Monday, July 31, 2006

Pool Days

Well for the past two days we have had glorious sunshine! It was a welcome change after all the rain we had this past week. When the sun comes out, or to be honest even when it doesn't, basically as long as it doesn't rain......the family heads to the pool each and every afternoon. We don't have anything else on our calendar. I figure it is summer time and what better way to celebrate than to do nothing except spend it at the pool.

I have to confess my new love for Korean lifeguards these days. Their rules seem to be a little different than those in the states. My four year old courageously jumps into the 10 feet deep end with a life jacket that they provide. For some reason our lifeguards in the states frown on this. She attempted to do this just one little time and they blew the whistle so hard at her that she didn't stop crying for days. The Korean lifeguards would never do this. They hardly ever blow their whistles and when they do it is barely even a blow....more like a hushed puff of air. This can be both a negative and a positive. It is negative when those crews of teenagers descend on the pool and they play so roughly causing annoying splashes and unintentional body blows. You really want that whistle blown in their direction along with an eviction from the pool. The lack of power whistle blowing is positive; however, when your young child models the unruly teenage behavior. The lack of whistle blowing protects you as a mother from that embarrassing scenario where all eyes is drawn to your child as you slowly sink into your poolside chair. Of course that never would happen to any of my children as they are well mannered and have all that pool etiquette down pat.

Anyway, spending time at the pool is the best way to spend the perfect summer afternoon. We spend an average of 4 hours there each and every day. The children swim and play, take a break and then repeat the process all over again. They never seem to tire of the whole experience. The mothers update each other of the happenings that occurred during those few hours they were away from the pool. They also share about their lives and those of their neighbors. All and all much intense and interesting conversation slowly drifts from all directions. Valuable information is shared and collected all the while as the children swim and play then swim and play again. As we head home each evening, my youngest always asks the important question……”Can we go to the pool tomorrow?” I always answer………”Of course, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day.”

Sunday, July 30, 2006

OK............here it goes. I have said over and over again for the past month and a half that I would get this blog up and going so I decided that today was the day. So today is "The first time".....and what exactly do I begin with? Well, it seems that the family has been doing alot of things for the very first time these days. Our new life in Seoul is filled with so many new things and we have been eagerly embracing each experience with gusto! We have been busy since our arrival in early June. Our transition here from the states went very smoothly. We were fortunate enough to be offered a beautiful apartment right in the middle of everything on base. Our car and household goods shipment were waiting for us and so we have moved very quickly into our new life. Everyone has been most welcoming to our family. We already have made some good friends. We are very happy to be a family once again living under the same roof. We are looking forward to what we call "Our Korean Adventure" and would like to share our Life on Dragon Hill with you! We have and will continue to experience a number of "first times" here in Korea. Many of these experiences will become routine for us and some of them we hope never to repeat! Here are just a few to get this blog started:

Our list of firsts:

*bowing to greet someone instead of shaking hands
*using sign language to communicate effectively
*using sign language to communicate uneffectively
*using a Korean toilet
*having our children petted and touched by Korean women
*ordering food by number and hoping that it is chicken or beef
*navigating the subway
*trying to jump in the wave pool with 5,000 others all wearing swimming caps
*eating Kimchi
*driving aggressively and playing my car is bigger than your car