Shopping in Seoul

The day before my niece, Alyse, and I were to fly back to the states, we took a bus on post to Yongsan, about 90 minutes from Humphreys.  This base is in Seoul and has very good shopping just outside the gates.  Because Alyse does not have a military ID, we had a little trouble on post, and we would not be allowed back on base to take that bus back.  Luckily for us, a young man standing behind us at the gate told us how to take the train back to Pyeongtaek where we could catch the bus to get back to Humphreys. 

The shops in this area had their own outdoor tables with EZ Up like coverings.  It reminded me a little of Naples, Italy, where the items outside got you to stop and then the proprietor would come out and ask you to come into the store to see more.  Alyse and I both have a shoe fetish, and purses, can't forget purses.  The shoes in Korea are not only inexpensive, they are also well made and cute!  In Anjeong-ri and Pyeongtaek, there are NO shoes in my size.  I have large feet for an American woman, so Korean women would call my feet skis.  One shop owner was looking for a pair of shoes on a lower shelf and happened to look at my feet and just said, "Big feet, no shoes".  I am size 10-11 and sometimes need a wide size depending on the style of shoe.  In Seoul, one shop had a large foot size shelf where I was able to purchase a very nice pair of flats.  Unfortunately the shop owner charges about $7 MORE for those of us with large feet.  I suppose it does take more material...

These are traditional Korean outfits.  This type of dress is called hanbok, and the woman's consists of a blouse or short jacket worn over a full wrap around skirt.  To me it looks like an empire waist type of dress.  It is colorful with clean lines and no pockets.

I don't know why these pictures won't transfer rotated, but they won't.

Shoppers listening to a live band outside a shopping mall.

For lunch, we came across a Chinese restaurant above the shops.  It was small, mostly Korean businessman, but we decided to give it a try.  Bill had sweet and sour chicken which was pretty good.  Alyse had a fried noodle dish which wasn't very good.  The noodles were like those dry crunchy ones you get with chow mein.  I got a soft noodle with a chicken and bean sauce.  I liked it, even though it was black in color.  Alyse did not like it at all.  Using chopsticks with those noodles was not easy, but I did it.  

Alyse found a purse and some souvenirs to buy.  I found those big shoes:)  We were ready to get home, so we headed to the train station.  It took a little help from an information booth, but we got our train tickets purchased.  Seats were assigned, and we were not sitting together.  One seat was in a completely different car!  A young Korean student sat next to me.  He asked where I was from.  He apologized for his English skills, but he did pretty well.  He is a philosophy student at a university in Seoul.  He wants to travel one day and hopes to get to the US to visit.  He did tell me that, although they realize the USA helped South Korea in many ways, most of his friends resented the fact that the United States had such a large presence in South Korea.  Most want reunification with North Korea, and that would take a war that the US will not allow.  He said, "I do not like US being here, but I like US."  I told him I wouldn't like a foreign country having military bases in the US either.  He was very polite and kind and pleasant to talk with.

 Inside the train...

 Buildings we passed by on the train...

                              

 Bill without a goofy look on his face...amazing!  The train got us home in no time, and we all crashed, especially since we knew we had to fly home the next day!

The final flight

Pepsi, Tweek, Bert and I left Atlanta on September 26th.  Bill's parents, Jack and Betty, were kind enough to follow me to the airport.  While I filled out mounds of paperwork, Betty waited at the rental car so I would not get a ticket.  After the check in, it was time to have the dogs and their crates inspected.  This only takes a few minutes, and after I had signed everything, the porter loaded the crates onto a dolly.  He pulled the dogs away as I walked away, and when I looked back, there was Pepsi with her face in the window watching me.  It was all I could do to keep walking away.

