Will you pray with us?

September 14, 2015September 14, 2015 / Ali Craft / 7 Comments

Well. It’s hard to figure out how to write this as this blog is usually meant to be amusing and entertaining but today, I want to ask for prayer.

I have also been hesitant to post about topics like these because I am not an expert in anything, especially Korean culture. I do not intend to post on here as some sort of authority and I fear that people will think that. I only want to share our experiences here and while I try to be well informed, my knowledge is certainly limited.

There have been two things on my mind that are pretty heavy and I want to talk to you about one of them today. I will hopefully post soon about the second.

A few weeks ago, I had been running around the apartment all morning doing laundry and taking care of the kids, completely unaware what was happening outside my window. My friend stopped by my apartment around 11am and asked if I had heard what happened. Over the next few days more details came to light. Early that morning in the wee hours, a woman had jumped from the apartment building next to ours in our complex, committing suicide. Sadly, this is more common here than it should be. (This situation is a bit different than most as we were told that she was American military personnel, and not Korean).

According to data from the World Health Organization taken in 2012, suicide rates here in South Korea are the second highest in the world. I have also been told that there is a large number of suicides specifically among teens here due to the extreme pressure to excel in academics. The societal pressure here can be overwhelming and I fear that there may be a stigma with receiving mental health treatment. I have heard through an expat (individuals living outside their native countries) support group that many have had similar experiences with people committing suicide by jumping out of their apartment buildings. There is even a bridge crossing the nearby river known as the Suicide Bridge. I really don’t know what to say, but I see a problem, and I know people need prayer. Many people are obviously hurting and they need hope that only God can give. In a culture that is so motivated and driven to be successful, we have seen that failure is not viewed as an option.

My heart is broken. Every time I walk past the spot where she landed, I get chills. I am overwhelmed thinking about how this has affected her family. The darkness she must have experienced to feel so alone. I pray, and I ask you to pray that her family would feel a peace that only He can give. It is so erie how life just goes on. Most people that were at work when the police came to process the crime scene were completely unaware that anything had happened. Everyday there is a car parked back in the spot where she landed. But He knows. He knew her, and her hurt, and her heart, and every single hair on her head. Please just pray.

Let’s Go Walkin’ (read: eatin’), South Korea!

September 12, 2015September 12, 2015 / Ali Craft / 1 Comment

Y’ALL. Blogging is hard. Getting dressed is hard. Leaving our apartment is hard. Feeding myself is hard. I am definitely in a cold coffee/soggy cereal period of life of raising two littles. I am hopeful that one day when my kids are in college, I will once again sit down and enjoy my breakfast or anything for that matter, uninterrupted.

So you remember the “Let’s go walkin’, Mississippi” campaign, right? Ya, nevermind. Moving right along.

As we waited (and waited and waited) for Asher’s arrival, we walked nearly every day, as recommended by the doctor. We walked almost 70 miles; remember how much good it did? I might would be more bitter about it if Isaac hadn’t let me plan every walk around trying some new treat. Shockingly, food can be an excellent motivator for an extremely pregnant woman (this also proves to be true for a postpartum woman…).

Lucky for us, there are lots of delicious things to eat within walking distance of our apartment, and we have taken full advantage of the numerous bakeries, coffee shops, and restaurants.

Just across the river we found this delicious coffee and frozen yogurt place. We may have misread the menu (extremely likely as it was in Korean) and have ordered three coffee drinks as opposed to two drinks and some frozen yogurt. Quite the mistake for the pregnant woman that was limiting her caffeine intake for the baby’s sake. Isaac had to bear the burden of having more than his share. What a giver. We did have to sacrifice our whip cream to the toddler that was expecting frozen yogurt since we thought better of sharing the coffee with him. Judah after espresso is the stuff mama nightmares are made of.

Caffeine, anyone?

Judah’s camera-ready face.

