On base housing information

There are three housing towers at Osan: Hallasan, Jirisan and Seorksan (named after Korean mountains). All are less than three years old and are very similar. They come equipped with all the standard appliances, including washers and dryers.

Everyone gets a storage cage, but these are not very big (approximately 5x8, but may vary some). The decks vary some in size and configuration, but the one in the photo is approximately eleven feet wide and five feet deep.

Hallasan and Jirisan have three and four bedroom units that are 2000 sf plus. Seorksan has some two bedroom units.

The apartments have some climate control but the AC is regulated by the base and is turned on and off on certain dates.

The door handles are all the push down handle types (instead of knobs). They lock with a push down button and can be unlocked from the outside with a skewer or other skinny implement. Most, if not all, of the patio doors have kid-proof locks.

On base residents, please add your comments!

Photos from Hallasan Tower:

Garden Project: BUSTED!

We had an awesome sod-busting party this morning; check out the pictures!

The weather was great and the kids all worked hard and did a great job. If you missed it, there is plenty still to do.

We have been looking pretty hard for a rototiller but have been unable to find one, so we might have to do a lot more digging. Also, there is only about $100 remaining in the garden fund, and we still need to get rain barrels, so that limits our options.

If you want to participate, you can get out and dig any time you want. We are currently working on clearing out the butterfly garden, strawberry patch, herb, and vegetable patches. Nothing is planted yet, so dig away! The rocks can be removed and piled in the corner by the composters. Sod can be shaken hard to get all the dirt off, then piled by the composters and we'll use it to layer with food waste.

There are some real kids' tools there now: rakes, shovels and hoes. They are real tools, made of wood and metal, so please make sure your kids are not playing Star Wars with them, as they could cause injuries. Please make sure you put the tools away and pick up any garbage when you're done.

We will be scheduling a planting party in about a month so watch for more information. As we start to get things planted, please start showing the kids how to respect the garden by not trampling on plants. There will not be any fences around the planting areas inside the garden.

If you're interested in managing one of the community patches or helping out in some other way, please let us know (email to osanparents@gmail.com)!

Off base housing information (Switzen and Life Apts)

Switzen Apartments, courtesy of Jessica:

We live in Switzen Apartments. It's about a 5-10 minute drive to base (about 45 minutes to walk, yes, I know this for a fact!), 5-10 minutes from Happy Quilt, backs up to some fantastic walking/biking trails and lots of great shopping (4&9 Market is very close!) within walking distance. There are 8 buildings in our complex each building has 15 floors (we live on the 5th) and about 60 apartments in each building. It's beautifully landscaped with two tennis/badmitten/korean volleyball courts, a gym, a daycare center, two parks (and more parks within walking distance and lots of parking both above and underground. It is gate controlled (most of the time) with pretty good security. Our apartment (according to Drew's very rough guestimate) is about 900 square feet, 3 bedroom (with a potential 4th), 2 bath. Two rooms have AC units and most of the plugs are 110V, and yes, we do have a dishwasher! Each of the apartments in our complex (and it's my understanding this is the way it is with all off base apartments) are individually owned; they are purchased in "blank canvas" form, so you can walk into may apartment and then into my neighbors apartment and it could (and most likely will) look totally different (flooring, appliances, doors, lighting, etc.).

And, click here for info and photos for Life Apartments, courtesy of Cammy.

Gardening tips

Gardening is fun and easy, but it can be a little intimidating if you haven't done it before. Here are some links with lots of information to help you get started:


Getting Started in the Garden

Family Gardening Tips

Organic Gardening Tips

The Helpful Gardener

And here are some links to Korean gardening topics:

Traditional Korean Garden

Blog: The Vegan Korean

Garden project: Worms Galore!

Now that it's looking like spring, it's time to get the kids outside before they drive you insane. Collecting worms is a great way to get them outside to burn off some energy and help the garden at the same time. We went out this morning after the rain last night and got a nice bunch of two different species.

