It's a Boy!

Attention! Following our 16 week appointment, we have some exciting news! Justin and I are having a son!! I had to point and laugh at him during the appointment because he has been convinced the entire pregnancy that our child is a girl.

Initial feelings are terror! I know nothing about little boys! But I am pretty sure my husband knows a few things about boys so I think we might be ok. Now I am just getting very excited about celebrating the impending arrival of our little baby boy, who we have decided to name Lucas :)

Halloween Extravaganza 2011

Halloween this year was pretty awesome despite living in a country that does not really celebrate it. We kicked off Halloween weekend by going to the First Alleyway's Trick or Taco night. We invited Jason and Emily to come with us and it was a delicious, awesome night. We did not go in costumes but our friend Tony who works the bar upstairs definitely did and I managed to get a pretty good picture of it:

his make up is awesome because I happen to be a huge of Mr. Jack Skellington. :) The special for the night was two tacos and a draft beer. Since I am currently unable to imbibe alcohol at the moment, Tony was nice enough to accommodate me with a Shirley Temple :D We also ordered poutine and chips and salsa. For those of my friends who do not know, poutine is french fries covered in brown gravy and topped with mozzarella cheese. In other words, it is amazing!

After dinner we went on a walk downtown in search of a Tom and Toms cafe because they have great pretzels. On our trip we found a Korean dressed like Santa for Halloween selling fried potatoes:

I can't explain why Justin looks so disgusted but it is the best photo-bomb I have ever seen, lol. We found Tom and Toms and enjoyed some Cinnamon sugar pretzels with Caramel sauce and I had a hocho. It was an amazing dessert and even more amazing is this awesome picture a Korean dude let us take of him. His outfit was just too amazing to not photograph. Thanks so much Emily for having the guts to take my camera and get the picture!

We got home and surprised Gorbachev with a Halloween costume: Pikachu. Unfortunately it was too small so we could only make him wear it long enough for pictures!

The next day we watched Cloverfield with Jason and Emily in the evening and were surprised with plastic Jack-o-Lanterns full of treats! On the actual date of Halloween, Justin and I enjoyed Caramel Apple Pie Cupcakes, The Walking Dead, and Friday the 13th. I had never seen Friday the 13th before and when Jason jumped out of the water at the end I literally jumped n the air and screamed my head off. I am sure our neighbors loved that at 2 in the morning! Now we are just focusing on getting everything ready Thanksgiving which should an amazingly awesome day with a lot of the comforting foods we remember so fondly from home!

Gwangju International Community Day/Halloween

The holidays have been fast approaching and trying to decide how we will celebrate them in Korea has been a fun process so far. Halloween weekend kicked off the season in a great way beginning with a delicious trip around the world.


The foreigners of Gwangju are lucky enough to enjoy a center that is dedicated to the international community here. One of the activities sponsored by this organization is the International Community Day. It is mostly a food festival that also showcases talents from the many countries represented. We were also participating in the festivities by donating three sample sets of cupcakes to the Sungbin booth for a raffle. It was really being involved but even more fun eating all the amazing food..

Once we dropped off the cupcakes I was starving (because I am pregnant, so I am starving all the time) and we set off in search for food. It was so hard to choose, but since I am pregnant and have a neverending appetite, a food festival is heaven for me because I can just eat all day! We started with Kenya. I recently had Ethiopian food while in Germany and was eager to try more African food. We had Githeri (a sort of beef stew) and a flat bread that came with it. It was by far the tastiest country of the day!

By the time we were ordering our food it was time for our friends, Jason and Emily, to perform on the talent stage so we hopped on over to watch/hold their camera steady for them during their performance. I enjoyed a personal shout out in a song that should probably win award for most awkward mention in a song: not wanting to go the sauna because you have to be naked lol.

After their performance we hung out for a bit and I decided it was time to see the world. After traveling to Kenya, we went to Japan for some kebabs. I have already forgotten what it was called but it was delicious. Ironically, the line for Japan was very long and full of Koreans. (They don't really like each other much on account of the occupations and such) After Japan, we went to "Canada" which really represented the U.S. as well :) We did not eat anything because we can get that stuff all the time at the First Alleyway :D After that we watched a kid totally eat it playing on some stepping stones in a fountain, which was really awesome. Then we traveled to Spain for some paella, Malaysia for a giant pile of the world's spiciest food. It was rice, chicken curry, some kind of chili, an egg, something with coconut, and a few other things. I could only take a bite because my body cannot tolerate things that spicy these days. We ended our food experience with India by enjoying some Biryani and curry.