Standing Coffee has quickly become our favorite place to grab a coffee drink. (Fun fact: brewed coffee here costs as much as a coffee drink, unlike in the States. Also, many places, like our beloved Standing Coffee, only serves “coffee drinks” not plain brewed coffee. Isaac actually went to a coffee shop one day and he had to wait 10 minutes for a cup of black coffee, not because they had run out, but because no one orders plain coffee) The first time we had it, we stopped by after dinner one night since we were in the neighborhood. Knowing we didn’t need much caffeine, we shared a iced latte. About half way through our walk back to the apartment, we felt so energetic we ended up jogging the rest of the way home (keep in mind I was 37 weeks pregnant). Needless to say, we were also wide-eyed come bedtime. Now we know…delicious and highly caffeinated. As it is becoming apparent, coffee places are wildly popular here.

YES. Please.

Bakeries are also a dime a dozen here. Sorry I couldn’t help myself…But really. I think these people think they are French, which is totally fine with this macaron lovin’ gal.

I am most assured that heaven will have macarons.

“We’ll take them all.”

I feel like you are starting to judge us.

Oh, did you notice we fed Judah a banana while we ate the delicious pastries? We are selfless.

This yogurt place is AMAZING. They sell homemade greek yogurt and greek frozen yogurt. So delicious. So not cheap. Lucky for our wallets that it’s either a long walk or shorter walk and about 4 flights of stairs from our apartment, which can be a bit too exciting with the stroller.

Maybe the most delicious thing we have eaten in Korea came from this place. Or maybe we were really hungry. Or both…

Well that’s it for now. I will just leave this right here because you’re welcome. I pinky promise to be back before Christmas.

PART TWO: Costco, the Hospital, and Other Opportunities to Learn Patience

August 18, 2015August 18, 2015 / Ali Craft / 4 Comments

WE ARE ALIVE! Living in the fog of having two under two, but we are here. Thanks for excusing our unannounced hiatus from blogging. I will do my best to get back to blogging consistently, should I find a spare moment between showering (semi)regularly and attempting to protect Asher from his over excited big brother.

If you missed Part One, click here.

Oh geez. I probably should have written this post when the ever-eventful day was fresh in my mind…but did I? Ha. So here I am I month later trying to remember the details with major baby brain so…how about we just sum up our ride on the struggle bus…here we go.

THE SCENE: The morning after the Costco “adventure”. I had a doctors appointment and Isaac was staying home with Judah to wait on our Costco delivery.

-No luck catching a taxi. Wonder “am I doing this right?” See someone grab one from the other side of the street. Decide to cross to see if I have better luck. Immediately see someone catch a taxi from where I had just been standing on the first side of the street. Wait 15 more minutes in the oppressive humidity before finally catching a taxi. And so the morning begins.

-Get in the taxi; taxi driver doesn’t understand where I want to go, no thanks to my awesome Korean skills…pray we get there. We did.

It deserves to be noted that the taxi driver had some sweet hair.

-Go to pay taxi driver and my card doesn’t work. Luckily, I grabbed the last $10 to our name on the way out of the apartment, just in case (which we keep around for Isaac to take when he goes running, in case of emergency). The ride costs $5, so I prayed I wouldn’t hit traffic (causing the trip to cost more) on the way home.

-Get to the hospital and find out they had tried to call and let me know my appointment had been cancelled but we weren’t home (and didn’t have cell phones at that point). They offer to let me see another doctor.

-Wait over an hour while they try to fit me in.

-Finally see the doctor. Says I need blood drawn, a urine sample taken, an EKG, and a chest X-ray. Why? Don’t ask me…I don’t speak Korean. (The key to foreign healthcare is to just go with it)

Dr. Lee (one of many Dr. Lee’s in Korea)

For the record, going to the doctor in Korea is a little different than going to the doctor in the States, and by a little different I mean a lot different. You walk in and sit in the waiting room just like you would expect, but when your name gets called, you don’t go to a room and wait for the doctor or nurse. Instead of them coming to you, you go to them. The hospital is set up in stations. There is one station where they get your vitals like height, weight, and blood pressure. Then, you sit and wait outside of the doctor’s office (as in literal doctor-sitting-at-their-desk office). When you go in, you take a seat opposite the doctor at their desk. The doctor is then presented with your chart, they read, then tell you what they think and what tests you need, and they whisk you away with a checklist of places to go. When you are done running around, you go pay, and then go back to the doctor to discuss the tests (if they already have the results).

