Home Sweet Home !!!!!!

For those who may not have known, I was fortunate to spend 29 days of leave with my magnificent life for just about the whole month of October. It truly was my most memorable and enjoyable vacation I have ever taken. Leslie had off the first week I was home and we were able to go on 3 hikes, have dinner out and catch up on some much needed time together. We hiked up Camelback Mountain , which was very strenuous but rewarding.

We spent some quality time with our neighbors and I was able to catch up on some maintenance around the house. It was quite warm there and now I am back in the 45 to 55 degree range everyday. It is strange not having everything I am used to but the countdown is at 49 days till Leslie comes back for her second trip to Korea for Christmas. It is nice to see the leaves changing for the season and snow should be falling here very soon.

Leslie's South Korea trip-Part 2-The Secret Garden

One of the places Leslie had on her list to see was the Changdeok Palace. The palace itself was constructed in 1405, however would be destroyed by Japanese during the invasion of 1592. It has been rebuilt and the beauty preserved ever since. The main attraction of the palace is not the architecture of the rooms itself, but the Biwon or better known as The Secret Garden. It is a soothing quiet spot with a pond in the middle being occupied by lily's. Because the palace is surrounded on all sides by walls, the garden was the meditating area for those, mostly the emperor and empress, who lived in the palace. The palace was built during the Joseon Dynasty. Its difficult to comprehend sometimes because the history here is long lasting but the American history is very young. As we explored Seoul and it's history, we learned that Korea was a major battleground for the Chinese and Japanese that still effect it today. The Garden is Leslie's favorite memory of the Palace. I thought it was nice, but very bland because we were not able to enter any of the facilities within the palace.

Leslie's Korea Trip -Part 1- The Seoul Tower

I am able to make some time and post a new title. I know it has been some time since I have been on here, but there has not been a lot going on until recently. Leslie arrived at Incheon International on June 15th after a long 14 hour flight. My friend Steve and I took the subway from base to meet her. I mention that because he was the one to point her out at a very busy airport. Leslie didn't really know what to expect upon arrival (only what i told her over the phone)but left on the 13th of July with an impressive view of the country and and strong fondness of the people. It's safe to say the she hit Korea like an earthquake hits California. It didn't take Leslie long to realize what she wanted to see and do. We had a tentative schedule of events planned. We had plenty of time to travel around Seoul and realized how magnificent the city is. We ventured up the Seoul Tower only to see how huge the city. Once we got to the top of the tower, you could see civilization on all areas for 360 degrees. It truly is one of the most memorable views I have ever seen. After we left the tower, we started walking down the trail and I noticed a vendor making some kind of stew in a pot. As I approached I noticed that the stew was actually a pot of boiling caterpillar-like bugs. Yuck!!! The Seoul Tower was just one of adventures during her month stay. I will bring another title in the following days.

Saturday Night in Seoul

On Friday afternoon, a bunch of coworkers and I made a plan to take the bus from Osan to Seoul for unlimited crablegs at the E-Club at Yongsan. The bus ride can vary from 60 minutes to 90 minutes but really is a comfortable ride. Yongsan is the Army garrison located inside of Seoul and is really beautiful. The crab legs were tasty and we all seemed to enjoy the meal. It is real easy to get downtown by just taking a 5 minute cab ride, so that's what we did. Even though we went downtown, the area we went to is called Itaewon. It is really Americanized here with GI's all over the place, but nonetheless were able to find a German pub to enjoy a nice cold beer. Itaewon is alot like Songtan in where it is geared for the night scene and shopping with a bunch of clubs and bars to cater to us. There is even a Hard Rock Cafe right smackdab in the middle of Itaewon. Keep in mind that this is just a small area of Seoul and that an estimated 22-27 million people live in and around the Area. Seoul continues to increase it's economic output as it grows through globalization and with the presence of the US here, in other words, we love to spend our money here. The picture is from the Dragon Hill Lodge located on Yongsan. It really does no justice to the actual view. The mountains are pretty small and green, almost identical to the Appalachian mountains. When you look out, all you really see is the housing areas and brand new high rises. In the first picture I included, you can see the Seoul Tower that watches over all of Seoul. I haven't ventured up the tower yet, but plan on doing that soon. Some of the other places you all would be familiar with is Cold Stone Creamery, Starbucks, The Coffee Bean and hotels like The Hyatt and Hilton, all located in the general radius of where we were at. I don't know about you, but when I'm in Asia, I'm not looking for Mexican food or anything else I can find in the states. Also, it is nice not having to drive anywhere or worry about the price of gas. I have yet to see any of the American made trucks like the F-150 or anything being driven by the natives. It's kind of nice. This is definitely a place you would want to visit. For me, it is just one of many I would like to visit. Some of the others on my list next are Tokyo, Shanghai, Bangkok, Sidney and Beijing...

