Two steps forward...: Settling in.

The joys of moving are matched only by the joys of settling in.  Here are some challenges and highlights of the last week (you can judge which is which - I'm not always sure):

(1) Figuring out how to use the appliances. Which are quite nice and shiny-new, but have all their labels and instructions in Korean, which is a bit foreign yet. The washing machine, fridge, A/C, doorbell/video system and heating system (I think that's what it is) are all in Korean.  Some manuals include funny pictures (the fridge being "goosed" is my favorite), but we have drippy ice cubes and super-long laundry cycles that I suspect are not helping with global warming.  Nick's TA (Joorahm) is coming for dinner tonight and will hopefully translate all these for us.

(2)  Hanging stuff up. Our walls and ceilings are concrete.  Covered with a wisp of drywall and semi-gloss wallpaper.  Even if you wanted to pound nails to hang pictures or a clock or something, you can't. And, nice as they are, sticky tack and 3M command hooks can't hold everything, especially on shiny wallpaper that was introduced to glue but doesn't have an intimate friendship.  Being handy Americans (there appear to be approximately 0 handy Koreans, at least of the sort that work on campus), we googled the problem.  Aha!  Cut a V-shape in the wallpaper and fold it out of the way;  use a drill bit designed for cement, use good anchors and screws, and hang away!  When we move out, we can glue the wallpaper back and the holes will be invisible. We have fallen in love our local hardware store - they are stunned that we know what tools and supplies we need. And they let the kids pet the dog, which is a treat - not many dogs around here, at least as pets.

(3) Furniture.  Real wood is very expensive and hard to find, so everything that isn't made of metal or plastic is press-board with a laminated surface.  Coming from a lovely Iowa home with hardwood floors, original oak trim, and antique wood furniture, it's hard to pay money for this style/quality.  Nick, Sam and David cleverly built some bunk beds yesterday out of dead beds salvaged from the campus Place Furniture Goes to Die. They look great (the bunk beds, not the guys - they were a sweaty mess) and are super-sturdy (the beds AND the guys).  This was Sam's highlight of the week.

(4)  Finding mattresses.  Fortunately, Joorahm saved the day by finding a bedding store and translating as Nick shopped and bargained and got a good deal on 2 mattresses plus same-day delivery. Unfortunately, the mattresses that came a few hours later were the wrong size; it seems that the campus bunk beds are a custom size.  Ah, the challenges continue.

(5) Drying clothes.  We have a washing machine, but Korean apartments don't come with dryers - everyone has drying racks on their porches and, when desperate (or lazy, like me), goes to the coin laundry.  Our coin laundry is roughly a block away; at about $1.00 a load it's not bad.  But, the cost of going out in the heat (the public areas of our building don't have A/C and we're in a nearly-record-high heat wave again this week) is more than using a drying rack.  So, we found a broken folding rack by the dumpsters; Nick figured out how to fix it, and voila!  In this heat, stuff dries in a day.

(6) Did I say porch?  I suppose it's more of a balcony.  Floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors take up one wall of our living room; the porch is about 1 meter wide, then another set of sliding doors.  Elisabeth's bedroom window looks out onto the porch, by the washing machine.  The master bedroom has its own set of sliders on the porch.  Tons of southern light (?) pouring in, which is good for the spirits.  I have found some plants by the dumpster, revived them, and those are happy on the porch - I look forward to sitting out there this fall to do some birdwatching at tree-top level.

(7) Boys' report:  David yells, "I got my hair cut this week not at Home Plus {a store downtown}, but at Home MINUS!"  I shall simply retort that he totally deserved what he got. Sam was thrilled to discover that all the cupboards, cabinets, and closets have a shiny white finish that takes white board markers well.  So he entertained us with truly terrible limericks and artwork, mostly on our bedroom closet doors.

(8) Vehicle: Nick bought a used van for us this week.  Happily, we had found a blog about this unique experience so he was mostly prepared for the yelling, grabby salesmen.  The lot outside Seoul had 20,000 cars.  I repeat: 20,000 used cars, for which the salesmen pay $400 rent per day per space - so they're motivated to MOVE those vehicles - and do so honestly, as they can go to jail if they sell a lemon. Nick and his salesman contact (a Christian, connected to Nick's colleague's pastor - that's how things are done here) narrowed the range to 6 vans. After looking carefully for rust and other mysterious Car Stuff, Nick got us a white 2002 Kia Carnival.  Which sounds like a ride at Asian Disneyland. It's wonderful.  I shall not mention here that a wall struck the front bumper today, surprising Nick greatly.


(8) Nick's best moment of the week was our first meal together in our new apartment. In the living room.  Mashed potatoes with a curry sauce.  He also had his 47th birthday here this week - the kids got him a book light, the Hobbit on DVD, and a folding "notebook" grill.  All were wrapped in left-over packing material, as we couldn't find proper wrapping paper.  Are you surprised?  No.  Neither were we.  : )