Gold Medal!

Dahin participated in the 2nd annual national bilingual speech competition and was awarded a gold medal! At first, though, Dahin was totally not into doing it. Nerves+Long Wait=not a happy kid.

 She had to deliver the speech first in Korean, then in English--by memory! Voice a little soft, but great theme about acceptance and wonderful stage presentation (I'm biased).

 With one of the judges and the middle schooler who also was awarded a gold prize

 Taking a bow

 Me and my girl.

She was just beaming!  And I, personally, love it when I get to say, "See?  If you just apply yourself and try hard, you can do it!"  We also told her that, even if she had not won a prize, that the most important thing was going through with what she had committed to.  Winning the prize just made it seem really cool.

Snow Doggy

Tashi and I woke up on Friday morning to a fresh layer of snow on the ground.  While most of the snow melted throughout the day as the sun came out and the temps rose, at 6:30 am  in the field near our home we found a snow-loving dog's paradise.  Tashi jumped through, rolled in, and ate the snow.  He was one happy dog.  So cute, I had to take some photos, but only had my cell phone with me, so the quality is not that great. We spent about 40 minutes there so he could have his fill of snow time, probably the last this year and the first time he could run in it leash-free.  The field near the mountain is huge and people-less this early in the morning, so plenty of room to run around safely.  Plus, Tashi comes when he's called, which helps.

First Graders!

Entering first grade is a huge deal in Korea. I had no idea. From the circus that materializes on the SNU campus every 2nd of March, I've learned that the official day marking the entering of freshmen into college is a huge event, but haven't thought of first grade in the same way. Glad I came prepared with my camera. The newly-minted first-graders were welcomed with a 1-hour ceremony and tons of love from family and friends.  Above and below, the kids wearing the party hats they received from the 6th graders

 6th graders, teachers, and family joined in on the school song at the end of the ceremony. The ceremony included performances by the second graders, a 6th grade drumming ensemble, songs, and (thankfully) short speeches.Below, the boys and their classmates listen to their new teacher. Oliver and Ronan were lucky to get Dahin's 2nd-grade-turned-1st grade teacher: the totally awesome Kim Eungyeong. There are eight classes of first graders total. The school is huge.

 With apa. The boys look a little unsure of this first grade thing.

In front of their school. Their book and shoe bags looks so, so big right now.

In the school hallway with one of their little buddies from pre-school. Welcome to elementary school boys!

Spring Snow

It snowed today.  The weather had been mild and sunny every day, so when I had heard the forecast that it was supposed to snow, a lot, today, I thought people, or at least meteorologists, had gone nuts.  But, lo and behold, it did snow.  I took a short video of the snowfall outside my office window.  Six hours later, it's still snowing and we now have some accumulation. 

Road Trip, Winter 2011

Playing a little catch-up here with some shots from over the past month.  While spring is setting in, we're having flashbacks here because today it is snowing.  Another spring snow!  Well, before the start of the spring semester, we loaded the kids and Tashi in the car and headed to the eastern seaboard.  Our first stop, above, was the National Center Observatory in Yanggu, Gangwon-do. Located in the geographic center of Korea, the Observatory is so, so cool. At night, the people who manage the observatory give you a tour of the night sky through a couple of great telescopes (one massive), complete with views of other planets in the solar system and far off galaxies. Best time to visit: January and February since the skies are so clear. Then we headed to a condo in Sokcho and woke up early the next day to catch the sun rising over the sea.

February 24--Sunrise over Naksan Beach, Sokcho, Gangwon-do

Naksan Beach, Sokcho

Oliver on Sokcho Beach (the best and cleanest beach in Sokcho). The weather was spring-like, but still some snow on the ground

Sokcho Lighthouse Observatory--Really, really well done exhibit inside with details of Korea's lighhouses, the history of Sokcho, and info on how the lighthouse works. Plus, very clean (always important). The views were breathtaking.

View of Sokcho with the East Sea to the right and the Seorak Mountains in the distance

Another view of Sokcho--the pavillion, arched bridge, fish markets, and part of the Seorak Mountains

Dahin and I took home a souvenir--food poisoning exacerbated by some sort of virus.  Needless to say, the toilet was our best friend for the next 24 hours or so.  We were absolutely miserable.  I missed winter break camp at school and Dahin missed a performance.  No more fried shrimp (yuck) for me.

40th Birthday Celebration

The day was shared with the boys' graduation festivities, and that made it all the more festive.  The kids had stayed up late the night before to make these cards for me.  Oliver got some help from puppet friends in delivering his birthday greetings, Ronan's delivery was quite dramatic, and Dahin's card was very sweet. (btw, she had given me a mechanical pencil for a birthday present, which was perfect since I never seem to have a pencil when I need one.  It is now safely in my haegeum case to be used for notation markings.)

