After he got the hang of walking, Oooju went back to babbling like crazy. I wish some child development specialist or psychic could figure out what he's saying. The other day, he was trying to open a door but couldn't and it sounded like he was cursing. It was in his tone, his hand motions, everything. But, we'll have to wait till he can actually start talking to see what he's got to say. The first video is of him talking on this toy phone. He has a hard time getting the phone to his ears, so sometimes, he'll put it on his eye. The second video is of him talking with my cousin Jisook's soon Tommy. They got along so well and really understood eachother.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Tecktonik
Korea is full of trends. Things come and go so quickly, it's hard to keep up. Our friend Nicky says a new dance trend is Tecktonik. It's from France. Nicky described it as some crazy arm dance. She demonstrated and she looked like a crazy chicken. But I found these videos on YouTube. The first is a news story that describes how the dance has become a new trend in KOrea and how people meet online to arrange meetings in real life to learn and practice the dance together. The second clip is of this guy who does the dance in random places like the subway, a busy shopping area, costco and here, in a lecture hall.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Hi! Seoul*
Here is the last video of Oooju before walking became his main mode of moving around. We're still in Incheon at Jihyun's apartment. It's probably about 5am. We all kind of woke up around 4:30am and went outside so we wouldn't disturb Jihyun and her family. Being the animal lover/terrorizer he is, Oooju kept trying to catch these pigeons for about 30 minutes.
So after 3 days in Incheon, we finally made it into Seoul. We stayed at my cousin Junoh's house. He lives in Samsong dong which is a really nice area of Seoul, two stops from Kangnam and COEX mall. We pretty much had the whole apartment to ourselves because Junoh, his wife Miyoung and daughter Ji-ine are all staying at his mother-in-law's house. Anyways, it was raining the first full day in the city so we decided to spend the day at COEX mall. we were there from 9am to 4pm. But it was here that Oooju finally really started walking.
*Hi Seoul is the new city motto. The full thing is Hi! Seoul: Soul of Asia. Korea Sparkling is the new motto for the whole country thought up by the Korean Tourism Organization. It used to be Dynamic Korea, but now, Busan's using Dynamic for it's city motto.
So after 3 days in Incheon, we finally made it into Seoul. We stayed at my cousin Junoh's house. He lives in Samsong dong which is a really nice area of Seoul, two stops from Kangnam and COEX mall. We pretty much had the whole apartment to ourselves because Junoh, his wife Miyoung and daughter Ji-ine are all staying at his mother-in-law's house. Anyways, it was raining the first full day in the city so we decided to spend the day at COEX mall. we were there from 9am to 4pm. But it was here that Oooju finally really started walking.
*Hi Seoul is the new city motto. The full thing is Hi! Seoul: Soul of Asia. Korea Sparkling is the new motto for the whole country thought up by the Korean Tourism Organization. It used to be Dynamic Korea, but now, Busan's using Dynamic for it's city motto.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Korea Sparkling!
So we just got back from our 3 week trip to Korea. While it was really tough traveling with a one year old, it was so much fun. I already miss it and I'm already looking forward to our next trip back. Anyways, so much happened, I just wanted to start with the end. The plane ride back was quite eventful. We ran into our friend David Chow on the plane. How crazy is that. He was coming back from a 3 month trip around China and central Asia including several of the former Soviet "stan" countries (i.e. Uzbekistan). Then, a kid sitting nearby started hurling like crazy. It really didn't sound good at all. After him, the guy sitting in front of him started rolling around on the ground. I guess he barfed already in the toilet (my cousin grace said in one of the lavatories, there was some barf on the toilet seat and we're guessing it was his) and he was still in some serious pain. the flight attendant had to make an announcement asking if a doctor was on board. I never thought I would ever really hear that on a flight. Then, I started feeling sick too and had to barf in the bathroom. Gross. I think something was up with the award winning KAL bibimbap. Nate wasn't feeling good either.
