The Zeller 6

I'm getting into wristwatches

2009-10-26T00:58:00.002+09:00

Some of the guys at work have got me hooked on wristwatches and I recently purchased two automatic movement models. The Hamilton is an American company and has a great tradition of providing watches to the US military. The Khaki automatic (above) I got follows that tradition. The Lum-Tec comes from another small American company that makes specializes in limited run productions; my black C4 (below) is number 30 of 100 made. They're both a lot of fun, but like stereo and cars, it can be an expensive hobby so this will be it for a while.

Latest Pics and News

2009-07-26T08:22:00.006+09:00

I think Jody has mostly migrated to Facebook these days when it comes to news and pictures, which is why this blog is seldom updated. Still, looking at my brother and sister-in-law's blog today, I've been inspired to post a little more here as well.

Here's some of the latest of the kids over the summer here in Seoul.

The first is the kids with some neighborhood friends at the "Passion 5" Pastery. The little guy sitting next to Colin is Sacha Tillman, born the day before Colin at the same hospital.

Colin on a playground near our apartment complex. He's getting bigger, and louder, and more rambunctious every day.

Audrey pretending to be Dad after I had come home from work one afternoon. Notice the car keys hanging around her neck...she's all set to go.

Our two little sweeties, again, at Passion 5.

Here's a few pictures from the waterpark at USAG Humphreys, down in Pyeongtaek.

The ride home after a day like this almost always guarantees some, if not all, of the kids will be completely crashed out in their seats.

Some random shots

2009-06-04T21:22:00.004+09:00

Colin and Daddy at the end of the year picnic for Audrey's preschool class.

Lizzie at the swing. She loves saying "faster, faster"

Lizzie's sad puppy face.

Colin's hair looks like this every time he comes down the slide.

My sweet Audrey. :)

Everland

2009-06-04T21:04:00.003+09:00

After the roller coaster ride in which Audrey screamed like I've never seen her scream before, and Lizzie apparently laughed the whole time.

After eating fried chicken for lunch, Colin took a drumstick for the road and sat down at the arcade he saw across the street. Not wanting to let go of the chicken, he just holds it in his mouth as he takes control of the steering wheel.

Audrey graduates from Preschool

2009-06-04T09:11:00.003+09:00

Food!!

2009-06-04T09:03:00.003+09:00

Family in Utah

2009-06-04T08:47:00.004+09:00

Space-A to the States.

2009-06-04T08:11:00.003+09:00

Preschool Photos

2009-04-25T13:40:00.003+09:00

I joined the Navy (For 2 weeks)

2009-03-21T23:05:00.007+09:00

The USS Blue Ridge in port.

I just returned from temporary duty aboard the USS Blue Ridge, the 7th Fleet's flagship. I was a maritime operations center JAG watch officer for a military exercise that takes place throughout all of Korea known as Key Resolve. The exercise is an annual event and our JAG office in Seoul usually has traditionally sent one JAG to join the Navy folks aboard the Blue Ridge. As luck would have it, this time I was able to go.

I'd been aboard Navy vessels before, but always for tours. This time I lived aboard it for one week at pier in Busan, Korea, and a then again for few days embarked into the East Sea off the coasts of Korea and Japan.

Leaving the harbor in Busan, South Korea.

SH-60 Seahawk leaving the Blue Ridge

An officer would usually be in a stateroom that sleeps two, but because of all the augmentees for the exercise like myself, I stayed in a 120-man berthing area shown below. Good thing I am not claustrophobic.

It's even more cramped than it looks.

Those bunks are stacked three high and about two feet apart from another three. I slept on a bottom bunk and had to do an Army low-crawl to climb into bed every night.

It wasn't bad for two weeks, but I really respect sailors who live in these cramped quarters for months on end when at sea.

For a portion of my time with the Blue Ridge the USS Stennis, a large aircraft carrier, and its strike group pulled in alongside us. I've been aboard carriers before and they've always left me very impressed- the Stennis was no exception.

The USS Stennis with a full air wing.

The Navy JAG and Marine JAG I met and worked with were all great. I became the "local expert" since I can speak a few words of Korean and know how to get around. I had a good time taking two of my JAG counterparts in the Navy, LT Mike Torisi and LT Chris Toscano out to try the local flavor.

LT (Navy) Mike Torisi hams it up for the camera.

LT (Navy) Chris Toscano and I.

The Seventh Fleet JAG office aboard the Blue Ridge is pictured below. Like most things on the ship, things were a little cramped. I dare say my personal office alone at Yongsan Garrison is nearly as big as this office space. This is not where I worked during the exercise...that was an operations center in the heart of the ship and pictures there are verboten. However, during my down time I was in here a lot to check email, etc.

I also got to experience the "Navy Port Call," both the good and not-so-great. With several thousand US Navy sailors in town, certain parts of Busan were well prepared with souvenirs, food stalls, and bars with "juicy girls." We've got our fair share of this in Seoul near Yongsan Garrison in Itaewon, but it was a little different in Busan. The local vendors and clubs seemed to go all out since the sailors were in town for a short period.

I've seen some amazing things in my time in the military and I can add another few to the list after this experience. Probably my favorite moment was going to the weather deck late one night while at sea. The ship was running with its exterior lights off and it was completely dark. With no light pollution from any land or from the ship itself, I had one of the most breathtaking views of the stars at night that I've ever seen. You could see clear to the horizon in any direction. The view, combined with the rocking of the ship and the sound of the waves was very memorable. Thanks Navy- I won't be asking for a branch transfer anytime soon, but it was a great experience.

Looking west towards a hazy sunset somewhere out in the East Sea.

A Post for Daddy

2009-03-13T22:57:00.006+09:00

Hans likes to check on the girls to make sure they're tucked in and on the bed. Sometimes they're just sprawled on the floor and not covered. So when he asked me to check on them after we talked on the phone, this is what I found.

This is what Colin does when I say that we're going to say the prayer. It's super cute.

Lizzie being super loving. Colin is trying to get a little less loving.

A heart for daddy.

Colin trying to get away from the sisters' embrace.

She really wanted me to take a picture of her with the foot next to her face. She said it would be "really cute". Whatever.

Meanwhile, here's Colin.

Our 5 Year Old

2009-03-03T16:17:00.003+09:00

An Addition to the Zeller Family

2009-02-22T09:26:00.002+09:00

Belated Christmas Post

2009-02-20T08:18:00.004+09:00

Zeller Boys Dance-Off

2009-02-18T09:25:00.002+09:00

Madame Elizabeth

2009-02-17T17:45:00.003+09:00

Karen sent me these awesome hot curlers for my birthday (Thanks, Karen!).
When Lizzie saw me using them, she told me I looked like Madam Blueberry from Veggie Tales.
Then a few days later, she asked me to make her look like Madame Blueberry.

Little Aprons and Making Cookies

2009-01-26T12:29:00.008+09:00

This post is first really directed at Rui Zeller, my sister-in-law. Rui made Audrey and Lizzie some really, really cute little aprons for Christmas and I promised to post some pictures. We finally got around to using the aprons for their intended purpose when we made some peanut butter Heath bar cookies. Below are the pics. Rui, the girls love the aprons still and wear them regardless of whether they're helping in the kitchen or not. Thanks again!

