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Traveling With Kids: The Master Class

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments
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I should feign humility, but I’d really like to think that if I have any skills at all (besides making babies) it’s traveling with kids. After all, I have spent the last two years conducting some very intensive research on the topic and we have all lived to tell about it. May you find it helpful and if not, take heart, horrific travel experiences make for great stories; consider it your contribution to mankind.

Also, my experience is obviously geared around younger kids, so my advice will be too. I would like to think that by the time my kids are older they will pack and carry their own stuff, watch movies and eat junk food for the duration of the trip, and leave me the mess alone. Don’t you dare spoil it for me.

Some tips and tricks for traveling with (young) kiddos:

  1. Don’t.
    • Ha. Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. For real now.

 

  1. Talk up the trip.
    • Build excitement about the trip. Talk about riding in the car/plane and about all the things you will do and people you will see when you get there. Try and make travel days something to look forward to and not to dread.
  2. Wear them out before leaving.
    • Let them play outside or run round before loading up. The last thing you want to do is try and travel with kids with pent up energy. When flying, after we get to the gate we try and let the kids run around, climb stairs etc. for a bit before boarding. Our airport in Korea has a play area for young kids; check to see if your airport has one.
  3. Travel days are SPECIAL.
    • Things that would never fly on a normal day are totally ok on travel days. These are the days that there is no moderation, no balance, and no one is trying to win a parenting award. There are limitless snacks and too much TV, and that is OK. The only people judging you are your fellow kid-less passengers, and they too may one day know just how real the struggle is.
  4. Snacks.
    • “Healthy” (crush proof) snacks: Feel free to pack Cheetos and gummy bears, but eventually you may to want them to stop eating that, lest you want to clean up puke. I try to pack mostly things that if my kid ate their weight in it, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Find the balance between some special snacks and things that will make them be excited but not too sugary/sticky/etc. Ex. pretzels, applesauce pouches, dried fruit, trail mix, cheese sticks.
    • Pack snacks in Nalgene bottles: Still want to take fragile snacks? Can’t live without Goldfish? Fill up an old water bottle with snacks to keep them from getting crushed and spilled in your bag.
    • Ziplock bags: Great to have on hand to distribute snacks and/or collect trash. Each kid gets a baggie to hold their snacks and they can be refilled as needed.
  5. Movies.
    • We also try and bring some device for the boys to watch movies. Make sure to charge devices the night before, maybe load a new movie or two, and bring headphones and a headphone splitter if they are sharing.
  6. Wrap up some new (or even old) toys.
    • Go to your local dollar store or bargain bin and stock up on small/inexpensive toys and grab some cheap wrapping paper to wrap them. We try to space out letting the boys open them so they have something to look forward to. We have even wrapped up some old toys before, so this would be the perfect time to wrap that toy that you loathe, and pray it disappears into the airplane abyss.
  7. Clean crafts.
    • Color magic
    • Stickers
    • Painters tape
    • Magna Doodle
    • Wikki Stix
    • Tongue depressors with velcro dots on the ends for building
    • Temporary tattoos
      • All respectable children should have at least a half-sleeve by the time you arrive.

Driving tips:

  1. Car toys.
    • We have a special basket of toys that live in the car. What makes them special you ask? THEY LIVE IN THE CAR. They don’t come inside, so there is automatic anticipation to use them. #momhack
  2. Landmark incentives.
    • Ex. You can have another snack/open another toy when we cross the big bridge! It gives them something to look forward to and keeps them from running through treats too quickly.
  3. Talk about what you see.
    • When I can tell the kids are getting antsy (“I wanna get outtttt” on repeat) I sadly turn off our audio book and talk to the kids about the scenery. Judah has learned lots about back hoes (and I’ve realized I don’t know nearly enough names of construction equipment to be a proper boy mom) and water towers…and I have only almost driven off the road as Judah excitedly spots them and shrieks “NOTHER BACK HOE, MAMAAAA!!”.
  4. Maximize your stops.
    • Sometimes your kids need a slow, no stress kinda trip with lots of stops, and thats ok, but otherwise, we try and make the trip as short as possible. We try to multitask at each stop, ex. I will nurse Z and Isaac can let the boys run around at a rest stop or Isaac will do diapers while I pump gas and grab food. Road trips are great all, but sometimes it good to just get to your destination.

