Honeymoon in Korea

Out of the Mouths of Snorks

2012-02-03T14:14:00.000+09:00

Sophie is speaking more and more clearly, and her vocabulary grows every day. Keegan and I wanted to write down a few of our favorite Sophie-isms before she stops saying them. In fact, a few of her cutest words have already been replaced with more correct versions. Sadly, Curious George is no longer referred to as "Tatum," and the doctor is no longer the "ga-gok." But we have some new funny words:

Noodles remain goo-goos
Garbage is ga-gops
Pajamas are na-nums
Bunnies are "dee-dee-dee" in a very high-pitched squeaky voice, sometimes but not always accompanied by a hopping hand sign.

Another funny language item: When Sophie says "uh-oh" or "oops" I always ask her "What happened?" So now she saves me the trouble and says "Oops! Happen."

Video Highlights from November

2012-01-30T15:35:00.001+09:00

Yes, I'm still really behind. But there are no more big vacations coming up for a while, so I am going to get caught up and start posting more recent things soon! In the meantime, I couldn't resist sharing these highlights from Sophie's seventeenth month:

Playing the harmonica with Daddy is a bedtime ritual these days.

She is more likely to say "cheers" instead of "clink" now.

One thing Sophie has learned in her Mommy and me classes is to bow when she says hello in Korean.

That's our exuberant little girl!

Reading Carl's Masquerade in our hotel room in Hong Kong

The Trip to Hawaii, Week One

2012-01-19T22:45:00.002+09:00

Most of my regular readers probably know that we were lucky enough to spend our holidays in Hawaii with my parents and Keegan's parents. We rented a house near Pahoa, on the Hilo side of the Big Island. The house was right on the water, and the views were stunning. Each family had a bedroom, there was a huge living area and kitchen on the third floor, and the roof was a wonderful deck for star-gazing and ocean watching. We spent hours up there reading in the sun and looking for sea turtles.

Grandma and Nana enjoy Christmas afternoon on the roof of the vacation house.

The view from the roof - see the rainbow in the spray from the waves?

Sophie enjoyed looking in the windows on the roof deck and waving to family members in the kitchen below.

The first week in Hawaii was pretty rainy. Even the locals we chatted with said that our first week was the end of a particularly rainy period, even for Hilo, which is one of the rainiest places on earth. We spent a lot of time driving around looking for places to explore again when the weather got better. Our visit to the Volcanoes National Park was pretty miserable. We saw steam rising from the caldera, but the weather was miserably windy and wet, so we spent most of the visit skulking around museums and gift shops. All of the hiking trails in the caldera were closed due to hazardous gas levels. We rallied later in the week, though, and we found some great places. Keegan and his family got to go horseback riding in the Waipio Valley, and Mom, Dad, Sophie and I explored Hilo, which is a beautiful city with gorgeous parks and a quaint downtown. We enjoyed the Japanese-style garden and then found a tiny beach on Coconut Island where Sophie could wade in the water.

Wading at Coconut Island

We ate a picnic lunch at the Richardson Beach Park, where we got a good view of a mongoose and later found a huge sea turtle trapped in a tidal pool just off the shore.

Up close and personal with a green sea turtle

We had a chance to go swimming in a geothermally-heated hot pond, and I tried snorkeling for the first time.

We also spent a lot of time closer to home. We (or I should say Keegan and his mom and my mom) cooked some great meals. We were able to get some great fresh fish - mahi mahi, tuna steaks, and a whole huge red snapper that we baked for Christmas dinner. I enjoyed letting the others work in the kitchen while I entertained Sophie. We got some great ingredients at the extensive Hilo Farmer's Market. Mom particularly enjoyed the tea booth, while I was happy to buy enormous fresh avocadoes and delicious homemade pineapple salsa and pico de gallo. The crafts available were interesting as well. Suffice it to say that there are a lot of aging hippies and their ilk in Hilo. We even saw a man and woman doing "street yoga" for donations on the sidewalk in downtown. The man was on his back with his feet in the air, while the woman balanced on her belly on top of his feet.

We were lucky to find a small playground in a well-maintained, grassy park only about 1.5 miles from the house. Sophie had a blast playing there with her parents and her grandparents. She particularly liked to swing from a bar and to make Mommy ride down the other side of the double slide with her.

Our Christmas celebration started early, with Mom and I going for our traditional Christmas Eve Eve run. From the time I was a youngster just starting to jog up until now, with only a few years off during our time in Korea, Mom and I have gone running on the evening of December 23 so that we can look at Christmas lights together. We were happy to get a chance to continue the tradition this year. Although a lot of the streets were pretty dark, we did see palm trees wrapped in Christmas lights as well as a few really pretty houses, so we were satisfied.

Christmas Eve Eve Runners!

On Christmas Eve, we got to visit the Hilo zoo. I had been particularly excited about seeing Sophie's reaction to all the animals. The zoo is very pretty, with a huge playground and plenty of places to enjoy a picnic, which we did. I believe that Sophie enjoyed the big blue parrot that we saw first the most, although she also really seemed to like petting the goats at the petting zoo.

Must keep one hand on Mama at all times!

Christmas itself was quite a blowout. The adults drew names for a Secret Santa exchange, and everyone did a great job picking out gifts for each other. Sophie was the recipient of a stocking packed full of goodies as well as a few presents from Mommy and Daddy and two enormous bags of presents from the grandparents.

Investigating the stocking requires a lot of concentration!

Sophie amidst piles of presents with her Papa and Babak

She got present fatigue after the first huge bag in the morning, so we had a second glut of presents in the evening.

Opening presents late into the evening. It's hard work being the adored only grandchild of four grandparents.

Good grief! And yes, we did have to haul all of those gifts on the plane back to Korea. But we are grateful for all of Sophie's new big girl toys.

More to come on our second week of fun.

Carry and Wear

2012-01-14T14:56:00.000+09:00

When Sophie wants to be picked up and carried, she says "tai! tai!" I noticed recently that when she wants to wear an article of clothing or wants her doll to wear something, she also says "tai." I thought that was an interesting overlap of meaning since there are two distinct words for wearing and carrying in English but only one (porter) in French. A quick check of Google Translate to shore up my faulty language memory reveals that German and Polish also cover both concepts with one word (although the situation is slightly more complicated in Polish). When I told Keegan about my observation, his initial reaction was "Why would you ever think those two things would be covered by the same word?" but apparently Sophie hasn't yet been infected with that English-speaking mindset. Language acquisition is fascinating!

On a further note, "tai" does triple duty in Sophie's vocabulary, also meaning "ride." She will point to a bike or a ride-on toy and says "tai!"

Also, I think we may be at the start of a "do-it-myself" streak for Miss Sophie. She has been wanting to put on her clothes by herself lately, but unfortunately, we look to be a long way from successful self-dressing. The drawback of this phase is a lot of frustration and occasional tears when Mommy steps in, but the advantage is that fruitless attempts to get her head and arms into a shirt keep her entertained for several minutes at a time!

A Little Gratitude Goes a Long Way

2012-01-07T22:09:00.001+09:00

Sophie has really blossomed in the past couple weeks. We spent the holidays in Hawaii: two full weeks of fun in the sun with all four grandparents. It was wonderful! When we came back, I could really see how different Sophie was from when we had left, even though it was only half of a month! She's also outgrown a bunch of clothes. Wow, I guess eighteen months is a real milestone!

One of the aspects of Sophie's development that has really exploded is her language. She is making a lot more two-word utterances ("Bye Dada," "hot noodles," "See-see turn," "Mama sit"), and her vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. She can call her friends by name now and can tell Keegan some things that we did during our days. My favorite new skill, though, is that she says thank you when I give her something or do something for her. There is nothing more rewarding than getting a "gecks" from Sophie. During those terrible first few weeks, when my every effort at comfort and care was met with screaming, I could never imagine such sweetness. But here it is, and I love it!

I was really proud of Sophie earlier this week when she named both the orange and blue markers in her marker box. The grandmothers report that she was identifying her yellow cup in the bathtub last week, but the markers were the first I saw of her really getting her colors. She's not terribly consistent yet, but I am impressed nonetheless.

Updates about Hawaii will come soon!

Our Trip to Hong Kong

2011-12-10T08:33:00.001+09:00

Last month, as you may remember, we went to Hong Kong. Well, I'm finally posting about it! I've also updated the entry from our first day there with a few photos.

On our first full day in Hong Kong, we decided to visit Hong Kong Disneyland. We had heard from a lot of people that the park was pretty small, and that's true, but it was just the right size for us with Sophie in tow. We took the subway out to the park and got there around 10:30. The subway has its own special Disney line, complete with Disney-themed trains.

Mickey everywhere on the train to Disneyland.

We spent the day exploring the different themed areas of the park and enjoying a lot of classic Disney rides like "It's a Small World" and the spinning teacups. I think Sophie's favorite was the carousel, which we rode twice. She kept signing "horse" and saying "neee! neee!"

On the carousel with Dada

She also enjoyed the Small World ride but was scared of the Winnie the Pooh ride, which had a really creepy dream sequence in which Pooh bear encounters all kinds of garish smirking toys. Eeek. Still, at the end of the ride, as she unburied her face from my chest, she signed "again! again!"

After lunch, we put Sophie in her rented stroller and walked her around until she fell asleep for about an hour.

All this fun is exhausting!

During that time, Keegan and I each got to ride Space Mountain, and I tried out the Buzz Lightyear Astroblasters. Sophie woke up just in time for the afternoon parade, which I thought was a pretty good spectacle. Sophie loved watching the floats and the dancers and clapped and bounced in my lap the whole time.

Sophie meets the dancers from the Lilo and Stitch float.

I have to admit that I was a bit wary of introducing Sophie to the hyper-commercialized world of Disney characters, but once we got to the park and especially during the parade I found myself super nostalgic and sentimental about my own childhood and all of the classic Disney songs and movies that I enjoyed as a kid (and an adult). Even the jarring sight of four white Disney princesses waving from a sea of lesser Asian performers to the mostly Asian crowd during the parade barely dampened my enthusiasm. We even considered buying Disneyland t-shirts but refrained in favor of buying Sophie a Pooh bear doll, which is now a treasured possession who sleeps in her crib every night. Overall, I would definitely recommend Hong Kong Disney if you have toddlers, and I think it will be great for older kids too in the next few years when they open three new areas in the park.

Sophie loved Donald and quacked whenever she saw him.

No one is happier than a kid at Disneyland.

We barely had the energy to get back to the hotel and get down a conveyor-belt sushi meal before we tumbled into bed, ready for day 3.

On day 3, we spent the morning on Hong Kong island, taking the famous Peak Tram up to the Peak for great views of the city. Sophie enjoyed all the escalators leading up to the viewing platform.

The family on The Peak

Hong Kong? Yeah, been there, done that.

Back at the bottom, we swung through gorgeous Hong Kong Park for a session on the fantastic playground and a brief walk through the aviary.

Back at the hotel, I took Sophie to the hotel restaurant for a disastrous lunch (not much was eaten, a great deal ended up on the floor, and there were tears), while Keegan headed to the spa for a massage and soak in the hot tub. I'm not sure who enjoyed their afternoon the most, as Sophie and I both got three-hour naps in.

In the evening, we tried went to the Temple Street Night Market, which we had heard was a must-see attraction. Well, I'm not sure what we missed because it was terrible! Stall after stall was filled with cheap plastic junk and tourist knick-knacks. Most of the people shopping there were clearly tourists. None of the food stalls looked remotely appetizing or toddler friendly, so we gave up pretty quickly and went back to the hotel area. We found a Chinese restaurant for dinner, but it was a bit late to eat, and we spent most of our energy trying to keep Sophie happy while we scarfed our food. We'll have to try authentic Chinese food again another time!

Sophie had her own special bamboo booster seat at the Chinese restaurant.

On our last day in Hong Kong, we decided to go to the Hong Kong Zoo and Botanical Garden. We were definitely impressed with the gorgeous parks in Hong Kong. The zoo was even nicer than Hong Kong park!

Keegan and Sophie at the zoo

The cages are a bit old-fashioned with bars and mesh grating, but the enclosures were clean and stocked with plenty for the animals to sit on/hide in/play with, so it wasn't a depressing experience. There are a lot of birds, a few reptiles, and many kinds of monkeys. Everyone's favorite was definitely the monkeys, who were swinging around like crazy in their cages. I told Sophie that the monkeys were playing, and she said over and over "pay! pay!" We had a great time watching them.

Then we found the zoo playground and had our own fun playing.

On our way back from the zoo, we took the famous Star Ferry from Hong Kong island back to Kowloon and saw the super-fancy center of Hong Kong with all its jewelry stores and high-fashion boutiques. Then it was back to the hotel for my spa treatment. I had a fabulous 45-minute massage and 45-minute facial and almost fell asleep. Ahhh. Then I met Keegan and Sophie for their post-nap trip to the pool.

In the evening we made a cardinal mistake in traveling with a toddler: we left waaay too late for dinner. We also seriously underestimated the crowds in the Mongkok area. The restaurant we were aiming for, a vegetarian dim sum place, was closed, and every other place we tried had a long wait to be seated.

The bright lights and bustling streets of Hong Kong

So we trudged back to the hotel and ordered room service, which was a good recovery.

On Sunday morning, we headed back to the airport. The early afternoon flight was a good time for us to travel because Sophie fell asleep fairly quickly and slept for most of the trip. All in all, we were really happy with our relaxing vacation, and we felt pretty good about our first real tourist trip with a toddler. Now we have to plan the next one!

Greatest Hits from Sophie's Sixteenth Month

2011-12-08T22:31:00.001+09:00

Still trying to catch up! Here are some videos from October:

This silly laugh was all we heard for a few days. I kind of miss it.

This is Sophie's absolute favorite video ever.

Sophie and Eloise are two peas in a pod.

Here is Sophie reciting many of her earliest words and signs. Too bad Mommy had her hand over the microphone for the first half of the video! Sorry all!

Proud and Not-so-Proud

2011-12-08T22:18:00.001+09:00

Sorry I've been so absent. Things have not gotten less interesting around here, but they have gotten hectic as we prepare for our trip to Hawaii for the holidays and Sophie decides not to nap well in the afternoons. Poor thing has a nasty cold and is getting her canine teeth.

I was very proud of Sophie earlier this week when we were playing at the toy library with Sophie's friend Daniel. Sophie was playing with a toy bus that Daniel had abandoned, and Daniel, in true toddler fashion, decided that he desperately needed it back. Sophie looked on in bewilderment, still holding onto the bus, as Daniel started to cry. She looked at me and said and signed "cry! cry!" I told her that he was crying because he wanted to play with the bus. And she immediately picked it up and gave it to him! I was so proud of her! I'm sure this generosity will not survive the inevitable terrible twos, but I hope it will make occasional appearances from now on.

I am not so proud that we have inadvertently taught Sophie to say "gross!" every time she coughs. She has a horrible raspy cough with this cold, and it is indeed gross. So now she goes "hack, hack, GROSS" and grins like crazy. If you're going to be sick it's good to have a sense of humor.

The Rewards of Extended Breastfeeding

2011-11-25T22:47:00.001+09:00

I wasn't sure we would still be nursing well into Sophie's second year, especially when we had to supplement with formula starting at around five months. But here we are, still going strong at sixteen months! Sophie is going through a phase where she likes to say "hi" to various objects in her daily life (the paintings over her changing table and the penguin statues in Deokpo Beach in particular). This morning when I pulled my shirt open to nurse, she looked at my breast and said/signed "Hi, milk!" It was a good start to the day.

See-see speaks!

2011-11-15T22:22:00.001+09:00

Sophie has learned to say her name. I noticed her saying "she-she" or "see-see" a few times in the past few days, but I didn't figure it out until today. I did manage to capture it on video:

Numbers

2011-11-14T22:02:00.001+09:00

I have started reading the floor numbers to Sophie as we go up and down in the elevator. She loves this and reminds me to do it by saying "aye! aye!" and pointing or looking towards the number display. She likes to repeat "ten!" after me when we get to the tenth floor. This evening when I was putting Sophie to bed, she started saying "aye! aye!" and pointed to the wall hanging over her crib. It's a cross-stitched picture from my mom with the numbers one through nine on it. I guess Sophie recognized at least one of the numbers! So I read out the numbers one through nine and pointed to each one, and after I said "nine," Sophie said, proudly, "TEN!" I know every parent thinks this, but my daughter is a genius!

First Day in Hong Kong

2011-11-10T09:23:00.001+09:00

Here's my first post from Hong Kong, which I started on Thursday morning:

We arrived in Hong Kong yesterday afternoon. Sophie was full of energy for the whole flight until I decided to nurse her during the landing. Then she promptly fell asleep. I don't know how she slept through the landing as we had a bit of excitement: the pilot had to pull up from just above the runway because of bad wind shear. The engines were absolutely roaring as we quickly gained altitude. And Sophie slumbered peacefully on, oblivious. Fortunately, we landed successfully on the second try.

The highlight of the day for me was our bus ride to the hotel. Sophie was thrilled to have her own seat by the window, and she spent the whole ride looking out and talking or signing about the things she saw. She saw other cars, boats, and lots of umbrellas, which she noted by shouting joyfully "lela! lela!" I'm not sure if the other passengers enjoyed our ride as much as Sophie, Keegan and I did...

Our hotel is quite nice. We're staying at the Langham Place Hotel in the Mongkok neighborhood. It has an absolutely gorgeous pool on the roof, a beautiful spa which Keegan and I will be taking advantage of later, and a very nice lounge with an excellent breakfast and lots of other goodies. We got a chance to explore the lounge a bit while we waited for our room to be made up, and it was great! There were a few toys for Sophie, a TV, and all kinds of tasty snacks on offer.

Sophie enjoys the view and the video games in the lounge at the hotel.

Keegan enjoys the view, a beer, and Sophie's free Langham Place hat.

Once we finally got into the room, we put Sophie to sleep for a while and took a short nap ourselves. In the evening, we took advantage of the pool (a bit chilly up on the roof, so we swam in the huge hot tub instead) and then went to the mall across the street for dinner. We had a very tasty Thai meal, ordering waaaaay too much food and doing our best to stuff it all in.

Sophie's first taste of coconut milk at the Thai restaurant. It was a hit.

World's Weirdest Oatmeal Flavor, as seen in the grocery store at the Langham Place Mall.

Sophie was fairly well-behaved considering our long day of travel, but I think all of us were happy to wrap the meal up and head home to go to bed. Today we head to Disney!

Umbrella

2011-11-07T08:19:00.001+09:00

Yesterday at the rainy Geoje Flower Festival Sophie started saying "lala" for umbrella. She also accidentally tried her first piece of kimchee. After it was promptly rejected, she spent the rest of the meal guzzling water.

New Words

2011-11-05T16:36:00.000+09:00

Today when we were reading Ten Little Babies by Gyo Fujikawa, Sophie started pointing to one of the pages and saying "kai! kai!" and pointing to her face. I knew she was trying to both say and sign something but I couldn't understand. Finally, she pointed to the picture she was looking at, a baby who was crying. She was saying "cry" and using her pointer finger to sign the tears. That's the first time she's said "cry," although she has been using the sign for a while. Shortly afterward, she signed and said "help" to ask me to pull out a big book wedged in the back of her book basket.

She's also started trying to jump, but she can't actually get her feet off the ground. She just stretches and bounces and tries so hard.

The Sophie Journal

2011-11-05T16:20:00.000+09:00

After a conversation with my friend and awesome mom Marina, I decided that I wanted to keep better notes about Sophie's day-to-day accomplishments and development, like she does for her kids. Being attached at the hip to my laptop and iPhone (whenever I'm not attached to Sophie, that is), I am trying to figure out how to do this well on the blog. I realize that many (ok, most) of my blog posts are about Sophie anyway, but I am hoping to keep a more detailed record of how she's growing and changing. These details may not be so interesting to anyone other than me and Sophie's grandparents, but I think it will be wonderful for us to have a record of her growing up. These posts are going to be labeled "Sophie Journal," and a click on the Sophie Journal link in the sidebar should bring up just those details. Bear with me as I tinker.

Greatest Hits from Sophie's Fifteenth Month

2011-11-05T15:49:00.002+09:00

I know, I know, Sophie is sixteen months old already. But it's not always easy to find time for posting, and unfortunately, Mom is a perfectionist about doing things in chronological order.

Painting at our friend Mika's house. This video is short for obvious reasons.

I kept thinking "Show Mommy how the piggies eat!"

This is about the longest amount of time that Sophie spends on her bike. I hope she'll be more interested as she gets older!

Things to Do with Kids on Geoje - Rainy Day Edition

2011-10-17T15:50:00.001+09:00

The weather is cooling off, so we are enjoying lots and lots of great outdoor playing weather. Every evening our apartment's playground is packed with kids, and Sophie grins from ear to ear when she arrives to join all of her neighbors out playing. Unfortunately, rainy days can be challenging. Here are a few places we've found to go when it's too wet for the playground.

1. The indoor playground in Gohyeon
Our friend Amy introduced us to the Kid's Cafe in Gohyeon. I was very impressed with this playroom the first time we went. For a nominal entry fee (which is waived when you order lunch or coffee), you and your kids can play on big and small play structures and with all kinds of toys. There are little cars, a kitchen area, a book corner, a huge Lego table, and even a wading pool, which is open in the afternoons. A staff person is always walking around looking after the kids, and there's also a little coffee bar and a casual lunch menu with different kinds of fried rice and breaded pork cutlets, as well as waffles and sweet bread. Sophie really loves the ride-on toys, climbing up to the slide, and jumping on the trampoline.

Daddy and I enjoy a few peaceful moments with our coffee and tea while she plays!

2. The Geoje Shipbuilding Marine Cultural Center
The center consists of two museums: the Fishing Village Folk Museum and the Shipbuilding Marine Museum. I visited both for the first time with Keegan's parents when I was pregnant, and I really enjoyed both museums. The Fishing Village museum has some interesting displays about fishing methods and equipment on Geoje, and the Shipbuilding Museum is a great place to take visitors who are curious about what goes on in the shipyards here. But the main attraction for kids is the kids' play area on the first floor of the Shipbuilding Museum. There's a big indoor playground with tunnels and slides and a trampoline, plus some little interactive games so that kids can pretend to row a boat, steer a ship, and move cargo with a crane. Older kids might also enjoy the big aquarium and several smaller tanks that are part of the fishing museum. Sophie likes to look at the fish, but her attention span is pretty short...