You'll have the best luck starting about twilight where the ground is moist. During a rain, the worms will come out of the grass and onto the sidewalks, so look on pavement adjacent to expanses of lawn. You don't have to wait for it to rain, though. Take your flashlights out and patrol the grass. If you're quick, you can spot them coming out of their holes and grab them!

Put your haul in a container and admire all their squirmy goodness, then toss them in the compost bins at the garden to help chew up all our kitchen waste.

Here are some links to learn about worms:

http://urbanext.illinois.edu/worms/

http://yucky.discovery.com/flash/worm/pg000102.html

Garden Project: Dandelion Garden

Our first garden project is underway! We have a dandelion patch going in the garden- it's on the partly shady little slope at about your 2 o'clock position if you come in the gate just at the bottom of the stairs.

You can participate by locating baby dandelion plants and clearing some grass around them so they can grow. The grass you remove can be put in the compost bins. We need to mark it off, too, so it doesn't get run over- if you have some stakes, or want to build a rock ring around it, or have another clever idea, go for it! Please try to be cautious around them until we get them well marked.

Dandelions are a great project, because you can eat every part of them. Click here for some good details on dandelions and how you can prepare them.

Bird Season is Here!

There's not a whole lot of nature activities we can do here at Osan, but we can watch birds. Many of the birds here are ones that you're probably familiar with from the States. Here are some sites that can help identify Korean birds:

Birds Korea

Wikipedia's page on Korean Birds

Birds of Korea

Guide to Korean birdwatching

There are lots of fun easy projects you can do with your kids right on your deck:

1. Do a 'food preference' study- fill small, shallow bowls with different foods that birds might like, such as seeds, cheese, peanut butter, worms or bits of fruit. Place them on your deck (the railing planters would be perfect for this) and watch quietly from inside to see which birds eat what foods.

2. Here's one for the not-so-squeamish: collect different bird droppings and plant them in a pot of soil. Whatever sprouts is what the poop donor had been eating.

3. Put out a feeder and notice whether different types of birds eat at different times of the day. Do birds of a different feather eat together, or do they dine only with their own species?

4. Get out the art supplies and draw your visitors! Bird drawing tips can be found here.

Happy birdwatching!

Need to ship your pet?

I do not claim that this is perfect information; it I just what I have heard and
verified by talking to pet owners and the animal transport companies. Airports
& Airlines can and do change their policies at any time and often without
notice. Always check with your specific airline.

Inchon airport (and the airlines) have changed their prices and policies for
leaving Korea with a pet.


1. To be in the cabin with you (under the seat), the new weight is now 10
pounds maximum - that is, pet + carrier cannot exceed 10 pounds. I do not know
the price for this.



2. Animals up to 70 pounds may be checked in as excess baggage. (NOTE: Please
double check this with your specific airline; some carriers may have different
policies). However, to check a pet as baggage:
a. the price is extreme.
b. some airlines may have different weight limits. Again, please check
with your specific carrier.

One family at Osan is paying $1,100 to fly their two cats with them to the
States ($550 per pet). They are on Korea Airlines. Another Osan family was
also quoted by Korea Airlines $550 to fly their 14 pound dog to the States.

United is cheaper; the family with the two cats was quoted $380 each to fly on
United. However, United has apparently limited their number of flights out of
Korea. Transportation seems to be booking people mainly on Korean Airlines.



3. Large pets (approximately 60 pounds+) must be shipped via a private pet
transport company. I know of two:
a. Korea Animal Transport
b. Pet Airline company

Korea Animal Transport just quoted $1,620 to send a 100 pound dog to Texas. My
understanding is that the price starts at $1,000 minimum.

Pet Airline is cheaper. It has has quoted a teacher $1,827 to send 3 dogs.
However, they will only handle pets up to 66 pounds. If your pet is above 66
pounds you must go with Korea Animal Transport.

Contact info for these companies is at the end of this email. They well may be
other companies, but this is all I know of so far.



Important:
1. These are prices for going to the States; I do not know prices or policies
for travel directly to Europe.
2. I do not know if requirements for entering Korea have changed; I have not
heard they have.
3. Please always check with your individual airline; their policies may vary.
Airport and airlines can and do change their policies & fees at any time and
without notice.
4. Again, please pass this onto everyone possible. People need to plan ahead
to take their furry family members with them.



Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.


Monica Hoagland
Information Specialist
Osan American Elementary School
Osan Air Base, South Korea
DSN 784-6912



Contact info on the pet transport companies:

Korea Animal Transport c/o Chungwha Animal Hospital
Sohee Yoon, Manager
email : soheeyoon@gmail.com
Address : 21-1 Itaewon-Dong, Yongsan-Gu, Seoul, South Korea
website : www.cwhospital.com
tel. : +82 2 792 7602


Pet Airline Company
gina@petairline.co.kr

Osan Hacks

Here are some handy Osan Tips you might not know:

*To get e-mail notification that you have a package, sign up at the package window.

*Mailing packages is faster if you use cash. The post office only has one line to run cards, so if someone else is using a card in another line, you'll have to wait.

*If you're having trouble getting items shipped APO, try www.shipitapo.com or www.apobox.com.

*The commissary sometimes has reduced prices on perishables on Sunday night, because it's not open on Mondays.

*There are book swap shelves at the library, one for adults and one for children.

*There is an awesome new sports facility on top of the commissary parking lot: a soft-surface track, four tennis courts and a basketball court.

*There is a laundromat by the Main Gate with big washers for comforters and etc. They also have bathrooms in there if you need to go before you head-off base.

*Two options for getting your car washed: The Auto Hobby Shop has a new automated car wash, and there are business owners on bicycles around base that will come to your vehicle and clean it up.

Got some more? Add them to the comments!

Do-it-yourself toasty baby sack!

Maybe you’ve seen Anna Jane and Jane tooling around lately in a fabulous new black and green coat. What you might not know is that Anna Jane made the coat during a single naptime with a coat she got at the thrift store! The thrift store will be open this Saturday, and there are plenty of coats still available, as well as fleece jackets and pants that can be cut up to add the baby sack. Choose a contrasting color for a fun visual effect, or make it match. Veteran Osanites tell me we’re probably in for weeks or months of bundling up weather, so don’t worry about having to put your coat away too quickly.

Here is a link to the directions, and here are Anna Jane’s tips after successfully completing the coat:

• Definitely use a coat with a silky lining so the baby slides through easily!
• Measure out where your baby's head will actually come out of the coat. I pinned it a few spots and tried it on without Jane, but with the "image of where she'd be" in my mind until I got the hole for the head in the right place.
• Make sure the fleece "stretches" width wise not length wise so that the baby is hugged when you put it on.
• Stretch the top panel taut when you sew it so that the back of the coat is more snug.
• Stroll around ‘town’ showing off your toasty tot and your sewing skills!

OPN Needs YOU!

PCS season is here again, and many of our dedicated volunteers will be leaving us between now and fall. We have a lot of ongoing projects, and plenty of opportunities for anyone who is interested in getting involved. If you want to make a difference, here are some ways you can help:

Webmaster/Yahoo Group Moderator: Spend a few hours a month keeping the website updated and monitoring the yahoo group and approving new members. Or, spend a little more time and make improvements to your heart's content.

Blog Editor: Write for the blog on whatever suits you, and coordinate guest posts.

Playgroup Coordinator/Monitors: Schedule and coordinate playgroup days, times and locations, or just be in charge of one playgroup per week.

Holiday Parties: Organize a Christmas, Valentine's Day, Easter, Halloween or other parties for the kids.

Babysitting Co-op coordinator: Coordinate the existing set-up, or improve and expand it!

Garden: Get involved in the garden, in any capacity that interests you. Spend as much or as little time as you'd like. There's lots to do, and lots of room!

Base Liaison: Coordinate with base agencies to help improve facilities for the kids and families here. Some things we've worked on include BX hours, the new kids area at the BX, stroller ramps and the new garden.

OPN Coordinator: Got some ideas for OPN? We will be needing a new coordinator soon and it's a great job because you can make it into whatever you want.

If you're at Osan now, new to Osan, or coming soon, and are interested in getting involved, let us know at osanparents@gmail.com!