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Flying tips:

  1. Consider bringing carseats. 
    • We brought carseats on the flight for the first time on our last trip from DFW to Seoul. It was a game changer for us as Isaac was sitting in a middle row of 3 with the boys so there was no way to barricade them both in, and I was one row in front with Zoey. Our boys are pretty good road-trippers, so putting them in their carseats made them seem much more calm and happy to stay in their seat than ever before. I don’t think it is right for everyone or for every trip, just consider your kids ages, temperament, and length of flight. Also, you have to make sure you carseat is FAA certified; it should say on it or have a sticker if it is. 
  2. Get the bassinet seat. 
    • If you are flying, especially internationally with a baby (usually ~1 and under, but it is based on height and weight), a bassinet can be super helpful. At the very least hopefully you can get baby settled in it so you can eat hands free. Check with your airlines as some will reserve it for you ahead of time, and some have you request it on a first-come-first-served basis at check in. You also have to be sitting in the first row of the cabin to use the bassinet. I will say it is basically Murphy’s law that if your baby is fussy and you finally console them and get them to sleep in the bassinet, the the seatbelt sign will turn on and you will be asked to hold your baby. I have definitely gotten to the point of exhaustion where I just want to say, “LISTEN LADY, I assure you that if it gets bad enough, I will grab my baby, but for the love of ALL THINGS, pleaseeeeee don’t make me move them yet.”-the pleas of an exhausted mama.
  3. Cheap toys.
    • We try and bring toys that we wouldn’t lose sleep over if they got left on the plane accidentally, as everything ends up getting spread out over the course of the flight. Again see: wrap up dollar store toys.
  4. If you have small children, bring water on as long as they will let you.
    • Staying hydrated can make all the difference in how you feel at the end of an international flight, so bring water if you can. Usually with young kids, as long as you set it aside while going through security so they can scan it, they will allow it. At the very least bring an empty water bottle to fill up on the other side of security.
  5. Bring empty sippy cups. 
    • Instead of worrying with bringing milk or juice for our kids, we just pack them empty, and ask the flight attendants to fill them. They have always been happy to oblige.
  6. Cabin pressure.
    • I feel like this is common knowledge, but when flying with babies-toddlers, just try to nurse/feed or have them sip something through a sippy cup during take off and landing to help their ears adjust to the change in pressure. Between 3 kids and more flights than I can count, we have never had an issue.
  7. Fly Tot.
    • We also have this thing called the Fly Tot that we love for helping little ones stretch out and sleep. It is basically an inflatable footrest so that they can lay down. You should guess we are all too happy to through money at anything that might help my kiddos sleep. We have been really happy with it. See the Fly Tot here.

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Things to consider:

  • Baggage allowances- most airlines allow for an extra bag as the infant’s diaper bag, a collapsible stroller to be checked at the gate, and then extra allowance to check pack n’ plays, carseats, or larger strollers. Check ahead of time!
  • Some airlines will allow you to select a special kids meal (hot dog, spaghetti, pizza, etc.), infant meal (water for making bottles, premixed formula), or even an older infant meal (baby food, juice).
  • Early boarding- most airlines will let you board before they board the main cabin. This will allow you to get everyone settled and claim your overhead compartment space near your seat.
  • Airports will often let you use express lines for security, immigration, or customs if you have your hands full. Don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll never forget after a particularly horrific day of travel we walked up to the immigration line and it was ENDLESS, and I promptly pushed our stroller to the DIPLOMAT/FLIGHT CREW/IMPORTANT PEOPLE line and Isaac’s like, “…babe…” I responded with, “Isaac our kids are screaming, exhausted, and covered in throw up (I told you…horrific). Leaving this airport ASAP would be public service.” *They didn’t turn us away, they must have seen that glimmer in my eye that told them I was fully prepared to fight someone.
  • JUST ASK! There may be extra seats and often times the flight attendants will take pity on you and give you some extra room. Or you can go as far as asking them to move the people around you so that you have more room…I have totallyyyyy never done that. Survival of the shameless.
  • Always bring a change clothes. If not, you are basically daring someone to throw up. Now I know. See: Why You Should Pack Clothes For Everyone.
  • If all else fails, bring earplugs.
    • You can’t win them all. If you have tried everything, sometimes your kids may just fuss. Crank up your favorite jams, pretend the kids aren’t yours, and try to tune it out. 🙂

 

And just for your reading pleasure, a few humorous moments:

 

When turn around to find your son making a call on the TSA telephone.“Sorry, mom, I’ve got to take this”.

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Or when you are going through security and think your husband has the child, your husband thinks you have the child, and then you hear, “um, excuse me, is that your child over there?”. (See your child running through the airport about 20 yards away.) Nope…never seen him before…

 

When you are so over parenting on an airplane that you literally ask the grandma sitting next to you if she wants to hold your baby…and you get him back 5 hours later. ALL THE PRAISE HANDS.

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When your kid refuses to sleep any during the 14hr flight, and finally passes out…while landing. Hello, unconscious Judah.

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When you are headed off for an international trip and you see a well dressed family and wonder where the heck all their stuff is….(that is only half our luggage).

