Getting Settled

“Life is meant for spectacular adventures. Let your feet wander, your eyes marvel, and your soul ignite.”

Well y’all, I did it. I completed my first week in South Korea, and it is going a lot better than I ever thought it would. Not that I thought it was going to be a horrible experience, but it was something new in a new country, even continent, and I was apprehensive. I am getting accustomed to my new little area, the walk to base, the driving, and many more. Of course, the little coffee shop by where we live helps out a lot. I am currently here writing this blog post. We are on the edge of the ville, which is where it is always busy and noisy, so I enjoy often being the only one in here to gather my thoughts.

Last week I spent a lot of my time getting the apartment set up and clean. We were able to get a new comforter for the bedroom, and it is amazing how much a new bedding set can make a place feel more like home. I also organized the kitchen and living room making sure everything has its own place. Buddy bought me some new things for the kitchen like a Pioneer Woman kitchen set with some cutting knifes and mixing bowls and such. Plus, he got me a brand new toaster oven!!! After talking to a few people, ovens are not a big Korean thing. The majority of people here do not own one, and if they do, it is a small toaster oven. Luckily though, I can now do some baking for the holidays which makes me one happy wife. We also got a few more Christmas things for the apartment which might make an appearance in either next week’s vlog or the one after that. I am happy though that it feels like we are finally settling in to our life here. We’re making this apartment feel a little like home and getting used to the way of life here.

Another thing I did last week was walk to Camp Humphreys four different times. I did it once on Monday, twice on Thursday, and once on Saturday. It’s a good thirty minute walk, and it’s turning out to be quite an enjoyable walk. When I went on Monday, I met Buddy for lunch at the Texas Roadhouse on base. Yes, you read that correctly. It was put on base earlier this year. It was so good to walk in and hear country music playing, ordering sweet tea, and getting some of their fresh rolls with the cinnamon butter. After we ate and got my new ID figured out, we went to the Commissary (the grocery stores on military bases). While perusing the frozen food aisles, we came across Corky’s BBQ! For those that do not know, Corky’s is located in Memphis! Although I didn’t pick any up, I am happy to know that when I am wanting some BBQ that has some Memphis flavor, I know exactly where to get it.

On Friday, the wife of a guy Buddy works with invited me over for the afternoon to drink coffee and then have dinner once the guys got off work. While there, another wife came over with her two little boys. She is from Taiwan, and she said they also do not have ovens there. While there, we taught her how to make chocolate chip cookies. She had me laughing when she asked why she had to make them when she could just as easily go to the store and buy them. It is a very logical thought, just not as fun.

Thursday and Saturday night, Buddy and I splurged and had date nights. We went out to a Mexican restaurant on Thursday, and then we went back to Braai Republic for dinner on Saturday, like we did last weekend. For anyone who knows me, you will know that I LOVE cheese dip. When I go eat Mexican, I will always order it. Buddy does not eat cheese dip, or just cheese for that matter. So when we go, he always gets the salsa to himself and I get a bowl of cheese dip for myself. The sad thing that I am learning is that cheese dip is very much an American thing. I knew it was not in Cancun when I went five years ago, but I am finding out that not a single Mexican restaurant here has it! I have googled all of them and looked at their menus, and not a single place has it. So if anyone can figure out a way to ship me some, I will love you for ever. And as always, Buddy and I like to include coffee shops in our dates, so here’s some pictures from those.

Sundays are the big grocery shopping days, and I still had to get a few things even though we had gone on Wednesday. So we went back to the grocery store, except this time we went with his best friend since we had the van to use. It is always a good day when we are able to use the van that we borrow from a neighbor. But before we went to the grocery store, we went to a Christmas market!! The United Spouses Club was putting on their annual Holiday Bazaar at the middle school on base. There were about 70 vendors, American and Korean. They played Christmas music all throughout, and we were able to get a few goodies there!

For this upcoming week, I don’t think it’s going to be too exciting. Buddy has to work on Thanksgiving, although we are going back to our friend’s apartment for Thanksgiving dinner with a few of his coworkers. Camp Humphreys is starting to put up a huge Christmas tree and all sorts of lights and decorations all around base, so I will be going periodically to check on those. So we’ll just have to wait and see what happens this week! It is just hard to believe that I have already been here a little over a week when it feels like I have been here for a couple of months already!

Thank y’all for all the kind comments last week on my first blog post. I did not expect all the kind words and encouraging comments, but from someone whose love language is words of affirmation, it meant a lot. Hopefully y’all liked this blog just as much! Remember to comment and subscribe if you like it!