Sophie and Mommy enjoy the big fish tank at the Geoje Fishing Village Folk Museum.

3. The pool at the Hotel Art in Jangseungpo
We haven't been to this pool in a while since the weather has been warm and we've been enjoying the pool at the Geoje Sea Spa. But this was a rainy, cold day go-to in the winter. I think the facility is pretty nice, and the pool is usually relatively uncrowded. There is a very shallow baby pool, a slightly deeper pool for older kids, and a big pool for lap swimming. They have swimming classes there for kids, too, but I think they don't start until the kids are older - around kindergarten age, maybe? Anyway, I'm looking forward to swimming more with Sophie this winter.

If all else fails:

4. Put on boots and play in the puddles!
I just ordered a bunch of rain clothes from L.L. Bean because I don't want to be trapped in the apartment all day on rainy days. Let me tell you, there is not much cuter than a pair of toddler size 5 yellow rain boots! I was quite pleased that it rained this Friday and we got to try them all out!

5. Get creative at home.
I always think of coloring on rainy days - I remember my mom suggesting coloring to me when I was bored, and it always seemed to be such a great idea! "Wow, how did Mom ever think of that!" I am planning a messy fingerpainting day someday soon, and I also want to make some Play-Doh. Here is a fun activity we tried on a dull weekend morning recently:

And here is one Sophie came up with herself:

Hard at work stuffing voluminous quantities of toilet paper into the toilet.

I hope this list and the previous hot weather list can be useful for other families in Geoje - it can be hard to find some of these places without help!

Video Birthday Card

2011-10-06T22:15:00.001+09:00

Today is my dad's birthday - Happy Birthday, Dad! There's not much that has made me appreciate my parents more than becoming a parent myself. Not only has Dad turned out to be a fantastic grandfather, but he has also been a terrific dad to me. I find myself thinking all the time about the ways he's influenced my life for the better, from teaching me skepticism and critical thinking to introducing me to Monty Python. I love you, Dad! I hope you enjoy these videos of your granddaughter from her fourteenth month (still catching up on posting!).

And here's a bonus video from last week, for Barb.

A Korean Potpourri

2011-09-14T22:07:00.002+09:00

Here are a few odds and ends I've been meaning to post.

First, here's a video I took at Deokpo Beach. I was up early on a morning walk with Sophie and was feeling quite sorry for myself because she had slept poorly the night before. And then I came across this interesting dance and got a little lift. It's exciting to live in a foreign country, even after three years. You never know what you'll come across!

Second, here are some photos of amusing gift sets for the Chuseok holiday. Chuseok is "Korean Thanksgiving," and it's a time for families to gather for a big meal and perhaps also honor their ancestors through a special ceremony or by cleaning their graves. It's also a time for gift-giving, and the grocery stores have been packed with special gift sets. Here are a few of my favorites:

Sophie surveys the Chuseok goods.

Would you prefer the dried fish gift pack OR...

...the dried seaweed gift pack?

Rice puff candies. Note Sophie's grabby hand in the corner.

Black garlic gift set - You can see the black cloves on the top of the box, under the 1+1 label.

We enjoyed our Chuseok by visiting Mundong Falls, a waterfall in the middle of Geoje, with our friends Sam, Mika, and Eloise.

Mommy and Sophie on the bridge

Keegan and the girls. Eloise is exactly one year older than Sophie, and they are crazy about each other.

Fun Weekend

2011-09-04T21:58:00.003+09:00

Keegan wanted to do some "different" things this weekend, so we had a few new family adventures. On Saturday morning, we took Sophie to the soccer stadium to run and play. She enjoyed kicking a ball around and spinning and running with Mommy and Daddy. In this video, you can hear her squeaking with delight every time she kicks the ball.

Saturday evening we had a nice time barbecuing with our neighbors.

This morning we took a cable car to the top of a mountain near Tongyeong. I hadn't been there since before Sophie was born, and Keegan had never been, so it was a fun new experience. There were gorgeous views from the mountaintop.

Next weekend is a four-day weekend because of the Chuseok holiday (Korean Thanksgiving), so we'll have even more time to try some new things!

A Mysterious Hissing

2011-08-30T21:54:00.002+09:00

I would like to share my favorite part of the day today:

I was cleaning up breakfast dishes in the kitchen, and Sophie was amusing herself by looking at her books on the couch in the living room. I was listening to music and not paying much attention, feeling very happy that Sophie was entertaining herself so well with something that did not involve emptying cabinets or begging for a snack. Then I started hearing a hissing sound coming from the living room. I looked over at Sophie, but she was absorbed with her book. I figured I was hearing things, but no, then I heard the sound again. It must be Sophie! What was she trying to say?

I walked over to see what she was up to and discovered her flipping avidly through Pat the Bunny. One part of the book has a "mini-book" pasted in, and the last page says "Shhhh-hh, Bunny is sleeping." Sophie was looking at that page and saying "sssss, sssssss, sssssss!" How does she figure these things out? I was proud and amused by my daughter, the reader.

As an added bonus, she also raised her hands and spread them wide when I asked her "How big is Bunny?" So-o-o-o big! Just like my Sophie.

Things to Do with Kids on Geoje - Hot Weather Edition

2011-08-17T15:21:00.006+09:00

Now that Sophie is walking and climbing and very active, we are constantly looking for things to do outside the apartment. This can be a challenge since the weather is H-O-T these days and just going out to the playground is pretty unpleasant. Fortunately, our playgroup friends are kind enough to invite us over for a change of scenery, and they also share their suggestions for things to do. Here are some ways that we've found to beat the heat:

1. Go to the beach!

We live approximately 200 meters from the beach. But before you get envious, please note that this is Deokpo Beach I'm talking about. On days when it's nice, to paraphrase a favorite nursery rhyme, it is very very nice, but on days when it's bad it is horrid! There is often a lot of trash on the beach and in the water, and sometimes the water is smelly (we think it's from fertilizer runoff). So we try to get to the beach here when it's pleasant and to go to Gujora Beach when we have a little more time. We also tried out Heungnam Beach, a bit further north of us on the island with bigger waves and looked cleaner and a bit less crowded. Here are some photos and a video of Sophie enjoying the beach.

Walking in the waves at Deokpo Beach, on August 3, Keegan's birthday.

Trying to sit in a bucket at Heungnam Beach, August 5. This was her idea. I'm only holding the bucket up.

Playing with Daddy at Gujora Beach, August 13.

2. Go to the Geoje Sea Spa.

The sea spa has a really nice outdoor pool on the roof, complete with water slides and an indoor baby pool that is warm as bathwater. Although many Korean kids are outfitted in life jackets and inflatable tubes in the baby pool, it is still fun to swim there if you can go when it's not too crowded. Sophie loves riding the water bobsled on Mommy or Daddy's lap - I wish I had a video of her ear-to-ear grin coming down the slide. I can't get enough of it! After swimming in the pool for a while, you can visit the spa restaurant for ramen or spicy soup and rice.

Chilling at the sea spa, July 20.

3. Play in the fountain near the ferry terminal.

One of the consequences of the new bridge from Geoje to Busan is that the passenger ferry no longer runs from Okpo, so now the ferry terminal is just a relic. But there is a small park next to the terminal with a playground and a fountain that runs in the summer. Kids can run around in the jets and get soaked - perfect for sweltering summer days!

Playing in the fountain with lots of friends on August 4. She was actually having a good time, even though she looks miserable. Also, no babies were harmed during the filming of this video, despite the spill you see at the end.

4. Put a wading pool out near the playground.

This is only semi-successful with Sophie, since she likes to climb in and out of the pool and try to run into the hot parking lot in her bare feet. But it's nice to have a way to cool off right outside the apartment. There are inflatable pools for sale everywhere these days, and we're lucky to live somewhere where it's easy enough to fill one up.

Sophie swimming with Anna-Lynn on June 12. We miss Anna-Lynn and her family, who are in Florida for a long vacation.

Look for the rainy day list sometime soon - we have been busy, busy, busy!

New Skills and Experiences

2011-08-08T22:04:00.004+09:00

Sophie is growing by leaps and bounds and learning new skills every day. Here are a few of her latest tricks and new experiences:

Trying corn on the cob for the first time. Korean corn is TERRIBLE, but she seemed to enjoy it.

Trying on Mommy's clothes. She often brings me a t-shirt from my drawer and is thrilled when she can wear it around the house.

Climbing on anything and everything.

One-Year Photo Session

2011-07-10T22:22:00.003+09:00

I will post more on Flickr eventually, but until then, here are some shots from our photo session this Saturday. Our albums and frames will be ready in two weeks - I can't wait!

Sophie in her birthday hanbok

World's Silliest Swimming Costume

Sophie's First Birthday

2011-07-05T09:43:00.011+09:00

I've always accepted the conventional wisdom about how fast kids grow up, but I never really understood exactly how fast until I had one of my own. The first six months sometimes felt like they would last forever, but now I look back and can't believe how much things have changed since then. One year ago today, our little girl looked like this:

Sophie says hello a video by filozofia31 on Flickr.

Now she looks like this:

I also underestimated how excited I would feel about our baby reaching her one year milestone. I feel only a miniscule bit of regret for leaving behind baby days and huge anticipation for what lies ahead.

Sophie's party on Sunday was a great way to celebrate these feelings. We decided to have a Korean-style first birthday party, which means we made a big deal out of the occasion! We rented a room at the Admiral Hotel in Okpo and invited all of our friends and neighbors and co-workers for a giant buffet lunch.

The head table, with traditional Korean decorations.

Sophie wore a hanbok, traditional Korean dress, for the occasion.

Sophie loves walking with Mommy and Daddy in her pretty dress.

Everyone started to arrive around 12:00, and we had some time to mingle and to eat. After lunch, our emcee announced that we would speak a few words and then cut the cake. Keegan welcomed everyone and then proceeded to say almost exactly what I had planned to say. Darn! I was able to squeak out a few words of appreciation for our friends and to thank them all for their support during the often difficult first year of Sophie's life. I have to say that I did get a little teary. Sophie lightened the mood by squirming in my arms and waving to all the guests. After a toast to Sophie's first birthday, we blew out the birthday candle and sang Happy Birthday. Sophie relished being the center of attention and clapped and smiled the whole time, much to everyone's delight.

She's acting shy, but you can see the huge smile - this girl loved being center stage!

Next we cut the cake with a huge, swordlike knife.

Cutting the cake. Wedding flashback, anyone?

Finally, we put Sophie down in front of a tray of objects for the doljabi. According to tradition, the object the baby picks predicts her future. Sophie could have chosen string (long life), a paintbrush (intelligence, creativity), a stethescope (doctor), or money (riches), but she picked the toy microphone.

Sophie chooses the mike!

She was a bit frightened by the loud cheer that came up from the audience after she made her choice. Everyone said that she picked the mike because it looked the most like a toy, but after watching her ham it up in front of all the guests during the birthday song, I thought it might be an omen after all.

After the ceremony it was time to eat some cake and just enjoy being with our guests. Sophie did remarkably well considering all the excitement. She was thrilled to be able to chase around after the older kids at the party (with Mommy's help, of course). When we finally made it home, she was exhausted and slept like a champ while Mommy and Daddy opened her many gifts and made a long list of thank-you's to write. Our house still looks like a day care center - we have to find room for all these big toys! But Sophie is very happy to have new things to explore. And I think she's very happy to be one!

A First and an Almost-First

2011-06-22T15:23:00.005+09:00

As Sophie approaches a year, the number of things she's experiencing for the first time is getting somewhat smaller. I wanted to post about our trip to the beach last weekend, and I was thinking "Sophie's first trip to the beach!" but it wasn't. We took her down to the water here in Deokpo last weekend. Then I thought, "First trip to Gujora Beach," but it wasn't that either since we went last September. We had a good time, though! Maybe I will call it "Sophie's best time at the beach." I think that's accurate.

Life's a beach when you're eleven months old!

We set up on the beach around 11:30 and ran into some friends of ours from the Wednesday playgroup I've been going to. It was nice to meet Stephanie's husband, and I know Keegan enjoyed talking to him. Then Sojung, Matt, and Anna-Lynn met us. It was Anna-Lynn's first time at the beach, and everyone was anxious to see how she would like the water. We thought the girls might not be too interested in swimming because when I dipped a toe in, it was so cold that I believe I almost lost the toe. But when we got closer to the waterline, Sophie really wanted to get right in.

"I love you, frigid water!"

We had to do a last-minute stripdown at the water's edge and let her in naked. She marched right along until she was up to her chest and didn't protest at all, although photographic evidence shows that she may have had some second thoughts.

"Hmmm, what is that strange numbness in my legs?"

Anna-Lynn followed not too far behind and also seemed unfazed by the cold.

Sojung & Anna-Lynn

Anna-Lynn and Sophie, the bathing beauties

Meanwhile, we adults moaned and groaned about how we couldn't feel our feet.

After the swim, Anna-Lynn got some sand in her eyes, and Sojung and Matt decided to take her home. Keegan, Sophie and I lingered for a while longer, enjoying the overcast day.

"Why am I so gritty?"

Sophie fell asleep on the way home and took a long nap in the afternoon. When she woke up, we had a barbecue with our Kisan Harborview friends. What a great Saturday!

So, we've established that the beach was an "almost first." The "first" I mentioned in the title was Sophie's first time painting. We had playgroup this morning at our friend Amy's house, and she provided paints, brushes and big pieces of paper for the kids. I was eager to see what Sophie would think. She was amused by the paintbrushes and the egg cartons that the paint was in but didn't really make the connection between the brush and the colors on the paper.

You can't pretend that your kid didn't try to eat a paintbrush. The evidence is very clear.

Future Georgia O'Keefe?

I think she did enjoy watching the other kids, especially Reagan, who decided it would be much more fun to paint herself.

Thanks for the fun activity, Amy!

Deokpo Beach: Aspiring Tourist Mecca

2011-06-17T21:43:00.005+09:00

The opening of the Geoje bridge connecting northern Geoje with Busan has brought a flurry of activity to sleepy Deokpo Beach, the village where our apartment building is located. We are anticipating a flood of tourists from Busan this summer. Several old houses have been torn down and construction has been ongoing on two five-story buildings which will probably be rental rooms and restaurants. Then just before we left for vacation at the beginning of May, work started on two mysterious platforms on the water, as well as a small building near the fishing pier. When we arrived back at the beginning of June, we saw that the platforms had become this:

A zipline over the water!

and the building now looks like this:

What would you guess this building will be, given the odd rounded framing on the outside?

If you guessed bathrooms/showers shaped like a boy and girl penguin, you're right! And your mind is a total mystery to me.

Now if only they could keep the beach, the centerpiece of all this potential tourism, from looking like a garbage barge ran aground nearby, we'd really be in business.

Fortunately for us, Deokpo does maintain some of its provincial charm despite all of this activity:

So far the only sunbathers at the beach are these onions.

Snork on the Loose!

2011-06-13T21:22:00.002+09:00

Sophie, a.k.a. "the Snork" (don't ask), is getting stronger by the day. Yesterday at lunch she stood up from a squat without holding on to anything. She immediately started teetering dramatically and then landed with a thud on her diapered rump, but Mommy and Daddy were still hugely excited. This afternoon on the playground, she somehow managed to climb all the way up the slide, crawl across the length of the playground, and come close to launching herself headfirst down the slide on the other side before Mommy stopped her. She also figured out how to climb up a fairly steep ramp on the playground. All this child wants to do is climb, climb, climb. Mommy's heart palpitations and horrified gasps do nothing to slow her down. I hope Mommy's beaming smile sweetens her successes, though.

Highlights from the Trip Home

2011-06-12T11:45:00.005+09:00

The reason I've been gone for so long is that Keegan, Sophie, and I were on a month-long trip to visit family and friends in the U.S. It was wonderful! We got our fill of American food and shopping, and Sophie got to spend lots of quality time with her grandparents and meet all of her various "aunts" and "uncles" (a.k.a. Mommy and Daddy's friends). Here are a few things we particularly enjoyed:

Living the good life with Nana and Granddude at Orchard Hill

Playing with Daddy

Testing the limits of independence at the park

Meeting the horses

Swinging!

Swimming!

Shopping!

Reading with Grandma

Eating chips with Grandpa

Eating frozen yogurt at Sweet Frogs in Lynchburg

Running at the Michalik Boot Camp after all those chips and frozen yogurt

Learning to sew

Date night!

We also spent a lot of time talking about and planning our trip to Hawaii for Christmas with all four grandparents. Hard to believe that's only six months away. I don't know whether I'm more excited about visiting Hawaii for the first time or about seeing what Sophie will be like at 18 months.

Greatest Hits of Month #10

2011-05-06T13:39:00.003+09:00

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a video worth? How about five videos? Here is a video showcase of Sophie's latest adventures and abilities:

Sophie's First Easter

2011-04-28T12:48:00.006+09:00

To me, the glories of warm weather, flowers, and new beginnings usually overshadow a candy-filled secular celebration of Easter. This year was no different. Since Sophie is still too young for egg-dyeing, candy, or hunting for her Easter basket (as I did every year growing up) there wasn't much to do to mark her first Easter as a special day. Still, we did have an Easter-themed playgroup last Wednesday and a fun-filled Easter weekend.

Our playgroup met at the apartment of a new friend, Mika, who has a daughter exactly one year older than Sophie and an older adopted son due to arrive from China later this year. She had her heart set on dyeing Easter eggs. The almost-twos were still a bit young for egg dyeing, so the adults dyed the eggs and then the kids put on Easter stickers after they dried. We all got a good laugh out of Mika's daughter Eloise's approach, which involved banging each egg on the table before or during the decorating. Sophie enjoyed holding her egg and examining it with fingers and mouth while Mommy tried to sneak a few stickers on. Mika had also thoughtfully prepared an "egg hunt" for the kids, using ping pong balls in lieu of plastic eggs. The little girls thought the bouncy out-of-control ping pong balls were hilarious and spent a lot of time hurling them around the room and laughing hysterically. Sophie was wide-eyed with amazement at all the hubbub. It was a really fun morning and was followed by a long, restful nap!

On the Saturday before Easter we were invited to dinner at an Italian restaurant to celebrate the wedding of our friends Leandra and Mario. I enjoyed the chance to dress Sophie up and to get dressed up myself - it's been a while!

All dressed up in our matching outfits.

The restaurant was an adorable, cozy little place, packed with the couple's Brazilian and Korean friends. Sophie was a bit overwhelmed with all the attention and noise and wanted me within arm's reach at all times. She did get a chance to crawl around a little and observe the antics of two little toddler boys who were having a grand old time egging each other on. We had a delicious mozzerella and tomato salad, followed by a plate of delicious pasta with cream sauce. Keegan enjoyed pork with veggies for the main course, and I had gnocchi. Leandra made an amazing strawberry cake for dessert. Sophie sampled a little of everything and was clearly quite pleased.

On Easter we got a chance to open a gift from Grandma in the morning.

My first Easter Peeps! Later stolen by Mommy.

In the afternoon the whole family went for a run with the help of our borrowed jogging stroller and then Keegan enjoyed a barbecue with some ABS friends and the Polish community while Sophie and I took a nap.

Ready to run!

Unfortunately, Keegan enjoyed a little too much vodka with the Poles and went to bed early, so Sophie and I had Easter dinner alone. To make things extra fun, I decided to let Sophie try spaghetti for the first time. Delicious and fun!

I hope all my readers had a wonderful Easter weekend, too!

Weekend Project

2011-04-18T12:59:00.005+09:00

The ABS men of Kisan Harborview are always looking for ways to exercise their manly strength, use fancy tools, go to the hardware store, and get together to drink beer. This week, they found a way to do all those things by building a swingset addition to the existing apartment playground.

Tim did the initial groundwork for the project by buying several large pieces of lumber, and Keegan bought a plastic toddler swing at Home Plus. The men assembled on Saturday morning to start putting everything together.

Tim makes himself useful as a post.

By the afternoon, the frame of the swingset was erected, and the men set about digging holes to put the supports into. Unfortunately, the shovel we had was not up to the task of digging such large holes, and two guys were dispatched to the hardware store for a new shovel and some concrete to fill in the holes.

Sophie on the construction site, waiting for a stronger shovel.

Much hilarity ensued as the remaining men, impatient to keep making progress, attempted to continue digging with a severely bent shovel and to break up large rocks they encountered with a rubber mallet. Jokes about time on the chain gang abounded. Finally the new shovel arrived and the frame was properly secured.

By the time we returned from a dinner out with some friends, the toddler swing was mounted, and Sophie went on a nighttime ride. She loved it! We got to try it out again on Sunday afternoon, and once again it was a big hit.

The completed swingset, with swinging baby!

Mommy and Sophie are happy to have something new to do during the days, and the men were very happy with their handiwork. Numerous new project ideas are afloat - can't wait to see what they come up with next!

A Good-luck Pig's Head

2011-04-18T12:44:00.003+09:00

Yesterday afternoon Keegan, Sophie, and I went for a hike in the mountains near our apartment. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed seeing all the new leaves and mountain cherry trees still in blossom, but it was a mostly unremarkable walk. That is, it was unremarkable until we got back to Deokpo and saw a group of women sitting on the ground apparently having a picnic. They attracted my attention because one of the women was holding a long white cloth, which she was knotting in a careful way. I looked a little closer at the spread on the picnic blanket and saw that it was arranged like a good luck offering, with lots of fruit. There was a large, brown leathery object right in the middle which I finally recognized as a pig's head! That was a surprise!

When we got back to the apartment, several of our friends were outside having a barbecue. I mentioned the surprising pig's head, and the two Korean girls told me that it's not too unusual to have a small ceremony with a pig's head to pray for good luck when buying a new car or starting a new business. You should put bills in the pig's mouth, ears, or nose for extra luck. I asked them if it was expensive to buy a pig's head, and they said no. But when I looked for more information online, I discovered this article, which explains a bit about the ceremony and the recent difficulties in obtaining pig's heads due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease. Who knew? I love that I am still learning new and surprising things about Korea even after almost three years here.