The weather here...

is finally getting nice, not that it was all that bad to begin with. Our temperature has been in the 70's for the past week, but it's still cool in the morning and evening. All around the base the cherry blossom trees are blooming and look really nice. There is even a blossom festival down south this weekend by our other base, Kunsan, but I think I'm going to skip it. I am venturing to make it down to Seoul on Saturday to see some new sights. I spent last weekend in bed due to food poisoning. Its ironic though, I got sick from the chicken on base, not off base like you would think. There are a lot of great places to eat off base. I walked through the open market just gazing at all the fish, kim-chee and fruit. I even stopped into a french bakery and picked up a danish, it was fantastic! I walked through the fish market with two buddies, and the one ran through fearing he was going to puke from the funky smell. None the less, it was very interesting to see the variety they have to offer. I guess it's just like shopping for everything else like the suits, dresses, purses, shoes and lingerie(everything is tailored for you personally). I even had a Red Sox robe made just for me by one of the local suit makers. Also, don't be mistaken into thinking that the products here are cheap, they are not. I plan on having a couple suits made for me with a cashmere overcoat before I leave next March, all for a couple hundred dollars. My friend Adam had a pair of boots fitted to his big feet and manufactured in just a week. Its really pathetic if you think deep about it all. Americans do not know how to make these materials by hand( everything is mass produced) but the companies will charge an arm and a leg for it. The same jerseys sold in the stores in America, I can buy here for 30 dollars. Lets go back to the food. the picture on the right is just a tidbit of the kim-chee available of base. Along with that is a dish called Bul-gogi(ba-gogi). It is excellent!!! It reminds me of a stir fry with rice and has tremendous seasoning added in. I have not tried anything from the local market yet, I am still trying to adjust to any bacteria my body is soaking in that I am not used to. So far, so good! Their are some tasty restaurants outside the base(many, many, many to choose from)coupled with the numerous bars. Darts is a very big hobby here and every establishment has a team. Some off my buddies are trying to recruit me, but I am holding out for more money to the highest bidder come mid season. Every bar has several dart boards and seems to be very homely, like "Cheers". My plan is to scope out Seoul for this weekend in order to find a nice restaurant for Leslie and I for when she comes here.
The picture on the right is just an example of a local place where Leslie can have a dress made just to fit her, no returning for it for some fashion failure or so on. I think it would be extraordinary to have something made for us for a nice classy dinner is Southeast Asia. I guess i will just have to see what is on the menu...

This is a ...

very big base. I think I have touched on this before, but i can't say it with any more emphasis than this, this is a very big and modernized base! Below is a picture of the high school football field located right outside my dorm room. The high school team here plays other teams on the peninsula(I would never have thought that there was a team on base here in South Korea)and even the other teams in the region including Okinawa. It is strange. I was told prior to coming here that Osan is located in a war zone(naturally being in South Korea). So, how on earth is there a school here. I mean, who's kids are here? I think it is a reasonable question to ask, after all we are located in a war zone, right? The last time I checked, North Korea and South Korea have never signed a peace treaty since 1953. So why do I see women and children all over this base everyday, all day?
Outside the base is a very busy place. It is very built up and the locals LOVE us. Granted, we do spend a lot of money on their products, but we can get them so much cheaper than the states. It took only two shopping trips for me to realize that somebody is getting ripped off tremendously in the whole scheme of things. I say that because you can buy something here for 25 dollars but pay for the same product in the US for 175-200 dollars. WOW!!!! So, who is at fault here? I tend to believe the businesses in America are at fault. As Americans, we always try to pretend that we are looking out for our own interests, but will take money out of our own pockets quicker than anything. You can have a suit Tailor made for you here at 200-225 that you would pay 600-1000 dollars for in the states. That is ridiculous. I have enjoyed my time here so far and would come back here again if given the choice to bring Leslie(in a second).
There have been rumours here that they may open this up to bring families(for the enlisted, most officers already have their families here). That would be good for all involved. Lets get the facts straight here, South Korea is booming and people are making money and prospering. Meanwhile, people in the North are starving living under a brutal dictatorship. I encourage people to make a vacation to Seoul to see it for themselves(even though I know people won't). If you have been tuned into the media lately, you have noticed that there has been plenty of news going on between the North and the South. I can't go into the issue too deep, but it nearly isn't as bad here as the media reports it. That's the propaganda the news reports.

