My New Car - Kia Morning

We finally sold the Rav4 (thanks to my awesome friend Maryann) and a few days later, I finally found the car that was perfect for me.  I love my new car! It's a red Kia Morning and exclusive here in Korea. The European version is called a Picanto, but it is not available in the US.

The first three photos were taken in the dealership and the last one is in my parking garage.  Notice that the rest of the cars are comprised of black, silver, and white cars.  So glad that my car is red.  I can easily locate it with no problems.  I thought it was just a coincidence that the cars on that garage floor was the same colors, but Koreans prefer that color scheme.  Rarely will you see a bright colored car on the road.  I wonder if it's because as an Asian county, they are used to a homogeneous type of culture.  I tend to gravitate towards diversity. 

It's a fun little car.  It reminds me of my red Geo Metro that I drove in high school, but a bit sportier and a step up in quality. I hope I'll be able to bring it back home with me.  I will have to do some modifications to have it legal on US roads, but that shouldn't be a problem.

Arrival of our Household Goods

Finally! Our last shipment of household goods arrived.  We have been busy unpacking and so happy that I am able to sleep in my own bed. We have the living room, kitchen, and Jensen's room finished.  I'd like to have some friends over, but not until the apartment is fully ready. I'm hoping to get more unpacking done this weekend.

Unfortunately, the TV and stereo speakers were damaged in the process of moving.  I have 75 days to claim the damages and I'm sure they will replace it. At least we didn't have to do the packing ourselves and everything was insured.

Jensen has thoroughly enjoyed playing with the rest of his toys.  I never realized the enormous amount of toys he owns.  I can't believe how much he has grown since we left.  He now able to climb onto his bouncy horse and he loves it!

Sixth Floor Amenities of My Apartment

I've really enjoyed the sixth floor of our apartment building. Not only does it have 2 different playgrounds, but it also has cafe table and chairs to sit and drink your coffee in the morning or just hang out and chat with friends.   

There is also an outdoor exercise equipment area. I saw similar equipment located around the perimeter of Suseong Lake. There is an indoor gym on the same floor, but if you prefer to walk around the outdoor track that is also available on this floor. It reminds me of a park complete with a modern sculpture, water feature, and open space for the children to skateboard or ride their bike around.

The spa and indoor pool is another amenity that is offered to the tenants for a monthly fee. A coin operated washer and dryers will be convenient for me to wash my large king size comforters.

I have enjoyed living in our new apartment and it’ll be nice once we receive our shipment of household goods this Thursday. I can hardly wait to set up the apartment with our belongings and hopefully it will feel more like a home. I truly miss sleeping in my own bed.

I didn't realize how much I would miss living in the suburbs. Thankfully, the mountains are nearby and I can just look outside the window and realize how easy it would be to get away from the “concrete jungle”. I am definitely not comfortable living in the city. I love the convenience and easy access to just about everything, but I do miss my house back in Savannah.

Feeling very homesick lately and I find myself wishing I had never left, but I know that as soon as I am able to enjoy Deagu and see more of our new home that it will all be worth it.   

Finally Moved In

Well, we finally moved in this past Tuesday and had an extremely busy day.  My sponsor offered to help move our luggage and surprisingly, all our bags fit in his little car.  Still had to take another trip, but all 6 of our suitcases fit on the first trip.

Jensen was so excited about the new place he was running around waving his arms and screaming.  I think he liked the echo that the place created so he kept yelling.  He had such a great time having all that space to stretch out his little legs out.  So darn cute!  Wish we were able to record it. We had loaner furniture delivered until our own comes in mid July.  Until then, the apartment doesn’t feel like home just yet.  I can’t wait to see our own furniture in the place.

Already went to Home Plus 4  times on our first day at home.  I love being able to just go downstairs and go shopping.  So convenient and without a car it definitely helps.  At first, I felt so lost walking in the store.  I tried to grab a cart, but it was chained together.  I didn’t notice you had to insert a 100 won coin to release it from the group.  I noticed a lady who did just that with a coin and pull the chain apart from the rest of the carts. You do get it back once you chain it back to the designated areas. It’s a great system so the carts are not all over the store left behind by the customers.  An employee doesn’t need to collect it from the parking lot.  Most customers will return it to get the deposit back. Also, the carts are designed for you to be able to steer it at a 360 degree turn.  I thought it was pretty neat, but once I was “driving”, it wasn’t fun at all.  I guess I just have to get used to it.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of the shopping carts.

It felt like I was exploring on our first visit there. Home Plus is like a Wal Mart, more like a Target. Another thing I noticed was once you entered the store there is a greeter and his/her main job is to say hello (along with a bow) and assist the shoppers. I'm hoping to take more photos when I get a chance.

Our apartment complex has 7 buildings and the 3 bottom floors of the building our unit is located in houses Home Plus.  We also have Starbucks, several beauty parlors, restaurants, and basically the business portion of the neighborhood.  So nice to be able to walk to businesses and a car has become unnecessary.  We also have a monorail that is in construction that will be operational later this year.  Not to mention the buses and taxis that is as available.  Daegu reminds me of a mini NY, the city’s amenities are adequate and it is very nice to live in a high rise apartment.      

New Apartment in SK building

Tomorrow is moving day.  Still a bit anxious about moving into the same apartment that we had an issue with, but hopefully it will all work out.  Learning a lot about the differences in culture and business practices here has been challenging, to say the least.  Guess I can’t take the good without the bad.  Unfortunately, the bad still outweighs the good since we moved here.  I am still keeping a positive attitude about the actual move since that is where most of the stress lies.

Here are more photos of the apartment.  Since we decided to move in to the same one, I might as well post the pics of our new place.  Hopefully, we'll be able to stay here for the duration of my tour.  By the way, that is our real estate agent who is showing the apartment.

I’m so thankful we moved with the army system.  I can’t imagine how crazy this could have been trying to do it ourselves  Not to mention that getting the job was much easier that trying to do it as a civilian outside the DoD system.  Practically, everything has been taken care of for us.  I didn’t even have to pack a thing except for what we took with us on the plane.  I even bought boxes thinking we had to do the actual packing ourselves.  If we choose to do that, the items would not be insured and if anything happens they will not replace it.  I had return the boxes I bought.  Should have asked before getting.

I wish they had a class for civilians on what the steps are for moving OCONUS.  Even just documentation to read would be helpful.  Aside from that, it has been pleasant not packing up our own belongings.  Plus once it arrives, they unpack and set up the apartment.  The best thing is that I didn’t have to pay for any of the services.  I could also sign up for storage in the US for the duration of this 3 year tour, but we didn’t need it.  We were going to ship the Rav4, but decided to just sell it. 

The enormous amount of forms that I had to fill out was unreal.  I’m so tired of it and still have more to do.  I keep telling myself that I didn’t have to pay for any of it, so that make it bearable.

Tried to see occupational health earlier today, but have to go back this afternoon.  I have to get a bunch of immunizations which includes anthrax and small pox.  My position is considered an emergency essential personnel and I will have to get certain things done to prepare for that.  I even have to pick up gear that requires me to wear uniforms.  The crazy thing is that the uniforms are the exact same thing that the soldiers wear.  My family is going to think I signed up for the army.  It’s going to be hilarious, to say the least.

Basically, I have to stay behind if an evacuation occurs.  My family will have the opportunity to go home, but I have to stay with the army.  This is going to be the closest thing to feeling like being in the military I will ever have experienced.  I read the paperwork that entails the necessary steps I need to do and it’s a bit scary.  I have to pick up gas masks for myself and my family next week.  I also have to have a will drawn up and PoA for my child if Christian gets a position that requires the same.