Lovely Weekend

2011-04-12T21:40:00.003+09:00

We had a really nice weekend with Nate and Eliza and Marriet again!

Marriet enjoys the bouncer and attempts to pet Sophie's crazy hair.

This time they came to Geoje to visit, and we enjoyed some really glorious weather. On Saturday we were able to go out to lunch with Matt and Sojung and Anna-Lynn. We found a great Korean restaurant about a two-minute drive from our house. We had delicious Korean seafood pancake, grilled duck, kimchee stew, and a really amazing noodle soup with walnut and sesame. Sophie ate her weight in orange pieces and managed to jam some handfuls of cabbage salad into her maw while Mommy's guard was down.

On Sunday Eliza and I left the babies with their Daddies and went into town to get haircuts. We met Sojung and Matt at their favorite salon and enjoyed being pampered. I had a scalp-tingling shampoo with mint fragrance and a head and neck massage, a cut, and the most meticulous styling ever, and it was only 15,000 won! I left a big tip. We got home to discover Sophie napping in her crib (almost unheard of!) and the men not too much the worse for the wear. We had a really beautiful afternoon out by the grill, with hamburgers, ribs, veggies, shrimp, and sangria!

Sophie tries out the slide.

Nathan enjoys a cigar.

Daddy and Sophie clown around.

Sojung and Anna-Lynn enjoy the party.

More weekends like this one, please.

I talked to Eliza on the phone on Monday, and we agreed that Mondays following such great weekends are extra-sucky. Thank goodness the weather has remained pretty and Sophie and I continue to spend lots of time outside!

Springtime at Last!

2011-04-05T08:39:00.004+09:00

The weather is finally starting to warm up here, and we are enjoying every minute of it. Last week, we were able to go to the beach twice and just soak up the sun (still in jackets, but that's no problem!). We met a few new American families with young kids, and Sophie really enjoyed watching the other children playing. She also loved crawling around on the sand. I think it's wonderful for her to have a huge open space to explore without walls or furniture in the way. She can really motor around pretty fast, and dips and hills in the sand are only minor inconveniences. Mommy just has to keep an eye out for the old firecracker casings and bits of seashell that head oh-so-quickly into Sophie's mouth.

This past weekend we took a trip to Mokpo to visit Nathan, Eliza, and Marriet, who is now almost four months old. Despite Sophie's difficulties going to sleep at night and Marriet's struggles against taking regular naps, we managed to enjoy some time with our friends and the change of scenery.

Sophie and Marriet check each other out.

On Saturday evening, I had a chance to go for a brief jog with Sophie in Marriet's BOB stroller. I am horrendously out of shape, but I did enjoy getting out for exercise with Sophie. The stroller was great, and Sophie seemed to enjoy the (very slightly) higher speed transportation. She let out little high-pitched squeals when I picked up the pace. On Sunday, we went to a toy store and had an absolute blast picking out some new toys for Sophie. We got some alphabet magnets (Korean alphabet, Roman alphabet, and numbers), a push toy for the upcoming pre-walking stage, a shape sorter, a dump truck, and another set of wooden blocks. So far, Sophie likes the magnets, the dump truck, and the push toy. Mommy and Daddy have spent a lot of time playing with the blocks and the shape sorter.

In other news, Sophie has gotten much more interested in "helping" around the house. This involves unfolding the laundry after Mommy folds it, unloading silverware from the dishwasher and flinging it around the kitchen, and taking groceries out of our shopping bag.

"Hi Mommy! Ready to help!"

"This spoon needs to get out of my sight!"

"Don't worry, I'll unpack the peppers."

I think Sophie is also getting much more communicative. She's expanded her repertoire of sounds to include "d" and "g," and she babbles a lot more these days. She also noticed that she gets a good echo in the hallway outside the apartment, so she likes to make short, noisy squeals while we wait for the elevator. But she's really getting better with gestures. Just today she held her arms up to Keegan when he got home from work, asking him to pick her up. And she has started to offer us things that she is holding. She will hold a toy or her spoon out to us and place it in our hands, but she doesn't quite get the last step and usually refuses to let go of the object. We'll keep working on that. Seems like so much is changing so fast these days - who knows what she'll be up to by the time we head home in just under five weeks.

A Day in the Life

2011-03-28T10:36:00.007+09:00

Not much is going on these days, so I thought I'd post about our normal routine. What's a typical day for Princess Sophie and her retinue? And how have things changed since before she was born?

Between 8:30 and 10 a.m. - Sophie awakes, and I go in to find her crawling around or sitting up in her crib. She is sometimes still pretty sleepy, but sometimes I get a happy grin.

"Good morning, Mommy!"

We pull up the shades and see what kind of a day it is outside and then it's time for a diaper change and nursing session.

What kind of a day is it today? Sunny, windy and cool is the norm these days.

Morning activities - We both get dressed and then make breakfast together.

All dressed and ready for the day

These days, Sophie enjoys Cheerios or oatmeal with banana, strawberries, or melon. After breakfast, we play a little, get laundry started, and clean up our dishes.

Around 11 a.m. or 12 p.m. - We read a few books, change Sophie's diaper, and settle in for another nursing session, which usually leads to a nap for an hour or two.

1-2 p.m. - Lunchtime! We love heating up leftovers from last night's dinner, plus some apples, oranges, or Asian pears.

Afternoon activities - In the afternoon, the name of the game is "get OUT of the apartment." On the best days we visit friends or take a walk, but sometimes we just go to the post office or the grocery store. Lately we've been taking care of cats for friends who are on vacation, so that gives us one more thing to do. I can't wait for warmer weather so we can just hang out outside!

4ish - Tuckered out from the afternoon's adventures, it's time for another nap. If we are lucky, this nap ends when Daddy gets home from work - yay! Sophie always has a huge grin for her daddy when she sees him. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

Evening activities - If we have time, we've been enjoying walks down to the fishing pier in the evenings, with snacks!

Enjoying junk food on the beach before dinner - what a great example we're setting.

Then it's time to get dinner ready. Usually I cook while Keegan entertains the baby, but sometimes we trade roles.

7 p.m. - Dinnertime! Current favorites for Sophie are potatoes, tofu, pasta, and bread. She tolerates green beans, carrots, and broccoli as well.

Daddy is still hungry and decides to nibble on the baby. She loves it!

8 p.m. - Start the bedtime routine with books, a last bottle, and bath time! The big tub is a huge hit. There's lots of crawling around, playing with bath toys, pulling up, splashing, and smiling. Then it's into pajamas and blanket sleeper to be nursed to sleep by Mommy. Within half an hour, a certain baby is usually out like a light and Mommy and Daddy have some time for dessert and TV. We don't stay up too late, though, since it won't be long until we start the whole rigamarole all over again!

Sophie Update

2011-03-14T17:31:00.004+09:00

Sophie is changing so quickly these days, and it's hard to keep up with her! I thought I'd take a minute to write about some of her new abilities, interests, and habits.

Slowly but surely our squirmy little girl is showing more interest in books. She likes turning the pages, and she's crazy about peek-a-boo books like the Spot series. Other favorites are That's Not My Monkey, Babies, Brown Bear Brown Bear, and both of the recordable books we have featuring Grandma's voice. She also loved the Dogs pop-up book she got to read at Nate and Eliza's, so we may buy her another Matthew Van Fleet book when we get home in May. Books with "plots" don't interest her much yet. She likes to be able to manipulate things!

Reading Spot's First Walk with Mommy

Speaking of manipulating things, Sophie's ability to eat finger foods is growing by the day. She's still a pretty messy eater, but more and more of what we give her is actually ending up in her mouth! She hasn't quite mastered her pincer grasp yet, but she has figured out how to bring the food to her mouth with one fist and then shove it in with the other.

Fun with tofu and zucchini

Keegan reports that she also knows how to use drool-covered hands to stick bits of food and get them to her mouth. Favorites remain bananas and yogurt, but grapes and avocado are also on the list. I guess I should admit that she also enjoys the occasional pizza crust. She is getting better at drinking water from a cup and can almost use her sippy cup by herself!

Since Sophie first shakily began crawling at the end of February, she has really taken off! She now crawls around all over the apartment and ends each day with red knees. She can easily go from sitting to crawling and back again and often demonstrates the ability to go from laying down to crawling in her crib at night. Now she is starting to pull up on various pieces of furniture around the apartment.

I was so surprised when I turned around and saw her standing!

She also likes to straighten her legs out into a standing position while she's leaning forward with her hands in my lap. I wouldn't be surprised if walking happens sooner than we thought! All this movement translates to hard times on the changing table, where our wiggly girl rolls around and repeatedly kicks off her pant legs while I'm trying to put them on. Sophie's increased mobility is also hard on the cats, who are learning that they have to work a little harder to avoid grabby baby hands. Chili gives Sophie a wide, wide berth, but Pepper is a little more tolerant. She loves both cats and squeals in delight when she sees them. She particularly likes the sound of Chili's mews and often responds to them.

A fortunate side effect of all this activity is that Sophie has been sleeping really well at night! She usually goes to bed pretty easily around 9:30 and wakes up around 8:30 in the morning. She'll wake up once or twice at night to nurse. Sometimes, if the stars align, she'll sleep well past nine, and Mommy gets a chance to relax a bit and get things done around the apartment! Who knows how long this agreeable sleep pattern will last? We are enjoying it for now.

Sophie's sparkly personality is getting more enjoyable by the day as she becomes more communicative. She has started waving, although I don't think that she quite knows how to use the motion to greet people yet. Mostly, she just likes our happy reactions when she waves. She will "Gimme 5!" sometimes when she is in her highchair and we're playing together. We have decided to introduce some baby sign language to Sophie, and I think she's definitely interested in it. She smiles at me when I make the signs for "milk" and for "water" during meal times, and she thinks that blowing on her food to cool it off (which is also the sign for "hot") is hilarious. She says "mamamamamamama!" when she is upset and wants something - guess that's pretty much what "mama" means to her at this point. I can't wait until she says her first word and uses her first sign!

Another fun development during playtime is that Sophie now really gets a kick out of being tickled. If you get her in the right mood, she will really get a good squeal going. It's a lot of fun.

She also enjoys when I get down on all fours and hide from her behind the ottoman, but it freaks the cats out, so I try to limit the times we play that game.

All in all it is, as everyone says, a wonderful age. We're enjoying parenthood much more now than we did in the early days. Who knows, maybe we'll even do it all again someday....but not any day soon!

Sunday in the Park

2011-03-07T12:07:00.004+09:00

Sophie and I have been looking for unique ways to keep ourselves busy this week while Keegan was away on his sea trial. Fortunately, yesterday was fairly mild and it didn't rain, despite the gray clouds that hung around all morning. So after lunch, I put Sophie in the baby backpack and we walked to our favorite park on top of the hill between Deokpo and Okpo.

Sundays have a festive atmosphere around here. Many people work a half day on Saturday, so Sundays are the only full day of rest, and everyone takes full advantage of them. We like to say that Koreans work very hard, but then they play very hard. I like to look out our window on Sundays and see families playing on the beach and walking along the waterfront. I look at the toddlers enjoying the wide-open beach and I think about how much fun Sophie and I will have there when she's a bit older. Anyway, all this is to say that the park was brimming with lively children and their parents enjoying everyone's favorite day of the week. Sophie really enjoyed watching all the activity, especially the kids on bikes and the little dogs running around. She even made a new friend.

Sophie makes friends easily as a result of her foreign baby celebrity status.

We didn't stay for too long because Sophie didn't like crawling on the dry, spiky grass (not that I blame her), and she was getting tired.

"Mommy, this grass is too prickly!"

She fell asleep on the way home, happy as a clam in the gently rocking backpack.

I hope we'll enjoy the park more as the weather gets warmer and Sophie gets more and more mobile.

Sophie on the Move

2011-02-25T22:03:00.005+09:00

Just as with sitting, Sophie is learning crawling very quickly after a long period of trying. Here she is on the verge of real crawling yesterday:

She crawled a very tiny bit like this again today, and she has gotten much better at keeping herself up on her hands and knees, although she does still flop onto her stomach quite a bit. We had quite the exciting visit with our friends Alana and Igor today - Sophie demonstrated her crawling skills and waved at Alana when we got ready to leave!

Here is another video of us messing with the baby, as usual:

Visit to Mokpo

2011-02-22T12:18:00.003+09:00

Last week Keegan was out at sea on a trial for the second of four ships he's working on. Sophie and I didn't want to stay at home alone, so we decided to visit Nate, Eliza, and two-month-old Marriet in Mokpo, about a three hour drive away.

Sophie and Marriet confer about techniques for keeping the parents up all night.

Sophie and I left on Wednesday morning and had a successful drive, with only a few tears in the last fifteen minutes or so. Eliza had prepared a delicious pasta sauce for dinner, and we had a good time catching up with our friends and oohing and ahhing about how Marriet is growing. I was a little worried about how Sophie would sleep in an unfamiliar place, but she did pretty well. She woke up often but fell back to sleep easily each time. Our white noise machine really helps, I think.

Thursday we got off to a late start and didn't do anything all day except take a nice walk around the area close to Nate and Eliza's apartment with Sveva the dog. Both babies fell asleep in their strollers and gave us mommies a nice break. Eliza made stir fry with brown rice and pineapples for dinner.

On Friday we mustered the troops in the morning for a trip to Marriet's pediatrician for vaccinations. The doctor is in a large maternity hospital absolutely swarming with babies and children. Eliza is quite happy with the doctors there, as they apparently speak good English and are very helpful. I am jealous. I was able to weigh Sophie at the hospital, and she is now up to seven kilograms (15 pounds, 7 ounces)! After the doctor visit, we went grocery shopping. Marriet slept in the Baby Bjorn and Sophie slept in her car seat/carrier in the shopping cart while Eliza and I raided the baby department and picked out some fresh red snapper for dinner. In the afternoon we took another walk, and Nathan cooked up the fish with green onions and garlic for a delicious meal.

Saturday was another late start, especially since Nate and I both Skyped with the grandparents in the morning. We took a long, cold, and windy walk in the afternoon. We were all underdressed because the thermometer said it was quite warm, but we forgot to take into account the wind and the quickly setting sun. The babies weathered the cold well, though, and again fell asleep for us. In the evening, Nathan brewed some beer and then produced the most delicious mild Thai curry ever. I had already put Sophie to bed when it was finally ready, and I enjoyed eating sans baby, while watching "The Social Network."

On Sunday we managed to get out in the early afternoon and have lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant where you can make your own spring rolls and eat hot tasty pho (noodle soup).

Mommy enjoys a handmade spring roll. Sophie is unimpressed.

The owner of the restaurant and our waitress were smitten with the babies and danced and made faces at Sophie to make her smile. They also picked her up and showed her off to whoever was back in the kitchen. She was a bit apprehensive but went along with her admirers. After lunch we went to Lotte Mart where I had a lot of fun spending some gift certificates on adorable baby hats and toys. Sophie fell asleep in the car on the way home, and Eliza and I had a chance for some tea and girl talk while Nate took Sveva for a walk. He then reprised the award-winning curry from the previous night. This time Sophie was awake and had a chance to try some eggplant, which she loved.

Keegan actually got back two days early from his sea trial, so Sophie and I packed up on Monday morning to head back to Geoje. She slept like a log most of the way home and barely cried or fussed at all. What a difference from a few months ago when she'd start screaming from the time we left the parking lot and not stop until we arrived at our destination! Sophie was very happy to see Keegan. She was a bit confused in Mokpo because Nathan, who looks similar to Keegan and who gets home every evening just like Keegan, had his own baby to hold and love on. Sophie would smile at him adoringly when he got home and then look mildly put out when he bypassed her to say hello to his own daughter. So seeing "Real Daddy" again was a big treat. We also had a chance to try out Sophie's brand new high chair, which arrived while we were gone. It's still a bit big for her, but she was outgrowing the Bumbo seat with tray, so we were happy to make the switch.

Sophie enjoying baby yogurt in the too-small Bumbo.

Sophie enjoying broccoli in her new throne-like highchair.

We had a great time with our friends and are actually looking forward to Keegan's next sea trial in less than two weeks!

Happy Lunar New Year!

2011-02-04T21:04:00.004+09:00

This week Korea is celebrating the beginning of the year of the rabbit. Keegan is enjoying several days off of work, the longest holiday he's had in a long time. In fact, we're all enjoying it! On Tuesday evening, we left to take a very short vacation in Muju, which some of you may remember we visited in the fall of 2009. Muju is known for it's ski resort, so this winter visit was actually a more appropriate time to go. We had an easy drive there, stopping for udong noodles at a rest area along the way. We checked into our cabin and said hello to our friend Matt and also Nathan and Eliza and Marriet, who were sharing our two-bedroom cabin with us. We didn't stay up long before it was time to put Sophie to bed, and we followed soon afterward.

On Wednesday morning, we had a leisurely breakfast before Nathan and Keegan left to go skiing. Eliza and I stayed with the babies, and our friend Sojung came over from the cabin next door with her daughter Anna-Lynn. We all enjoyed having company for baby care duties. In the late morning, everyone retired for naps, and then we met up again when the guys came back to go for lunch at a nearby Korean restaurant.

Sophie is very proud of her banana-eating abilities.

Sojung told us that the restaurant had particularly fresh vegetables and delicious side dishes, and she was right. There was a mushroom dish that was absolutely fabulous, good kimchi, and a very eggy pajeon (Korean egg pancake with onions and seafood). The restaurant's proprietor enjoyed greeting all of the babies in our little group.

In the afternoon, Sojung and Eliza wanted to rest at home, but I was raring to go to the spa at the Muju resort. So I drove up the mountain and had some much-needed Mommy pampering time. This is a particularly nice sauna, with three tubs: one hot, one warm, and one cold. There is nothing like soaking in the hot tub, cooling off in the cool tub, and then returning to the glorious warm tub again. I was more relaxed after my soak than I have been in a long, long time (perhaps seven months?). It was really nice of Keegan to watch Sophie for me. Apparently, he and Nathan and Marriet went for a wintry walk by the frozen stream behind the cabins.

This slippery activity was not endorsed by Mom.

In the evening, we had a huge barbecue, with lots of ribs, salmon, and vegetables. A lot of other friends from Geoje were staying in the same cabin complex, so we had a big group to share the bounty with.

Dinner with friends

After dinner, we got to toast marshmallows, which is a pretty darn good dessert, if you ask me. The night was a little rough because of the vagaries of the cabin's heating system, which seemed to have two settings: surface of the sun or arctic tundra. But we survived.

On Thursday morning, we got to have delicious leftover-salmon omelets, and then it was already time to start packing up our huge stores of food and all of our baby gear. It was a very quick visit, but it was wonderful to see everyone's growing babies and to spend some time away from home. We are already talking about our next visit to our little vacation haven.

Busan Aquarium

2011-02-01T09:53:00.003+09:00

Sophie had her first visit to the aquarium this Sunday. Our friend Alana invited us to join a big group of Brazilians who were going to watch as a few brave group members went Scuba diving in the main tank. The main tank contains several very large and toothy sharks.

I do not want to share a pool with you, Mr. Shark

No, thank you! But we were interested to see our friends come face to face with sharp-toothed terror, so we hit the road a little before 10 on Sunday morning.

This was our first time driving on the new bridge that connects Geoje and Busan, and we were quite happy. We figure we can now make it to the airport in about forty minutes. We made it all the way to Haeundae Beach (the far side of Busan) in just a little over an hour, no ferry reservations necessary! We loaded Sophie into her backpack and set off through frigid wind to the aquarium.

Sophie's first visit to Haeundae Beach

The aquarium was packed and hot, so we spent the first hour or so gradually shedding layers as we oohed and ahhed over the fish, penguin, and otter displays. Sophie was overdue for a nap, overheated, and overstimulated by the crowds of people, but she did fairly well. I was able to take a break and nurse her in the relatively quiet nursing room, which helped her to recharge and face the afternoon. After our break she seemed more interested in watching the fish in the main tank for a short time.

It's an amazing world, little snork!

By 2:00 we were starving, and there was still no sign of our friends in the tank. So we bowed out and went to get some lunch at the Fuzzy Navel, a Mexican restaurant and bar where we ate burritos and Sophie got admired and photographed by the wait staff.

Hooray for Mexican food!

To finish off the day, we decided to try going to Costco to pick up some goodies that we can't find in Geoje. It was a big mistake to go to Costco on the Sunday afternoon before Lunar New Year, but we soldiered on. The parking lot and the store were packed! Amusing sights included a woman with a shopping cart full of 5-kilo bags of sugar and families huddled around their shopping carts eating lunches spread out atop their purchases.

By the time we got home, Sophie was punchy from exhaustion. She ate some carrots and potatoes, had a very giggly, squealy bath, and passed out for a seven-hour stretch. She was a trooper for her first trip to Busan on the new bridge!

Moms & Tots

2011-01-28T15:10:00.004+09:00

This morning the Deokpo Beach ladies and our babies ventured out for a get-together with a few other moms and young ones. I get together with Sojung and with another ABS wife Sa'a, from Nigeria, fairly often since they both live in our apartment building. But I think we all enjoyed getting out and visiting our new friend Aksana and meeting her daughter, as well as two other women and their sons. Among the moms we had two Koreans, one American, one Nigerian, one Brazilian, and one Uzbeki. (There are even more nationalities represented if you add the dads into the mix!) I love that Sophie is being exposed to so many languages. She won't hear enough to become bilingual, but the exposure to so many different sounds and inflections has got to be good for her future language-learning exploits! The kids ranged in age from four to fifteen months, with four girls and two boys. The adults enjoyed tea and cakes and fruit while the children enjoyed wreaking havoc on the poor hosting baby's toys.

