Mungyeong

I've already written about my encounter with a couple of different herbs in Mungyeong. All in all, the trip was good and it was nice to see Sejin 's family again. The only downside to the trip was that the weather was so hot, it made it hard to have fun outdoors. We were supposed to spend Saturday afternoon by the stream having a picnic, but instead everyone stayed in the minbak to keep cool. It was disappointing because Mungyeong has some great scenery that I wanted to get some pictures of. I guess it'll have to wait until next time.

I did go out for a bit, but not far. Just down the road was a ceramics museum and a Confucianism Museum. It was interesting enough. I really like looking at traditional Korean handicrafts, so I liked the "boudoir" room in the Confucianism museum. The embroidery was gorgeous.

We finished off the day with some samgyupsal, which is the best way to finish a day. It was really good. Sunday was spent in the air-conditioning. I worked on Doily Coaster, which is actually meant to be worked with a finer thread, so as to get a coaster sized coaster. But I wanted to use some of my green cotton to make something slightly bigger. I like how it looks and it was a one-day project, which I love.

My busy week starts here. Between now and Thursday evening I have tonnes to do. We have train tickets to Yeosu booked for Friday, but we may cancel if it looks like rain. I'm mainly going to hit the beach, and if I can't, I'd rather postpone.

Beware herbs/oriental medicine

Just thought I'd write something on this in hopes of someone perhaps stumbling upon this information while searching for an answer.

Sejin and I had a lovely weekend in the countryside for his grandmother's birthday. Sejin's family, the Jo's, come from Mungyeong, a rural, picturesque part of Korea that not a lot of foreigners venture to. More on Mungyeong later...

After arriving in Mungyeong and meeting his family (grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins) at a restaurant in Mungyeong Saejae Provincial Park, we headed to our room upstairs (minbak) where everyone sat around eating snacks and fruit near the air-conditioner. Sejin's grandmother had made "sook," a type of bread/rice cake which is green and really doesn't have much taste. I was really full from lunch, so politely refused about three times, but after some coaxing, had a little piece, because after all, grandma had made it.

I did ask Sejin what was in it, but although his English is quite good, he's no botanist, so he could not tell me exactly what herb was in it. Actually, I found out after an Internet search that "sook" is made from mugwort, a herb that should be avoided by pregnant women. It can cause uterine contractions and preterm labor. Luckily, I had only eaten a very small piece, so I'm sure everything is fine. From what I understand, small amounts of mugwort are used in sook, mainly for colouring, and it's boiled beforehand, which removes much of its toxicity.

Later in the day, I wanted to get out of the minbak where everyone was sprawled out on the floor napping. Sejin and I took a short walk to a nearby building which was selling products made from "omija" (오미자), a local specialty in Mungyeong. From what I understand (I always say this because I just can't understand everything!), omija is the berry from a plant found in Asia. It's a pretty, bright red berry. I've had omija tea before and it's quite good. We were browsing all the products made from omija...tea, bread, wine, etc. Sejin chose a bottle of omija extract. We were paying for it and the lady at the counter informed us that pregnant women should not eat omija. I was impressed with two things: she had noticed that I was pregnant -- a first! yay!; and she actually spoke up to warn us. I was grateful for that.

So, in one day visiting the countryside, I encountered two potentially dangerous herbs used in traditional oriental medicine. And they weren't mixed up in some kind of weird potion that would make me wary of them. Koreans have a long history of using herbs and other plants that we in the west don't often use. They're so used to them being around, that they're not even sure what all of them can do/cause. Every spring, my mother-in-law serves up a traditional spring meal made almost entirely of herbs she went and picked herself. Some of them don't even have English names... Of course, I know Sejin's family, or any Korean, would not give me anything meaning to cause harm, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Up late

So I'm up late typing up some stupid units for my stupid listening books. I've completely lost interest in this project and I can't wait to move on to the next one. These listening books have turned out to be more trouble then they're worth -- literally. I wish I could go back and renegotiate, but I signed the contract and I will complete them by the end of August.

