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I'm going to...

alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
in Non Cigar Related
.....Korea! Report date 12 November, my daughter's birthday.

Comments

  • DSWarmackDSWarmack Posts: 1,426 ✭
    Is this good or bad?
  • MonteWhiteMonteWhite Posts: 200
    Dude that's awesome! I LOVE Korea. It is my homeland after all. I was just there for 2009-2010 also. Where are you going? Is this vacation or a long-term stay?
  • denniskingdennisking Posts: 3,703 ✭✭✭
    had friends that just got back. they loved it. he got stationed on the east coast somewhere as a drill instructor. they really liked the area though. hopefully you will have the same experience.
  • laker1963laker1963 Posts: 5,046
    alienmisprint:
    .....Korea! Report date 12 November, my daughter's birthday.
    What!? How long you going for Tony? Hope you have a blast. Will you be online while there? Will we be getting pictures?
  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    Should be a 12 month tour, I won't be going accompanied. Maybe if the situation were different, but I'm going to Camp Casey (northern South Korea) and I'm pretty sure we are going to be spending alot of time in the field. I don't think it would be the best idea to drop my wife, 2 year old, and newborn off in the middle of a foreign country where I am going to be gone about half the time, lol. As for good or bad, hell, at least its not Alaska.
  • Knoxca1Knoxca1 Posts: 148 ✭✭
    I was stationed down in chinhae for a year in 2007. It wasn't too bad. I fell in love with kimchi jjigae while I was there. I hope you like spicy and garlicy food.
  • stephen_hannibalstephen_hannibal Posts: 4,317 ✭
    WHAT THE FECK!!!!! Wow man.
    Blessing for you and the family.

  • ENFIDLENFIDL Posts: 5,836 ✭
    Well Tony, that's pretty awesome if you want it to be if not that sucks...lol, I hope you have a great time over there brother! I'm sure it'll make for some great experiences. Sucks you have to leave your family, but like you said better than you being gone all the time and them stuck in a country on the other side of the world from everybody they know. You better check in here whenever you can!
  • jsnakejsnake Posts: 5,979 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sucks you have to be away from the family. I spent a year in Yongsan (Seoul) and loved it. I love the food - Yaki Mandu and Kimchee. Up north is a different story though. They used to give you orders without telling you where in Korea you would be stationed. You found out when you got there. Prepare yourself for the coldest winter you will ever experience in your life.
  • Dude LoveDude Love Posts: 315
    Have a good time and stay safe man! And I'm pretty sure it beats Alaska by a good country mile.
  • wwhwangwwhwang Posts: 2,878 ✭✭✭
    Hope you enjoy Korea, Tony. Sucks that you have to be away from the family though. I hear most units in Korea are pretty chill compared to Hood, Bragg, and Polk. Enjoy the bulgogi, though. Korean food is damn good.
  • MonteWhiteMonteWhite Posts: 200
    Sorry you have to be away from your family. But all that aside, I've never met anyone who regretted their stay in Korea. I'm sure you'll have fun. It's a beautiful country with amazing people. If you ever want to know of amazing places that I love in Korea, pm me!
  • YankeeManYankeeMan Posts: 2,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Stay safe and thank you for serving.

  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    Yeah, I'm (more or less) looking forward to it. I learned a while back not to get your hopes up about going any particular place, so I don't have a "places I want to go" list, as much as it is a "places I do NOT want to go" list. Korea isn't one of my four that I really don't want to go to, so that's cool at least. Another plus side is that you generally have a little more say in where you go following Korea. And you get dwell time now, so I won't ship back stateside just to deploy in a month, which is always a plus.

    As far as the food, I have never been too big on Korean food. Any cultural food that depends on rotten cabbage as a staple of the diet is not okay with me, lol. And I already found out that there is a Casa Del Habano (or whatever its called) in Seoul, although I'm sure its off-limits to us, lol. I'll be the guy that gets in trouble in Korea, but not for breaking curfew or drunk on duty or messing with hookers, I'll get popped for buying contraband stogies, lol. I'm sure we will have internet in our rooms, so staying in touch with the family shouldn't be too hard. Really, I figure its going to be just like a deployment, except I can wear civies, drink, and people aren't overtly trying to kill me.
  • The SniperThe Sniper Posts: 3,910 ✭
    I was at Camp Casey for a couple months about a hundred years ago. LOL Wasnt bad duty at all while I was there, and I imagine it has only gotten better in the interim. Could be worse brother - you could have drawn Camp Humphries! LOL

  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    The Sniper:
    I was at Camp Casey for a couple months about a hundred years ago. LOL Wasnt bad duty at all while I was there, and I imagine it has only gotten better in the interim. Could be worse brother - you could have drawn Camp Humphries! LOL

    Absolutely, I could have been sent to Alaska, Ft Drum, Ft Sill, or Ft Riley. As long as it isn't one of those, I'm cool.
  • MTuccelliMTuccelli Posts: 2,629 ✭✭✭
    alienmisprint:
    The Sniper:
    I was at Camp Casey for a couple months about a hundred years ago. LOL Wasnt bad duty at all while I was there, and I imagine it has only gotten better in the interim. Could be worse brother - you could have drawn Camp Humphries! LOL

    Absolutely, I could have been sent to Alaska, Ft Drum, Ft Sill, or Ft Riley. As long as it isn't one of those, I'm cool.
    Brother if you haven't been to Alaska you shouldn't knock it. I did 2 remote tours to King Salmon and then retired there. If you are into winter games and ice fishing and hunting the place rocks.

