Here is a more recent look at the newest Mitchell. So beautiful! Now in the second trimester, we are so happy that all is going well. Thank you for all your prayers.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Korean Military Academy Cadet Visit
One of the big points of emphasis between the United States and Korean military is friendship. At least once a month there is some sort of event hosted by the Koreans or Americans. It's a critical part to strengthening the relationship between the two nations and part of the "gatchi gapsida" (We Go Together) military culture on the staff.
The most recent example of this was the annual event when U.S. military officers host Korean military academy cadets to their homes for dinner. The host families were told to serve "traditional American meals." Most of the military folks joked the "traditional American meal" would be hot dogs, hamburgers and Bud Light. Never mind the fact that most of the time "American" meals are things like lasagna, tacos, enchiladas and spaghetti. Anyway, the point was to feed the cadets something besides bean sprout soup, kimchee or bulgogi.
We hosted a senior cadet named Doo-Hee Lee. He majored in Chemistry and was going into the infantry after graduation. He showed us pictures of his pretty girlfriend and was a real gentlemen during his visit.
The consensus from the host families after the cadets visited was the academy doesn't feed the students very much. One family made steaks and their cadet ate three of them. Emma made the traditional Mitchell Italian casserole (if you've had a baby and we brought you a meal, that's what you got). Doo-Hee ate almost half of it by himself along with a bunch of bread and salad. We sent him back to the academy with a six-pack of IBC root beer and some chocolate bars. The general who's responsible for our division stopped by and said hello to the cadets too. We had a great time hosting him and we've told folks to take advantage of this program next year.
The most recent example of this was the annual event when U.S. military officers host Korean military academy cadets to their homes for dinner. The host families were told to serve "traditional American meals." Most of the military folks joked the "traditional American meal" would be hot dogs, hamburgers and Bud Light. Never mind the fact that most of the time "American" meals are things like lasagna, tacos, enchiladas and spaghetti. Anyway, the point was to feed the cadets something besides bean sprout soup, kimchee or bulgogi.
We hosted a senior cadet named Doo-Hee Lee. He majored in Chemistry and was going into the infantry after graduation. He showed us pictures of his pretty girlfriend and was a real gentlemen during his visit.
The consensus from the host families after the cadets visited was the academy doesn't feed the students very much. One family made steaks and their cadet ate three of them. Emma made the traditional Mitchell Italian casserole (if you've had a baby and we brought you a meal, that's what you got). Doo-Hee ate almost half of it by himself along with a bunch of bread and salad. We sent him back to the academy with a six-pack of IBC root beer and some chocolate bars. The general who's responsible for our division stopped by and said hello to the cadets too. We had a great time hosting him and we've told folks to take advantage of this program next year.
Korean War Memorial
The primary reason United States forces are stationed in Korea is continue the support of the alliance established to prevent communist aggression by north Korea against the peace and freedom-loving people of South Korea (you'll hear almost those exact words at briefings and before exercises to clarify who the bad and good guys are). Since the Korean War doesn't get as much "play" like World War II and Vietnam does, it's pretty common to hear the Korean War described as the "Forgotten War." Contrast the clear end to World War II when the Japanese signed the peace treaty on the deck of the USS Missouri to the continued armistice in Korea along with the difference in the way American culture viewed the Korean War and Vietnam War, and it's easy to see why many people don't have many "defining" thoughts on the Korean War.
Living in Korea provides a stark contrast to the relative unknown war understood back in the states. For one, many survivors of refugee camps and veterans of the war are still living and unlike the United States which seems to have major conflicts each generation, the Korean War is the "big event" in their national history. We've been able to see examples of the impact of the war as we've visited different cultural centers around Seoul.
The National Museum of the Korean War is right by the base we're stationed and has an overwhelming amount of information and exhibits. We saw some of the tanks and planes used in the conflict and the museum is set up so kids can go inside most of the displays. We were also able to better see how the war impacted the people of Korea; I guess the best way to imagine their view of the conflict is to think what it would be like if after the Civil War a border was drawn across the United States that you couldn't cross with families split since then based on living above or below the Mason-Dixon line.
Living in Korea provides a stark contrast to the relative unknown war understood back in the states. For one, many survivors of refugee camps and veterans of the war are still living and unlike the United States which seems to have major conflicts each generation, the Korean War is the "big event" in their national history. We've been able to see examples of the impact of the war as we've visited different cultural centers around Seoul.
The National Museum of the Korean War is right by the base we're stationed and has an overwhelming amount of information and exhibits. We saw some of the tanks and planes used in the conflict and the museum is set up so kids can go inside most of the displays. We were also able to better see how the war impacted the people of Korea; I guess the best way to imagine their view of the conflict is to think what it would be like if after the Civil War a border was drawn across the United States that you couldn't cross with families split since then based on living above or below the Mason-Dixon line.
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