To keep my sanity, I've been doing some small knitting projects. Projects that can be completed quickly are the best kind when you're stressed. So I made some baby booties (they're sitting on a small washcloth I made), and a baby bib. They're all cotton. I have tonnes of yarn to use up, so I've decided not to go to Dongdaemun to buy baby yarn until I've used up some of my stash.

Other than that, things are slow. I've been staying indoors in the air conditioning with Toto by my side. Oh yes, and we had a nice Indian dinner with Hayan and her boyfriend tonight. That got me out once this weekend...

16 week ultrasound

I had my 16 week ultrasound last Wednesday morning and everything looks good. The baby measures about 12 cm (around 5 inches), which is pretty huge considering you can't see much of anything from the outside. The only problem was that the baby was so active, the doctor couldn't get a very good picture of it. It was literally doing something that looked like somersaults or bicycle kicks.

Here is the clearest picture she managed to take. The baby is lying face-down:

Here, the baby is looking at the camera. You can see what looks like a little skull:

So it was nice to know once again that everything is going smoothly. I did find out something surprising, though. I found out that I have an RH negative blood type. I guess this is common enough in the west, but in Asia, hardly anyone has negative blood types. I read that 0.1% of the population in Korea has type A- blood type. So if I ever need a transfusion, I'm going to have a tough time. My doctor told me on the way out to be careful not to get into any accidents. -- no problem!

Although I've been busy, I've been trying to get back into knitting. There's never been a better time, now that I actually have a purpose. I started with this really easy little wrap sweater. I just have to knit down to the waist, and then I'll have to go back and pick up the sleeve stitches and knit some long sleeves. Next I think I'll make some socks and booties. I'd like to make at least one afghan.

My book came in the mail! It's just book 1 of 3 of the I Can Speak English series. I will receive books 2 and 3 as they are printed. I'm surprised at how good they look. They're very colorful and cute, with a workbook and a CD. And the sticker activities are pretty cool too. It all looks quite different from the Word documents I was working on!

Finally, my new painting. I saw this painting of roses in a gallery in Insa-dong and had to have it. I decided to also have them frame it, since I knew that I would get it home and it would sit around for months before I got around to it. I love it.

16 weeks and feeling good

I can't believe my baby's been cooking for 16 weeks. Time is really flying now. I have my 16 week ultrasound on Wednesday, which I'm very excited for. I love hearing how much it's grown since the last visit.

I've been feeling very good lately. Yesterday it rained all day, so Sejin and I did all our spring cleaning we'd been putting off for months. One of the best feelings is relaxing after you've cleaned the house from top to bottom. Now if only Toto would stop shedding...

Looks like I'll be continuing work with Darakwon. I met with an employee last week to discuss another series they need written. Turns out they tried another writer a few months back, thinking that I had enough on my plate already (which was true), and it didn't work out, so they called me. It's a relief to hear they like what I've written, because I'm such a perfectionist and was wondering what they really thought. So the first Happy House book is in bookstores, with the other soon to follow: Book 1. My name is spelled wrong on that site, but it's actually spelled correctly on the book, thank goodness.

Ultrasound Day

It's always a relief to go to the hospital and hear that everything looks good. Today I had a lengthy ultrasound for a nuchal translucency test. I guess that's to make sure the spinal cord is developing properly. According to the doctor, it looks fine. I got to watch the baby for a while, but it was pretty still and quiet. So, the doctor told me to cough and then she poked it a bit, and then it woke up and started squirming around. It was probably a little angry at being disturbed, but I got a kick out of seeing it move around. It measures 6.7 cm, which is surprising, because I can't see anything when I look at my stomach, and I weigh the same as when I went in last time a month ago. I thought for sure all that pizza and ice cream was adding up, but I guess not!