Hospital check-list.

-I am paraded all around the hospital to the blood collection room, the heart center, and the X-ray station. They send a translator with me (don’t get too excited, her English was meh).

First stop- the blood collection room. You pull a number and wait to be called.

It's moments like this that I look around and think maybe everyone knows something I don't.

It’s moments like this that I look around and that think maybe everyone knows something I don’t. “Maybe I should get me one of those masks…” If something happens, me and that one other lady are goners.

-My translator’s sub-par English skills prove interesting. For example when I ask, “Where do I leave my urine sample?”. She just looked confused. Perfect, let me just tote this around like an idiot…

My not-so-trusty translator and tour guide.

-I get to the x-ray station. I am given a gown and the translator tells me to take off everything on top and put it on. To which I ask, “Can I leave my pants on?”. She says, “no, no pants”. Okey dokey then. So off I go into the community changing room. I undress and start to put on the gown, which is when I realize it is only a top. So here I am, in just a top, knowing that the translator has said “no pants”. After a moment I realize in her English expertise she may have heard our conversation more like, “Do I need to take off my pants?”, to which she responds “no, no pants”. This, people, is what living abroad is made of…(spoiler alert: this story could have been even funnier, but I opted to play it safe and put my pants back on before emerging from the dressing room).

Ya…I think I’ll just leave my pants on, thanks.

-Get to the heart center. I am instructed by the tech, who speaks broken English, to lay down and pull my top up. I’m not sure if she means justttttt my shirt. Again, really don’t want to be the dummy who is half naked after a simple miscommunication. I tell you, these situations will do a number on your nerves.

Waiting for my EKG.

-[Meanwhile with Isaac] Delivery arrives. Man unloads everything into our living room and asks for the $10 delivery fee. Say what? We thought we had paid it in the store. No worries though; Isaac heads to get the emergency $10…ya, my bad. Isaac ran all over the house trying to make 10 bucks in change. You will be happy to know that he successfully found what amounted to $6.30. So, Isaac grabbed Judah and told the delivery guy to follow him to the 7 eleven right outside our complex to go to the ATM. Thankfully, on the way Isaac ran into a neighbor who loaned Isaac the money. Note to self: keep extra cash at the house OR read the fine (Korean) print for delivery fees.

-Seeing numbers like this can still be a shock when I forget it is in won and not dollars (1 USD=~1185 won). I paid my bill and was on my way.

They always just show me the total on the calculator instead of trying to tell me the cost. #stickersfolyfe

-After the taxi ride home I tried to pay with my card, and again, no luck. Praise the good Lord, I used the last of my money and was left with only 10 cents to spare.

After those 24 hours Isaac and I both had basically sworn off leaving our apartment for good…but here we are. Life in Korea is not easy, but it is often amusing…

Here’s to the Birthday Boy

July 30, 2015July 30, 2015 / Ali Craft / 6 Comments

Good news: we found time in the hospital to write this fun little post about Asher’s birth.

Bad news: that means this post was written by two extremely sleep deprived individuals, so please excuse any errors.

So, it’s movie night here in the hospital. I’m snuggled up to my pain pump button, and Asher and Isaac are both on food binges, as is appropriate for movie night, I guess. Things have honestly gone more smoothly than expected. We have been playing fun games like, “Name that Korean Hospital Food” at meal times before resorting to some kind of sustenance from our snack bag. They seem to be fond of serving something that closely resembles wall paper paste. We assume it’s an acquired taste… so as much as we have come to like Korean food, we’ve found that a hospital cafeteria may not be the best place to expand our horizons. They have western food options, but where is the fun in that? (Just kidding, we totally asked for western food, but that was yet another thing apparently lost in translation)

Soon Chun Hyaung Hospital

We came in Tuesday night for my scheduled C-Section on Wednesday morning. Despite our many miles walking, spicy food, and all-natural supplements to induce labor, Asher wasn’t planning to come out on his own; he comes by his stubbornness honestly. We were fully prepared to wait it out until his 18th birthday, but when the doctor started throwing around words like “risk” and “very dilemma” (we don’t understand either), we decided that now was the time to meet our new baby boy. We were told to come in the night before in hopes of getting one of the coveted private rooms, as fun as the alternative sounded: sharing a room with seven other people (no we are not kidding). I imagine it would be like summer camp…except worse.

