
Monday, June 2, 2008
Last Day in Seoul
Yesterday was one of the better days on the trip. We got up kind of slowly and then went and climbed the mountain in the middle of Seoul. Lots of tourist pictures on the way up, but it was a long climb. At the top you could see an arial view of the city from the tower.
The girls wanted to take a taxi, but thankfully I advised we should walk up. We would have missed everything otherwise. I think Laura's going to want to start taking a taxi from work to our bus stop after seeing how easy it is in Korea.
We ate at one last korean restaurant and then headed back.
This morning we left at 7:30 for the subway. We should have left at 5. The subway took 2 hours to get there and it was slower than the buses on the street. It's ridiculous, trains are supposed to go fast. So for a 11:00 flight we got there at 9:45. Plenty of time. If you ever leave Seoul, take a taxi or bus.
I'll recap the trip tomorrow.
The girls wanted to take a taxi, but thankfully I advised we should walk up. We would have missed everything otherwise. I think Laura's going to want to start taking a taxi from work to our bus stop after seeing how easy it is in Korea.
We ate at one last korean restaurant and then headed back.
This morning we left at 7:30 for the subway. We should have left at 5. The subway took 2 hours to get there and it was slower than the buses on the street. It's ridiculous, trains are supposed to go fast. So for a 11:00 flight we got there at 9:45. Plenty of time. If you ever leave Seoul, take a taxi or bus.
I'll recap the trip tomorrow.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Random Thoughts
We are not really doing anything today since we are helping Steph move into her apartment. The previous owners did not clean the place, and it's really dirty. So Steph and Laura are busy cleaning, I argued that three people cleaning would just cause us to get in each others way, so I've just ran some errands when they needed them. So what follows are just some random thoughts of mine, so unless you are really bored no need to read on.
- There are a ton of people in Taiwan and Korea. No matter where we go in Korea there are thousands of people walking around. It's like having 1000 Minneapolis sized areas right next to each other.
- This causes there to be thousands of little retail shops and I have no idea how they all survive. Food, clothes, shoes, bags, watches, jewelry on every street corner.
- Kids go to school too much here. A lot of them go from 7 AM to 10 or 11 at night for school. Getting to a university is really important, but it seems like it comes at the expense of being a kid as well
- Those restaurants where you sit on the floor are crazy. We ate at one last night and let's just say I don't quite fit.
- On the other hand, public transportation is excellent here. You can get anywhere you want for like $2 bucks.
- You know that point of the trip when your ready to go back, I'm there. Not sure if Laura is. I'm at the point where I'm not even really interested in going sightseeing other than the Seoul Tower.
- I'm ready for a cheeseburger, some Old Chicago, Andrea's Pizza, my HD TV, video games, recliner, and Twins games.
- We will definetely be back to Korea at some point in the next year hopefully, need to find a good credit card with miles, but we'd like to explore more of the mountains and go to where Laura grew up.
One day left and then the long flight home and work the next day, hopefully I don't fall asleep the first day back, might be a little rough until we get to the weekend
- There are a ton of people in Taiwan and Korea. No matter where we go in Korea there are thousands of people walking around. It's like having 1000 Minneapolis sized areas right next to each other.
- This causes there to be thousands of little retail shops and I have no idea how they all survive. Food, clothes, shoes, bags, watches, jewelry on every street corner.
- Kids go to school too much here. A lot of them go from 7 AM to 10 or 11 at night for school. Getting to a university is really important, but it seems like it comes at the expense of being a kid as well
- Those restaurants where you sit on the floor are crazy. We ate at one last night and let's just say I don't quite fit.
- On the other hand, public transportation is excellent here. You can get anywhere you want for like $2 bucks.
- You know that point of the trip when your ready to go back, I'm there. Not sure if Laura is. I'm at the point where I'm not even really interested in going sightseeing other than the Seoul Tower.
- I'm ready for a cheeseburger, some Old Chicago, Andrea's Pizza, my HD TV, video games, recliner, and Twins games.
- We will definetely be back to Korea at some point in the next year hopefully, need to find a good credit card with miles, but we'd like to explore more of the mountains and go to where Laura grew up.
