Hot Stuff Pizza at CRC

Here is the menu for Hot Stuff Pizza located in the Bowlling Alley on CRC.  If you want to you can click on the picture to enlarge it.

175th Financial Management Center

I found this wonderful link for the 175th Financial Management Center.  It has a lot of useful informaiton regarding finance and pay while in Korea.

Command Sponsorship

In order to get command sponsorship you need to apply for it.  Don't wait on this because it can take a while. This link is for the 8th Army Command Sponsorship Page.  It has all the information you need to get started with the process.  Here is the 2ID Link for Command Sponsorship as well.

Make sure you keep duplicate copies of this information.  By the time all of it gets compiled with your EFMP paperwork, etc. it can be a very large document.  I recommend if you are faxing it do it in a couple of sessions due to the size.
Follow through on this is extremely important.  Always be kind when you are dealing with others but do follow up. We called on our package weekly.  Make sure your package includes the memo saying you understand there are limited facilities and no family housing here in Area 1.  Once Korea has all the correct information they usually get out your approval in less than 14 days.  The key is making sure they have all they need. 
The next thing you want to do is go apply for your no-fee Government Passport and Korean Visa at your local Post. They will take the pictures of you for these passport there.  You won't be able to get the passports until you actually have your tickets for travel.  
If you want to travel around to other countries while you are here then make sure you get duplicate official copies of your documents and apply for your Tourist Passports at your local Government Office.  Please note that if you already have your tourist passport you DO NOT have to surrender it in order to get your Government No-Fee Passport.
Once you are command sponsored you will recieve an official Memo.  Next, depending on if you are traveling with your sponosor or not. 
1. If you are traveling concurrently which I have seen more of lately, then you will be on his amended orders and you need to start getting tickets set up and movers arranged. 
2. If you are NOT traveling concurrent and your sponsor is in Korea, or going ahead of you. Then once they have secured an off post rental, the paperwork will be sent to Yongsan and orders will be cut for you to travel here.

Make sure you have your General Power of Attorney to take with you to set up travel, and moving.  Also take along all the copies of the orders, including ammended ones.

When you are traveling here you usually have one night at Dragon Hill lodge then you move on to either Casey Lodge or CRC.  If your sponsor already has a house then you can just go right to your apartment.  The only down side to the Dragon Hill Lodge is it Does NOT accept pets.  They will keep the pets for you on your first night but they will be out on the loading docks.  I wasn't to happy about that either.  To get around that I sent our pets to my husband before we got here.  Especially since we had an apartment already. That worked out good for us. 

I hope this helps a little. If you have any questions let me know.  Remember don't give up or get discouraged. It is wonderful to be with your family.  The apartments are really nice.  Just look around and make sure you find the ones that fit your family style.

Medical Update

More from the Town Hall. Major Reilly was briefing on the Camp Casey Hospital.
They have walk in appointments for: Audiology, Immunizations, EKG's and In/Out Processing.
The appointment lines are open from 0600 -1800 Mon. - Fri.
There is an After Hours number you can call to talk to a doctor if you have an emergency or need some advice.  It is a DSN 730-6142.
October 2010 is when the Hospital renovation will be completed. 
The off post hospital that has been approved by Tricare is St. Mary's Hospital in Uijeongbu.  There is also the 121 Hospital in Yongsan.
Command Sponsored families make sure you sign up for Tricare Prime as soon as you get here.  It is not automatic.  If you are Prime then you won't have any copays here.  In order to be Prime you have to be Command Sponsored!

If you are not command sponsored you will have to pay out of pocket and then put in for reimbrusement through Tricare.  At least that is how they explained it.  The example given at the meeting was for someone delivering a baby at the St. Mary's Hospital will have to have about $1,000 when they check out of the hospital. 

CRC has well child appointments for children 2months to 5-years of age on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month.  Call DSN 732-6011 for appointments.

School Physicals can be done at either Casey or CRC Health Clinic.

