Shopping in Korea

Arlene, David and I have had to do a lot of shopping. The Fulbright people provided us with a really wonderful apartment. However, we still need to buy things for David and food. This is a little hard because the products are a little different then what is available in the states and while the dollar has appreciated against the won (the Korean currency) inflation has driven prices up.

What makes things really interesting is using public transportation. There are a couple of supermarkets within walking distance but we need to take a bus or the subway to get to places that have some of the products we need. On Saturday after going to the temple I went to a furniture district that was recommended to me by a Fulbright secretary. I was able to find a cradle and high chair there. On Sunday Arlene, David and I took the subway. That was interesting because you have to go up and down a lot of stairs and escalators (there are elevators but they are often hard to find and you still have to do a lot of walking), which meant we had to carry David and the stroller. Arlene liked the high chair and crib so we bought them. They will be delievered today. After that we went to Sinchon rotary and had lunch and then went to the Grand mart, a 7 floor department store.

The department store is a little different from the US. First it has a two story grocery store and then five floors of various other items above it. There is only one elevator and since David was asleep we had to take it to each floor. Moreoever, you pay for items on the floor that they are on. In other words, if you want something on the 2nd, 4th, and 5th floors, you have to pay three times.

Traveling with David was a little difficult but we had a lot of fun with the Korean sales ladies. Everywhere we went people said yepuda or kwiyopida (pretty/cute). Twice the sales ladies took him away from us (when he was awake) to play with him. He had a really good time and enjoyed all the attention. People also kept giving him food. One sales lady even took a picture of him with her cell phone. Strangers will also walk up and touch him (usually stroking him on the cheek). So people really like babies and they are a kind of public property:). So far people have been very kind and helpful. For instance, we bought something at a little store that was up some stairs. The clerk came out and helped us carry our stroller down.

So all in all we are settling in well. I will start Korean language classes on Wednesday and hopefully will be able to meet with my adviser this week.

Jogye-sa

On Saturday morning one of my professors emailed me that a number of Buddhists had launched a protest against the government on the 27th. Since it seemed closely related to issues regarding the relationship between religion and the state I went to go have a look. While there I spoke to a volunteer guide who had participtaed in the protests. I need to study it more as the issues are very complicated before I could say anything. For now, here are some of the pictures.

A banner in front of the temple (Jogye-sa, sa means temple and Jogye is the largest Buddhist organization in Korea) listing demands.
Protest banners
The main temple gate. There are paper lanterns that spell "out" in the back (you can see the upside down "u"). This is in reference to the preisdent of Korea, Yi Myongbak)
A float from the protest of a protestor holding a candle (a lot of the protests in Korea are candlelight vigils)
I'm not sure which Buddha this is, but he appears to be a kid. Rice and a bottle of water have been offered to him. I think the rice and water is bought from a gift shop at the temple site and then offered. The rice is then taken away and resold. I think traditionally people donated rice and they wanted to keep the tradition but they modernized it in this way.

Apartment Pictures

The view from the master bedroom
The master bedroom
The front door
livin room and kitchen (there is a couch barely visible in the corner)
the view from the living room, notice the Fulbright building sign in the lower left

Made it to Korea

Arlene, David and I made it safely to Korea. Our flights went pretty well. David wasn't interested in sleeping much but we were able to get a bulkhead seat and we didn't have any neighbors (meaning we had four seats to ourselves), which made things a lot easier on us. We didn't have any problems at the airport and were picked up by a Fulbright driver.

Our apatment is very nice and quite spacious. It's conveniently located near a local city bus stop and the subway and there are a couple of supermarkets within walking distance. The fulbright people are also very nice and have taken a lot of trouble to help us get used to things.

We are all suffering from jet lag. Arlene mostly stays at home with David while I roam around the city trying to get things figured out. My Korean wasn't as bad as I thought but it still needs work.

Yesterday we went to mass at a nice little church and gave thanks to God for all the wonderful blessings he has given us. Please keep those prayers coming, there is still a lot to be done!

Going to Korea

We will leave for Korea early in the morning this coming Tuesday. Please pray for our trip and that we won't annoy our fellow passengers too much! We will miss Grandma and Grandpa and all our friends and family.

Congratulations to Chris and Beth

Our friends Chris and Beth just got married!

At the courthouse
In front of a cage? What does this symbolize?

We lined up by height (except David!)

David Walking

David walked a few steps about a week ago and so we started leading him about. Now he walks with quite a bit of confidence.

Frank and Arlene's Anniversary

Frank and Arlene celebrated their fourth wonderful year of married life. Please pray they will enjoy many more! They had dinner at a restaurant that overlooks the Ohio river.

Threshing Movie

I'm experimenting with posting a movie of the steam engine at work

Threshing Show

Last week, Dad, Arlene, David and myself went to the "Threshing Festival." It's put on by a local group that restores and maintains old steam engines. It was a lot of fun.



Here's one of the old steam engines. It was hooked up to provide power to a sawmill.

Here's the sawmill it was powering. Arlene, Dad and David are in the foreground watching the action.

Three generations of Rausch men pose in front of a John Deere tractor. Dad used to drive a model just like this one.

Arlene and some kids dressed in Victorian fashions at a log cabin.

A guy driving an old time car.