One day left and then the long flight home and work the next day, hopefully I don't fall asleep the first day back, might be a little rough until we get to the weekend
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Family Reunion - Korean Style
We got a chance to meet most of the family today and the suprising thing is that family reunions are pretty similar no matter where they happen. A couple of the aunt and uncles came over ahead of time to the place we were staying and they were very happy and overwhelmed to see Laura and Steph. They were very excited that everybody was OK.
We then headed off to a seafood buffet where the entire family joined in and we had an interpreter join us (she was great by the way, she spent 8 straight hours with us translating the entire time, awesome!) and we met the rest of the aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins.
At this point it became just like any other family reunion almost everyone has attended. We learned who everyone was and what they did. Laura and Steph did not expect the family to be large so it was great. There was the aunt who would love to pinch your cheeks and give you a big hug, there was the aunt who loved to talk and dominated the conversation, some were more emotional than others, there were younger cousins who were bored to death, and there were shy little kids who over the course of the day warmed up to us and were running all over the place. Basically the family was a very normal family which was great to find out.
They also are like your typical family in asking Laura and I why we do not have kids (so mom, all families are the same) and making sure their neices and nephews are in good health and have good jobs. We went to a park and back to their house afterwards and we were both able to ask a lot of questions and catch up on things. Laura and Steph's first cousin set up everything and did a great job organizing the entire event.
I have posted the pictures online and tried to add who is who. It was a great reunion and hopefully the start to some great future relationships between new family members.
In the end no matter how long it is has been, how far apart you live, and even the fact that we did not speak the same language, family is family and it was a great day.
We then headed off to a seafood buffet where the entire family joined in and we had an interpreter join us (she was great by the way, she spent 8 straight hours with us translating the entire time, awesome!) and we met the rest of the aunts and uncles and cousins and second cousins.
At this point it became just like any other family reunion almost everyone has attended. We learned who everyone was and what they did. Laura and Steph did not expect the family to be large so it was great. There was the aunt who would love to pinch your cheeks and give you a big hug, there was the aunt who loved to talk and dominated the conversation, some were more emotional than others, there were younger cousins who were bored to death, and there were shy little kids who over the course of the day warmed up to us and were running all over the place. Basically the family was a very normal family which was great to find out.
They also are like your typical family in asking Laura and I why we do not have kids (so mom, all families are the same) and making sure their neices and nephews are in good health and have good jobs. We went to a park and back to their house afterwards and we were both able to ask a lot of questions and catch up on things. Laura and Steph's first cousin set up everything and did a great job organizing the entire event.
I have posted the pictures online and tried to add who is who. It was a great reunion and hopefully the start to some great future relationships between new family members.
In the end no matter how long it is has been, how far apart you live, and even the fact that we did not speak the same language, family is family and it was a great day.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Korea Day 4
This will be pretty brief but I wanted to give a quick update. Yesterday we relaxed around the hostel for most of the morning and Laura and Steph had lunch there. I did not as it was all vegetables and then we had to explain how I will still be OK, even though I do not eat vegetables.
It was then off to meet the family, and we both happened to show up 30 minutes early and met in the street. It was one of their cousins and his wife that we met, and we went through some of the family tree. It looks like Laura, Steph, and Corey are the babies on their dad's side as far as the cousins go. There is a wide range of ages, but the cousins we met were in their late 40's.
They actually invited us back to their home for the night as today we are going to meet the rest of the family at lunch. The cousin was very concerned that we would be all right and he said his wife was not a good cook so we should go out to eat. They asked us what we liked and Laura happened to mention Pizza, so they jumped on that. We went to some Italian restaurant and had pizza. Pretty good. Also some seafood spaghetti with shrimp, baby octopus, and squid. They do not speak much english so it has been an interesting stay, but we've been able to communicate pretty well.
I should note that when they were looking at some pictures from the states they pointed at me and said "Movie Star". I tried to disagree, but the more I thought about it, maybe I should become an actor if they think I have movie star looks. Then I remembered I tried acting once and I was terrible at it.
