Snoring

TheFry is snoring.  We finally got him to go to bed at 11pm the other day and he was so tired he snored like an old man.  Listen closely, especially towards the end.

TheFry goes for a walk in the park

Buying Furniture on Gmarket

Furniture can cost a surprising amount of money in Korea.  The tradition of second-hand stores such as Goodwill and Savers is not as strong in Korea as in some Western countries.  Furthermore, rummage sales are almost unheard of (although there are some in the expat community once or twice a year).

 

Thankfully, Gmarket is a resource you can count on for affordable quality furnishings.

 

Now, if you are an English teacher, you may have been provided with an apartment that was furnished with all the basics.  Perhaps what you have is good enough.  However, the furnishings with which we were provided were all very low-quality.  Our chairs, a combination of aluminum and plastic, broke after a couple of short months.  On Gmarket we were able to buy these gems for about 20,000 won per chair (shipping was 7,000 won for both items together):

Remember our gmarket highchair?  Yes, our new chairs match!

(link)

 

One of the very first pieces of furniture we bought off of gmarket, however, was this wonderful lifesaver:

(link)

Our computer desk came with a 4-shelf bookshelf and a computer tower.  The ensemble cost around 30,000 won together, and probably 7,000 won for shipping.  The pieces do not come with any hardware – everything is supposed to balance together without attaching.

 

While that may work in some households, we knew it was a disaster waiting to happen in ours.  To prevent a very busy toddler from disassembling such a delicate balance, we went ahead and just nailed the thing together.

Issue resolved!

Our most recent prize is our new couch:

PapaFish models our fancy new couch!

 

(link)

This couch is actually a sofa bed!  The back folds down to two positions: it can either fold into a reclining couch or all the way down to a bed.  I thought it would make our apartment feel more cramped, but at 183cm long it actually is pretty much out of the way.  I think our place is quite a bit roomier now!

We bought the couch on sale for 84,000 won, and shipping was an extra 30,000.  The delivery guys set it up and assembled it for us, too – and they also delivered it a week early!  The initial delivery date was more than 2 weeks after I ordered it, but I begged them to deliver it sooner as my dad was in town visiting us.  They did their best and it was here for his second weekend. 

 

All in all, we’ve been able to furnish our little oneroom apartment comfortably and with a decent amount of organization.  Thank you, Gmarket!

What Kind of Person Will You Be, Little Fry?

What kind of person will TheFry be?

He refuses to hold hands while walking. He heeds the directions of his parents about 50% of the time. Recently, he has begun a pattern of refusing to be fed - he must do it himself.

Last night, however, PapaFish witnessed the most telling actions of who our little man is growing up to be.

While strolling at the park, TheFry tripped over a crack in the ground, falling to his hands and knees. He got up, unfazed. He circled back to where he had been standing before. Very precisely, he walked over to the crack to step over it successfully.

It's one of those powerful moments I wish I would've caught on camera. Our little guy is very determined in everything he does. His will is strong. His sense of adventure knows no bounds. I hope he can keep these very good qualities into adulthood. I feel it is my responsibility as a parent to give him the kind of environment where he can be free to do so.

I'm so proud of my little Fry!

Tidbits

1. PapaFish recently became a volunteer online teacher three nights a week. One of the benefits of this volunteer opportunity is that it will give PapaFish a taste of the main industry for foreigners here in Korea: teaching. The greatest benefit, however, is that students of less-than-wealthy parents will be able to practice English regularly throughout the week, hopefully narrowing the income gap between Koreans who can speak English well and those who can't.

2. TheFry has been walking for one whole month now! ...Or, at least I think it's been a whole month. He pretty much was running from the start. One day he was still clinging to the walls, and the next evening I caught him scurrying past me from the corner of my eye. Now it's just a game of chase until he decides to start listening to and cooperating with MamaFish and PapaFish. He refuses to hold hands, and it can be very difficult to guide him in the right direction sometimes. Needless to say, we still often use the Pognae baby carrier most of the time when we go out.

3. The new semester at my work has begun, as of March 2. It's been a crazy whirlwind of teachers getting hired and quitting, and me not knowing how many classes I'm really going to have to teach each week. I have a stack of about 75 or so essays on my desk that need grading by next week. Not sure when I'm going to find time to do it all!

4. My dad is in town! Yay!!! AND HE'S GOING TO TAKE US OUT TO TACO BELL ON SUNDAY HOLY COW I'M SO EXCITED!!!

5. Here's hoping the springtime warms up sometime soon.

6. I can't really fathom making a blog post without pictures, but this is the best I've got:

If that doesn't say "I'm a boy," I don't know what does.

P.S. - I have no idea why he's not wearing a shirt.

Chatting with Grandma

TheFry has a chat with his grandma – the mother of MamaFish.  He has a lot to say, and he’s very adamant about all of it.  At the end of the video, he bites my hand pretty hard, which is why I’m screaming “Ouch!”