Readjusting Home

Hello family! =)

It's about 7 am and I'm up and running (not that I have to do anything in particular, but that my body told me it was time to get up). Ever since we came back from Uganda I've been on this early to bed, early to rise schedule - which I guess is a good thing because Dustin goes to work about the time I wake up so I can say goodbye to him, instead of my normal sleepy mumblings of "G...bye...Love...See you."

I've loved reading the entries so far and decided it was my turn to write a little something. The readjustment home after our trip has been interesting for me. After spending 2 1/2 weeks surrounded by people every minute of the day it feels really weird to spend all of this time alone at home. I've found myself starting up conversations with random people as I run my errands, which is very uncanny for me.

I had a funny cross-cultural experience at church the Sunday we came back too. In Uganda everytime we would meet someone we would either shake his/her hand or hug that person. There was always a physical connection made. I got really used to that and I guess lost the need to keep my personal space as we do here in America. So we're at church on Sunday (about 3 days after coming back) and it's time to greet one another. I turn to greet the guy next to me (who's in our young adult group) and he doesn't move - not to face me, not to shake my hand. He just stands where he is facing foward and says hello to me. It was sooooo weird! I had this need to at least shake his hand but I couldn't. Then what was even stranger was when I was walking around hugging and greeting other people I ended up hugging one of the older men in our church (like in his 40's or 50's). I had never hugged him before in the 2 years we've been at this church. Haha. oops. I realized how awkward it was to hug him after I did it. It was like a jolt back into America.

So I guess I have to think a little bit before I do things now as I adjust back to the States. I have to ask myself, "Is this what we do in America?" =P

Eating in Busan

Hello family,

This post is dedicated to the food that I have been tasting and experiencing. We didn't have much expectations for the dormitory food but it has been delicious so far. There is always a soup that comes with the meal. I love soup. I haven't taken as many pictures as I want of the food because usually I am hungry and I forget. =) No surprise there.

Below is a picture of lunch from the faculty cafeteria. The dorm cafeteria doesn't serve lunch on the weekdays, only weekends. Starting with the soup and working clockwise, seaweed miso soup, white rice, pickled beansprouts, kimchi, omelette with vegetables and bulgogi with onions, carrots and squid.

We left to visit the Guinness world record 2009 largest mall, shinganse (I think). It was gigantic. There are no pictures of it from my camera because our host said that you can't take pictures inside. I think there might be some pictures online. While walking all those square feet, we got hungry so off to korean bbq.





Then in honor of our first full day in Busan, our host graciously poured us some spirited beverage called soju. The soju was poured to each person according to age, the oldest receives the first, the second oldest receives the second and so on. I was in the top 6. =) It reminded me of Buddy and our China trip.



Cheers to you!

safe arrival!

Dear Family,

I have arrived safely in Korea and enjoying the lovely free wifi. i can't believe how many people have laptops or some sort of pda. I just woke up on Wednesday morning, 7am Korean time. We arrived late last night and didn't really have dinner. The director was kind enough and bought us some cups of noodle to eat. Here are a couple of pictures: one of the room and one of the showerhead. The room is kind of cozy, reminiscent of dormitory days at university of washington. The showerhead is right next to the toilet, no doors, no curtains, just tiles and a drain.

Mom and dad, i watched a movie with andy lau called look at a star, a romantic comedy. it was great!

jaime, there are so many funny engrish phrases!

dust and val, they have korean breakfasts, soups, rice, fish and daikon, kimchi and coffee milk.

gar, i am loving pride and prejudice and zombies. here is a favorite quote. "Elizabeth lifted her skirt, disregarding modesty, and delivered a swift kick to the creature's head."

miss you all!

book books

Hello... it's my first post.

While we wait for CC to post about her adventures in the Land of the Morning Calm, I thought I'd talk about... books! We seem to be a family of book lovers, and I think that's a great thing.

One of my favorite blogs on the internet, LifeHacker, recently had a post all about books. There's a lot of useful information in it, I suggest you read it - free books online, how to publish a book from a blog (like this one!), even turning an old book into a secret hiding place for cash. Or candy. Or even cash AND candy! :)

Also, in the Seattle Times, there was a nice article about popular books in Seattle right now. The compiled the list by using public library records. Here's the top 5 fiction and top 5 non-fiction:

1. "Shanghai Girls" by Lisa See. The story of two sisters who flee war-torn Shanghai to make a new life in America. 558 patrons are waiting in line for 79 copies of this book.

