I just finished reading the childhood memories of life inside a Japanese concentration camp. Dutch prisoners in Java--a mother and her three small children--overcame amazing hardships and inconceivable brutality.
I was determined to find the Brazilian Embassy and the Korea Seoul Mission Home today. Both are located in the same part of town, Bukchon. So off I went after work down Line #3 to Anguk. Using the Embassy website I found the building without a hitch.
I'm on temporary duty at the 121 Hospital in Yongsan to learn about oral surgery and lodging at the JW Marriott just south of Post. Nice digs for sure!
Bren and I stepped into a small Korean "bu-pay" (buffet... no "f" in Hangul) for dinner in Old Town and ate well. This Korean buffet featured scores of vegetable, meat, seafood, salad and fruit selections--all you can eat for 9,000 won ($6.67).
An old timey restaurant in Old Town Dongducheon serves up gom-guk (곰국) or oxtail soup. It's very nutritious, very high in protein. The key to its flavor is its long-term boiling--it can be simmered as long as six hours.
This is a big month for the fam...
Dongducheon pays its last respects at a memorial set up near Jihaeng Station to former President Roh Moo-hyun. Driven to suicide by allegations of bribery, many question Roh was the victim of a relentless media and prosecutorial system.
The spirit of Rahab is alive and well in South Korea. A glance from our sidewalk stroll gave view to an alleyway of pink lights, small rooms with large glass windows and ladies working in the World's Second Oldest Profession.
A nice little greasy spoon in Old Town Dongducheon offers some cheap eats that are rather tasty.
Serving alone in Korea is hard to fathom--I take it one day at a time. Having the world's greatest team on my side makes it work.
It's time to bid for a fond farewell to our leader, Colonel Jose Olazagasti, DDS. His year-long tenure as Camp Casey Dental Clinic's OIC was a good one--a great leader and mentor. It culminated in an Area I barbeque on Friday held in his honor.
Tak kalbi (닭갈) is a favorite Chuncheon-area dish. It consists of stir-fried chicken in chili sauce with sliced cabbage, sweet potato, scallions, onions and these little round rice cakes called tteok (떡). Tteok is the Korean version of Japan's mochi (餅). It's eaten with rice or rolled in lettuce leaves and eaten like a burrito.
After 2 record PT tests and 1 diagnostic test, I finally nailed my first perfect 300! From last August's 266, February's 282 and March's 296... it's time to SUMMIT!
Call it field cap, call it beret, call it kevlar... we call it "cover" in the military. Even our winter PT uniform has a gray-green beanie. Rarely will you see a soldier without cover in uniform unless they are indoors.
A nice shop next to TDC's "Second Market" offers a tasty, healthy fare: chicken and rice porridge, or dakjuk (닭죽). This happens to be Brendon Ewers dining pick for the eve...
The 618th spent last weekend camping for the semi-annual field training exercises at Camp Humphreys. Get to sleep in comfy tents, enjoy hot showers and lunch on yummy MREs... life is good!
Where do 8,000 young men go for a good time around Tongducheon? If they're from Camp Casey they seem to find themselves in the "Ville"--a small area just west of the Bosan Train Station. The Ville is home to several restaurants and shops but its main source of income are the night clubs.
Brown rice, whole grain toast, whey smoothies and old-fashion oatmeal... my dietary mainstays! Add to that chicken, canned salmon, beans, non-fat dairy, nuts, veggies and fresh fruit.
The EFMB train-up is on. I find working with the 302d team helps at times but since each event is a go/no-go I focus my studies on the high failure rate events: the written exam and land navigation.
Heading to Tongducheon Ville... a mix of Asian ethnic restaurants are available for cheap eats. A Filipino place by the odd name of "Hot Pizza" offers one of my favorites... Chicken Tocino for $6.
The last couple of weekends Andrew Bean and his team of volunteers have been fixing up the The Stork's Nest--a building where expectant moms can stay, free-of-charge, to delivery at the 121 Hospital on Yongsan Post.
With a 67-60 win over WSU at home, the UW Men's Basketball team clenched their first Pac-10 season championship since 1953. The Huskies (24-7, 14-4) won their first outright championship in any league since winning the Pacific Coast Conference 56 years ago.
Corey Taylor passed on March 6th... just like the other 189 defenders at Mission San Antonio de Valero. He would be 19 and putting in his paperwork for a mission...
For the last couple of days units from the 302d have been having fun at exercises on Warrior Base and Rodriguez Firing Range. So why not toss some dentistry into the mix?
As family and friends gathered around a wheelchair-bound Ms. Taylor to celebrate her 77th year I'd like to remember her as she once was... on February 27th... Maggie Pollitt from the 1958 classic Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.
