The hills are alive with the sound of...

Exercise! Yes, the hills of Korea are alive with the sound of exercise! So, basically heaven for two Exercise Science majors! We went for a little walk behind one of the grocery stores here(last Wednesday), because we heard there were some cool statues there. Well, we didn't find the statues (we were running short on time and had to turn back), but it turned out to be a wonderful hike in the hills complete with a mountain top exercise facility.

You have to check this out:


This is just a great little gym, in the fresh air, free of charge. Does it get any better?
Complete with obstacle courses
Hoolahooping
And massaging feet rocks!

Wow! What a great little find! We were thrilled to stumble on something so unique! This explains why Korean are so healthy! They put such a big focus on exercise! We will definitely be back!

I couldn't pass on including these unique statues outside the grocery store we were hiking behind... Yes...Mushrooms.

After the fun excursion we sought lunch at one of our favorite places just around the corner from our house. Once again, we enjoyed free babysitting by the store owner, but what's more is Lucy even got a free meal of rice, feeding included!

"I Love Lucy" and so do Koreans!

Oh the fame...you would think she was a movie star or somthing! Things can take really long here in Korea when you bring Lucy along, but we have learned a few tricks that help. Trick one: walk fast and pretend not to hear the numerous comments about the American Baby who looks like a doll (usually works great, but I practically bulldozed one lady who had already detained us for about 10 minutes. She jumped right in front of the stroller like she had a death wish and would sacrifice anything for one more minute with the American Baby. Crazy Lady). Trick two: put a hat on Lucy (of course, that still doesn't hide the big blue eyes) Trick three: put the shade cover down on the stroller (but Lucy hates that, which can sometimes draw in more attention) Trick Four: Just play up the foreign card. When someone comes and starts clapping as if they want to hold Lucy just say "I'm sorry, I don't speak Korean" and then run before they try to make their wishes known with sign language. Trick Five: We are debating purchasing a black wig. How do you say "My child is not a pet. Please do not touch!" in Korean! Here is a little glimpse into the life of Lucy here in Korea: The average congregation around Lucy, taking pictures with phones, etc.


Help!!!!!!!!

Mom? Dad? Are you really going to abandon me like this?

This is at the grocery store, which is always the craziest because of the workers. One of these ladies was playing a game with Lucy where she started slapping Lucy on the face. It made me pretty angry and just before I grabbed my baby from them Lucy started bawling as pictured above. Poor girl.

Despite her worried look in some of these pictures, Lucy actually loves the fame and usually doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety toward Koreans. She smiles and waves like a queen as we walk along. She has even started bowing like Koreans do when people stop to say hello. I have to admit, I enjoy attention as well, (who can resist people doting on your child who you adore so much) so unless I am in a rush or completely exhausted I make the best of the fame and try to make new friends. It only bugs me when someone coughs all over and then reaches out to touch or hold her, or like the other day when some random woman said hello and within 10 seconds was kissing her on the lips. I am just not okay with that kind of germ sharing, but at that point there was nothing I could do. I have been praying for her safety and I am pretty sure despite the amount of germs she has encountered, she will survive here in Korea. I'm more worried about how deflated her ego will be when we get back to America and she realizes she isn't really Shirley Temple.

I've got Seoul, but I'm not a soldier...

Sorry for the cheezy title. That song has been on my mind ever since we visited Seoul. Yes, we finally made it to Seoul. It is not too far from our house. I think it only took about 45 minutes on the Subway. We decided to start with Tower 63. You have got to know your territory! It was especially perfect considering it had just rained and then the sun came out leaving beautiful blue skies! This building is 63 stories and has an absolutely gorgeous 360 degree view of Seoul from the top.


In case you are wondering what that fine print on the outside of the building says: "Love your life. Love your dream." That saying definitely put me in the mood for a good day. I feel like we are living our dream here in Korea. I can't believe how often Dave and I would talk and dream about living here, but then think it would never happen, especially with a baby. And then just like that we are here in this different culture, drinking it all in, touring around, learning the language and loving the people! So, let me just inspire you: There is no better time than today to live your dreams!

Cute little duck boats on the river outside the building.

Only a small piece of the gorgeous view from the Tower!

