Fingerprinting

We had our 2nd round of fingerprints taken yesterday at USCIS. The first round, back in June was for the state of Illinois to do a background check on us. The fingerprints yesterday are for Homeland Security to do a background check. After they check us out and it's determined that we're not terrorists or have other shady dealings, we should get our I-171H. This basically is approval on a federal level for us to adopt a child from abroad. We hope to get it by March 1.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #7

South Korea is a wealthy, developed country. At the heart of SK is the capital, Seoul, which is- you guessed it-today's lesson.

Seoul
Let's start with a gorgeous, night-time photo:

Ten million people live in Seoul, making it one of the largest cities in the world (Chicago has 3mil, and NYC has 8mil). Seoul is the chief economic, political and cultural center of SK. Some popular sites include the Gyeongbokgung palace and the National Folk Museum, the Seoul Tower, and various shopping districts (all of which will be probably be future lessons).

Eastern, the adoption agency in Korea, is located in Seoul. So when I say we'll be traveling to Korea to pick up our child...we'll be going to Seoul. Not only can we not wait to meet our child there, we're so excited to have the opportunity to travel to such a vibrant, world-class city.

Lovin' the Letter T

Last week was an active bloggin' week, but this week has been a bit slow. To spice it up again, I'm joining my waiting buddy Rachel in a fun game. Here's the deal:

If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I’ll assign you a letter. You write about 10 things you love that begin with your assigned letter, and post it at your place. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on!

Rachel gave me the letter T:
Tuesdays: I love writing my Tuesday lessons on Korea. It's fun to think of topics, research the info, find pictures, and write the short paragraph. It helps me to learn and hopefully keeps your interest.
TV: I know it's not always a popular thing to say...but I do. Some of my favorite current shows are : Mad Men, 30 Rock, Lost, Psych, Top Chef, Jon & Kate, How I Met Your Mother and Dexter. Recently I've been searching Direct TV on adoption and Korea and have run across some pretty interesting shows. See, it can be educational!
Trucking: The trucking business has been very good to me and Dave. It's how we met and both make a living. For the past 13 years, and my only job, I've loved talking to drivers, dispatchers, moving loads and making great friends.
The White Sox: I'm a die-hard fan: I holler from the stands, wear all the gear, listen and watch games, pay attention to trades, know how many games out of first they are, go to opening day, etc. I got that from my dad, and was lucky enough to marry into a Sox family to boot. The 2005 World Series was seriously one of the best moments of my life.
Tea: I love drinking a cup of hot tea on a winter night. It's a great way to end the evening and relax. I've been buying Korean tea lately. Korean tea can be leaves in bags, powdered, or like jelly. My favorite is the jelly type with lemon and honey. You just put it in the hot water and it dissolves.
Tomatoes: Dave grows them every year, and there is nothing like fresh, garden-grown tomatoes. Tomato sandwiches are one of my faves: fresh tomatoes, mayo on challah. Yum!
Tivoli: Tivoli is an amusement park in the middle of Copenhagen, Denmark. I spent a semester there my junior year at U of I and absolutely fell in love with the country. I adored the family I lived with and still keep in touch with them. My host sister is a Korean adoptee, coincidentally. Tivoli Gardens is a wonderful, magical place that you can enjoy at any age.
Travel: Along those lines...I love to travel. Being transported to another part of the world or country and learning about what makes a place special and unique is thrilling to me. I collect postcards and have a very large collection on display that I cherish.
Tunes: I love to hear a good tune on the radio, in the store, in a movie, etc. Music has an amazing power to lift your spirits, let out a cry, make you nostalgic, get you moving or give you a smile. My mom's family is chocked-full of musicians and I so admire their talent. I'm glad appreciation of music has rubbed off on me.

Last but certainly not least....

Time with Family and Friends: We have such a large network of friends and family that truly enrich my life every day. Whether I'm chatting with a friend, or hanging out a family party...I'm beaming. Talking or being with my loved ones is an automatic mood enhancer!

If you'd like a letter, post away in the comments. Even if you don't have a blog, maybe you'd like one just for fun. I'm an equal opportunity letter giver!

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson # 6

Happy New Year class!! You may say "but Teach, New Years was a few weeks ago." That was the solar new year. On January 26 this year, Koreans celebrate the lunar new year.

Korean New Year
Korean New Year (Seol/Sol/Seol-ral) is celebrated on the first day of the lunar calendar, which this year falls on Monday, January 26. It is one of the most important holidays in Korea and lasts 3 days. People wear their hanboks and spend time with family. Children pay respects to their elders by doing a deep traditional bow, the practice is known as sebae. Parents and grandparents then reward their children with crisp new money. Many people also play traditional games.