Camp Casey K-8 School

Mrs. Kennedy the new school principal was also at the Town Hall and had some information I wanted to pass along.   I was also able to talk to her after the question session and find out about the rumors of them not having enough room for the students.  She said they absolutely do have room for all the students in Area 1.  
However, for those that already have kids in the private sector there was still a lot of questions not answered. They still don't know if they are going to Grandfather the kids so they can stay at their current schools or not.  For parents that have been here I know this is a very, very difficult thing.  They promised to have firm answers by the end of this week. 
The school is hiring right now and they are looking to fill alot of positions.  They are hiring clerical positions, teachers, a school nurse, counselors, art teachers, music teachers, educational aids and substitute teachers. I believe the list was longer but this was as much as I could get written down. If you want to be considered then apply on line at the DODEA website.
They are also looking for PTO volunteers, SAC volunteers and Classroom Parent volunteers.

The principal said they don't have school colors or a mascot picked out yet because they want to let the kids have a say in that choice which I thought was just great.

Here is the link for the Casey School.

Casey's Closet

Camp Casey is opening up a Thrift Shop on post.  Yay.  It will be in Bldg. 3107.  The Grand Opening will be on June 3rd at 1100.
Currently "Gently Used" donations are being accepted at the following dates and times:
Thursday April 29th from 1700-1900 Bldg. 3107
Saturday May 1st from 1100-1400 Bldg 1709
Thursday May 6th from 1700-1900 Bldg 1709
This is such a great thing.  I wish they were open now so I could find a used vacuum.  Mine didn't survive the movers. LOL

Furniture Update

I went to the Town Hall meeting yesterday up at Camp Casey and they actually discussed the Loaner Furniture problem briefly.  Apparently the contract problem they ran into back in February of this year is still not solved and they don't have a date as to when it will be resolved.  They do have some things like the washer and dryers, love seats, refrigerators etc.  Just be sure to send some of your furniture with you so you are not having to purchase more once you are here.
Another option is to go for a furnished apartment. 

Yeoncheon Jeongok-ri Paleolithic Festival 2010

Event: Yeoncheon Jeongok-ri Paleolithic Festival 2010

Date: May 1st - 5th, 2010
Place: Jeongok in the Yeoncheon region
Web: http://www.goosukgi.org/ (Korean)

This information, and photo is from the Official Site of Korean Tourism.

"The festival takes place in Jeongok in the Yeoncheon region, where relics of the Paleolithic era still exits. This year the slogan for the festival is "The Breath that Lies Inside Jeongok-ri".

The festival is a great event for families, since children can learn about paleolithic cultures, farming village lifestyles, and take part in traditional cultural programs.

The Yeoncheon Jeongok-ri Paleolithic Festival is the first Paleolithic cultural event in Korea, and provides a great opportunity for foreigners to discover Korea's prehistoric cultures."

Directions:
From Dongducheon Station (on subway line 1), take the Gyeongwon line train (6:50am - 10:50pm, departs every hour). Or take the city bus from the bus stop in front of Dongducheon Station and get off at Jeongok Station. It takes approximately 15 minutes by foot from Jeongok Station to the festival grounds.

Bento's

If you like Bento Boxes like I do then it is a bit sad to find that they are, so far, impossible to find in Korea. Simply because they are a Japanese thing not Korean. However the good news is that at Home Plus you can buy Bento supplies and make your own Bento's. I found them on their baking isle. I found some cute rice molds, and egg mold, sausage cutter, and even little lunch boxes. I was very happy to see this. Previously I have had to order those supplies in from Japan and it takes forever!

There are a lot of Bento Box cookbooks available. I haven't seen any at our library on CRC yet. The two I highly recommend are available from Amazon.  The recipes are easy to follow.

If anyone has further information let me know please.