Picture with Brooke (Ali’s sister if anyone at the Korean hospital asks) and chauffeur extraordinaire

Brooke drove us to the hospital and provided comedic relief well into the night. After snagging the last parking spot, taking the obligatory selfie, and wandering around like lost Americans trying to find admissions, we finally got all checked in. The evening was filled with a mix of charades, Google translate, and extremely poor Korean to complete all of the mandatory hospital paperwork. Let us be clear, the staff was very sweet and attentive, and while many had some knowledge of English, our Korean skills were the ones that were seriously lacking. We were asked all of the standard questions like, “Do you eat any medicine?” and, “Do you have any family history of deeabeets (diabetes) or carcinoma?” We had one last fetal monitoring test to check Asher’s heart rate and to see if I was having contractions. My body was kindly pretending it wanted to have a baby with a series of strong contractions so we agreed to keep an eye on them, and proceed as planned if they stopped. (Spoiler alert: after about 20 minutes, they did.) All the paperwork and questionnaires took the better part of the evening as we continued trying to figure out what they were asking. We feel confident that the “guess and check” method is the best way to fill out important medical documents.

Three words. First word…

The next morning it was go time! This was by far the most informal surgery prep I have ever experienced. I received the top the night before (no gowns here, they do shirt and pants). I got the pants at 5:00 am. The “surgery hat” as she called it came at 6:00 am. At 7:00 I was told to make sure I had no metal on my body and to go ahead and use the restroom.

At 7:30, there was a knock at the door and they pointed to a stretcher right outside the door. My chariot awaited me.

It felt so surreal. No pre-op meeting with the doctor or anesthesiologist, just, “Hey if you’re not too busy, wanna come get on this stretcher and have a baby?”. I hollered for Isaac to grab his shoes and to come on.

Isaac was ever vigilant throughout the night.

As I was wheeled through the hallways, we had a quick FaceTime chat with Judah and granddad as they ate breakfast.

Judah’s favorite trick: “Show me your muscles!”

I was finally pushed into an operating room that looked a little too much like a scene from a horror movie with it’s institutional mint green walls and metal equipment. By the time the wheels came to a stop I realized that Isaac was no longer with me. My fears were confirmed that Isaac would not be allowed in until after the epidural and initial set up. This is when a young Korean man double checked with me that I wanted spinal anesthesia (epidural) as opposed to general anesthesia. I said yes, to which he responded, “Spinal anesthesia–very difficult.” This would be number one in things you don’t want to hear your doctor say during an epidural, which would lead to number two, “we need a bigger needle.” And number three, “We try again. Don’t move.” I’m glad we can laugh about it now…Praise be to God, somewhere around the sixth attempt they got it. It was time to meet our baby.

They finally let Isaac in, and surgery began. Turns out Koreans must not be as squeamish (or tall) as Americans since, unlike in the states, they let Isaac stand at my head, as opposed to sit, and he had just enough clearance to see over the curtain. I’m sure seeing the inside of your wife’s belly really adds another level of intimacy to a marriage. I warned Isaac that if he passed out and abandoned me I would kill him.

So, after about 20 minutes, a few doses of nausea medicine for me, and a couple good heave-hoes from a Korean woman on top of me pushing my belly, Asher was born. Isaac managed to snap one picture as they pulled him from my womb. Naturally it was booty up, which will be great for his scrapbook cover and or high school yearbook. We’ll choose to leave that photo off the internet until our son needs to be taught a lesson the old fashioned way.