It was interesting to see how much more interactive the older babies were. Anna-Lynn, who is four months old, looked at everyone else with interest and obviously enjoyed the crowd, but is still pretty immobile. Sophie and Amah, at about seven and nine months, were interested in touching other babies, although I'm not sure that Sophie realizes they are people and not toys. The thirteen-month-old and the two fifteen-month-olds recognized each other and the younger babies as competition for toys and attention. I can't wait to see Sophie's social and physical abilities blossom in just the next few months.

Speaking of blossoming, Sophie is becoming a real personality now. She smiles lots and lots and buries her face in my chest shyly. She reaches for me, especially in the bath when she knows that her nighttime nursing session is coming. She looks at me with mild concern if I make a grumpy comment about something. She babbles and squeals all the time.

She's developed a painful habit of pinching at my neck and chin while nursing, and she likes to explore my lips, teeth, and gums with her probing little fingers. She loves feeding herself bits of soft fruits and veggies, especially banana, broccoli, potato, and avocado.

She is clearly interested in crawling and continually swings her legs behind her when sitting, although she hasn't quite figured out what to do next or how to get onto her hands and knees.

I want to crawl!

She giggles uncontrollably when Daddy tickles her.

She had three nights this week where she slept for two good, long stretches overnight and only woke up once, and she will regularly relax enough to fall asleep in the car or stroller. Our little girl is growing up and becoming more of a delight every day.

Oyster Oops

2011-01-16T20:33:00.003+09:00

We had a wonderful dinner with our friends Matt and Sojung and their daughter Anna-Lynn on Thursday night. The six of us went down into Deokpo Beach to get oysters at a little seaside restaurant there. It was definitely a no-frills kind of place, but it is oyster season now, and the oysters were fresh and delicious. We had an order of raw oysters and one order of oysters steamed in their shells on a hot grill. We ate them with a little hot sauce, some garlic, and lettuce leaves or seaweed to wrap them up. Then we had a little warm, salty rice porridge, which Sophie got to try as well, much to her delight.

Matt, Sojung, and a hapless oyster

We were thrilled that we had gotten a chance to try one of the local restaurants, and we really enjoyed spending time with our neighbors, especially since they have a three-month-old and therefore know exactly what we are going through! The oops part didn't become apparent until Saturday, when Ellen awoke with a case of the infamous "gurgly guts" that plague us every so often here in Korea, usually in conjunction with raw seafood. Ugh. Thank goodness it was a Saturday, and Daddy was here to take Sophie for an epic three-hour long walk/nap in the freezing cold weather. We look forward to more dinners with our friends, but perhaps with less raw seafood.

Swimming with Sophie

2011-01-16T20:04:00.003+09:00

Today Keegan and I dragged our sleep-deprived family (don't even ask about the sleep issues we've been having around here) to the Hotel Art to go to the swimming pool. I was a little nervous about getting Sophie and myself all changed and showered and ready for swimming, but I needn't have been. From the moment I entered the locker room, Sophie had a devoted fan club of young Korean girls, and as soon as she and I went into the shower room, a fellow bather snatched Sophie away from me and held her while I rinsed off and put my bathing suit on. Normally I am not a big fan of how grabby and touchy Korean women are with the baby, but I have to admit it was a huge help to have someone hold her while I showered.

The pool is actually quite nice - it's the one that I used to swim at very often before and during my pregnancy. I had never been in the kiddie pools before, but they are very large. There is a very shallow baby pool, about 20 inches deep, and a medium-depth pool for older kids that is probably about three feet. Sophie was a champ and enjoyed splashing around and laughing at me as I swam up to her and kissed her and then swam away. She even put her head under for a brief moment and seemed mostly unfazed, although she did sneeze, and we think she might have gotten a bit of water up her nose. She stayed in quite happily until we noticed that her lips were blue and decided to take her out! I can't believe she would have been that cold and not complained about it, but I think she just loves the water.

At the pool with Daddy - a little foggy so we didn't get many pictures.

Back in the shower room, no shortage of Korean ladies were there to help out with Sophie while I washed my hair and got undressed, and then even asked whether I needed help giving Sophie a bath. In the locker room, a woman entertained Sophie the whole time that I was getting her dressed, which was very kind since I think Sophie would have been a lot more fussy without her help. Then she showed Sophie little games on her iPhone while I dried my hair. I really was impressed with how much help we got. It was a good reminder of some of the nice things about being in Korea, especially since I spend so much time complaining about how pushy Korean women are with the baby.

Happy 2011

2011-01-06T17:21:00.004+09:00

Another new year, another resolution to write in my blog more often. Here I am! Or I should say here we are since I am rarely without Sophie these days. She is sleeping at my breast as I type.

Since I love year-end top ten lists (a trait I apparently don't share with my dear husband), I thought I'd share a couple from Plaskon Family life at this change from 2010 to 2011:

Top Ten Changes in the Plaskon Family in 2010

10. Chili and Pepper are 730 meals worth of kibble more fat and proportionally more lazy.
9. Keegan managed to rope in another avid homebrew enthusiast - you have no idea how happy you've made him, Nathan!
8. Ellen visited Central America for the first time. (This was fun for Keegan, too, if not such a milestone for that world traveler). Thanks for being such a good host in Costa Rica, Solson.
7. Ellen gained and lost more weight than she ever has in one year.
6. Ellen has become an expert on parenting and breastfeeding books (although, strangely, not an expert on parenting or breastfeeding. Hmmm.)
5. Keegan delivered his first ship as project manager. Ok, that was Jan. 3, but most of the sweat happened in 2010!
4. Keegan is now a senior surveyor with ABS.
3. Ellen's father is retired and pretty darn happy about it.
2. Ellen no longer has any single bridesmaids from her wedding party - congrats Jamie, Colin, Ginny, and Nick!
1. We became more than a couple and started a family!! Welcome Sophia Joy.

Top Ten Things to Look Forward to in 2011

10. The ugliness and vitriol bound to characterize the 2012 presidential election is still a year away.
9. A trip home for the whole family in May!
8. Track and Field World championships in Daegu, Korea in August!
7. Buying a jogging stroller and getting back out there!
6. Sophie learning to sleep through the night (please, merciful God!)
5. Celebrating Sophie's first birthday in July.
4. Watching Sophie's first steps and hearing her first words.
3. The end of Keegan's hellacious and time-consuming project at work in October.
2. Welcoming Jamie and Colin's little girl to the world in March.
1. Watching our little girl grow and change and smile and laugh and explore every single day.

Back in Korea

2010-12-19T07:23:00.003+09:00

Well, so much for my goal of writing once a week this year. That lasted for a few months, anyway, but I'm not even close to 52 entries for the year. It would help if I had any time to type with two hands these days, but I'm usually holding a baby with one hand. This morning Keegan and I both got up really early because the baby is asleep and we were so anxious to have some time to ourselves!

It's been a good week for Sophie. She and I have readjusted to Korean time and are in a good routine. Sophie has blossomed in the past few weeks into such a big girl! Her sitting ability has improved by leaps and bounds even over the past several days, and she is now basically sitting unsupported, although she does occasionally topple and bonk her head and howl. She now likes to sit up in the bathtub, which makes Mommy really nervous since she's still a little wobbly.

Sitting in the tub, with a mohawk no less.

She's also started making raspberry sounds and an occasional "b." It's so funny hearing her make those new noises.

Less tangibly, she seems to be more interested in the world around her. The other day I put her in the Moby wrap and did some chores around the house, and she watched quietly and intently the whole time. The funniest part was when I swept the floor. As I swept on one side, she would turn her head to see the broom, and then when I switched hands she would swivel around to see the other side. Nothing gets past Sophie! Keegan wants me to add that Sophie is "super grabby, like an octopus." It's true! She wants to get her hands on anything that Mommy and Daddy are interested in, including food, silverware, magazines, or anything within her reach when we're carrying her like hair, earrings, glasses, ears, etc.

We've enjoyed seeing some of the changes to Geoje that took place while we were gone. The biggest is that the bridge-tunnel to Busan officially opened on Tuesday. The bridge and the associated highway on northern Geoje have made a big difference to us. We can get right on the highway across the street from our apartment building and zip right past Okpo on our way to the shipyard or to Home Plus. It cuts about ten minutes off the drive, which is wonderful for Keegan since he drives that way every single day. It also cuts about an hour off of driving time to Busan, depending on traffic. Sophie and I tried out the new road on the way to Home Plus on Tuesday and enjoyed it very much. On Wednesday, we went out for a walk in the afternoon and discovered a new coffee shop down by the beach in Deokpo. My friend Mijung was having coffee there and invited us in to join her. It was a pleasant surprise to have coffee with a friend and to find this nice little coffee shop a two-minute walk from the house! On Thursday, our neighbor Sojung came over with her two-month-old Anna-Lynn, who has grown so much! She enjoyed trying out some of Sophie's toys and Sophie enjoyed grabbing at her with her octopus-like appendages.

Sophie eyeing Anna-Lynn's wrist rattle enviously.

Friday we went out for coffee with Sandra and Leandra and Leandra's family visiting from Brazil. Saturday morning we got to visit our Ukrainian friends Daniel and Marina and their two kids, Eli and Mia. Mia is just three weeks old now, and Eli is almost two. It was amazing to see how tiny Mia is and to think about what Sophie will look like and be like when she is two. Eli learned the English words for construction equipment during the construction of the highway near our apartment, and he spent much of the visit trying valiantly to spit out "bulldozer." Daniel and Marina seemed calm and confident and relaxed considering that they had just doubled their number of offspring.

That's about the shape of our week so far. We've been keeping busy! Today we plan to take a trip to Home Plus to buy some baby-proofing supplies, since Sophie seems to be on the cusp of at least a limited amount of mobility.

Sophie Update

2010-10-20T13:10:00.002+09:00

I just finished writing an e-mail to my parents about their granddaughter and thought it would be good to share with the rest of the world:

Sitting here trying to catch up on e-mail while Sophie sleeps. Earlier this week I was despairing that I couldn't get her to take any naps and then the past few days she has gone down between 10 and 11 and slept for almost three hours! It's really nice to have the free time during the day. It's hard to entertain a baby all day when there aren't long breaks for sleep!

We are having a busy week this week. Yesterday we went to visit the wife of one of Keegan's co-workers, who lives in our building with her five-month-old daughter. Anyway, today is Sophie's second photo session at the photo studio, and tomorrow we are going to have coffee with friends in the afternoon. On Saturday we'll go to the ABS company picnic for a while in the afternoon, and on Sunday my friend Alana is having a first birthday party for her son. I am really looking forward to that! Poor Sophie will be exhausted by the end of the weekend! We've started using Mondays as a day to relax and get back on schedule after having Daddy home all weekend.

Sophie is developing like crazy. She is getting better and better with her hands and isn't happy unless she's grabbing something or chewing on her hands. She is also wiggling around during floor time like crazy, and yesterday she ALMOST rolled all the way from back to front. She is a pro at rolling onto her side from her back. Also yesterday she started really trying to sit up more when I had her reclined on my bent legs, so I think she is starting to work on the first step toward real sitting. She is such a curious girl! Laura said she has great head control, so I have started wearing her in various baby carriers facing forward, and she LOVES it. She's doing pretty well in the stroller for short walks in the evenings. She has interacted with the cats a few times - she is much more interested in them now that her vision is a little better. She has gently patted the cats with her little hands, and the cats have shown remarkable forbearance with her flailing arms and legs. Speaking of flailing limbs, Sophie also LOVES bath time. She has learned how to splash by kicking her legs, and she finds that delightful. She just smiles and smiles the whole time she is in the tub. She's not all that happy with getting dressed afterward, though. Can't say that I blame her - it's always cold making that transition. Yuck.

So that's the quick and dirty update on our little girl. She amazes me every day.

Sophie's First Day at the Beach!

2010-09-19T22:25:00.005+09:00

This morning we took Sophie to the beach for the first time. We hung out in a tent on the beach to keep everyone out of the sun, and we briefly dipped Sophie's feet and legs into the ocean. We also took a nice walk up and down the beach. Sophie seemed to enjoy the water more than I thought she would. The car ride maybe not so much....but we'll keep working on that. When we got home, she had completely worn herself out and took a three-hour nap. Here is a photo of Sophie and her Dad on the beach:

The Cats and the Baby

2010-09-18T14:44:00.002+09:00

A lot of people ask us how the cats have reacted to having a new member of the family. They have done great! The first day that we brought Sophie home from the hospital, I sat with her on the couch, and Pepper approached to sniff her head. He sniffed her little hairy melon very, very intently and then his tail bushed out and he jumped off the couch in a hurry. Who knows what he thought! Since then, both cats have tentatively approached Sophie to sniff her many times, but they have not really interacted with her much. She doesn't seem to pay much attention to them, and they, though wary of her flailing limbs during play time, don't pay much attention to her.

Sophie's paraphernalia, however, is a different story. Both cats have thoroughly explored many of Sophie's toys and blankets, and they love to sleep in the drawer underneath her crib. Unfortunately, this means that most of the "clean" blankets and bedding I keep there will need to be washed before I use them because they are covered in cat hair. But our pampered felines love sleeping in the little cave formed by the bed skirt, and it's harmless enough. Keegan likes to joke that Sophie will grow up with real monsters under her bed. Monsters that are always hungry!

Of course, the cats suffered a bit at first from the disruption of their usual routine and especially because they are necessarily getting less attention now. They are very clingy at night, when we leave our door open so that we can hear the baby. And sometimes we want to kill them because they yowl at us for attention while we are trying to rock the baby to sleep. Chili has overcome her wariness of Keegan and begs him shamelessly for all-over body rubs whenever she has the chance. Both cats have developed the annoying habit of leaping onto the back of our office chair while I am sitting in it and nursing, and they make me feel like the chair is going to tip over (it isn't). But overall, I think everyone is adjusting quite well. To sum up, here's a video of Pepper enjoying a perk of living with a new baby:

Through the Early Parenthood Wringer - But Still Alive!

2010-09-06T15:26:00.001+09:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything on the blog! Most of the time I spend in front of the computer these days is while I'm nursing Sophie, so I only have one hand to type with. Now she's taking a nap, so I have a few minutes to type with two hands and let you all know how things are going!

Another reason it's been hard for me to update the blog is because I haven't been sure what to say. I want to be able to post about how rosy and beautiful it is to have become a parent, but I also want to be honest about our experience. There have been rosy and beautiful moments, yes, but for the first two months a lot more dark, scary, or just plain frustrating moments. The combination of my type-A personality, crazy hormonal changes, a "high-need" baby, and the myriad inconveniences of being a foreigner in Korea have made the past two months or so a very, very difficult time for Keegan and I. I hope it's been a comfortable and happy time for Sophie, though!

When I think about how Sophie has changed in the past two months, I keep thinking that the biggest changes have been not in our little one but in us. We've had to learn that we are not in control of our days anymore! While I sit and nurse Sophie, I think about my plans for the next stretch of time between feedings. I think things like "Well, she looks sleepy. I'll put her down for a nap and then clean the kitchen." And then she finishes eating, pops her eyes open, and grins at me mischievously, and I know that I'll be carrying her or playing with her or going for a walk rather than doing any housework. I had lots of ideas about how to calm a baby or how she should sleep that just don't work for our child. It drives me crazy that she doesn't like to be worn in the sling around the house and that she doesn't sleep well in her bassinet, but it's not up to me. I have had to learn that she sleeps well in her swing and that she likes to sit in a seat and watch me rather than be worn around the house. There are times when she refuses to breastfeed because we have waited to long to get situated, and there is nothing I can do until I've calmed her down, even though I know that she'd feel much better if she'd just close her screaming mouth and start drinking. I guess this is all part of learning that our child, while dependent on us for everything she needs, has a mind of her own and can't be forced into our preconceived ideas of what babies want and need.

Anyway, things are slowly but surely getting easier. It's easier to tell when Sophie is tired and wants to sleep for a bit and easier to tell when she is hungry. She cries a lot less and "talks" and smiles a lot more. When she is hungry, she has a funny, insistent sing-songy screech. It's the warning that we need to start getting things in place for the feeding. When she is tired, she will scream and refuse to eat until she is swaddled and comfortable. Now that she is less likely to have a screaming fit, I am getting more confident about taking her out in public. I am even thinking about meeting some friends for lunch at a restaurant this Wednesday - wish us luck!

Here's a short video from a recent bedtime bath:

My Birth Story

2010-07-21T16:21:00.002+09:00

It's hard to believe that Sophia Joy is already 18 days old! She was born on July 3 at 1:37 p.m., weighing 3.82 kilograms and measuring 50 centimeters long. Here is the story of her birth:

On Friday, July 2, Keegan and I went to our 40-week prenatal visit. The doctor did an ultrasound and estimated the baby’s weight at nearly four kilograms. She had not “dropped” lower into my pelvis, and I hadn’t been experiencing any Braxton-Hicks contractions. The doctor was eager to induce labor because of the baby’s size, but Keegan and I requested one more week to wait for the baby to come on her own. Everyone was on edge about whether she would make her appearance before induction became necessary! Keegan and I went out to eat after the appointment at our favorite Chinese restaurant, and we saw two of the maternity clinic nurses there. Then we came home and fell asleep exhausted. The last thing we expected was that our baby would be born the next day!

On Saturday morning, I woke up around 2:30 a.m. to go to the bathroom and then had trouble getting back to sleep. Eventually, I got up and went into the guest room to read for a while. While I was up, I went to the bathroom again and noticed that I was bleeding very slightly. I thought that might be a sign that something was happening, but I wasn't sure. At around 5:15 I was still feeling awake but decided to go back to bed. Oddly, Keegan was awake also, and we started chatting. He was spooning me and my huge belly when suddenly we both felt a “pop” somewhere inside me. We both startled and wondered what it was – it didn’t feel like a normal baby kick or punch. Shortly afterward I got up to go to the bathroom and saw what I thought must be my "bloody show." Now I was certain that something was happening, but I wasn’t sure that labor was beginning. Still, Keegan and I got up and decided to have some breakfast. He made ratatouille omelets, while I frantically consulted my pregnancy books about what the bloody show should look like.

As we ate, I began to feel some pain in my back, like lower back achiness. It was mild, but it was coming on and then fading again at regular intervals. I was sure it was labor and that I was feeling it in my back because the baby was turned sideways in the uterus instead of face-down. Keegan started a log sheet for when the contractions started. They were coming about three minutes apart but were very mild. I didn’t have to stop what I was doing at all when I felt one, just putting my hands on my back and rubbing a little bit felt good. We puttered around the house for a while, getting together some last minute items for the hospital, doing dishes, and making sure the cats were fed. During this time, I had to go to the bathroom often, and each time a lot of fluid was coming out. I wondered if my water had broken and it was amniotic fluid. Hard to say, since it was a totally new experience. Finally, I decided it was time to call Dr. Lee, which I did around 7:30 a.m. He told me to come in to the clinic. We arrived there around 8 a.m.

The third floor of the clinic is the labor, delivery, and recovery floor. We made our way to the front desk where I sat on a couch while Keegan gamely tried to communicate with the nurses to get the necessary paperwork filled out. The nurses were very upset because they told us that we needed 40 “baby pads” (i.e. diapers) for the baby. Well, I had brought a few diapers, but not very many because I assumed they would be provided by the hospital. Why didn’t they tell us beforehand what we needed to bring? Minorly annoyed, I was led back into a labor room where I was asked to change into a hospital gown and lie down for fetal monitoring. As soon as I lay down, I noticed that my regular back contractions felt less regular and less painful. I was a little nervous about that and about the fact that Keegan wasn’t with me. While I lay on the bed with the monitoring machine, another woman came in to lie on the bed next to mine. I found out later that her baby was breech, and she was preparing for a c-section. With nothing else to do, I watched as she was shaved and given an enema. I was glad to avoid both of those procedures. At last, Dr. Lee came in to give me an internal exam. He told me that my water had broken and that I was about two centimeters dilated. He expressed concern that the contractions recorded on the fetal monitor were mild and irregular and told me that he wanted to augment my labor with oxytocin because my water had broken and the longer you wait after your water breaks, the greater the chance of infection. I told him that we really, really wanted to avoid oxytocin, and he asked me what time my water broke. I told him. He said that he felt he could give me four hours after my water broke for my labor to kick in strongly and that he would check me again one hour later, after performing a cesarean at 9:30.

After that, I was moved to a recovery room to wait and get my labor moving. Keegan came in to join me, and we got down to business with all of our natural birth techniques. I put my iPod on a portable stereo and turned on my birth playlist (lots of Simon and Garfunkel, with some Belle and Sebastian and other quiet favorites). I read up on good positions for back labor and spent all of my time walking to encourage the baby to drop lower. My contractions began to get stronger, so I asked Keegan to rub my back during them, while I got down on my knees and leaned on the bed. Keegan’s firm touch helped a lot with the pain. Besides being more intense, the contractions were coming every two to three minutes, so I was sure we were making progress.

We were moved to the VIP room (the largest, private recovery room) at a little before 9:30. Soon after, a nurse came in to start an IV with antibiotics, to ward off any infection because my water had already broken. The IV wasn’t that bad, but it did make it harder to walk around, especially since the pole kept running into the chandeliers in the overly-decorated VIP room. Next, I was asked to lie on my back again for the fetal monitoring. Without the constant motion of walking and the aid of gravity, my contractions once again slowed up, although they were now quite uncomfortable since I didn’t have the ability to move or have Keegan rub my back during them. Dr. Lee looked at the results of the monitoring and told me that my contractions were not any stronger. I told him that they had been getting more intense and that they were closer together, but he didn’t seem to give much credence to anything but the results of the monitoring. The pelvic exam revealed that I was still two centimeters dilated, although I was 80% effaced. Dr. Lee insisted that we start an oxytocin drip in my IV. I was both terrified, because I had heard that contractions are much stronger on oxytocin and disappointed, because I had really hoped to avoid any drugs during delivery. But I was in Dr. Lee’s care, and I had stated my case, so we agreed to the next step.

