Love Letter to the Library

Korean cable television can be quite entertaining.  Their commercials are generally over-the-top and to American standards ridiculous, and listening to conversational dialogue is funny.  They seem to sell mostly the same crap on commercials that we do of course (banking, shampoo, cars, outdoor stuff, etc) and a lot of the shows that I've flipped through seem similar.  Like soap opera type stuff, cartoons, news, and American TV shows dubbed over in Korean, which is eSPECially funny.

This was all funny for about a day.  Well, maybe less than a day.

There are a few channels in actual English.  One being the History channel (score), and one being some network that seems obsessed with NCIS (LAME-O).  I hate that show and all the ones like it and am embarrassed that it's in crazy syndication over here...  Cornball.  Gag me.  (Which city, you ask?  I DON'T CARE!  THEY'RE ALL TERRIBLE!!)  And if you like it, I will judge you for it.  If you wanna watch a "crime show" about that stuff, what the heck else would you watch besides Law & Order: SVU?  Duh.  Get with the program.



Anyway, I brought only my most favorite movies and most favorite tv series that I have on DVD.  I only had so much room and so much weight that I could bring when I came in May, so I had to make some brutal decisions.  Not all of them made the cut. The ones that were lucky enough to make this trip and not be subjected to a box in Mr. Sander's basement include Roseanne, The Cosby Show, Forrest Gump, The Blind Side, and my fav Judd Apatow flicks.  (Also numerous chick flicks that you don't need to concern yourself about.)


I love all of these and can recite them by heart, but as a normal person you need to have some time pass between screenings of these beloved films so as to not wear them out.  Perhaps 3-4 months or so between so you can still laugh at all the jokes and anticipate your favorite scenes.

Naturally, I wore out these select few pretty quickly once we moved into our apartment.  You'd be surprised at the amount of organizing and unpacking that's involved in situating a half household.  Well...really a third of a household in our case, and for all this unpacking I needed background noise.  I was done in a few days and found myself in a pickle, having played most of the movies and shows at least once.  After the initial flurry of moving in tasks, which lasted about 3 days, I only had my own work and errands to do.

To work well, I need to have myself set-up, so to speak, or else I get distracted or bored and/or annoyed.  I work for myself and am home most days.  I like to have stuff playing when I'm editing and doin' my housewife chores.  Silence usually bugs me.  I like tv noise or music.  If I don't have these, I hear the voices in my head and good grief are THEY annoying.

In my most favorite work space so far, in our little house in Alabama, I would usually have YouTube or my little tv or iTunes playing, switching out in between them all day.  Audrey, who either curled up under my desk in a less than comfortable looking position or on the futon, seemed to enjoy the variety of entertainment as well.  (She also gets bored easily.)

With no regular tv to have on and most of my music trapped back on my desktop at my Mom's, I've been concerned about how to keep myself happy.

This is where the library comes in.  (*You thought library = books?!  HA HA HA HAAA!)

I must say, this Army library is quite impressive.  It's small and not impressive by any architectural standards, but they have almost every tv series you could think of, including HBO and Showtime and old CW shows.  (Like I think every season of Dawson's Creek, the first season of Felicity, and a commendable amount of Gossip Girl.)  There are also tons of movies and apparently if they're missing one that you're searching for they will order it for you and it'll magically appear.  Wow.  (Sorry if I mislead you with the whole "this Army library is impressive" statement.  I didn't mean it has a cathedral ceilinged reading room furnished with old leather chairs and ladders that slide along 15 feet high bookshelves stocked with leather-bound classics that have that beloved old book smell.  This isn't Beauty & the Beast.  I'm easy to please.)

There is also an adorable old Korean man that works there who always has funny comments about my DVD choices.  He doesn't exhibit strong English, and I still know only 3 words in Korean,
which makes it even more entertaining.  He hasn't said much about the books I take out...  Wonder what that means...

Anyway, there's a limit to the number of DVDs you can check out, which makes sense.  It also makes sense that I was unaware.

One time when I took out too many, the equally adorable, shy, young Korean girl who works there took my stack and spread them out and quietly gasped, "Oooooo...many DVD.  Oh.  Oh no."

Confused, I asked her what was wrong and she said I had about 8 too many.  Ok, that's an exaggeration, but I did have like 7, I think, and you can only take out 5.  She broke the rules for me though, and I happily (and a little guiltily) left with 2 full seasons of Friends, the 2nd season of Shameless, the last season of Gilmore Girls, the Sopranos, the classic, 2nd season of Gossip Girl, and Parks and Recreation.  Awesome.