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When your child makes a new friend because he unexpectedly refuses to get on the escalator and you only realize after he is out of reach. #goodparents

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Well, I’m not sure if I have helped, or actually convinced you to not travel until your kids graduate. So, if you get brave, may we see you in the clear skies or the open road. ❤

 

Summer in the States

/ Ali Craft / 3 Comments

I know you were all waiting with baited breath to hear that we did indeed, by the grace of God, endure our first (and second) trans-continental flight as a family of 5. There were fits, sleep fighting, and tears (only a little from adults). The only saving grace of these flights is that it’s doesn’t have to be pretty, we just have to survive. And then there is jet lag…

…and since we are clearly idiots or experts, a traveling with kids post is coming soon.

We spent the summer around some of our favorite people in the whole world, eating good food, playing outside, and not remembering what day it was. Hello, eternal Saturday.

With Isaac’s family we took a little trip to Atlanta to see the Braves play in the new stadium. Naturally, after driving 6 hours with 3 kids, as we pulled into our parking spot at the stadium it started raining. After a 2 hour rain delay, the game finally began at 9pm. Anyone know what it’s like to try and contain un-napped children in public after they should be in bed? Cue snacks…The boys are getting old enough that things are holding their attention more (HALLELUJAH movies on the plane), so it was fun to see them excited for baseball. We finally made it to our hotel around 11:30pm. I’m pretty sure our summer motto was “What bedtime?”.

We also found time to squeeze in two trips to The Varsity between baseball games and a trip to the aquarium. If you are ever in Atlanta and haven’t eaten there, go. Also see: why our pants our snug.

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After our time with Isaac’s family we swung through our old college town to see our best friends for a few days on our way to Texas. And as if we didn’t know we were best friends before, who in their right mind invites your family of 5 with 3 three and under to stay at their house?

The boys thought they were in heaven between the ducks, geese, chickens, horses, lake, bikes, trampoline, and rope swings. I still have no clue how we got them in the car when it was time to leave.

https://youtu.be/hEyRieFsRAM

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Then it was on to Texas to see my family. We took a little trip to Austin, TX for a long weekend. We went to an awesome indoor play place (hello A/C) and children’s museum, and swam at the hotel in the evenings. The boys slept well those nights.

We also made it out to The Oasis on Lake Travis for dinner with friends. The view never disappoints.

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On the way home from Austin we took the long (out of the way) route, to take Isaac on a little tour of Texas. We toured the Shiner brewery in Shiner, TX, stopped by the Blue Bell creamery in Brenham for some ice cream and a quick hello to a cousin who lives there (hey, Stephanie!), and then headed on to College Station just so we could drive through enemy country.

Have I mentioned the best part of both family road trips was that our kids were in the other car with their grandparents??? We didn’t want to deprive them of quality bonding time, after all…

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It was the best summer we have had in a long time. The kids traveled so well and we got to see so many people we love. Now that Nana (my mom) and Nino (Isaac’s mom) have summers off, we just need to find a way to get Grandad (my dad) and Poppy (Isaac’s dad) off work and it will be PERFECT! We survived one more trip over the Pacific and it’s right back into work. School started for teachers last week and kids came this week, varsity tennis starts today, and our schedule is full of catching up with people we have missed all summer long.

What a gift we have to have family all over the world.

P.S. Here are some new pictures of our school! They worked all summer redoing the entrance.

 

 

 

 

Kid’s Cafe: A Parents Escape

/ Ali Craft / 6 Comments

Folks…America needs to get on this ASAP. This is basically like ten steps above a Chick-fil-A with a play place. The price might also be ten steps above Chick-fil-A, but there are days I would literally throw my wallet at anything promising to entertain my children while I sat down (note: my wallet is probably empty anyways).

Kids cafes are a big deal here in Korea, and admittedly, we have not been taking full advantage. We’ve only been to two, but with baby three on the way, something tells me kids cafes could soon be playing a large part in keeping our sanity.

These cafes are all over, often with different themes. Last week we explored our second, and now favorite kid’s cafe, Lilliput. This one was about $13/kid for 2 hours and you had to buy food or a drink. So while my kids play I have to enjoy a delicious snack, or drink?? … Twist my arm. They even have staff that are there to monitor and play with your kids while you sit. I’m thinking we might move in permanently.

When you come in you leave your shoes in a locker, and take a pair of snazzy Lilliput sandals to wear, helping to ensure the place stays nice and clean…a very Korean custom. You pay for your time at the counter and are given a menu and shown to your table.

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We went with another couple (hey, Mandy!) and their two kids, so we got lucky and were given this private sitting area all to ourselves! I am working on the assumption that they may have wanted to hide the rowdy foreigners, compared to the usually calm, quiet, and composed locals, but then again maybe they were just being nice.

