Before midnight...

Hi there...

I guess I've had "blogger's block" (if you can call that a thing). : )

Today I finally uploaded my camera pictures from recent trips we took in Korea. As I was trying to upload some pictures on my FB, I remembered why I never do it. All of my pictures come straight out of Instagram, because uploading on FB is a nightmare. It takes forever and suddenly freezes and when you finally get to upload them, they come out repeated like 20 times. Ughh.. never again. I'm about to delete all the albums I have there. I should only keep the Instagram one.

Besides the FB drama (and there's been plenty) It's been a tiring week & the longest I've had in a while. S. has been out of town for a week and the kids got sick at the worst possible time. I've been trying to keep everything clean and tossing out useless stuff... (I almost have a hoarding problem)... Not really, (but a little). A crafty Mom should never toss things she could use on future projects right?... Kkk

It makes me think... how difficult must it be for single Moms out there to handle it all by themselves. Or Military families, now that I know so many and they make most of my friends, (what would I do without you my ladies ; )  I feel their pain. When I hear their stories of when the husbands go out for long periods of time (up to years) and they have to keep it all together by themselves back home... It's hard! (If you don't have kids you won't identify).

I have no right to complain, but geeeshh...  Friday who?! Actually, I can't even tell Friday from Wednesday these days. Maybe it's the fact that I've been blessed with a wonderful and very supporting husband that gives it 200%. He's hands on and we are a team. These days without him, I've been hanging in there, but kinda walking a bit slanted... It's like missing a part of you. But.. fighting! 

*Dear S. if you read this, I want you to know; You are loved, you are missed and you are never to be taken for granted. ♥

I will tell you though, I will know when Monday gets here for sure!

Anyways, I've been packing up... YES, packing up! We are heading West for a while! So, before I leave, I wanted to write a post. I may even try to do a couple more if I find time at nights this week.  I haaaave to share some pictures with my Korean Culture loving ladies! We went on a road trip to the North East coast side of Korea and it was gorgeous up there! (promise to post on it, this week before we leave...pinky promise ; ).  We built sand castles, climbed up mountain tops and I, Tania (If you've read some of my first posts, you know I've made it clear, I was not Andrew Zimmern and I would NOT be eating funky looking things)...  ate this.... ⬇

Sundae, Korean Sundae, Ojingeo sundae. south Korea Korean food. Comida Coreana. Corea

Sundae, Korean Sundae, Ojingeo sundae. south Korea Korean food. Comida Coreana. Corea

Sundae, Korean Sundae, Ojingeo sundae. south Korea Korean food. Comida Coreana. Corea

Ohhhh... A lot changes in 3 years my friends... A lot indeed! These days I'm a seaweed loving, "ramyeon" expert, "Galbijjim" occasional and a fan of that ⬆. It's a special type of "Sundae", particular of this region. It's basically stuffed squid, it's called "Ojingeo sundae", and it's yummy!

I'll tell you all about it, but not today....

Today this post is about Olivia! I have to finish this post before midnight or it won't be her B.day anymore!

My littlest turns 2! Crazy, before you've had kids you've heard it all... "time flies, enjoy them..."

You really can't identify with any of these remarks until you become a parent yourself.  It really seems like Yesterday when I saw her beautiful face for the first time! & now she's talking back at me... Ha!!!... She's a hand full alright!
But, Ohhhh, how I love her like crazy! She's a ball of energy and funniness who melts my heart in many ways each day....she knows it! 

mixed kids, Asian mixed kids. Expats in Korea. Boricuas en Corea, Extranjeros viviendo en Corea. 

Today... Ice cream for lunch, why not! 

We knew S. wasn't going to be able to be here on this day, so we celebrated with some friends a couple weeks ago in our casa. : )

Hello kitty birthday party. Hello Kitty DIY. Hello Kitty wall decals. Original Hello Kitty. Kitty 1976.Vintage hello Kitty. 

Hello kitty birthday party, Hello Kitty DIY. Hello Kitty wall decals. Original Hello Kitty. Kitty 1976.Vintage hello Kitty. Hello kitty party ideas. Red Hello kitty party. Primary colors party. Primary colors hello kitty. 