I was on the operating table for another hour while they put Humpty Dumpty back together again. They wheeled me to recovery and told me, “You will be here for twelve or thirty minutes.” Bless their hearts. I really should learn Korean. I spent the next thirty minutes staring at the clock, the Korean man next to me, and dozing off between blood pressure checks. I was also trying to scratch my skin off like some kind of addict as I forgot to warn them that pain medicine makes me itchy. When they wheeled me out of recovery, Isaac was waiting for me outside. He had been to the nursery with the baby to watch him get his measurements taken, then was told to come wait for me. Asher had been taken to get cleaned up.

Much to our delight, Asher showed up in our room about 20 minutes later, and not long after granddad brought Judah up to meet the newest member. And so our lives as a family of four began…

Asher is Here!!

July 29, 2015 / Ali Craft / 10 Comments

Hello, everyone! Isaac and I are happy to tell you that Asher Thomas Craft was born at 8:41 am on July 29, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. He checks in at 8 pounds 11 ounces. He is 20.6 inches long. He looks a lot like his big brother, so he should have the Koreans eating out of the palm of his hand in no time. While that might seem like a figure of speech, last week in a Korean BBQ restaurant Judah literally had a woman eating soggy crackers from his hand, so it isn’t that far fetched. Mom and baby are both doing well.

We will have more information and pictures coming soon. Glory to God.

Psalm 127:3

PART ONE: Costco, the Hospital, and Other Opportunities to Learn Patience

July 20, 2015September 13, 2015 / Ali Craft / 8 Comments

Have you ever heard the saying that when you pray for patience, God just gives you opportunities to learn patience? Well, I don’t know which one of us dummies prayed for patience, but the opportunities began lining themselves up…

We have become fast friends with the family in our apartment building that we mentioned have been in Korea for eleven years; it certainly doesn’t hurt to makes friends with people that have a car… Their names are Brooke and Daniel. They kindly volunteered to take us to Costco (yes, COSTCO!) in their car so we could stock up on American staples like peanut butter, mayonnaise, and cheese (how a whole country’s diet exists without cheese is beyond us). So, we all loaded up in their KIA Sorento, “all” being Daniel, Brooke, another pregnant (with twins!!) friend from our school that lives in our building, Isaac, Judah, and I. We were quite…snuggly.

Behold the land of bulk shopping, my son.

We had been warned that Costco was always crowded, so we decided to go on a Wednesday afternoon in hopes of avoiding the chaos. By Seoul Costco Standards it was uncrowded; by American standards we were approaching “Black Friday crazy”. We would have pictures of the most intense crowds, but we were too busy being curled up in the fetal position…and if it looks underwhelming please take into account this is a 3-story Costco, jam packed with people who have ZERO sense of purpose about their shopping, Costco employees shouting in Korean trying to sell their assigned products (more on this in a future post), with a toddler that had skipped a nap, two very pregnant ladies, all on a deadline (we only had one hour before we had to head out to beat the traffic and pick up Brooke and Daniel’s daughter). Let’s just say after only about 5 minutes of being in the store we were at a near standstill as we tried to make it through the main aisle, my dear husband, Mr. Go-with-the-flow, looked at me with wide eyes and said, “I’m a pretty laid back person, but these people need to move…NOW”. It didn’t take long for Korean Costco bring out Isaac’s fiery side.

Anyways, we had come for a few specific items but quickly realized we should take full advantage of the trip. We found a good rocking chair for when Asher finally decides to come out (a.k.a NEVER) and a rug for the living room. Living in a big city, they offer delivery for a small fee, so we scheduled to have them delivered to our apartment the next day. We knew we would need to get some more cash out of the ATM for these larger items, since as a great convenience to their customers, they only take cash or Samsung credit cards, so I sent Isaac off to find an ATM while I shopped for groceries. At this point we had 30 minutes to be checked out and on the way to the car…I was a woman on a mission.

I ran around like a mad woman trying to decide what we should get with our limited time. As a general rule of thumb, when offered transportation to the grocery store in a car, we always stock up on the heavy stuff! I finished my shopping with not a second to spare (ok, maybe 5 minutes late…) and I headed to the registers to find Isaac, who had all of our money. This is when I spotted our friends, and they kindly informed me that the ATM had eaten our debit card…perfect.

