Osan And The DMZ!!!!!

Hey Y'all!

This weekend we went to Osan AFB near Seoul and stayed in the Turumi Inn, which happened to be situated right next door to a Chili's! I couldn't believe we got the chance to have some American chain restaurant food here! There are franchises of Outback and TGIF Fridays around Korea, but they're all distinctly Korean in the available food selection. Here, though, at Chili's on base we were able to have the same menu as a Chili's in the States! We were with another couple and the four of us went bananas showing off our ordering skills! There were appetizers, main meals, beer, and even desserts on our table. YUM!!!! Let me say, too, that Andy and I are so happy we don't live at Osan, because there is so much to do there and tons of shopping possibilities that we'd be beyond broke after a tour there! Being 2 hours away lets us travel to the base without much hassle and we can get up there maybe once a month and spend a weekend indulging. It's also nice to be somewhere a bit more remote because I feel more immersed into the surrounding community than I would if we lived on Mini America.

So it sounds like Chili's was the highlight of this weekend getaway, but the food was a far cry from the all day tour on Saturday to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) between North and South Korea. The experience was an intense one and my tummy was in knots going through Camp Bonifas to get to the JSA (joint security area). The JSA is the location you always see on documentaries about North/South Korea, where the guards face off each other next to the neutral conference room. Our tour guide had a difficult time speaking English (he was a 20-something Korean dude - a surfer look alike in his pink t-shirt), but he was extremely nice and charismatic. We simply couldn't understand him. Luckily, when we arrived on Camp Bonifas, we met our American soldier tour guide for this portion of the tour. It got super scary for me when they took us into a presentation room and made us read and sign declaration forms, which are essentially waivers releasing the government from all liability associated with the JSA tour. I have one of the forms as a souvenir - I'm not going to post its contents on the web, but I will show anyone who'd like to see it when we come home.

When we got to the JSA we were able to take pictures and I'll post those as a separate blog. We actually stood in North Korea when we were in the blue conference room!!!! It was so weird! And we saw North Korean guards using their binoculars on us and taking photographs of us. Very creepy. Of course, I retaliated and took pictures of THEM, too. :0)

At one of the lookout points along the DMZ, before we made it to the JSA, we were able to use binoculars and see one of North Korea's propaganda villages across the Imjin River. There were people working there in the fields and along the mountains. The crazy thing is that North Korea's landscape is GORGEOUS! Tons of beautiful mountains, but most of them are stripped of trees because North Korea is cut off from oil use. And we saw jamming towers that prevent North Koreans from being able to access things like radio, TV, Internet... from the South.

I have to go finish getting ready for work now, but I will add on to this when I have some more time and I will also get those pictures from this weekend posted as soon as I have a chance. Take care and hope to hear from you all soon!