Family Journal from Seoul winter 2014

!Dalat family Winter 2014

Pyeong Chang Ski Resort - home of the 2018 Winter Olympics

a Journal from Seoul

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Dalat Family Winter 2014!

a Journal from Seoul Page ! of !2 13

irst and foremost, Happy New Year! We wish you a very joyous and prosperous new year! !Taking down our Christmas decorations signified the

transition to a new year. Preparing for the big day, we immersed ourselves literally in the traditional jjimjilbang a Korean bath house at Dragon Hill Spa here in Yongsan, Seoul. The luxurious spa offered the traditional charcoal sauna permeated with oak fragrance. There were also seawater bath, a Royal Orchid spa, a heated salt room, a Finnish sauna room, a heated Egyptian pyramid room, a igloo iced room, and services that are designed to pamper its guests. After feeling very relaxed at the spa, we dined at the nearby iPark Mall. Our finale for year evolved around our family living room watching an epic rented “Superman” movie from iTunes Store. It wasn’t easy. Lan had to contact the customer service a day prior and explained to them that we are US customers but currently living and working in Korea due to military duty. That’s why our IP address is marked for another market. With much explaining and educating, the iTunes Store manager agreed

KOREAN WINTER: Dalat family enjoys the winter fun in Korea by traveling to Pyeong Chang for the annual Pyeongchang Trout Festival where they eat freshly caught sashimi and partake in local winter activities.

HIGHLIGHTS

Winter 2014

Events

F!

!Thank you for thinking of us during the holidays season. We are very appreciative of

your cards and gifts.

Thank You!

Mailing Address!LTC Lan T. Dalat PSC 303 Box 24 APO AP 96204

!18–20 Jan: Ski Trip 31 Jan: Lunar New Year 23 Feb: Lu’s Birthday 7–11 Apr: Spring Break

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Having dim-sum with family at Bamboo Garden restaurant in Overland Parks, Kansas in 2011

The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, is a winter multi-sport event scheduled to take place in Pyeongchang, South Korea, between 9 and 25 February 2018. The elected host city was announced on 6 July 2011 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), after the 123rd IOC Session in Durban, South Africa. Other candidates that applied to host the games were Annecy, France and Munich, Germany. !Pyeong Chang won on its third consecutive bid, having lost previously to Vancouver, Canada and Sochi, Russia. It will be the first Winter Olympic Games and second Olympic Games in South Korea; the 1988 Summer Olympics were held in Seoul.

Source: Wikipedia

The Official Logo for the 2018 !Winter Olympics

Jeff and Suki Fearing, Marlene and Brad Cullum, and us celebrating the new year on Jan 1, 2007 in Naples, Italy.

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to let us download the movie. With that authorization, Lan downloaded the movie to his MacBook Pro and waited until our family show time on New Year's Eve. Eventually, Lan wirelessly delivered the movie over the AirPlay function to the Apple TV which was hardwired to our seven year old Sony television via a HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface) cable. The movie ended without much fanfare, we went to bed early with purpose to have a fresh start on the New Year's Day. !At midnight, we were awakened by the thunderous sounds of fireworks being fired simultaneously all around the downtown area near Itaewon, Seoul. Tempting to get out of bed for the fireworks display but instead; we remained in bed reminiscent of the old days. Having seen much fireworks in our lives, we just laid there imagining the spectacular displays that we have witnessed from around the world. Just kidding! You know Lan,

Four families: Dalat, Lee, Kim, and Ahn gather at the Dalat’s residence in

Yongsan Garrison for the Thanksgiving Dinner that

Lan had prepared the turkey along with the

smoked ham and all of the side dishes.

Dalat Family Winter 2014

!


Gemma and her family host a Bulgarian dinner in Itaewon within the International Restaurant row.

