Samuel Craig's Life Blog

Month 4

It’s been a crazy ride for Sammy and his parents the last couple months. Thankfully, life is slowing down a little bit and all are settling in to their new routines.

I've posted quite a few new pictures both in Sammy's Gallery (click link on the left) and Dan's Gallery (scroll to bottom to see newer albums, including Pusan picts). I'm also in the process of getting some in here, but it's taking a while

Move #1 – Indianapolis to Chicago

Where shall I start? Let’s begin about where we left off last time, the move. Actually, let’s say the “first” move. We decided to move to Chicago at the end of July. The house wasn’t officially sold yet, but we wanted to spend at least a little time with the family in Chicago before the big move.

Before moving we had a couple garage sales and had a number of people walk through the house picking out stuff that they wanted, including the eventual buyers of the house. The place cleared out of big stuff pretty quickly, which meant that we had less to move. However, as usual, the small stuff kill you. You can never accurately guess how much space the small stuff will take up. Dan estimated that we’d have about 10 boxes and that was a gross underestimate. Grandma, Grandpa, and aunt Marcey came out to help us move and we surprisingly filled a 17’ truck.

Our temporary move to Chicago lasted about a week. It seems that nearly all of our time was spent doing last minute errands and re-packing. Trying to get all of our stuff in 5 bags and numerous carry-ons was a tough task. In the end, daddy even forgot to pack many of his work clothes! However, the time that we spent with our family in Chicago was very special, especially since we knew that it had to hold us over for 6 months. We ate together, went to some town events, including a concert in the park (the Village Green) and the 4th of July parade. The last night we where in town, we even got together with a long absent friend, Jason Frogge, and his family at their place. Some burgers, beers, and catching up made for a good send off.


The Move #2 – Chicago to Seoul

The Flight

13 hours to Tokyo-Norita and 3 more to Inchon International Airport, as well as countless hours lingering in airport holding pens. That’s what we had to look forward to as we set off on the morning of July 11 for O’Hare. Mom and Mindy brought us out, and boy did we need them. You’ve never seen 2 people with so many bags (mostly carry-ons) while trying to balance a 3-month-old on their shoulders.

We got out over-weight baggage checked, said our tearful goodbyes and headed through security. Now, this was before the liquids ban, thank god, but it was a nightmare none-the-less. We had to take the stroller apart, carry Sammy, take off our shoes, put our 2 laptops on separate baskets (we had about 8 baskets/bags total), and empty our pockets. People behind us must have been cursing us under their breaths. It was an obscene sight and if I were in charge, I would have made us check all that crap (luckily, I’m not in charge).

The agents were all very helpful throughout the trip. On the first flight, the attendant asked the person in the 3rd seat if she would mind moving to another open seat (I think that she was actually relieved). So, we had a group of seats and a place to stage multiple feedings, changings, and various baby operations throughout the trip. We spent a good amount of time keeping Sammy busy (as well as those other tasks), so there wasn’t much sleep in the cards for this flight, but all-in-all it went amazingly well. He barely cried at all. Actually, he laughed more than cried, which could have been a little annoying to other passengers as well. Not surprisingly, on our arrival at Tokyo-Norita a women sitting behind us exclaimed, “He was so quiet!” I’m sure that when we sat in front of her she was thinking, “Oh, shit! Attendant! Another drink please.”

We had to go through security again at Norita. This time with a couple purchases from Duty Free. This was a little easier, though. Norita security opened a separate lane just for stollers, wheelchairs, and the like. I think that we got through in half the time that the regular crowd did. Cheers to Norita staff!

Though there was quite a bit of confusion with the gate staff, when we finally got on the plane we realized that they had given us an entire middle row (5 seats). That was a nice surprise. We were able to spread out a little on the last leg of our trip. Sammy, however, was not impressed. He had reached his limit. He cried and fussed most of the way to Inchon.

We landed, struggled with a huge pile of luggage, and met up with Deasik and Mom Kim at arrivals. They helped get us into a cab (their car wasn’t nearly big enough for all our stuff, much less us) and off to Seoul and our new apartment.

The Apartment

I think that we were both pleasantly surprised with the apartment. It’s about 1/3 the size of our house, which will take some getting used to, but it is a 3 bedroom. It was clean and had some of the basics furnished that we’d need (including a Queen size bed). There is a reasonably-sized kitchen and a really small family room (if you can call it that). We’ll struggle to get a couch in that space. We had some movers come over and do some slight rearranging then we properly unpacked.

Sammy has a room that is about 7.5’ X 9’ and I have an office that is about 8’ X 8’ and our bedroom is 11’ X 11’. I wasn’t surprised by the small rooms. I was expecting those. I was pleasantly surprised by out bedroom. It’s a good size and has more than enough room for closets (not built-in here) and a dresser and still enough space to move around.

The kitchen only has burners. Ovens are not standard in Korea. This was expected, but still is something that needs to be addressed. We NEED an oven of some sort. Moon’s parents bought a microware for us, which makes up for the lack of an oven to some extent, but it’s just not the same.

There is an air conditioner, which is REALLY necessary. It’s only a room unit, but that’s all you get here in Korea (no vents in the housing). Therefore, the family room/kitchen stay cool, but we needed to get a couple fans to really cool the rest of the apartment.

The neighborhood is located in-between 2 universities Shin Sung Women’s University and Han Shin University, which means that there are plenty of restaurants, bars, and shopping. It’s also in-between two subway and major bus stops for those schools. The nearest is about a 5 minute walk. Two stops down on that line drops me in front of Seoul National University Yongun campus where I work. I can get to just about anywhere in the city in 30-40 minutes from these stops and cabs are plentiful and relatively reasonable for those hard to reach places.