Casey X-Box Tournament Update

The XBox Tournament run by the Camp Casey CAC was done right. For those of you that have played tournaments in the past you won't be dissapointed. They had four big screen TV's set up with XBoxes. Four players competed at one time, each on their own TV. The TV's were set up so that others were free to watch but you couldn't see an opponents screen. I heard they were going to try and have some sort of XBox tournament once a month. When I find out I will post it on here.

Wine Fest 2010

What: Dragon Hill Lodge in Yongsan is hosting a Wine Fest 2010
When: Saturday, May 1st from 1400-1700
Price: Purchase your $18 event ticket at the Discover Seoul Desk.
Contact: PH: 738-2222 ext. 6445

An elegant Wine Tasting offering different wines from all over the world. Plus plan to purchase the bottles that you like. Wine bottle and Wine case purchases can be made by DOD ID Card/Ration Card holders, only.

This is a part of the Dragon Hill Lodge 20th Anniversary Celebration. Other events on this day:
1030 3K Family Run/Walk at the POiNT
1100 PCS Yard Sale behind Dragon Hill Lodge
1200 POiNT Pool (open to public)
. . . Live Entertainment in the Oasis courtyard
. . . Face Painters, Clowns, Cerawork (Ceramic Arts)
. . . DongLim Maedeup (Korean Traditional Knotting)

*Also on Friday April 30th at 1730 is the official 20th Birthday Ceremony for the DHL with the traditional complimentary "Taste of Dragon Hill Lodge" Reception, highlighting the "terrific" Eighth United States Army Band.

Red Cloud Lodge

PH: 732-6818 (DSN)
031-869-6818 (Commercial)
Online Reservations
Priority based on duty status, not rank!

Family Suites Available.
Complimentary Services Available:
*Continental Breakfast
*High Speed Internet in each room
*No-cost Washers and Dryers
*Telephones
*Private Locked Guest Storage

Located conveniently just inside the back gate close to Commissary, Bus Station, Mitchell's Club and Gym.
CRC Lodge does accept pets for an additional fee of $10 a night and a deep cleaning fee of $75 when you check out.

CRC Golf Course

Tee times are starting this month at the CRC Golf Course. Also they are offering FREE Golf Lessons every Saturday, 0900 - 1100, at the driving range.

PH: 732-6843
Hours of Operation

Pro Shop:
Mon - Fri: 0800-Dusk
Weekends/Holidays: 0700 - Dusk

Driving Range:
Open until Dusk

Snack Bar:
Mon - Fri: 1000 - 1700
Weekends/Holidays (KN/US): 0900 - 1700

* Active Duty members have priority. Hooah!!!

** The Casey Golf Course, Pro Shop is having a Military Appreciation Sale from the 1-30th of April 2010. 20-40% off.
** The Casey Golf Course has free Golf lessons on Saturdays from 1500-1700 for those of you that like to sleep in.

Camp Red Cloud Bowling Center - April 2010

The April special for the CRC Bowling Center:

In Celebration of the Month of the Miitary Child
Children Bowl FREE (1-hour limit)
Weekdays 1100 - 1700

I found this information in the "In the Zone" for April.

Bus Travel Between Posts

Bus travel between posts is actually easier than I had thought it would be. First though you will need a copy of the "In The Zone" that gets put out monthly. They are all over the posts, and they are free. Inside of them there is a bus schedule.

There is the Free bus schedule and the pay bus schedule. If you want to ride on one of the pay busses you simply buy your ticket at the ticket counter then present it when you get off at your destination. The free ones are simply free. The busses are really nice and spacious. I recommend you get to the bus stop a few minutes before departure though. Most of them have left right on time but one of them left about 5-minutes early.

Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 Tournament

For all you XBox gamers there is a Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 Tournament being held at Camp Casey on Saturday the 17th of April at 1200! It will be in the Camp Casey Community Activity Center (Bldg # S-2475). There is no fee to enter. Arrive around 1130 to check in with tournament officials. I called to see if you needed to bring your own controllers and they said no. However if you have one you might want to bring it just in case. The last tournament we went to you had to have your own controllers.