I took this shot to catch the worker's unique costumes. You can't see, but the dress poofs out at the bottom. They looked really funny. I had no idea why they were dressed like that until we went up and found out the theme of the Tower right now is Hello Kitty, meaning we saw all the world's greatest Hello Kitty stuff. Unique statues, cute dioramas, collectibles galore, not to mention some obscene window paintings ( It was a muscle man with the head of Hello Kitty, flexing and showing his bum, talk about ruining the view. I took a picture and really wanted to post it, but decided it was best not to taint the blog), naked baby pictures with Hello Kitty over the face, and a video of a Snowman pooing out Snow Cones (they are obsessed with bodily functions here, and although we thought it was weird and wanted to act like it was gross, we couldn't help, but crack up! I guess that is one way to make a snow cone!) Anyway, here is the cute stuff:

So...Hello to this cute Kitty!

Our determined little walker...just cruising the tower!

Does this count as Lucy's first photo shoot in Korea. Little Penguin?

After the tower we went to see Namdaemoon, "the Great South Gate" because I was in the mood to see something cultural. Too bad some old drunk man burned it down a few months ago. That was a sad surprise, but we made the best of it and went to the famous market nearby.

A little crowded you say? Who needs Where's Waldo, when you can play a little game of Where's Wendy? Do you see me? (Okay here's a helpful hint: I have a pink shirt on. You should be able to spot me now.) And then we were hungry...so pig's feet anyone? Yummy! Yeah, don't worry this isn't what we ate. We found a nearby place and had some Bibimbop, my favorite Korean dish.

And then after a wonderful trip to Seoul, which actually started out as a trip to Costco, we decided to nix the Costco idea and take our weary feet home. What a good day! No doubt we will be back as soon as possible!

Sweet Date Night

Last Week (August 16th to be precise) we were having trouble accesing our bank account from the ATM's here. David doesn't get his first paycheck until September 10 and we were getting a little worried we would have to wait until we got our money transferred to a Korean bank account to get access (which would take a few weeks because we can't get one until we get our foreigner's card, which we are currently working on and takes some time). We only had about $30 cash left and were plotting how we could survive on it. How our family could eat for only a few dollars a day and go without any other wants. It was a little frustrating because there were a few normal things I would have liked to buy at the store like hangers and spoons, but I was willing to sacrifice. Thankfully, after walking from store to store and trying at least 10 ATM machines, we found an ATM at the train station that would accept foreign ATM cards! Hallelujah! To celebrate our new found access to all of our money Dave said he would take me out to a nice restaurant that night (he knew I had been dying to experience a nice full Korean meal and so of course I was thrilled!). So despite Dave's desires to save money in almost every way (including using a cardboard box for the laundry just to save money), he still knows how to take his wife out and splurge on a good time every now and then! (Thank you so much honey or "yabo" as they say in Korean. I hope you know how much I love and adore you!)

Here is the beautiful moon as it rises over some buildings and clouds on our way to the restaurant.

As pictured above, at a traditional Korean restaurant they have this cool way to cook meat right in front of you. There is hole in the table,which they place a sort of barbequing dish in and then use the funnel hose thing to take all the smoke outside. It is unique and fun watching them cook the meat right there in front of you.

Here is the spread (funny story about this picture: we asked the waitress to take a picture of our family and gave her the camera, and we all smiled as she was taking it. Later when I looked at the picture all she had taken it of was the food. I found it hilarious because I could have easily taken a picture of the food. How did she miss the fact that we wanted a picture of our family with the food when we were all smiling and looking at the camera? Gave us a laugh anyway!). Whether it is a formal meal or just some fast food they always have many side dishes. Kimchi is always one of them. It is fermented cabbage with garlic, anchovies and hot pepper sauce (and probably a few other things). Koreans thrive off of Kimchi. The first time I tried it at a Korean Restaurant a few years ago with David, I just about died because of how yucky I thought it was, however the more I eat it the more I like it. I actually found myself asking for seconds on the Kimchi yesterday! Whoa! My blood must be turning Korean or something!
We usually enjoy the waitresses holding and entertaining Lucy wherever we go. What a parents dream to eat with both hands while someone holds your baby! We are living the life! (As you can also see pictured above, Lucy is obsessed with getting her hands on this camera! She often points when it comes out!)

And the times when the waitress had to do a little work, Lucy had no problem entertaining herself. I think she thought this was one of the better date nights!

With the tables being on the ground everything was just the right size for her.

