On the big Island

hey! Sorry for the delayed post. It has been a busy couple of weeks since arriving here in Jeju-do. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and we were picked up by Moon's Aunt, mom and brother. Everyone was excited to see Joon and he was in good form talking and walking around making everyone laugh.
The house is set up nicely. We were without hot water but the temps were so high we didn't mind a cool shower. Eventually a little water heater has been put in as well as the internet so we are able to feel somewhat settled. There are hot peppers and sesame seeds planted in the yard and in the subtropical environment a variety of birds and insects in the warm night. We have beds so no sleeping on the floor but everything else is done at floor level. This has been an adjustment for Joon. The dinner table is low so Joon likes to crawl on top and put his hands in everything on the table. Dropping food means attracting the bugs so we have to be vigilant to keep things clean. He mostly enjoys having the access and keeping us on our toes.
Jeju island is a large volcanic island. Essentially the towns are on the coast and everything is up the hill from there. Our house is about 8 km from the main city of Jeju-shi

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It is about a 25 minute bus ride and a windy, curvy one at that. It is a small house set in between several large mandarin groves. I finally took a run the other day and got a feel for just how many little farms there are in the area. Small one lane roads, rock walls made out of the lava that makes up the terrain and several gullies that drain the water down to the coast during heavy rains or snow melt at the top of the mountain.
Jeju is very different from seoul (fortunately). The towns are all consolidated and it can become rural in a matter of minutes. The cities contain mostly small independently run shops selling local goods when possible. In addition is the market where people sell their clothes, vegetables, meats, and fish. Slowly my system has gone through a kind of withdrawal from the foods I am used to. Good bread is hard to find and wth few ovens around impossible to bake (though I am exploring a rice cooker recipe). Soups and rice are the mainstays so any western food I crave costs a pretty penny (cereal for instance or traditional pasta) It is not so hard now but I am thinking about living without these things for a year at least and it makes me crave them even more.
To get around we take the bus or cabs. The cabs run on natural gas so it is relatively inexpensive to ride one (about 6 bucks into town). We are hoping to own a car but would like to have some income before we shell out the dough. and of course Iwould like a bicycle but given how people drive I am not overly eager to take my chances on the narrow roads. Bus driver's seem to be the worse with their speeding, sudden stopping and crazy passing. While Koreans tend to be very friendly when meeting in person it seems that behind the wheel no one is looking out for the other driver or the pedestrian. It can be a little scary with Joon so I am extra cautious to look both ways before crossing. One has to be a defensive pedestrian I guess.
Okay, hopefully I haven't bored you to tears.
No major adventures just getting settled. As you can see from our pictures we visited the beach a couple of times and it was great to swim in a warm ocean rather than an ice cold river or lake. we hope all is well with everyone. Feel free to send us questions in the comments section or email us if you want to know more. Have fun!