Ahem. OUR ADDRESS.

Hello to all of my family and friends!

I have dedicated a blog post to answer what seems to be the most pertinent question from all of you, what is our address? It is a bit long and complicated. Pronouncing it is as difficult as it appears to be (=p) and sending love to us is a bit on the expensive side if you expect it to get here any time soon. Well here it is:

Oe Dae Language Institute
Attention: Catherine Given
175-52, Song-Cheon-Dong 2-Ga, Deokjin-Gu
Jeon-ju City, Jeon-Buk, South Korea

Should you want to send anything to Sean just switch who the "attention" is directed to. Sean and I both would like to let you know that we are adjusting to Korean life. We are constantly frustrated by numerous things but completely enthralled by twice as much.

Koreans are impatient and always on the go. Our poor attempts at Korean seem to be over looked by most of the natives but admired by a few so we persevere. We have a grasp on numbers (for money, there's a different set for counting apparently) and our chopstick skills have improved dramatically (because that is the only utensil besides the long handled spoon). I have not necessarily enjoyed all of the foods I have been introduced to but no worries, I am not starving.

They have lots of friend rice! They have coffees and teas (they do not have Earl Grey Tea =[ I miss my Earl Grey Twinings already) and juices (lots of apple juice!). We actually found a little bit of lunch meat although cheeses are few and far between. I miss my favorite obnoxiously strong cheeses already! They have breads and pastries, pastas and fries. Beef is expensive and uncommon, but pork and chicken are all over the place. They have cheese and pepperoni pizza (as well as fried egg, pork strips, fish, potato and honey mustard, and other strange things. Not going to lie, the things I miss the most are lettuce (like in a salad) and Kraft mac and cheese...

I have yet to find my blue Herbal Essences Shampoo and Conditioner (no Herbal Essences at all actually = / ) They do NOT HAVE REESES (nor does it appear that anyone has heard of this candy bar). We have found Hershey's and Snickers though so not all hope is lost. They eat ice cream and believe in making everything spicy (which is ok with us). Currently we are on a mission for things to decorate our walls and apartment with to make it more homey. We are trying to find a happy balance of Korean style and our style.

Sean's birthday is in a few weeks (August 14th, August 13th your time because we are living in the future =D). And I am on a mission to find a few essential items to make it wonderful. I know it will be different to celebrate a birthday away from almost everyone you know although he doesn't seem to be bothered by it (I know I would be!!! I'd miss all the love from my friends and family). But we will make an adventure out of it, which we try to do for everything.

The friends we have met are nice, exciting, and upbeat. We are going to do a lot of traveling around the country and the city during our time here as well. We both want to learn Korean as fast as possible and not be overlooked because of our accents. I am going to try and find some piano lessons and Sean wants to start playing soccer. We also found out it actually snows for real instead of just every other year flurries like we originally thought... We will both experience some serious cold come the winter months. We will be adventuring to go skiing/ snow boarding on the weekends then as well.

We want to go swimming in the three bodies of water that surround us (East Sea, Korean Strait, Yellow Sea). We want to summit a mountain (there happen to be a few close by), go horseback riding, and I want to try out a few of the country's amusement parks =] Funds will of course be limited but there's so much to do and try, it is difficult to hold back at all.

We walk everywhere and try and snap pictures as we rush along. Another blog will be posted shortly, sorry I have fallen behind with the adventure, just so much has happened! Miss everyone a lot, and I send you big hugs and happy thoughts.