I should have some pictures of lunch that I can put on tomorrow. I'll let Laura or Steph share more details when they get back.
It was then off to meet the family, and we both happened to show up 30 minutes early and met in the street. It was one of their cousins and his wife that we met, and we went through some of the family tree. It looks like Laura, Steph, and Corey are the babies on their dad's side as far as the cousins go. There is a wide range of ages, but the cousins we met were in their late 40's.
They actually invited us back to their home for the night as today we are going to meet the rest of the family at lunch. The cousin was very concerned that we would be all right and he said his wife was not a good cook so we should go out to eat. They asked us what we liked and Laura happened to mention Pizza, so they jumped on that. We went to some Italian restaurant and had pizza. Pretty good. Also some seafood spaghetti with shrimp, baby octopus, and squid. They do not speak much english so it has been an interesting stay, but we've been able to communicate pretty well.
I should note that when they were looking at some pictures from the states they pointed at me and said "Movie Star". I tried to disagree, but the more I thought about it, maybe I should become an actor if they think I have movie star looks. Then I remembered I tried acting once and I was terrible at it.
I should have some pictures of lunch that I can put on tomorrow. I'll let Laura or Steph share more details when they get back.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Korea Day 3
We stopped by a couple of Palaces today in the morning. It's unfortunate that the Japanese burned down all of the palaces when they occupied Korea so these were just restored and around 200 years old. Obviously the palaces had some great views, but the palaces themselves were a little plain compared to the temples we saw in Taiwan. We did see a lot of school groups that were touring as well, Laura was almost more interested in just watching the little kids run around.
That night we met up with one of the analysts I work with at Target who was visiting her parents in Korea as well. They took us to a cafe where fish would eat the dead skin off of your feet. The pictures are pretty hilarious as it took Laura and Steph about 10 of the 15 minutes to stick their feet in the water and you can see their facial expressions to see how tough it was for them. The pics are in the Laura's camera album which includes some pics from earlier in the week.
For the rest of the night we pretty much just walked around the city before heading back to the hostel. Tomorrow we meet the family so that should be exciting. Here's a link to the picture site again as I know it's been buried in the posts.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
That night we met up with one of the analysts I work with at Target who was visiting her parents in Korea as well. They took us to a cafe where fish would eat the dead skin off of your feet. The pictures are pretty hilarious as it took Laura and Steph about 10 of the 15 minutes to stick their feet in the water and you can see their facial expressions to see how tough it was for them. The pics are in the Laura's camera album which includes some pics from earlier in the week.
For the rest of the night we pretty much just walked around the city before heading back to the hostel. Tomorrow we meet the family so that should be exciting. Here's a link to the picture site again as I know it's been buried in the posts.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Korea Day 2
You know that dorky looking guy you see walking around big cities with camera in one hand, map in another, while carrying a bag of souveneirs? Today that was me.
Of course our first day in Seoul is not about going to see cool sites or palaces or historical areas, Laura and Steph want to go shopping all day. The problem with shopping in the two countries we've been is that when you go to an area that has clothes and jewelry there is nothing for guys to look at. Their is no Barnes and Noble or Best Buy nearby. So after about 2 hours of walking around with them we split up. They kept shopping and got massages, I headed off and went to the antique section of the city.
Picked up a few souvenirs there although I passed on the larger more expensive items. Went on to walk to one of the gates in the city, which was about a 10 minute walk only to find that it was surrounded because it is being repaired. Pretty frustrating, I'd rather see it being worked on then a picture on a billboard. I closed out my day by going to one of the palaces in the area. It was pretty cool to just have this large palace area in the middle of the city, nice and quiet.
Luckily even though we don't have cell phones we had no trouble finding each other, got some food, went to Zara, and then headed back.
Laura's damage today was two pairs of shoes and 3 handbags at $5 bucks each. If you want to know if Laura likes a pair of shoes she explained to me today that when she really likes shoes she likes to take them out and just stare at them. She did that like 4 times today, so I guess they are good shoes. Hopefully tomorrow we can actually go see cool stuff.