We moved yet again to another labor room where a nurse started the oxytocin at a very low level in my IV bag. Keegan gave me a hug, and I cried a little bit, and then we got on with the business of labor. I continued to pace around the room and tow my IV pole around. The contractions were getting really painful. I tried hugging Keegan, hanging onto his hands, and leaning over a table, but eventually we figured out that the best position was to get on my knees on the bed and hang onto the elevated headboard while moving my hips around. I started groaning and yelling about the pain, while Keegan faithfully rubbed my back and offered words of encouragement. During this stage, I felt very alone because we didn’t see any doctors or nurses, and I was anxious to know where I was in the process. I felt a desperate need to know how much longer I would be in this much pain. A nurse came in to up my dose of oxytocin, and I felt scared that they were raising the dose without checking how the first amount was affecting me. At one point, I felt like I might throw up, and I asked Keegan to grab a small plastic basin that I had seen in the bathroom in case I needed it. When a few nurses finally came in, they were very concerned about why the basin was on the bed instead of in the bathroom, and they were upset because the way I was hanging onto the bed during contractions was pulling on my IV tube. I couldn’t understand why anyone would be concerned with such mundane things when such huge pains were washing over me at such regular intervals!

At last, a nurse came in with a fetal monitor. By now, lying on my back was pure agony – it’s probably the worst thing you can do when you’re having back labor. I was gripping Keegan’s hands for all I was worth and yelling to beat the band. The nurse did another internal exam and told me that I was six centimeters dilated. I felt so disappointed: so much pain and still four centimeters to go! I started asking whether it was still possible to get an epidural. The nurses said they would consult the anesthesiologist. Meanwhile, I was able to get back into my more comfortable position on my hands and knees. I immediately felt better, although the contractions were coming closer together than ever. I really wanted a drink of water, but by the time I could get myself together after a contraction to ask Keegan for it, the next contraction was on me. All I could think about was that I would get some drugs and then I would have a break and could drink something. I just needed that mental encouragement that the pain was going to stop.

The next part of the experience is a bit blurry for me because I think I was in “transition,” which is the most difficult stage of labor for most women. I know Dr. Lee came in and told me that an epidural was not recommended for back labor. He offered a narcotic injection (Demerol) to take the edge off the pain. I agreed. Very shortly after receiving the injection in my butt, I started feeling the urge to push. For a long time, I thought what I felt was the urge to go to the bathroom, but finally I realized that I needed to push the baby out! Pushing was such a relief! I could almost immediately feel a burning sensation, and I knew that meant the baby was moving into the birth canal. I was so happy and excited. Nurses started coming into the room to encourage me to breathe deeply and push. They wanted me to lie in a semi-sitting position and pull my legs back along my hips, like a frog. One nurse even sat on the bed with me, put the soles of her feet against mine, and helped me to push against her. I liked that a lot and wished she had stayed longer. One poor nurse had to catheterize me briefly to remove the urine I had in my bladder – she definitely got yelled at, because I was afraid of how much it would hurt. The catheter did sting a little, but it wasn’t as bad as I thought.

When some of the hubbub died down, Keegan and I tried pushing while squatting. It did feel good, but it was hard for me to move back into the reclining position to rest between contractions. I was scared of moving because I could feel the baby was in a new position, and it just felt funny, like if I laid the wrong way, I could squish her somehow.

Finally, the nurses told me that after two more pushes they would take me to the delivery room. They brought in a wheelchair for me. I was petrified of getting off the bed and sitting on the chair, but I managed. They wheeled me across the hall, and I climbed gingerly onto the delivery table. I put my legs into the stirrups, and they strapped my legs down around the knees, which made me nervous because I had gotten used to pushing with my legs bent a lot more. I asked Dr. Lee if I could change positions, but he asked me to try it like this first, and it really wasn’t so bad. The nurses put these huge surgical drape booties over my feet – they went all the way up to my thighs. There were four or five nurses in the delivery room, with Dr. Lee in the place of honor. The nurse who usually assists Dr. Lee and who helped me at all of my prenatal visits was at my head encouraging me. I was so happy to be so close to delivering the baby. I noticed that the ceiling of the delivery room was painted blue with clouds, which I thought was a nice, calming touch. Every time I had a contraction, the nurses and Dr. Lee told me to push for a good long time. I felt like they were my cheering squad at the end of a race.

After a few minutes, Keegan came into the room wearing scrubs. Much hilarity ensued as one of the nurses tried to help Keegan get a sticky latex glove on over his sweaty palms. It took several tries, and lightened the mood a bit until my next contraction started. Dr. Lee told me that the baby’s head was large, and he wanted to perform an episiotomy. I told him to do whatever he thought was necessary to get the baby out – at that point, all I wanted was to reach the finish line and see my baby girl! After the cuts were made, everyone told me to give one last, strong push, and I gave it my all. I could hear Sophie crying, I felt a painful sting as her shoulders came out, and suddenly I could see a little human, upside-down, blue-gray, and covered in poop. The pushing part of the labor and the emergence of my baby girl was the most amazing, exhilarating thing I have ever seen. I couldn’t believe that I had done it or that this tiny bluish, bloody creature was the girl who had been poking and prodding me from inside for all these months.

After the birth, the placenta came out without any trouble, and then Dr. Lee spent what seemed like an eternity stitching me up. I was cranky because I just wanted to see and hold my baby. Keegan got some pictures of the nurses weighing her and stamping her footprints into my pregnancy diary. They did bring her over to lie next to me on the delivery table for a moment, but I didn’t get to hold her until a bit later. It’s traditional for babies born in the Korean hospital to sit in an incubator for four hours after birth, so it was quite a push for us to do something different. We succeeded in negotiating a fifteen-minute session with her before she was taken away. I was able to introduce Sophie to the breast, and she did latch on and start suckling for a little bit, so we were very happy about that. After only a couple hours and several requests, Sophie was out of the incubator, washed up, and back in our arms. We spent both days in the hospital rooming in with our girl, and I think it was the best decision we made – we had a head start in caring for our baby before we left the relative safety of the hospital. Of course, we had no idea that the challenges of parenting were just beginning….but that’s a whole new story.

Fun Weekend

2010-06-29T12:12:00.002+09:00

Still waiting on Baby. I have been spending way too much time hanging around brooding about when she will come, so it was a welcome relief this weekend to have our friends Nathan and Eliza visit from Mokpo (on the west coast of Korea) and distract me. On Friday night, we went to a crab restaurant with Keegan's co-worker Fred. He had invited lots of his friends out for a crab dinner because his parents were in town for a brief visit. The crab was really delicious, and it was fun to see everyone. We met up with Nate and Eliza after dinner for ice cream and then headed downstairs to play poker with some Deokpo neighbors. Eliza and I wanted to participate in the proceedings but weren't sure how the guys would feel about Team Pregnant Lady. Fortunately, they were very accommodating. We actually made a good team since Eliza's willingness to gamble nicely balances out my aversion to risk-taking. Next time, though, I doubt they'll let us beginners play together. It was a late night, but I still had trouble falling asleep, and we all slept in late on Saturday morning.

Considering how late we woke up on Saturday, we managed to cram a surprising amount into the day. After a big breakfast, I somehow succeeded in convincing everyone to join me in the pouring rain for my doctor-mandated daily walk. It was actually a beautiful day in the valley where I usually walk because the rice paddies are so green and lush, and the mountains were misty. But we did get very wet! By the time we finished our walk, we were all starving, so we started on a mammoth egg salad for sandwiches, and I made some banana bread while we were boiling the eggs. We all wanted to take naps after lunch, but instead we almost immediately started thinking about dinner. Eliza made a big vegetarian shepherd's pie (with lentils instead of meat - yum!), and the guys huddled over the grill in the rain barbecuing pork ribs. By the time all this was finished, it was nearly 10 p.m.! That worked out well for everyone, though, because the Korea - Uruguay world cup game started at 11. I was totally zonked and decided to go to bed instead.

On Sunday, we were lucky enough to have our friends stay with us for the whole day. We spent some time with the Ryan family, who are going to take care of Nate and Eliza's beloved dog while they are in the U.S. next month. The guys decided to spend the afternoon brewing beer at Joe's apartment, and Eliza and I spent the afternoon in town having lunch and coffee. Then we came home for a pizza dinner and and early bedtime. It was such a relaxing weekend, clearly full of food and also good conversation. I just wish that our friends lived closer to us than 3 1/2 hours away!

Prenatal Yoga

2010-06-16T09:31:00.002+09:00

One of my new activities these days is attending prenatal yoga classes at the maternity clinic. We meet twice a week on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, and it's been an interesting experience. I am the only foreigner in the class, which is, of course, conducted in Korean, so it is a good chance for me to practice my Korean listening skills and get familiar with body-part vocabulary. I've learned the words for ankle and thigh and to recognize the words for inhale and exhale, as well as getting lots of practice with left and right! I also have learned how to ask when someone's baby is due and to say that "The baby is moving." Still, it is definitely a challenge to communicate with the other students in the class, and it's sometimes frustrating not to be able to join in conversations about pregnancy and impending parenthood.

The class is held on the third floor of the clinic, in the postpartum care center. The center is a place for new moms to stay for a little extra time (up to two weeks) after their babies are born. The babies can stay in the nursery, and the moms can take classes on breastfeeding, infant massage, and postnatal yoga. I think it's nice that there is this option for new mothers to get some support, especially if their families are not nearby to help out during the first weeks of motherhood. I have heard that it is a pretty expensive option, though. The rooms are kept very warm, which I have heard is common practice for households with new babies, although it makes things a bit uncomfortable for our yoga class. We sweat up a storm, even though we are mostly only doing gentle stretching. All of the moms in the postpartum care center wear matching flannel flowered pajamas that are very pretty, but I can imagine that they are sweating up a storm, too. Because the postpartum center nursery adjoins the yoga room, we can often hear the babies crying, and sometimes the shade on the nursery window is up and we can look at the adorable Korean newborns.

The class always begins with us doing some stretches while we sit cross-legged on the floor, and then progresses to more difficult exercises with our legs outstretched or lying on our backs. There is a lot of giggling amongst the class as we try to bend our bodies into various poses while our enormous bellies get in the way. A few times, we have been asked to partner up, much to the mortification of whoever is partnered with me. Although most of the girls are shy about talking to me, as I am shy about talking to them, they are all friendly and smile when we inevitably meet in the bathroom downstairs after the class. At the end of each class, a nurse brings out a box full of chilled apple juice boxed drinks, which I look forward to like crazy while I sweat away in the hot classroom. I plan to continue going to yoga class until the baby comes. Who knows? Maybe I'll run into some of my classmates on the other side of the third floor, in the delivery and recovery area.

Latest Photos

2010-06-11T12:04:00.003+09:00

Thought you all might enjoy a few photos of recent events:

A few of the baby shower guests: Sandra (thanks for organizing things!), Jennie, Ellen, Mina, Kayoko, and Joy. Leandra is behind the camera.

Proud mama-to-be at 37 weeks.

Baby Fair and Baby Shower

2010-06-09T16:18:00.002+09:00

Baby, baby, baby. It's difficult to imagine that I will be even more obsessed with Baby when she finally arrives in three weeks or so. Seems like all of our activities these days are somehow related to pregnancy and the upcoming birth!

This past weekend Keegan and I met our friends Nathan and Eliza in Busan to attend a Baby Fair at the convention center there. We met them at the Lotte Hotel around 10 and took the subway to the fair. Once we got inside, we were quickly overwhelmed with the sheer variety and number of baby-related products being peddled. Nate and Eliza were interested in car seats and strollers, and Keegan and I found ourselves drawn to the toy and book booths. We did pick out a few English language books, including our new favorite, William Steig's The Amazing Bone. We oohed and ahhed over some very fun and unusual wooden toys, and both couples bought plastic baby bathtubs, which are a bit bulky to ship from the U.S. There were definitely some items at the fair that were different from what we'd expect to find at a similar event in the U.S. For one thing, many of the book booths were very focused on English language learning and advertised expensive packages containing scads of books and CDs to help children learn English. Our daughter is certainly lucky to be growing up in a household with two native English speakers! We also saw some Korean-style cribs meant for keeping baby comfortable on the floor. They were like giant, cushioned pens, with soft padded bottoms and walls. I thought that they looked like a good bed for me to sleep in as long as I curled my legs up. They were like cozy nests. Does their appeal for me mean that I am "nesting"?

After we finished up at the baby fair, we took a quick break at the hotel and then headed back out for dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant, Cine de Chef at the Shinsegae shopping mall. Everyone had a great time choosing something to order from the impressive menu, and it was fun to relax with friends at a classy restaurant. The only slightly odd touch was the ABBA video playing on the big screen over the bar. Why is ABBA so popular in Korea?

On Sunday, Keegan and I headed back to Costco, where we found a few more baby items and stocked up on salmon fillets, which are our new favorite dinner staple. We also got a ginormous beach towel to go with our beach chairs from last time, so we had better have good beach-y weather this weekend!

In other baby-related news, today I had a baby shower with my friends here in Korea. Several invitees were not feeling well and couldn't come, which made me sad, but it was wonderful to see everyone who could be there and to sample all the delicious foods that everyone brought. I have been pestering my friend Joy for weeks to make her world-class potato salad, so I was happy to enjoy it at last this afternoon, along with lots of sweets, and an amazing tomato-cheese quiche. My Korean teacher/friend Jennie made some amazing kim-bap (Korean-style sushi). Everyone was so generous and picked out adorable clothes for Baby, including a bunch of Korean kimono type shirts that are apparently all the rage these days. Baby was kicking a lot while I opened my gifts, and I surmised that she wanted out to try on all her adorable new outfits! Only three more weeks to go, unless she decides to show up a bit early...or late.

I am still feeling very well, although I am tired like never before, possibly as a consequence of getting up so often to go to the bathroom at night. I am dreaming like crazy, and even though I can't always remember everything in the morning, I think I am in the middle of a different dream every time I wake up. Not too many of them have been baby related, although I did have one dream in which Laura was teaching me how to breastfeed by demonstration, and I told her "Ok, stop, now I want to do it!" Guess I'm ready for my more experienced friends to pass the torch. Anyway, we have a doctor's appointment tomorrow evening, so I am hoping that Dr. Lee can give me an idea of whether the pre-labor ball has started rolling yet. I know that the baby's arrival is one of the most unpredictable HUGE events I'll ever have to deal with, and it is driving me crazy. Apparently, fatigue and uncertainty make me prone to rambling, so I'll stop there. I hope I'll have more news to report tomorrow after our doctor's visit.

Campaign Season

2010-05-28T20:35:00.002+09:00

Apparently, there will be local elections in Korea on June 2. I think the elections are mostly for city and province-level officials. There has been a growing amount of campaign activity on Geoje for the past few weeks. It started with banners and posters around town featuring the faces of the local candidates, but it's escalated into antics that are much more interesting. For one thing, there are campaign trucks everywhere with huge loudspeakers on them, blasting campaign songs. The songs are pretty catchy, in what I like to call the "Korean polka" genre. Sometimes they feature the name of the candidate, although of course it's hard for me to understand what else they're singing about. The trucks often sit at major intersections in the towns on the island, but they also drive around into the smaller villages like ours. Sometimes, they arrive blaring music at uncivilized hours of the morning. I can't understand how this tactic is supposed to make people think favorably about the candidate in question. My Korean teacher told me that many people call the police to complain that the trucks are disturbing their studying or their babies' sleeping.

Another campaign tactic involves campaign representatives lining up along the roads, again usually at major intersections, wearing sashes and matching t-shirts and dancing or chanting slogans. One particularly memorable display involved a campaign rep wearing a Superman costume, complete with fake muscles and a mask that was a cut-out of the candidate's face. He was posing and flexing his fake muscles for all the stopped cars at the intersection to admire.

I have also seen a few campaign reps out in our neck of the woods with a garbage bag and some metal tongs, apparently out to collect garbage from along the road. Now this is a campaign tactic I could really get behind! There is such a garbage problem here because there are no public trash cans in areas like beaches or parks. If one of the candidates had a plan to improve that situation, I would find that much more convincing than catchy campaign tunes or Superman costumes. Not that I can vote, or evaluate campaign platforms in Korean. But that's my two cents, Geoje candidates!

May Is a Glorious Month!

2010-05-16T14:36:00.003+09:00

The weather here in Geoje has finally begun to warm a little, which is a welcome change. This past week on one of my walks, I saw that the local farmers have begun to plant the rice paddies. I love the orderly rows of bright green sprouts and look forward to the summer months when the rice plants get a bit bigger and everything looks so much prettier. The trees all have their leaves now, and azaleas are in full bloom everywhere. Now that things are nicer outside, more and more of our neighbors can be found out in the grassy area in front of our building, playing with their kids or grilling out with friends. It makes a big difference to me to see the neighbors around and have a chance to chat - it feels much less lonely here. The grill parties are bound to pick up this summer now that Keegan and several of his co-workers have contributed a new grill, fashioned from a 55-gallon oil drum. We tried it out last night, and it was quite a success!

Our friends Mark and Chang Mi show off the result of the grill project. It looks much nicer now with a new coat of black paint, a smokestack, and a handle for the lid, but I don't have an updated picture.

Keegan and I had a really nice weekend together last weekend in Gyeongju, the first capital of a united Korea during the Silla dynasty. It was a cool place. Apparently, they have some kind of crazy architectural code in the area that requires all of the gas stations to be built in the style of traditional houses, with fancy tile roofs. There are tons of temples and historical sites to see, including some large grassy mounds that cover the tombs of kings from the Silla dynasty. There were glorious azaleas everywhere and lots of lanterns at the temples in preparation for Buddha's birthday later this month.

Keegan rings the temple bell at Seogeuram Grotto in Gyeongju.

We had a chance to take lots of pictures, eat some new and different Korean dishes (and some old favorites), and just relax. We stopped at Costco in Busan on the way home and bought two beach chairs to take to the beach this summer. You have no idea how hard such chairs are to find around here and how happy I am to have somewhere to sit at the beach.

I continue to grow bigger and bigger, and so does Baby.

Ellen and the belly at 33 weeks

This week we had another doctor's appointment, and all is well. The baby is estimated to be about 2.2 kilograms (4.85 pounds) now, so she is growing quite a bit. I can feel her all the time and see her little feet pressing out against my belly. I've been doing prenatal yoga at the maternity clinic and have met a whole classful of Korean pregnant women, some of whom are due only a few weeks after me in July. I also have gotten to know a Korean woman who lives in our apartment building and is married to one of Keegan's co-workers. She has been riding to the class with me and sharing her pregnancy stories. She is about 20 weeks along now, and she is also having a girl. It's nice to know some more people who are having babies here.

Keegan is unfortunately in Houston this week for training for work. I drove him to the airport yesterday morning, and this morning he checked in on Skype to let me know that he had arrived safe and sound. He has a whole list of little things to pick up in the U.S. and plans to meet up with a high school friend of his, so I hope he will enjoy his time there. Everyone here has been so sympathetic that he is out of town while I am so pregnant, so I am enjoying the recognition of my plight. Seriously, though, I am doing quite well and looking forward to several evenings of Gray's Anatomy and extra time to work on some projects before the baby comes. The week will go by fast, and I'll be on my way back to Busan to pick Keegan up in no time.

First Birthday Party

2010-05-02T21:09:00.003+09:00

Keegan and I had a new Korean cultural experience today when we went to a first birthday party for the daughter of one of Keegan's co-workers at the shipyard. We were the only foreigners there, so we tried to be on our best behavior and fit in, although of course we didn't. We were the only ones to bring a gift, and we brought a really cute blue sweatsuit because Keegan had thought that the child was a boy. Oops. Fortunately, I don't think blue and pink are so rigidly defined as boy and girl colors in Korea, so maybe we can play that one off.

When we arrived at the banquet hall, they had a table set up outside the door with some adorable photo studio pictures of the little girl, mostly wearing silly hats with ears on them. We are so going to subject our daughter to this type of photography because it will help her to have a connection to her birth country someday when she looks at the embarrassing photos we took of her. Also on the table were a number of little glass cups, each labeled with a different object, such as "pencil," "money," "string," or "golf ball." These cups had to do with a ceremony that is typical at Korean first birthday parties called doljabi. During the ceremony, the baby is given a choice of several different objects, and the one that she picks determines what her future will be. For example, if she picks up the pencil, she will be a scholar. If she chooses the money, she will be wealthy. If she chooses the string, she will have a long life. The cups on the table were chances for the guests to bet on what the baby would pick. Each guest got a ticket and then put his or her numbered ticket stub into the cup labeled with the object he or she wanted to bet on. I chose the pencil, and Keegan bet on the microphone.

Inside the banquet room, there was an elaborate display set up in front of all the tables, featuring a three-layered cake with a swordlike knife hanging over it, huge pink dolphin balloons, and lots of flowers and candles. Each table had a small grill on it, and all the guests helped themselves to the buffet, where we could pick from several kinds of raw meat and seafood to cook on our grills, as well as a lot of side dishes and fruit and salad.

After lunch, an announcer came to the front of the room and introduced Mr. Kim and his wife and little girl. The little girl was adorable and was wearing a really flashy long white dress with all kinds of gold trim on it. The stood at the front of the room and lit a big candle on top of the cake. The candle was shaped like a lotus flower and blazed with quite a large flame. We all sang "Happy Birthday" (in Korean), and then Mr. Kim blew out the candle. Afterwards, Mom and Dad cut the cake together with the huge, swordlike knife, and then the emcee asked someone to get up and give a toast. Well, it turned out that Keegan was the one everyone wanted to say a few words. Talk about a surprise! Fortunately, Keegan handled the situation with his typical grace and charm, and he received a gift of two scented candles for his effort. After a few more toasts, the emcee led the guests in some other little games, which were lost on us, although I think one may have involved guessing the number of teeth the baby had (can one-year-olds have eight teeth already?). Finally it was time for the doljabi ceremony.

The emcee brought out a tray with several objects laid out on it, and guests were invited to contribute some money to lay out for the baby as well. All during the build up to the ceremony the little girl was reaching towards the tray for the objects, and when the big moment came, she picked up the pencil! Afterwards, they asked her to pick a second object (for daddy, I guess), and she chose the golf ball. Since these were precisely the objects her parents had wanted her to pick, Keegan and I suspected that some "training" had gone on before the big day. The whole ceremony was really cute.

As soon as the festivities were over, everyone headed out with characteristic Korean efficiency. We all received a small party favor, which consisted of a pretty glass plate and a pair of chopsticks. I thought it was a very nice party, and I enjoyed seeing a new Korean tradition.