They said Isaac was waiting at the ATM for a technician to show up in hopes of getting our card back. So here I was with a buggy full of food (that we may not be able to afford) just waiting for Isaac to find me in this massive store. In the haste of going our separate ways, we never decided on a place to meet up. Cell phones have officially ruined us… I tried to think of where he would go to look for me, so I stationed myself near the checkout and began planning for every worst case scenario…

Has anyone seen my husband? White guy, curly hair, adorable white baby strapped to his back…

I knew I couldn’t ask our friends to wait for us and risk them stranding their daughter at daycare, so I told them to go ahead. We were almost an hour from home and a taxi ride was less than ideal, but we had no choice. After about 20 minutes, the crowds parted (yeah, right) and Isaac appeared. We were fortunate enough that the machine did spit out our card, but we weren’t about to try to get money again. Our friends graciously loaned us some money so we could at least buy some of our groceries. So here we are in line, people behind us staring at the American spectacle we are, as I decided what made the cut. Cheese obviously, because duh… All of this time Judah had been sound asleep in the baby carrier on Isaac’s back… cue stressful check-out situation to rouse our precious sleeping child from his slumber straight into a public fit of rage. We love toddlers. No, really.

“Please Lord, let there be enough money for the cheese.”

Since God is kind and loving, our total ended up being about one dollar away from exceeding the amount of cash we had. We quickly bagged our groceries and fled our still half-full cart of unpurchased groceries for some fresh air and the light of day. (Also, amidst all this chaos, Brooke and Daniel found a friend to pick up their daughter.)

We made it. We were headed home with some beloved American staples, a rug and recliner (to be delivered), one dollar, and a tiny shred of our sanity. And as for learning patience…no one died, so that has to be counted as a victory, right? We were praying that the next outing would be less traumatic…

Spoiler alert: it wasn’t…next post details my stressful trip to the doctor and all the amusing struggles that living in a foreign country brings…

Disclaimer: I am sure by this time you have realized, if you do not have a great fondness for the Craft family, sarcasm, and/or GIF’s/memes…this may not be the blog for you. If it helps, we think we are hilarious.

How are the Kiddos?

July 13, 2015 / Ali Craft / 6 Comments

Oh, goody, an update about the mundane details of our lives. You’re welcome.

Well, it has been roughly 3 weeks since any of you have seen Judah (or us for that matter, but like you really care about that). So, here is a quick update on our kids (in and out of utero).

Judah
Judah is learning new words on a daily basis. Some of the new words he can now say are (say is a relative term, he is after all a one year old) ball, thank you, ball, bite, night night, and Bible. Did we say ball yet? That boy wakes up these days asking for a ball.

As has always been pretty evident, Judah is quite adventurous, but lately he is becoming even more independent in his exploring. Two weeks ago, he would happily play at the park but would want mom or dad to hold his hand every now and again; now he climbs up the stairs by himself, waves, sits at the top of the slide, and down he goes. And repeat.

For the sake of being honest, the video we took just before this one was identical…minus the sliding-while-standing technique and landing-on-his-head dismount. A “good parent” is the kind that catches the WHOLE thing on video, right? We are counting on this being a judgement free zone…

As we have said, Judah has been learning to help out with hanging up laundry. He has also started putting his toys away when he is finished playing with them. Basically, he loves to move things from one place to another and say “thank you” each time. We’ll take it.

He also likes to help daddy workout…

Isaac is always looking for ways to make his workouts more challenging.. JK no he’s not.

Here’s to a little resistance training.

He continues to have a larger-than-life personality; he is always keeping us laughing! It is becoming increasingly apparent that we may have an issue during future family photos.

Asher

Asher is doing great. I am going to weekly appointments at a local hospital and Asher is looking happy and healthy (read:huge). I am due July 25th, but the doctor feels that he is ready and healthy enough to come any day now. The plan is to try to have this baby without a c-section, but if he is as comfortable as Judah was, we may have to schedule one. I am still enjoying being pregnant for the most part, minus sweating 24/7 like a wildebeest, but I’m getting a bit anxious about the details of his arrival. And it should come as no surprise that I do not enjoy not being in control of things. Shut up, Isaac. Not to mention there have been a few cultural differences that have made things a bit more…let’s say interesting, but that’s for another post. In all seriousness, we feel confident in our doctor and her expertise and the hospital is very reputable and advanced. And just to clear things up: fear not, I will take a taxi, not a rickshaw to the hospital.