The end of the day for us was celebrated with the coolest drum performance I have seen in Korea, and that is saying something because they are usually awesome. These people had so much swagger and confidence which is unique here. They also set their drum sticks on fire while playing and played a track of metal guitar in the background. It was the closet to metal music Justin has gotten since he got here so he was a very happy camper.

We decided at the end of the performance we were satisfied with the day and went home to get ready for a night of Halloween shenanigans with Jason and Emily. It turned out to be an awesome day :)

The Coolest and Weirdest Feeling in the World

Today we had our 12 week appointment. In America this would be just a checkup, but in Korea I receive an ultrasound at every visit. I have been impatiently waiting for this appointment because I knew at this point we would be able to see a little tiny person in there, and possibly even a little tiny person moving in there! I drank bunches of water on our walk to the hospital and waited for no more five minutes though it felt like a lot longer, then got called in to talk to the doctor.

The visit was really reassuring because I want to have a natural childbirth I have heard epidurals and c-sections are sometimes not even mentioned to the mother, they are just done. I talked to my doctor about what I want and dont want when I go into labor and also informed her I want the baby in the room with me rather than in the nursery to promote successful breastfeeding and she was completely understanding. She said she always recommends having the baby naturally before any intervention. I was so pumped! Then we got to the ultrasound and I started to cry..

There is a little baby in there and it moves and flips and apparently high fives the camera. It was the coolest thing I have ever seen or felt but also the weirdest thing. It is so hard to completely understand the fact that what I am seeing on the screen is actually inside me because I cannot feel the movement yet. It was so reassuring the know that the baby is doing great and has grown so much! Almost 6 cm long and lots of healthy active movement. I feel so blessed and scared and a million other things at the same time!

I miss my family while I go through this. Part of me wishes so much I could have driven to my folks house after the visit to show them the video they made for me, but on the plus side we have a dvd. I put on fb immediately so they can watch their little grandbaby swim around. I hope they enjoy it. I have watched it over and over again. And for you viewing pleasure (for those of you that did not see it on fb) my ultrasound:


Bubble at 12 weeks 0 days:

The Blue Nile

For my last night in Germany we decided to go out for dinner. It was a nice break from the packing and laundry and attempts at homework. Sean mentioned an African Restaurant down the road, and as I have never had African cuisine before,  I was up for the challenge.

We walked in and were immediately pleased to find that while the menus only came in German, our server spoke amazing English. We asked some questions because none of us knew anything about African food and ended up ordered a combination platter for three that came with lamb, beef, and chicken. He then proceeded to bring us a GIANT silver plate covered in a type of bread and our dinner. I was so pumped because I have always wanted to try the food that comes on one plate and you all share. We had curried (I think they were curried, either way they were amazing) veggies, lentils (which I had never had and LOVED), spiced chopped lamb, spiced chopped beef, and a more mild chopped chicken with vegetables, salad, spinach, okra, sour cream/yogurt.

One of the best parts of this dinner was that Kay Marie absolutely loved it! We could keep her off the plate! The server even brought her her own pate of lentils because like me, she loved them and wouldn't stop eating mine lol.

We ate practically everything on the plate and I have to say it was one of the best dinners I have ever had. I love it when being adventurous pays off so much!

I wish dearly I knew of an authentic African place in Korea but I am pretty sure that may be difficult to find. It is ok though, something else to look forward to when we move back Stateside :D

The Day We Found Out We Were Pregnant

I have spent the morning discussing pregnancy with a close friend and I found myself going over the day we found out we were going to have a baby. I realized that it is a pretty funny story and that my friends and family might enjoy reading about it, so here goes.

First of all, Bubble was a very big surprise. Justin and I were not trying to have a baby. So I was not on the lookout for pregnancy symptoms. A few weeks before I found out, I started becoming very lethargic. I was exhausted all the time no matter how often I slept. Second, I had a few days where I would suddenly become nauseous or dizzy, but it would pass in an hour or so. Now both of us apparently briefly thought pregnancy, but did not say so out loud. I was in a very stubborn bout of denial. My week of sugar pills came and went and then two days of my new pill pack and still nothing. I bit the bullet and bought a pregnancy test when I went to get some take out. The entire time, saying NOTHING to my husband. "No need to freak him out when I am sure it will be negative," I told myself. I put the pregnancy test away in the medicine cabinet to be taken in the morning and sat down to eat and chat with my best friend on Facebook.