Measuring out the ingredients.

Mom and Lizzie pose.

Dad helps the girls with the basics.

Our two little imps work the camera. Lately, whenver we ask Lizzie to "smile" her tongue ends up sticking out like that.

Jody shot a short video clip as well of our cookie adventure:

And some more pics again:

Mom's turn to help the girls.

You can see the anticipation on Lizzie's face.

And again, the anticipation is palpable. The cookies turned out to be pretty good.

Colin at 16 months

2009-01-22T20:08:00.001+09:00

Nana finally makes it to Korea

2009-01-20T16:07:00.005+09:00

Mom and Colin and the Kyongbok-gun palace main hall.

It took some time, but my Mom finally made it over for a visit. What we as siblings finally did to get her here was buy her a ticket as a Christmas gift. The ticket itself was a 'buddy pass' kindly offered by my sister's father-in-law, Harold Jackson. Many, many thanks again Harold for making that all happen.

It was a good chance for Nana to reconnect with Audrey and Lizzie after 18 months apart and her first chance to get to know Colin. All the kids definitely enjoyed having her around and Jody and I certainly benefited from all her help around the home and her offers to give us some nights out while she watched the kids.

Below are a few pics from her visit.

Mom (with Audrey sneaking into the background) at the Korean National Museum of Art

Mom, Hans, and the kids at the National Museum again, with a giant stone pagoda in the background.

The Seoul Fishmarket on a bitter, bitter cold morning. We only did one lap around the market because it was sooooo cold. Here, Audrey is invited to warm her hands over a little coal fire by a worker at the market. Mom (Nana) is standing behind her.

Mom checks out the assortment of fresh and often still-live fish and shellfish at the Seoul Fishmarket.

Mom, Hans and Colin at the Kyongbok-gun Palace. In the background is a large pavilion and reflecting pool.

Mom at the palace again.

Namsan Tower at night.

Mom at a decorative pavilion at the base of Namsan Tower

Mom and Audrey snuggle at home. It was a great chance for the kids to reconnect with Nana. Thanks for coming, Mom!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-26T10:28:00.001+09:00

Our Winter Day at Kangneung Beach

2008-12-22T09:58:00.008+09:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, we traveled to Kangneung, a city on the east coast of Korea about one hour south of Mt. Sorak. When a friend of ours visiting from the States mentioned she was traveling there to visit her in-laws, I thought it was the perfect chance to offer her a ride and visit the area as well. Our friend's mother-in-law operates a popular beach-side restaurant, famous in particular for its cold buckwheat noodles, and we had an amazing meal right after arrival.

After the food we spent some time playing at the beach across the street. Apparently this beach is incredibly crowded in the summer, but on this cold winter day, it was nearly deserted. We got some great pics of the kids playing with the shells and the sand below.

I'd love to come back here when it is warmer (and greener.) The trip through the mountains is likely even more beautiful, the kids would have a good time playing in the ocean, and I am definitely up for more of those noodles!

We have a (minor) car accident

2008-12-22T09:28:00.005+09:00

Last friday we were on our way to the east coast city of Kangneung for a day at the beach and to visit a famous noodle restaurant belonging to the mother-in-law of a close friend of ours (this friend was also traveling with us.) As often happens in Korea, the traffic on the highway came to a complete standstill in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason, and it happened quite quickly. I stopped safely in time, but the car behind us was not so quick, and ran into the back of our Volvo.

Thankfully, we were all fine, and so was the family in the car that hit us. The Volvo had only superficial damage to the bumper and skid plate in the back, but the car that hit us was not so lucky...it was smashed up pretty good and blowing steam from a busted radiator hose or something worse. It also set our trip back about an hour while we waited for the police to come and make a formal report.

The upshot from it all was the other driver's insurance covered all the repairs on our vehicle and gave me this car to drive for a few days:

I have to admit, going from the family hauler XC90 to a BMW 5-series for a few days was a lot of fun for me and that car has got a few tricks that ours doesn't (heads-up display, downward-rotating rear view mirrors in reverse, etc.), but the few times we had to put the whole family in the sedan quickly confirmed we need the bigger Volvo. It's back now and good as new. Oh, and the cost for those scratches we pictured above? A cool $6000.

Lizzie + Minivan door = 12 stitches

2008-12-21T21:33:00.007+09:00

It was bound to happen at one point....when you have three little kids all running around it's a matter of time before there's some major cut or bruise or broken bone. In our case, it happened with little Lizzie. She was at a primary activity and another primary child scooped her up in his arms and ran with her to his family's mini-van for a ride home. Unfortunately, he didn't quite stop in time when he got to the mini-van's open sliding door and Lizzie's forehead hit the edge of the door directly with enough force to split the skin open to the skull bone.

I was not there due to a late night at work, and got an urgent call from Jody at my office to come to the emergency room. The hospital is only a few minutes from my office so I was able to get there quickly and what I saw was our little girl with bandages around her head and dried blood all over her face and clothes like some kind of bad halloween costume. I hope I never see anything like that ever again from one of my children.

The emergency room doctor admitted her fairly quickly and we are so proud of how good Lizzie was while they gave her the local anaesthetic shots into the wound (four total) and then sewed her up.

It's fairly certain she will have a scar from this, but how bad it will be is the question now. We are treating it with special moisturizers and silicon patches as recommended from a good friend here who is a dermatologist at the hospital. It helps that she's young with plenty of collagen in her skin, but I joke that she may want to keep the bangs that she has now coming down over her forehead for the rest of her life. All in all, we are grateful it was not worse, and she is still the same sweet, happy-go-lucky little girl that we love so much.

Lizzie and Dad at the hospital on the day they pulled out her stitches.

Karaokeing Colin

2008-12-11T22:35:00.003+09:00

A Perfect Fall Day

2008-11-10T20:16:00.007+09:00

The Korean National Folk Village, November 2008

I can see why many people say Fall is the best of Korea's seasons. The summer humidity is gone, the gorgeous leaves, and the clear blue skies (when not in Seoul) all create a beautiful place to be. Today was part of a four-day weekend for me, so we all jumped in the car and drove an hour south the Korean National Folk Village. I hadn't been there since a student in 2000, and had wanted to go since we'd arrived here in 2007. I'm not sure we could've picked a more ideal Fall day if we tried- absolutely stunning scenery with the foliage and the old-style homes and farms. The girls had a great time too looking at the animals and playing in the leaves. Finally, I tweaked some of the photos below just for fun with photoshop which I generally don't do, but I think you can tell which are originals and which are modified. Enjoy.

Sisters.

Just a taste of the great colors from the leaves today.

Jody and Colin.

The girls try to turn a millstone.

Lizzie and Audrey again playing in leaves.

Audrey could easily fit inside these kimchi pots.

I originally was taking a picture of the girls checking out the dried peppers, but noticed later that Colin is about to take a tour of one of the homes by himself. Can you find him?

Our little guy, Colin. I like how the Ginko leaf in his hand matches his hat in color.

There was three goats in this pen, and the girls have a story at home about three billy goats and a troll, so they were excited to see at least part of the story come to life (no troll.)

