A date that's thrice as nice

Starlight,

Star bright,

First Star I see tonight.

Wish I may,

Wish I might,

Have the wish,

I wish tonight.

Daddy Daughter Dinner Dance,

Seoul Foreign School,

February 23, 2008
The Grand Hilton,

Seoul, South Korea

To a father growing old nothing is dearer than a daughter. ~Euripides

Starting Over

Today I made bread for the first time here in Seoul. It’s been a while since I’ve made bread, at least six months. I have been making bread since I was a senior in high school when my Aunt Diane taught me how to do it. There are a lot of things about making bread that I love: the smell of the wheat, the feel of the dough, the warmth of the house while it’s baking. I find it very rewarding to bake bread. I usually feel satisfied when I pack my baked bread away into bread bags and then into the cupboard or freezer. A good friend of mine once told me, “if you do something enough, it becomes so easy to do—it’s like falling off a log”. Well, I think I was about to that point with my bread making….until, I moved here. I have postponed my first bread making experience for fear that maybe I won’t be able to make bread here and I am going to have to admit that to myself. A fear that that part of me and many other parts of me can’t exist here in Seoul. Today I faced that fear and made my bread.
When I left Chicago, I had a 50 pound bucket of wheat that I left in the trash because the moving company wouldn’t include it in my shipment and I didn’t know what to do with it. So many times since I’ve been here in Seoul, I’ve thought about my bucket of wheat in the garbage. What a tragedy. And so, from day one in Seoul I have been on a quest to find wheat. Like many of God’s blessings, my wheat found me, I didn’t find it. A woman from my church was moving back to the states and she invited me to clean out her pantry. In her pantry was a 5 pound bag of whole wheat. I smiled and took it home where I packed it carefully into my cupboard waiting for the courage to attempt my bread. I think my biggest fear of making my bread was my “oven”. It’s a glorified microwave, really. It’s the size of a microwave with a round rotating tray. It has three different modes: microwave, grill, and convection oven. All of the buttons are in Korean and so is the owner’s manual. For the last six weeks I have experimented with some success and a lot of failure with the little oven. Like many other aspects of my life, my quest to “figure out the oven” has been a study in optimism, innovation and endurance; marked by an occasional triumph and many failures. The bread? It got a little burnt on the outside (a common dilemma of mine with the convection mode and converting Celsius to Fahrenheit) and one loaf stuck to the pan...UUugh. But, I discovered that it is possible to have homemade bread in Seoul and I can make it, if I’m willing to put forth a little bit more effort. It is frustrating to feel like I am relearning my life all over again, just when I felt like a well-oiled machine, but like another good friend once told me, “We never arrive”. So, here’s to my journey, and hot bread and honey.

Namdaemun Gate

A few weeks ago an arsonist set fire to the Namdaemun gate, one of South Korea's most historic sites. Located in central Seoul the gate is the oldest wooden structure in Seoul, and was given the status of "National Treasure number one" in 1962. It was first constructed in 1398, rebuilt in 1447.
Sad. I never got to see it.

A Super Treasure

Last week my dear friend and fellow blogger sent James this darling cape. What she may not know is that my mother-in-law made a similar super cape for James’ daddy when he was a little super boy. Probably over thirty years ago! Aren’t those capes sweet! What keepsakes!

"O" in Korean means Five

Hiking the mountain behind our house is one of my new favorite pastimes here in Seoul. The view of the city is absolutely incredible. I love it up there. A lot of the townsfolk hike up there to worship the Buddha statue or just to exercise. Over the Chinese New Year holiday we took all of the children up and explored for a while. During this hike with our family, the Korean people took special notice of Jim. They walked by with their mouths open and their heads shaking in disbelief. Then they would hold up their hand to show “five”, and say something I imagine went like this, “Five? Do you really have five kids?” They were amazed by the size of our family.