While talking to her I mentioned I thought I might be late and after explaining the sugar pills and new pills she informs me that I do not really need for the morning. I can take it any time of the day at this point if I am. "Well, I have to go anyway, so I will be right back." I took the laptop in the bathroom with me (still not a word to my husband) and proceeded to take my test. I sat it on the sink and impatiently waited for it to tell me I was not pregnant.

Instead it told me I was. After saying "omg" to Nadia about a million times I realized I had to go out there and face the music. I was unexpectedly pregnant in Korea a million miles away from my family. By the time I opened the door, I was holding the test, crying, and hyperventilating. Justin looked up and saw the test, saw my reaction and said, as calm as if we were talking about what was for dinner, "You're pregnant." Well I didn't even say yes. I just started crying and hyperventilating even more. But then my husband got up and walked over to me, calm and collected and a smile on his face. He hugged me and said, "This is good news." Now while I am sure this was meant to reassure me, his positive reaction only made me cry more because he was being so sweet. We stood there while he tried to calm me down and then eventually we walked to the couch to eat dinner and figure everything out.

Now I will tell you, he somehow fell asleep that night as soon his head hit the pillow. I couldn't sleep at all so instead I spent the night researching having a baby in Korea. The internet is a real nightmare sometimes. I read so many horrifying stories that by the time morning came, I did not even want to go to the doctor. I was convinced we had to go home immediately. But after talking with several expats who have had babies here, we have decided to at least stay here until the baby is born. We will see what happens after that.

And that is it Ladies and Gentleman. That is how Justin and I found out we were going to have a little baby <3

I Made it to Germany!

Well I made it! I am in Stuttgart, Germany with my best friend for two weeks. I feel particularly accomplished because getting here turned out to be quite a nightmare.

Let me start by saying because of my own laziness, I know maybe ten or eleven words in Korean. Because of where we live, I had to take a bus to Incheon Int. Airport. I assumed the buses ran all day. I got to the bus terminal at about 3:45 and proceeded to the ticket counter only to be told that there were no more buses traveling to Incheon today. I immediately start to panic because I am flying out of Incheon at one a.m. and my ticket was non-refundable. I call someone Justin works with so he can speak to the ticket lady and he comes back on the phone to tell me I have to take a bus to Seoul and then to Incheon. My bus also leaves in five minutes so I have to run to avoid missing it. I get on the bus and enjoy a very comfy ride to Seoul. The express buses that go there have huge leather seats and two little air conditioners per seat. Also because I bought one ticket, I got the side with only one seat so I did not even have to sit next to anyone. It was pretty glorious.

Three and a half hours later, I arrive in Seoul and proceed to the ticket counter to get on the next bus to the airport, only to be told I cannot purchase a ticket because its a normal bus that comes every twenty minutes and I have to go outside and find the stop. On top of this, my phone is now dying and I have not brought my charger because the phone wont work in Germany. Oh yeah, I also have only 10,000 KRW in cash because I was supposed to be able to purchase my ticket at the terminal which accepts credit cards.

I found a Shinsegae department store employee who probably deserves some kind of amazing prize for being awesome. He walked with me for thirty minutes until we found the stop and then on top of that he gave me some cash because the fare for the bus was 15,000 KRW. I almost cried when he gave it to me.

I board the bus and arrive at the airport exactly when I was supposed to be there to check in. I get to counter only to find out it is an issue that I do not have my alien id card. (I lost my wallet awhile back and have been too lazy to go get a new card) To top it off the visa sticker in my passport was the original one that expired in June. So the check in lady calls immigration in the airport to confirm I am not illegally in the country, checks me in, hands me my boarding pass, and tells me I need to go to the Immigration office to get updated documents so that they let me back into the country when I return in October. So I go to Immigration, get my new sticker, and make it through security with enough time to utilize the awesome free wi-fi and check in with my loved ones. I also used that time to make Nadia think I was mia because my cupcake business was so busy :D She had no clue I was really en route to her front door :D

The rest of the trip was really long but smooth. The airline was awesome and the food was actually pretty delicious. I met Sean at the airport, got a handy dandy temp pass for bases so I don't have to sign in and out constantly, and went to the front door. I rang the door bell, Nadia answered, and then this happened:

All in all it was a pretty awesome surprise and am so far absolutely loving being here. So far no real German adventures. I have just been enjoying the Super American-ness of military bases :D It is kind of like visiting home and then going to Europe at the same time. Of course I will continue to post accounts of our trips throughout the next two weeks :D