Just outside

It got into the 50s yesterday so David and I took a walk and took some pictures right around our apartment. Now, we are just waiting for our car and our things to show up but we are very thankful to be in our apartment.


Our apartment complex and one of the playgrounds.





Paris Baguette, a very short walk away.

Out and about

One of A's co-workers generously allowed us to borrow his car this weekend. Taking advantage of the transportation, we went to Osan, a neighboring city (and not to be confused with Osan AB) to checkout the magical E-mart. Our plan was to pick up a few small appliances (coffee maker, alarm clock, and toaster) so we wouldn't have to use a transformer. Apparently, in response to Walmart, Korea create their own version and bought out all the Walmarts in Korea. We weren't disappointed. On Little 1 (the smaller highway to Seoul) we found a huge, 3-level store with a built in parking garage. The place was immense and a little overwhelming since 99% of the people there were Korean and it was packed. There were greeters at almost every turn in the parking garage as well as a the front of the store. The 1st level was the grocery store and food court. I think I could have spent 1/2 day here alone. But we had a limited time since we forgot to bring David's sippy cup with us and he asked for his milk enroute. Of course, there was a Baskin Robins and the food court looked delicious. Everything was in Korean but we already made plans to return another day equiped with a phrase book. The 2nd level and the 3rd level had clothes, electronics, housewares and baby items. So much to see and check out. We limited our purchases and bought an alarm clock for A since he needs to get up at 1230 AM all week for his exercise and a few items for the kitchen. We will most certainly return in the future.

I was also brave enough earlier this week to order mandu - a korean dumpling, from a local store. The steamers were outside and the dumplings were handmade. I just walked in and asked for mandu. Apparently I could have the galbi(?) or the kimchi one. I asked for the galbi and got it to go. There were interesting, filled with bits of meat, vegetables, and noodles inside. David ate one himself. We also celebrated A's birthday with a strawberry chiffon cake from Paris Baguette. Yum!

Home Sweet Home Part II - Meeting the neighbors

All of the appliances are in Korea which may not seem like a challenge but when trying to use the dishwasher or even the fancy rice cooker and not knowing whether you've select a rinse cycle or steam setting the results could be disastrous. Well, on our bathroom wall there's a panel with a clock with the wrong time. I started pressing buttons to set it and all of a sudden alarms go off and there's a female voice speaking Korean. Mind you, this is a Sunday morning. The main panel in the living room is looking for a code and David thinks it's funny. We tried a bunch of combinations nothing seem to satisfy the Matrix. We had to call the owners in Seoul. Meanwhile, security of the apartment calls us to see if we are OK. All we can say to him is hello. The owners called a neighbor who spoke English to come and help us. In the end, Kyong the neighbor and the security guard fixed it and all was peaceful again. A little later, Kyong, brought by a plate of delicious galbi beef and some other welcome gifts. The Koreans are such hospitable people! Her mother lives in the building while she works in Seoul during the week. I've learned my lesson not to press too many random buttons ... for now.

I did meet some other mothers here in Switzen. One has twins who are 15 months old. Another has a little 2 year old boy. We went to a play group at the Korean Library on Thursday and had a wonderful time. It was funny to see The Hungry Little Caterpiller in Korean. So we are slowly getting connected.

Home sweet home - part I

There's so much to tell about our new place. First of all, the apartment complex itself is new, modern, and there are some security measures. There are several playgrounds throughout the grounds and you can monitor them via the CCTVs in the units. When someone comes to the door and rings the doorbell, there's a security camera so you can tell who is there.

Our apartment is on the 13th floor, the Asians don't have any superstitions about the number 13. All Koreans take their shoes off before coming inside so there's a little foyer areas specifically for taking off shoes. The floors are light wood and they are heated. Of course, there's a control panel for that too. The owners left a lot of their furniture, in fact everything you see in these pictures belongs to them including a giant flat screen TV. We are grateful since our furniture hasn't arrived yet. They are also paying for satellite TV for us, and there are quite a few English channels. I have a gas stove for cooking - yay! Plus there are additional burners on the enclosed balcony where the refrigerator, and washer are. Unfortunately we don't have a dryer and just hang things on a drying rack to dry. We didn't have a dryer when we were younger so it's not the end of the world. All the appliances are in Hangul (Korean written language). Our realtors did show us how to use the main ones, but I accidentally set off an alarm on Sunday. I'll save that story for another time. This unit also has many built in shelves and cabinets which is great for storage.

So far, we love this place and we've met a few of the neighbors. Stay tuned for part II

Sprint is TERRIBLE!

Yes, we've moved in and our internet got set up today but I have to vent. I have been on the phone last hour with Sprint who has the worst customer service. SO FRUSTRATING!

We cancelled our cell phones back in January since there is no Sprint in Korea. I even went to the Sprint store and they were supposed to fax it in and I confirmed it was taken care of. This weekend, we get a bill for over $400 with a $200 cancellation fee for both of our cell phones. This is so ridiculous! A spent a good 40 minutes with them and then I took over since he has to get ready for work tmw. After calling back three times, I finally spoke to a competent person and got an email address to send in a copy of our orders. Hopefully, this will be taken care of.

I have better things to do than skype with Sprint for an hour. Argh!

I will hopefully post some pics of our new digs tmw.