In Transit
Because I used my miles to get a free ticket, we had to make a stop in Tokyo. But fortunately, we got a bassinet seat which made the plane ride so much easier. And lucky for us, Oooju just barely made the height and weight limit (because he had grown over the 3 weeke, on the flight back, it was so obvious he was just way too big for the bassinet. I had to lie to the flight attendent to get one anyways.) Here you can see him taking a nice little nap. The Japanese couple sitting next to us had a 10 month old son. They also took pictures of their baby sleeping in the bassinet. It's just too cute. But people seem to be looking out for travelers with babies. We got to board the plane first. And then at Narita airport, we found this awesome kid's playroom. Oooju went crazy with excitement. Below are some more pics of Oooju on the plane. The one with the beer is neat because the open sign from the airplane door lines up perfectly with the beer.
Welcome to Incheon
We stayed with our friend Jihyun who lives in Incheon for the first 3 days. She's so funny and crazy. We always refer to her as the Incheon girl and our friend Nicky as the Dark girl. We met them both in Irvine when they were studying English at UCI. Together, they are the funniest people ever. It was great to meet Jihyun's family. She really took good care of us and especially Oooju (until she almost killed him walking down some stairs with him on our last day in Korea). She even taught him this great song:
So above is a picture of Incheon Girl and Dark Girl. Then there's Jihyun's grandmother and Oooju. She was so cool. She had this husky voice from years of smoking and kept saying to Oooju "Uh-boo-bah" which is what little kids say when they want a piggy back ride. Then, there's the sign for Chicky Pub the best chicken hof in the world. Because our friend lives in a family friendly suburb, most of the customers at this place were families and a lot of women. There would be a table of moms drinking beer and having a great time and then next to them, a table with all their kids. So it wasn't weird that I was there standing with a baby strapped to my back drinking beer. You gotta love Korea. Anyways, throughout our whole trip, Jihyun kept repeatng their motto: Your appetite will be stimulated by unique flavor of the Chicky Pub. Then there's me getting the Doctor Fish treatment at some cafe. For 2 dollars, you get to dunk your feet for 15 minutres into these little pools while Doctor Fish come and eat off all your dead skin. Turns out, they're not even real doctor fish which are native to Turkey or some other middle eastern country. I guess this country refuses to export them. Instead, the places in Korea get these fish from China. It's a scam and some friends told me that one lady had to go to the hospital becuase of an infection she got from doing this. Anyways, of the 15 minutes I paid for, I could only withstand about 40 seconds, five seconds at a time. It felt like a million little fingers tickling my feet. I couldn't stop laughing.
Welcome to Wolmido
Our friend Jihyun insisted we go to the "world renowned" Wolmido which is a little island off of Incheon. She really wanted us to ride the "Disco" which is some cheap carnival ride she insists is world famous as well. She says people come as far as Busan to ride this Disco thing. So we took a 45 minute bus ride to Wolmido. When we got there, it just felt like a deserted beach town closed down for the off season. But we purchased our tickets to ride the disco and sure enough, other people were showing up to ride it as well. Most notable was a group of high school girls in their uniforms, supposedly out of school on a field trip. Anyways, it's a crazy ride, really painful and mainly about hurling people out of their seats. Well, after everyone got off the ride which lasted about 3 minutes, Jihyun looks at us and says, ok, that's it, let's go home. Even though she said there's nothing else to see, we walk around to realize on our own that there really is nothing else to see in the world famous Wolmido. Later on, Nate kept asking everyone if they had been to Wolmido and how it's more beautiful than the Grand Canyon.
In Transit
Because I used my miles to get a free ticket, we had to make a stop in Tokyo. But fortunately, we got a bassinet seat which made the plane ride so much easier. And lucky for us, Oooju just barely made the height and weight limit (because he had grown over the 3 weeke, on the flight back, it was so obvious he was just way too big for the bassinet. I had to lie to the flight attendent to get one anyways.) Here you can see him taking a nice little nap. The Japanese couple sitting next to us had a 10 month old son. They also took pictures of their baby sleeping in the bassinet. It's just too cute. But people seem to be looking out for travelers with babies. We got to board the plane first. And then at Narita airport, we found this awesome kid's playroom. Oooju went crazy with excitement. Below are some more pics of Oooju on the plane. The one with the beer is neat because the open sign from the airplane door lines up perfectly with the beer. 