30 Week Update

2010-04-25T14:07:00.002+09:00

I haven't written much about my pregnancy for a while, and 30 weeks seems like a good landmark at which to post some of my impressions and thoughts. Today also happens to be the official seven-month mark!

I'll start with how I've been feeling. I've definitely grown a lot in the past few months, and I really look and feel pregnant. My tremendous weight gain started at 14 weeks and didn't really slow down until about 26 weeks or so, and then it held steady for a few weeks. I was worried, but it looks like the upward trend has begun again this week. As of this morning, I've put on almost 9 kilograms total (just shy of 20 pounds), and I am starting to feel it. I am walking slower (although I don't think I'm waddling yet) and getting tired more easily. Fortunately, though, swimming still feels wonderful. I plan to continue doing that as long as I can still squeeze myself into my maternity swimsuit (not always easy when you are wet and being stared at by a sizable contingent of Korean ladies). Even when I am not walking or swimming, I am sometimes a little short of breath and occasionally have little dizzy spells, but nothing serious or scary. It is much harder to get comfortable on the couch while watching TV (lots of pillows help), but I am happy to report that I've been sleeping like a rock. I'm not as hungry as I was through most of the first and second trimesters, and I tend to fill up fast, especially at dinner time.

The baby is very well-developed at this point and is mostly putting on finishing touches. Her lungs have developed to the point that she might be able to breathe on her own if she was born now, although we don't want to put that to the test. The big work she is doing now is gaining body fat to keep her warm and developing her brain to prepare her to absorb all the new sensory experiences she'll be having in a few months. At our last appointment, Dr. Lee told us that she weighs about 1.5 kilograms (3.3 pounds), which is right on target. She continues to move around a lot, and I am continually surprised at how far up my abdomen I can feel her now. In fact, just this morning I felt her pushing gently (thank goodness) almost right below my ribs on my right side. I haven't noticed any real patterns in the times that she's awake and moving around, although I think I am slightly more likely to feel her in the late afternoon and evening. It seems like she'll spend a few days really kicking and pushing strongly and then a few days where she's more mellow. I wonder if she's turning around to face inside on those days that I can't feel her as well. I've also felt what I think are hiccups, sometimes more than once a day. That's good because it could mean that she's exercising her diaphragm in preparation for breathing.

Mentally, Keegan and I have been focusing a lot on the birth. I am reading everything I can get my hands on about the birthing process, and I'm planning to put together a list of things for Keegan to read too so that he'll know what to expect. We'll be touring the birthing center and asking Dr. Lee a lot of questions at our next appointment next week. I think that talking to him will really help me to be less anxious about the birth because I'll hopefully know more what to expect from the hospital and what their standard procedures are. Now I feel very positive and excited about the birth - I can't wait to meet my baby, and I am excited about facing the physical challenges of labor. My major anxiety is over communicating with the Korean staff at the hospital and about any requests that we have that might be out of the Korean norms (like keeping the baby with us rather than have her go to an incubator for hours and hours after the birth). Like I said, I hope the talk with Dr. Lee next week will help me feel less anxious about those things. It also helps to know that Keegan will be there to back me up.

I think the nursery is pretty well prepared at this point. One of my friends just offered us a high chair, so now there's really nothing left on our baby supply list except for diapers! The nursery is packed full of baby things, and this week I managed to clean out the linen closet and make a tiny bit more space to hang any pretty dresses our little girl acquires. I'll take some more photos and post them once we neaten up a few last odds and ends and get the rest of the pictures we have up on the walls.

That's pretty much the long and short of it. Stay tuned for more adventures and ultrasound pictures!

Highlights from the Trip Home

2010-04-16T16:24:00.005+09:00

Well, we are back from our annual vacation in the U.S. As you can see, I took a little vacation from blogging, too. But, it's back to "work" for me, so I'll try to get back on the once a week schedule again. And first, I'll post a little summary of our trip.

Week 1: I left for the U.S. on March 10. Unfortunately a rogue snow storm caused the cancellation of my morning flight from Busan, so I had to stay overnight and try again the next morning. I am now very familiar with the Busan airport's routines from 5:30 - 7:00 a.m.

Snow on Geoje! As seen from our apartment window. Keegan took this, as I was in the midst of airline hell in Busan.

One of the first things I did when I arrived home was to visit Chrissy (my cousin) and her husband Ryan in Asheville, NC. I have heard such great things about Asheville, and I was curious to see it for myself. It's great! We had a good time eating at all kinds of wonderful restaurants (Mexican! Pizza! Vegetarian!) and taking a trolley tour of the town. Chrissy and I hit a consignment shop, and I picked up all kinds of maternity clothes for summer, as well as an adorable baby bathing suit. Chrissy and Ryan were very understanding of my jet lag and my inability to stay awake if we stayed still for too long in the evenings.

Seeing my parents and Dude and Laura and Jamie and Emily, and meeting Emily's youngest son Jonah, were more highlights of my first week at home.

Week 2: The highlight of my second week at home was my Blessingway in Lynchburg. A Blessingway is a celebration of motherhood that is a little like a baby shower, but more focused on loving support than on gifts. Emily made me a cake shaped like a pregnant torso (complete with strawberry nipples), and I got to wear a flower crown and soak my feet.

Blessingway food, including Emily's pregnant lady cake.

Each of the guests brought two beads for me to make into a necklace that I can wear during my labor, and everyone also brought a favorite childhood book for Baby's library.

Wearing my bead necklace.

I felt so special and so happy to share my pregnancy with all of these important people in my life.

Week 3: During the third week at home, I met Keegan in Costa Rica to visit our friend Solson, who lives in Heredia close to San Jose. We had a wonderful time catching up with Solson and relaxing at his house. His sweet dog Bonita was definitely a highlight for me - she happily accepted hours of petting and frequently rested her chin endearingly on my knee, which was adorable. Solson was a wonderful tour guide and took us all over the place, but I definitely loved our afternoon at the beach the best. The water was so warm!

At Esterillos Beach in Costa Rica!

On the same day that we went to the beach, we also visited a jungly national park where we saw howler monkeys! I had been dying to see monkeys, so I was thrilled. They were huge, and there was no missing them swinging through the vines and branches high above us, just like in a nature documentary. It was impossible to get good pictures, but the memory is enough for me.

Week 4: Back in Charlottesville, we celebrated Sue's birthday with a big dinner at the Boar's Head Inn. A lot of the family was there, and it was wonderful to have everyone together. The next day was my baby shower, which was beautiful. Grandma, Sue, Holly, and Mandy really put together some great food and stunning decorations, and we couldn't have asked for a prettier spring day. It was nice to see a lot of the people I had met at my wedding shower and engagement party, and we received an enormous bounty of baby gear and adorable clothes.

At the baby shower, with a beautiful blanket knitted by Nana (aka Sue).

It's been a lot of fun to unpack everything in the nursery.

Week 5 brought a chance for a brief visit with my parents and one last chance to see everyone at Jamie's wedding on the weekend. Catching up with friends at the rehearsal dinner and seeing how beautiful and happy Jamie looked on her wedding day were real highlights.

Jamie and Colin are married!

After the wedding we had more time to chat with Chrissy and Ryan over pizza, and on Sunday we took a wonderful walk on the bike path with Emily and Tony. On Sunday afternoon we had a few precious hours to spend with my parents and Dude the black beast, and afterward we had dessert with Sue and Steve back in Charlottesville. The trip definitely ended too soon, as always, and I know Keegan especially would have liked more time, but overall it was a wonderful visit, and we feel refreshed and much more prepared for Baby, at least in terms of Stuff. Whether we're prepared for Parenthood remains to be seen.

Kyoto, Part 2

2010-03-13T02:06:00.002+09:00

I can’t believe that I am already embarking on my next adventure before I’ve even finished updating about the trip to Japan. I figured a 14-hour plane ride is as good a time as any to spend some time writing, so I’ve got my laptop out as we fly over the Pacific on our way back to the United States.

When I stopped last, we had just finished our first full day in Kyoto. We both woke up considerably more tired on Saturday morning, so we had a bit of a slow start. Eventually, though, we managed to find a new café for breakfast and then make our way to the subway station for a trip to the Arashiyama district, on the west side of the city. The subway station was a bit baffling since the automated ticket machines at the station we were in were all in Japanese. But we persevered and eventually determined that as long as you put your money in first thing, it’s not too hard to figure out. From the subway, we took a private rail line to Arashiyama. The rail line was clearly designed for tourists, and we got an English map and guide to all the stops and the attractions once we got there. On our guide, we saw that there was a “foot spa” at the final train station, so that gave us something to look forward to after a day of walking around.

The first place that we went after we arrived was a temple called Tenryu-ji, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The temple buildings were not particularly ornate, but the garden surrounding them was really beautiful, especially because we could see snow on the mountains in the background. A few cherry blossom trees and a few trees with delicate yellow blossoms were beginning to bloom in the gardens, and we felt lucky to see the combination of snow and the start of spring. It helped that the weather had finally cleared up and was gloriously sunny and at least a little bit warmer. Another feature of the temple grounds was a gorgeous, thick bamboo grove, which we oohed and ahhed at appropriately.

Finished with the temple, we headed back towards the train station to find lunch. We ended up in a small, nondescript Japanese restaurant where the menus were only in Japanese, with no pictures. The waitress didn’t bat an eye and just motioned us outside to the window display of the available dishes rendered in plastic. There, we could point to what we wanted. We both had udon soup again.

After lunch, we headed to a nearby park close to the river. The street along the river was really beautiful, wide and lined with restaurants and shops and rickshaws with pushy drivers offering tours. In the park, we ascended a fairly steep hill (my pregnant body was not very cooperative – I was really huffing and puffing!) and came to a lookout that revealed a stunning view of the river valley, complete with old-fashioned small boats carrying tourists. We emerged from the park into a huge, really impressive bamboo grove, of which the temple garden grove had only been a small part. Near the grove, we marveled at a small bamboo storage yard and then bought a bamboo wind chime at a little shop full of cool knick-knacks made from bamboo. Keegan later said that he really enjoyed this little excursion out of the touristy parts of the city and into the quiet natural area.

The Lonely Planet recommended another temple that was a fair distance from the bamboo grove, so we set off to find it. To get there, we walked through some quiet residential streets and enjoyed looking at the yards and gardens. Finally, we neared our destination, which was actually a very small convent, I think. The temple/convent was called Gio-ji, and it had a really amazing atmosphere. It made me think of a lush emerald, tucked away on the side of the mountain. Once we passed through the first gate, we were in a little microcosm of velvety green moss, slender bamboo, and blowsy white peonies. It didn’t take long to see everything there was to see at this tiny temple, but the first impression was definitely striking.

By the time we left the temple, we were both dragging a bit, so we decided it was time for another ice cream break. We stopped at a coffee shop where we ordered, once again, from the window display. Keegan had pancakes, which he had developed a hankering for after seeing the plastic ones on display at yesterday’s café, and I had an ice cream sundae that could only be described as an architectural masterpiece, involving lots of fresh fruit and chocolate sauce. Just as the day before we had enjoyed watching koi in their pond, on Saturday we watched little green birds in the trees outside the window, where the owners of the coffee shop had put tiny dishes of seed and water. The birds were so colorful and interesting that passersby on the street also stopped to watch, and we felt lucky that we had chosen such a pleasant location for our snack.

Finally back at the train station, it was time for our relaxing footbath. I had expected cushy chairs with individual foot spas, like at the beauty salon, but instead there was a large hot water spa with two big tables in it. The customers sat around the edge of the tub and could have coffee or tea at the tables. It was very difficult to take our feet out of the warm water and continue on our way. Fortunately, the train was toasty warm, and we both had a chance to soak in the tub for a bit before our dinner at an Indian restaurant in Gion. Once again, we had no trouble falling asleep after the day’s adventures.

On Sunday we planned a trip out of Kyoto to the smaller city of Himeji, where I had read that there was a very impressive Japanese castle called Himeji Castle. We had a bit of trouble figuring out which train to take, and we ended up with tickets on the super-fast bullet train. Everyone should experience a ride on the bullet train at least once. This one really impressed us because it took us back through Osaka, where we had come from on Thursday, but in half the time of driving. I could definitely get used to that!

Himeji was a city clearly bending over backwards to please the tourists who came to visit the castle, but also clearly not as established as a tourist destination as Kyoto. It was a fairly short walk from the train station to the castle, down a very broad street lined with nondescript stores and businesses. The castle itself was huge and commanding, on a hill overlooking the street. We couldn’t stop taking pictures of it as we approached. Inside the castle walls, we looked at a side residence mostly for the castle’s women. It was completely unfurnished and very plain, quite a difference from the meticulously designed temples and gardens we had been visiting. A sign nearby informed us that “This is indeed the best castle in Japan.” We were happy to be reminded. Inside the main building of the castle we saw displays on castle life. Everything was very spartan and clearly designed for defense and withstanding siege. There were a lot of very steep wooden stairs to climb. The view from the top of the castle was nice, but since the castle itself is the focus of sightseeing in Himeji, not incredible.

After enjoying the castle and taking a million pictures, we got lunch at another noodle shop. This one had really, really long homemade noodles. My noodles came covered in very thin, dry flakes of some unfamiliar composition (fish?) that waved around alluringly in the steam from the hot broth. When I stirred them into the soup they took on a meaty texture that was very tasty. I will have to remember to ask my Japanese friend about what those were.

After lunch we visited Himeji’s other main attraction, a series of tranquil gardens next to the castle. Keegan was a good sport and enjoyed the koi ponds and the bonsai-style cherry blossoms on display, but the gardens were typical of gardens viewed in the winter: I couldn’t stop thinking how pretty they’d be once everything was in bloom. Our Sunday ice cream snack was eaten on the walk back to the train station. I tried a black sesame and soy milk swirl, and Keegan had green tea with vanilla.

Back in Kyoto, we hungry travelers stopped at the first place that caught our eye. There were very few customers there, we were a little off the beaten path, and the proprietors seemed thrilled that we had chosen their place of business for our dinner. I tried yu-tofu, an elaborate dish involving skin skimmed off the top of fermenting tofu, boiled in a paper cone of soy milk over a flame, and then dipped in a sesame/soy type sauce. Keegan tried “kaiseki,” which is a Japanese haute cuisine that Kyoto is famous for, focusing on a number of small dishes presented elegantly. I read that real kaiseki restaurants can be quite formal and daunting for foreigners, so I suspect that this was “tourist kaiseki,” but we enjoyed it anyway. When we left the restaurant, our waitress attempted to communicate with me in Japanese, but it was an unsuccessful interaction. She pointed out my height and then gestured at my nose and gave me a packet of oil-absorbing wipes. I really don’t think she intended to insult me, but geez.

Back in our room, I felt the baby kicking like crazy, so I made Keegan put his hand on my tummy. Sure enough, he felt her kick several times and then felt her roll underneath his palm. I was so happy that he was able to participate, especially on Valentine’s Day. I’ll always remember that.

Monday morning, and the last day of our trip (are you glad to be coming to the end of this marathon?). We awoke to a chilly rain and decided to pace ourselves rather slowly during the day. After another delicious rice ball breakfast, we headed to a temple that Kayoko had recommended, called Sanjesangdo. Inside were 1,000 golden Buddha statues, as well as a number of statues of other deities and spirits. It was amazing to see the hordes of statues and fun to look at the interesting characters portrayed, but it was hard to get a good sense of the scale of the place from inside. Behind the statues was a display about archery contests that used to be held along the length of the temple’s porch. There were all kinds of contests, including one to see how many arrows a person could shoot within a given amount of time.

In the afternoon, we tried to visit the steam locomotive museum, but found out it was closed on Mondays. We went to the post office and spent some time working out how to access our bank account so we could pay the hotel bill. It was altogether a somewhat disappointing day, with the combination of the gray weather and the closed museum and the logistical hassles, so I will not dwell on it for long. We did have a nice dinner in a restaurant on a historic street in Gion, and we saw what I think may have been an honest-to-goodness geisha as we wandered the beautiful streets after dinner. So the day did get somewhat redeemed in the evening, and we had an upbeat end to our trip. There was so much we didn’t see, though. Guess that’s just a reason to go back again someday.

Kyoto Travelogue at Long Last

2010-03-03T21:16:00.002+09:00

It's been two weeks since we returned from our trip to Kyoto, and I am on the couch with my laptop, water bottle and frozen yogurt, ready to post a long update about our journey. Hope you enjoy it. I have gotten about two-thirds of our pictures up on Flickr and hope to get the rest up before I leave for the U.S. next week.

Keegan and I left for Japan on a windy, rainy morning, feeling quite sorry for ourselves that the weather was so bad. We flew from Busan on Asiana Airlines, which really impressed us. The plane seemed roomy and comfortable, the food was decent, and we were heartily entertained by, I'm embarrassed to say, America's Funniest Home Videos during our one-hour flight. We landed at the Kansai International Airport. We were met at the gate by our shuttle bus driver, who took us on the 90-minute drive to Kyoto. He was a friendly guy and a careful driver, which we appreciated. As we drove through Kyoto, he pointed out the Gion district and then began to wind through increasingly beautiful streets, lined with traditional buildings. Eventually, we turned onto a cobblestone street where we had to stop and walk because the street was blocked off to all but pedestrian traffic. We couldn't believe that our hotel was in such a beautiful area!

We stayed at the Rikiya ryokan, where an elderly Japanese woman greeted us, showed us around our room, and served us some tea. The elderly woman's somewhat less elderly daughter welcomed us with a few words of English, but it was plain that both women's English ability was limited. The room was huge, with a sitting area and a sleeping room, and we had a wonderful view towards the Kiyumizu Temple close by.

We were hungry, so we headed out in spite of the rain and quickly found a warm and welcoming noodle shop, where we each tried a steaming bowl of udon noodles. Mine had tofu and egg and was delicious. After our lunch, we strolled around the Gion area, which, fortunately for us, has many covered sidewalks that protected us from the rain. We enjoyed peering into the many souvenir shops along the way. Then we ventured out into the rain to explore the Maruyamacho Park, which was beautiful even viewed from beneath our umbrellas. After our rainy walk, Keegan enjoyed a hot bath in our funny, cube-shaped bathtub, while I read for a while. Then we headed out to dinner. We found a great little place across the street from the colorful entrance to the Yasaka-jinja shrine. We ate in front of the window with a gorgeous view and were very happy to be eating Japanese food and sitting in the warm, dry indoors.

On Friday morning we ate breakfast at a cafe recommended by the ryokan. We followed the route they recommended to get to the main street where the cafe was, and we later discovered that our uneventful walk to breakfast was on a street that the Lonely Planet calls "perhaps the most beautiful street in Kyoto." It was indeed quite nice, paved with cobblestones and lined with lots of traditional houses. Each house had an elegant doorway flanked by meticulously cared-for plants and flowers. Our breakfast at the cafe was delicious, especially the toast, which was sliced about 2 inches thick and slathered with butter. Yum.

It was sprinkling in the morning, but as we embarked on the Lonely Planet walking tour we had planned for the day, the rain began to let up, and we did actually see the sun a bit. We started with the Kiyumizu Temple, which was spectacular. The temple is known for one aspect of its architecture: its giant veranda supported by huge wooden columns several stories high. I can't imagine how they built such a place in 798, when the temple was originally constructed, but it was impressive. We saw a number of Japanese women and one couple dressed in colorful kimono as they visited the temple and suspected that they had dressed up to get particularly special souvenir photos of their trip to Kyoto. I took some special souvenir photos of them, too. We also saw "the famous love stone," which is actually two stones, placed 18 meters apart. You are supposed to walk between the stones with your eyes closed, and if you successfully make it to the second stone, then you will find love. Keegan was successful, but I veered way off to the left and ended up running into another, apparently unromantic, rock. Keegan found this hilarious.

After some time at the temple, we headed back into town down a hilly street lined with souvenir shops. I saw some beautiful handbags that caught my interest, but couldn't find anything that was the right size, the right material, and the right price. Maybe next time. Our walking tour led us down street after street lined with old-fashioned buildings and fairly classy souvenir shops. The neighborhood reminded me of Insadong in Seoul, with older buildings and more expensive items for sale. Worn out from shopping, we took a detour back to Thursday's noodle shop and tried two different varieties of udon noodles for lunch. Then it was back on the trail to visit the temple across the street from our ryokan, called Kodai-ji temple. This temple had really beautiful grounds, complete with an impressively dense bamboo grove. It was so wonderful to spend the day walking around surrounded by so much elegance and beauty - definitely a welcome break from dear Okpo.

After the second temple I was dragging a bit, so we decided to stop for some ice cream. The little cafe we stopped in had a big koi pond and splendid garden outside the window, and the fish entertained us while we ate. We also saw two women in full geisha costume on the street outside the cafe. I managed to take some pictures of them through the door. Later on in the trip, we passed a nearby shop where you can pay to dress up as a geisha (with make-up and everything) and then walk around the neighborhood and have your picture taken. So I suspect that was what these women were doing. They were stunning.

After our ice cream break, we continued to walk along the walking tour path, but by this time it was so late that the temples were closing. We took some pictures of the exteriors and strolled all the way to the Heian Shrine, past several museums and a gorgeous, modern public library. We walked back along the Kamo-gawa River, which turned out to be a good choice because when we arrived back in the Gion district, we stumbled on another of the most beautiful streets in Kyoto. This one runs along a little canal and is lined with traditional buildings, cherry trees just beginning to blossom, and graceful lanterns glowing in the twilight. We were enchanted. We also were excited to spot a tempura restaurant that promised to be a fabulous spot for dinner. We returned there after our nightly bath/reading time and had another delicious dinner, with plenty of fried vegetables and seafood, miso soup, and sake for Keegan. Needless to say, neither of us had trouble falling asleep in our little futons on the floor of the ryokan.

To be continued...

Nursery Update

2010-02-24T13:32:00.004+09:00

Here are some pictures of the nursery now that the furniture has been moved in (thank you, Matt and Jacki!). We still have a few things to buy and a few decorating items to install, but the basic layout is ready.