Anyway, this library is sort of a sanity saver.  Ok, maybe I wouldn't go clinically crazy without background noise, but I sure am happy & exceedingly grateful to have the comfort of home in television entertainment.  Walter has made a bunch of friends playing in different frisbee leagues around here and in Seoul, and they make me appreciate all the things I have access to on post. Thanks to them,  I am reminded to not take small things for granted.  They can't do simple things like rent DVDs in English (without it being a total mission), they don't have access to a pretty nice gym whenever they want, they cannot purchase Sam Adams and PBR, and they can't even buy Cinnamon Toast Crunch to prepare for a long day of teaching English to crazy little 6 year olds.  They have to buy Korean cereal, and who knows what those boxes say!

(Actually, a bunch of those frisbee people are fluent in Korean, so...  I guess they know.)

I decided to look for some zumba or workout DVD's and LOOK at what I found:



I chose the workout based on the outfit of the lady featured on the dazzling cover.
Which one do you think I chose?
(And I'll get back to you about if I actually did the workout...)



Overall, I love you library.  As a child I loved you because I was a huge bookworm nerd, and now I love you because, well...I am still a bookworm nerd but I appreciate your sustaining my nerdy-American-television-show sanity.



Epilogue:

How could I be displeased with a library that offers all of THIS:

 
And then, on further inspection and to my absolute glee, THIS!

Now I understand how Kip and Napoleon were sold on being cage fighters.  

It's marketing genius.

*Just so you know, I am currently trudging my way though a very interesting but laborious book called The Lost Children of Wilder.  It's about the intense struggle to reform foster care in the state of New York.  It's very well written, and is more investigative reporting than a story (meaning I have to constantly stop and google large judiciary words and famous case references that are over my head) but it's haunting and moving and I'd recommend it to anyone who cares about children.  (Did you know that children used to be placed in foster care according to religion?  Religion that was never taught to them half the time?  And in NY the Catholics and Jews ran the joint, so where does that leave Protestant children?  And mostly, where does that leave Black Protestant children?  It's crazy.  And the Protestant agencies aren't the "victims" here - they're all corrupt and greedy and it makes me sad.  And now the main plaintive that this book's case is centered around has her own child when she's 14 and he is becoming a "trouble maker" at 5 years old and it's just...it's just heartbreaking...  He's terrified of being abandoned yet again and clearly doesn't understand what he's doing wrong.  This thick book is why it has been mainly DVDs being checked out of this cherished little plain brick building the past few weeks.  I'm usually a very fast reader but this one actually requires silence.  Sorta like a textbook with emotional reaction.  ...Is that an oxymoron? )



On a lighter, more random note, here are some random pics from my random Friday, which was an EXQUISITE fall day...

This little guy is the 3rd puppy addition to my landlord's office.  Unlike the little white yippy and tiny black chihuahua yippy dogs in the crate seen in the pic, he gets to roam free.

I sure hope his job isn't to be a guard dog, though, because when he saw me through the glass door he barked and jumped back and peed on the floor.  I felt bad for the assistant that had to clean it up...  He's a fraidy cat and would suck at his job.

This was my bike yesterday after I bought half the commissary.  It was fine; it took a little while to rearrange and get it all safely and securely into the baskets, but that's ok.  (I had to tie the handles to my hippy grocery bags to prevent things from literally popping out as I flew over bumps.) 

 I laughed along with the man that helped me take out all the bags when he realized I was going to attempt to cram it all in my front and back basket.  I laughed because I KNEW I'd do it, and I did.

 

This is the wall that surrounds post.
<-----------

Looks serious.  It's sorta weird to see it and think, oh, yeah, that's normal.

But it is, and I'm grateful to have a serious looking hiding place should the time come.

Just sayin'...

This is a crosswalk on the way to post.  It's a divided highway with 3 lanes on each side, and these people MOVE on it.  (And all those little people you see on the other side of the street there are my nemesis: the damn school kids.  They come in herds and are, if humanly possible, more situationally unaware than other grown-up Koreans.  I feel like in some past life or THIS life all of these people have been struck by a car or fast moving bike and are now impervious to pain.  They have no fear. They could care less.  "Go on, NAIL me!  I don't care."  It's annoying.)

This is the intersection where I sat waiting to cross, glaring at the kids I would soon have to fight.

The cars and trucks and bongo trucks race each other down these roads at break neck speeds and I honestly feel a bit safer behind these poles.  I could sit out on the curb, like a cool guy waiting for the light to change, but I'm not cool.  I want to live.

(See 'em?  See 'em sittin' there, revvin' their engines?!)

Fun fact: in Psy's crazy "new" video you can see him "dancing" on poles that look just like this.  They're spiky...Idk why.

 

This is my new friend, "Spotty."  I've been told this is her name, and I do find it terrible, but for some reason I cannot come up with a name for her yet.  (Emmie maybe?)

