Moving in

Three weeks after the boys and I got here and one week after Jack and Dahin arrived we are no longer nomadic tribespeople but have a space of our own--woo-hoo!

Above, the boys discover the kinds of games they can play while moving in. Dahin arranges her own room and puts clothes away. This is the first time she's had her own room and she is very happy to no longer have to share space with the stinksters. Jack's at the market now buying hangers so, don't worry, we'll have clothes properly hung soon.

This is the space where my new washing machine will go when it is delivered on Sunday. The apt is designed like typical Korean apts with two outer corridors on the outside of the apartment where you do laundry, play, etc. Recycling will be a breeze with these little containers they provided us. Recycling and composting are mandatory--a little Draconian, but good, nonetheless. We have to seperate all our trash and put all our food scraps in the composting bin which is located where we ultimately take the recycling and trash. Garbage bags have to be purchased and they have to include a zone code for our neighborhood. The price of the garbage bags really discourages you from needlessly throwing away things that can be recycled or reused. It will take a while to get used to as we've been pretty lazy with our garbage in the US. Better to just do it and make it a pattern of behavior than face the rath of the others in faculty housing at community meetings (we have our first this coming week). Yay!

Here is our new 'gas range.' Very few people here use anything other than a stove when cooking (that, and a rice cooker). Most Koreans don't use ovens, although they now market and sell them. Once I save up 600,000 won (about US 500.00, depending on the exchange rate) I'll get an oven so I can do some baking--American style; yee-haw!! And, yes, that is instant coffee you see there to the right. We will enter the land of drip coffee soon once we buy our coffee maker. The electric system here is different so we had get rid of many of the appliances we used in Oakland. They just won't work here without a transformer box (or whatever that thing is called).

We just moved in on Friday, so really only have the stove, a microwave, and curtains (which Jack picked out and, I must say, did a pretty good job). Here, the kids and Jack are enjoying our first dinner in our new place--jjajjang-myun (noodles with black bean and pork sauce) and roasted chicken.