*Imagine here a picture of our super swank private area that I forgot to take a picture of.*

If you squint and look past the mom and son playing, our hang out area was just next to the ball pit, with a low table and pillows for lounging.

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Not pictured is a sweet lego area/craft area that the boys will love when they are older.

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Here is Judah cruising on his Land Rover.

Asher playing a rousing game of hand the shoes to the kind employee. They both loved it.

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This “sandbox” is actually filled with little wooden cubes! Way better than bringing home sand.
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Introducing the cleanest ball pit ever, with clear balls so you feel less like there is something terrifying underneath. Also, that wall is interactive so you throw the balls at it in different games. Fancy.

 

Here is a not so appetizing picture of half finished delicious food, I was too hungry to take a picture before eating. We had margarita pizza, carbonara, and french fries. This is what happens when a pregnant lady misses lunch…

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And if you had any questions about our spectacular parenting…mid-bite of pizza I looked over to see this. Naturally I took a photo while Isaac rescued him. I won’t admit how hilarious I find this photo, so don’t even ask.

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Side note: since you obviously wouldn’t wear your nice Lilliput sandals in the fancy bathroom (I would, but I am basically an untrained monkey) that comes complete with baby-sized toilet, they have bathroom sandals for your selection. Kids sizes too, so cute.

It was so lovely to visit and enjoy a meal with our friends as our kiddos played. I feel like at this stage of life for us the only way to have an adult conversation is to get a sitter, or have people over after the kids are in bed (lol at that because that’s when I go to bed,too).

So if you need me, you can likely find me at Lilliput.

{Part THREE} The final chapter of our (NOT) quick trip to Jeju.

/ Ali Craft / Leave a comment

The never-ending blog post of the never-ending “quick” trip is coming to a close. And all God’s people said, amen!

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(If you missed part 1 or part 2, here ya go)

The next morning, after a restless night of sleep, we headed down for breakfast and to see if any headway had been made in flights. We were told that we had new flights scheduled for 7pm, and that we would check out the hotel by 12 and kill time until heading to the airport. We thought we would try and get the boys to take an early nap since we would be on the go for the rest of the day, which resulted in 2 hours of telling Judah to lay down while we sat in a pitch black hotel room. We stored our bags at the hotel and headed off to lunch.

Then it was off to find some formula for Asher just in case of emergency, of all the things we can make do without, soy formula is NOT one of them. We flagged a taxi outside of the restaurant, carefully jumped in with Judah still in the hiking pack, and just as we started to move I remembered: THE PACI! I vividly remembered it falling under the table at the restaurant and thinking, oh I’ll get it later. In that chaotic moment, my minimal Korean came to mind and I hollered, “Ki-dah-ryo-ju-se-yo!” (WAIT, PLEASE!). I threw open the taxi door, ran back inside, ducked under the table, grabbed the paci, and was back in the taxi in seconds. Considering that was the only paci we brought, and they don’t sell the kind Asher likes in Korea, that could have been very very bad.


We got to the grocery store with no problem, and found the formula we needed. Victory! We were a little bummed out that we had forgone site-seeing to get formula, so we figured we would wander around for a little bit before catching a taxi back to the hotel and then heading to the airport. We were pleasantly surprised to find the ocean directly behind the store. Which brings me to another favorite memory from the trip. In the last month Judah has taken to calling any liquid, milk. Cup of juice? Milk. Water fountain? Milk. Judah had been asleep in the hiking pack after finally giving up the fight while shopping. We were walking along the ocean front when he wakes up and seeing the ocean, yells “MILK!!!”. Not quite, buddy.

We made it back to hotel to meet the group, grabbed our bags, and hopped in a taxis to the airport; we were so close to being home. {cries quietly}

Ok. I can’t even keep this up anymore. We get to the airport and get all checked in. This was the scene. People as far as the eye could see. Us and 40,000 of our closest friends trying to get off of this island. (At one time, the flight from Jeju to Seoul was the most heavily trafficked air route in the world.)

We made our way through security to realize that we hadn’t even seen the half of it.

The next six hours looked a bit like this:

  • Lines so long at the bathroom you just resolve yourself to be dehydrated. No line for the men’s bathroom because, duh.
  • Getting stepped on/over and almost going all mama bear crazy because people are about to step on your sleeping baby.

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  • A toddler that refused to nap/sleep because there was obviously a party to partake in.

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  • Koreans finding cardboard boxes to break down to sit on to avoid sitting directly on the ground. You should know that as shoes are taken off when entering the home, they are apparently also taken off before stepping on your cardboard box… that you got from the trash.