This place is...

identical to that of Pennsylvania. I say that because it was very warm this past weekend but has dipped to a very cold week. It is good though here, I really like it so far. I just wish Leslie could be here the entire time. With that being said, she will be leaving Phoenix to come visit me soon. I will not say the dates due to security reasons, but it will be a blast when she comes here. I do have a new mode of transportation, my new bike. It's probably maybe a mile where I work, so its a nice ride(just hurts my butt).

I also have some pretty cool pictures of my dorm room. I still haven't got my shipment from the states but have accumulated quite a bit of items. I had to buy a TV, sheets, and a few other items. Other than that, there really hasn't been anything going on. See ya

Around the base...

is where I spent most of all first week walking. Only high ranking NCO's and officers(and there dependants) can drive on the base. There are also taxis all over base but they are driven by the Korean folks. I have a bike given to me by Adam but have yet to ride it. I plan on finding the subway right off base this weekend and would love to do something adventurous. On the right is a picture of just one of the clubs on base named The Mustang Club. There are 4 restaurants, a coffee shop, slot machines and a night club here.

Even though I spent the last 5 years around the F-16 Fighting Falcon, I will be working on the A-10 Warthog while I am here in Korea. It is a little different than the Falcon, however it is tougher and is known as a tank killer. This aircraft really made a name for itself during the first gulf war in 1990. We'll see how that works out.
On the left is a picture of a typical dormitory here at the base. This one is brand new and opened up last year. I have been in the hotel on base called Turumi Lodge and have been quite inpressed. Starting tomorrow I will be in temporary lodging which isn't that bad, but not nearly as nice as the hotel. If anyone wants to come and visit me, they can stay in the lodge. Except Leslie, she is staying with me. I can't wait for my momma to come here in June.

So, where exactly is...

South Korea? Not everyone will be able to locate it on a map if they were required to. It sits just west of Japan and is about the size of Florida. Osan is located 40 miles south of Seoul and 59 miles south of North Korea. There are about 22 million people located around the Seoul area, give or take a couple million I suppose. South Korea is also a booming economically while North Korea continues to sink into a country of poverty and death. It is so pathetic in fact, if you were to see the imagery of the area and surrounding regions, the North Korean capital of Pyongyang is the only city in North Korea that has any electric. Al Gore should hand his peace prize over to Kim Jong-Il for saving all the energy, but all his people are starving in the process( I forgot to mention that earlier). Below is an interesting image.

Please take note the boundaries of the two countries. There is a little speck of light in North Korea. That is Pyongyang, the capitol and residence of the dictator. Now, look south and notice the light coming from South Korea. That my friends is Seoul and the surrounding areas. So you see that the south has really boomed in recent years. It also has a lot of wealthly individuals living there.

Perhaps the most interesting issue with the 2 Korea's is that they went to war in 1950 and signed an armistice in 1953 to end the war. Armistice? An agreement to stop shooting at each other, that's all. They never signed an official peace treaty. So, for the past 55 years there has been an armistice in place but a peace treaty was never signed. This is why Osan is considered a war zone, even though it is as modern as can be. The wacko running the north is unpredictable, but also sane enough to realize that his country would be annihilated if were to do anything foolish. Follow the link to see more http://www.infoplease.com/atlas/country/northkorea.html

Yellow Dust?

You know, pretty much anyway that I have ever been I probably would've sounded nuts if I told people that I am sniffing yellow dust. It's not exactly like it sounds, but it is strange. All over the South Korean Peninsula there is a haze that resides. Its not just any haze, its a yellow haze and it blows down from China and Mongolia. I was informed at one of my in processing briefings that it is pollen and desert dust. I was joking with Adam saying that it is China sending poisonous dust into the air that will slowly kill us in ten years. So far, most of the days have been really hazy, and there is a noticeable chalky taste in my mouth. He is a picture but keep in mind it is late in the afternoon about 5:30.

Today was interesting because I was issued my chemical warfare equipment. However, I have another class coming up where I will actually utilize it. When it is all together it can be pretty heavy, so we'll see how all that goes.