Ah, look at that cute Korean family! Okay, I guess we are not fooling anyone around here, but we are fitting in a little better these days. You have to give me props because I can use chopsticks with about 80% proficiency (so that means only about 20% of the food I eat goes on the ground, the table, my clothes and my face! I have actually always been a pretty messy eater, so with that being considered I have almost arrived.) I can even eat rice with chopsticks, not to mention, I can take seaweed, wrap the rice, and put it in my mouth all with chopsticks. Piece of cake! Big difference than our first week here. I was practically in tears eating out because I didn't want to offend anyone, but I was hardly getting any food and felt like I could write a weight loss book called "The Chopstick Diet!"

To finish the night we went and bought desseret called "Duck." It is blended up smooth rice with many different flavors and shapes. Our favorite flavors have a red sweet bean crushed up inside or sprinkled on top. Some are like bread or cake, others are more like dough balls or chewy sticks (I will have to get some pictures to help explain the delightful treat). They are really pretty looking and I am debating buying a few of them and stacking them for Lucy's first Birthday Cake. (I don't know about making a cake here! I don't have a cake pan or an oven, so chances are slim!) I am pretty much already addicted to these heavenly morsels! A few nights a week Dave buys them on his way home from work because they are half off at the end of the day. We decided we have to cut back a little or else our pocket book will shrink while our waistlines expand! Although we are just at the beginning of our adventures here, I can already tell there are many things I will miss when we leave!

Anyway, for a day that started with worries about money and going into the ultimate survival mode, it turned out to be nothing other than awesome!

Korea: Adventure # 1

I would just like to start by giving a shout out to all my peeps, because this is my 100th post! Yeah, way to go! I can hear all your voices now: congratulations Wendy! You really are amazing! Wow, I really wish I could be as cool as you! You have officially joined the experienced blogger club! My reply: Oh thank you, my adoring fans! I know this is quite an accomplishment! Oh Stop already!

So I guess with that being said, I better make it a good one, huh? Fortunately we have retrieved my camera and so I can share with you our first exploration adventure thing in Korea. Friday, August 15, Dave had off work because it was a Korean holiday so we decided to try to find the mysterious looking pagoda on the hill. We debated going to Seoul, but I wanted to check out everything in our local town first. We don't have a map of Ansan, not even a Korean one, so we were purely going off instinct...surpisingly after only an hour or two of walking we got there! Walking...okay it was maybe a little more intense than that as we trudged uphill, in the humid fog, with a baby backpack (okay, enough drama...Dave was wearing the backpack who am I kidding, but we were sweating. Enough sweat that sunblock dripped into my eye... yuck, okay I'm overdoing myself, you get the picture!) I'm sure it is not the coolest thing we will ever see in Korea, but I was thrilled because it definitely had ancient Korea architecture, even though it was clearly made recently (recently meaning within the last 30 years or so). So take a little peak at the hike:

At this point in the journey we have no idea if we would find our final destination, but Lucy and Dave are looking optimistic. (Lucy also just wanted to say: "only you can prevent forest fires")

We found this long looking staircase and thought maybe our destination was at the end. Wow, some faith we had for hiking up all of these without a sure destination! (You can't even see half of the stairs we hiked in this picture)
And voila! We came upon this glorious building. Some sort of watch tower.

Here's Lucy and Dave, checking out the view from the balcony of the Watch Tower. We kept hiking along this little path a little farther. (Further or Farther? I can never remember...I think Farther)We came across this stack of rocks, which according to the Buddhist faith will give you good luck if you add to it. Although we aren't looking for a new religion or anything, we figured adding a rock couldn't hurt. Can you guess which one is my rock?

Yay for family pictures. They are rare and so I had to post this one a passing hiker took of us. You might see it again on your Christmas card if I don't get a better shot before then!

Hey, who are those good looking babes? And, oh my, what attractive abs you have there Lucy! (Cute shot, too bad I didn't realize I was totally showing off Lucy's little angel poke).

Another good luck at this sweet pagoda we found in the middle of nowhere!

"Mugunghwa" or Rose of Sharon along our path. I couldn't resist this shot because it is Korea's national flower. Can you just say "wow" that girl's got great photography skills (or just a really sweet camera!Thanks again Mom! I love you!) I mean you can even see the water droplet!

I stood on a wall to snap a shot of the valley below...

..and then as I looked down I realized the view was by my side all along. (It's good for the soul to write really cheezy lines of poetry about your loved ones every now and then. Thanks for bearing with me! If you are feeling brave, give it a try sometime! Nevertheless, there is no denying they are a cute pair!)

