home sweet Korea home

It is a little weird posting pictures of our house for the world to see. But considering I couldn't tell you our street address if my life depended on it, I think I'm probably okay. There are some pretty fun quirks to this house, including the chipping floors (the tiles looked so fancy upon first glance) and the security system that shows a video of the person ringing the door. The oven is too small for my cookie sheets and only has one rack and we have a plate drying/sterilizing contraption (where a microwave would normally be) above the sink that we have no idea how to use. We have huge windows throughout the whole house and love sitting on top of a hill with a great view of our neighbors and the surrounding area. And as you'll see, the upstairs is completely empty and is just waiting for visitors! We have furniture and a washer and dryer thanks to our landlord, who gave us money to buy American furniture at the BX on base, and a second couch thanks to Zack and Beth.

So here is our house in pictures, per numerous requests. Seeing these does not mean you now have an excuse not to visit us, mmk? ;)

our living room-the white contraption is the air conditioning unit. and the heat comes through the floors. the blinds in the corner are currently broken and we were told the new ones are "on the way"

this little room is the entrance. the storage unit on the wall is great for all of Tyler's shoes... ;) despite the door not closing all the way and having a considerable gap on the bottom, this room is much colder than the rest of the house.

m.e.s.s.y. laundry room. but American washer/dryer! Korean units are just one machine, both for washing and drying and apparently to encourage them to hang dry their clothes, it takes hours to dry one single load. so we are very thankful for these.

we love this wall in our living room. makes the wall seem less bare, since the two items you see hanging are two of four we brought with us.

yes, I know. It's a toilet. sorry. but this is to show how we've blocked off the upstairs - we just need you to see that even though we're living in a fancy Korean house, we're still 90% ghetto. perhaps these will be replaced one day. perhaps. all the cold air stays upstairs, so we don't even have to turn the top floor boiler on (until we have visitors, of course)

this is the first floor guest bathroom. no, we haven't tried the shower yet. 

our "walk in" closet off the master bedroom. we did not choose this house because of these built-in closets, but oh my word...I have no idea what we would have done without them! 

master bathroom

master bedroom right off the living room, with doors to the patio and another fancy wall, so a headboard is very unnecessary (which is good, because ours is in storage)

now for a couple fun quirks: this is the right side of our refrigerator. you push this little square box and they have a compartment so you can grab your "most reached-for items". very energy efficient, so you don't have to open the door every time you want milk/orange juice/water. I mean...how could we have lived without this?!

and while this isn't the largest ice box and it is annoying having to refill the trays in the sink, all you do is twist these nobs and the little ice cubes fall out of the trays and into the bucket. adorable.

here is our kitchen, fridge in the back left corner. and while the oven is small, the dishwasher tiny and the counter tops about mid thigh-high, I really like this kitchen. And I love having our table in here-makes it very "family style" and informal.

this is our sad and bare upstairs. and this little elevated room is what our neighbors are using as their living room. they were also able to bring all of their belongings, so it looks very cozy and homey. and when I want to watch a real tv, I'll just scurry up the road. behind these shades is one of two balconies upstairs. 

this is guest room #1, which is our storage room (there are two more guest rooms, both larger and brighter than this but since they are completely empty will go down as "not pictured")

upstairs bathroom

upstairs balcony #1, with a great view of the neighbors (where Ada is walking goes to the front part of the balcony)

and finally, this is the view from balcony #2, behind the upstairs "living room" the rooms upstairs are quite chilly right now, which will change rather quickly when it starts warming up.

And there ya have it! this is where we live. we love it and are excited about being here for another 17 months (today is our one-month Korea anniversary! and I promise I will not be letting you know that every single month)

Thanks for stopping by! hope you have a great week!