ODDS and ends

These items haven't really fit in a specific post recently, so I wanted to be sure to blog about them separately.  I think it's so interesting to see the differences in the way we're used to living and the way people live on the other side of the world.  :)

We have 4 emergency escape masks in our condo in case of fire or another emergency where we wouldn't want to breathe in air.  They have these in glass cases in the subway too.  I pray we'll never need to use them.

Thank goodness for pictures!

Here's a picture of the masks underground in the subway area.

I love that the Pepsi cans are so skinny.  They're just the right size.

The Korean font is even slanted like the English!

Now that's a lot of garlic!

They sell so much out of the beds of trucks here.  Watermelons aren't such a far stretch from home, but the fact that nobody was tending to this truck full of watermelons for sale was interesting.

"Buy the Way" - What a catchy name for a convenience store!

Because we don't have an outdoor balcony, we have two choices if we want to grill something.  We (and by "we" I mean Talton :)  ) can either hike it up on the elevator to the roof to grill on a portable charcoal grill OR we can use this grill.  This is the perfect alternative to grilling outside and is so much more convenient and clean.  Plus, Talton won't have to be out in the cold grilling when winter rolls around.

Have you ever seen bananas this small?  This was a novelty for us, for sure.  They did taste the same as a regular size banana, in case you were wondering.

There are payphones scattered here and there throughout the city.

This really doesn't have anything to do with culture here in Korea, but I wanted to share my cute new PINK Otterbox cover for my iPad.  I love it because it's one of the few girly things in this house of boys I live in.  :)

What a show!

Well I was in the middle of writing my last blog post when Talton and I heard lots of loud popping coming from outside.  Here's what we saw when we looked out.... an amazing fireworks show lit from a barge AND a big beach concert.  Listening to Koreans sing Maroon 5, The Fugees, and Adele was more than awesome!  They were pretty good too!  I love living on a Korean beach!

I love that you can see the barge at the bottom of the picture.

I took this from my 5th floor condo.  I think I might have to take a stroll down to the concert another night this weekend to really get the full experience of a Korean beach concert. :)

Well hellooooooo summer!

They definitely have seasons here, and summer has finally arrived in South Korea.  It's HOT and HUMID.  It kinda makes me feel like I'm at home....then I walk past a truck whose bed is completely filled with eggs, so many eggs it's amazing that all of the cartons haven't fallen off at the slightest turn or bump in the road.  That's when I remember that even though it's hot and humid like home, this is Busan, South Korea. 

The boys and I went for an hour walk this morning, and then ended up walking past McDonald's where we picked up some Happy Meals for lunch.  We walked through the Haeundae Rodeo Outlet Mall but found nothing we were interested in.  No lie, more than half of the stores are golf related.  Golfing is so popular here, but it's sooooo expensive too.  Hiking is also very popular here, so many of the other stores were dedicated to outfitting you with the coolest hiking clothes, shoes, and equipment.  Not a day goes by that I don't see many older people sporting their hiking duds walking along the beach.  I'm not sure if they actually went hiking that day or if they just love the clothes so much they want to wear them for a simple beach walk though.  Later in the day after Talton got home from work, we changed into our bathing suits and hit the beach for some sand and water play time.

 

The boys had just washed their hands at McDonald's.  I don't normally take my camera in restrooms, but the restroom was on the top floor of the McDonald's in the dining area, so I had to leave the stroller downstairs while I toted these two cuties up the stairs.  I was so proud of Connar for telling me, "Mommy, I need to potty" as I was waiting on our food to come out.  It's times like that when I realize he WILL eventually be potty trained completely.  He's such a good boy!

These little ladies were working at the gas station.  Many of the gas stations here are "full service stations", meaning they pump your gas for you while you wait in your car.  Love that!

Connar heard the train coming and saw the arms go down over the tracks, so we had to run to see it up close.  :)

This man goes out to stop cars and people every time the train comes through.  He sits in a little guardhouse off to the side until the next train blows through.

Thirsty?

We were walking back home from our walk and picking up lunch.  This is the view when you turn the corner to face our beach.

This lady was trying her hardest to get those umbrellas to stay upright and keep the sun off of her while she sold her coconut drinks.  I think maybe she should've stopped to have a drink herself in this heat!

We live in the blue building on the right closest to me.

This is also Busan in the distance.

This ferry runs every day.  We're planning on riding it after the summer rush and when it cools off outside.

public restrooms on the beach

Recycling is HUGE here!  They even go through what people put in these cans before dumping them into larger cans to be sure the trash was put in the correct spot.  We have to do this in our condo too--we have 4 trash cans!

He was looking at me like, "Get me off this elevator and feed me some lunch.  It's hot!"

Poor thing---soooo hot!  At least the sweat made for a cute mohawk.  :)

Connar holding on for dear life.  He just needed to get acclimated to the water again and he was fine.

Parker's sweet baby footprints in the sand.

Connar just walked right up and started playing with these kids.  They were burying the boy's legs.  Connar would just talk and talk to them in English, which was hilarious!

And this is what I love about kids, and I've found this to be true time and time again here... Kids are kids no matter what language they speak.  They can play together and get along just great.  They are so welcoming to one another and so forgiving of any differences between them.  Many adults could learn from this behavior.  I'm so proud of Connar and Parker when they interact with other kids this way.  :)

He's such a doll.

Connar HAS to help with everything lately.  Before walking into our building, we stopped to brush off any excess sand so we wouldn't track it inside.