I'm glad Jody got this shot. It's a traditional stepping stone bridge and the girls had a great time crossing and no wet socks either!

Happy Halloween Everyone

2008-11-03T21:44:00.001+09:00

Turtle Rock

2008-11-02T19:35:00.009+09:00

I've wanted to visit Jody's mother's (Omonim) home town for quite a while now, and although I've traveled through the area many times, we finally made a visit with Jody's mom a few weeks ago. This part of Korea is near Mun-gyeoung Pass in North Gyeongsang Province. Historically it is famous for having been the site where Koreans repelled Japanese invaders in the Joseon Dynasty, now much of it is a provincial park. I think it may be my favorite part of Korea and it feels so good to leave the city of Seoul behind for places like this every now and then.

The name of Omonim's hometown is Charaebau, meaning "turtle rock." It's really not much more than 40 households or so and everyone knows everyone. We picked up a high school friend of Omonims at nearby town and began our day together.

The first place we visited was Omonim's elementary school. It was so quaint and picturesque- exactly what you might imagine a small school in the countryside here would look like. The school has only around 100 students now...most families have left to the bigger cities.

The next place we visited was another friend of Omonim. This woman runs a sushi restaurant where they farm the fish in large pools outside the restaurant (see Audrey and Lizzie playing by them below- they got to feed them as well) and grab them and prepare them as needed. We had rainbow trout (a first for me as sushi I think) and it was great.

Next to the restaurant was several small farmhouses and rice fields (absolutely beautiful this time of year as they're harvesting.) The girls and I walked around while Omonim talked with her friends. A grandma at one of the home invited the girls to look at some chicks that had just hatched that day (you can see their eggs in picture.) The girls loved them, although mother hen was not too excited to have an eager four and three-year old getting so close to her little ones. This farm also had a little goat and a dog, so it was a great little farm visit. Omonim eventually came on over and when the grandmas that had gathered around to see all the commotion (i.e. the foreigners) learned she was from their hometown they demanded to know who she was. At first, Omonim didn't want to say, but when they learned her name they all knew her immediately and called her by the nickname she was known of as a child. It was great!

We next went to Omonim's home. It had been so long since she was there that she was not sure if it was her home. We met a second cousin of hers (see the deeply-tanned farmer in the photo) and soon everyone in the area was gathered around to say hello. They sent us off with some garlic and persimmons, but none of the mushrooms (not that I necessarily wanted them, but I did think it was cool how they grew them.)

For the trip we had the back seats down in the Volvo and set out some blankets and had a portable DVD player in the back for the girls. They loved it and were so good the entire trip. It reminded me of many trips in the back our our own Volvo station wagon as I grew up.

One of our final stops was driving up a nearby mountainside to Mungyeong University. I know nothing about the school itself- it looked very small and provincial, but the view was outstanding. Omonim had Lizzie and Colin with her, but Jody and I managed to snap these pics of each of us with Audrey...the one of Jody and Audrey is definitely going on my desktop at work.

International Fleet Week at Busan

2008-10-18T14:27:00.006+09:00

Our JAG office took the KTX train from Seoul down to Busan last week to check out Korea's fleet week. There was naval ships from several different nations, but the highlight was definitely a tour of the USS George Washington, one of our aircraft carriers. Visiting the Korean Navy's large amphibious assault ship "Dokdo" was also very cool.

Boarding the Korean Flagship "Dokdo"

On the flight deck of the Dokdo

A Russian vessel, not sure what class it is, but those are some pretty big missile tubes.

A Chinese Sailor and yours truly. I was apparently more excited for the photo-op than he was.

Approaching the USS George Washington

Inside one of the hangars on the George Washington- just incredible how big this ship was- 90,000 tons!

On the flight deck. After the guided tour, I can say I would never want to work here- very dangerous and I respect each sailor who gets out here each day.

F-18 up close. Awesome.

The whole gang from the office for a final picture on the flight deck.

The Food

2008-10-18T14:16:00.005+09:00

Like the sunset pics below, I think the pictures speak for themselves. Whether it was at the resort's high-end restaurants as in the first picture, or along the beach in Ao Nang in the second and third picture, or just street-food brought back to our room like directly above, it was all delicious (and generally cheap) food.

The Sunsets

2008-10-18T13:43:00.005+09:00

It's been a while since I posted, and I haven't finished with the Thai photos. Above are three sunsets on three different nights. I didn't have to do a thing to modify these pics; they are exactly as I took them each evening.

The Resort

2008-10-01T22:48:00.005+09:00

We stayed at the Krabi Sheraton Beach Resort, which is actually not in Krabi proper, but in Ao Nang, and even then about a 15 minute crazy taxi-drive from Ao Nang. The resort itself was great, nestled in a mangrove forest with two infinity pools, multiple restaurants, a spa (more on that later), a private beach, and their own pet elephant (which I've learned is actually not that unique to resorts in Thailand, but fun nonetheless.)

The Beaches

2008-10-01T22:26:00.008+09:00

Thailand...where to begin?

I'll start with the beaches and the islands, because that's what really made me want to visit and I was not disappointed. Incredibly clear water, amazing karst topography, lagoons and reefs and tropical fish...what more can you ask for? More posts to follow on other things Thai.

We're back

2008-10-01T19:32:00.002+09:00

Well, we've really been back for a week now.
But I've lost the desire to blog.
I need to get back into it.
We have pictures from Thailand.
Thailand was awesome.
I want to go back.
This is the lamest blog post ever. . .

Off to Thailand

2008-09-17T23:56:00.003+09:00

Hans and Jody.
No kids.
Yep.

Watch Out, Bobbi Brown!

2008-09-16T13:52:00.005+09:00

Audrey got into my makeup bag the other day and this is what she looked like after a session of makeover. She came downstairs and I did a double take and was like "Audrey, what is that?"
Karen hurried to get the camera before she erased the evidence.

Here is Audrey trying to get rid of the evidence.

Back to School

2008-09-15T10:33:00.003+09:00

Lizzie's first day of Preschool. She's very excited to go, because she saw her sister go all of last year and wanted to go too. Hans dropped her off and said he had NO problems dropping her off.
There they go. . . Made me feel a little sad.

This is Audrey's second year of preschool.

She's a pro. No sadness here.

Hair Day II

2008-09-11T00:37:00.003+09:00

Audrey got her first haircut.
It's the first time I've ever taken her to a hair salon.
And this is how much was cut:

We'll be donating it to Locks of Love.
I think it's pretty awesome.
I tried to tell her that we'd be sending her hair and sharing it with people who don't have hair themselves.
Audrey does not associate the word "share" with something positive.
I don't think she was too excited about it. She said that she wanted to play with her hair as a toy. Yeahh. . . I don't think so.

"let me see, let me see"

She was a top customer and sat through the haircut with much patience.
Daddy was a little sad to see all that hair go, and closed his eyes when the lady cut it off.

So, what do you think?

Hair Day

2008-08-27T21:02:00.003+09:00

After only a month of having gotten a perm, I got tired of it and decided to get it straightened.
I know, I know. . . Oh, and I got bangs too.

