So, basically the kids and I took a train across the country and then flew off the face of the earth. No, actually we made it to Osan just fine. The rotator flight from Seattle to Misawa and then to here was LOOONG. Brutally. I would’ve much preferred a direct flight. It was mostly the stop in Misawa Japan that was torture; three hours in a holding room with a hundred other people is unpleasant at best. The kids did great on both flights….Zoe slept at the same time as ‘the crowd’, watching a movie, then getting super excited when the food came and snuggling down for a long nap afterward. Avi slept opposite everyone else. He napped right away, slept through lunch, woke up during everyone else’s nap and then slept again during dinner. I slept with him. Zoe did fine watching movies or coloring or playing on her own when our sleep didn’t overlap. It was so nice to see Bryan at the terminal when we arrived.
We are still getting settled into our new apartment. It’s on base, so it looks just like everyone elses and is American style. Big kitchen, separate dining room, living room and then all the bedrooms down a long hallway. It is big and has good storage. We are in the 1st of the three big towers – ours is called Hallasan and is closest to the BX and main road. We are on the first floor, but not facing the playground, instead we look at the parking garage which I’m “adjusting” too…. to put it nicely. Feels like we are in the dungeon. The kids can run down the hall to the playground, though, instead of taking the elevator. But I would love some morning sun and something nice to see.
Mostly we have filled out paperwork, run errands, and explored downtown. I love going downtown; it hasn’t changed much since we were here last. The biggest improvement is an amazing new park with trails, and a view where Avi can watch the trains go by, and a great train playground quite close to our old place. We’ve been walking off to that playground about every other day. The kids and I also took a trip to the Home Plus – it’s like a supertarget – they loved the kid playland, and I loved shopping on my own for a bit. Zoe has been having fun getting school supplies both on and off base. She even special ordered a purple backpack with an embroidered white kitty! We also drove to Happy Quilt (which has moved since last time) so I could get fabric for curtains to block out the blaring lights from our parking garage view. Zoe picked rainbow fabric and Avi chose some mighty machines.
I will be happy to get my sewing machine. Our household goods were supposed to arrive next week, but now they are delayed a month. Gag. One thing that might make this place feel more like a home would be our stuff. We are doing fine with the ‘quick shipment’ items – our unaccompanied baggage as it’s called, but had a huge oversight when packing. We sent along my bike and Bryan’s but not Zoe’s, so it’s basically useless for me to have my bike since I can’t take both kids anywhere with it. Plus, she really wants her bike! We are heading to the thrift store today to check for a cheapy.
Our big outing this weekend was to the new Jinwi water park. It’s a Korean water park just off base. We had fun swimming with the Koreans and going on the self-propelled train. It has been super hot and humid so it was a great day. This week I am excited to get together with my friend Jiyoung! Otherwise we have no real plans. Hoping for nice weather so we can maybe take a train ride up to Seoul Grand Park.