Just "next door" to Camp Casey is the Mt. Soyo (소요산) National Park. For a change from treadmill/cycling at the gym, I opted to run* outdoors heading to Mt. Soyo. The goal was an hour-long run and to explore the area a bit.
Hey... 0550 was early and chilly in Yongsan! We showed up this morning ready to test... Lee, Jones and myself. Push-ups = 95 (100% is 66), 2-mile run = 13:47 (100% is 14:24), Sit-ups = 62 (100% is 66). Overall APFT score was 296.
Chris Isaak's new CD Mr. Lucky will be released this Tuesday in America. Also the debut of his new show, The Chris Isaak Hour will be on the A&E's BIO Channel. The TV show and CD premiere on February 24th and 26th respectively, so that means Chris has been a busy man.
Again Pac-10 refs kill the big man and hurt the team at the line on both sides of the court. Advantage UCLA.
Who is #1 in the Pac-10 basketball standings? That's right... #22 UW Huskies are up by two games. How sweet it is. It seems like ages since B-Roy and the 2005-06 season. With time we even forget and forgive Michael Jensen... right?!
After failing to find the Ipanema Brazilian restaurant from City Hall station (Line 1) in December with Debbie, Captain Brenden Ewers and I approached the restaurant from the other side, Seodaemun station (Line 5)... and we found it. Like good land nav, when in doubt run a reverse azimuth!
Compliment what she does,
Word came down that we must re-test the APFT earlier than the DENCOM's May 2009 date. So 27 February is the diagnostic exam in Yongsan at 0550. I have a focused exercise plan and still think a "300" is do-able.
Tonight's dinner of feijãoda honors the upcoming Carnival season starting on February 23rd in Brazil. Side dishes of jasmine rice, couve mineira and orange slices were added to fill out the meal traditionally.
The EFMB challenge is on for 2009 and eight from the 618th Dental Company are participating. The clinic has rallied to the cause and tailored some training for the effort--land navigation and nine line commo review. All good stuff!
I spent after hours on ALMS completing an online portion of the Advanced Course or "CCC." This class follows the OBLC from last summer. Both are taught at Fort Sam Houston--home to the Army Medical Department Center and School (AMEDD).
My daily commute has been shortened by 30 minutes with a new building assignment--from the #1968 to the #691. Dumpster diving provided me with the moving boxes (20) and a decent wool blanket and dish rack, score!
...Or have a cupcake! Tensions are on the rise again as North Korea scraps agreements with its neighbor to the South last Friday and says it will, "Shatter any surprise invasion of the enemy at a single blow!"
Budae jjigae (부대찌개) meaning "army base stew" is a thick, spicy soup. After the Korea War, meat was scarce so people made use of the leftover food from US Army bases--hot dogs and Spam, mainly. This was incorporated into a traditional soup flavored with gochujang (고추장) or red chili paste, giving it a nice fiery taste.
I've been tasked as the "Assistant OIC" at the Camp Casey. Basically it's a rank-level position since I sit between 4 captains and 1 full-bird colonel. So just call me "Assistant to the Regional Manager" why don't cha!? Ok, that hurts!
What do Kim Jong-il, the leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and Larry H. Miller, the owner of the Utah Jazz have in common?
We got our M9 scores sent to us today from last week's qualifications. It's a good time to review and make corrections for the next shoot. My issue is in the rapid fire table #5. I've gotta learn to drop those magazines and reload faster. Ok, so I choked a little but I did recover in the end.
Bibimbop (비빔밥) or "stirred rice" is a popular dish in Korea. Traditionally served in a hot pot or dolsat (돌솥), rice is topped with vegetables, meat, egg and chili paste. The ingredients are stirred together, warmed up inside the pot and then eaten.
With the conclusion of the Oklahoma-Florida game, the Family Bracket Award for the best 2008 BCS Bracket goes to... Debbie. She successfully picked 4 out of 6 winners and won the tie-breaker to take the coveted trophy.
Today was our "once every six months" M9 qualification using the Baretta 9 mm pistol. Eight magazines of forty rounds shot at seven pop-up targets is pretty much the standard fare. We are marched to our respective lanes and upon command open fire on those cool "up and down" green men.
The events of December 26th to the 31st are a whirlwind now, concluded by a lengthy ride from the Incheon International Airport to Bosan Station: A pirate cruise along the Han, the view from a Tower, a visit to a village, a #1968 sleepover, a missing card and restaurant, a Picasso in Seoul, a chilly palace protest, a trek to K-16 and a tear over bees and honey--six short days, six days of fun.