So for 4 hours I sat in one place while the following happened: wash my hair, blow dry it, put some goo, wrap it in saran wrap, apply some heat, wash it, blow dry it, flat ironed, put some more goo, put some more heat, wash it, blow dry it, then wash it again (since the wash hadn't taken all the goo off), blow dry it, and finally cut it. Four long hours.
I came home, where Kevin was babysitting, to find three kids that reacted totally differently to my haircut:

Audrey: Mommy, why did you get the haircut? I don't like your haircut!

Colin comes up to me and stares at me for a while, to try to figure out if it's really me underneath the new hair. Then when he decides it is indeed Mommy, he hugs my leg really tight and leans his face up to it.

Lizzie: Mommy, you got a haircut. (Giggles)

I don't know if those giggles were the good kind or the bad.
I've decided to think they were the good ones, but somehow I doubt it. . .

Life in the Swan Station

2008-08-20T22:22:00.004+09:00

So right now I'm sitting deep inside a mountain and I'm really tired.

I can't say what I'm doing. I can't say where I am. I can say that I've been working 12-hour night shifts this week and I need to stay awake.

One of the perks of being an Army JAG is sometimes doing things that are far removed from the usual deskjobs most other attorneys find themselves in. In my case, right now it's working deep inside an underground bunker in support of Ulchi Freedom Guardian. Being the junior captain, I get the night shift.

Without getting into specifics, I can say it has been an eye-opening experience watching how South Korea and the United States would hypothetically defend itself against an attack from North Korea.

Where I work right now reminds me of something the Dharma Initiative would have built, like the Swan station, but without all the flickering lights and much, much bigger. Too bad I can't take any pictures to share.

It's tiring work, but still interesting and definitely out-of-the-0rdinary.

A Love Letter

2008-08-20T08:36:00.004+09:00

Hans loves History. He loves documentaries too. So when we saw the Ken Burn's PBS Civil War Series on DVD at the library, he checked them out. He later showed me a segment from it that made me cry. It's a letter from a man to his wife, days before he died.

July 14, 1861
Camp Clark, Washington

My very dear Sarah:
The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days—perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write again, I feel impelled to write a few lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more . . .

I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how strongly American Civilization now leans on the triumph of the Government and how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and sufferings of the Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly willing—to lay down all my joys in this life, to help maintain this Government, and to pay that debt . . .

Sarah my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me unresistibly on with all these chains to the battle field.

The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them for so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when, God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grown up to honorable manhood, around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me—perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar, that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battle field, it will whisper your name. Forgive my many faults and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have often times been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness . . .

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the gladdest days and in the darkest nights . . . always, always, and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath, as the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by. Sarah do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again . . .

Sullivan Ballou was killed a week later at the first Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861.

Born March 28, 1829 in Smithfield, R.I., Ballou was educated at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass.; Brown University in Providence, R.I. and the National Law School in Ballston, N.Y. He was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar in 1853.

Ballou devoted his brief life to public service. He was elected in 1854 as clerk of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, later serving as its speaker.
He married Sarah Hart Shumway on October 15, 1855, and the following year saw the birth of their first child, Edgar. A second son, William, was born in 1859.
Ballou immediately entered the military in 1861 after the war broke out. He became judge advocate of the Rhode Island militia and was 32 at the time of his death at the first Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861.

When he died, his wife was 24. She later moved to New Jersey to live out her life with her son, William, and never re-married. She died at age 80 in 1917.
Sullivan and Sarah Ballou are buried next to each other at Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, RI. There are no known living descendants.

Ironically, Sullivan Ballou’s letter was never mailed. Although Sarah would receive other, decidedly more upbeat letters, dated after the now-famous letter from the battlefield, the letter in question would be found among Sullivan Ballou’s effects when Gov. William Sprague of Rhode Island traveled to Virginia to retrieve the remains of his state’s sons who had fallen in battle.

Probably not Intended by Disney. . .

2008-08-14T09:20:00.002+09:00

Audrey was watching The Little Mermaid the other night, and when it was time for dinner, I asked the kids to come to eat and turn the TV off. See, there's this rule at our house. No TV while we're at the table for a meal. I told Audrey that she could finish the movie after dinner. She turned it off and as she comes to the table, she says:
"After dinner, we're gonna see the witch burn"

(Yikes)

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Singing to the Snow White song, Lizzie goes:
"Hi ho, hi ho, I'm going to get a ho"

This is only funny because I have a filthy mind. And probably because while accidentally entering a red light street a few months ago, I got come hither'ed by a um. . . prostitute, asking me to come in to the "shop". I was driving and all by myself.
(Double yikes)

Summer Fun

2008-08-11T09:25:00.006+09:00

After lunch, we went to this park, where they had three ground water fountains and some creeks. Tons of people, a lot of sun, and oodles of fun.

Good Eats

2008-08-11T09:21:00.003+09:00

Kevin recommended this place that he had tried, located in the outskirts of Seoul.
We had this yummy meal of 삼겹살 wrap.

Shoe Shopping

2008-08-08T09:10:00.001+09:00

Whoever said that girls are more fun to shop for. .
I'd have to say that in my experience, from having two girls and now a boy, that is simply not true.
But then it could be because the novelty of shopping for girls has worn off.
Whatever the case, I have been having a lot of fun getting cute striped polo shirts, and baggy cargo shorts, and the like for Colin. He looks so adult in them, but so darn cute too.
Here are some shoes I got just in the last week.
I need to stop. . .
I'm sure the novelty will wear off in a year. . . or two, or three.

Ebishura (minus the food)

2008-08-06T09:10:00.002+09:00

On the way to the restaurant, Susan's making the girls laugh. They were so sad when it was time to go home. They kept asking for Susan unni.
Susan and her mom.
Jody and Audrey.
That's an octopus leg that Audrey's eating. I know, it's wild!!!

Ebishura (the second time around)

2008-08-06T08:50:00.006+09:00

The second time around was still as good as the first time.
Susie's family came from San Diego to visit, and we all went out to eat together.

Wings and chips

2008-08-05T17:52:00.005+09:00

Hans made dinner the other day.
I told him it was our "Hooters' dinner"

That's it, Mom. I'm Cleaning the House!!

2008-08-01T15:09:00.003+09:00

For those of you who are not family members or relatives, please don't feel obliged to click on this video.
It's cute and all, but at almost 3 minutes long, really, wouldn't you be rather painting your nails or brush your teeth?
What? you already got your nails done and you brushed your teeth two days ago?
Well alright then, what are you waiting for? Click that triangle button!

What is going through Colin's head ?
Do you think he's found a calling in life?

Passion 5

2008-08-01T14:53:00.002+09:00

One word: Yum

tagged

2008-08-01T09:20:00.000+09:00

For Natalie - sorry it's so late.

3 JOYS:
family
food
sleep

3 FEARS:
getting older but not wiser
not being a good mom
not making a difference

3 GOALS:
eating healthy
exercise regularly
go on a trip with hans

3 CURRENT OBSESSIONS:
baking
blogging
shoes

3 RANDOM SURPRISING FACTS ABOUT ME:
i have a watch curse. every watch i buy or get as a gift, stops working or falls apart. this is a fact.
i'm a blanket hog. ask hans.
i like food. oh wait, that's not surprising.