    Summer time has the best Salmon and Halibut fishing and more hunting and offroading. I lived in Fairbanks and then move to Palmer. All the Air Force, Army and Coast Guard I ran into seemed to always have a smile on their face.
    UberHumidors
    CutleryBarn
  • ctschirgictschirgi Posts: 63 ✭✭
    MTuccelli:
    alienmisprint:
    The Sniper:
    I was at Camp Casey for a couple months about a hundred years ago. LOL Wasnt bad duty at all while I was there, and I imagine it has only gotten better in the interim. Could be worse brother - you could have drawn Camp Humphries! LOL

    Absolutely, I could have been sent to Alaska, Ft Drum, Ft Sill, or Ft Riley. As long as it isn't one of those, I'm cool.
    Brother if you haven't been to Alaska you shouldn't knock it. I did 2 remote tours to King Salmon and then retired there. If you are into winter games and ice fishing and hunting the place rocks.

    Summer time has the best Salmon and Halibut fishing and more hunting and offroading. I lived in Fairbanks and then move to Palmer. All the Air Force, Army and Coast Guard I ran into seemed to always have a smile on their face.
    +1 I've done three tours in Alaska and loved every minute of it. Even the never ending rain isn't so bad if you dress for it.
  • Knoxca1Knoxca1 Posts: 148 ✭✭
    alienmisprint:

    As far as the food, I have never been too big on Korean food. Any cultural food that depends on rotten cabbage as a staple of the diet is not okay with me, lol.


    You'll have to try it at least once. Before I went I had the same feeling as you do. You'll be surprised how good some of their food is. Now I'll get some Kimchee cravings which is something I never thought I have.

    Oh yeah it's not rotten cabbage it's fermented. :)
  • MonteWhiteMonteWhite Posts: 200
    Knoxca1:
    alienmisprint:
    As far as the food, I have never been too big on Korean food. Any cultural food that depends on rotten cabbage as a staple of the diet is not okay with me, lol.
    You'll have to try it at least once. Before I went I had the same feeling as you do. You'll be surprised how good some of their food is. Now I'll get some Kimchee cravings which is something I never thought I have. Oh yeah it's not rotten cabbage it's fermented. :)
    It is indeed fermented. Fermentation is deeply rooted in Korean cuisine. And Korean food really is delicious in my opinion. But then again, I did grow up with it so my view is biased. But I think it's certainly worth a try. And of course, the Korean food in western countries, is nothing like true native Korean food. So you may be pleasantly surprised :)
  • DSWarmackDSWarmack Posts: 1,426 ✭
    alienmisprint:
    The Sniper:
    I was at Camp Casey for a couple months about a hundred years ago. LOL Wasnt bad duty at all while I was there, and I imagine it has only gotten better in the interim. Could be worse brother - you could have drawn Camp Humphries! LOL

    Absolutely, I could have been sent to Alaska, Ft Drum, Ft Sill, or Ft Riley. As long as it isn't one of those, I'm cool.

    Or they could have extended your tour at Polk. Looks like the DCCC will soon have a Korea chapter!
  • JCizzleJCizzle Posts: 1,913 ✭✭✭
    Was there in 02-03 and you described it perfectly. Worst part of it was some long hours, other than that there is nothing dangerous or hard about the tour.
    Light 'em up.
  • alienmisprintalienmisprint Posts: 3,964 ✭✭✭
    To everyone who is pro-Alaka....everything you said is cool and all, except:
    A- I HATE the cold
    B- I HATE the cold
    C- I don't fish or hunt
    D- I HATE the cold

    And before everyone else starts in with the "it gets really cold in Korea too...", yeah, I'm tracking, cold winters. Still not Alaska cold, and it does actually get pretty nice in the Summer there (average 68-77 degrees) with plenty of humidity. Average highs in Alaska never get over 65 degrees, but has winters where negative 20-30 degrees is the norm. F*ck that, I'm good.

    As far as the food, nah man, again, I'm good. I have tried a pretty good amount of Korean food, just not into it at all. It's gross, plain and simple. You'd be surprised at how much authentic Korean food you can find around most military bases, and there you are about 95% certain that you are actually eating beef or chicken. In Korea, I don't think that I could trust that it wasn't cat or rat or pidgeon.
  • MTuccelliMTuccelli Posts: 2,629 ✭✭✭
    alienmisprint:
    To everyone who is pro-Alaka....everything you said is cool and all, except:
    A- I HATE the cold
    B- I HATE the cold
    C- I don't fish or hunt
    D- I HATE the cold

    And before everyone else starts in with the "it gets really cold in Korea too...", yeah, I'm tracking, cold winters. Still not Alaska cold, and it does actually get pretty nice in the Summer there (average 68-77 degrees) with plenty of humidity. Average highs in Alaska never get over 65 degrees, but has winters where negative 20-30 degrees is the norm. F*ck that, I'm good.

    As far as the food, nah man, again, I'm good. I have tried a pretty good amount of Korean food, just not into it at all. It's gross, plain and simple. You'd be surprised at how much authentic Korean food you can find around most military bases, and there you are about 95% certain that you are actually eating beef or chicken. In Korea, I don't think that I could trust that it wasn't cat or rat or pidgeon.
    Just one correction about the weather in Alaska. Yes it gets cold really cold in the winter but come summer time it can get into the 100's. While living in Fairbanks we did get in the upper 90's low 100's. One fact on cold winters is it can get colder in the U.S. in the northern teir states then it does in Alaska. I have never been to Korea so I can not comment on the weather or people there but I am sure South Korea is a beautiful/friendly place and I am sure you will enjoy your tour.
    UberHumidors
    CutleryBarn
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