Door with cute sign. The little fox is actually meant to go in your car with your cell phone number on it in case your car needs to be moved, but it will make a nice ______'s Room sign once we pick a name.

Growth chart and cute trash can

Glider and changing table/dresser. The cats love the glider. We want to buy a nice standing lamp to go next to the glider.

Crib - obviously a bit low right now, but Keegan is going to adjust the height after a trip to the hardware store. We really need some colorful sheets!

News from the Doctor's Office

2010-02-22T14:01:00.004+09:00

I am still intending to update about our trip, but first here's the update from our doctor's visit on Saturday. We thought we would be extra savvy this time and get there right when the office opens at 9:30, but when we arrived at 9:25, the office was already open and bustling with people. Still, we were third in line to see Dr. Lee, and I think our wait time was a little shorter than usual. Since we don't have to go through the hassle of making appointments (and then STILL waiting in the waiting room), I try not to mind the waiting too much.

Dr. Lee told us that this month he would do an ultrasound "from brain to toes" and that it would take a little extra time. He started with the baby's head and brain, both of which look good and are exactly the right size for 21 weeks. He also measured the baby's arms and legs, which both measured at exactly the right size for 22 weeks. Since we are at 21 weeks now, the doctor remarked on how long our baby's limbs are. Guess my assessment of the gangly ultrasound from a few weeks ago was right on. Dr. Lee checked the baby's lip for a cleft lip and her spine and pronounced both to look normal with no visible defects. He asked whether he had told us the sex already, and when I reminded him that he had told us it was a girl, he replied "Well, there is no change." So now we can be even more sure that we will have a daughter in July!

We had a chance to count the baby's fingers (10) and look at her feet, but it wasn't very easy to count her toes, so we'll do that next time.

Baby's hands, with fingers marked by arrows. I think she is World's Earliest Waver. So precocious.

Baby's blurry feet

In the abdomen, we could see Baby's heart beating, and the doctor pointed out her kidneys and stomach. Her stomach was full of amniotic fluid, which she has been swallowing for a tiny amount of nourishment and to practice her swallowing skills. When he zoomed in on the heart, we could see all four chambers and watch the valves open and close. Pretty cool! Unfortunately, the CD with the ultrasound video on it is scratched, so I am trying to figure out how to recover as much of the video as possible.

Overall, the baby is now about 440 grams (around a pound) and about 22-23 cm long (8.5-9 inches). Dr. Lee pointed out the baby's position to us with the ultrasound transducer: her head is down low on my left, her body stretching out to my right, with her feet up high to the left of my belly button. I can't believe how much room she's taking up already! Good thing there's still plenty of room to expand.

Baby's head. On the right, you can see a slight profile with one eye and the nose. On the left, Baby is facing the "camera" straight on, with one Terminator-esque eye (she kicked me when I wrote that) glaring out with the death ray.

Baby's face is squished into the lower right corner of the frame. You can see her forehead, eyes and nose pretty clearly. I think the bubbly stuff to the left of Baby's face is the umbilical cord.

In other baby news, we were able to move our hand-me-down nursery furniture into the nursery this weekend (pictures coming as soon as I get things a little more orderly in there). I also spent all afternoon Sunday trying on clothes to discover what still fits and what I still need. I was heartened to find many attractive options left for me if the weather would just warm up a tiiiiny bit. I also rediscovered several elastic-waisted skirts that should continue to be winners for a while. Hooray! Still, I am looking forward to finding some new things when I'm home next month.

Back from Kyoto

2010-02-17T22:12:00.003+09:00

Well, we're back from Japan, and we had a great time! It was so nice to fly there and get the traveling done so quickly. We loved our Japanese inn, which couldn't have been in a better location. We saw several temples, took a day trip to a Japanese castle, and ate lots and lots of good Japanese food. We also took over 500 pictures, so it will take me a while to sort through them all and get them up on Flickr. Here's a few teasers to tide you over.

Keegan reading in his futon on the floor in our ryokan room.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

In a bamboo grove

My belly is huge in Japan.

Keegan at Himeji Castle

There are some other pictures to look forward to, too. On Saturday, we'll go back to the doctor for another appointment and an ultrasound. He'll be looking carefully at the baby's heart and other key areas to check for any defects that we should know about. I'm looking forward to a chance to see our little girl again. She's been kicking and rolling around quite a bit lately, so I hope that she'll give us a good show on Saturday!

Pre-Vacation Almost 20 Week Update

2010-02-10T13:38:00.003+09:00

Now I am at almost 20 weeks of pregnancy, so halfway through. I think I am growing bigger by the day. I taught one of my students the adjective "round" with reference to my belly, and I don't think that she will forget that word soon. Now each time I see her, she tells me that I am more round. I don't mind, though. I love my growing belly!

The baby is getting stronger, and when she moves around I can feel her much more easily. She jabs a little (with hands and feet, I'm sure, though I can't tell which is which), and I think she also rolls sometimes. It's hard to describe the feeling. If you're familiar with cats, you know that sometimes when you pet them on their back, their back muscles will kind of contract involuntarily, like a wave after your hand passes over. That's what it feels like on the inside of my ab muscles. It's a little uncomfortable, but knowing that the source is so wonderful helps a lot.

Otherwise, I am still feeling fine. I am very hungry - it's hard for me to believe that I only need an extra 400-500 calories a day for the baby, because I am like an eating machine. I trust my body, though, and have been following the "give the belly what it wants" philosophy of pregnancy dieting. My weight is going up between a half kilo and a kilo a week, which I think is on the high side of normal. I'm continuing to jog and swim four days a week, which is great. I am still tired in the evenings, and I have a weird continual itch on the sole of my right foot, which I've read can happen during pregnancy. Seriously weird, though, and very hard to scratch satisfactorily.

This week we've been preparing for a five-day trip to Japan over the Lunar New Year holiday. Wouldn't you know that right in time for our trip a rainy weather pattern has arrived, settled in, and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. They are now predicting rain for every single day of our vacation. But at least the chances for precipitation are relatively low most days (20-30%), so I hope we'll avoid the worst of it. Anyway, we are flying to Osaka tomorrow morning, and then we'll spend five nights in Kyoto, in a Japanese Inn called Rikiya. I hope I'll have lots of interesting and exciting things to report next week! Happy Lunar New Year, everyone!

Moving (Around) Day

2010-02-07T20:57:00.003+09:00

This morning at breakfast, Keegan suggested that we spend the day moving some furniture around so that we can get ready to put the nursery together. Last Sunday, we had dinner with Matt and Jacki. Matt is Keegan's co-worker, and he and Jacki have two children who have outgrown a lot of their baby items. They have graciously offered us many of the things we need for the nursery, including a crib, changing table and glider chair. So we were excited about making a place for those things, even though we still have to figure out how to move them here.

So after breakfast we began moving everything out of the current study to make room for the guest bed. The cats were in a state of mild panic as the living room slowly filled up with books, papers, and miscellaneous junk that had piled up in the study over the past year and a half. We were delighted to find that all this moving around gave us an opportunity to clean some nasty dusty areas, and the cats were mollified by the rediscovery of at least a dozen long-lost cat toys. We also discovered that there was a very narrow space underneath the bed frame that we could use for desperately-needed storage. It's not terribly practical because you have to remove the mattress and the bottom of the bed frame to get to what's inside, but we had a few things we could put there. We are thinking about taking our bed apart, too, just to stash some items that we don't need but can't throw away because they belong to the apartment's owner.

Once we got the new guest bedroom/study ready, we were able to move a bookshelf into the baby's room and unpack some of the cute things we've acquired. The nursery is still pretty unfinished since we haven't moved in any of the furniture yet, but it's nice to have an idea of how much space we have to work with. We spent the rest of the afternoon reshuffling and re-storing all of the things that were dislocated by the move. Conclusion: we have too much stuff, but also much more storage space than we thought.

The highlights of the day, as discussed by Ellen and Keegan at dinner were the following:

1. How well the new guest room/study came together.

2. Unrolling the baby rug that we bought months ago before we were even pregnant.

3. Finally figuring out how to wash the windows in the guest room (they come out) and seeing the beautiful view through windows unobscured by salt and grime.

Here are some photos of our handiwork. Judge for yourselves!

The new guest room/study

The beginnings of the nursery

Shelf with cute baby things

I had hoped that the cats would be less interested in the baby's room once the big comfy bed was moved. But clearly, that is no obstacle at all to comfort when you're Pepper.

Baking for Illiterates

2010-01-30T12:50:00.003+09:00

Not much baby news to report this week (except that I got my new maternity pants today - hurrah!), so I'll tell you the story of our travails with our new bread machine instead. The story begins not long after we arrived in Korea, when we came to the sad realization that nearly every baked good we attempted to produce came out flat, heavy, and unappetizing. We blamed our crappy convection oven because it's difficult to control the temperature, and things tend to cook very unevenly in it. So our dear friends and cousins Chrissy and Ryan kindly offered to ease our suffering by buying us a bread machine for Christmas (thanks, guys!). I guess I mentioned a few weeks ago that after weeks of examining our options and exploring the bewildering Hangeul jungle of the Korean internet, we finally managed to order and receive a brand new Korean bread maker, plus a box of Korean bread machine mix. We ordered the same model as our friends downstairs, Daniel and Marina, and they helpfully showed us how to use the machine and wrote down their basic bread recipe for us. A frustrating bout of experimentation ensued:

First attempt: Following Daniel and Marina's instructions to the letter, I start the bread machine on its first loaf. The bread rises only to about half of the ideal height and is heavy and unappetizing. Keegan researches bread problems online and concludes "It's the yeast, stupid." We test our yeast in a container of warm water and see very little activity.

Second attempt: We replicate Daniel and Marina's recipe again, but this time with brand new yeast and whole wheat flour. The result is still about half-height and super dense.

Third attempt: Keegan and I both have a lightbulb come on over our heads at the same time. Maybe the yeast, which is in fairly large pellets that seem to remain intact throughout the baking process, needs to be softened and activated in water before baking. Keegan points out that the instructions on the back of the yeast package, though nearly incomprehensible to us, do contain a measurement in milliliters and a time in minutes. Perhaps the amount of water and amount of time required to activate the yeast? We try the bread machine mix with our activated yeast and achieve a light, airy, slightly sweet, delicious loaf! I recommend it with Nutella and a cup of tea. I also recommend learning more Korean.

Encouraged by our success with the bread machine, Keegan has begun baking some other breads using the no-knead bread cookbook that my parents got him for Christmas. So far the results have been amazing - thick, hearty, crispy, and perfect to eat with soups or pasta. The bread machine bread is much better for toast and sandwiches. Say good-bye to store-bought bread, Plaskon household!

Another funny situation involving illiteracy in Korean came from my attempts to understand the directions for the bread machine mix. I could understand most of the instructions on the back of the box, but strangely there didn't seem to be any amount listed for the water we needed to add. I took one packet of the mix to my Korean teacher to get her advice. She frowned and told me that she would come to the store with me after our lesson to look at the box the packets came in, which I hadn't brought. It turns out that there is a chart on the side of the box that lists the amounts of water needed for use with various bread machine models. The instructions on the back of the box and on the mix packet say "See side of box for necessary amount of water." I felt sheepish and sorry for illiterate people everywhere. Sigh.

It's (Most Likely) Going to Be a Girl!

2010-01-23T16:48:00.004+09:00

Keegan and I had a doctor's appointment this morning, and when the doctor was doing the ultrasound, he asked if we would like to find out the sex of the baby. It is still on the early side, but possible to tell at this point. The baby was not terribly cooperative, but Dr. Lee told us that he was 95% sure that it is a girl! I am so excited! I would have been happy with a boy, of course, but deep down, I really hoped it would be a girl.

Some of you saw my Facebook status update this week that I have started to feel the baby moving. To be honest, I think I've been feeling it for a while. About two weeks ago, I was writing a short e-mail to Chrissy when I felt a funny little poke in my lower abdomen. I immediately stopped typing to consider what it was. I hadn't been thinking about feeling the baby or anything, and I had this completely new feeling, like a bubble bursting inside. I have been feeling very gassy, too, though, so I thought maybe it wasn't really the baby, and I should wait to get excited about it. But the feelings continued, at least a few times each day. Now that they've gone on for about two weeks, when I feel gassy and when I don't, I feel more confident in saying that I'm feeling the baby. According to my pregnancy books and more experienced moms, it's a bit early but also within the realm of possibility. I read somewhere that thin women can sometimes feel movements earlier, so maybe that's why.

The doctor's office was really crowded this morning! All while we were waiting, I could feel the baby moving around, but by the time we made it into the exam room, she had settled down and wasn't dancing around as much. The ultrasound was amazing - the baby has grown so much! Her head now measures almost 4 cm (around 1.5 inches) in diameter, which dates her, according to the ultrasound at 18 weeks, plus or minus 12 days. The doctor said the baby is 18 centimeters long, which is about 7 inches! That seems a bit on the long side to me - guess we're having a tall baby.

Baby's patented death ray stare. I think it's hilarious, but Keegan thinks we shouldn't make fun of our little girl.

A little bony (Dr. Lee says the skin is very, very thin now) but pretty cute, if I do say so myself. Also, less scary than the 2D version!

After the ultrasound, I gave some blood for prenatal testing (the quad test, if you're interested). They'll be screening the blood for hormone levels that might reveal genetic abnormalities. As I understand it, if there are any red flags, further testing can be done to confirm (or disprove) what was found in the blood test. I'll get the results next week. Our next visit is in four weeks, and they're going to do a "super" ultrasound that will look for any abnormalities in the baby's heart and facial structure.

I guess the extra-long baby explains why my weight has been increasing quite steadily this week. I gained almost a full kilogram (2.2 pounds) from week 16 to week 17. I am happy to be growing, though, since I got off to a slow start in the first trimester. So far, I'm up two kilograms total.

The belly at 17 weeks

This week was very, very quiet for me. Keegan has been very busy with work, driving back and forth to Yeosu, about two hours away, to work on a small cruise ship. I've been puttering around the house and watching "Grey's Anatomy" on DVD. Thank goodness there are at least a couple of my students still around for lessons. With my relaxed schedule, I had a chance to talk to Laura for about two hours on Monday morning. It was wonderful to catch up with my best friend and to hear that she is still considering coming to Korea to visit one of these days. I also had time to (finally!) buy our plane tickets for our trip back to the U.S. in March. I'll be home from March 10 until April 12, with a visit to Costa Rica from March 24 to April 2. Keegan will be in the U.S. from April 2 to April 12. I hope we'll get to see as many of you as possible, dear readers. It's so wonderful to have concrete plans for our trip.

The Baby Parade

2010-01-16T17:20:00.005+09:00

It's been a very uneventful week. I can think of a few things to write about, though. First of all, this week I had the chance to meet with the son of one of my regular students from Brazil. He and his brother are here in Korea visiting. I taught both of them briefly last year, so it was nice to see them again. The younger son is preparing to do research in marine biology off the coast of Brazil, and he was working through some scientific papers in English about the feeding habits of fish. He and I read the articles together, and I asked him questions about biology, while he asked me questions about the language in the articles. His reading ability was impressive. I gave him some vocabulary lessons about connecting words (like "although" and "thus"), which I hope will help him when he has to write his own paper in English. The biology articles were really interesting, and I felt lucky to have the chance to be exposed to research in a field completely unfamiliar to me.

I had Wednesday afternoon free, so I invited some friends over for coffee. My friends Joy and Kayoko stayed for a few hours, and while we chatted and had tea, we were treated to a parade of mothers and children who couldn't stay the whole time. First our downstairs neighbor Clair visited with her spirited two-year-old, then my friend Alana and her brand new two-month-old, and finally another neighbor Marina and her shy one-year-old. It was fun to see so many babies at different ages, especially since I spend so much of my time now thinking about what our baby is going to be like. Everybody had stories to tell about their pregnancies, too. After everyone left, Marina gave me a few bags full of baby clothes, and one bag of maternity clothes. There were several pairs of denim capris that fit perfectly, and they have adjustable waistbands, so they should continue to fit well.

My favorite item from the bags of clothes Marina gave me.

Speaking of maternity pants, I have started wearing mine. I think I am definitely looking more pregnant (and have put on another half a kilo), and the elastic waistbands are so comfortable! I am thinking about ordering a few more pairs online, now that I know what fits and how the million different "belly panel" options work.

I'm wearing maternity pants over my little belly bump.

On Friday morning, my Korean tutor helped me to order a bread machine online (thank you, Chrissy and Ryan), and it has already arrived - talk about efficient (and free!) shipping! While she and I were poking around on the Korean shopping site, we found the English version of the site, and now I have been set loose on the Korean online marketplace. Look out world! Maternity tops and baby items, here I come! Hopefully, the arrival of the bread machine won't contribute overmuch to the already rapid expansion of my waistband.

Move Over Target, Home Plus is on the Rise

2010-01-09T19:53:00.007+09:00

Yesterday after my Korean/English lesson I decided to pick up some cat food at Home Plus. As I was walking from the cat food aisle towards the produce to pick up a few odds and ends, I passed the clothing section and decided to look for a few sweaters to cover up my bulging belly. I know my belly does not look very large yet, but it has become impossible to button my regular pants and still sit down comfortably. This means that I have to either leave the pants gaping at the top, close the button with the help of a rubber band, or wear maternity pants with ugly waistbands. I had a horrifying realization earlier this week when I tried to put together a favorite outfit and saw that I couldn't wear that particular sweater anymore because it was too short to cover up my unsightly waistband. So I resolved to find some longer, somewhat stretchy sweaters to get me through the winter months. Well, I hit the jackpot in the Home Plus clothing section. Whatever else you may say about Korean fashion, it is very well suited to pregnancy! Most sweaters and shirts are extra long, and I had no trouble finding a few cute ones that look like they'll stretch at least enough to get me through March. The blue and grey striped one, in particular has a lot of room to grow. I also bought a black sweater almost identical to one I bought at Target a couple years ago. The one from Target looks about 20 years old because it is so pilly. The Home Plus version promised Anti-Pilling technology!

New sweaters for maternity and beyond. Note that I am unable to figure out how to "look into the camera" and also that Chili wanted to appear on the blog again, sneaky thing.

I finished up my shopping and headed out to the parking area feeling very satisfied. In the parking garage, the Home Plus once again proved its worth: they've installed a brand new fancy parking indicator system that shows you where available spots are. As you drive up and down the rows of parking spaces, you can see which spots are available because they have a green light over them. Occupied spots have a red light. Each section of the parking lot has a bigger sign over it showing whether there are any open spots in that section. And at the end of most rows there is an LED sign telling you how many spots are open on that row and how many are open if you pass that row and continue to look. What a great idea! I was thoroughly impressed and probably only narrowly avoided several collisions because I was fascinated by all the technology. Three cheers for you, Home Plus!

The fancy new parking system at Home Plus - look for the red and green lights above the cars.

Happy 2010

2010-01-07T18:13:00.004+09:00

We welcomed in the new year this week. Well, we were asleep for the beginning of the new year, due to Keegan's unwelcome stomach bug, but we had a great time visiting our friends Nate and Eliza in Mokpo over the weekend. We went to see "Avatar" at the theater, took a couple long, snowy walks with the dog, and ate lots of delicious food, including Eliza's wonderful frozen lemon mousse. Keegan somehow managed to find world's most delectable (and large) strawberries, and we consumed an entire large container of them between Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon.

I got a chance to restart lessons with my students this week, and along with that, I told them all the news of the new baby. Everyone was excited and happy, although disappointed that I won't be able to teach after the baby comes. I hope that I'll be able to find another interested teacher who can take at least some of my students because they are really making good progress.

I had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning, and everything is fine with the baby. I think the doctor was a little surprised to see me because he had forgotten that he told me to come back two weeks after my last visit. He did a quick ultrasound and told me to come back in a couple weeks for a blood test to check for any abnormalities with the fetus. It was, as always, good to see and hear the baby's heart and to watch him/her squirm around on the ultrasound screen.

I have started to feel better over the past few days. My appetite seems to be returning to normal, which is a welcome change. Now when I am hungry, there are a lot of appealing options to choose from, and I am enjoying my food a lot more. I've been sleeping better, and I seem to have more energy. I guess the second trimester may live up to it's billing as the most comfortable time after all. Of course, as I write this, I'm feel extra gassy and crabby, so we'll see.

Because of my indigestion and crabbiness, I'll wrap up here, but first, a few long-awaited pictures:

The belly at 15 weeks. It looks a lot bigger from above. And seems a lot bigger judging by my pants.

3D ultrasound. I think the arms and legs look extra long and gangly.

Week 14 Update

2009-12-31T13:12:00.003+09:00

Welcome to Ellen's New Year's resolution number one: posting on the blog more often (at least once a week). I am making it public so that all you faithful readers can hold me to it! There's still plenty to tell everyone about regarding our adventures in Korea, so I have no reason to be so unenthusiastic about blogging. Hopefully I haven't lost all of my readers during my recent lackluster performance.

Now that we've made our pregnancy public knowledge, I can start publishing updates about Baby's (and Mommy's!) growth on here. Today is the end of the 14th week of our pregnancy, so we are officially at the beginning of the second trimester, which is supposedly known as the most comfortable part of the pregnancy, although I was so lucky during the first trimester that I haven't noticed much of a change. Baby's development from week to week has slowed - not so many new organs and bodily systems but much more growth. According to my pregnancy books, the baby is now the size of a clenched fist (hopefully mine and not Michael Jordan's). This week, the baby is starting to grow hair and eyebrows (unless it's destined to be a baldy like me), and its ears are moving up from the neck to a more "normal" place on the head. The baby's muscles and bones continue to develop, and it can make more and more sophisticated movements. Unfortunately, it's still too small for me to be able to feel anything - I am so excited about feeling the first movement! I think I probably have another month or two to go for that, though.