I said goodbye again to Jack and Betty, then Bert and I returned the car, took a train, and eventually got on the plane for Detroit.  I had given a zanex 0.25mg to Bert prior to leaving the grandparents' house, but he was still meowing, more with curiosity than stress to me.  As I was emptying my things into one of the bins at security, I found my blood thinner injection in my purse.  (I have a blood clotting abnormality; I form clots very easily.)  I warned my line of folks that I was about to give myself a shot, lifted my shirt, and injected my blood thinner right then and there.  I tossed the needle in the trash (bad girl) and kept on putting things in bins.  Not one person said a word.  After figuring out my metal hairband was setting off the alarm, we got to our gate, boarded and time, and off we went.  On the plane, I started smelling urine.  Bert's crate had potty pads in it, and I had brought spare pads, plastic bags to tie up the nasty potty pads in, and pet wipes.  We made use of all of the above.  In Detroit, I took Bert to a family restroom like we had done with the dogs.  I set up the small litter box (drawer organizer) and let him walk around.  He ate and drank in that bathroom, but he would not go potty.  We boarded our plane for Korea, and although he made a noise or two, I could not have asked for a better travel partner.  He ate about 4 times during that flight, and I only had to change the potty pad once.  

Bert relaxing in Savannah

Tweek and Pepsi were very happy to see me!  Tweek had the more stressful time, I think.  I had given her 1 mg of zanex prior to getting into the airport.  Tweek's potty pads were shredded, the plastic bowls chewed to bits, towel soaked in urine.  Pepsi saw me, stood up, stretched and laid back down.  She had her librium before the flight.  Both of them had eaten the treats I put in there and had just about emptied their water buckets.

Pepsi and Tweek at home in Savannah

Getting through quarantine was a bit more difficult.  I don't think this group had as much experience as the last group.  The officer did not want me to take the dogs out of the crate, but he kept scanning Pepsi's neck and couldn't find the microchip.  I told him to go further down between her shoulders, but either he didn't understand me or he was ignoring me.  Finally I took her out of the crate and pointed to the spot for him to scan.  He scanned it but wasn't happy with that, so he got another scanner and did it again.  We were finished there, but then the customs fellow seemed to think I was suspicious.  He stamped my customs form, but instead of keeping it, he gave it back to me.  I went through the exit doors and saw Bill almost immediately.  As we were all saying hello, a very harried looking Korean airport employee came bursting through the exit, and asked me for my customs form.  I gave it to him,  and he said something to me that I did not hear or understand and walked away.  I told Bill as far as I was concerned, we could leave, too.  

Bill uses a GPS he borrows from a co-worker to get to and from the airport.  There was some work being done on the roads so the GPS detoured us.  It took an extra half hour to get home, and the stress of being lost just about did me in.  We finally made it home, and you could not have seen a more precious homecoming.  Marie and Pepsi were wagging themselves silly, and Marie gave Pepsi a bath.  Marie was happy to see me, too, as was William.

I hope you all are having pleasant weekends.  Take care!

Last few days in the US

Alyse and I are in Atlanta now, but we will be back on the coast later today.  Our flight home was uneventful: traveling without the pets is almost like vacation.  I will attempt to drop off my Tahoe for shipment to the ROK in Ellenwood, GA, (not far from here) but I forgot the title, so I am not sure if they will accept it just with the registration.  We shall see.  I have a Chrysler Town and Country van (2013, very nice!) I rented from Hertz to get us home if they do take the Tahoe. 

What else did I forget?  Well, I forgot to send a check with the last 3 health certificates that went to the USDA.  I will call them today and either give a credit card over the phone or go to Conyers myself and pay.  The Tahoe drop off point in Ellenwood is about 30 minutes from the USDA offices in Conyers, so at least I won't be driving all over creation to correct my mistakes.

Thursday will find Pepsi (whippet) and Tweek (border collie) loading into checked baggage while Bert (17 year old cat) and I board for my last trip to ROK.

 Here is Bert enjoying some time outside in our Savannah back yard.  Hopefully he will enjoy his ROK yard as much!

 Pepsi's watchful eye will hopefully be closed while she is on the plane.  I do plan to sedate her and Tweek. 

Tweek will hopefully be Pepsi's anchor for this trip.  She is the best bc ever, but she can get worried, too.  

We will be playing ball on the other side of the planet soon!