Ready to party! Even if it doesn't seem like it... : )

Hello kitty birthday party. Hello Kitty DIY. Hello Kitty wall decals. Original Hello Kitty. Kitty 1976.Vintage hello KittyHello kitty party ideas. Red Hello kitty party. Primary colors party. Primary colors hello kitty. .

Our friend Charlene made this beautiful cookies... If you're in Seoul and need a dose of cuteness, give her a call! Or just let me know I'll tell her... kkk

Hello kitty birthday party. Hello Kitty DIY. Hello Kitty wall decals. Original Hello Kitty. Kitty 1976.Vintage hello Kitty.

This picture couldn't describe her any better.... She likes tutus, animals, crowns, bows & Kitty.... but don't mess with her! ♥

That's it... 

Sorry, if there's many mistakes, I'm tired, I don't feel like checking again, I can't find my glasses (yes I'm old like that)

And I really wanted to finish this post before midnight... 

I'm late... it's 5 minutes past... : / 

Next year! 

Happy Birthday Livs... We love you! 

Xx

T. 

Busan & the Dramas...

My dear Drama ladies.... First I'd like to thank you for your support and for reading me. : ) Even if I don't reply right away to your emails, I'd like you to know I always read them and I appreciate every single one. Thank you for sending the pictures too... so cute! : )

Dramas & Busan... 

When I saw my first one, I found it randomly while flipping channels on WIPR-channel 6 back home in PR. This was like, I'm not sure, maybe 4-5 years ago. It was a period drama, I can't tell you the name cause I really don't remember. It was dubbed in Spanish and I stayed fixated on it, I couldn't believe it...

_ What in the world? Is this a Korean Drama, in Spanish and in channel 6???.... 

From that day on, I went to channel 6 at 5:00pm everyday. This drama ended and a new one started right away. It was Coffee Prince.  I loooved it....

Since then I've watched countless dramas. I feel like they've helped me with my Korean. I've loved most and hated some. There's one I saw not long ago, "High kick trough the Roof"... This drama, was so funny, I was loving it until the very last episode. That last episode made the whole Drama be the worst in history of K-Dramas. I HATED IT! I mean.... what were the writers thinking!

After that one, my heart was seriously damaged and I took a break... no joke. Once it healed... > _ < Kkkkk...  I started Reply 1997 and I wasn't disappointed this time, this drama was super funny, cute & it had a good ending. But what I enjoyed most about this Drama, was the Busan accent! 

Just like we do with Spanish and English, Koreans have different accents or dialects, depending on their region.... who would've thought!

The other day I went to Gwangjang Market ↑

to buy thread and fabric (made some bedding for Livs' big girl room... cuteness!)↓ 

While sitting down having some kimbap and tteokbokki, I heard two girls talking and I just had to turn my head...

*Feeling like a local moment #002 : )

In my head...

_ Where are these girls from???... They're definitely from the South! Wait a minute, did I really just notice someones accent?!?!  

I knew there was an accent difference, but I didn't know it was big enough for me to notice. My husband's Korean is pretty good and to me it doesn't sound much different than other people I hear around. But, when he talks, for some reason people always ask him where's he from. All this time I thought maybe he had a Busan type of tone. He doesn't, Sean just has an (or had) Americanized Korean (somewhat like an American speaking Spanish).  

I secretly wish we lived in Busan, so if I do become fluent one day, I spoke like that.. I think the singing on it is really cute. I also happen to find Busan to be pretty cool too. Our trip there would have been one of those posts that got lost on these lazy months of no posting.

We went last winter, on New Years Eve to be exact. It was one of those trips that you don't plan but it ends up becoming one of the best. We gathered some truly amazing memories there. I would like to go back maybe before the weather gets too cold... the winds down there were crazy! 

I know my Drama ladies love it when I write and post pictures about Korea, so here's some pictures of our trip there. I think I put up some on my FB page a while ago, but I'm trying to catch up. : ) 

Beautiful rocky beach called 태종대, Taejongdae in Busan. 