Registration Deadline: April 15

For more information call: 730-4601/4853

"Come and play against your friends in a Call of Duty - Modern Warfare 2 Tournament. Tournament format is a multi-player free-for-all tournament. Players will compete individually against other participants, with the top two players from each match advancing to the next round. Official rules will be discussed during pre-competition briefing. Prizes will be awarded to the 1st ($ 100), 2nd ($ 75) & 3rd ($ 50) place winners! "

Picture from Game Daily.

Update on Netflix

I posted early on that you can get Netflix here and that is correct. However much to my dismay it takes a whopping one to two weeks to arrive! Plus several days to mail back to the states after you watch them. So there is a very long turn around time. The next sad thing is that the streaming online options don't work here because you don't have a USA IP address.
On the positive side I went to the CRC Library and they do have a whole lot of DVD's for rent. You can keep them out for two-weeks at a time. I also talked to the Camp Casey Library and they will even order in titles for you if you request them. They will also get in new releases right away.

Icheon Ceramics Festival 2010

The Incheon Ceramics Festival

When: April 24th through May 16th.

Where: Seolbong park and Doyechon

Time: Weekdays (Monday - Friday) 1000-1800 Weekend 0900 - 1900

Telephone: 82-31-1330

Homepage: http://www.ceramic.or.kr/

"Icheon has 1,000 years of history in ceramic arts and its ceramics festival is one of the most famous in Korea. Here visitors can see a variety of Korea's finest ceramics such as Cheongja (celadon porcelain), Baekja (white porcelain), and Buncheongsagi (grayish-blue powdered celadon). Particularly popular festival events include the ceramics excavation program, and workshop in which visitors can draw their own artwork on slightly heated pottery. Visitors in need of some relaxation can visit the highly regarded hot springs located nearby, which used to be visited by the kings of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910)"

Transportation:

From Dong Seoul Terminal, take a direct bus to Icheon terminal (0610-2300), departs every 15 min-40 min/ est travel time of 1hr).

From the terminal, take a taxi (takes less than 5min/should cost about 2,000 won) to the festival.

**Use the Subway Route Tool to easily get directions from our post to this destination.

Article and photo courtesy of the "Official Site of Korea Tourism Org."

Taxi Ride

Today was my first Taxi ride from Yangju to Camp Casey. I called the AAFES CRC Taxi service to order a taxi but they didn't have any available. That was a little bit of a shock. I just assumed they would have a taxi waiting around wanting to pick someone up. We had an appointment to make after all. Not to be discouraged, my son and I walked out to one of the more busy streets by our apartments and he flagged down a taxi. I was really nervous, with my very limited Korean Language, about explaining where we wanted to go. However it wasn't too bad at all. He pulled up, cutting across crosswalks, and rolled down his window. I simply said "Camp Casey?" He said "Dongducheon Casey?" I said yes and we got in. I have driven to Casey before with my DH and it takes about 35 minutes from my house. We made it there in about 15! ROFL It only cost me W20,000 for the trip which wasn't too bad. I had planned on W40,000 to be on the safe side. The trip was fairly uneventful and the driver was very polite.

Well, at least it was uneventful if you consider safely arriving uneventful. Little things like traffic laws, lanes, going the wrong way on roads, red lights, merging buses, and such are really just minor inconveniences as long as your horn works! Seat belts are NOT required! At least, they weren't provided in this particular taxi, leaving one to employ alternative safety restraints such as fingernail penetration in the seat covers and vinyl covered roof of the cab. . . I couldn't even tell you if the taxi smelled nice or not because I am quite certain we both held our breath the whole way. It reminded me of one of those really steep old roller coasters. The ones where you find yourself holding your breathe because you know it is supposed to be "safe" but what if it isn't.

Seriously it was just fine taking the taxi.

