Did you know...
"Although South Korea does not currently observe Daylight Saving Time, the country did adhere to DST from 1948 to 1951, 1955 to 1960, and 1987 to 1988." (taken from http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/g.html)
and...
"Talks To Reintroduce Daylight Saving Time: South Korea’s federal government will bring back daylight saving time as early as May 2010 as part of its green growth policy...The South Korean government reviewed reports on daylight saving time before it decided to reintroduce the schedule to the nation. The idea of bringing back daylight saving time is part of an attempt to stimulate green growth, which is one of the government’s key economic policies. It also plans to encourage greater bicycle use and lower carbon emissions as part of the green growth plan." (taken from http://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/south-korea-daylight-saving.html)
Who knew you could just switch back and forth like that??
Soooo, for those of you who call or video chat, we're now only 13 hours ahead of you, for now at least.
I feel 1 hour closer already, don't you? =)
xoxox
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
movers
we live in a highrise apt. as do most well off koreans in the city. the way they move people in and out is facinating though!! i've seen this before a few times but hadn't taken pictures yet. basically they park the moving truck right under your apt., shoot a ramp up the side of the building, load a flat with a bunch of your stuff, and up it goes! i suppose with the layout of the place it makes sense, since we have complete walls of sliding glass doors, but i'd be nervous stuff would fall off 10 floors up! i guess they've gotten pretty good at it, but i'm not walking close by one of these bad boys! xoxox
luncheon
yesterday joe and i went out with one of the KATUSA's (Korean Augmentation To the United States Army) in his squad for a traditional korean meal. i wish i had brought my camera!!! it was awesome!
in korean culture it is polite to remove your shoes before entering anyones home. we take off our shoes before coming in our own home, the cable guys and the gas meter reader all took of their shoes before entering our home, and apparently in some restaurants it is polite to remove your shoes as well! so, we left our shoes on the shelves by the door and sat down on two mats on the floor around a low table with a heating element in the middle.
we had what joe's soldier called the korean version of potato soup! this was no ordinary potato soup though, let me tell you. =) it was very tasty, and they were nice and even made it less spicy than normal for me. koreans usually eat food family style, so we were each given a bowl of rice, and another bowl that we were served soup in from the large bowl in the center.
the soup consisted mainly of the broth, which was really good, along with lots of large brussel sprouts. it also had a few potato slices, four large portions of very tender pork ribs, shrimp with their heads and eyes still on and looking at me, some other small shiny fishies with their heads on and eyes still looking at me as well, clams, oysters, spinach, small octopus' and mushrooms.
these mushrooms were crazy!! they grow them in glass jars at the restaurant, and cut off the tops right at the table and into the soup!
and the octopus' were cut up with scissors and added to the soup in front of us as well. i ate a leg. but in with a mouth full of brussel sprouts and you couldn't even tell. but i knew. i knew...
i wasn't served and didn't ask for any of the little fishies, clams or oysters, but i did get to snap a head and some legs off a shrimp, so that was fun and exciting.
they also served kim chee on the side, as well as carrots and onions (i thought it was a green bean and ate the whole thing - mid chew joe's soldier was like, "that's really spicy..." =). there was also a red paste they use like mayo that was spicy but really tasty as well!
after lunch joe's soldier treated us to green tea lattes. they are a big thing here. it's basically green tea with milk and sugar added. it was different, but i really liked it.
and now for the twilight part of our day - we found out joe and joe's soldier have the same birthday, AND joe's soldier's girlfriend and i have the same birthday!!!! we checked ID's and everything! what are the odds that different couples have the same birthdays, that they are from different sides of the planet, and that they actually meet one day?!!?! we are destined to be friends. =) and we all prayed before the meal and found out we're all Christians too! Crazy. our minds are still reeling from the whole birthday thing....
xoxox
in korean culture it is polite to remove your shoes before entering anyones home. we take off our shoes before coming in our own home, the cable guys and the gas meter reader all took of their shoes before entering our home, and apparently in some restaurants it is polite to remove your shoes as well! so, we left our shoes on the shelves by the door and sat down on two mats on the floor around a low table with a heating element in the middle.
we had what joe's soldier called the korean version of potato soup! this was no ordinary potato soup though, let me tell you. =) it was very tasty, and they were nice and even made it less spicy than normal for me. koreans usually eat food family style, so we were each given a bowl of rice, and another bowl that we were served soup in from the large bowl in the center.
the soup consisted mainly of the broth, which was really good, along with lots of large brussel sprouts. it also had a few potato slices, four large portions of very tender pork ribs, shrimp with their heads and eyes still on and looking at me, some other small shiny fishies with their heads on and eyes still looking at me as well, clams, oysters, spinach, small octopus' and mushrooms.
these mushrooms were crazy!! they grow them in glass jars at the restaurant, and cut off the tops right at the table and into the soup!
and the octopus' were cut up with scissors and added to the soup in front of us as well. i ate a leg. but in with a mouth full of brussel sprouts and you couldn't even tell. but i knew. i knew...
i wasn't served and didn't ask for any of the little fishies, clams or oysters, but i did get to snap a head and some legs off a shrimp, so that was fun and exciting.
they also served kim chee on the side, as well as carrots and onions (i thought it was a green bean and ate the whole thing - mid chew joe's soldier was like, "that's really spicy..." =). there was also a red paste they use like mayo that was spicy but really tasty as well!
after lunch joe's soldier treated us to green tea lattes. they are a big thing here. it's basically green tea with milk and sugar added. it was different, but i really liked it.
and now for the twilight part of our day - we found out joe and joe's soldier have the same birthday, AND joe's soldier's girlfriend and i have the same birthday!!!! we checked ID's and everything! what are the odds that different couples have the same birthdays, that they are from different sides of the planet, and that they actually meet one day?!!?! we are destined to be friends. =) and we all prayed before the meal and found out we're all Christians too! Crazy. our minds are still reeling from the whole birthday thing....
xoxox
history lesson
on friday joe and i visited The War Memorial of Korea. it was amazing! it covered korea's 5,000 year history in such a detailed yet easy to follow way using paintings, movies, artifacts, and more small-scale and life-size dioramas than i've ever seen! it was facinating!! i took a ton of pictures, and i'll post those on our shutterfly, but i just had to talk about it here. look it up on the internet, and if you're planning on visiting us, plan on spending a day there. it was unreal. i firmly believe you should not be allowed to visit korea without learning about the enduring spirit of their people. xoxox
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temples!
there are a lot of temples here and they are absolutely gorgeous!!! they are painted so intricately and with such bright colors...i can't wait to go explore one up close. here's pictures of one i took while we were driving through the city of yongsan. xoxox
laundry day
there is something reassuring about doing things countless others have done before you. like hanging laundry. i think about all of the housewives that have come before me, have done what i am doing, and i am at peace. 
xoxox
sun on my mountain!
looking out our living room wall of a window, i get an awesome view of this big guy. i can tell the weather by what he looks like, and this day...this day was beautiful. =) xoxox
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