The Other Osan

I bet you think you've explored everything Osan has to offer: the indoor and outdoor pools, the bowling alley, the movies, all the restaurants, all the playgrounds, and the community center. But you might have missed a few things.

Osan is a joint USAF and ROKAF base, and there are some great things over on the other side. They have family housing, just like we do, with playfields and playgrounds. Take a right at the gas station as you're heading towards the main gate, or walk down the hill behind the laundromat to check them out. Or, make a Korean friend to get all the good dirt!

If you turn right at the funky intersection as you come past the golf course, you'll see a nice outdoor static display of some ROKAF planes. The kids can walk right up to them and get a close look, and there's room to run on the grass and some rocks to climb on.

There is a church over there, and lots more.... take a walk, ride or drive sometime and explore the other Osan for an alternative from the same old, same old; you won't be sorry!

More Cold Weather Indoor Fun

Before we know it, even colder days will set in, and you might not be inclined to take (or let) your children outdoors to play. How do you keep them entertained during the interminable days that seem to run into one another?

Here are some suggestions (stock up quickly!):

Play-doh

Markers

Water colors and/or tempera paints

Crayons

Construction paper

Coloring books

Brown paper bags

Cardboard boxes (for coloring, cutting, or making forts)

Glue

Scissors

What to do with all that stuff? Try That Artist Woman (http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/) for both seasonal and general crafts.

For particularly educational board games, try Guess Who, Cadoo, Hullaballoo, and Guesstures, which require children to speak in full sentences. Puzzles, bead kits, and other handiwork are great ways to work on fine motor skills for younger and older children.

For some indoor physical activity, try Twister, Kids Yoga DVDs (just search at Amazon and you will find a wide variety), or even Wii Fit.

And, you may even want to allow pillow fights and plenty of blanket-and-dining-room-chair forts to break up the monotony.

Also, remember that when you do go outdoors, skin protection is still important. Don’t forget sunscreen on exposed skin (at least moisturizer with SPF for your face) and sunglasses, even in the winter!

Inside fun for those cold winter days at Osan!

Brrrrrr, no one wants to go to the playground, right? But the kids are driving you nuts, and you're watching too much television again; sound familiar? Here are some ideas for inside fun that aren't TOO messy and only a little bit dangerous:

Sack races! Give them each a pillowcase or a reusable commissary bag and have races up and down the halls.

Paper skating! Paper (wax paper is extra good but regular paper works fine) slides really well on smooth Korean floors; give each kid a piece for each foot and have them practice for the Olympics.

Have a backwards day! Eat spaghetti or pb&j for breakfast and pancakes for dinner; wear your pj's all day; have a bubble bath in the morning.

Read a chapter book! Even little kids can enjoy 'Ramona the Pest', 'Charlotte's Web', 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' or 'The Littles'. Here are some more recommendations for early chapter books.

Make your own movie! Have the kids do their best tricks for the video camera: sing, dance, dress-up, whatever they want to do. Then for quiet time, put it on the TV and pop some popcorn.

Make a pinata! Okay, this one is a little messy, and it's a two-day project. On the first day, put them in the tub with a bowl of liquid paste made out of flour and water (in approximately equal amounts; it should be more liquid-y than paste-y) and an inflated balloon. Cut strips of scrap paper and put them in a separate bowl. Dip the paper strips into the paste mixture and cover the entire balloon with several layers, leaving only a small uncovered area where the balloon is tied. Put the balloon into the laundry room to dry and hose the tub and kids off. Have them scrub it down while they're at it. The next day, when the pinata is dry, pop the balloon and pull it out. They can paint it or put stickers on it. Put some treats in it, tie it up in an open door and let them whack it to their hearts' content. If you live in the towers, there is probably a bar at the top of your laundry room door, or use the rod in a closet or the bathtub.

Cook! Even small kids like to mix and stir, and there are tons of things they can easily make. Click here to see just a few.

Clean! Give them each a small spray bottle filled with vinegar water and a cloth and let them spray and wipe the bathtub, the balcony door, the refrigerator door or the cabinets. Many little ones will happily do this for a long time.

Have a picnic! Lay a blanket out on the living room floor and have a picnic lunch: lemonade, sandwiches or other picnic fare.

Play Little House on the Prairie! Read one of the 'My First Little House' books, turn all the lights out, and pretending you're living in the little house with the Ingalls. Do a sewing project; even a three year old can handle a big needle and stitch two pieces of fabric together.

Do an internet search for more ideas, or check out one of the many kids' activities books available in the OPN parenting library in the front room of the community center. Share your own winter fun ideas in the comments!

Fishing for fun

Not far out the Morin Gate is a great place to take the kids fishing. You'll need your own poles; if you don't have any try MWR, the BX, E-Mart or the little shop that's located about halfway up the hill from the triangle of death, on the right side.

If you can read Korean, the sign might help you out, but it's generally open mornings until early afternoon and should be open all winter until the water warms up in the spring. Right now the pond has carp in it, but starting November 30th, you can fish for rainbow trout.

The fish are HUGE and the kids will have a great time. You pay 20,000 won per pole, and you can keep one fish for that. They do have a small tackle shop on the premises, and you can get drinks, but services are pretty limited, so bring your own snacks, drinks and other necessities. If you go on the weekend, go early! It gets crowded.