 

I think on how hot & humid it is right now and I kinda miss the cold....  : ) 

Fresh sashimi by the water... 

Then we stopped by  해운대 해수욕장 Haeundae Beach... 

These 3.... <3

We tried a self-timer... didn't work. Marky didn't even make it into the pic. : ) 

We drove from Seoul to Busan. I think it took about 8-9 hours. Since we don't own a car here, when we rent one, the kids love it & they behave like angels. Going to Busan was an improvised kinda in the moment trip, so we just stayed a day and didn't really get to do much. We had spent two days on another town called  경주 Gyeongju . Which was beautiful too, but that's a whole other post. : )

I'm actually glad I did this belated post on Busan, because I got to see the pictures again and go back to a special place. Not only of this trip, but of back home. I don't know if it's the line of Buildings next to the Ocean, but looking at these pictures I suddenly feel homesick. It reminds me a bit of Condado and Ocean Park. Maybe this is why I liked Busan so much... it felt a bit like home. 

Xx

T.  : ) 

PS... Any new Dramas you would like to recommend???...  ; ) 

Another 4 months...

WARNING...  This is a very long post! : ) 

On my last post I hoping It wouldn't take me 4 months to write a new one.  Here I am, 4 moths later...

When I first started this blog I was a stay at home Mom of two (still am FYI).  I was new in a very big foreign City. I had no friends. My oldest kid was home and the second was a newborn. I had spent a couple of months by myself (basically) I hadn't spoken a word in English to a single soul with the exception of my husband and my then 2 year old child. I had a lot of time, but not a lot of people to talk to.

I was having the craziest experiences with people that didn't understand me, nor I them. I was facing challenges on a daily basis, even with simple things, like going to the Supermarket. I flooded my FB page with pictures but I still wanted to tell the story behind the pictures, but I didn't want to bother my FB friends so much. I started this blog and I had so much fun and so much to tell... 

A lot has changed since then. My older kid goes to School & my youngest is a very active toddler (she's a handful alright). We do play dates, birthday parties and Soccer (yes I'm officially a Soccer Mom, minus the minivan). I can communicate with the locals and am a pro on public transportation and yes I now use buses... it only took two years to master the bus system. I now have friends and don't feel like a stranger anymore.
Quite frankly I've only felt that alien feeling whenever I'm on FB. Like, I seriously don't know anything that's going on back in the US, but at the same time I know so much.

 I know how much people hate Lebron James or who's the best dressed at the Oscars or whenever The Voice or The Game of Thrones is on.

 I feel more like a stranger on my FB these days, than whenever I go to Emart and ask the produce lady if the avocados are sold by weight or as individuals, (all in Korean btw). I would love to record one of these sessions, so you make fun of my hilarious Korean. The other day the ajumma from whom I get thread from told me, "Wow good job with the Korean"... (AND I understood her saying this). Not a prouder moment!  : ) 

At the end of the day, this is my home & I like it here. Truth is I'm so used to living here, that I don't feel as if my life was any more adventurous or different than anyone else. Maybe this Is why I haven't felt like writing any posts. I mean I've had quite a fun couple of months, but I still get to do my regular chores as anyone else does... laundry, cook, clean, change pooped diapers & read daily bedtime stories. I clean up the house and start all over again the next day. 

Sean and I have this thing that we say, "you know you're old when...". Well, we've been saying this quite often these days. "You know you're old when your eyelids won't respond after 9:00pm. anymore." I mean, seriously, who's gonna stay up to wait for the kids when they go out when they're teenagers"... at this rate, we're in big, deep trouble, to put it kindly. 

How about..."You know you're old when you have the best date with your husband at the chiropractor". All I can say is, my neck and back cracked like 20 times each, on places I didn't even know existed. I'd do a date there again anytime! 

Anyways... the point is, with this and that and spasmed shoulders, heavy eyelids, dirty laundry and everyday life, there's very little free time to sit down and write a decent post.  

I haven't even stopped by to check here since April, yet it's only the first day in July and I have like 1000 visits. I don't know if this qualifies as a lot in blogging world, but to me it is. Thank you!