Something new for the mountainbike and I drive away from a gas pump with the hose still in my car!

2008-07-30T22:07:00.006+09:00

I LOVE my new mountain bike. One of my co-workers, upon admiring my bike, said "Hey, you should throw some slicks on that thing, then you'll really be moving." The bike came with some great knobby tires, but they're not the most efficient things for the city riding that I do. So, I checked out the post exchange store and sure enough, they had some slicks in my size and only $5 a tire! I promptly bought a pair and swapped out the tires last night.

I brought the tires with me in our car to my morning workout so I could fill them with air at the post gas station and then ride the bike into work. I also decided to get some gas for the car at the same time. However, I was so excited about putting air in the bike tires that I pulled out of the gas pump area with the gas pump hose still attached to our car! As I did so, I heard this terrible screeching noise and thought "What in the world could I have run into?" Then I see some guy sprinting to hit the emergency kill switch because I apparently busted the gas pump and gasoline was flying all over the place. Turns out the gas pump had an emergency overflow valve or something and nothing broke (and thankfully no there was no damage to the Volvo either), but wow was that embarrassing and a little bit scary at first. I guess it could have been worse, and I could have done something like this:

Luckily in my case the hose remained attached to the pump. And driving off with a hose makes so much noise I don't know how the driver of the X3 above could not have noticed they took the hose with them! (See, I'm a subject matter expert now on driving off with a gas pump hose in your car so I can be critical of other (idiots like me) who do the same.)

Anways, back to the bike tires; I did finally get some air in them after apologizing profusely to the gas station attendants and helping them clean up the mess. Wow what a difference! The hum of my knobby tires has been replaced by absolute silence as my bike seems to glide effortlessly compared to before. I love these slicks! So much faster and smoother for the city sidewalks and streets here...and they look pretty slick too don't they? (yes *groan* pun totally intended.)

The Big Three!

2008-07-30T13:50:00.004+09:00

Lizzie turned 3!
These are some pics from the party.

Colin found remnants of cupcakes after the kids were done with them

Molasses Sandwich Cookies

2008-07-28T11:12:00.009+09:00

I love cookies.
Since I've gotten this awesomeness, I love them even more.
I go to this blog from time to time.
I love her photos. They're awesome.
They add fuel to my already existing craving for cookies and all things sweet.
So I tried this recipe that the blogger, JenJen, got from Martha Stewart website.
I followed her instructions to cut the sugar in half and only make half the icing.
They were the second best cookies I've ever made, according to Hans.
According to Hans, these were the best cookies I've ever made.

Summer Reading Program

2008-07-28T10:57:00.006+09:00

Last Tuesday, I took the kids to the Summer Reading Program here at the Yongsan Post.
Conveniently for us, there's a bus leaving right outside of the Hannam Village (where we live) library to the main post (about 15 minutes away) library.
Actually, they're holding this program in a theater, since the normal story time room at the library would not be able to fit that many people.
The kids got all sorts of presents: Crayons, clay dough, drawing pad, t-shirt, fan, etc.
They were more interested in the presents than the story time itself.
But what was really awesome, is that Briana, my good friend who lives in Hannam Village as well, played the violin on this special day.
The audience really got into it and loved it! Here are some photos and a video.

Here's Lizzie clapping enthusiastically.

La Plancha

2008-07-23T09:07:00.002+09:00

Just across the street from here, there's a place called La Plancha.
It's a Spanish restaurant.
Aside from the place we tried once in Old Town, San Diego, this is the first Spanish food that I've tried. Knowing that I speak Spanish, my friends asked me what "la plancha" meant.
The only meaning of this word that I was aware of at the time, was iron. As in ironing-your-shirt-with-the-iron iron. Which doesn't really relate to or make you think of food.
So I Googled the term "plancha", and apparently it is also used to mean grilled on a metal plate.
So grilled on a metal plate, here's the dish Hans ordered:

I had a seafood paella.

HANS

2008-07-21T16:47:00.003+09:00

My husband is a well-known entrepreneur in Korea.
He has so many businesses, that even he is surprised to find them when walking around here.
Here's one of a veterinary clinic he forgot to tell me about:

Here's one we came across in Apgujeong (self-proclaimed "Beverly Hills of Korea").
This one was a French pastry shop. We didn't go in this time, but I've gotta at least check it out once.
Here's a picture of Hans pointing at Hans, or Hans standing in front of Hans.
You get the picture.
The thing is, there are many other stores with the name Hans on their sign that I simply haven't been able to take photos. Hans Auto Shop, Hans Taylor Shop, Hans Optometry. . .
I've yet to see a single check from these businesses he keeps opening.
Show me the money, I say.
Maybe someday, but most likely not.
Oh, and apparently, Hans is the name of the dog in that first clinic.

It Arrived!!!

2008-07-18T07:11:00.003+09:00

My family and extended family back in the States all pitched in and contributed towards a new mountain bike for my birthday. Doug, with his expertise in all things with two wheels, made the choice and then he and Karen shipped it here to Korea.

The thing is, it took so long that I was afraid it had been pilfered along the way. Well, earlier this week I was thrilled to see a large box waiting for me at my office. Now I'm riding this beauty to work every day that I can. A huge thank you to everyone who helped make this possible!

Tiger World - The Aftermath

2008-07-18T06:57:00.006+09:00

What does a day of swimming and running around do to the kids? Check out these photos of our drive back to Hannam-dong from Incheon. Notice Lizzie has gorged herself on chocolate something and also managed to get a good scrape on her knee while running somewhere inside the waterpark...non-stop drama.

Audrey's head kept flopping around so Jody tied it down with a scarf. I think it looks like we were trying to blindfold her. Probably would have caused an Amber Alert if we were in California.

Kevin and I managed to stay awake to fight the rush hour traffic home.

Tiger World

2008-07-18T06:32:00.005+09:00

You may be thinking we went to a zoo, but you would be wrong. Korea being Korea calls different things names in English for no apparent reason sometimes, and this time it's a waterpark/spa that has nothing to do with tigers. We went with our friends the Petersons, from our branch. He's an Army doctor and you can see him and his family in the background below.

4th of July weekend was a four-day weekend for me so we spent one of the days at a great little indoor/outdoor waterpark and spa near Incheon. It was 50% off for military members that day, so altogether we only paid $36 or so to get the whole family in. The pool above had tables and chairs that you could eat your food in. Here the girls eat those ice cream dots you buy in the mall in the States. As you can imagine, they probably have to clean this pool fairly often.

One really unusual thing they had was this "Dr. Fish" pool where small fish actually nibble on your feet, or whatever other body part you let in the water. As they eat the dead skin cells it feels kind of like a mild electrical shock, but at first it's incredibly ticklish and freaked Jody, Kevin and I out. The end result is like a very gentle loofah cleaned your feet. Really cool and fun!

This hot tub below was some kind of mineral bath but I think it looks like lime Kool Aid. The girls got a lot of attention of course, as they do in most public places.

I would definitely go again, especially with the discount. Everland has a bigger, better waterpark, but this one was more kid friendly and at this point in our family's lives thats what counts.

