Thoughts on Korea

We have been in Korea for 4 weeks now.  Kind of crazy that much time has gone by already.  We are finally getting settled in, too.  We are mostly out of our boxes, and once we finish ordering furniture (mostly shelving for the kitchen) I think we will be very comfortable.

Some things I've noticed already about being here:

I like living a bit more simply.  We didn't bring very many of the kids' toys with us.  Mostly legos, tinker toys, and magnetic blocks.  Then the girls brought their dolls and each child chose just a couple favorite other toys.  Extremely minimal.  And I have noticed that they play with the toys ALL the time!  We've had legos for years.  They have been played more in the last 2 weeks than they have in the 4 years we've had them.  And their dolls have appeared!  I had given up on dolls, as the girls NEVER played with them.  I'm hoping this means I can start making doll clothes again :)  It is just nice to know that when I ask the kids to clean up, it is not beyond what they are capable of achieving.  The house is smaller than our last, and with fewer belongings it doesn't feel too much that way.

I never truly lived in a humid climate.  (And I grew up in Illinois.)  Jim-a-nee!  It is so incredibly humid here!  We have only stand-alone air conditioners in the house.  One in the downstairs living area, one in the upstairs living area, and one in our bedroom.  We keep them at 25C (77 F) during the day and typically 24C (75 F) at night.  It has been a huge adjustment, as we were always 68-70 degree folk!  We purchased a dehumidifier yesterday, which takes the humidity level down to about 60%, but it has made an enormous difference in the way the house feels.  We filled a huge bucket full of water just in the last 20 hours of use.  And there's plenty more to be had!  Especially with monsoon season upon us, it is just very wet here.  Basically I just always feel clammy.  I am sure we will all adjust.

Humidity has done amazing things to Anna's curls!  I LOVE those curls!

There are lots of bugs- especially mosquitoes.  We live fairly close to a river, so we are especially bombarded with these blood suckers.  Poor Ellie has been their favorite treat, too.  After doing fireworks on the 3rd and 4th, she counted 16 bites on one foot and 12 on the other.  It took 4 full days before she wasn't completely miserable with the itching!

Ellie's feet.  There are just as many on the other side!

checking out the river by our house

The branch of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is amazing.  Before we even moved here I was getting messages from the sisters here showing willingness to give advice and assistance.  And it hasn't ended.  We got a lead on a house to rent right next door to the Relief Society President and there are 2 other LDS families in this same neighborhood.  Another huge blessing- lots and lots of kids to play with!

The Korean people are the friendliest I have ever met.  Ever.  They just love children and are constantly coming up to the kids and giving them hugs and talking to them and smiling and just overall happy to see them.  We go through the gate on post and the gate guards are the sweetest men.  They are excited to say hello and talk about how Steve must be "a rich man" to have so many kids.  We have learned only a few Korean words so far, but I hope to improve our language skills significantly while here.

There is very little wasted space.  All around where we live are rice fields.  But you'll notice on a small stretch on the side of the road one row of corn, or beans, or some other produce.  Every little patch of available ground is being used and I love it!  Just the other day I went to enter an on-ramp and thought that I had missed the turn and accidentally drove into a farmer's field, as the whole ramp was surrounded by crops.

There is quite a bit of pollution and dust in the air.  It is constantly hazy here.  I hear it blows over from China- the desert sands and the pollution from the cities.  It is really quite unfortunate, but it makes for some amazing sunsets.  This is just out my dining room window and really doesn't do it justice, but trust me- the sun is always red when it sets and I am always in awe.

sunset over the river near our house

Traffic laws are more like suggestions.  Red light?  Just figure out if anyone coming- if not- go right ahead.  Ryan is already picking up on the "traffic lights as suggestions" rule.  I also still need to get used the kph vs the mph.  I'm getting there.

There is much to do in this beautiful country and I hope we are able to do many of the amazing things available to us.  And I hope I do a better job documenting it!