**PLEASE those of you who are the praying sort and those of you who are of the energy sort and all those in between, pray for/send positive energy for our trip on Thursday.  Those of you who know Pepsi know how worried I have been for her, but I have done all I can do and gave the rest to God.  Bert, I think, will be fine in the cabin with me.  He'll complain I am sure, but I think he'll manage it all fairly well.  Ya'll take care!!

Pyeongtaek dining and shopping

Yes, my dogs can share, but they don't like it.  Pickings are a bit slim here right now.  I hate to go out and buy more dog beds when I have several that will be here in a few months.  Will the dogs be able to share until then?  Likely not, since Tweek and Pepsi will be here soon. 

Today Alyse, Bill and I went into Pyeongtaek to do some shopping in an open market they have.  Turns out that market was mostly food items, and they had a little of everything!  Live fish, crabs, lobster, eels, skate, squid....dried items of all the above....lots of fruits and vegetables.....chickens, pork.....nope, we didn't see any dog.  This market during the week does offer dog meat for sale.  Koreans also keep dogs as pets, and they distinguish between dogs for meat and dogs for work and dogs for companions.  Most of the working dogs are a white husky type.  Most of the pet dogs are small, and it is a fairly common thing to see light colored long haired small dogs with their ears and tails died orange or purple or green.  I should have taken a picture of the one we saw today, but I didn't think about it.  (I am awful when it comes to remembering to take a photograph, always have been.)

They all look like they are trying to figure out how to get the other two dogs to move.

Pancho hogs the bed whenever he can.  Marie and Dollar eventually worm their way in around him, then he moves.

Becca has had the easiest time adjusting.  Here she is in one of her favorite positions: on her back, snuggled between my thigh and the arm of the chair.

Our first night here (Wednesday night for us but it would have been Wednesday morning at home; South Korea is 13 hours AHEAD of Georgia right now; when y'all fall back, we'll only be 12), we went into Pyeongtaek to the AK Plaza.  This is a massive, 8 story shopping/movie/restaurant complex, which also hosts a kids' swimming pool on the roof during the summer.  Pools are rare in ROK (Republic of Korea is South Korea's official name; North Korea is People's Republic of Korea or PROK), and Bill said it was fun watching the adults and the kids interact with the water.  The shopping here is like Oglethorpe Mall: anchor stores with small shops in between, a food court, etc.  We went to a restaurant that Bill had eaten at before and did our best to order.  It was difficult because apparently the English speaking wait staff are there on the weekends.  One young lady brought over her phone and had me speak into it to translate into Korean.  It didn't help much, but we were able to order.  The food is cooked at the table on a hot plate of sorts.  This is very traditional Korean; our home has a gas stove on one side and the electric hot plate on the other side.  It was a lot of food, no carbohydrates except for the rice bread.

This was the beginning of the meal.  Those are heart shaped patties of ground beef in the pan with onion, mushroom, and some type of squash cooked around.  They had already placed about 8 different side dishes on the table prior to the meat and vegies being cooked.  The side dishes were salad, kimchee (yum! for my spicy loving tummy!), cucumber chili pepper--thanks to the phone translator, we learned this jalapeno-looking pepper was not hot at all, more like a bell pepper in flavor--and several pickled items: a cabbage that was not hot, mushroom.  There was also a mashed sweet potato item that everyone liked.  Oh, and the bread, oh my, rice bread, sweet and thick and sticky and delicious!  The sauce on the lower left of the picture was a bit spicy but not too much.

After the beef patties were cooked and mostly consumed, the staff returned and used pieces of white bread to sop up the leftover grease.  They then proceeded to cook the shaved beef, bean sprouts, and enoki mushrooms for the last course.  I forgot to tell you about the squash soup we ate at the very beginning...  The shaved beef was not as flavorful as the ground beef, and it was super fatty, but we weren't shy and we ate most of it.  To drink, we were offered rice water.  Alyse couldn't get her tastebuds to accept that, so she had a soft drink and Bill had a glass of wine, but I was fine with the rice water.  I had to ask for forks, but to my credit, I did not use mine.  I did fairly well with my chopsticks and even watched a Korean diner use hers and did my best to copy her actions.  I think next time I won't even ask for a fork.