So the appointment was a success. Unfortunately, the doctor said she cannot under any circumstances tell me (when the time comes, around 20 weeks) if it's a boy or a girl. It's illegal in S. Korea, and she could lose her job. She said if I go to a smaller independent clinic somewhere, I'll probably get an answer. But I did get the go ahead to eat sushi, which I'm psyched about. She said as long it's fresh, it's OK. I'm still not going to go crazy, but I think I'll have to indulge once later in the summer. And, they gave me a nifty CD of the ultrasound. I can't figure out how to download it to my computer, so I just took a video of the video. The quality's not that great, but you can see it squirming in there.


Now I must get down to work. Big deadline on Friday - book 5 of 6 is due and I cannot extend this deadline. I can't wait until it's in. Friday evening is going to be me, the TV, and a pizza...and the baby.

Still writing

On the home stretch. It's a lot tougher than I thought it would be. After these books are done, I'm going to make July a pretty low-key month.

Wednesday May 14th was our 3rd wedding anniversary. Originally, we were going to go to Children's Grand Park, where we got married, but the park was recently closed down due to a bird flu outbreak. Sejin said it was actually open on our anniversary, but most people were staying away, naturally. That kind of put a damper on things....

So, we decided to go somewhere we'd never been before, so we went to the 63 Building, the tallest building in Korea. We saw a pretty cool aquarium in the basement and then rode up to the 61st floor to the observation deck which offered some pretty good views of Seoul. Finally, we had lunch at "Walking on the Cloud" restaurant on the 60th floor. Decent food and a great view. It was a nice evening.

Last week I received a package from my Ravelry Pen Pal group swap partner. I was very excited to receive it so soon, all the way from California. biotechgrrl sent me 4 balls of creamy bamboo yarn, and a ball of beautiful purple yarn, of a luxury brand I've never tried before. Also, a journal and note cards which say "Don't count the days. Make the days count." Always something very important to keep in mind! Looking forward to having time to knit up that yarn! Luckily, biotechgrrl received my package, which I was relieved to hear!

I guess the biggest news as of late: We went to the hospital today and had a really good experience. The doctor was very nice AND speaks fluent English. The baby measures where it's supposed to, at 1.2 cm, and the heart was beating very nicely.

It's been a long time

I'm usually more anxious to write something here if I have finished knitting or crocheting something. That may be the reason for not posting for so long. That and I've been very busy writing books. Very, very busy.

Even so, I try to rest on the weekends...well, that's not the entire truth. There's not much resting going on. Seems I have plans every single weekend and people still calling to make more plans. These days I really dislike plans of any type. Anyway, I suppose I've had some good times among all the busy-ness over the past month.

The first weekend in April, Meg and I went to Andong, somewhere I've wanted to go for quite a while. I'm glad that we went. It was very interesting, the weather was great, and there weren't too many people at the tourist sites. Although not everything was green, the blossoms were out, which made for great pictures.

Some places of note that we visited were:

Hahoe Village, traditional Korean village of over 400 buildings where people still live. This was a great place. Very picturesque and not overcrowded. We spent the better part of Saturday there.

Dosan Seowon, early Confucian academy. Much different feel that Hahoe Village, being a place of academia, so the contrast was nice.
Jebiwan, small temple near an 11th century Buddha carved in a cliff. We went here as sort of an afterthought, but I was glad that we did. The temple was in the middle of service, the blossoms were out, and it was just beautiful. The head monk also came out and said hello.Last weekend (the last weekend in April), Meg and I visited our good friend Louise down in Busan on the south east coast. We did some shopping, took in a movie (The Other Bolyen Girl - it was good!), walked through Jagalchi Fish Market, and went to the beach. Very nice weekend.

Jagalchi:

Near Haeundae Beach:
Those weekends were good to break up the monotony of being inside working all day in this nice weather. The weather is getting even better now, so hopefully there will be more little weekend trips like these.

Now, it's back to work.

Crafts keep me sane

Still working hard on these books. When I stop and think about it, it's absolutely crazy that I've been given the responsibility of writing 6 books by the end of May, however easy the content. But I've given my word, and they will get done. Lately I feel like I'm back at university, writing my thesis. I think I wrote most of my thesis in the last 3 weeks before the deadline. I was pulling all nighters every other night. I've only pulled one all-nighter so far for this project (that was to get in the first book on time), but I have a feeling there will be more to come. The good thing is that it'll all be over by June, and then I can take a couple week off to recover.

