Our babies are crawling.

My belly is getting bigger. It's week 19 now. I'm not sure if it's our baby or not, but I feel a worm crawling in my belly. I said that to Avram. He said he feels same way. Ah, I'm pretty sure that it's digesting in his case.

A few weeks ago, Avram's work organized a big party. They invited people from a church, Busan International Women's Association(BIWA),an orphanage and so on. They had a band, American food, and some games. Everyone had fun there.

I saw a bounce house and a bounce slide. They were for their children and kids from the orphanage. Women from BIWA took care of the kids from the orphanage. Those women were watching the kids when they were playing on the playground equipment. Only I was watching my husband in those play houses.

The kids enjoyed climbing on Avram. I enjoyed he was having fun with kids or more than the kids. He is good at enjoying himself. I just wonder if he takes care of our baby before he starts to play for himself. We have to talk a lot about it:)

Bloodletting and Jang Gi

Last week we went up to Daegu for five days. I had a sort of emergency responder life saving class. We learned about splints and IVs and checking people for wounds and applying tourniquets and calling for help. The practical portion of the final exam consisted of two parts: giving my friend an IV and getting one from him. My partner was a man from my office in Busan, Mr. O. O is not a pseudonym, it is his entire last name. I stuck the needle into Mr. O's arm first and managed not to cause too much pain or blood splatter. Next, it was his turn. I have rolly veins, so he missed on the first stick. On his second attempt, he made me bleed and passed the exam.

We had long lunches all week, so Mr. O and I wandered down to the riverside everyday. I saw some Korean Chess boards and asked how to play. Mr. O explained it and it sounded fun. We went to a little shop and I spent about $1.25 on a set of Jang Gi pieces. We went back to the park and I quickly lost my first game. The red pieces are almost the same as in Japanese Chess, so they were no problem. The green pieces however, were written in a different script and all look alike to my untrained eye. I kept losing my pieces to when I failed to recognize they were in danger.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, I lost a few more games at lunch. On Thursday, I lost the first game very quickly, but finally managed to eke out a victory in our second match. The third and final match of that day, I did very well. The longer we played in the park, the more old men (both drunk and sober) gathered around. They were not at all shy about giving me advice and letting me know when I was about to do something stupid. As I explained to Mr. O, during the last game, my team was very strong. I think everyone got a kick out of watching the foreigner learn their game in the park.

Mamejiro - June 13, 2009

Today we went to a new hospital for some pre-natal care. We were going to a fertility clinic, but after 16 weeks, they told us "Congratulations and don't come back." When we were done looking inside Rie's belly, they gave us a DVD with pictures and a video. Everything looks good, as you can see for yourself.

Apparently, it is against the law to inform prospective parents of their baby's gender in Korea. However, we have since learned, it is okay to ask if we should buy pink or blue stuff. We have our next visit in July and will ask then. In the meantime, Rie is doing well and has her old energy back. Avram, on the other hand, is starting to wonder what he is in for.

今日から産婦人科に診察に行くことになりました。母子ともに健康で、私もつわりがおさまり通常の生活に戻っています。

韓国では性別を教えるのが違法に当たるようで、お医者さんたちはまだ男の子か女の子か教えてくれません。でも、どうやら合言葉があるようで、ピンクの服がいいか、青い服がいいかとは聞けるようです。次の診察は１ヵ月後の７月です。

あぶちゃんはいったいこれからどんなことが起こるのか想像もつかないようです。わたしはただ彼が生まれてすぐから子どもをアウトドアに連れて行かないことを願っています。