7 Series Heaven

2008-07-18T06:24:00.002+09:00

Most of you know I love cars of all kinds. Charles and Jamie Jun's (cousins to my wife here in Seoul) dad upgraded this week. Can't wait to check it out in person. The crazy thing is Charles' mom is on vacation in Europe and doesn't even know about this purchase yet!

Something's fishy here

2008-07-17T23:02:00.009+09:00

So Seoul has this HUGE fish market near the 63 building and every time we have driven by it I've thought to myself how fun it would be to visit. I've also been craving ceviche lately, and for those of you who don't know, it's a great dish made with raw seafood cooked in lime juice so it needs to be fresh. We didn't have any specific plans last weekend so I told Jody it was time to visit the fish market and buy some fresh shrimp.

Man am I glad we went! We had such a good time and bought some great fish and shellfish as well! The girls loved seeing all the different kinds of seafood, with a lot of it still being alive in tanks and buckets and so on.

The vendors let them play with live squid and crabs and cuttlefish. It did smell very, very fishy so that would be something I am sure would turn off some folks, but it was just too much fun to let a little smell get in the way.

Jody decided to make cioppino as well, and hand picked her fish (which they killed and prepared on the spot) as well as the crab and shellfish for the recipe. I got my shrimp for the ceviche too. Jody's cioppino turned out so well, and a big part of it had to be the freshness of it all. It was so delicious and she made a huge pot so we enjoyed a couple of meals from it. Here's a picture of the great shrimp and the final cioppino ready to eat:

Where I work...

2008-07-16T18:10:00.006+09:00

I realized the other day that I've never shared any pictures of where I work day to day with my family and friends back in the States. So here you are, my humble office.

It's small, but it has a window and a door and a computer and a bookshelf for all my material so that's enough.

Oh, and air conditioning, which is critical in Seoul in the summer!

Below is the front of our office building. It's one of the original structures remaining from when the Japanese Army was located here as a colonial power. The "UNC/USFK/EUSA" stands for United Nations Command, United States Forces Korea, and Eighth United States Army, which are the three commands that our JAG office services here.

Here's a photo of three of the attorneys I currently work with in the Administrative Law division. Mr. Loh is a civilian and has been around forever. He started as a Private in the Army back in the Vietnam era and then served as a JAG before becoming a civilian attorney. He's the mainstay. On the left is Captain Su Kwak and on the right is Captain Lynn Bruckelmeyer. Both are Korean-Americans. Lynn has been in the JAG for 5 years or so and Su came in the class before I did, in 2006.

Another new gadget for Hans called Apple TV

2008-07-16T08:16:00.005+09:00

Okay, I've been lusting after this thing for a while now and finally convinced Jody to let me get it (or maybe it was not so much me convincing her as her having pity on/getting sick of me talking about it.) There was a couple of hiccups for the first couple of weeks getting it to sync properly with the iMac and the wireless network but now it's working flawlessly and it is AWESOME!

Basically, the Apple TV is a wireless media streamer/160 GB hard drive from our iMac upstairs to our big screen TV downstairs. We can view all 18,000+ of our digital photos on our plasma (which are gorgeous at full size), listen to all 60+ GB of our music collection on our home theater audio system, rent or purchase HD movies from the iTunes store, watch YouTube clips and movie trailers from the internet, and watch any of the movie and video clips we've downloaded to our computer, including our home videos. Like most things by Apple, it's easy and a lot of fun to use.

Sometimes I just like to let the slideshow run in the background with music playing from our iTunes library while I do other things. We have so many pictures in our iPhoto library now that I forget what pictures we do have and it's a great way to recall where we've been and what we've done. Overall, a very, very cool toy that I highly recommend if you've got a lot of media on your computer and a big TV to take advantage of.

Our new place

2008-07-16T07:59:00.011+09:00

We've been in our new place for about a month and a half now. Here's some pictures below. It's a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom unit just under 2400 square feet with a large kitchen and dining room/living room downstairs and the four bedrooms upstairs. There's all kinds of benefits to the neighborhood we live in as well: community library, pool, grocery and drug store, picnic areas, and playgrounds- all within the walls of our little compound called "Hannam Village."

Hans and Jody's bedroom.

Living room complete with sleeping wife on couch.

Sitting area by kitchen looking towards dining area and living room area. It's basically one long big room, but I like the open area and it provides lots of space for the kids to play.

The kitchen is huge and this picture doesn't do it justice. The column on the right makes it appear smaller than it is, but it's in the foreground with the refrigerator and more counter space behind it. For once we have more cupboard space than we know what to do with!

Audrey and Lizzie's room. Colin has his own room also. We've got a spare bedroom with a queen sized bed (currently occupied by Kevin, Jody's brother, for the summer) so there's plenty of room for guests. Come and visit if you can!

Thai Food at Pattaya

2008-07-15T14:28:00.003+09:00

Last week, I went out a few of my friends to a restaurant called Pattaya.
It's a Thai restaurant that was recommended to one of the friends.
It's located in one of the back streets of Itaewon, a town in Seoul where you can find all sorts of international cuisine. All the more convenient for me, since I live mere blocks from it.
The food was exceptional. I'd been to Thai Orchid several times, another famous Thai restaurant in Itaewon, but I'd have to say that I liked Pattaya more.
We'll try a different international restaurant next month.
Until then, I love you too Karen and Natalie. . .

Sisterly Love

2008-07-14T10:27:00.002+09:00

Pot-luck

2008-07-14T07:47:00.004+09:00

A few weeks ago, we had a pot-luck with some church friends.
The second picture is Audrey with her Sunbeams class teacher.

Milk and Cookies, Milk and Cookies, Yummy in my Tummy

2008-07-14T07:32:00.003+09:00

Here we are, making some sugar cookies.
Audrey and Lizzie loved cutting the cookies with the star and heart cookie cutters.
Lizzie kept sneaking little pieces of dough into her mouth.
3rd picture down, Colin's looking into the oven oh-so-very longingly.
I leave the oven light on and he loves to look in to see what's cooking.
And no, the oven door does not get hot. He's OK.

Brownie and Ice Cream, Brownie and Ice Cream, Yummy in my Tummy

2008-07-09T07:11:00.013+09:00

Before, after, and during

July 6th - First Steps

2008-07-09T06:12:00.005+09:00

Colin took his first steps on Sunday.
I had him in Nursery at church, and all of a sudden he took like 3 steps before flopping down on his bum. I was so happy that I was there to see his first step(s), I almost cried.
He could stand on his own for about a month now, and wanted to take that first step, but couldn't quite do it. He can now. It's actually really cute, a little wobbly and hesitant, but before we know it, he'll be running around.
So there you have it, walking sooner than the Zeller siblings ahead of him, Colin starts walking at 9 and 1/2 months.

It's a bright June afternoon, it never gets dark. . .

2008-07-08T22:51:00.004+09:00

Here's Hans with the girls relaxing on a Sunday afternoon, on the way home from church. . .

Hot Summer Days

2008-07-08T22:35:00.008+09:00

It's been exactly two weeks since my last post.
Where have I been?
Was I busy? no
Were the kids sick? no
Was I out protesting against US beef? nope, not that either.
The truth is, I really have no real excuse.
But since Karen asked so nicely, (not to confuse with the first comment) I will update.

