Things are falling into place

A picture of the city of Daegu taken from the top of Woobang Tower.


My mom has been asking to see a picture of the outside of our apartment building, so its about time that I put these up. We share the 2nd floor with one other apartment. Ours is the one on the right furthest away. This is just one of the many buildings in Taesung Villa.

And can't forget ol' Swarley! He weights about 10-11 pounds now.

So this is just a real quick update on some new news. Yesterday we found out that we are FINALLY Command Sponsored. For those of you that do not know, we have been fighting for sponsorship for 5+ months! We had almost reached the point where Steve was getting his assignment for his next duty station. Well, as far as we know, he had an assignment. To Ft. Bliss, Texas. The unit at Ft. Bliss would shortly be leaving for the middle east not long after Steve would get there. So, aside from all of the great benefits of Command Sponsorship, we also really dodged a bullet avoiding deployment. Not to mention, I am now here LEGALLY. Phewf. So as of now, our DEROS date (Date Eligible to Return from Overseas) is September 21, 2011. Steve has re enlisted for more time in the army, so we are still facing the decision of whether or not to AIP (also nicknamed "Avoid Iraq Program") and stay for an additional year after that. Total, 3 years. But, as I said, its still a decision we have to make. The more time Steve is in the military and in the states, the more likely he is deployed. He is much safer from deployment in Korea. So, we will see. Its a big commitment.

SO, Monday Steve and I go take our Korean driving test to get our licenses, and we will be mobile. No more taxi's! AH! I can't wait. The train system is no big deal, and I actually kind of like it, but those taxi's steal your money. We are very excited.

July leave is still tentative. We are really really hoping for it.

I will keep you all updated on everything as often as I can. Things look like they are finally going to calm down! No more headache.

Oh! And some exciting news from Idaho. Steve's brother Doug just proposed to his (now) fiance Katelen. Congratulations to them both. I will have a SISTER in law now.

Love and miss you all,

Christie

Its been awhile.

It really has been awhile. My last update was a late update of the few months prior to THAT. So needless to say, I'm not that great on keeping up with this blog.

I keep fairly busy here in Korea as I have mentioned before. I've dealt with my share of drama since I have last written as well. Whoever said "it ends in highschool" was seriously mistaken. I've never been one to really like to sit in one place for a good amount of time, but something about this country has really got me hyped up and always moving. Unfortunately its not always exploring South Korea. Busy busy. Whether it be my trips to Daegu, the gym, appointments and dealing with army crap, I'm always doing something or other. And school starts this summer. I also have a much larger house to keep up with and a little dog. Oh joy, our dog. I do love him but he is a handful.

Hmm, lets see. Its impossible for me to back track everything I have done in the past few months, well lets see...after Christmas and New Years. I'd like to say I have done alot of incredible, fantastic things and have really taken advantage of my time spent in this country...but to be honest, living here is alot like living anywhere else. I mean, of COURSE it has its drastic differences. What I am saying is every day is not a tourist attraction. We are not here as tourists. This is our home for what looks like another 2+ years. We live and work and try as best we possibly can to stay in touch with our loved ones, and go about our day to day lives. When we have our good, free chances though...we do try to make the most of them.

In January Steve went through Warrior Leaders Course school for 17 days. I ended up trekking up to the almost northern most part of South Korea to watch him graduate. It was a great experience. I never got a chance to watch steve graduate Basic Training or AIT, so it was important to me to see WLC graduation. Steve graduated on the Commadants list.





A week later after his 17 days away from home, he had to leave for the field for another week. That weekend before he got back, I took advantage of the time and went on a girls trip to Seoul with some friends for three days. We had a great weekend shopping, touring the Korean War Memorial/Museum as well as a Palace. We even got to see the Blue House! (Equivalent of the states White House) We went out in the evening to go dancing. Seoul is so beautiful. And so full of life and history. We barely made a dent in what could have been done there, but for the amount of time we had, we did well.













The morning after I got back from Seoul, I hosted a superbowl party. And by morning I mean, 8:30 AM. That's when the Superbowl aired here. But that didn't stop anyone.

So as for some more recent updates on Steve and myself, different options for different future situations have bounced around here and there. At this point in time, Steve and I have still yet to receive our Command Sponsorship, meaning once it has gone though our 2 years starts at that point. Whenever that may be. Steve re enlisted for an additional 2 years on his existing 2 year contract so the Army owns him for 4 more years. One option would be to leave Korea in 6 months and go wherever the army tells us. That situation more than likely would end up badly seeing as the majority of his unit is going to Ft Bliss in El Paso, Texas, which are then to deploy to the Middle East. Not our favorable option. For a split second we thought there was a possibility of going to Utah to test a new operation there, but its so slight that it could be very risky to chance. So the way we see it is this. Stay in Korea, safe from deployment for 2 years, come back to the states and do another 2 years in a requested place (possibly Ft. Hood possibly Utah) and then see what the future holds. Its tentative as of now. Who knows what will happen.

Steve and I have planned to take leave in July for one month this summer. The "hear say" about those plans though, may come into affect. Supposedly there is a new, Battalion wide, rule that states the soldiers can only be out of the country for two weeks at a time. Steve just recently was told this, so he is going to ask many questions, but as far is how that will affect our leave...as of now we do not know. 2 weeks is just too short of a time to leave the country and come back. And quite frankly, I want to put my foot down about it. I hope it isn't factual. It is very important for us to go home in July because that is the first month available now for leave. We really wish to see our family, and unfortunately Steves grandma has passed away last week and it is important to both of us that we make the trip.

I say this every time, but I will try to keep up with this thing. I always say "once things settle down" but it has been 5 months and nothing has settled. I don't want anyone to get the impression that we are not enjoying ourselves, because that is very far from the truth. I absolutely love it here. It has just had its fair share of frustrations. Steve and I get through it together and just await to see what may come.

I hope everyone back home is doing well. We really, really miss you and can't wait to see everyone soon.

Love, Christie