R.I.P. Scoot #2

Scoot #2's warranty expired last week and we were told that his electric box needed to be replaced, and the cost would be on our shoulders.  This was the 10th time in 6 months that we had brought him in for repairs and we knew he wasn't very reliable, so we asked the shop if they would buy him from us.  After about 10 minutes, they agreed, and we were offered more $$$ than we thought we would get, shook hands and left Scoot there.... never to be rode again. 

It's a sad night around the Osteen home without Scoot. We'll miss riding you to Home Plus for Sunday groceries, to Lotte for dinner, to school in the mornings, and on trips around town.  We'll miss you, period.   

RIP Scoot #2

"Chelsey! You have a package!"

"Chelsey! You have a package" is my favorite thing to hear!  Man, I love getting mail!  Today though was EXTRA special, because I had 4 things waiting for me in the office! When it rains, it pours! :)

Package #1 was from my friend Ashley in Busan! She and I both love getting mail, so we decided that we're gonna send each other random stuff that we see throughout the week... Just so the other person gets to open some mail once in a while!  This was my 1st package from her!  Woot woot!

(iphone pic)

Package #2 was from Jess, in Seoul!  She taught me how to make homemade ricotta cheese while I was there!  I loved it so much and wanted to make some here in Busan, but couldn't find a cheesecloth, so she mailed me hers!  What a great friend, huh? Thank you Jeshi!

Package #3 was from my awesome Aunt Barb in Colorado!  She's a Mary Kay consultant

and has been for years!  She drives the pink car and has all the beautiful MK jewelry, and a storeroom full of cosmetics! Aaahhh!  I asked her if I could purchase some bronzer and if she could mail it over to me in Korea for an added charge... (I accidentally broke mine and there's no such thing as bronzer in the land of "the whiter your skin, the better!") And she said it was on her!  What a complete gem, huh?  She even threw in some anti-aging eye cream for me. Lord knows I need it!  Thank you Barb!!!  LOL

This package didn't come in the mail, but it did show up on my desk!  The school maintenance lady went back behind the school and picked up all of the Gingko beans that had fallen from the trees and divided them evenly amongst the staff here!  I'm gonna cook these suckers up and watch my memory increase with every bite! :) 

Thank you Ashley, Jess, Barb and maintenance lady!  You totally made this girl smile and feel uber special carrying all her packages through the hallways this afternoon! :)

Happy Wedding Day YooMe and GeunYung!

Earlier today, I headed to one of my co-worker's weddings at a wedding hall in Seomyeon, filled with brides! There were 4 "wedding halls" in this building and a new wedding ceremony was scheduled every hour, from 11:30am - 5:30pm! WOW! 

While Korean weddings have some similarities to their American counterparts, there are some traditional Korean things that happen as well.  For instance...YooMe and her dad come into the ceremony and stood in the back while her fiance walked down the aisle ahead of her.  There are no bridesmaids or groomsmen in Korea and the bride and her dad don't link arms like in America, but rather he holds her hand up in the air the way a king would direct his queen down an aisle.

Her dress was GIANT and beautifully detailed with a long white train and veil. Only difference between this and America is, in Korea, they rent the dress and veil!  But believe it or not, it still costs bride's between $600-$1000 to RENT IT!  

YooMe and GeunYung stood in the back of the wedding hall, facing the speaker while he shpeeled off who knows what.  There is no reciting of vows or exchanging of rings in Korean ceremonies, which is always a bummer to me because that's my favorite part about western weddings!

GeunYung is also a teacher, so his school's recorder choir came, in matching uniforms, to perform a special song for them!   

But one song wasn't gonna do for this Korean wedding... Not in a culture where most nights end in a trip to the karaoke bar!  So, GeunYung grabbed the microphone and sang one of Korea's most popular love songs to his bride!

Did I mention that all of the flowers are FAKE at Korean weddings? ... Because they are!  There are 4 "wedding halls" in this building, each decorated with a different theme that never changes... You pick the room depending on your personal tastes.  Fake flowers are included!

I've been to a couple other Korean weddings, but I had never seen a "cutting of the cake" ceremony!  They literally rolled this table over, had them cut a piece (no eat it, just slice it) and then rolled it back over to the side of the room.  It's funny how Korean's attempt at becoming more western is always just a little off.  I actually think they just cut the cake and then reuse the same cake for the next wedding, which is a shame, because who doesn't love a piece of wedding cake?!

Most of the wedding guests stand around and talk while the ceremony takes places, but the mother and father of the bride and groom are always sat in the front row, in fancy armchairs, fit for royalty, and dressed in their traditional hanbok attire!

A Korean wedding is never complete without a deep bow to the parents.  I actually really love the symbolism of this moment!  It's a huge sign of appreciation for someone to do a deep bow like that.

And just like that, YooMe and GeunYung are married!  

Here's me, Hana (6th grade teacher) and Jeudee (her daughter and my student) after the wedding. 

Sadly, there are no receptions in Korea.  Instead, YooMe and GeunYung gave my Principal a credit card and told us (my school's teacher's) to go eat wherever we wanted, ON THEM!  Sooo weird!  So, about 10 of my co-workers and I all went out to lunch and spent the next couple hours enjoying each other's company! :)  Gotta love Korean weddings!

Help us choose a name!

If you don't follow me on Facebook, you may not know that Aaron and I are in the process of choosing a name for our beloved photography company in the making. We've narrowed it down to 4 names and are asking our family, friends, blog readers, and future brides through WeddingBee to give us their input.  It's important to us that we hear all sides and opinions.  So, that's where you come in!  We need your help, so let us know which name you think is best! 

1. Aaron Nicholas Photography (Nicholas is Aaron's middle name)

2. Red Elephant Photography

3. Plus One / +One Photography

4. Osteen Photography

Vote by commenting below - and feel free to do it anonymously!  We won't judge! :)

Saturday with Stella + Chris

Last Saturday, Aaron and I met up with our friends Chris and Stella at Beomeosa Temple for a couple shoot of the two of them!  The full post will probably go up on the photography blog sometime this weekend, but for now I'll leave you with this behind the scenes photo of our dressing room area! lol  Chris and Stella brought just about 1/2 of their closet, which was a photographer's dream - we had so many great choices! We all decided that a rustic feel would be perfect for the location of their shoot - kind of a Ralph Lauren look with a bit of funk, and they pulled it off perfectly!  

After a couple hours of shooting out by the temple and getting some great images, we called it a wrap and jumped on the subway, headed to their apartments in PNU!  Their separate apartments are on the same floor of their building, with 1 apartment in between!  Talk about convenient, huh?! 

Stella home cooked a delicious Italian feast for the four of us; yummy spaghetti, delicious breaded eggplant something or rather, and a healthy salad - and this girl finished her first entire glass of red wine with dinner!  My heart thanked me after. :)  

We had so much fun with these two and stayed up hanging out till the early morning hours!  It's a shame that in February we'll be parting from all of these great friendships that we've formed while living in Korea, but lucky for us, Chris is from South Carolina, so I'm sure we'll see the two of them when they come to visit family in the state!  Here's hoping! :)