It's a long way home, but at least we know where it is...

...okay, not that long! After hiking down the mountain, we copped out and took the train home, even though it was only one stop. Yay for Lucy's first train ride! She loved it and I am sure this is only the beginning of a long and meaningful relationship as we tour around Korea this year!

Little Walker, Korean Talker

Lucy took 2 official steps at church on Sunday and by Monday she was doing four. Now I can't keep her still, she just wants to run away. SHe has really only done about seven steps at once, because we have all hard floors and I usually stay right by her and invade her space. Every time before she walks, she gets her balance and then gets a huge grin right before she takes a step. I always imagine her thinking "This is gonna be good..."then she goes for it, takes a few steps and falls into my arms and can't stop giggling. Sometimes she claps afterwards and I can tell she is really proud of herself. Sometimes she is laughing so much when she stands up that she makes herself fall over before she can take any steps and she just laughs! Sadly, I made a great video of her doing it, but with the new computer, I can't figure out how to post it. Oh well, you'll just have to use your imagination.

As for our Korean Adventures, I have so much to tell, but on Sunday we went to a nice family's apartment for dinner and I left my backpack with my camera there. They drove us there so I don't exactly know where it was and we don't have a ward directory or anything (not that I could even remember their names to look up if I did, Korean names are the hardest part of the language for me), so I'm hoping they bring it to church. Bad news for a pictureholic. I know! On the contrary, I have learned more this week about enjoy the moments, even if you can't capture them forever and show off how cool you are on your blog (Just making fun of myself a little, none of you guys!) Anyway, I think I will wait to tell the stories that go along with the pictures I did take last week. It will be better that way. For now I will tell you what I can without pictures. My language is really improving (Korean that is, my English seems to be getting worse as I speak in Broken English a lot, I sometimes find myself using odd grammar with Dave).

In case you are curious, I can say: Hello, How are you, what is your name, my name is, boy, girl, water, milk, mother, father, baby, family, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (That is a hard one!) God, Thank You, potato, I understand, I don't understand, dog, here, there, eyes, mouth, nose, she looks just like a doll (wonder how I learned that one?) hair, head, hand, fingers, I would like one of those (when at a restaurant) This food looks delicious, the food was delicious, shoes, sand, ants, mosquito, beautiful, America, the same, dinner (eat meal), how do you say that in Korean, my Korean is very bad, yes, no, I love you and oh my! Plus I can remember about 4 Korean's names I have met (I had to ask all of them at least 5 times).

Wow after listing everything I know, that is more than I thought! A Korean told me Yesterday I spoke very good Korean and I just laughed, but was thrilled at the same time! Koreans love to flatter so that is not saying very much, but it was a nice pat on the back after thinking so hard about Korean that my head hurt! I learned most of what I know from speaking with Korean Moms at the park between my improvised sign language and their broken English. It is fun and I have made some good friends who are often at the park. Yay! We will have some people to invite to Lucy's First Birthday Party! As a side note, people here pronounce Lucy's name "Lushi" it is cute. They try so hard to ponounce the "s" sound, but they really only have an "sh" sound in Korean.

Random Interesting Fact: The number for emergencies here is 119. I found that funny because it is 911 backwards, which kind of makes sense in an odd way, since we are halfway around the world! Do you think it is just a coincidence?

Well, I guess that is all for today folks! Have a great Thursday! My Thursday will be over by time you read this...so wish me a good nights sleep, I guess!

Sunday

We are very fortunate that the Mormon Church has a great ward in Ansan, Korea. The people could not have been more loving and accepting of us. Many people made a great effort to speak with me in English. I was surprised how well they spoke, even the children could speak some. Going to church here is serious business. We left at 8:30 a.m and didn't return until 2:30 p.m. Wow! That is six hours! And most people think Mormons are crazy for doing 3 hours! They had a lunch altogether after church and then most of the people stayed for choir, which as you can see below, they recruited Dave for.

I would have loved to sing as well, but I can't read Korean yet. They did find a way to include me, though. One of the songs they were practicing was the theme song from "Beauty and the Beast." It was beautiful to hear in Korean. The Koreans wanted to hear it in English, so they somehow convinced David and I to sing a duet for them. I was so glad Dave was so willing sing for them. It turned out to be a very fun experience for both of us.