Command Sponsorship Incentive Pay

Despite what we were told by a finance clerk, this pay does not automatically kick in when Housing submits your Command Sponsorship memo and housing paperwork to Yongsan Garrison. It requires filling out some paperwork by the service member. Begin with your company PAC office, who will send you to your Battalion S-1. There, they gave us an example of the packet. It requires a DA Form 4187, a copy of the Command Sponsorship Approval memo, and a copy of your ERB or ORB. Submit to your PAC office for routing and signatures, who will then route up to S-1 for action. We will let you know how long it takes to actually start receiving the incentive pay.

*It took about two months for the pay to kick in. We did get back paid to the day I got here.

Public Transportation for Beginners

Public Transportation for Beginners will be held the third Wednesday of each month in the Casey Garrison Army Community Services classroom, Bldg 2317 on Casey from 1:30 pm to 4:30 p.m. for information call: 732-7779 (CRC) 730-3107 730-5883 This class is free of charge, they provide the tickets.

Potty Talk - by Vikki

I had to just laugh at this post Vikki did. Great job on getting the nice photo's as well. Also, always keep tissue on you. Often you will have people handing out little packages of tissue for free.

"Ok, you have no doubt heard about toilets in Korea or other foreign countries, well let me introduce you to what I have encountered. I have been here almost 3 months now. I have actually found that most of the bathrooms in public places have western style (read American) toilets and facilities (yeah!).

This one even had an adult and child-sized toilet side-by-side for mom and kid to use at the same time (how cute). Some of them even have the best hand driers I have ever seen... your hands are dry in no time... not like the wimpy ones we usually see in the states. Then, you run across one of these...

Now they are another matter all together. Try teaching your little one how to squat over one of these. Now the one thing that didn't ring a bell the first time I saw it was the soap dispenser (circled in red).

The one I saw was almost used up, so it looked quite strange. I figured that since I was uncertain what it was that someone else might be curious too.

One important thing you should know before entering the stall to do your business is that many of them do not have toilet paper in there. You can usually find a toiled paper dispenser out in the main part of the bathroom. Grab some before going in."

Little Prince - Children's Cafe by Vikki

Vikki and her friend Jennifer went on a hunt to find a place they had both heard about from others... a children's cafe. They found it on the 5th floor of a nondescript building in New City. "It was the neatest place! Once you step out of the elevator, you are in the cafe. You take off your shoes and place them in a locker, put on slippers they provide and get stickers to put on the child's back. Then off the children run! So many things to play with and on. The staff seated us at a table and provided a menu in English. There is a call button on the table when you are ready to place your order. We had a wonderful meal and a nice visit. It cost about $5 per child for two hours of playtime. The staff corralled all the children and set them up in a smaller room to make a snack. It looked like flatted white bread that they put some meat and vegetables in and rolled it up and age it. The staff played with the kids and really seemed to enjoy being with them. There are monitoring screens up all over the place so you can view the entire play are from most anywhere in the place. It was a lot of fun. The girls hated to leave, but we promised we would take them back again some day. Wish they had places like this in the states. January 14, 2010"

I definately have to go find this little place and post directions on how to get there!

Big Thanks

I wanted to say thanks to all of you that have emailed me and commented on my Blog. One of my readers, Vikki has given me permission to use information from her Blog on Korea. She has a lot of great information. I am going to post some of her things today. Thanks Vikki.

New Furniture

I went to the Yongsan Furniture store yesterday to check it out. You can pick out furniture there and have it sent CRC for pick up. If you want you can even have it delivered from there. We bought a sofa (due to lack of them being available for loan), and had it delivered. The delivery fee for us from Yongsan to Yongju was W100,000. The delivery people asked for W130,000 but we said no. So we were able to negotiate down a bit. If you have it transferred it takes about 10 days to get to CRC. I am not certain what the delivery price is from CRC. When I find out I will let you know.