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he pulled out his iPad Air and replayed every single fireworks video that he had captured over the years with sound effects and all. By far, Naples, Italy produced the best fireworks displays on New Year's Day than any other places that we have experienced. We arrived in Naples, Italy around Christmas time in 2003. Shortly after Christmas, we moved into our home in Pozzuoli at 38 via Monterusso. We chose that house not because of its great floor plan, nor because of its marble bathrooms. We chose the house because of its spectacular view of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a breathtaking view from our balcony. A week after moving into our new home, we celebrated our first new year in Italy with our neighbors Andrea, Nuncia, Giusi, Enno, Giovanni, Emilio, Anna,

Luigi, and their entire relatives near and far. Not knowing what to expect, Minnie and I stood on our bedroom’s balcony around midnight waiting for the new year. Exactly at midnight, Naples burst into an incredible display of fireworks that we have never witnessed in our lives. The clear sky with crisp air filled the night with the ultimate fireworks celebration. We were able to see the fireworks bursting right in front of our eyes since we were higher up in elevation. We woke our kids up from their sleep so they can witness one of the most magnificent fireworks display. To our surprise, Dan and Daisy crawled back into their beds after a very quick peak of the celebration. After that year, we began hosting new year’s eve party on our balcony. In 2005, we celebrated the new year with Patrick

Celebrating our first new year in Naples with our Italian neighbors on new year’s day 2004

View from 38 via Monterusso, Pozzuoli, Italy on January 1, 2004.

Lan fires off some Chinese firecrackers at Pho Hoa in Kansas City where the Dragon Dance brings luck and prosperity to everyone.


!


Blast from the Past

Lan and Minnie spend their first winter together as a couple at Muju Ski Resort during winter 1998 in Korea

Daisy jumps for joy in Naples, Italy during the winter 2005.

Dan’s first winter at his home in Fayetteville, NC

During the winter 2006, Lan, Minnie, Dan and Daisy travel to Istanbul, Turkey for a short winter vacation. They experience the first major snow storm in more than 20 years.

Photographs (C) Lan Dalat

Christmas 1999, Fayetteville, NC

Christmas 2000, Fayetteville, NC

January 13, 2002 Prague, Czech Republic

Lan, Minnie, Dan and Daisy arrive to Germany during the winter 2001 where the winter is long while the summer is very short.


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Grand pa Thai Lang visits our family in Landstuhl, Germany and enjoys the German winter in 2002

Dan attends Christmas 2001 at Korean Church in Ramstein AFB.

Hanna in Pyeongtaek, Korea 2008

Muju, Korea 2009

Dan and Daisy in Istanbul, Turkey 2006

Roccaraso, Italy 2005

Photographs (C) Lan Dalat

Blast from the Past

Grand ma Cam Ton endurs the cold winter in Landstuhl, Ger.

Aspen/Snowmass, Colorado 2012

Grandpa and Lan at Bryce Canyon, Utah 1995



In our final year in Naples, we drank champagne with the Fearings and the Cullums while watching the fireworks. Few days later, Lan deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan on his first deployment. !Back to the current day, we began the new year with our own tradition. Well, we didn't really have a new year tradition on the Gregorian calendar. However, in the past few years back in the States, we started something that Anthony and Meredith Lang had done for years and that

was to eat dim-sum on that first day of the year. Looking back, that wasn’t a bad tradition at all. We generated many great memories with our family and friends by having dim-sum while living there in Kansas. One year, we had very big group for dim-sum. There were five members from our family, five members from Chris Moon’s family, and five members of Anthony Lang’s family. (Oliver wasn’t born yet.) One year, we even had our parents over from California to join us for dim-sum in the Kansas winter. Here in Seoul, we didn’t have dim-sum; instead, we went out for pastries at the local Paris Baguette, a Korean pastry store. Our kids were happy and it’s a chance for us to do something as a family. !

Dalat family and Hanna’s cousin Hee Un attend the American - Korean Friendship Holiday Concert at Seoul Arts Center.

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Daisy takes control of the ball during a soccer match at Yongsan, Seoul, Korea


Hiking Area


The Pyeongchang Trout Festival celebrates the traditional survival skills used to capture trout as well as offers many delicious dishes to try with this healthy fish.

Pyeongchang Trout Festival and History !In ancient times, Koreans’ ancestors had to break winter’s ice to catch fish in the frozen waters of rivers and lakes. This made a typical winter meal. The Pyeongchang Trout Festival remembers the past by recreating this experience. Bring the whole family to catch fish using the tools of our ancestors and enjoy the sight of trout through the clean ice.