2. "Finger Lickin' Fifteen" by Janet Evanovich. The latest installment in the series starring Jersey Girl/bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. 476/69 copies.

3. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame Smith. Elizabeth Bennett battles zombies. 439 holds/65 copies. (Fans will be happy to know that a follow-up is planned: "Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.")

4. "The Scarecrow" by Michael Connelly. About-to-be-laid-off newspaperman fights identity thief/serial killer. 409 holds/69 copies.

5. "The Angel's Game" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. Barcelona writer makes deal with the devil and spends the rest of the book regretting it. 413 holds/68 copies.

On to nonfiction:

1. "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. What are the ingredients for success? 649 holds/146 copies.

2. "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" by David Kessler. The ballooning of the American appetite, and steps to take to rein it in. 516 holds/64 copies.

3. "The Girl Who Played with Fire" by Stieg Larsson. The library lists this as nonfiction, but trust me, it's fiction; at least I hope it is, because it's a very scary Scandinavian thriller, the follow-up to "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." 348 holds/59 copies.

4. "A Homemade Life" by Molly Wizenberg. A food writer/blogger's memoir. 344 holds/64 copies.

5. "I'm Down" by Mishna Wolff. Memoir of growing up white in 1970s Seattle's Central District, with a white dad who longed to be black. 335 holds/64 copies.

Interesting, huh?

One last note: I bought CC a copy of Pride & Prejudice and Zombies for her trip. Heh heh.

my memory of mom's dream car

Well, I thought that I should start and get the ball rolling on making a post. I was going to write this post sooner but the California roadtrip arrived sooner than expected. Thanks Jaime for getting us started on a family blog. It will be exciting to read other's perspectives on the same memory too! I hope to post in Korea but we will see if I find cheap internet. =)

The picture should already speak for itself. I don't know when this memory was made, but I have a distinct memory of the family talking about dream cars: model, make, color, etc. Since mom's favorite color is yellow, she said that she would want a yellow car. She also said that she would want a Jeep wrangler because it looked sporty. She was not too keen about the open doors and the roll over factor. I guess she just liked the idea of driving along the rough terrain with a vehicle that could take anything that comes its way. As I was telling this story to Garrett as we were driving back home, he pointed at this yellow jeep wrangler that was decorated for the fourth of July. Garrett said that it was a sign for me to make a post.

Enjoy the picture and someone else can continue with another memory!

a little about j.me

Your favorite thing to do?
+ chillaxing and spending time with friends

Your dream last night?
+ i'm so bad at remembering dreams!-- i'm not even lying!

Your favorite drink?
+ refreshing- ice tea, clubbing- gin and tonic, healthy- orange juice w/ pulp! yum!

Your dream/goal?
+ have a family and be a mom

Your fear?
+ not being able to see, or hear, or walk--

Where do you want to be in 6 years?
+ to be happy

What you're not?
+ fake

One of your wish list items?
+ 20/20 vision

What are you wearing?
+ jeans, favorite flats, black long sleeve (i'm in sf!), and a purple/army green scarf

Your TV?
+ the tv my brother used to play video games on in high school

Your computer?
+ home-macbook, work-dell

Your life?
+ is not done being lived.

Favorite piece of jewelry?
+ diamond ring-- http://www.elsewares.com/commerce/Silver-Diamond-Ring_MPD1004.html

Your car?
+ mazda protege silver, named simba

Something you're not wearing?
+ underwear! j/k! a hat?

Favorite Store?
+ target for sure. if i could only shop at one store for the rest of my life, it would be target, they have everything! :)

When is the last time you laughed?
+ today! but the last REAL, side-hurting, tearing up laugh... would be in phoenix last weekend, with mikey, carmen, and neil... hahhaah :)

Favorite foods?
+ french fries, anything japanese, coffee

Place you'd rather be right now?
+ seattle, arizona, ohio, new york (any place where my favorite people are!)

j'aime notre famille | i love our family

dad
mom
cc
gar
dust
val
j.me

that's us.

we are a family.

it is our family.

it is a one of a kind family.

i love our family.

and here are the stories and thoughts of us.