I guess I'll have to tell you all about my avocados, chiropractors and how much I hate doing laundry kind of stories. hehehe... 

But before the boring, I'll tell you about the fun. 

Sean started a couple of months in a new job here, but before he started we took a short Holiday to Japan. I looooooved it! We had so, so, so much fun there. If you follow me on Instagram you are very up to date on my pictures and know this was like two months ago. If you don't, then you should : ) I'm there all the time (at all times) "@koyorrican". I mean, it's easy, fun and you kinda in some weird way, get to know people from all over the world. I get so inspired and amazed at how many talented and incredibly creative people are out there. I love Instagram! Now, if you don't want to see a gazillion pictures of my littles, then don't bother. It's all I do, I'm a mamarazzi... I mean like everyday... trust me, I've even had real life friends unfollow me. I guess I'm the annoying proud Mom. Well actually, no, I don't guess, I AM the proudest of Moms! 

 A bit of our trip to Japan...

At the Osaka Castle...

In Kyoto...⬇

Livs on a walk around the Geisha District in Kyoto...

Dotonbori...

At the Osaka Aquarium...

Free the Dolphins! 

A week after we returned, I saw this video about how cruel they are to Dolphins in parts of Japan...

Too sad...

We all had THE best time there. The people were super helpful and friendly, the food was incredible & the shops where super funky, just like I like them. I came back with some awesome Japanese cotton fabric...Yeayy... and I found a vintage panda print I wanted....double yeayyy... 

I came back so inspired, I wanted to try making homemade tonkotsu ramen... and I kinda' got it right. But it's tons of work, too many hours of cooking and it's very fatty, so the ramen craze quickly wore off. lol... lemonade cleansing! > <

*All these pictures are the ones I had on my phone. I took some with my camera, but I seem to have misplaced the usb cable, so I haven't been able to upload them. : ( 

Xx

Tania : ) 

4 months ago...

Four months ago, I though I was leaving Korea for good, at around this exact time. I stopped taking the Korean lessons, I was busy doing research. Then I was busy, doing more research on another place, and then another, and then another.... Research, research, research.... On a country, on a town, on neighborhoods, on housing, on schools, on lifestyle... Sitting down and writing a post on what was going on with our lives was the furthest thing on my mind. Sorry.

Literally, JUST when we decided to stay in Korea and moved apartments (which means, we are not leaving anytime soon)... My email and private message in Facebook started getting flooded.

OOOOhhhh just great! Did he really have to start NOW....

You all know what I'm talking about.... oh yes, the North Korea thing.

I will be completely honest. If my friends and family wouldn't have asked me what was going on, I  wouldn't have noticed. I've been so busy with our own lives, that I didn't even think of picking up a newspaper and reading the news... (Kkkk 😁... like THAT would have done anything for me... my reading skills are much better than when I first got here, but not nearly, "I can read the newspaper" better.

Life here seems to be as normal as it's ever been for the two years I've lived here. I guess not being a local helps, not reading every single headline that comes out helps. It seems like the news that comes out back home have more to say than the ones I read here. 

I have many military friends, and they don't seem too concerned. The American Embassy doesn't seem to be too concerned. I am not too concerned.

This doesn't mean I'm not aware of the dangers of such the situation. I am.... believe me. I just choose not to live in fear. I choose not to stress about something that is way out of my control. I choose to live a life, beautifully... Cause life IS beautiful!  

I believe each and every day is a blessing and each and every day we must live as if it was our last. I believe that certain things are meant to be. Each and every day we must believe there is a purpose for things. We must pray (if you will) for the things that matter most to us.  

I'll share mine; Health for my loved ones and for me so I can see my kids grow. Wisdom so I can guide myself and my loved ones through the right path, and strength, so I can endure the unpredictable. But above all I give thanks... what is there NOT to give thanks for! 

There is absolutely no way I could possibly know the outcome of all of this. Hopefully it will all be alright. Hopefully, we will keep living our beautiful lives as we have been for the past two years here. Korea is a beautiful place. It has beautiful people.... duhhhh.... I'm here... Kkkkk... ; ) 

Now... back to the four months it took me to pick up the computer and write a post.... Well, we'll leave that for another one. Let's just hope it doesn't take another four to tell you about it! 