I am trying to talk Adam in to going up north to the DMZ this weekend but he wasn't really all that enthusiastic. I guess this tour is an underground site and it can get pretty cold. So instead I have shifted the focus to visiting Seoul. Not much else going on today but training. I'll update soon again.

A Revelation hit me today...

when I was walking around in this foreign country that I never really thought I would ever be in. I don't really know if I am just naive, optimistic, out of touch with reality or maybe just plain dumb. Let me shift gears here for a minute. One of my favorite movies is "She's the One" starring Ed Burns, Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Aniston. The story goes like this: Mickey is a cab driver in New York and marries a customer after he drives her to New Orleans. He doesn't know her all that well, I mean he only had a few days to talk to her, and discovers that she is planning to move to Paris to finish up her masters degree. This poses an obvious problem for him because he is a proud New Yorker with nothing to fall back on. He makes this statement to her in so many words: Why would I go to France, they don't even like Americans in France. His newly found wife says: That's not true, they just don't like stupid Americans. Mickey's reply is this: Well, unfortunately I would fall into that category as a stupid American. My question is this: Am I just stupid or is it these lame brain idiots I see all over this base who come across as snotty and look the other way when you say hello to them. Let me put like this, I was warned by a friend to be vigilant and on the lookout for gangs on my new base. What??? Gangs??? Are we not in Southeast Asia? I do have a very good friend here, along with his wife, that has been great so far. I know things will get better as it goes along. It is a really nice base here.

I had the opportunity to go outside the gates yesterday. It was very interesting. It almost has a Manhattan feel to it, however, it is really filthy. It is neat to see all the manufacturers around.

Adam and his wife Vicki are scheduled to leave in May. They will be going to Lakenheath, England. That seems like a very cool assignment and I am sure they will have a blast. I walked pretty much all over the base the past couple days and it doesn't appear to be all that overwhelming after all. It is a little scary being located so close to North Korea, but we have been here a very long time and it seems to be somewhat stable. I have a few pictures of the Starbucks we have on base. It is called Rickenbackers and they have fruit, pastries, cheesecake and coffee. It really seems to satisfy my sweet-tooth early in the morning.

My Journey to Korea...

began on 6 March 2008 when I boarded a plane leaving Sky Harbor in Phoenix en route to San Francisco. That was a very difficult time for me leaving my beautiful wife, Leslie, but we have a plan for her to come in June-July. From there I would fly to Seoul, Korea. It was a very interesting flight. We flew up the coast of California through Oregon continuing through Alaska and down around the coast of Siberia through the Sea of Japan and into Korea. Its funny, my first inclination was Seoul looked similiar to Pittsburgh, Pa minus all the neon lighting. After my arrival in Seoul, it was just about a one hour & forty minute drive to Osan AFB (south of Seoul). The flight was about 12 hours from San Fran but was not bad at all. I watched movies like: No Country for old Men, Elizabeth: The Golden Age & Lions for Lambs(which was a very sad case of left coast propaganda). It seemed like they were feeding us every two hours. Those flight attendants really earned their money.
It is now Saturday afternoon and I am watching basketball that is being broadcasted on ESPN at 1025 pm Arizona time. I wonder how long it will take me to adjust to the time difference. The base is a really neat place. I arrived at Osan around 935 pm and had some friends waiting to meet me. I don't have a dorm room yet, but stayed in Adams (my buddy from Luke) room while he stayed with his wife. I woke up to a nice 40 degree day(Korea is on the parallel as Pennsylvania, so the humidity makes feel like an Arizona 55 degrees) and ventured out only to find a Starbucks close by. I am not a fan of the Starbucks coffee, but figured anything will do right now. I also found it peculiar that a place named Rickenbacker's(small little deli selling donuts and fruit) has Cheesecake Factory products available for purchase. What? Even in South Korea you can get Starbucks and Cheesecake Factory.
There is also a place in the same building that has slot machines to play, a sports bar to attend, and two night clubs. Not to mention a barber shop and a little mini-mart. I also had the chance to visit our local BX with a mall close by with many amenities including Subway, Taco bell, Charley's, a seafood shop and many small clothing stores. Like I said earlier, I thought this place looked like Pittsburgh, but never thought it could have as much as it does. All they need here is a Primanti Brothers and I would be really confused. We also have a Chili's, but I have eaten there too much already in Phoenix. I am really excited to get off base to see the shopping and the native city. My next story I will include some pictures for everybody to see. Until then, everybody take care.