The weather here in Seoul has been very muggy and hot.
The housing complex where we live in has a pool.
So we go pretty much on a daily basis. We take all the floaties and put the kids in their swim suits and off we go.

Audrey is proud of her mom

2008-06-24T06:18:00.005+09:00

Not much makes me happier than seeing Audrey and Lizzie play well together.
They'll hold hands as they walk side by side, or they'll look at each other and giggle uncontrollably over silly little things. They'll tell each other i love you.
These moments are all the sweeter because they are oh so very rare.

Even as I'm writing this post, Lizzie's screaming at Audrey over some big offense.
Sometimes I think:

what was I thinking having three kids?
I'm not equipped to deal with this level of stress or noise on a constant (and interminable) basis.

I don't think anybody is. I have a theory. The Special Theory of Keeping a Mother Sane-abilty. I think mothers slowly build some kind of buffer that blocks out background kid noise with each child they have. I know I do. Hans will come home from work to a chaotic house and say "what's going on?" I'll turn to him and say "what do you mean?"

After three kids, my level of noise blockability is probably comparable to a dog pound keeper. I can't imagine what it would be like to have that many animals howling, barking, and yapping all the time. Wait, I take that back, I know exactly what that feels like.

So, what makes it all worth it?
Audrey's been telling Hans and me how proud she is of us. She'll just randomly come up and say: "Mommy, I'm so proud of you" I'll ask her why, and she'll reply "Because I love you"

4 going on 14

2008-06-20T16:20:00.003+09:00

So, the other day, I played some Weezer while I was cooking.
Audrey comes up to me and says, "Mom, that's Daddy's music. Don't listen to it"
I replied "It's Mommy's music too, I can listen to it too if I want".
She just looked at me like I didn't know what I was talking about, and left.
Later that day, Hans comes home from work, and this is the first thing Audrey runs to tell him:
"Daaad, Mommy was listening to your music".

Today, we went to the hospital to get Colin checked for his croupy kind of cough that he'd been having all night last night. At the pharmacy, I was waiting for the prescriptions while Audrey sat down to read a parenting magazine. To give her some warning before we took off, I said "Audrey, we have to go in a few minutes". To which she replied, in a very matter-of-fact-way: "Mom, just a minute, I'm not done yet. I'll be done in a second, okay?" It's not even what she said, rather how she said it.
Allllrighty then. . . I could hear chuckles around the waiting area, and I didn't even know what to say. I felt like I was being scolded. She sounded like such a mommy. Wait, she sounded like me. . . didn't she?
So that's what I sound like, through a 4 year old. Yikes.

Fun day out in Shinchon

2008-06-16T09:43:00.008+09:00

We went to this place that sells 순대볶음. I'm just gonna say that it's really really spicy.
Apparently Mom and Kevin had come to this place a couple years ago, and Kevin had talked about it before, so we decided to come check it out.
Did I mention that it was really really spicy? It was.

There is a little background that goes with the following pictures. I had recently shown Audrey a travel magazine that shows different destinations and the foods that they offer. One of them was of Paris and the bakeries there. So whenever Audrey would look at the picture of the bakery, which happened have assorted waffles, including that of chocolate, she'd say to me: "Mom, I want chocolate waffle". So it seemed like fate when we walked into the food section of Hyundae department store and found this waffle store that had these yummy creations.

It was a long day. . .

Dinner at Ebishura

2008-06-16T07:16:00.004+09:00

We went out to a Seafood Buffet last week with my uncle's family.
the food was sooo good. I should have taken pictures of what I was eating, but unfortunately I was too engrossed in the "eating" part to be doing any photographing.
Then I felt kinda silly going up to the Buffet line to take close-up shots of the food, so I asked Hans to go and take some pictures for me. Hans, being the wonderful obliging husband that he is, went and took these pictures for me, including with some with the chefs posing for him.
You really can't appreciate how good the food was from these pictures, but trust me when I say that it was excellent. Mmm~

Dinner with Uncle Kevin. . . and more torture for Natalie

2008-05-31T06:41:00.006+09:00

I've been posting some pictures of food in my blog.
Natalie's been accusing me of torturing her with them.
But I figure, since I'm getting blamed for something I didn't intentionally do, I might as well go all out and try to do a decent job of it. The name of this dish is 오불사 (오징어, 불고기, 사리). It has calamari, marinated beef, and noodles. Pretty darn spicy.

Oh, and this is dessert. It's yogurt with different toppings at a place called "Red Mango"

Audrey's last day of preschool. . . for the summer

2008-05-31T06:33:00.004+09:00

Mustard Seed, the Christian preschool that we send Audrey to, had its end of the school year picnic this week. We had lots of good food and fun. Audrey blew a lot of bubbles, Lizzie ate the bubble solution. Audrey played in the inflatable castle they brought in for the occasion, Lizzie poured the bubble solution bottle into somebody else's stroller cup-holder. . .
That's Ms Janice and Ms Inui, Audrey's teachers.

Colin at the pool

2008-05-31T06:09:00.005+09:00

Colin's trying to get down on the floor, but doesn't know quite how to do it without flopping.
So he's very carefully crouching down, then up, and down and up again.

Then, once he's down on the floor, he doesn't like the rough texture of the floor, so he start "crawling" without letting his knees touch the ground.

The pool opens for the summer

2008-05-31T06:05:00.002+09:00

Hurry up, dad!!

Carouseling

2008-05-29T12:53:00.002+09:00

Happy Birthday, imo!

2008-05-27T10:06:00.002+09:00

Colin at the swing

2008-05-27T08:15:00.002+09:00

Crocs

2008-05-27T08:08:00.003+09:00

I finally gave in.
All of her friends and their dogs had crocs.
I had to get some for Audrey and Lizzie.

It hurts my ears!!

2008-05-27T08:04:00.003+09:00

Colin wasn't happy to be in the car seat and was wailing.
This is what the girls do when Colin cries.
"It hurts my ears!!"

More Art by Audrey

2008-05-26T14:56:00.006+09:00

GN'R and Nursery Rhyme

2008-05-26T11:10:00.003+09:00

Lizzie singing to "Don't Cry" by Guns N' Roses that I've been teaching her (which Hans says is pretty messed up)
Audrey singing the Kookaburra song that Daddy's been teaching her

Lizzie and Colin play together

2008-05-25T06:59:00.005+09:00

Audrey singing with her mouth full

2008-05-22T13:18:00.004+09:00

Audrey sings some songs she learned at preschool

Yet more pictures of food from Korea to torture Natalie with. .

2008-05-22T13:12:00.004+09:00

Our weekend in Gangwon Province

2008-05-21T08:03:00.029+09:00

Judge Seong and his family (pictured with our family above, and Mrs. Seong is holding Colin) kindly invited us to spend the weekend with them in Gangwon province. Other than visiting Sorak Mountain and the neighboring coastal cities of Naksan and Sokcho back in 2000 as a student, I hadn't been to this area before so I was really looking forward to learning more about it.