So far we’ve walked about 30 miles exploring the city on foot in efforts to coax Asher along…

So, who knows, but one way or the other, we will have a baby by early August! We will keep you posted.

Just in case…

July 9, 2015 / Ali Craft / 7 Comments

…you were spending your morning looking for a little pick-me-up.

Just when you thought we were above posting seemingly pointless videos of our precious child.

(Video courtesy of a delayed bed-time and extra sugar.)

Update on Asher and how Judah is adjusting coming soon.

When in Rome… Err.. Seoul

July 7, 2015 / Ali Craft / 9 Comments

Everything in Korea is exactly the same as it is in the States. There are no differences whatsoever. (sike!) This is our first of what will most likely turn out to be many posts about the things here that are different than what we are used to. God has a way of using cultural differences to make us more well rounded people (insert pregnant joke here). So, let’s begin.

As we have mentioned before, tipping is basically nonexistent in Korea (with the exception of food delivery, etc.). People do their jobs, and that’s that. Also, as we have mentioned before, it is customary to remove your shoes before entering homes and some public places. It is rude to wear your shoes indoors no matter how good you look in them. As a very pregnant lady at this point, I am making a conscious effort to wear slip ons, as reaching my feet is a skill I lost a few weeks back…

So on to a few new things we have noticed:

Recycling

Koreans recycle everything; even in stores and in parks there are separate trashcans designated for specific items be it plastic, glass, cans, or apparently even small domestic animals…

You had a good run, Spot.

Sidewalks

You know the painted stripes in the road which divide traffic? Those are on sidewalks here, too.

Sir, can you please stay in your lane?

Hand soap

We’ve had quite a difficult time finding hand soap for our bathrooms. We finally thought we had found some and bought two bottles of it, but come to find out it was just dish soap with a pump… sigh. There goes our silky soft hands.

Public restrooms

Mama always said, “Korean public restrooms are like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” This is a photo of the inside of a stall in the ladies’ room at the family park near our apartment.

Oh, you needed a toilet? Will a hole in the floor due?

And apparently they don’t want you stealing their crappy public restroom soap. Isaac took this picture in a restroom along the river:

That blue thing on the bar coming out of the wall is the soap.

Markets

There are many stores that have roughly half of their produce on the street so people walking by can see what they have.

Need some eggplant? No? How about a watermelon?

We also have viewed some interesting practices of food safety…

How do you like your fish? On the street with flies on it, thanks.

Prices

Taxes are included already in the price you see at the store, so if it says a dollar, you pay a dollar. And like we said about tipping, food prices eating out may look really high, but taxes are included and you don’t tip, so it’s not bad.

We have found groceries in general to be a bit more pricey, especially fruit.

Just for fun

You may be interested to know that Asian Mr. Clean has hair.

Bosley for men got me great results!

Moving in

In a city like Seoul, most of the apartment complexes are high-rise towers, which makes moving in furniture a challenge, but they have a really cool way of getting furniture up to families’ homes.

Brooms

Of all of the differences that we expected to encounter, brooms were not among our foremost concerns. Our broom is so tiny, Judah thinks it’s a toy. When we brought it home Judah assumed it was for him. Since we are right in the middle of teaching Judah about sharing (you’re welcome, Asher), we now have to wait our turn to use the broom to sweep the floor (I am not kidding).

Christmas list: one adult-size broom

I expect we will soon look like this:

That’s it for now…sending love from the future.

Getting Settled

July 4, 2015July 4, 2015 / Ali Craft / 3 Comments

As we are getting settled here in Seoul, we figured we would fill in the details of what life looks like for us these days.

We live right in the heart of Seoul, in Yongsan-gu. In Seoul, “gu’s” are basically districts. Yongsan-gu is right in the middle of the city, and we live within walking distance of the Han river! If you look down and just to the right of Yongsan-gu, you will see Gangnam-gu, made famous by PSY in Gangnam Style.