Mark Chestnutt Concert

The Mark Chestnutt concert was a lot of fun up at Camp Casey. I didn't go up to see the other events so I can't tell you about them. However the concert was nice. There was plenty of room to hang out and listen. They had an actual full bar set up next to the conference with mixed drinks and beers available. They also had Pizza, soda, water and cookies available. There were bouncy castles and obstacle type blow up castles available for the kids of all ages to play on.

Coffee House Camp Red Cloud

If you are looking for something to do on a Wednesday night on CRC then the Coffee House might fill your need. The Coffee House is run by the Post Chapel. On Wednesday nights at 1830 they have a Bible Study and a dinner. It is all free. It is a nice way to meet other people and enjoy a nice meal at the same time. Whether you are unaccompanied or here with your family there would be room for you.

The Coffee House is located right next to the Community Bank, Bldg. T817

CRC Bowling Alley

The CRC Bowling Alley seems to have several specials going on during the week. The only down side was they don't have nachos. However they do have pizza and plenty of other snack type food available. The service was quick and friendly. The place itself is petty small, with only 10 lanes. There are however plenty of tables and places to hang out and socialize.

Ladies Night: Monday 1700-2200, $1.50 per game.

Big Bug Bowling Special: Wednesday 1100-2200, $1.50 per game or bowl all you want from 2000-2200 for only $6 for 2 hours (must have 2 or more bowlers).

Red Pin Bowling Night: Thursday 1700-2200, $2.25 per game.

Extreme Bowling Night: Saturday and Sunday 1900-2200 (I didn't see prices on this)

Happy Hour Bowling Special: Saturday and Sunday 1100-1400, $1.50 per game.

Kids Bowling Special with Parent: Saturday 1100-1400, Kids only $1.25 per game, Parents $1.50 per game. Kids get free shoe rentals.

PHONE: 732-6458/9008

If you are calling from your cell phone first enter 0505 then dial the seven-digit number.

Interactive Subway Route Tool

Here is a great link to an interactive tool that lets you input your beginning station and your ending station. Then it tells you how much the tickets cost and how long it will take to get to your destination!

Subway Route Link

Dobongsan Hiking

I went to the Dobongsan Hiking area today and it was wonderful. It is really close to CRC. It took less than 30 minutes to get there. Today was a Saturday so it was pretty crowded. The markets at the base of the hike have tons of clothing for sale. It seems the ones closer to the entrance are less expensive than the ones closer to the start of the hike. They sell hiking poles there for $5 - $10 each. They also have tons of stalls and restaurants selling all sorts of food and beverages.

The hike was lovely. There are temples that are a short hike to get to. The hike itself, at least as far as we went, was very nice and clean. There were lots of people, but everyone was very polite and there was plenty of room on the trail. When the trail was narrow you just take your turn getting through the trail. The hike is good for both those that just want an easy afternoon or those that want a more rigorous hike, because you can go as far and as fast as you want.

The blossoms on the trees are just beginning to come out.

Tailor for Dress Making

My husband had this tailor recommended to him for dress making. With measurements and a photograph of a dress he was able to make a wonderful dress for me that fit perfect. If you ever want to try it, then I recommend this place. I took a picture of it. It is just out the main gate, this is how you find it:

From the stop light at the main gate go straight through the light.

Once you are across the intersection start to look for a spot to pull over to the curb.

It is not even 1/2 of a regular block down. Look to the right and you will see it. It is down some stairs to get to it.

* There are two tailors not to far from each other. Just find the right one. I don't know anything about the other tailor so I can't recommend them yet. This tailor spoke pretty good English.

Furniture

Definitely bring your weight limit of furniture with you. When my husband arrived we were told there was plenty of loaner furniture for us to use for our whole tour, and to leave ours at home in storage. However, it appears there is a problem with a furniture contract being awarded, etc. This has resulted in a lot of people being put on the waiting list for furniture for a very long time. So, plan on bringing your own furniture or seeking a furnished apartment. I will update this post as soon as I have more information.