Of course our first day in Seoul is not about going to see cool sites or palaces or historical areas, Laura and Steph want to go shopping all day. The problem with shopping in the two countries we've been is that when you go to an area that has clothes and jewelry there is nothing for guys to look at. Their is no Barnes and Noble or Best Buy nearby. So after about 2 hours of walking around with them we split up. They kept shopping and got massages, I headed off and went to the antique section of the city.
Picked up a few souvenirs there although I passed on the larger more expensive items. Went on to walk to one of the gates in the city, which was about a 10 minute walk only to find that it was surrounded because it is being repaired. Pretty frustrating, I'd rather see it being worked on then a picture on a billboard. I closed out my day by going to one of the palaces in the area. It was pretty cool to just have this large palace area in the middle of the city, nice and quiet.
Luckily even though we don't have cell phones we had no trouble finding each other, got some food, went to Zara, and then headed back.
Laura's damage today was two pairs of shoes and 3 handbags at $5 bucks each. If you want to know if Laura likes a pair of shoes she explained to me today that when she really likes shoes she likes to take them out and just stare at them. She did that like 4 times today, so I guess they are good shoes. Hopefully tomorrow we can actually go see cool stuff.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Taiwan Recap
Now that we are fully done with the Taiwan part of the trip, here are some of the highlights. I'm probably going to misspell things.
1. Chang Kai Shek memorial
2. The trip down to Taroko gorge had some awesome scenery
3. Temple Day was interesting and it was cool to see the detail of all the different temples
4. Walking through the night market for about 5 minutes was interesting, then I was sick of the crowd
5. Snake alley, although we missed where they played with the snakes
6. Taipei 101 was really great to see on the last day so we could look back at all the things we visited
7. Food was really good, better than I expected, I think Laura and I both gained about 5 pounds in just eating meat over the past week
Those were some of the top highlights I can remember. Thanks to our guide Kelles who took us all over the city for 5 days straight and showed us just about as much of Taiwan as you can see in 5 days.
1. Chang Kai Shek memorial
2. The trip down to Taroko gorge had some awesome scenery
3. Temple Day was interesting and it was cool to see the detail of all the different temples
4. Walking through the night market for about 5 minutes was interesting, then I was sick of the crowd
5. Snake alley, although we missed where they played with the snakes
6. Taipei 101 was really great to see on the last day so we could look back at all the things we visited
7. Food was really good, better than I expected, I think Laura and I both gained about 5 pounds in just eating meat over the past week
Those were some of the top highlights I can remember. Thanks to our guide Kelles who took us all over the city for 5 days straight and showed us just about as much of Taiwan as you can see in 5 days.
First Day in Korea
I think it's going to be a long week from my vantage point. We've been in Korea for about 5 hours now and traveling with Steph and Laura is a little different than Kelles and Laura. It should be fun though.
Some big differences so far between Korea and Taiwan although we are staying just North of the main part of Seoul so I will be interested to see what it is like farther out in the suburbs. We are quickly finding it's a little tougher when you don't have a guide that knows the city. I think our meal tonight cost triple what we were finding in Taiwan. It seems more inline with american prices, so we will have to explore a little bit more to find the deals.
Steph and Laura are both walking around with their dictionaries trying to speak Korean and most of the people chuckle a little bit as they try to pronounce words. I told Laura to look up how to say "Yes, I know it is crazy that I am with two Koreans but neither one can actually speak Korean".
It's a lot cooler in Korea than Taiwan, to the point of needing a sweatshirt tonight, so that feels a little better. We are staying in a hostel which is interesting. I think Laura and Steph really like the communal bathroom. Tomorrow I think we are going to try and hit up some of the palaces around the city.
Some big differences so far between Korea and Taiwan although we are staying just North of the main part of Seoul so I will be interested to see what it is like farther out in the suburbs. We are quickly finding it's a little tougher when you don't have a guide that knows the city. I think our meal tonight cost triple what we were finding in Taiwan. It seems more inline with american prices, so we will have to explore a little bit more to find the deals.
Steph and Laura are both walking around with their dictionaries trying to speak Korean and most of the people chuckle a little bit as they try to pronounce words. I told Laura to look up how to say "Yes, I know it is crazy that I am with two Koreans but neither one can actually speak Korean".