She lives at the firehouse on post, and back in June when Walter and I went by to say hi one night, sort of late, she almost bit Walter's face off.  (Good thing he has such quick reflexes, bc had it been me, she woulda gotten my face.)  But more on that later.

I take her little milk bones when I pass, a few times a week, and I think it's working.  My bribes have caused her to wag her tail when she sees me, and look how happy she is in these pics!  I'm so smart.

And I leave you with a delicious pic of my lunch today.  I'm easy to please sometimes, and hot soup and hot, cheesy sandwich seemed the perfect fall lunch.  (I was right.)  The grilled cheese may look a bit brown according to the deceiving, lying shadows of the photo, but trust me - you should be jealous.  It was the bomb.

Thanks for reading, and now please tell me: what's new with you?!

XOXO

I Stole a 9 Year Old's Bike...

Beach cruisers are so cute, would you not agree?  Lots of people here ride bicycles.  Even though I have to wear a goofy looking helmet and rad safety reflector sash if I ride on-post, which is almost daily, I've really wanted a bike for weeks now.

I've been stalking Craigslist, stopping and "asking" (a.k.a. pointing & foolishly gesturing) to the dozen or so Korean bike shop owners around the neighborhood, and whining to myself about walking everywhere in this stupid heat since June.  Regular, not-so-far-away errands were a huge inconvenience to me.  Annoying.  After being home in "normal" heat and humidity and sort of dreading coming back, I decided I'd have a dang bike by the end of the week, no matter if it was cute or not.

I wanted a beach cruiser specifically because I pictured myself leisurely pedaling along the brick sidewalks and narrow, crowded alleys with a nice breeze in my face.  I wanted to be able to sit upright, and I'm not interested in climbing any trails or hopping any curbs or ramps.  No thanks.  When an intense looking Korean, suited up from head-to-toe, or a sweaty soldier blazes by me on a tricked-out mountain bike, it makes me yawn.  

"Good for you," I think.  "You go girl.  I'll poke along at 25 mph and enjoy the view."

To justify this substantial purchase to myself as well as the husband, I told myself I'd use it to do all my errands: to go to the market or commissary, the library, to my volunteer job, and to the subway if I was venturing further.  

Errands wouldn't be such a bummer anymore.  And errands, a.ka. sometimes maybe possibly purchasing junk/crap we don't  necessarily need, most definitely requires a basket.  This beautiful beach cruiser I had in mind had to have a basket, and also had to have this thing on the back that I don't know the name of...  It's like a rack sorta thing and lots of people around here strap milk crates onto it with bungee cords.  If I get really ambitious and go grocery shopping and per usual buy half the store, or purchase a large Korean stone statue for my future back-in-the-states garden, I'll definitely find/borrow/steal a milk crate and lock an' load.

I was on Craigslist just about every day looking for a bike that suited my absurd aesthetic taste.  Mint or blush or yellow was my wish for color, and beyond that I didn't have much preference in way of whatever you should specifically want in a bike.  (I mean, let's be honest, what the heck do I know?  The pedals should stay on and the chain shouldn't be rusty and the brakes should definitely work and the tires shouldn't be flat...right?  What else is there?)  

I looked & looked but mostly found the popular weird little bikes that have two different size weird tires  (like a clown bike!) and stupid, serious mountain bikes.  These obvi didn't look comfy (or cool at all, hello!) and I was getting disappointed over & over.  (And a little PO'd.)

Then last week I actually found a beautiful, slightly aged, MINT BEACH CRUISER for LESS than I thought I'd pay.  I was psyched.  I emailed the lister right away and then obsessively checked my phone every 5 minutes...  Sadly, it sold and not to me.

Sadface.

By the afternoon, I was over it and decided I couldn't wait anymore.

Walking to post takes about 15-20 minutes, walking to the train takes about 10, and walking to any stores worth going to - forGET it.  It is so SO SOOO stinkin' hot and stupidly humid here that you sweat standing still.  It's irritating.  It's hotter than Georgia, which, to me makes no sense.  If you're not in the jungle or desert, WHY does it have to be so hot?

Get it together, God.

I walked the 3 blocks up the main street outside of our apartment complex to a tiny, low ceilinged, dimly lit bike shop that I'd passed a million times on my stupid walks to and from post.  I had spotted a bright pink & white cutie on display and had inspected it several times, but decided against it because it was TOO bright a pink and the light pink handle bars were lame.  I wanted pink but it had to be the right shade of pink.  The handle bars were also not "beach cruiser enough."  (Sometimes it's exhausting being me, ok?)

There were tools and parts scattered all over the floor inside, so the transaction took place on the sidewalk.