Korean Culture

Source: http://www.festival700.or.kr

Photographs (C) 2014 Lan Dalat

Pyeongchang Trout Festival



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As mentioned earlier about Italy, we were living there from 2003 to 2007 and met some good friends there. Here in Korea, we met one of those friends again. Back then, Gemma Park and her two daughters were living and learning in Naples, Italy. Because her daughters were attending the International School of Naples, she often came onto the NATO base at Bagnoli where Lan was working. One day, hearing Korean language spoken by Gemma inside one of the buildings, Lan approached her and introduced himself. Shortly after, Minnie and Gemma became friends. In 2008, Lan and Minnie returned to Korea with their children. They met up with Gemma and her family during her short return to visit her husband and

relatives in Korea. Recently, Gemma and her family celebrated her birthday in Seoul and invited us to her celebration. Last Thanksgiving, we reciprocated by inviting Gemma and her family to our home for the Thanksgiving dinner. Through our conversations, we discovered many interesting and similar tidbits about each other. For example: Gemma’s oldest daughter is now attending the women university in Daegu where Minnie had graduated. Gemma’s youngest daughter Yoo Jin had written an award winning essay that shared the same cultural experiences Dan and Daisy had while attending schools in Italy. Her sister Veronica is married to a Turkish man and currently living in Lausanne, Switzerland where Lan’s sister Michelle and her



family are residing. In addition, we found out that Gemma's husband had served as a KATUSA (Korean Augmentation to the United States Army) soldier at the same base where we were hosting this Thanksgiving dinner. At one point during dinner, we were talking about skiing in Colorado, we found out that Gemma’s husband had studied at a university in Denver, Colorado. Through this friendship, we were reconnected again at Pyeong Chang Ski Resort during our recent ski trip. We were greatly appreciated and thoroughly enjoyed the time we spent together with Gemma and her family. For the new year, we wish to continue this enduring friendship. Speaking of friendship, Hanna had grown very fond of her cousin Lee Hee Un. Hee Un’s mom is Minnie’s cousin from her mother's side of the family. The winter break allowed the two girls to spend more time playing and sharing with each other. One of the highlights of their time together was around Christmas time. They were skipping side by side as they were trying to reach their destination for breakfast with Santa. Suddenly, two Chinook helicopters flew in onto an air field near by to drop off the Vice President of the United States, Joe Biden and his entourage. Not knowing who was inside at the moment, Hanna thought it was Santa arriving to breakfast by helicopter.



They did get their photos with Santa that morning; however, they didn't meet the VP during his Korea visit. Before the new year, the two girls were afforded the opportunity to see a live magic show and a professional basketball game inside Seoul Olympics stadium. !Daisy had a great soccer season with her Avergers team in which she had the opportunity to play in several positions ranging from goal keeper to an attacking midfielder. Eventually, the coach made her a permanent center back. In addition to her outstanding athletic skills and academics achievements, she devoted most of her after school time as a cast members in the "Seussical Jr.” However, Daisy did not perform due to her draconian director who dropped Daisy after one rehearsal that was scheduled on a Federal holiday. We regretted that Daisy could not perform. Nonetheless, we are proud of her commitment and maintaining the right attitude. Trying to get Daisy to smile for a photo is like pulling teeth. Now that her teeth are braced with wires, it would be harder to get her to smile for the camera. However, Lan will continue trying to get pictures with her beautiful smiles.


a Journal from Seoul Page ! of !12 13http://www.youtube.com/user/Akamaru01223/videos

Like his younger sister, Dan also had braces installed. However, he smiled more often for the camera than Daisy. While Daisy preferred to be on stage, Dan would rather be behind a camera making stop action video of his toys. Recently, he was invited to feature his work at the Seoul Filmmaker's Workshop and he received many great tips from the directors, screen writers and editors for his stop motion work. Besides his hobby, Dan remained active with the Boy Scout Troop 88 here in Yongsan. He had done couple camp outs with them already. Now, he is set for another adventure with his team at Pyeong Chang Winter Olympics center. It's a three day event that was subsidized by his Scout Troop 88 occurred during the Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday weekend. Over the Christmas holidays period, Dan helped his troops sold 160 real Oregon Douglas and Noble fir trees. Since they were the only game in town selling real trees, the efforts were guaranteed success. With the profits generated from tree sales, the troop partially funded the ski trip for more than 40 boys and their families.

Chúc Mừng Năm MớiHappy New Year

We wish you a very joyous and prosperous

year in the year of the horse 2014!

!Dalat Family



Family Journal from Seoul winter 2014

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