Saturday, July 25, 2009

Haircut

Finally, we managed to get our little boy a haircut. This has not been an easy process. When his hair first started to curl up in the back, about a month ago, we took him to the base barber shop to get it cut. It all started out well - Daddy sat down and they put the cape on him, and then David sat on his lap and he got his own little monkey cape. It went downhill after that. After lots of tears and Mommy and Daddy switching places and David kept moving, we decided to cut our losses and try again another day.

Fast forward about a month and we decided today was the day. In the meantime, we've been talking about haircuts, the giant bib that you put on, etc. He can even say the word haircut. This time, I sat in chair, and he started to get a little upset when they put his cape on. Daddy was also there to distract him and kept his head turned in the right direction.

I give the woman who cut his hair a lot of credit. She did a very good job working around his movements and was very patient.





David for the most part tolerated his hair cut. We talked about the other people in the shop getting his haircut. We sang, gave him raisins, and continued to promise that it would be over soon. In the end, he looks like a big boy and we don't have to do it again for at least another 3 months.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

The 12th Boryeong Mud Festival aka Mudfest 2009

Yes, there is really such a thing. It's a festival hosted by the Koreans on Daechon Beach on the West Coast of Korea. It was held from July 11th to the 19th and we went on the last weekend. As you can tell, this post is a little out of order. Anyhow, a monsoon was threatening and we weren't even sure we were going to attending. We heard several accounts from people who were there the first weekend that the festivities tend to degrade into a rowdy Spring Break type atmosphere in the afternoon. But there were some family friendly areas so we decided to venture to the coast when we woke up and it wasn't pouring outside. (BTW, The picture on the blog are not ours. We didn't bring our digital camera anywhere near the beach. They were actually from my sister's college friend who is stationed here as well. She's the one wearing the pink shirt) After parking the car for free and using the free tourist changing areas, we greatly anticipated David's reaction to the mud. There were various stations setup - a mud slide area, a colored mud booth where you could paint yourself, a mud pit that you could just walk though, and it just continues. The mud was a clay-like, liquidity mud. If you've ever worked w/pottery, it's a very similar feeling to when you are trying to clean up. Anyhow, I dipped my into a mud put and let David touch it. He wanted nothing to do with it. He made the funniest face of disgust and tried to wipe the mud off. We headed down to the beach where the water was cold, it was very windy and the surf was quite choppy. He didn't want to play in the water either. We tried the mud again at various locations and each time the reaction was similar. My girlfriend's daughter who is 23 months apparently felt the same way. Since David wasn't having too much fun, we really couldn't as well. We cleaned up the best we could and headed back. So we can say we went to the mud festival and we did get some free mud soap out of the deal. David did enjoy picking up the pine cones in the parking lot, throwing them and then running to pick them up though.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Eclipse

So, there was supposed be a solar eclipse today. The first seen in Korea in over 60 years. The best view was in China. However, it was hazy this morning and I wasn't sure when it was supposed to happen. I think I saw the tail end of it when I left work early to come back later for a meeting around 9:30 AM. But, you really aren't supposed to be staring at the sun for too long are you? Oh well, there'll be others.

Imo (pronounced ee-mo)

David's new sitter is Ms. Young and she told him to call her Imo. In Korean, that is a familiar term of aunt. He can say it and she loves it. Imo is Korean and she speaks very good English and doesn't live too far from our apartment. I was a little nervous about hiring her at first despite her references from other American families but she has been wonderful. She been w/us about a month and watches David 3 days a week for 6 hours a day. She is great w/David and he's very comfortable w/her. She sings to him in Korean and has taught him (and me) a few Korean words. She has also taught me to make a few Korean dishes including beef and pork bulgolgi and beef galbi. Imo brings different fruits to share w/David and she loves teaching him things. I didn't have the heart to tell her that David already knew what the cow and the snake say but she taught him to say meow. We've been working on that one for awhile. Consequently, she thinks he's very smart and she's intent on teaching him what a dog says. I hope he doesn't disappoint her.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Lunch with our Korean friends

Sunday after church, our friends invited us over to their home for lunch. They served us traditional Korean meal which was a wonderful feast. The main course was which is a BBQ bacon-type pork which is placed in a lettuce leaf and a sesame leave - pronounced sam gyop sal. Rice and some chili paste is added and then it's wrapped together and eaten. It was delicious. The little yellow mounds are a potato/butternut squash salad and there were other sides, fried squid, mandu, and some sweet potato. So tasty. It seemed like we ate for hours. They also served several different fruits for dessert - mandarin oranges from Jeju island, honeydew, and a persimmon. David ate at least 2 of the oranges himself. We brought Ghiradelli brownies which they considered to be a treat since they don't have an oven.
Cindy and Johnny, their children, played w/David while we ate. That in and of itself was a wonderful treat. He had a great time with them. They did a great job tiring him out since he passed out in the car on the way home. After lunch, we discussed a possible 3 day roadtrip around Korea. We unfortunately can't go because of Alan's work schedule but we had planned to visit all 3 coasts in Korea.
Jo and Moon-ja are part of a home school co-op and they've spent several years in the United States so they've met many Americans and speak much better English than we will ever speak Korean. They are a wonderful family and it's been a blessing to know them.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

July 4th weekend in Seoraksan

We got a four day weekend for the 4th and headed out to Seoraksan National Park to do some hiking. What a wonderful weekend get away! The weather would lead you to believe otherwise since it was rainy and overcast the first day but it worked out well. The drive to the park was beautiful - I had forgotten what "green" looked liked. We saw farm land and hills and the mountains off in the distance. Seoraksan is about 10 miles from the East Coast and took about 3 hours to get to. David enjoyed the drive out there. We stayed at the hotel inside the park which made logistics with a 16 month old much easier. After a good breakfast at the hotel restaurant we did a short 2.4 km hike to a waterfall the morning which was a mere warm up for our hike after lunch. Ulsan Bawi was a 3.3 km hike but we didn't realize that the last 1.o km was straight up and the Koreans don't believe in switchbacks. As we ascending, it got misty since we were entering the clouds and the visability was quite poor. It was a tough hike but we had a great sense of accomplishment at the top. Our pictures didn't turn out too well because of the mist and we couldn't see a thing at the top but it was a cool hike. In retrospect, probably not the smartest hiking to take David on but he was secure and happy in the backpack.
The next morning we woke up w/sore calves and A had sore shoulders toting a 24 lb kid all day. We took it easy and took a cable car up to the top of a nearby peak. The weather had cleared up a little and revealed a little more of the scenery.
David actually isn't that close to the edge in that picture. We weren't that reckless. It reminded me a little of the terrain out west but not completely. There last part of the hike required a little rock climbing so we left the pack and David and took turns going up to the top. It only took about 5 minutes to climb up there. At the top, there was a man sell medals that you could get engraved w/your name. In the afternoon we headed out for a cave. Again, simple hike in the beginning w/a steep up hill at the end. Our hike started along the river bed and went straight up. David and Daddy both enjoyed the view from the top. The cave was a fairly small alcove in the rock face which was turned into a Buddhist shrine. How someone even found it, I'll never figure out. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get up there and of course, there was someone selling things in the cave. The Koreans take their hiking seriously, many of them dressed for the occasion and there's even full restaurant rest stops along the trail. The next morning we decided to take a look at the coast and the East Sea before heading home. All in all, an awesome, refreshing get away! Peak season for the park is the fall when all the leaves are changing color. We might have to make a return trip.