Nana's visit (and the DMZ)

We hope you all had a Merry Christmas! We certainly did. Whew! We've had a lot going on since the last entry in October-- all of which will eventually be posted (one subject at a time) after my energy level is up to par.

For now we'd like to tell you that we had a great time with Nana (Thrash) while she was here with us. She visited for about 3 weeks and we filled every single minute of it with activity (sometimes not of our own choice). Between work functions, T and K's birthday party, school Christmas parties and programs, ornament and cookie exchanges, Church events, lunching, shopping, and the basic hussle and bussle of the season we somehow managed to spend some quality time with Nana and get in a decent amount of sight-seeing and travel. It was so much fun but I'm exhausted again just writing about it.

Our first trip with Nana was to the DMZ, the (Demilitarized Zone) between North and South Korea. It was a very interesting and surreal experience to be standing there looking across the line watching the North Korean soldiers watching us; and watching the South Korean soldiers watching the North Korean soldiers watching us. It would be comical if it wasn't for such a sad reason.

We all know the history of how this came about but on a personal level I couldn't help wondering if the North Korean citizens really feel hatred toward Americans, or if they just think they hate us, or are they forced to pretend they hate us. I'll keep the rest of my philosophizing to myself. Moving on...
Visiting the DMZ is a very serious thing. There is a dress code as well as a code of conduct. Our tour guide, a U.S. Army Sergeant, advised us not to laugh, point, or make any sort of movement or gesture that could be negatively construed and used in future propoganda. In fact, for this very reason, no children under the age of 12 are allowed at the DMZ . I know it all sounds like something in a movie or novel, but it is very true. The second portion of our day at the DMZ was a tunnel tour. We walked through tunnel #3, which was discovered from a tip by a North Korean defector in 1978. For more info or pics of the DMZ visit the link below http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_Demilitarized_Zone.

Thanks for coming to see us Nana!! You might be interested to know that we have only had to functions to attend since you left. We love you!

I'll talk about our trip to China (with Nana), the kids' birthday, and our trip to the Philippines in the upcoming posts.