I'm continuing to feel pretty well. I'm still very hungry in the afternoons and a little less hungry in the mornings and evenings, which seems to balance me out pretty well. I gained my first pound this week, and my belly is definitely starting to grow a little. The belly actually sticks around in the mornings now and doesn't just disappear if I haven't eaten in a while. I can't believe how much bigger it's going to get! I also started exercising again this week after being instructed by the doctor to take it easy during the first trimester. I did a 30-minute run/walk (the running was only two 5-minute sessions - I am taking it very, very easy) on Tuesday, and yesterday I went to the pool and swam four easy 250's. It feels great to be exercising again, and I feel wonderful while working out (ok, a little awkward running), but I am very tired afterwards. Also, it pains me to admit it, but I am a little sore from Tuesday's run. Clearly, I have a long way to go. I am going to try to work up to 3 miles running and maybe 1500 meters swimming, but I will pay a lot of attention to my body and back off if things get uncomfortable.

Now that the pregnancy is public knowledge, we've been getting some offers of used baby items that we can borrow or have. There are so many families here that we should be able to gather a number of supplies without having to purchase everything new. We are so grateful to those who are willing to share and feel very good about being able to reuse items that often have a pretty short period of usefulness.

I think that's about all that's new this week. My next doctor's appointment is this Tuesday, so stay tuned for the newest ultrasound and belly photos!

A Dreary Week

2009-11-12T17:35:00.006+09:00

This past week has consisted of day after day of nasty, chilly, gray, cloudy, rainy and horribly windy weather. The cats and I have spent much of it reclining close together on bed or couch, soaking up each other's body heat and zoning out completely. Fortunately, there is one plus side to such weather: using our Korean floor heating. The house is now very cozy and warm, and the cats find it difficult to walk more than a few feet without flopping over to soak up the heat radiating from the floor. Here they are in the office, taking advantage of their favorite spots:

Just when the lethargy seemed to be getting too much, we had a bit of excitement this afternoon. A hawk lighted on the railing outside our guest room window with a sparrow in its talons.

It was totally focused on devouring its prey and didn't notice Chili watching with rapt attention or me approaching slowly and carefully with the camera.

I don't know how long it stayed because I had to leave for a lunch date, but I'm sure Chili could tell you exactly how long he was there. Unfortunately she, like Keegan, is not interested in being a contributor to this blog.

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T21:18:00.005+09:00

Keegan and I had a fun Halloween this year, despite coming up with our costumes at the absolute last minute. Mine relied heavily on a mask, and Keegan's relied heavily on his facial hair. We wore our costumes to a Halloween party that a group of foreigners put on in a bar downtown. We were a bit worried on the way to the party because we were so clearly the only people on the streets of Okpo wearing costumes, but we shouldn't have worried. There was a really good turnout at the party and some really spectacular costumes. My favorite was Keegan's co-worker Chris, who made himself a "dead biker" costume. And there was dancing! Those of you who know me well know that I very often lament a lack of opportunities for dancing. So I was quite happy. Here are some photos:

Keegan as a rock star with Chris post-bike-accident, and Michael Phelps.

Ellen as a black cat. You can't see my stunning pantyhose and newspaper tail.

Jamie's Visit

2009-10-19T16:27:00.005+09:00

Sorry, loyal readers, for not posting for so long. I'm sad that I've missed so many interesting things to post about! But there's no time like the present to get back into the swing of things.

Jamie came to visit last week! I had been anticipating her visit for such a long time that it was a shock when it was finally over in such a short time. But we crammed in a lot of fun activities, and Jamie appreciated all the right things about Korea, just as I expected her to.

We picked Jamie up in Busan on Friday the 9th and drove her into the city.

Jamie and Ellen, reunited at last at the Busan airport.

Keegan and I were a bit hungry after only a small meal on the ferry, so we decided to find something small to eat. We ended up trying udon noodles at a tiny street stand. They were delicious! We made friends with several Korean men who were also eating at the stand, and one of them paid for our noodles. I really wish we had taken pictures with our new friends, but alas we did not.

On Saturday we spent the majority of the day driving to Uljin and finding the registration for the triathlon. The Uljin triathlon was not held in the actual town of Uljin but a ways south in Hupo Beach. So that made things interesting. I was really glad I had done some research before we left! On the way there, we stopped in a big field full of amusing homemade scarecrows and took a bunch of pictures.

Homemade scarecrow festival south of Uljin

Anyway, we managed to get registered, drive the bike course, and eat lunch at a really great Korean buffet in a rest stop near Hupo. In the evening, we stayed at the Baeck Am Springs Hotel, and Jamie had her first taste of the Korean spa and of bi bim bap.

Sunday morning was the triathlon. I was quite nervous before the start because it was going to be a mass start, which meant that all 500 or so competitors were going to get into the water at roughly the same time. It was a complete and total madhouse, and my slow swim time (37 minutes for 1500 meters) reflects that, but at least I survived. The bike course was flat, though a bit windy. I learned that my training on hilly terrain allowed me to switch my position more often than riding on a flat course. By about 30 km into the bike, my butt and back and arms were KILLING me. I resolved to wear shorts with at least a little more padding for the next tri. Ow. The run course was three loops of about two miles each. I felt great on the run and was really surprised with how fast my time was at the end. Unfortunately, Keegan was confused about the number of laps we needed to do and ended up crossing the finish about two miles short. It would have helped if the course map posted online and given to us in our race packets had been accurate. But he was remarkably unfazed by his mistake. We spent most of Sunday afternoon driving back to Geoje - some of the scenery was really beautiful, but it was a loooong drive for two tired triathletes and their jet-lagged guest.

On Monday, Jamie and I went to Home Plus for shopping and then met Joy, Kayoko and Jana for coffee. After coffee, we bought pumpkins to take home and paint. We had a good time watching Planet Earth, eating Mexican food, and painting three festive Halloween pumpkins.

Tuesday was the day for a swim in the morning and a party in the afternoon. All of my students, plus Joy and her students and Sandra and her students joined us for coffee and goodies. Jamie happily chattered in Russian to my Ukrainian student Elena the whole time and was beside herself with a chance to practice. I was happy that she had a chance to meet everyone.

On Wednesday, we decided to go for a hike and engage in some long overdue girl talk. If any of the Koreans on the trail spoke English, they certainly overheard some interesting things, that's for sure!

Jamie at the summit of Guksabong

We were very tired after the hike and mountaintop picnic, but we had enough energy left to do some shopping and get some refreshments nonetheless. In the evening, Fred joined us for a big lasagna dinner and we had a lot of fun reading my Culture Shock Korea book and laughing about its tone.

Thursday was the day for the big trip to Oedo Island. It's as beautiful in the fall as it is during the rest of the year. We had a fairly calm boat ride and were even offered some dried squid by our neighbors. Jamie would later regret the one bite she took, but I didn't think it was too bad. We also enjoyed an impromptu singing performance by our boat's tour guide, which I have never seen before. Jamie was very impressed.

Our guide on the boat to Oedo, belting out Korean hits.

We saw some truly enormous jellyfish in the water during the boat ride. In the evening, we went out to eat at the Chinese restaurant and devoured a huge plate of stir-fried tofu while indulging in more girl talk.

On Friday, we decided to spend the day in Busan. We didn't actually get on the ferry until 12, though, so it was a quick afternoon seeing the sights. We checked out the fish market and the Busan tower.

Jamie in Busan, near the Jalgachi fish market

There was a festival going on, possibly in conjunction with the Pusan International Film Festival or PIFF, so everywhere was very crowded. We enjoyed being at the top of Busan tower in the evening, so we could watch the lights come on in the city. After the tower, we went to the Shinsegae shopping center for a truly delicious pasta dinner and a shopping spree in the adorable stationery section of the Kyobo bookstore. It was a very sad evening in the hotel as we prepared for Jamie's early departure in the morning. It was a whirlwind week, full of female bonding and good experiences. I miss Jamie already, but I'm so happy that she made the time to come for a visit!

Photos for Your Consideration

2009-09-10T11:27:00.003+09:00

A few photos that I took while out and about (don't worry, I was stopped at interminable traffic lights when I took them) so I could show you some unique aspects of Korean life:

Swarms of scooters surround my car at a traffic light near the shipyard. You can also see my trendy dashboard bobblehead.

Not sure what to say about this except "Wow."

Junction Produce, a car detailing company I think, shows fine control of the English language. And exhibits "austerity, eeriness, rambunctiousness, and austere elegance in which only prestige car has."

Good Things That Happened this Weekend

2009-08-30T21:07:00.002+09:00

Had a wonderful get-together with students and friends on Thursday afternoon. A lot of English was spoken and a lot of listening was done. And a lot of delicious cakes were consumed.
Met several new people at lunch and at coffee on Friday afternoon.
Found (with the help of my student Flavia) a tiny hole-in-the-wall store in Okpo that sells beautiful handmade purses. I plan to stock up for Christmas gifts (and for myself!).
Enjoyed dinner and ice cream with my handsome husband on Friday evening.
Got lots of sleep!
Had a nice trip to the beach to hang out with Flavia and her husband and another Brazilian couple and a third Brazilian woman.
Enjoyed watching Keegan play a Brazilian beach game involving two paddles and a rubber ball. (He is sore today!).
Resolved to start taking Portuguese lessons with Flavia.
Swam in refreshing, clear water and discovered that Wahyeon Beach is really nice.
Learned that nice beach chairs can be obtained relatively easily by searching on GMarket for "fishing chairs."
Got back on the bike again after a long hiatus.
Did not wreck calamitously, get a flat tire, fall off while trying to clip out of my pedals, or ride into a ditch, despite imagining and worrying about these things every time I have even thought of riding.
Got all my lessons planned for Monday and got a call from my Ukrainian student saying she is back in Korea and ready to start studying again. This is actually stressful because I have a student overload now, but I will be happy to see her again!
Had friends over for beer-brewing this evening.
Successfully prepared almost five gallons of beer and ate a delicious spaghetti and homemade marinara dinner.
Planned a homemade Mexican night for the near future.
Avoided the Sunday blues and actually feel relaxed and ready for a new week!

Visit to the Dentist

2009-08-14T09:36:00.003+09:00

One of the fun things about living overseas is that things like going to the dentist become worthy of a blog post! I got my teeth cleaned on Tuesday, and I was definitely impressed with the staff at the dentist's office. They escorted me to a dentist chair in a long room with about eight chairs in a row. Each chair had a television monitor suspended above. It kind of reminded me of a gym since those individual screens have gotten popular. The receptionist switched the channel of my screen to a movie channel that was showing "Men in Black." Of course, I couldn't hear the audio, and the subtitles were in Korean, but it was a nice gesture. After a few minutes, my hygienist came over and got me positioned in the chair. She handed me a pair of glasses to protect my eyes while she cleaned my teeth.

For the cleaning, she used a high-pressure water jet, which I have never seen before. It made a high-pitched noise and was a little, ummm, uncomfortable, but man I think my teeth have never been so clean! After a long session with the water jet, she polished my teeth with that gritty paste they use and then flossed for me. I think she was the gentlest flosser ever! Finally, she gave me a lesson on proper flossing procedure using impeccable English. She was a little tentative and giggly with some of the words, so I think it was a bit strange for her to be giving her spiel in English, but she did a great job. No cavities, so I was free to go. I was really happy to find out how easy and inexpensive it was to visit the dentist and how professional and able the staff were. Good job TLC dentist in Okpo! See you in six months.

Happy Birthday, Chili and Pepper!

2009-08-13T18:18:00.004+09:00

Last year I estimated that the kittens were born on August 8, so this year we had a little celebration for them turning one year old. This consisted of taking some photos of how big they've gotten and providing them with a new toy that we brought back from the States. They loved the toy (not so much the photos).

Chili-cat is one year old!

Pepper and his giant belly are one year old!

Aquathon and Triathlon Weekend

2009-08-12T16:42:00.004+09:00

By now I'm sure you all know that Keegan and I competed in some races this weekend in Tongyeong, just across the bridge from Geoje Island. I'd like to share a little bit about what it was like.

Saturday morning we got up early so that we could make the drive to Tongyeong in time to be there about an hour before the 8:00 start. I got very nervous as we crawled along through traffic in the city, reliving all of my many anxiety dreams about being late for the start. Finally, we made it to the race area, and I was able to dispel my anxiety with some stretches and the arduous process of squeezing my unwilling body into an extremely tight neoprene casing (otherwise known as a "wetsuit"). By the time I did that and donned my bright yellow race swim cap, it was time to line up on the starting platform.

Ready to race

I have to hand it to the race organizers - there was no messing around at the start, so I didn't have too much time to be nervous before the starting siren went off. It was my first open water swim in competition. For those of you who haven't done one either, you should take a minute to understand why many beginning triathletes find the swim leg particularly daunting. It involves:

a - plunging into the water with a crowd of other people who are dead set on getting back out of the water faster than you while

b - wearing a very tight wetsuit that fills with a layer of water that is

c - often very cold or filled with scary fish and usually very murky which means that

d - you can't really see any of the other competitors or the scary things that might be in the water and

e - you have to put your head under the water, exert yourself athletically, and somehow manage to breathe lots of air and not lots of water. Oh, and

f - you better hope your goggles don't get knocked off by all the commotion.

Fortunately for me, the aquathon field was very small, so the number of other people jostling for position in the water was much less daunting than it could have been.

The small aquathon field

Also, since it is August, the water was a very comfortable temperature. It wasn't hard to get going, and when I did jostle other people, the extra buoyancy of the wetsuit made it easy to poke my head up and chart a better course. Also, when jostling occurred it was easy for the other swimmers to get out of the way. The only problem I had on the swim was that my goggles got some water in them, which was annoying. I took a second to quickly empty out the offending goggle (is that what you call it?) and then resumed swimming. I also noticed that I had a little trouble breathing in my normal three stroke rhythm, but that has happened to me in every tri I've competed in. I think it's the adrenaline. I might have been able to swim faster if I could have relaxed a little. I also have to admit that I had a little trouble staying close to the buoy line that marked the course, especially after making a turn. But all in all, it was a successful swim, and I know I'll be much more confident approaching the next one.

After the swim was over (my time was 18:36 for 1k), I ran out of the water and into the tiny transition area, shedding goggles, swim cap, and most of my wetsuit on the way. As I fumbled with my shoelaces, I silently cursed my lack of "speed laces" which allow you to tighten your laces with just a little plastic slider rather than tying them with clumsy, waterlogged fingers. I also fumbled with my new race belt, which is supposed to be a quick and easy way to put on your race number after you get out of the water. I tried to buckle it behind my back, which was dumb. Next time I'll mess with the buckle in front of me and then turn the number around. These are the silly logistical things that make tris (and aquathons) fun. I think I spent about two minutes in the transition, including the run from the water to the transition area.

The unprofessional race-belt fumble

The first part of the run was just around the parking lot, and I didn't see many other competitors. After about eight minutes, we left the parking area and headed out on a long, beautiful trail next to the water. A member of the Geoje Tri Club named Oscar ran with me for a while, and his heart rate monitor provided a rhythmic beep-beep-beep for me to set my pace to. Just before the turnaround, I passed a female competitor. At the turnaround, Oscar pulled ahead, and a race official told me that I was the third place woman. I was thrilled, but also worried because I had just passed the fourth place woman and knew that she was not far behind me. I spent the whole way back to the parking lot worrying that she would overtake me, especially when I started to slow and got a shoulder cramp about 45 minutes into the run. But fortunately, I got a second wind when I got back to the parking area, and was able to finish with a kick. My time was about 53 minutes for the run, just over 8:30 per mile. I ended up three minutes ahead of the fourth place woman, but I was glad that I felt her breathing down my neck the whole way home because it helped me keep my pace up.

After the race there was a nice awards ceremony with medals, certificates, and a podium. Jacki, our friend and super-athlete whose husband works with Keegan, won the race, and I maintained my third-place spot to the finish. There were eight women in the race, so it was a small field, but I was still happy about my success and motivated to do better in the next race, whenever that may be.

On the podium

(I am not trying to steal Jacki's spotlight. They told us to get close.)

On Sunday, we were back to Tongyeong very, very early for the 6 a.m. start of the triathlon. Several friends and acquaintances from Geoje competed in the race, including Jacki's husband Matt, Keegan's co-worker David, and another guy who works at the Samsung Shipyard, Charlie, who I hadn't met before. Jacki and her kids, David's wife Joanne, and I all watched the race together. The swim course and the bike course involved three laps apiece, so we had lots of opportunities to cheer our men on. Jacki's two beautiful blond kids got a lot of attention from Korean women who were also watching the race. In fact, they got so much attention that I started getting angry. Numerous women completely ignored the little girl's frown and angry gestures and touched her face and hair, and one woman even picked up Jacki's son and held him, without saying anything to me or Jacki. How can you not know that it is totally inappropriate to touch other people's kids, especially when they CLEARLY don't want to be touched? I was really shocked.

Matt finished fourth among the elite age-group athletes, and Keegan was ninth out of twenty-nine in his age group. Everyone except for Matt, for whom this was the seventh triathlon of the year, said that the run was pretty tough, and I think both Keegan and David got some nasty cramps on the run. But everyone also was motivated to train harder for the next one and was happy to have competed.

Keegan finishes his first Olympic distance triathlon.

Transition

2009-07-29T14:32:00.002+09:00

I'm not sure what's supposed to cause culture shock anymore. Being in Korea? Being in the U.S. for three weeks after almost a year away? Being back in Korea again after those three weeks? Well, it turns out that travel in both directions can dramatically change perceptions, and it's very difficult to anticipate how you'll feel at any stage in the process. For example, both Keegan and I thought it would be hard to adjust back to the relative calm and lawfulness of driving in the United States after a year of near misses and crazy road hijinks in Korea. But it wasn't difficult at all. On the other hand, I never expected to find certain foods in the U.S. no longer to my liking, and I did find out that my tastes have changed slightly after a year here. So here's a gathering of all of our impressions and surprises as we traveled between two very different homes:

1. Driving

As I mentioned above, we didn't find it nearly as difficult to get used to driving in the U.S. as we had anticipated. Surprisingly, both of us found ourselves driving more slowly and more calmly than we used to. Maybe because the speed limits are generally lower on Korean highways than they are in the U.S. or maybe just because we were on vacation, but we both noticed it. But let me tell you, coming back to Korea and venturing back into the road jungle that is downtown Okpo was a rude awakening after three weeks of amazing innovations like sidewalks and two-lane streets for two directions of traffic.

2. Food

Keegan and I did a lot of good eating in the U.S. A lot. A whole lot. Mexican, sandwiches, Italian, Chinese, seafood, and enough Bodo's bagels to construct a good-sized bagel fortress. And generally, this eating was one of the best parts of the vacation because I miss restaurants that have more than just seafood, spaghetti, and steaks and also because it's so wonderful to top off a really good restaurant meal with a really good dessert (usually not available in Korea, although Baskin Robbins does make a good finale after almost any meal). But a few things surprised me.

First of all, a lot of the restaurant food we tasted was suprisingly salty and greasy. It tasted great for the first few bites, but after a few more I ended up feeling totally over-stuffed and logy. I think this is part of the explanation for why we saw many more very obese people in the U.S. than we usually do in Korea. Obviously Koreans come in lots of shapes and sizes, and I always feel sorry for the larger men and women that I see because I don't know how they find clothes. But I don't think I have seen anyone here that comes close to the size of some Americans that we saw at home, and I think salty and fatty restaurant food has a lot to do with that.

Another surprise for me was my breakfast yogurt. Generally, I don't like plain yogurt and always used to buy vanilla yogurt in the States. I do the same here. But apparently I can make do with a lot less sweetener than is found in the American brand, because when I had my first highly anticipated bite at breakfast in Charlottesville, I was shocked at how sugary the vanilla yogurt really is. Maybe I will learn how to make my own when we return home to the States for good.

3. Shopping

No surprises here. Going shopping with Mom in Lynchburg was so much fun! There were shoes in my size everywhere! The stores were large and almost completely self-service, without salespeople hovering at the ready to fetch "large size" clothes. All of the books and magazines at the bookstore were in English! There was an easy-to-find store selling triathlon wetsuits that we could try on right there in the store. I did have one funny moment in Old Navy in Lynchburg where I started counting out my dollars as if they were won. Because the largest denomination in Korea (until last month, anyway) is roughly the equivalent of a $10 bill, I am used to counting out bills by 10's. Imagine what happened at Old Navy when I carefully counted out three twenties and a few ones to pay for a $34 total. The clerk was a little concerned about my skills in basic math, I'm sure.

4. Work

In Korea, a lot of our friends are also Keegan's co-workers. This means that even at social gatherings, the conversation almost always turns to work at least occasionally. In addition, everyone is working very hard, long hours, and everyone knows that the company has shipped them to the other side of the world to do just that. It was so refreshing to be back in the U.S. and have so many conversations that focused on life outside of work - people's hobbies, families, and work as a way to support the rest of one's life.

5. Home

Before we left for our vacation, Korea had begun to feel like home. We have a great apartment, a rich group of friends and co-workers and neighbors, favorite shops and restaurants, two playful and affectionate pets, running and biking routes, and a plethora of activities to keep us busy. But as soon as we arrived in the U.S., it took no time at all to feel at home there as well. Familiar faces, old haunts, favorite meals, and long-missed activities filled our vacation days, and it was hard to see how a return to Korea could be a homecoming at all.

And it wasn't. I thought that the return to Korea would be very different from our first journey here, and in some ways it was. Nothing was as surprising or new as it was last year, and we certainly didn't have to do any unpacking, and we had two very happy cats to greet us when we arrived home. But at the same time, I felt a lot of the same feelings of readjustment again. I missed friends and family in the U.S. with a renewed strength and once again felt tentative and uncertain about leaving the apartment to do everyday tasks. And I started getting an envious feeling again when I looked at Korean people going about their daily lives. I am envious of them because this is their place, their culture, unquestionably their home. I had the same feeling sometimes in Poland. I loved Poland dearly, and my year there changed my life in a lot of positive ways, but it could never be home in the way that it was for those Polish people I saw in the streets, who were living where they had grown up, close to family and friends, speaking their native language without a second thought.

I know that as I re-immerse myself in my life here that those feelings will diminish, and I will appreciate the positive aspects of being here - the adventure, the chance to meet new people and try new things, the opportunities to travel. But the homesickness and distance from friends and family are part and parcel of living abroad, and they have their day, too.