Much love to you all, stay safe out there, and please (Mami Carmiña) don't worry... We are fine! : ) 

Xx

T.

PS... If you noticed the Kkkk, it's just me showing off my "how much of a local I've become". It's used here as (lol, or hehehehe)... Kkkk.... ; )

Far away...

Hi! I know, it's been a while... : ( 

Shame on me! 

I've been away from Koyorrican for a bit... (tiiiiny lil' bit ☺) 

While I've been out... 

↑ At Insadong... ↓

 ↑ The War Memorial Museum of Korea... ↓

& we went to a funky place called Herb Island...⤵

& we had some local food...  ↗

Exploring the Toy Alley in Dongdaemun.

☃ & the snow came... 

❄ ❄ ❄ It was beautiful... ❄ ❄ ❄

& I finished the Intensive course of Korean... 

& Christmas came...

& Santa did too...

I ❤ the Holidays! 

& I had "pasteles"... Thank you Maribel & Pedro! 

& for some magical (Skype) reason, I didn't feel so far away... 

Happy Holidays to all... 

Xx

T : )

Happy Halloween!

Ummm....... is it November already?.... Sorry, I'm just a tiny bit late for Halloween celebrations. Actually, I was M.I.A. the whole month of October and we are half way through November. Either good or bad, truth is, there has been a lot going on. Besides the fact that the kids spent most of last month sick and I was at the Doctors office at least twice a week. I've also had my own things going on.  It's hard to find time to do things that you do "just for fun" (like writing a post), when there's so many things that keep me from being able to do so.

If you have kids, you know how it is; "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy"... When one woke up crying, the other one started bawling too. I found myself holding on to a kid in each arm in the middle of the night. One pulling at the other one's hair for being next to me and the other one complaining about it. The worst is not the sleepless nights, it's just simply not knowing what to do for them. Kids in general believe Mommy's have all kinds of magical powers that can fix everything and cure it all.

  Ohhhh..... how heartbreaking it is when your 3 year old begs you; "Mommy pleeeease take the boogies away"...

All I can say is, next year we are ALL getting flu shots, as soon as I see the first yellow leaf! At least at the moment, we are all good...  & THANK GOD, no one is sick!!!

Leaving behind all the cold/sick related topics (and besides that), last month was amazing!

In the beginning of the month we went to San Francisco...

& my beautiful Mom flew in from PR to meet us there...

& we took Marky on his 4th College tour (him being only 3). I think this is one of S's favorite hobbies! We've taken him so far to Yale, Princeton, Harvard and now Stanford (this is Olivia's 1st). Hopefully they'll get to go to one of these soon... in like 14 years or so... ; ) 

We did the touristy things like, Fisherman's Wharf, The Golden Gate... (which we could not see)...Thanks fog! We also visited the Dreamworks studios, where our friend works, on making the movies we see! So proud of you Dave! : ) 

We saw the most beautiful views and fell in LOVE!!!

I ❤ San Francisco!

& then what we came for....⤵

We flew in to attend David & Laura's wedding. David has been Sean's BF for 25+ years!

The dreamy vineyard, the amazing weather, the elegant and simple details, all the special moments & a very emotional speech, made this the most beautiful wedding I've been to. We wish you guys all the happiness in the world!

What can I say about this people ⤴....

You guys are aweeesome!!! You guys have such a beautiful family and it was sooo much fun spending these days with you. We miss you guys tons... : /

Mi mamita linda! I cannot begin to tell you how happy having this lady around made us! 

We ❤ abuela! Like Marky says, so much, so much, soooooooooooooooooo much! : ) 

Brothers from another Mother... ; ) 

& a dancer was born...

He made me dance every single song! 

So many beautiful memories... 

I know I said this would be a post of what we did on October, but this was such a special trip, that I don't want to add any more pictures...

I'll try to do a post over the weekend with the rest! 

Xx

T.