MINJOK LEADERSHIP ACADEMY

I had actually read about this private high school in this New York Times article recently, so this was an interesting way to begin our weekend. This is one of South Korea's premier high schools and has a spectacular success rate with getting its students admitted to Ivy League universities and the premier universities in Korea. One must first understand that where you got to high school is extremely important in Korea and can directly relate to where one ends up attending college or university. And I can't begin to state how important it is to the average Korean where you attended college. It's often one of the first questions you are asked when meeting a Korean and it quickly helps determine one's social status among peers.

The classrooms were set in traditional styled buildings located in the foreground of the picture above. The large highrise in the background is the student dormitory. No parents are allowed inside the dorm...too much of a distraction I guess! Parents are not the only thing that won't be a distraction here- the school is located in the middle of nowhere. It's quite beautiful, but for a lot of students coming from Seoul or other large cities it must be quite a change.

Not that any of the students would complain about attending this school in the Korean countryside. Competition to get in is very fierce and includes not only stellar GPAs but a series of entrance exams akin to getting into a college or grad school in the States. A big priority is put on English skills and they teach several AP courses as well. So at what price do these students do so well? That's a whole other subject and the NYT article only touches on the price these students pay to make the grade. The pressure is likely enormous and I think the students definitely sacrifice much of what makes the high school years so much fun. Would I want my kids to go here? No way!

Still, it was quite an impressive facility and for Korean parents and youth who put a huge premium on education I can see how this would be one of the holy grail of high schools. Judge Seong is hoping his boys will have the opportunity to attend.

"AHNHUNG CHINPAN"

We next stopped by a little bakery with a big reputation in South Korea. As Judge Seong explained it to me, this little bakery received a visit by then-president of South Korea, Kim Dae-jung. He declared it the best chinpan in all of the country and it became an overnight success. Many other bakeries opened in the area, trying to ride on the coattails of the originals bakery's reputation and now the Ahnhung region is known for chinpan.

Some of you may be wondering now "What exactly is chinpan?" This variety is a doughy, sticky roll with sweet bean paste in the middle. Those with Japanese backgrounds will recognize the bean paste as "anko." The bean paste was an acquired taste for me, but now I quite like it.

One thing is certain, the smell of the fresh baked rolls coming out of the oven was fantastic! It was a lot of fun to visit and more fun to eat the rolls. The grandmas like the attention too!

A MOUNTAIN RETREAT- KOREAN STYLE

We next headed to the condominium we'd be spending the weekend in. The inside was quaint but fun. The girls slept in the loft, mom and dad in sleeping bags on the floor, and Colin in the pack-n-play nearby.

What was somewhat strange (but then again, it's Korea so maybe not so strange) was how incredibly packed together all the condos were. I understand why structures are so densely packed together in Seoul, but apparently that philosophy or necessity or whatever it is carries over to the remote countryside as well.

Regardless of how close we were to our neighbors, it was still fun. We had a Korean style barbecue on the patio, as was every single other family I saw there. I'm pretty sure that's the point of getting to the countryside here- getting on your barbecue and for most folks, also getting drunk on Soju.

The girls had a great time in the woods. It was all about the animals and birds that live in the woods for them...bears, deer, rabbits, etc. Not that we saw any of those animals, but still, they know that's where the animals call home and I think they enjoyed thinking they were sharing time with the animals.

HERBANARIA, A FLOWER AND HERB GARDEN

Our last stop for the weekend was a visit to Herbanaria. Yes, an odd name, but you see it with a lot with the names here and often what sounds a little silly in English sounds just normal in Korean. Funny name aside, it really was a beautiful flower garden. People with big, expensive DSLR cameras were going crazy here taking pictures. We brought the little pocket Pentax, not the big DSLR Pentax, so I couldn't really play along but still managed to get some decent shots

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7th Anniversary

2008-05-13T15:42:00.002+09:00

Nighttime story with Dad

2008-05-13T15:41:00.002+09:00

Yet another meal at my aunt's

2008-05-13T15:39:00.002+09:00

Pretending to sleep

2008-05-13T15:34:00.002+09:00

Two Brothers and Two Sisters

2008-05-11T18:45:00.003+09:00

Uncle Mike and Hans holding Audrey and Lizzie, respectively.

The train station to nowhere

2008-05-11T18:28:00.007+09:00

As an unscheduled stop on our DMZ tour, we made a visit to Dorasan Station, the last stop on the South Korean side of a train line built during the Kim Dae Jung era of "Sunshine Policy" engagement with North Korea.

It was an ultra-modern, ultra-clean train station that was also ultra-empty. It was a vivid illustration to me of how the Sunshine Policy failed...a lot of money put out by the South with no results or reciprocation by the North.

Still, I did get a kick out of seeing a sign in a train station directing the traveler towards Pyongyang. Hopefully someday this train station will become more than a tourist attraction and will serve its intended purpose.

The JSA

2008-05-11T17:11:00.011+09:00

This is Hans now, making my first ever post on this blog that Jody has done such a great job with. Mike and Rui came to visit us the last four days and we kicked off their first day here by taking a tour of the Joint Security Area at the border between North and South Korea. It was a really dramatic way to begin their trip to Korea and gave them a good sense of why myself and the rest of the United States Forces Korea are here.

In the picture above, the large grey building directly in front is North Korea. Notice how the South Korean soldier stands with only half his profile exposed to the north side.

Mike and Rui pose with a ROK soldier inside one of the conference rooms. They are technically standing on North Korean soil at this point, and we were told armed North Korean soldiers were posted at the other side of the door directly behind them. The ROK soldiers were not allowed to talk to us, and we were asked not to talk to them or stand too close. Mike looks really happy to be there, but he said it was freaking him out the entire time.

Another view here of the military demarcation line as marked by the concrete slab. The gravel is South Korea, the bare earth is North Korea.

Notice the ROK soldier again standing at the position of attention with half his profile exposed towards the North.

To see what these soldiers do when there's no tours around check this out.

We next left the conference area and proceeded to a guard tower (now unmanned) from which we had a view of "Propoganda Village" in the North. The village is composed of apartment buildings which remain empty shells, never completed on the inside but instead constructed to show the West how prosperous North Korea is. The large antennae-like structure is a massive flag pole with a 600 lbs. flag visible from South Korea (but it takes a really strong wind to get it to wave!)

One final picture of the Joint Security Area below is the "bridge of no return," across which prisoners of war were exchanged. The last Soldiers to cross this were in fact officers and sailors from the USS Pueblo, a naval intelligence ship captured by the North Koreans in 1968.

There was much more to see and a lot of interesting history to learn about this unique area. I would recommend the tour to anyone visiting Kora and hope to make it a regular stop for family and friends who visit us here.

Playing with food

2008-05-06T17:22:00.002+09:00

So this one, I made. I mean, it's nothing great.
Just an angel, or a snowman with wings and a halo.
but the next one down. . .

This was all Audrey. Can you believe she made this all by herself?
It's a frog by the way, if you can't tell. I was mighty impressed.

Ring around the rosies

2008-05-01T15:18:00.003+09:00

When asked what the little people where doing, Audrey said they were doing ring around the rosies. I especially like the zebra and the cow trying to look in, as if they want to join in.