Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore...

Eh, couldn't resist the whole Wizard of Oz quote there and yes, there is no place like home but slowly I am starting to adjust to this whole WAAAAAAAAY outside my comfort zone thing here. It's definitely a culture shock, don't get me wrong. It's NOT America. lol But the more I actually get out into it and the more I find things that ARE familiar and comforting, the better it is.

Admittedly, food is an adjustment. South Korea is a predominantly pork and seafood eating culture and those are two things that are no-no's in John's book (though seafood has never really been something I've picked up on myself, to be honest) so dinner gets tricky to figure out and probably will for awhile until we get used to a whole new way of cooking again which basically means cooking on the stove for the most part as there is no microwave here and there isn't much of an oven either as it isn't much bigger than the size of a toaster oven. It MIGHT fit a small pizza. lol

Adjusting to the whole laundry thing is interesting too. The washer is both a washer and a dryer and it takes a LOOOONG time to wash and dry clothes BUT on the plus size, they really seem to get clean though I do wonder about using the washing stuff John has here. I would prefer to use the clean and clear stuff or maybe even look into something like Charlie's like some moms I know use (especially those moms who have cloth diapered little ones).

One of the first things I had to find though was a stain treatment thing which I did find, at Costco's which was a NIGHTMARE to go into, especially on a Sunday. Yikes. Sam's Club in La Crosse and Costco's in Middleton do NOT compare AT ALL to the Costco's here. Here it is PACKED! It is INSANELY packed! And there are these escalator like things all over and that is how people get from one floor to another. Note: I hate, despise, LOATHE escalators. I'm terrified of them. Don't ask me why, I just am. I hate them and I try to avoid them whenever possible. I hate getting on them; I hate being on them, and I hate getting off of them. *shudder* I will, nine times out of ten, take the STAIRS over an escalator and would have last week if I hadn't walked SO much and was SO tired and my legs were just screaming at me for making them walk more in the last few days than they had walked the last four months before that. The ones at Costco's were a little easier to deal with, they were more like an inclined moving sidewalk (yes, I hate those too) so that wasn't AS BAD but still, I do NOT LIKE ESCALATORS. Therefore, between that and the overall crowded condition of the place, I do not plan to go there again anytime soon. I'll probably send John by himself instead. Yes, I'm mean. Then again, the plan in all honesty is to just go once a month to get those things we need to get that we just cannot get around here and those things that are in bulk that will therefore hopefully last at least half, if not a full month. So that's my plan. Last week, we needed something to treat stains on clothes (an absolute NECESSITY when you have a preschooler) and that was where we decided to go looking for it. Hopefully, we won't need anymore anytime soon because man, that was NOT cheap. Then again, things brought over here from the US typically are not cheap.

So yeah, I'm slowly adjusting, getting to know the surroundings and getting to know people as well. I've met up with a mom a couple of times and Natalie gets along really well with her little girl so that will be something we'll keep up with and it gives me a chance to get to know the area even better. One of the nice things about where we live is that it is in a ideal location where it's just walking distance to many place (though with the subway, just about everything is within walking distance) and as I become more comfortable with going outside with Natalie on my own, I'll be able to tour more of the places and get to know more things. Unfortunately, some of the concern is language as I can't speak Korean and my understanding of it will be next to impossible with the hearing issues I have but all I can do is try and the best way to deal with boredom is to get outside and do things. That will also help get some of this weight off too.

Not that there isn't anything to do indoors. True, the apartment is small. It is a studio and therefore, it is just one room. But, we honestly do not have that much here. It is mostly just our clothes and some toys for Natalie and really, she doesn't need much else at this point (though I'd be willing to bet she'd LOVE to have a scooter) and storage hasn't been too bad. It would be nice to get another laundry basket or two (or at least a hamper) but other than that, we've been dealing. Not that a larger place wouldn't be nice. I mean, we are two married adults and it would be nice to be able to have intimate relations without worrying about being caught in the act by a three year old waking up to go potty. But at this point, that's about the biggest downfall of all three of us being in one room. John's gone most of the day, there are a couple of days a week I get out, and at night we all have dinner and go to bed. Natalie sleeps well when she is asleep so I could watch TV if I wanted to but there's also the option of finding things to watch online or watching one of the episodes of Star Trek Voyager as I managed to get ahold of all seven seasons of that before I left. And with the computer, I can use my headphones at least so that doesn't even disturb anyone. All in all, it hasn't been too bad so far though, I'll admit, there was a few days when I really considered just buying a plane ticket for myself and going back home but I think for the moment at least, that feeling is gone.