I visited Dongdaemun Shopping Town last week, and was very pleased to see that all the vendors have their cotton out! I've been waiting to see the cotton. The thing is, I don't have a lot of experience knitting or crocheting with cotton (aside from doilies), so I'm excited to try it out. So far, it's quite different from wool. It's less stretchy and I'm finding my hands hurt when I use it. I think I just need to ease up on my tension. This was a good day:

Also last week, I had to go to Kyobo Bookstore to get some new materials for new classes. Of course, I stopped by the Japanese Knitting section on my way to the English section. Always a mistake. The books and the patterns inside are too cute for words. And the worst part is that they're pretty cheap. Each book goes for about $10, which I'm sure is a lot cheaper than what people in the West pay to get Japanese books shipped over. Anyway, I picked up the two cutest ones, this time with some cute bag and scarf patterns. These are the patterns I'm particularly interested in:I couldn't resist giving something a try with my new cotton, so I made these little coasters, which I just love. They only took me about an hour each.

So, as the topic of this post suggests, doing these little crafts keeps me from going crazy. If I work well, I allow myself to do a couple rounds of crocheting. If I just goof off on Facebook or Ravelry, I can't. Very simple, but it works. I'm getting both work and crafting done, which keeps me satisfied. Last week I completed both my red silk doilie (which was not fun because of the twisty thread), and Antlia, which was for the Doilie Heads crochet-along. I like how both of them turned out. Now, I'm working on Crocus Doilie. I'm very excited about this one because I've been eying the pattern for months. I hope it turns out how I picture it.Oh yes, and yet another time waster has entered by apartment -- a piano. I've been wanting a piano for years, and it's here. I bought it used, and I'm pleased with it. Nice sound. Surprisingly I haven't been drawn to it too many times. I'll likely play it more when these books are done. Toto loves the bench! Well, back to work!

Busy

Haven't been able to post lately because I've been unbelievably busy. But good busy. I'm working on two book series simultaneously which is harder than I thought, but I think I can do it. It's only until the end of May, at which time I can take a couple of weeks off to breathe. Until then, though, I'm not leaving the house too often. I teach all day on Monday, and I occasionally go out for coffee with a friend. That's about it. I don't even have time to knit or crochet, which is the worst part! I started a vintage doilie a few weeks ago and I'm still not done. Saturday, the Ravelry Doilieheads group doilie crochet-along starts, so I'm hoping I'll enough time to join in on that. The pattern looks simple enough.
My big news today is that I'm getting a piano tomorrow. Someone on Daves is selling theirs and it looks like a good deal. I really don't have any room to put it, but I'll stash it somewhere until after May, when I have time to play it. Luckily it comes apart easily. Very excited about that. Now I just have to get my sax over here...must be quite dusty now at my parents' place.

Last weekend I had a late housewarming party. Sejin and I had been meaning to have one ever since we moved in, but we kept putting it off. Finally we decided to have a potluck, and it was a success. Around 17 people showed up and everyone brought something delicious. Most people left around 11:00pm, but a few stayed on much later. We hit the noraebang, which is only fun late at night, and had a blast. I'm not much of a singer, but it was fun to watch Sejin and the others.


Sejin has discovered a niche market in Korea, which is selling insurance to foreigners. It seems a lot of foreigners actually want extra insurance, but it's really hard to find a representative at any company that speaks English. Furthermore, from what people have told me, many companies prefer not to sell to foreigners at all, which is really dumb. Although Sejin will not make much money selling term life contracts to foreigners, he enjoys speaking English, dealing with foreigners, and helping them make their lives easier. Slowly, he is becoming aware of the many inconveniences foreigners face in Korea, and I think he takes pride in helping them through it. He's very excited actually.

That's about it for now. I am now going out to meet Meg for a coffee and I'll have dinner with Juyeoun, my friend and language exchange partner.