Most of the time during choir, I just played with the children. They absolutely adore Lucy and won't leave her alone for a second. The cute girl on my right in the picture below even wanted to help me change Lucy's diaper. She grabbed a wipey and started helping me wipe. I didn't know how to tell her not to in Korean, so I just let her help me.

Here is a picture of the Lucy fan club.
Here is their chapel. I thought it was beautiful, so I took a picture. I wanted to get one of the outside of the building as well, but I was out of batteries.

A few people at church asked me how long we were staying. When I told them a year, they asked "why not longer?" "Can you stay longer if you want" I said yes, and so they said "Well, we will have to work hard to make you like it here." How can you not love these people! They are so kind. I was also offered to tutor some of the children in the ward. It would be a great job because I would work at the same time as David, be able to bring Lucy along and get to eat dinner with the families. I hope it will work out, because I am sure I would love to spend time in Korean homes, truly getting to know the families and culture. One family gave us a ride home. The Mother asked me if I had very many friends here. I said that I didn't yet and then asked if she wanted to be my friend. She was thrilled and said she would visit, then I could teach her English and she could teach me Korean. They sang me a little song in Korean and English they had learned. It was cute and had funny words:

"Three little bears in a house"
"Daddy bear, Mommy bear and baby bear"
"Daddy bear is Fat Fat Fat"
"Mommy bear is thin thin thin"
"Baby bear is cute cute cute"
"La la la la Very Good"

I loved singing it with them. Being here so far truly feels like we are living in a dream. I love the children. I love the people. The people are what make an experience and I can tell this is only the beginning of wonderful friendships!

First Steps and more...

This morning Lucy took her first step! I was thrilled! The last two days she has been standing up and sitting down all the time just working on her balance, and finally she got up the confidence stepped onto her foot and then kind of sat down all in one motion. Dave wasn't sure if it really counted as her first step, but I thought she stood long enough that it counted. My little girl, all grown up and everything...oh that just reminded me of one of my favorite lines from Mulan that I just have to share now, Mushoo speaking: "My little baby girl, all grown up and saving China and everything..." so many good lines from that movie. Anyway, Lucy also got 2 new teeth! Saturday she got her second bottom tooth, and yesterday I felt another had broken through on top! Way to go Lucy! I guess this time her cranky mood really was due to teething, too bad I can't think of anything to blame the other cranky times on! I guess you can always say that teething just took a really long time, ha ha! (My joke about teething is, that is what you say when you have totally exhausted all the other possibilities for crankiness)

More about Lucy: Her awareness is growing rapidly. She tries to make all the animal noises as I read books about them to her. My favorite is when she tries to immitate the sheep. I can't really explain the cute little "baaaa" she does. It is hard to resist her little howl when we talk about the wolves, as well. She says all kinds of words now, although I don't know if she really knows the meaning. She will try to repeat almost anything back. She says "uh oh, wow, top (for stop), naaa (for no), buh (for bird), and other sweet noises. She always barks when we see dogs, as well. I say to her "what does the doggie say?" and she says "Are are" then looks around for the doggie. Lucy's favorite things: Birds, Doggies and Kitties. We took her into a Korean pet shop on Saturday and she went absolutely nuts! Kicking and Squealing. We have got to go again and get that on video. There was nothing cuter then watching my little puppy hold another tiny puppy!

Lucy's favorite activites include: trying to figure out how buckles work (she will seriously work on them for at least a half hour), taking the cap off and on water bottles (she can even twist it part of the way, which I figured was extremely advanced for her age and showed signs of a genius IQ as only a mother can predict j/k), and rolling things ( anything that can roll is a great prize). She also loves swiming, swinging and has started clapping and patting her lap with the beat.

Another great Milestone: yesterday she started signing "more" when she wanted more seaweed and rice. Yeaaaaa! All the hard work signing is paying off and she doesn't have to scream when she wants more food anymore! This is the first sign she has learned since "Milk" which she learned a few months ago. I started to think she would never learn another one. It was hard to teach her "more" because she generally doesn't like many foods and doesn't ever want "more." She would just stop eating and then sign for "milk" and say "maaan" which seems to be her word for milk. As soon as she tasted seaweed and rice (which she loves!!!! Go Korean Baby food!) she found the need for communication and she finally produced the sign. Go Lucy! I am glad she is liking Korean food and Koreans. She has no stranger anxiety with them, which is great when go out to eat. They always want to hold her while we eat! Yeah for free babysitting! Her skin rashes have completely cleared up probably partly due to the humidity, but I'm sure the food we eat here is making a difference. I have even let her try a little spicy hummus last week and some spicy Korean spaghetti sauce on Sunday and she loves it! Both times I let her try it primarily to show her that she wouldn't like it, but I guess she showed me. Lucy would like me to share with you her motto for eating:

"I have had enough soupy vegetables and nasty cereal mush. Bananas are okay and sometimes even squash, but I have been a good girl and all I really want is...bring on the seaweed, bring on the rice, bring on yummy sauces and don't forget the spice!"

