Happy New Year!

... again!

It's been a little quiet over here as the boy and I are on a little vacation.  Thanks to Lunar New Year we have 5 days off.  Whoop whoop!  We didn't really have the funds to go anywhere exotic (although we tried) so we decided to spend some time in Seoul.  It's actually like being in a different country.  It's so different compared to Pohang.  Any kind of food you could possibly want is just a short subway ride away, if not closer.  I'm pretty much eating my way across Seoul.

So I'll have a ton of updates as soon as we get back, but for now we're going to enjoy this rare vacation as best we can.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Le Weekend.

Sorry it's been a few days.  We've been uber busy lately with friends leaving Korea, the boy changing schools, and Master Sim becoming a daddy.

YES!  Our beloved Hapkido Master is now a dad to the most beautiful baby girl that I've ever seen.  She was born on Thursday and we were able to watch videos that Master Sim took of her an hour after her birth.  She was so alert and following everything with her eyes.  She's going to be a smarty pants, that one.  They still haven't named her yet, but I'll be sure to post pictures along with her name as soon as we find out. 

We desperately wanted to help out Master Sim and his wife Eri any way we could.  We asked if they needed anything and his response was, "No.  It's okay.  Wait, we need baby panty.  No flowers.  Never.  But many, many baby panty".   Ah yes, diapers. 

The boy and I headed to E-mart and found ourselves in quite the predicament.   There were so many different kinds of diapers!  There weren't any sizes, but they were all in kgs.  As in, grab a diaper that matches your childs weight.  It's hard enough being an American and working in the metric system, but add Korean on top of that and you've got one confused couple. 

We were finally able to use my phone to translate 신생아.  It means "newborn".  I now understand why Master Sim wanted diapers so bad.  Those suckers are expensive.  I think we decided then and there that if we ever have kids, we'll definitely try cloth diapers. 

When we weren't on the hunt for newborn diapers, we were sending off another friend.  We went out with some friends last night to send off Landis Lee.  She actually arrived in Pohang a month after we did and she's been on more than a few adventures with us.  We're sad to see her go but she left us a bunch of goodies.  We inherited a lovely couch and a sheet ton of spices.  Ares and I even tested the couch out today with a little nappy nap.

And yes, I'm sleeping with my jacket on because it's still freezing in Korea. 

I believe that the remainder of our weekend will be spent making plans for our big expedition.  We won't know what countries we'll be visiting until we have the letters in hand, but there's still so much that we need to get worked out.  We also want to incorporate some form of volunteer work with every country that we visit.  Please feel free to offer any suggestions.  We'd love to hear any of your ideas!

And one more picture, just because we finally captured Ares rolling his eyes at us. 

Coming this Spring

Alright ladies and gents, the following post is going to come not from me, but from the boy.  This is something that we've been waiting to reveal for quite some time.  It's actually one of the main reasons I started the blog.  It's also why we came to Korea.  We came to have an adventure of a lifetime, and to also save up money for this grand expedition.  I'll let the beau explain it to you for himself...

Why do we write home?

I think with most of us there is a deep and primal urge to explore; the thrill of mystery compels us all.

Equal to that desire however is a need to also have community. We want as much to be with each other as we do to find what lies outside the known boundaries of our lives.

With letters we can mitigate those needs and find some middle ground.

This has been going on since the romantic days of sea travel.

This Spring, it will happen again, in full style.

I've been planning this journey for years. 

Correction.

I've been obsessed with this quest for years.

In the Galapagos there is a spot that sailors have been using to store letters. Originally British, Dutch, and Spanish vessels would drop their letters on the island. Post Man Bay as it's come to be known didn't take long to become an international hot spot. Vessels would come and drop their mail off and pick up letters bound for their next port. When they arrived they would deliver them.

Today the tradition continues. When people visit the Galapagos they drop a letter into the barrel on Post Man bay and take one out to deliver by hand to someone near their home.

This spring Tawny and I are traveling to South America and out to the Galapagos by ship.
When we arrive we will go to Post Man Bay, claim a fist-full of letters and deliver them across the world.
As we go we will be taking the traditional modes of transportation unique to each country that would have been available during the time period when Post Man Bay was established.

 Join us for a journey around the world.
By ship.
By train.
By camel.

Across the globe delivering your stories.