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  • No real nutrition, as airport restaurants ran out of food, leaving us to share snacks from duty free. Macadamia nuts, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, and dried mango do not a dinner make.
  • Leaning back to back with Isaac to find some reprieve.

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  • Ajummas (Korean grandmas) that kept giving Judah food. While the rest of us may have gone without dinner, Judah certainly did not. There was fried chicken, kimbap (let’s just say it’s like sushi), cookies, rice cakes, candy, more cookies. Because if there is one thing that a sleep deprived child needs it is sugar. Isaac would try and take a bite and then give Judah only half, but the adjummas weren’t having it, so they would give him two the next time. Also fun, is when they offer him something he doesn’t like, so I try to keep him from spitting it or at least don’t let them see it, so what happens? They offered him more, while I sat there discreetly holding the last half chewed bite they gave him…

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…so we showed up to the airport at 4:30pm for our 7pm flight. That became a 9pm flight. That became a “please come check later for info on your flight” flight. At 10:45pm, among shouts of joy and possibly actual tears, we boarded our plane home. Now, THIS was the happiest we have ever been to see a plane.

We made it home just after 2 am. We are alive, and have since recovered from the illnesses we somehow ended up with after our relaxing getaway. It was one of those events that is so traumatizing, that the group was bonded together for life, so to my Jeju trip family and the ones of you that have stuck through this whole story and are now equally scarred:

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{Part TWO} Did we survive? The conclusion of our trip to Jeju island.

/ Ali Craft / 1 Comment

Day 2 of our trip: ~2am in a dark hotel room in Jeju island, Korea:

Isaac- “Are you shaking the bed?”

Ali- “What?? Huh?? No…”

(we were both confused but fell right back to sleep)

It was only when we woke up to a text from my dad asking if we had heard about the earthquake in Japan that it all came together. Luckily we were far enough away to only feel the small tremors, but it was certainly erie to realize that we are all at the mercy of “mother nature”. Anyways, let’s just say that the tone had been set for a day full of unexpected moments…

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Site of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake- Japan’s Kyushu Island

We were up early and headed back to the hotel restaurant for a buffet breakfast, thankfully with plenty of “western options”. You guys, if I have not mentioned before, let me just tell you, of all the things we love about Korea, Korean breakfast is not one of them. Basically, Korean breakfast looks the same as Korean lunch and Korean dinner, and 8am is just a little too early for these people to be eating kimchi.

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After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and were off to a day of adventuring and hiking. Rain had been forecasted so our faithful tour guide suggested that we follow the planned schedule as long as we could, and reevaluate if it started raining. Cue rain.

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Our new plans were announced within minutes and we were off to Aqua Planet: Jeju. Going to the largest aquarium in all of Asia as your back-up plan isn’t too shabby. It was Judah first visit to the aquarium out of utero (and let’s be honest, that view wasn’t the best), so we were excited to take him. We also made it the whole way to the end with Judah and Asher in there respective carriers, which was a major victory; we got to actually look at fish as opposed to herding kiddos.

Luckily, we beat most of the crowds by going first thing in the morning; as we left I am confident that no less than 75% of the population of Korea had shown up.

Then is was lunch time, our favorite. We had our pick of two of Jeju’s most popular foods, black pork (from a kind of pig native to Jeju) or fish. I will say that while in the States, Isaac and I are huge fans of seafood, we generally steer clear of it here as it often refers to squid (don’t think yummy calamari) or “fishy” fish that we have never heard of served with bones. While in America we almost always eat our fish filleted, it is said that Koreans like to eat it on the bone as it seems more fresh. Well, you do you, Korea. So we, and all the rest of our group chose pork which came with a variety of other proteins. It was served in the traditional Korean barbecue style, around a small grill with a retractable vent hood, where we cook the food ourselves.

Sweet baby Asher had fallen fast asleep right as we pulled up to lunch, in true baby form. I just planned to do the mom thing and eat with one arm, but our tour guide asked the waiters if we could make a pallet for him out of the floor cushions in the floor dining section. They happily obliged. When we sat down to eat, all the tables around him were empty, but they quickly filled, and as the ajummas (the name for older ladies in Korean) got seated at the tables near him they couldn’t help but crowd around to take a look and readjust his blanket. It was all in good nature, but thankfully our tour guide made sure that they didn’t disturb him (other wise I would have had to go all mama bear “DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE LAST TIME HE TOOK A GOOD NAP WAS” on them). Crisis averted.

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Next up was the Haenyeo Museum. The term haenyeo refers to female divers that dive for shellfish, seaweed, etc., without the use of diving equipment (their only tools are googles, a basket for their catch, and something to help them balance). This is a tradition that has been practiced for hundreds of years.