We made reservations at a buffet for the double celebration.  Jack had asked them if we got anything special for a birthday (ala Jack style) and they said 'free wine.'  We had no idea how much wine that meant...but the thought was exciting.  Turns out, Jack and I each got a glass of wine and it was perfect, although it did make me a little sleepy. The kids' favorite part of the buffet is always dessert, especially the ice cream.  While I like the food (see rant on 'seushi' below), I, too enjoy the fruit and coffee at the buffet (perhaps more than the main dishes).  They have this espresso machine that makes all kinds of espresso based drinks--it's awesome.

Ronan engages in his favorite activity: copying me.  He is quite good at it, and cute, as well.

After lunch, we decided the day was way too good to go to waste, so we picked up Tashi and headed to the park by the Han River.  This is where we go swimming in the summer, and next to the pool is a big field and a playground.  The day was the first truly spring-like warm day (I mean, really spring-like-- we didn't need coats; I'd say it was in the '70s at least) so far and it just felt perfect to play outside.  The weather and bright blue skies reminded us of Bay Area weather.  Below, you can see the north of the city on the other side of the river, with Namsan and Seoul Tower way off in the background.  For centuries, this river was at the very southern tip of the city area (the real city limits reached Namsan, or 'southern mountain'), or more like the official outskirts of the city, but now it divides Seoul in half. We live in the southern part, a part of the city that, since the 1970s, really took off and has expanded greatly.  Really, Seoul is so huge it's hard to imagine.

Tashi was a bit scared of the water.  Don't know why, but big bodies of water freak him out.  I thought dogs like water, but then again our little 'fraidy cat has his quirks.  He did, after all, get car sick and hated the car until recently.  The list goes on.  Still, you could tell he enjoyed the weather.  After three tries (between which he darted back up the stairs after I had carried him down ), he finally gave in and walked with me along the path.  I think he was relieved to know there was another hill and level below the path.

The kids had a blast playing on the playground, and Tashi and I had fun chasing birds and throwing the ball around.  He also proved himself to be relatively calm and polite around other people and dogs.  Besides freaking out one freaky little mean poodle, he got along well with other dogs and didn't act all crazy, barking, etc. (unlike the poodle) He kept his cool, which was nice.  When it came to birds, however....

We headed to Caffe Bene where Jack could fufill his fantasy of sitting at a cafe with a dog (something he saw a lot in our Oakland neighborhood).  Above, Jack demonstrates how NOT to handle a dog at a cafe.  Bad Jack.   The kids enjoyed some ice cream while we had some coffee. Tashi did really well.  I kept some water beneath my chair, and we were there a good thirty minutes without incident.

After our coffee break, we headed to Namdaemun for a bit of eye shopping.  There, I took on my other job (besides mommy and professor): pack horse. Then we headed to the 11th floor of the Lotte Department Store for some dinner.  We let Ronan choose, for some reason, and ended up at the sushi boat.  It was a good choice since you only eat as much as you want, and I was still incredibly full from the buffet.  The kids loved the shrimp sushi and rice wrapped in dried tofu. Jack was happy because he likes any kind of food as long as it's East Asian , especially Koreanized East Asian food like jjajjangmyeon and 'seushi.' (seriously--it's been a marriage-long struggle to go beyond this). Me?  Well, I had had enough sushi-type stuff from the buffet earlier that primarily consisted of semi-sushi, sashimi,  and sauce-covered sushi rolls, and salad (this is why I love the fruit; the semi-sushi, etc.  just gets old after a while). I didn't worry about the near-repeat of lunch much, though, since, as I mentioned above, I wasn't hungry from over-indulging in fruit and roast beef (my main comfort) earlier.  I love sushi, etc., just not on a regular basis.  I like variety, people. Plus, to be honest, the Korean version of sushi sucks.  Why the heck do they have to smear everything with sauces?  I asked why once and someone said, "Because it's popular in Japan to cover the rolls with sauce."  Um...I'm sorry folks, but I've been to Japan and eaten sushi, sashimi, and sushi rolls there and there was no freaking sauce.  It just ruins a good eel roll to have a blob of mayonnaise or ketchup on it.  Gross, gross, gross.

Then we headed home for birthday cake.  I had decided this year I wanted my cake from Taegukdang, Seoul's oldest consistently-running bakery.  I refuse to bake on my birthday.  The cake was super tasty, not to mention cute. I was a bit supersticious about putting four candles on my cake, since four is an unlucky number in Korea.  At the bakery, I was like, "Shouldn't we get five, for like, one to grow on?"  Jack was like, "Why?"  He didn't get it.  And, the girl behind the counter was a bit confused as well.  She kept saying, "Four?"  Like, "Really?  Seriously? "  Well, on this, I claim foreigner status.  That's my safetly net.

Then, I got to open a present sent from home.  Mama and Daddy (aka Bubbie and Grandfather) had sent me a surprise package. I was super surprised.  We found the delivery slip when we went home and Jack picked the package up from the management office.  The book, chocolates, yarn, blankie, and card were absolutely perfect.  The blanket is gorgeous and super warm--love it.  Thanks for making it, Mama.  Blankets take forever, I know, so I really appreciate this.  The perfect ending for a perfect day.