Getting Settled In Kunsan (군산시), South Korea
I've been here at Kunsan Air Base as part of the 8FW Wolfpack for almost two weeks now and things are becoming a little more routine. I've completed most of my inprocessing meetings/paperwork and my personal belongings will arrive this coming Tuesday. Next week is only a three day week, so I'll start flying the week of the 26th. We just finished a week long exercise (a mock war) and I was part of the mission planning team since I wasn't able to get my first couple flights done prior. The guys in the squadron are cool and it's nice to see a few familiar faces from Aviano who moved out here before me. I'm going to enjoy being in the 35th FS Pantons during my tour here...Push It Up!
It was a bit of a culture shock showing up on base jet lagged and moving back to the old dorm scene again...similar to the building I was in at Columbus AFB for pilot training. Everyone lives on base here at Kunsan unlike other bases where you can choose on or off base. I'm sure it mostly has to do with the fact Lana and I left such a nice apartment in Italy. Not having Lana around has also been tough, but thankfully she'll be flying out the end of the month for awhile...it will be GREAT having her here! One advantage to having the bros from the squadron so close is it builds a lot of camaraderie, which is already a big part of fighter squadrons.
Kunsan is in the process of renovating and modernizing its buildings, but it'll probably be awhile before they start with new Captains dorms. The squadron building, gym, bx/commissary and a few other buildings are brand new and most places are within a 10-15min walk from the dorms. I'm still waiting for the car I shipped from Italy to show up, so it's nice being able to walk to everything. I'll be checking out the contemporary service at the chapel later today to hopefully get plugged in...there's also a church just off base that I'm going to attend next weekend. Many Koreans are Christians and the biggest church in the world is actually in Seoul. There are churches everywhere and at night they all have a red cross lit up on top of the building.
The food you ask? Well, so far I think the Korean food is fine...some is definitely better than others. I've never been really picky when it comes to food, but I would say Korean food is somewhere in the middle. I haven't had anything that tasted super great but yet there hasn't been anything taste really bad either. Last night a group of us went out for Korean crab. Korean crab is no joke...one giant crab fed four people and we were all full! They reminded me of the ones they catch on the Discovery Channel off the coast of Alaska. We had to bring our own butter for dipping, but overall it was an impressive meal. Lana and I had kimchee and bibimbap as well during our time in Seoul, which are popular foods here in South Korea. (In the picture below you'll notice I'm giving a "hang loose" sign...this is my new squadron's symbol. So, for instance if two of us from the squadron were to pass each other on the side walk we'd give the hang loose sign and say, "push it up!")
Well, I'll wrap it up for the time being. Give me a call anytime, but just remember I'm 14 hours ahead of east coast time. 안녕...bye in Korean!
I've been here at Kunsan Air Base as part of the 8FW Wolfpack for almost two weeks now and things are becoming a little more routine. I've completed most of my inprocessing meetings/paperwork and my personal belongings will arrive this coming Tuesday. Next week is only a three day week, so I'll start flying the week of the 26th. We just finished a week long exercise (a mock war) and I was part of the mission planning team since I wasn't able to get my first couple flights done prior. The guys in the squadron are cool and it's nice to see a few familiar faces from Aviano who moved out here before me. I'm going to enjoy being in the 35th FS Pantons during my tour here...Push It Up!
It was a bit of a culture shock showing up on base jet lagged and moving back to the old dorm scene again...similar to the building I was in at Columbus AFB for pilot training. Everyone lives on base here at Kunsan unlike other bases where you can choose on or off base. I'm sure it mostly has to do with the fact Lana and I left such a nice apartment in Italy. Not having Lana around has also been tough, but thankfully she'll be flying out the end of the month for awhile...it will be GREAT having her here! One advantage to having the bros from the squadron so close is it builds a lot of camaraderie, which is already a big part of fighter squadrons.
Kunsan is in the process of renovating and modernizing its buildings, but it'll probably be awhile before they start with new Captains dorms. The squadron building, gym, bx/commissary and a few other buildings are brand new and most places are within a 10-15min walk from the dorms. I'm still waiting for the car I shipped from Italy to show up, so it's nice being able to walk to everything. I'll be checking out the contemporary service at the chapel later today to hopefully get plugged in...there's also a church just off base that I'm going to attend next weekend. Many Koreans are Christians and the biggest church in the world is actually in Seoul. There are churches everywhere and at night they all have a red cross lit up on top of the building.
The food you ask? Well, so far I think the Korean food is fine...some is definitely better than others. I've never been really picky when it comes to food, but I would say Korean food is somewhere in the middle. I haven't had anything that tasted super great but yet there hasn't been anything taste really bad either. Last night a group of us went out for Korean crab. Korean crab is no joke...one giant crab fed four people and we were all full! They reminded me of the ones they catch on the Discovery Channel off the coast of Alaska. We had to bring our own butter for dipping, but overall it was an impressive meal. Lana and I had kimchee and bibimbap as well during our time in Seoul, which are popular foods here in South Korea. (In the picture below you'll notice I'm giving a "hang loose" sign...this is my new squadron's symbol. So, for instance if two of us from the squadron were to pass each other on the side walk we'd give the hang loose sign and say, "push it up!")
Well, I'll wrap it up for the time being. Give me a call anytime, but just remember I'm 14 hours ahead of east coast time. 안녕...bye in Korean!
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