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To this day, although the tradition is dying out, there are still many women that continue the trade. The funny thing is that since this kind of work is becoming less popular, the ladies that still participate are even as old as 80+ years. Our tour guide’s aunt is a haenyeo that still practices at the age of almost 70. These women are basically rockstars.

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Sorry, I couldn’t help but put that gif there. Moving right along. By the time we left the museum, it was a full on downpour outside. We bundled up the kids in their carriers, and made a mad dash for the bus, the kids laughing hysterically as they bounced around. We were wet and tired and all ready to be on a plane headed back home. HA. Ha. ha.

We loaded up the bus and were headed to the airport, until the bus pulled over unexpectedly. Everyone began to murmur, wondering why we had stopped. Then there was a quiet announcement at the front of the bus, our flight had been cancelled due to weather. Cue one of the funniest parts of the trip. I turned around to make sure that the people behind me had heard the news; we would not be sleeping in our own beds that night.

Me: “did you guys hear the news?”

Ladies: with two thumbs up and big smiles “ya, we are stopping to get coffee!”

Me: “uhh, ya, but did you hear about our flights?”

Ladies: “wait, what???”

Needless to say I had to be their bearer of bad news, but on the other hand, we now had plenty of time to kill at a coffee shop while people tried to make us new arrangements. Our colleagues and their caffeine habits have certainly helped fuel our “coffee is life” fire.

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Our hosts made us new arrangements near the airport, so off we went to grab a few snacks and dinner before dropping off us at the hotel.

We got to our hotel feeling especially exhausted and whiney, only to find our previous night’s spacious accommodations were a thing of the past; we would be sleeping Lucy and Ricky style in separate twin beds. We made a bed for Judah halfway in the closet, and called for a crib to be sent up, only for them to send the world’s largest porta-crib to our world’s smallest room. The air in the room had also not been switched over from heat to cool yet, so it was a balmy 83 degrees. Opening the window was also not an option because the bad weather brought wind gusts over 50 mph, and the window would just slam shut. We thought we could out smart the wind by propping open the window, only to create a room sized whistle as we channeled that 50 mph wind through our room and under the crack of our front door.

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I only considered breaking the window and using this 5 times.

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You are likely looking for the escape hatch from this post, I too feel your pain. I will stop for now, and if you are looking to put off doing something you hate more than reading this story that will never end, stop on by next time for the real conclusion of our trip to Jeju.

 

P.S. I’m not sure where this should logically go in the story, but it is worth mentioning that as we entered our hotel, we were greeted by a family of giant Asian teddy bears. Ali out. *Mic drop*

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Adventures in Grocery Shopping

/ Ali Craft / 4 Comments

Let me guess, you stumbled upon this post and all your dreams came true. Yes, yes we did blog about grocery shopping. We just give the people what they want…ok? Let’s begin.

We have a few options for getting groceries. There is a street nearby that we did most of our shopping at when we first moved here; it just has a bunch of fruit stands, a couple small grocery stores, and a bakery. There is also a small store about a half a mile from our house, two that we pass if we walk home, and one that we pass if we drive home. We obviously have no shortage of choices.

All that being said, we try to make a trip once a week to the Korean version of Walmart, Emart (we have mastered the art of saying Emart in Korean: *clears throat* “Emart-uh” *takes bow*), where they have the largest selection, free parking, and lots of international staples (read: tortilla chips and sour cream). Actually, I realized in writing this post that where we shop is also determined by if we need bread or not. Most small grocery stores will not carry bread, or will only have a small (one shelf with maybe 6 small loaves when fully stocked) and unpredictable offering. I imagine that this is because Koreans don’t eat as many peanut butter sandwiches as we do, go figure.

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Moving right along…most of the Emarts here are located in shopping malls. This is ours.

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Just like most major stores here, it is multilevel with the moving sidewalks connecting the floors. Hang on tight, Judah.

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Each section and sometimes even specific products have employees there to sell their item. If you are shopping for shampoo, odds are there will be someone in the section to help you make your selection. Need toilet paper? They are there to help. The employee’s outfits are also worthy of mention. Depending on what section they work in, they have different and…interesting uniforms. You would think the kiwi lady would look more excited…

They always offer free samples throughout the store. This has proven to be a great way to try different Korean specialties like vinegar juice, spam fried rice, and squid.

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Oh ya, and right around the corner from the toothbrushes and electronics, you can pick out a new family pet!

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Oh and another useless “fun” fact. If there is a promotion here like buy one get one free, it is referred to as 1+1 (buy one, get one). This is why we sometimes end up with three cans of off brand Pringles when we really didn’t even need one (Off brand items at Emart, er.. excuse me, Emart-uh are called “No Brand”.) Don’t even get me started about “No Brand” being dumb because inherently “No Brand”‘s brand is “No Brand”. Just ignore me.