It's a lot cooler in Korea than Taiwan, to the point of needing a sweatshirt tonight, so that feels a little better. We are staying in a hostel which is interesting. I think Laura and Steph really like the communal bathroom. Tomorrow I think we are going to try and hit up some of the palaces around the city.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Taiwan Day 5
Last day in Taiwan was pretty low key which was nice, but we still got to see a lot of great things. We stopped off at about 4 temples today and there are some pictures up on the different temples we stopped at. The second one had a lot of people praying and offering food. They buy or bring full plates of food to offer up to their ancestors. The food is then removed at the end of the day. Very interesting to see people praying, reading, and giving offerings in the temples. It is amazing how much detail goes into building a temple, hopefully a couple of the pictures help capture the amount of detail. Fascinating buildings, carvings, and statues.
The last temple pictures were at an indoors temple, which was different then the rest since it looked like an office building from the outside. Laura also had read their was a museum at the top so we climbed 9 stories only to find it was closed. Not fun in a staircase when it is 80 outside with no air conditioning.
We finished off the trip by stopping at Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world. Great views of the entire city, and it was fun to be able to pick up sites that we had visited. Night camera shots are a little difficult, so those pictures are not as good, but we went at a good time and were able to see Taiwan during the day and at night.
Tomorrow we head to Seoul, I will try to recap Taiwan and our favorite moments tomorrow, as well as trying to pick out the top 30 pictures from the entire trip so far.
The last temple pictures were at an indoors temple, which was different then the rest since it looked like an office building from the outside. Laura also had read their was a museum at the top so we climbed 9 stories only to find it was closed. Not fun in a staircase when it is 80 outside with no air conditioning.
We finished off the trip by stopping at Taipei 101, currently the tallest building in the world. Great views of the entire city, and it was fun to be able to pick up sites that we had visited. Night camera shots are a little difficult, so those pictures are not as good, but we went at a good time and were able to see Taiwan during the day and at night.
Tomorrow we head to Seoul, I will try to recap Taiwan and our favorite moments tomorrow, as well as trying to pick out the top 30 pictures from the entire trip so far.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Taiwan Day 4
Day 4 in Taiwan was yesterday and we rented a car and drove down the East coast to Taroko National park. It was about a three hour drive which included a 14 km tunnel and then about an hour and a half each way winding through the mountains. I'm finding as I get older I get motion sickness more often, not sure if it was that or just Kelles driving, but it was a long hour and a half. We only had to slam on the brakes once, but other than that we got through the mountains very quickly.
I also took 368 pictures yesterday so I am going to narrow those down a little bit. Laura was giving me a lot of crap about firing away multiple times. Very nice mountainous area with some cool temples and a bogoda at our midpoint stop. They basically hand blasted or carved the road through the mountain. 450 people died to make the road.
Pictures pretty much just wind their way through the park. Some highlights were walking across the gorge on a bridge that was locked up (supposedly because poisonous snakes were on the other side), we spend a lot of time at the midpoint since they had a lot of temples and statues, and at the end there was a pretty cool temple and waterfall.
We then drove back and stopped at a graveyard on the way home. There were some good pictures of that especially one where the burial site was in a tree. Not sure if you should walk around a graveyard and take pictures, but so far no ghosts stopped by.
When we got back we saw them moving some god statues from one area to another along the street which was cool to see. Basically people just dressed up walking down the street.
Finally it was a little scary to turn on the TV this morning and see Minneapolis on CNN for tornadoes. It looks like the worst of it was East of our house but the storm went right through our area. Hopefully the hail stayed south of our house.
Today we have temples and Taipei 101 the tallest building in the world. Last full day in Taiwan, it has flown by.
I also took 368 pictures yesterday so I am going to narrow those down a little bit. Laura was giving me a lot of crap about firing away multiple times. Very nice mountainous area with some cool temples and a bogoda at our midpoint stop. They basically hand blasted or carved the road through the mountain. 450 people died to make the road.
