Wandering Browns

Another member of Austin's crew has been released, with leaves him with a better schedule now and we know we will be here at least a week or two longer. Mixed emotions- I want to go visit family, but there are still things that need exploring here in Seoul, so I'm good with that. Mokdong Stadium Yesterday, we heard that someone was leaving, they just weren't sure who yet. So we went to a baseball game in case it was our last time we could here. The weather was a little warm, but with the sun going down it became very pleasant! The Nexen Heroes are 2nd in the Korean League this year, so the stadium was packed with fans from both teams and it was a very fun time! This time we had to sit way out on the 3rd base line. How the batters were hitting made it so we saw many plays and even a few home runs go way out of the park. Landon had to take breaks and several times said he needed to nap, but overall he did great and as he got more tired he was more content to sit wi...

As some of you know, I am a physical therapist. While we are doing this whole traveling thing I am not able to actually practice much PT. My PRN boss said that I can call her up and get on the schedule for a Saturday if I'm back in Chicago, but other than that, not much work happening for me. That doesn't mean I don't watch people with my PT eyes though. This is an AFO, it is used for a variety of reasons, commonly used to prevent toe drag in those with hemiplegia In India, there are some issues with quality of medical care for those that are less fortunate. In Reliance Greens where we stayed, there was a good hospital and clinic. Most of the people I remember seeing in Reliance Greens with orthopedic/neurologic issues had access to this facility, but I'm not sure there was a PT on staff there. I'm not sure about utilization of PTs outside the United States. Anyway, I saw many people who had clearly either had a stroke or were a hemiparetic  from a brain inj...

Even with skies threatening rain, we ventured out to the Munhak Sports Complex in Incheon to for a baseball game. The sports complex also had a huge soccer stadium and a brand new pool complex that is going to be used for the Asian Games. It was raining on our way there and back, so we didn't go see the pool, but it looked cool from the outside.  The SK Wyverns have won the Korean league three times in the past 7 years, but this year they are struggling. They were playing the Dexen Heroes. Landon has been obsessed with a soccer shirt I got him on sale after the World Cup, so we decided he needed a baseball shirt to go with his collection, and to give him something else to obsess about.  Before the game started It rained off and on lightly until after the 4th inning, when it started pouring. It stopped for a bit, and then started again full force. We left at this point, because it was about an hour back on the train and Austin had to work the next morning. Even t...

 Mountains from the park What to do on a rainy day in Seoul... especially when your husband is working nights and sleeping in your hotel room during the day? Monsoon season decided to show up and the past few days have been quite rainy. We went to an indoor playground at the mall one day, and I knew we needed to get out and about for Landon's sanity, so the science museum sounded like a good bet. We took the metro for about an hour and popped out on the other side of some mountains that hid the city from our view. It seemed like we were in a beautiful un-populated place! It was very near Seoul Grand Park, so I want to go back when there is better weather. On a slightly related note, I appreciate the mountains/hills here. I didn't realize how much they add to the landscape after living in flat-as-a-pancake Chicago area.  Korean museums are the real deal. This was no exception. There was a huge children's area with play structures and tons of stuff to do for all ages...

Elise does a great job with the blog, and I’m glad she’s documenting our life for family, posterity, and anyone else who wants to stalk us. (We actually get quite a few hits originating from Eastern Europe).  I’m going to try to write at least one guest post for each location, so better late than never, here are my thoughts on Korea.  I was planning to write a little about the food for this one, mostly because, IMHO, it’s really good, except for a few flavors of kimchi, and Elise tends to under-emphasize it, but I changed my mind, and decided to write about driving. Pop Quiz: Where is this street? A) India, B) Korea, C) Chicago To preface, there are only a few places outside of the US and Western Europe where my company makes lets us drive.  For better or for worse, Korea is one of them.  I actually don’t mind the infrastructure or cars; the main roads are probably better cared for than most in the US, and I don't have anything against Hyundai. ...

Austin's rice dumplings in a very spicy sauce Austin had Monday off of work so we ventured across Seoul to Children's Grand Park. It is almost as far away from our hotel as we can get in Seoul- about an hour on 2 different trains. Although the journey was long, Landon took his nap during the end of the train ride and through lunch, so Austin and I had a grand time sitting in the park enjoying our lunches. After Landon woke up, we wandered around the park a bit and found a group of play structures. There was an entire play structure that was handicapped accessible, as well as 3 or 4 others that were really cool! Landon like playing in the giant pink house and was challenged by going across a rickety wooden bridge with mom! Next we visited the zoo. It was a free zoo, as well as a free park. Landon is finally old enough to really appreciate going to the zoo, and I think he had a lot of fun. The first area we visited in the zoo was the "Ferocious Ani...