The short little lady was really nice, though we couldn't speak one word of one another's language, and she seemed pumped that she'd made a sale.  She showed the total to me on a calculator, and after happily taking my credit card, she ripped off the cardboard & plastic coverings with a flourish.  She set to work quickly tightening everything that needed tightening, screwing the pedals on, and adjusting the seat for me.  I was excited.  Then she tried to sell a lock to me, which IS important, but, Hi - I love a bargain and I wasn't about to pay 10,000 won for one.

This is equivalent to about ten bucks.  Get on my level, people.

I too happily pedaled away toward our apartment, probably smiling like a dork.  The seat was pretty comfy, and even though it wasn't exactly what I wanted, being a little girl shade of pink instead of a blush, no one had forced me to impatiently buy the one I just had.  

Two weeks later, I've decided that maybe maaayyyybe I'll paint it when we're back home, but overall, I'm very happy with my new wheels. 

I appreciate travel times being cut in half, I love the breeze in my face, and I stole a clashing but useful blue milk crate from my very own roommate. 



Oh, did I mention it has a bell?!

                                      So useful.  So economic!




Veggies from my nearby market.  ---------------->  
The family that runs it doesn't know any English, and duh I don't know much Korean yet.  All we can say is 'hello' and 'thank you' to each other.  

  But this little guy is always there, and he's very talkative.

Until I learn his actual name, he shall be called Timmy.

(Fun fact: in Korean, cats do not say "meow."  

They say "yawoll.")

  For those of you who judged the basket requirement... 
 Who's judgin' now?!?!? 

K.I.T.

In our short 3 1/2 years of marriage we have already had so many adventures together, including a 13 month deployment to Afghanistan for Walter and 6 moves (NBD), but this is definitely the biggest, challenging and most interesting yet.  So many things in our everyday lives are easily forgotten, but a blog presents a way, in years to come, to venture back to and remember our 'Korean Chapter.'  To smile at our fun, happy times, shake my head & laugh at our silly and/or dumb foreigner mistakes, or maybe cause me to hit delete in embarrassment of my naiveté and immaturity and ask all of you to kindly forget that I subjected you to my rambling stories and nutty thinking pattern.

I have been here in Korea, more specifically Uijeongbu, for a little over a month now, and there are already so many stories and experiences I want to share with so many of you: cultural differences, new Army rules, crazy driving, interesting food, attempting to learn the language, Korean "fashion",  and how we are navigating and making the most of our new life abroad.

I never really considered "blogging" before, but with the somewhat difficult mission of timing any communication with family & friends on the East Coast, a 13 hour time difference, I think this is a good way to keep everyone up-to-date.  Writing this will spare me the task of having to repeat things, remember if I told you something in particular, and it's also an interesting way for me to preserve memories of our experiences together as not only foreigners in a strange new place, but as newlyweds and an Army couple.

It's sometimes taxing and monotonous to repeat stories and details over & over, but mostly, since I am such a talker (or so I've been told...) I would probably end up wasting our precious Skype time with occasional stories that I feel are worth sharing but you, the listener, does not.  (I am mostly thinking here of Dov, Collin, Andy - all wonderful, stand-up guys who may be too nice to tell me, "I don't CARE about what she said and then he said and how it was said and how that made you feel, nor do I wanna hear about your shopping experience trying to find a dress or stupid earrings for the Army ball!  I have to go!")  I can avoid annoying you if I have everything I want to share on here.  If you've already read it and hopefully not had your mind numbed, won't we have lots more to discuss on our more wisely-spent, more thoroughly enjoyed Skype dates?  I am such a genius and thoughtful friend, huh?

Mostly, I want to share our lives with you guys and keep you involved, hear what you think, and possibly even entertain you for a minute.  And isn't this blog the most efficient way to achieve these goals?  I only have to type it out once and if it's a story that I find hiLARious or important & riveting and you are bored & glassy-eyed or busy & hurried or just disagree altogether, well - skim away!  I'll never know that you didn't highly anticipate my next post or eagerly gobble up every single word, and you won't have to strain yourself hiding the annoyed eye roll or muffling the inherent sigh at my absurd and silly craziness!  I get to tell you everything, which makes me happy, and you get to choose what to read, keeping you both sane and in "such a good friend" standing.  It's like being a guy friend and mastering the "I'm Listening Intently to Your Super Interesting Story" act without actually having to learn it.  Win - win!

XOXO

Mandie, aka Amanda Beth

p.s. While I am always open to and welcome constructive criticism, I have finally committed to writing this and keeping up with it.  This is a huge accomplishment in itself for me.  Please do not attempt to sway me from blogging, even if this first post was torturous.  I'm sorry if you're bored.  I'm sorry some posts will be long.  But I will only acknowledge mean comments if they are also funny and make me laugh in addition to hanging my head in shame.  (I thought of adding the disclaimer, "I am a photographer, not a writer," but I figured if you wanted to give up, you would...)  =D  

Cham komapsumnida!

대단히 감사합니다 !