We were stuffed to the gills when we left, but Alyse and I were both hungry not long after!  We had snacks at the house fortunately.  I hope you have enjoyed our latest adventure.  Take care!

Fandrich-Billards arrive in Seoul

This blog is primarily for my family and friends, so if one of those folks sent you here, I am a small animal veterinarian (for 23 years) who has moved her 5 dogs and 3 cats from Savannah, GA, USA  to Pyeongtaek, South Korea to follow my husband who is an engineer (civilian) with the US Army Corps of Engineers.

We have been here for almost 3 days now, and the creatures are settling in.  As most of you know, the 15 1/2 year old papillon Dollar and 4 year old chihuahua Pancho flew from Atlanta to Detroit and then Seoul in the cabin with me and my niece, Alyse Fandrich.  Marie the 7 year old whippet and 2 of the cats, Becca who is 10 or so and Rita who is 3, flew in checked baggage.  Everyone has asked about the animals, and some folks I have answered, but at the risk of repeating myself, let me get everyone else up to date.

Dollar and Pancho who were in cabin did great.  They ate, drank, slept and made very little noise.  Alyse and I took the boys into the Family bathroom at the Detroit airport where we put potty pads down and said 'go potty'.  Pancho whined for a few minutes then urinated while Dollar was not about to relieve himself in 'the house'.  After we had eaten supper on the plane and folks were settling in for sleep, I took Dollar into the airplane bathroom and expressed his bladder on a potty pad, i.e. I squeezed his bladder until he peed.  He really did have to go.

The pets in checked baggage were a little worse for the wear.  Their crates had obviously not been tied down.  None of the little white plastic water bowls were still attached, and even the metal bucket I had put in Marie's crate was floating around in there with her.  The cats and their bedding were covered in the lovely paste made by the combination of Tidy Cat scoopable litter and water.  I have yet to bring myself to torture any one with a bath other than myself.

Our departure from Detroit was delayed by two hours, so we arrived quite late into Seoul.  As Alyse and I were waiting by the baggage carousel, I heard the unmistakable name 'Fandrich' announced with a Korean flair.  I found the young woman paging me.  She said I needed to claim my creatures NOW.  I left Alyse with the baggage carousel (another woman tried to get Alyse to go with me, but I made her stay), and found the fur kids.  Marie saw me and immediately began whining.  Rita was under her bed, and Becca was at the front of her crate.  She gave me a pleasant 'meow' when I said her name.  She was just watching the world go by.  I left the crates to get a couple of carts, and Marie started screaming when I walked away.  A good 'HUSH!' stopped that, and I loaded Marie's crate onto one cart and the cats onto another.  There was no one to help me push, so I used a zip tie to keep the handle depressed on one cart and pushed it with the other one.  About half way to quarantine, a young man was there to help.  At the quarantine station, I produced my own microchip scanner, and we had the kids scanned and okayed in a matter of minutes.  Customs was no problem, took seconds, and we were in the main waiting area.  There was no sign of Bill.  After waiting a few minutes, I found someone to page him (my phone does not work here), and in another couple minutes, I saw him, and I have rarely been happier than that moment.  With some creativity we loaded everything into the van he borrowed from work, and off we went.  Two hours' drive to get home, another hour or so to get creatures settled, then we collapsed into bed. 

I shall end the days' posting there.  I will do my best to write daily, and I will add pictures soon.

What I have learned thus far in this experience:  A)They don't tie down crates in checked baggage, so you better tie down those bowls, beds, and whatever else is in that crate.  If it can fly, don't put it in there.  I had thought about giving Marie one of the Nylabone hard chews she loves.  Good thing I didn't, it might have beaten her up.  B)My dogs will eat any time, any where.  If you will eat in a soft sided crate under some stranger's backside 38,000 feet in the air, you are dedicated to the act of filling your stomach.  C)Becca is one cool cucumber of a cat.  Her life's experiences have obviously given her the confidence that she can handle anything.  I want to emulate that.  D)I must really, truly love my husband.  Now, don't get me wrong, I know I love him, but to put myself and the creatures I care more for than most people I  know (no offense) is an intense act of love.  Ya'll take care, and come back, now, ya hear?