Pictures pretty much just wind their way through the park. Some highlights were walking across the gorge on a bridge that was locked up (supposedly because poisonous snakes were on the other side), we spend a lot of time at the midpoint since they had a lot of temples and statues, and at the end there was a pretty cool temple and waterfall.
We then drove back and stopped at a graveyard on the way home. There were some good pictures of that especially one where the burial site was in a tree. Not sure if you should walk around a graveyard and take pictures, but so far no ghosts stopped by.
When we got back we saw them moving some god statues from one area to another along the street which was cool to see. Basically people just dressed up walking down the street.
Finally it was a little scary to turn on the TV this morning and see Minneapolis on CNN for tornadoes. It looks like the worst of it was East of our house but the storm went right through our area. Hopefully the hail stayed south of our house.
Today we have temples and Taipei 101 the tallest building in the world. Last full day in Taiwan, it has flown by.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Taiwan Day 3
Day 3 got off to a much later start which was awesome. We went out at about noon and it was an hour train ride out to Danshui which was on the northern edge of Taiwan. Basically it reminded me a little bit of a touristy state fair along the walkway. A lot of different fried food options and then little stores along the way. We had lunch today which included some squid, fish eggs, full shrimp where you had to pull off the head and legs, mountain greens and more.
We then took a boat ride out to the end of the pier which is where a lot of the pictures are from, including Valentine's bridge. Then it was over to the other side of the island where there was a statue of some guy in an aqua suit, and we are not sure why he was that important but I took like 20 pictures of it for some reason. It kind of looks like a monkey in an aqua suit to me. There are also some cool pictures of a Taiwan graveyard included. They spend a lot of time taking care of the graves as they believe their ancestors wait for them and help guide them to the next realm so they need to take care of the gravesites on Earth. They are always on a hillside and the tomb is on top, but their is a door to where they put the caskets.
From there it was back into Taipei where we went to the Shilin night market. This place combined my two favorite things, large crowds in small spaces with shopping. Laura was able to hold off and only buy a couple of things. We had supper at Hot Pot which is kind of like American fondu and was all you can eat. Suprisingly I will not be losing weight on this trip because there has been plenty of good and interesting food to eat. Things we decided not to try at hot pot were cow stomachs (2 of the 4 different stomachs) and Pig's blood.
Tomorrow we head out of Taipei and go to the East coast.
We then took a boat ride out to the end of the pier which is where a lot of the pictures are from, including Valentine's bridge. Then it was over to the other side of the island where there was a statue of some guy in an aqua suit, and we are not sure why he was that important but I took like 20 pictures of it for some reason. It kind of looks like a monkey in an aqua suit to me. There are also some cool pictures of a Taiwan graveyard included. They spend a lot of time taking care of the graves as they believe their ancestors wait for them and help guide them to the next realm so they need to take care of the gravesites on Earth. They are always on a hillside and the tomb is on top, but their is a door to where they put the caskets.
From there it was back into Taipei where we went to the Shilin night market. This place combined my two favorite things, large crowds in small spaces with shopping. Laura was able to hold off and only buy a couple of things. We had supper at Hot Pot which is kind of like American fondu and was all you can eat. Suprisingly I will not be losing weight on this trip because there has been plenty of good and interesting food to eat. Things we decided not to try at hot pot were cow stomachs (2 of the 4 different stomachs) and Pig's blood.
Tomorrow we head out of Taipei and go to the East coast.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Taiwan Day 2
Hi,
Saturday morning in Taiwan and hopefully we are over the jet lag now as I slept in until about 10 AM this morning after falling asleep at a baseball game last night. Jet lag sucks. So our goal today is to stay awake longer than 10 PM.
Friday got off to a later start, we went off on our own for breakfast at Mister Donut, before heading off into the city with Kelles. First stop was the Grand Hotel, a little nicer than the one we stayed in. After that we went to a Japanese restaurant where we had some grilled squid and some chicken hearts, which Kelles failed to mention before I ate them. Still pretty good though, a little chewy. Next up was the National Palace museum which was three floors of exhibits basically taken from China. You can look it up online if you want to hear about all of the history. Some very cool sculptures, a lot of dishes, and no pictures allowed, so you are just seeing the outside of it.