Oppan Gangnam style!

The aforementioned Han river.

A panorama of a scenic lookout on the walking/biking trail along the Han.

Yongsan is known as the international gu, which means there are lots of expats (people living outside of their native country), which brings international dining, such as pizza places and burger joints, embassies, and the big U.S. Military base. We actually live right across the street from the base!

Believe it or not, they make a pretty mean burger here.

We live on the 6th floor of our apartment building. There are three buildings in our complex that house many American teachers, military families, and a few Koreans. We were extremely lucky to end up in a really nice and relatively large apartment. We are so glad to have many families in our apartment complex that also teach at our school and even one awesome one that is staying here for the summer (most travel back to the States to see family) that has been here for over 10 years!

Our apartment complex. Our building is the one in the middle that’s hard to see.

Judah’s room after Asher comes/the guest room.

Asher’s room (Judah is currently sleeping in here since it is closer to us). Notice the awesome shower curtain “curtains”.

(From L-R) Kitchen, (Through the glass door in kitchen) laundry room, (Behind kitchen) Asher’s room, (Behind big blank wall) master bed and bath, living room, (Far right) guest room/ Judah’s room after Asher, entry way.

The master bed and bath.

Kitchen. Isaac broke the dishwasher trying to open it like a cabinet…

Laundry area/storage/trash sorting area (Koreans take recycling VERY seriously.)

Laundry area/storage/trash sorting area.

Guest bathroom (that window goes to the laundry room).

Entry way/shoe storage. We do as any good Korean would and remove our shoes before coming in.

Entry way/shoe storage. We do as any good Korean family would and remove our shoes before coming in.

This is where Isaac dunks on folks who need to get dunked on. (guess who wrote that…)

Our awesome playground downstairs.

Judah Monkey Craft

Let’s be real, Isaac just wanted an excuse to ride this thing.

The very serious recycling area…

We will be teaching at Yongsan International School of Seoul. It is about a 40 minute walk/15 minute bus ride from our apartment. During the school year YISS actually sends a shuttle for the staff each morning and drops us back off in the evening! Isaac will be teaching 6th grade math and Bible, and in October (after maternity leave), I will be teaching middle school girl’s PE.

Yongsan International School of Seoul

A view of the school from the street.

The security guard’s first question was if we are new teachers. Apparently we don’t look like we’re from around here…

The hill that goes up to the entrance of the school, ensuring that only the most physically fit can visit.

The front entrance of the school. Isaac isn’t tired. Not one bit.

Drop off area at the front of school.

One of the families here invited us to go to church with them Sunday. They go to the 3 pm service because it is more laid back and less crowed. It is named Seoul International Baptist Church, and the congregation is from all over the world. We met people from England, Zambia, Georgia (the state not the country), and of course Korea.

.5 seconds after setting him down. Judah obviously struggles with separation anxiety in new places like the nursery.

The entrance to church.

About 3/4 of a mile from our apartment is a little family park complete with a playground, a pond, a barefoot walking trail, multiple outdoor exercise facilities, a community vegetable garden, and numerous pavilions designed for picnics.

Judah again suffering the gut wrenching effects of separation anxiety.

“What do I play on first?”

Yogi is behind one of those trees waiting for someone to come have a pic-a-nic under that pavilion.

It seems as though Koreans feel about exercise how Americans feel about bacon.

The pond

We have been spending a lot of time at the local playgrounds since we no longer have a yard. Judah spends the majority of his time just checking things out and taking it all in, that is of course when he isn’t diving head first off of a deck.

He really thought he was tall enough to make that step.

He barely cried, popped up, tried to wipe the dirt out of his mouth, and then it was off to his next adventure, the larger than life bench where he was even more fearless. Although we have scoped out the local hospital for baby Asher’s arrival, we hope Judah doesn’t land us there sooner.

https://youtu.be/MyOcK-sRCCs

To more adventures…

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Our Southern Seoul

Making His name Famous in South Korea

Author: Ali Craft