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And let me just say, we are going to be in big trouble if our $10 Haagen Dazs pints go 2+1 (I know you think you wouldn’t, but you move to a foreign country with a limited selection of ice cream and then talk to me about what you’d pay for it.) Desperate times…

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As for asking for help, you better be up for a short game of charades and a scavenger hunt if you don’t speak Korean. When we had to start Asher on formula I needed to try and find some that was soy-based. On the first visit, I looked on my own but couldn’t find it and was too tired to try and traverse the language barrier. After a few days of screaming baby, I was chock full of new resolve to find something to silence soothe my child. I went back to Emart and decided to use the ever faithful, Google Translate. I typed up “soy” on my phone and translated it to Korean, found a lady to help me, and then said baby in my {not} flawless Korean while pointing at my phone. After a moment the lady nodded in recognition I thought, “Well look at that; it worked!”. Off we went down an aisle, but I realized she was leading my away from the baby formula section, so I said again in my obviously effective Korean, “BABY”. She seemed to understand, nodded again, and then took me back in the direction I had come in. I thought we had finally communicated clearly. Straight she took me to…wait for it…baby soy sauce. Yep, it’s a thing.

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I had a little moment to myself of amusement and defeat, thanked the lady for her help, and took my sad little self back to the formula section to continue the search solo. Spoiler alert: Asher did not perish, it may have been touch and go there for a minute with Isaac and I; I eventually found soy formula on the next trip and life has been much quieter since.

Some days when we go to Emart, we try to knock out dinner in the food court. While they do have Burger King, the rest of the offerings may be less familiar. I believe they have a Korean, Chinese, and noodle restaurant.

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Isaac’s is the top, which is a Korean dish call Bee-bim-bop, and mine is some Chinese something, descriptive, I know.

I would go on, but I have to save something for the next post, right? Just kidding…next on the docket is a little tale of a quiet weekend away ending in being stranded in the airport with two kids and 40,000 of our closest friends. Sending love from the future.

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When in Seoul…

/ Ali Craft / 3 Comments

You don’t even want to know when I first started writing this post. The struggle is so real. We are busy getting ready for our Spring Break trip to the Philippines. After school swim lessons are over for quarter three and middle school volleyball (I was helping coach) just ended, so we have just enough time to try and scrape together some warm weather attire and throw some bargaining chips in a backpack and head south for a week. We are going with two other teachers and taking nine high school students as well as our two kiddos.

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We leave on Saturday at 4am and will be in transit for about 15 hours (1.5 hours to the airport, 4.5 hour flight to Manila, 8.5 hour bus ride to Baguio, Philippines), so if you think of us next week, first have a nice long laugh at our expense and then send up a prayer for us. I’m sure this won’t be us at all…
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Anyways, here are a few more things about this place we call home.

 

Hailing a taxi

So luckily we learned this shortly after arriving, but hailing a taxi in Korea is apparently a bit different. You are supposed to hold your arm horizontal to the ground (palm down) and then pull your fingers back towards you.


We have been told that if you do it palm up, it is offensive, because that is the way you call a dog.

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Good to know…

 

iPhones

I’m sure to most of us, a world without total iPhone domination sounds like it may be a sign of the apocalypse, but we live right in the heart of Samsung country. It was totally bizarre to walk into a cellphone store and not see any iPhones or Apple accessories.

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Not mention, the nearest Apple store in Japan… (“No, customer service lady, I can’t take it in to my nearest Apple store.”)

 

Car colors

The Koreans share my affinity for neutrals.

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Concrete walls

I am no engineer so don’t ask me why, but the walls in many buildings here are concrete. As you can imagine that makes hanging anything on the wall a real challenge.

Hellloooo command strips!

 

Non-automatic automatic doors

There may have been a couple instances when we first got here where we stood, waiting awkwardly, for automatic doors to open only for them not to. Many places here have automatic doors, but you have to push button, unlike the motion detector sensors in America.

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Power Lines

In addition to not being a engineer, I am certainly no electrician, but…
I am just going to have to assume they don’t have the same safety codes as America.

 

At this rate it won’t be long before:

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Eating

It seems as though everything here is meant to be shared. Almost everywhere you go you will see people order an entree or two, and then share everything that is ordered. They also eat many foods with knife and fork that you wouldn’t see happen in the states such as tacos, chicken wings, french fries, etc.. Isaac thinks that eating a burger with a knife and fork is a North Korean ploy.

Couple Style

This one still cracks me up. Couples will not just coordinate their outfits, but they will full on match, head to toe. I keep trying to get Isaac to do it but he just won’t go for it. And don’t you say I don’t have awesome photography skills.