Finally we headed to a baseball game, Taiwan style. About the same size crowd as the Metrodome gets sometimes, but much louder. They bring drums and instruments and pretty much chant the entire game, so that was cool. Their was a rain delay in which we got McDonald's, and we can only hope the Twins groundscrew in the new stadium will be a little faster during rain delays, but it was entertaining to watch.
Since we were both nodding off during the game, we headed back to the hotel for the night, and I promptly passed out. Today we are headed north, pictures from yesterday are loaded to the same link as the last post.
Saturday morning in Taiwan and hopefully we are over the jet lag now as I slept in until about 10 AM this morning after falling asleep at a baseball game last night. Jet lag sucks. So our goal today is to stay awake longer than 10 PM.
Friday got off to a later start, we went off on our own for breakfast at Mister Donut, before heading off into the city with Kelles. First stop was the Grand Hotel, a little nicer than the one we stayed in. After that we went to a Japanese restaurant where we had some grilled squid and some chicken hearts, which Kelles failed to mention before I ate them. Still pretty good though, a little chewy. Next up was the National Palace museum which was three floors of exhibits basically taken from China. You can look it up online if you want to hear about all of the history. Some very cool sculptures, a lot of dishes, and no pictures allowed, so you are just seeing the outside of it.
Finally we headed to a baseball game, Taiwan style. About the same size crowd as the Metrodome gets sometimes, but much louder. They bring drums and instruments and pretty much chant the entire game, so that was cool. Their was a rain delay in which we got McDonald's, and we can only hope the Twins groundscrew in the new stadium will be a little faster during rain delays, but it was entertaining to watch.
Since we were both nodding off during the game, we headed back to the hotel for the night, and I promptly passed out. Today we are headed north, pictures from yesterday are loaded to the same link as the last post.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Taiwan Day 1
I thought I would try this whole blog thing and update people on how our trip in Taiwan and Korea is going. It's Friday morning here and we're finally over all of our jetlag after I literally almost fell asleep walking down the street yesterday after 25 hours of straight travel and only 4 hours of sleep the first night here. (I'm serious, I fell asleep on the train every time we took it, and my knees buckled while standing at a street corner because I fell asleep!)
I'm putting a link to our pictures down below, here's a brief summary of what you are looking at.
Hotel room, pictures of Taiwan from Kelles apartment roof, red playhouse, partyworld karoke place, random shots of street, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, making paper, long shan temple
Highlights of the trip so far
1. Sitting in the middle two seats on a 14 hour plane ride over here
2. Laura getting looked at funny when people try to talk to her and she just smiles and says sorry
3. Watching Kelles argue with a taxi driver within our first hour here
4. All of the Taiwanese girls that want to take their picture with me
5. Walking down snake alley and seeing a snake gutted and just hanging out
6. Eating snails, clams, dried duck, squid, and other foods (yes, I tried most of these as well)
7. Laura salivating at $8 dollar shoes on every corner
8. Paper making, yes paper making. Laura's choice very exciting.
9. Still getting coffee at Starbucks
That's all for now, we're going out for day 2, I'll try to keep this updated as I can.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
I'm putting a link to our pictures down below, here's a brief summary of what you are looking at.
Hotel room, pictures of Taiwan from Kelles apartment roof, red playhouse, partyworld karoke place, random shots of street, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, making paper, long shan temple
Highlights of the trip so far
1. Sitting in the middle two seats on a 14 hour plane ride over here
2. Laura getting looked at funny when people try to talk to her and she just smiles and says sorry
3. Watching Kelles argue with a taxi driver within our first hour here
4. All of the Taiwanese girls that want to take their picture with me
5. Walking down snake alley and seeing a snake gutted and just hanging out
6. Eating snails, clams, dried duck, squid, and other foods (yes, I tried most of these as well)
7. Laura salivating at $8 dollar shoes on every corner
8. Paper making, yes paper making. Laura's choice very exciting.
9. Still getting coffee at Starbucks
That's all for now, we're going out for day 2, I'll try to keep this updated as I can.
http://picasaweb.google.com/mbecker0410
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