My Hat Has Three Corners

When Anna came home with her assignment for the 100th day of school celebration I had two thoughts, first-do we have to celebrate 100th day of school here too? And second-how am I going to swing this? The assignment? Decorate a hat with one-hundred items. I looked around my cluttered half-in boxes house and sighed. The one thing Anna doesn’t have is a hat. I must have been inspired because I grabbed my stapler and three folded pieces of red paper and quickly made a three cornered hat, all the while singing, “My hat has three corners”. Anna then took the heart punch and punched out 100 white and blue hearts, glued them to the hat and wowsie! I survived that assignment—just in time for President’s Day!

How much would you pay to play Skip-bo?

Over the Thanksgiving holiday my sister-in-law, Meredith taught me how to play Skipbo. I was hooked. I love it. I planned on bringing the game here with me to Korea but somehow (I can’t imagine how) it didn’t make it. But….Jim’s parents sent me this brand new game! Guess how much the postage was…. $38! Ouch! The package included a few spices (ginger, buttermilk dressing mix, cloves and a peppermill) a power strip for American plugs and my game.
We love our Skipbo game! I haven’t won yet, but soon, very soon.

Seoul's Border

When we lived in Chicago we loved going to the Mexican Grill, “On the Border”. Unfortunately for us the grill closed and we missed going there. Chili’s became our default. One day soon after I got to Seoul I noticed a person walking with an “On the Border” take out bag. Could it be? Sure enough; we had to come to Seoul to be reunited with our long lost pal.
How was our dining experience? Well, the food was great, just like back home. One very significant difference was that our waiter stayed at the end of our table nearly the entire time that we were in the Restaurant. At times he paced back and forth at the end of the table, once he wiped Maggie’s snotty nose. He basically “waited” for us to eat. I found it comical and a bit unnerving. He probably found us comical and a bit unnerving. (An added perk is the Korean rule of service: No Tipping. Absolutely, no tipping is allowed.)

Today I rode a cab across town. I had my stroller with me. When the cab stopped to pick me up, the driver hopped out and ran around the car to the sidewalk that I was on and collapsed my stroller then put it in the trunk. This was a bit shocking, but not as shocking as what he was wearing: a starched white shirt, a suit vest and tie. No blue collar dressers around here.

Happy New Year!

For Chinese New Year we took the children to Lotte World, or "Six Flags". Happy New Year!
Let's hear it for the year of the Rat! It's our year.

Deja vu

The other day I walked into my bathroom to this lovely scene: baby + greasy baby cream. What made it absolutely endearing is that my mom has a picture almost identical of my sister Robilyn doing the same thing when she was two.

All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest, 1895

Show and Tell

My latest creation. Amidst all the change, knitting still calms my nerves. Love that knitting!

Armed and Dangerous

I finally have a map and a “dictionary”. The book has helped me shop for furniture, find a public bathroom for my desperate child, find and use a public telephone, and say goodbye with a bit of finesse. I love the book, in fact sometimes it is so entertaining to look through that I become distracted and lose all sense of time. I wonder why I didn’t buy one before I came. I guess I couldn’t understand the value of communicating through language until that ability was lost. I couldn’t have understood until I was immersed in it, how complicated the foreign characters, the tones, and the honorific changes would be for me. Most of all, I couldn't understand how the most simple needs and desires can't be met without the ability to speak. It is all very overwhelming. I am getting by though. The other day, I was able to ride a cab from across town. In Korean I was able to say, “Please take me to the fire station” (which is near my home). Then, when we neared the fire station I was able to say, “turn right” then “turn left” then “straight up there” and last of all “here please”. I was quite happy with myself that I have come so far. I have been so completely helpless and pathetic. I am gaining self-sufficiency bit by bit. What a relief!

Five Stars

The Durofix Cordless Li-ion Screwdriver.
My mom and dad gave Jim this screwdriver for Christmas. Jim and I call it "the five star christmas gift for 2007". He has used it nearly everyday since we moved into our place. He says it works like a champ! He highly recommends it. It is loaded with a bit of testosterone so you may want to save it for Father's Day or some other "boyish" occasion. I myself am a tomboy so I have no qualms using it, I just can't seem to get a chance to.