Welcome to Incheon
We stayed with our friend Jihyun who lives in Incheon for the first 3 days. She's so funny and crazy. We always refer to her as the Incheon girl and our friend Nicky as the Dark girl. We met them both in Irvine when they were studying English at UCI. Together, they are the funniest people ever. It was great to meet Jihyun's family. She really took good care of us and especially Oooju (until she almost killed him walking down some stairs with him on our last day in Korea). She even taught him this great song:
So above is a picture of Incheon Girl and Dark Girl. Then there's Jihyun's grandmother and Oooju. She was so cool. She had this husky voice from years of smoking and kept saying to Oooju "Uh-boo-bah" which is what little kids say when they want a piggy back ride. Then, there's the sign for Chicky Pub the best chicken hof in the world. Because our friend lives in a family friendly suburb, most of the customers at this place were families and a lot of women. There would be a table of moms drinking beer and having a great time and then next to them, a table with all their kids. So it wasn't weird that I was there standing with a baby strapped to my back drinking beer. You gotta love Korea. Anyways, throughout our whole trip, Jihyun kept repeatng their motto: Your appetite will be stimulated by unique flavor of the Chicky Pub. Then there's me getting the Doctor Fish treatment at some cafe. For 2 dollars, you get to dunk your feet for 15 minutres into these little pools while Doctor Fish come and eat off all your dead skin. Turns out, they're not even real doctor fish which are native to Turkey or some other middle eastern country. I guess this country refuses to export them. Instead, the places in Korea get these fish from China. It's a scam and some friends told me that one lady had to go to the hospital becuase of an infection she got from doing this. Anyways, of the 15 minutes I paid for, I could only withstand about 40 seconds, five seconds at a time. It felt like a million little fingers tickling my feet. I couldn't stop laughing.
Welcome to Wolmido
Our friend Jihyun insisted we go to the "world renowned" Wolmido which is a little island off of Incheon. She really wanted us to ride the "Disco" which is some cheap carnival ride she insists is world famous as well. She says people come as far as Busan to ride this Disco thing. So we took a 45 minute bus ride to Wolmido. When we got there, it just felt like a deserted beach town closed down for the off season. But we purchased our tickets to ride the disco and sure enough, other people were showing up to ride it as well. Most notable was a group of high school girls in their uniforms, supposedly out of school on a field trip. Anyways, it's a crazy ride, really painful and mainly about hurling people out of their seats. Well, after everyone got off the ride which lasted about 3 minutes, Jihyun looks at us and says, ok, that's it, let's go home. Even though she said there's nothing else to see, we walk around to realize on our own that there really is nothing else to see in the world famous Wolmido. Later on, Nate kept asking everyone if they had been to Wolmido and how it's more beautiful than the Grand Canyon.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Roseola
So Oooju's big sickness this year was Roseola or baby measles. We had no idea what it was. It starts as a fever and here, you can see how miserable poor Buckyball is. His fever went up to 104 and lasted 4 days.
Once the fever breaks, the virus is expelled from the body through a rash. However, we never took a picture of this. Fortunately, I found this picture while doing research. It might as well be Oooju. We fooled my mom. She was so confused as to how his picture ended up on some medical website.
Once the fever breaks, the virus is expelled from the body through a rash. However, we never took a picture of this. Fortunately, I found this picture while doing research. It might as well be Oooju. We fooled my mom. She was so confused as to how his picture ended up on some medical website.
Pictures in his Hanboke
So my aunt in Korea sent us a cute little hanboke(traditional korean clothes) for Oooju's dol (one year birthday). We went to Sears to take these pictures. Oooju is not a smiley baby. I tried to explain that to the lady, but she kept fanning something in his face to get him to smile. He just kept staring at her.
Here's what I call the classic OOoju face where he looks confused and stunned:
Here's Oooju with some dingy bear that ended up looking good in black and white:
Here's Oooju the way I see him, in his natural pose:
Here's Oooju smiling. The fanning didn't work. The only way I could get him to smile was by singing this clapping song. But then, he'd see the lady and instantly stop smiling. what a freak:
And here's my little Oooju guy standing next to the number 1:
Here's what I call the classic OOoju face where he looks confused and stunned:
Here's Oooju with some dingy bear that ended up looking good in black and white:
Here's Oooju the way I see him, in his natural pose:
Here's Oooju smiling. The fanning didn't work. The only way I could get him to smile was by singing this clapping song. But then, he'd see the lady and instantly stop smiling. what a freak:
And here's my little Oooju guy standing next to the number 1:
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