To get there:

-Go out the Morin Gate and turn left

-Turn right at the light and head over the bridge

-Go straight through the light at the Little 1 intersection (Kimchi pot store on the left)

-Stay on this road for several miles

-Turn left right before a S Oil gas station with a big green and yellow sign

-You will immediately go through a tunnel

-Veer right immediately out of the tunnel

-You'll parallel the highway for a little while

-Turn left at the T intersection (there will be a tunnel to the right)

-Turn left at a second T intersection

-You'll go straight through a little town with a light

-Just after a brown street sign that says something is 0.7 km, turn left at a big rock with Korean lettering on it (there will be a lumberyard on your left as you enter)

-Take the first right

-Wind up the hill on a narrow road until you see the ponds

-Drive past the pond into the parking lot

Happy fishing!

Directions: Korean Folk Village, Suwon

The Korean Folk Village is a beautiful and interesting place to walk around and see some of the original Korean culture. It is a park-like setting you can spend anywhere from a few hours to a whole day there depending on how much detail you want to fit in.

It is a great place to see the flora and fauna of Spring and also a good place to experience some of the traditions associated with Korean holidays, such as Chuseok in the early Fall, or the Lunar New Year during the winter.

To get there:

• Take the "Big 1" North to Suwon



• Exit and go East at Suwon



• You will see signs to the KFV follow them, by turning right at the lights when they tell you.



• Follow this road south for about 5-10 minutes. You'll continue to see KFV signs, but they are a bit unclear.



• Turn left when the signs tell you to (we usually follow the buses to find the turn more easily)



• Follow this small road in to the KFV parking lot. There is a fee to park and a fee to get in. The best time to go is when they open.

Recommended reading: Military Life

If you're looking for books to add to your Christmas wish list this year, here are some great ones on military life that related to spouses and children in particular:

Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood Inside the Fortress by Mary Edwards Wertsch

I Love a Man in Uniform by Lily Burana

Standing By: The Making of an American Military Family in a Time of War by Alison Buckholtz

Or, put them on your wish list at Paperbackswap.com (PBS)! What? You don't have a PBS account? You are missing out! It's a great site for swapping books and the only cost is the media mailing rate, around $2 for an average-sized book. Go sign up and then post any 10 books you have lying around your house that you're willing to part with, or pick some up for a quarter at the thrift store, or for free at the swap shelf at the library. When you list ten books you're willing to mail to someone else, you get two free credits to order new-to-you books for FREE! Then, for each book you mail out, you get a credit for another one. It can take a while for books to get here, but when they do, it's such a treat! Check out PBS for links to CD and DVD swap sites too, and Bookmooch.com is a similar site you might also like.

Add your book recommendations to the comments!

Kids & Money – International Currency

One of the advantages of living overseas is the educational opportunity for children and adults alike. When you come to Osan (or any other OCONUS), you are dealing not just in U.S. dollars, but the currency of the country in which you now live.

When our son asked if he could have “one hundred cents” from my husband’s bureau, we decided it was time to teach him about money around the world. Like most military families, you may have kept souvenirs of your travels in the form of local currency.

We pulled out our collection of international currency and our globe (if you do not have a globe, a map of the world will work too).

The money was separated by country and then we held up the different types of coins and bills against the countries that minted them. We compared the appearance of the money to that of other countries, noted similarities and differences, and talked about their values versus the U.S. dollar.

If exchange rates confuse you as much as they do me, try these websites for lesson plans and ideas for teaching children:

For younger children -

http://www.crayola.com/lesson-plans/detail/international-currency-exchange-lesson-plan/

For older children –

http://www.eduref.org/Virtual/Lessons/Social_Studies/Economics/ECO0201.html

Crock Pot: Your best friend on the ROK

There is nothing more awesome than putting your dinner on to cook in the morning so you can goof off all afternoon with your friends and then come home to a good home-cooked meal. Here's another labor saving idea: pair up with a friend and take turns cooking double batches during exercise weeks, or anytime your active duty spouse is working triple time AGAIN.

Osan chefs are accomplished Crock-pot users and here are a few favorite recipes:

SIMPLE CHICKEN

Take a sliced onion and whole garlic cloves place them in the bottom of your crock pot. Put a whole chicken on topped. Stuff chicken with half an onion and celery. Salt and pepper the outside of chicken. Add potatoes and carrots. Cook all day on low setting. My kids love it!

ITALIAN CHICKEN AND BEANS

4 chicken breasts
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 (16 oz) can white beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz ) can petite diced tomatoes with basil and oregano or any style of canned tomatoes
1 dash salt
1 dash black pepper
2 t dried basil
1 t dried thyme

Cook 7 hours on low.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

4 chicken breasts

1 jar salsa

1 cup water

2 tbsp honey

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds

1/4 cup dried apricots cut into small pieces

Cook all day on low.

For more recipes, look here or here. And if you're not a slow-cooker fan and you are lucky enough to have an oven with a timer, you can slack off all afternoon too; try making an oven-only meal and setting it to cook itself while you're gone. Try seasoned chicken breasts, baked potatoes and oven-roasted vegetables (shake veggie chunks in a bag with olive oil, salt, and pepper, then toss them into a baking dish) baked at 350 for an hour and fifteen minutes.

Directions: Everland

Everland is a huge amusement park that is open year round. It is north of Suwon. Try going on an American holiday to avoid the crowds. The place is packed with Korean families on nice weekends. Check out their Christmas festival in November or December!

To get there:

• Take the Big 1 North to Rt. 50



• Take Rt. 50 East



• Exit at Everland