Korean New Year is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year and does follow the Chinese zodiac. The Chinese zodiac is a 12 year cycle, with each year represented by an animal. Each animal has different personality traits and characteristics. A person is said to have the traits of the animal associated with the year they are born. This year is the year of the OX. Some of the traits associated with the OX are dependable, calm, ambitious, steady, modest, and logical. Dave and I were born in the year of the Tiger. To find out what your sign is, click here.

Wishing you a happy and prosperous New Year! See ya next week...

Follow up from Lesson #4

Somebody from the Holt-Korea chat board posted about a site to learn Korean. I checked it out, and it's great. Not only can you hear the vowels and consonants pronounced...but you can SEE how the mouth should look. There are also little quizzes and a printout where you can learn to write as well.
If you are still looking for a site to help learn how to pronounce and read Hangul, this may be for you.
Here's the site: CLICK KOREAN

New Look for LBOS

Since I write for you, my blog readers (ok and a little for myself too). I'd like to know what you think of the new look.
Please vote in the poll on the left.

It's a Major Award...

No, it's not THIS. It's a Lemonade Stand (but I can't get the picture to post).
One of my blogging friends, Jen at Waiting 4 Her, gave me the The Great Attitude/Spirit of Gratitude Award award for my Let's Learn about Korea posts. Jen was one of the first people I 'met' on line. She was so helpful in the early stages of deciding on an agency and the whole process.

So, here are the guidelines of the award and instructions for passing on the award. Nominate at least 5 blogs which show GREAT ATTITUDE and/or GRATITUDE! Be sure to link to your nominees within your post. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Reading other people's blogs has been so fun and encouraging for me throughout this process. So as I dive in the deep end of the blogland pool...here are some of my faves that have Great Attitude:

Jill at Farm Family. Not only does she have a great outlook but how cute is the background on her blog?

Sue at Finding our Sunshine. A fellow Illini that signed up a few weeks before us and always has a 'sunny' attitude.

Christine at Kinleys and Kimchi Be sure to read the very cool article that was written about her and her husband.

Kara at Our Adoption Journey I met Kara, her husband and son at the Korea party. She's leaving this weekend to pick up her son from Korea! She always has a great attitude and an even in low times she kept her chin up.

Cori at The Midwest Mohrs She is such a good writer and her son is seriously one of the cutest kids ever.

I hope their attitude and gratitude brighten your day.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #5

Hello class! Today will be talking about everyone's favorite subject...clothes!

Hanbok

Hanbok literally means "Korean clothing." However, today it is used to describe traditional Korean clothing that is semi-formal or formal and worn on special occasions. A woman's hanbok consists of a wrap around skirt and jacket. A man's has baggy pants and a jacket. Hanboks are known for their simple lines and vibrant colors, which is evident in the children's hanbok below:

Isn't it beautiful?
Our child will for sure have a hanbok from Korea. Usually the foster mother gives you one. If not, we will purchase one. I know my mom and mother-in-law are dying just thinking about how cute their future grandchild will look in one :)

In next week's classs we'll learn about one of the occasions that one would wear their hanbok.

Let's Learn about Korea on Tuesday-Lesson #4

Annyong Haseyo or Good Morning!
Welcome back class. Today's lesson will be on language.

Hangul

The Korean alphabet or Hangul was invented in 1441. Hangul consists of 24 letters-14 consonants and 10 vowels. It is a syllabary alphabet, in which symbols are combined to create syllables. At least one vowel and one consonant are combined to make a syllable and each syllable is written separately. If you would like to see and hear the letters, click HERE. Hangul can be written vertically or horizontally. An example of a Korean word written in Hangul is below and means "family":

It is hard to Romanize Korean because there is no universal standard and some of the Korean sounds don't exist in English. The Korean government is trying to make a standard and in this case "family" is "gajok."
Hangul has been described as the most logical language writing system in the world. The simplicity of it has led Korea to enjoy one of the higest literacy rates in the world.

That being said....I am trying to learn at least some phrases in Korean. If anyone can recommend a tutor or on-line program that you found effective, please email me or post in the comments. My cousin Brian has offered to speak only Korean to me, but I'm not quite there yet :)
Thanks!

Nesting

Apparently Dave and I caught the 'nesting' bug or maybe it's just the start of 2009. But we both did MAJOR clean-up in our house yesterday. Dave woke up inspired to clean out the office. The paper tends to pile-up here and grows daily. I took down the tree and all the decorations, reorganized them and got rid of ones we weren't using. That inspired me to clean out the basement. The previous owner left a ton of junk in our house. The basement has been a thorn in my side for 4 years as it has been the last thing for me to tackle. Let's just say that disposing of a 40 lb, split-open bag of 'quikcrete' is NOT an easy task.
I will not buy anything for our baby until we know who our little guy is. So depending on when we get our referral...I could have a VERY clean house.