Lucy says thanks for hearing her out on that one!

Ansan, Our New Home Town

Here is a little about our life in Korea, well as our town.

We started the morning today at 3:15 a.m. thanks to our adorable daughter. Babies seem to take a little longer adjusting to different time zones. It actually wasn't that bad because I put her down for a nap yesterday at about 3:00 p.m. and she woke a few times, but just kept wanting to sleep, so I just let her sleep through the night! I went to bed early myself, so I felt good when I woke up. I just hope we aren't bugging our Korean neighbors!

First thing was a bath for Lucy. They don't have tubs here. They just have shower heads attached to the sink and the whole bathroom is tile with a drain. So we bought this plastic storage box as a bath for Lucy. She really loved it. It was a lot of work because we aren't supposed to drink tap water here and Lucy always drinks her bath water, so I had to boil water and transfer it. Then, of course, Lucy went to the bathroom, so she just got dirtier and I had to give her another bath later in the day, boiling more water and all. I'm sure we will get a method down! At least Lucy likes her little tub. She wore this grin the entire bath!

We then left for a walk around 6:00 a.m. Here is the door to our apartment complex. I guess we actually live in what is called a Villa.
Here is our Window on the second story. It is actually a sort of indoor balcony, where you can wash your clothes and hang them to dry.
Here is our street. Cars just kind of park however they want here. Dave says sometimes people just double park and leave their phone number on the windsheild, so if anyone has a problem and can't get out they can just call.
Just a few feet down the street is a trampoline hut. There are about 6 huge trampolines all connected. You just pay a little money and can jump for an hour. What a fun and random thing to be right here!
We saw three of these tiger spiders also reside a few feet down the street. How comforting to know they are nearby especially when I am in my bed on the ground at night! That little monster looks like it belongs in a National Geographic magazine for crying out loud! Dave said they are aggressive, but not poisonous. How comforting!
Here is the little park on our block. I think Lucy will be the perfect age to run around and play on everything come springtime!

It has fun step bridges that totally look like something out of a Mario Brothers ninetendo game. Don't fall down the crack or you lose a life!Complete with a cute Korean Pagoda (is that the right word? I think so)THis park is not only for kids, it also has some exercise equipment. This particular machine twists back and forth and feels great on your back!

Here is a view of the other side of the park, complete with a Korean church in the background. (I took a lot of pictures of the park. Can you tell I am excited about it?)This building is across the street from the park. What is this? It looks like a slide from the third story, stops and the second story and continues on down. Is this for kids or for items? I am very curious and must do further investigation...As we ventured on we came across this store. I sure enjoyed the quality of their advertising! (I guess that is why they are willing to pay so much for Native English speaking teachers, ha ha)We saw many of these little crops in the city. It is fascinating to me how there are just little patches for agriculture amidst the large apartment buildings. Definitely a different country.This is why Korea is called Land of the Morning Calm. You can almost feel how peaceful this morning is here in this picture.To top of a beautiful morning walk we watched this beautiful Korean Crane. I was obsessed with watching it because I have so often seen this type of bird in Asian Cork Art, and here it really was!

Anyway, there is a little feel for the the town we are living in. Looks like fun, huh? So far it really has been. I am fascinted with the culture here. ALong our walk were many people exercising. Even very old people are out walking, some of them collecting plastic bottles to recycle. They are very hard working and very friendly to us. I am loving it so much I even asked David this morning "Is Ansan the best place in Korea?" I can't believe what a perfect place this is for us (other than Tiger Spiders, of course) with a park to play at, great cheap restaurants within a minute on foot, an E-Mart ( the store that has everything like a Wal Mart) only ten minutes away on foot, and the subway station just around the corner. Plus it is green and not such a big city that it has lost its Korean Culture. Dave's employer is incredibly generous and helpful as well. I feel like things really couldn't be better! I am thanking the Lord constantly these days for leading us on such a good adventure for our family.