This cute couple was heading to Dallas on their honeymoon. I suspect it is only this early in marriage that I may could have gotten Isaac to wear a boat neck shirt. Also, can you think or any better way to kick off a honeymoon than a 14 hours flight sitting next to us? I think not…

That’s it for now folks, time for you to get back to actual work. Have a great week!

 

P.S. In case you had missed this little gift from the internet; you can thank me later.

When in Seoul… 

/ Ali Craft / 2 Comments

Here we are for our second edition of When in Seoul. See the first edition here. Living in Korea never leaves us lacking for cultural differences. They sometimes make us laugh and other times are frustrating. The greatest testimony of God’s grace that we have experienced since moving to Seoul is our sense of humor. When it comes to things that could really upsetting (remember the epidural?!) our instinct has often been to laugh. We know that this can only be God’s hand, especially since even small things can ruin your day when say…maybe you aren’t getting enough sleep (looking at you, Asher), but we continue to find things hilarious.

Speaking of hilarious…

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Now back to the post…

I fully believe that attitude and Jesus, duh, is the key to success when it comes to living overseas. If you don’t learn to laugh about things, you will inevitably go crazy. Like say maybe if you were getting in a taxi quickly because you guys were running late and accidentally hit Judah’s head on the door frame, so you decided to give him your brand new Vivofit band to calm him down because it was the only thing you could reach, and then in the hustle of getting out of the taxi in traffic, you left it in the taxi and realized it only after watching the taxi drive away. And for the greatest irony, after Isaac got out and shut the door you said, “babe, don’t forget to always check behind you to make sure you’re not leaving anything”.

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Yup. That would be a good time to laugh.

So anyways, on to things we have noticed lately:

Elevators (or lack there of)

This is something I still can’t get over. In the States you know that basically anywhere you go that has more than one story will have an elevator, because let’s be real, in this day in age, if you don’t, you are probably asking for a lawsuit. Here in Korea, there are elevators in high-rise buildings like apartments and business towers, but places like restaurants and small shops that are in the second or third story generally only have stairs. This severely limits our options with our stroller in tow, so before we leave the apartment we always have to plan if we want to take the stroller or not. Also, at our school we have an amazing soccer field on the roof of our athletic facility, but again, no elevator. Maybe this is only shocking to me. While I do have a very real concern the people with limited mobility, I mayyy just be over here like…

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Food packaging

Everything here comes in a box with individually wrapped portions inside. There goes “accidentally” eating a whole package of Oreos. Maybe this is why Koreans are thinner… It may even prevent someoneee in our house from eating a whole sleeve of crackers (Isaac).

  

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Seen here: Korean versions of Club crackers, Ritz, Saltines, Ritz cheese sandwich crackers, Graham cracker-ish kinda thingy, and some wafer things. All the official names of course.

English use

We have seen two phenomenons here; what we call the “arbitrary use of English” and “non-English English”.

Exhibit A. The Arbitrary Use of English

1. Mission  2. Vision  3. ????

Oh, great! An information sign! Wait…


Another favorite was the directions to assemble Asher’s crib, where the only English word is “tip”. Why yes, that tip is extremely helpful IN KOREAN.

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Exhibit B. Non-English English

Sometimes it’s amusing but still makes sense…

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And sometimes you have no idea what they mean, like the list they gave me (in English) of stuff to bring to the hospital which included: wet tissue, gauze handkerchief, and 2-3 pieces of Panties (I feel the need to capitalize it as they did). Also, see here on of the varieties of face masks at a local cosmetics store. Because if there is one thing I want to rub on my face…

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Pets

While I would say they are largely afraid of most dogs larger than a Shitzu, Koreans seem to have quite the affection for small dogs. Excuse the terrible photo quality, it is a little awkward to whip out my camera and ask them to pose. Behold! I give you, the dog stroller and the dog backpack.

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Für Elise

You know…this song.

The good people of Korea apparently really have a thing for Mr. Beethoven. When our door bell rings at our apartment, it’s Für Elise. When we go to 7 Eleven, the noise when we open the door is Für Elise.

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So here we are the other night, volunteering at Awana on the military base when the fire alarm went off. We all evacuated assuming it was just a false alarm (it was). We were standing in the parking lot when the firetruck pulled in and the backed up to the building and that’s when we heard it. The Für Elise. FROM THE FIRETRUCK. Why have the standard beeeep beeeep beeeeep when you could have a fancy song to warn people you are backing up??

Korea. Always is keeping things interesting…stay tuned.

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

/ 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…).

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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.

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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.

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Caffeine, anyone?

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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.

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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.

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I am most assured that heaven will have macarons.

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“We’ll take them all.”

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I feel like you are starting to judge us.

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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.

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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.

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