Dan’s Job

I started work a few days after arriving. It didn’t seem to be nearly enough time to get ready, but the clock stops for no one. I got my stuff together as best possible and went to work. I started out teaching an intensive summer session (English conversation classes). 4 classes, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. It surely was trial by fire. Everything went rather well, though. My coworkers and the school staff seem like a good group of folks and they have been really helpful. The students were really great. I hope this is an indication of the quality from now on. Mostly graduate students, faculty, and staff. All motivated and all with a true desire to learn something that they could use right away in their academic, personal, or professional lives. A very good experience overall….except “the room”.

The room that I taught in was terrible, though. Mold, mushrooms actually growing out of the carpet, if you can believe that?! There had obviously been some water damage at the back of the room (a large lecture room) and nobody had really done anything about it. So, I got used to the smell after a while and went on with the job.


Stay-at-home Mom Moon

Moon has been adjusting to her fulltime, stay-at-home Mom status. I think that it is going to take a while for her to adjust to. While taking care of Sammy is a demanding job, it is much different from her past life as hotel GM. The demands are different. Mostly because the job is so insular. There is very little connection to those outside of the home, at this point. She is beginning to develop a network of friends in the building, however. This should help somewhat. These friends are primarily available during the day (when husbands are at work) and they are great for company, gossip, and even some useful information. Hopefully, this burgeoning network can replace (or at least make up for) the intensive social/professional interaction that she has grown accustomed to at work.


100 Days Celebration

A baby’s birth is celebrated less than his/her 100 days birthday here in Korea. I suppose that this arose out of the high infant mortality rate up until the recent past here. The thinking was that if a baby lasted 100 days he/she was basically here to stay.

Sammy celebrated his 100 day birthday the first Sunday that we were here (good timing, huh?). We went to Moon’s parent’s place in Ilsan and had a little party, complete with birthday cake. It was a great excuse to get everyone together too. It was nice to see the whole family together. We ate, chatted, took naps :) and had a pretty good time.


Doctor’s Visit

It took a while, but we finally found a pediatrician here. There are plenty, but few really gave Moon the feedback that we both expected. The level of service that pediatricians provided here in Korea is really different than in the U.S. A fact that made me a little nervous at first, but in reality, all I want her to do is fix/diagnose when something’s wrong. Anything else is icing.

After a significant paperwork delay with insurance, we finally got it all squared away and got him in. This was around his 4-month-mark and it was time to do a couple vaccinations (actually 4, but we split it into 2x2 for another visit). The doctor asked a couple questions about the vaccinations that he had already received then sent us off with a nurse. He was measured (66 cm or 26”) and weighed (6.3 Kg or 13.88 lbs). Basically, he’s tall and skinny (I have a feeling that won’t last). Then it was time for the shots. Mom had to stand off to the side because she was crying more than Sammy :) He got his shots, whined a little, and then it was done. He was pretty good, yet a little fussy for the rest of the day. The next set of two weren’t as uneventful, but not too bad either. He screamed for a while after each of those shots (the nurse said that those hurt more). Mom had to turn around…I think she was getting a little sick. But after all shots were administered he cheered up in about a minute and everything was ok.


Pusan

With classes over, we headed to Pusan for a couple days with Moon’s brother, Moonsik, and his family to visit Moon’s parents. However, we didn’t spend much time with them :( We took the bullet train (I don’t know if it’s really a bullet train) from Seoul to Pusan. It only took about 2.5 hours. Not too bad.

The Beach

When we arrived with spent a little time with Mom and Dad Kim and then headed to the beach. It was hovering around 100 F (about 38 C) that day. It was HOT. The beach was packed, but for good reason. The Pacific water was freezing. No better way to cool off. Moonsik, the kids, and I hit the water. Man that was nice. We were in and out of the water for a few hours. It was just too hot for Jinsung, Moon, and Sammy. They didn’t have the benefit of the water that day. So, we headed back to Mom and Dad Kim’s.

We got some really cold beers on the way home and ordered some fried chicken. This may not sound like much, but it was a perfect end to the day. Those beers where great. Hmmmm.

Kyungju (or Gyungju)

The next day we decided to Kyungju. This is a historical area in Korea. Don’t ask me for a history lesson, but it was a historically special place where there are a number of temples, museums, and ruins. It’s a really cool area. I’m a big fan of all that old stuff. I took a lot of pictures, including signs, because I obviously don’t know what I’m talking about. Many of the pictures feature a sleeping Sammy. I think that he slept through the whole trip.

Now

What’s going on now? Well we are just getting settled in. Finally getting to know the area around our apartment. Sammy’s firmly in a schedule. I wish that Moon and I could say the same thing.

I suppose that I can say Moon’s on a schedule…she’s on Sammy’s :) I feel for her. She waits for him to nap to get things done, but then she doesn’t get any sleep. I’m not much help these days. It should be better this fall…let’s see.

I’m coming off of a stretch working 7:30-3:00 (up at 5:00, down at 1:00). I was rather tired. Working two jobs, the second was online, which meant that I was answering emails and phone calls all night :( That over for now, so I’m trying to get into my new schedule 5pm-10pm T-F and 9-1 on Saturdays. Sounds strange, but I think that it will work out well. Let’s face it. Me getting used to staying up late and sleeping in is like asking a fish to get used to swimming.

So, that’s it for now. If you made it down this far, congratulations! You are a glutton for punishment.

I hope that it won’t be so long in-between posting next time.

Bye.