Yesterday, I met two women outside. One an army soldier just went active, former National Guard. The other, an army wife like me. All three of us sitting outside under a pavilion outside the front doors of the lodge. A little shaded area for some of us who feel couped up in our hotel rooms to come and get fresh air and just "people watch."
We introduced ourselves and just started talking about how we came to Korea and the troubles we had to deal with when we all came over. We came to the conclusion that the military really have no clue about Korea and the policies for civilians and the soldiers stationed here.
The soldier was told to not bring ANYTHING with her. She has a family (a husband~former soldier, and three young girls.) So they came with nothing but pretty much the clothes on their backs and what they could pack. She was told that they couldn't ship a vehicle. And that the military would provide furnishings for her and her family once they got a place off post. Well, the military can provide furnishing...if they are available. If not, it comes out of their own pocket to find those not provided. Obviously, the military will ship a vehicle as I can testify that my big, bad truck is sitting somewhere in Seoul or is somewhere near Seoul as this moment.
The army wife on the other hand brought EVERYTHING. All their furnishings. There is some discrepancy as I told her we were told we could pretty much bring only half of what we owned. I then told her if her household goods went over the weight limit that they would have to pay out-of-pocket the difference of what was allowable. So she is now stressed. Don't blame her. The problem lies in her husband's orders and what was written in them. We've came to realize at once, that depending on what post you came from, everyone had different mandated orders. There was no set rule.
Let me clarify something on my end. We immediately saw differences in what we were told as soon as we came to Seattle. At Ft. Hood, we were told we could bring only one pet. But then we were told that we couldn't fly our pets on a military sponsored plane. In Seattle, no lie, many people brought cages with various sized animals. Most were small dogs. THAT is where we switched from a domestic flight to a military flight. I'm telling you, I was seriously pissed.
The USAG Humphreys website said that they only allowed one small pet (a cat) only on post. Okay, some of those people were not going to Humphreys. Some got off in Japan. Some got off with us in Osan but were going to different posts other than Humphreys. Here at the hotel, I've seen people walking their DOGS! As I said, the website said only one small cat.
As you can tell, the communication from each post or base was varying in their knowledge of what was indeed true.
Here's another bit of knowledge that both women informed me about from people they knew who already live off post. Brace yourselves...especially for those who think they have a sky-high electric bill. Many of those friends who used the airconditioning units in the off post housing had bills roughly from $700-1000 for one month. And those same people only used their airconditioning units for no more than a week. Let's just say my jaw fell off my face. Korea isn't really hot but the humidity is worse than a hot day in the Amazon. Okay, some exaggeration there but it IS intense. We were told to run the airconditioner until the house got cool then turn if off...not to let it run. Thanking God Korea is not near the equator.
Here's something I forgot to mention. I've never seen it in the US but it might happen. So correct me if I'm wrong. While riding the bus back from Yongsan Army Base in Seoul to USAG Humphreys, I noticed men wearing reflective jackets and holding up light sticks to warn drivers that there were road workers ahead. Nothing out of the ordinary, I'm sure you are thinking. After close inspection, they were MANNEQUINS! That was the smartest idea. Why haven't I seen that in the US? We see commercials or read in the news of road workers getting struck by vehicles. But actually having a mannequin do the most dangerous job was ingenious. I have seen police cars parked strategically with mannequins to give the illusion that they are watching you. LOL! But to have a mannequin stand out in the road warning drivers to slow down for road contruction was weird but seriously a good idea. I'm sure you've noticed the little things amaze me. Kekeke.
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