2012 Christmas Letter

December 25, 2012

Dear Family, Friends, and Loved Ones,

Well another year is nearly over, but that means a new one is just beginning. The Tim Six family has had quite a year, and most of you know what has happened, but it’s always nice for me to be able to write down the events and do a “year in review” of sorts. So sit back, relax and enjoy ‘The adventures of Tim and Nicki Six 2012’!

The year 2012 began in Phoenix, Arizona at Luke Air Force Base with sunny and 75 degree weather – truly a hardship! We were able to make many wonderful friends in Phoenix, did some hiking and biking, and eventually enjoyed over 100 days straight of over 100 degree temperatures during the summer months. The Grand Canyon was seen a few times – hiking to the very bottom was achieved once with Mark and Carrie over the Christmas break. Las Vegas in all its sparkle was seen for the second time, and California with family and friends was a favorite spot while living in the Grand Canyon State. We visited LA, Hollywood and San Diego, and even got to see the 2012 Rose Bowl Parade in Pasadena! We finally were able to make it up to see Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons and absolutely loved it! We primitive camped while there and saw all the parks had to offer that we could take in for about a week. The Tetons had breathtaking landscapes and gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and Yellowstone can’t be beat for the numbers of wildlife and natural wonders. If you ever get a chance to visit, we highly recommend doing so! On the way back to AZ from Yellowstone we decided to stop for a brief visit at Zion National Park – we allowed a couple hours and we could have spent a whole week there as well! All of the parks were such beautiful places that God created.

With saguaro cactus practically in the backyard in Phoenix we felt a bit out of sorts coming from our native Hoosier State, but we found our niche nonetheless! We found such a tremendous church home at Desert Springs Community Church (DSCC) in Goodyear, AZ. It seemed we were welcomed with open arms from the start! We absolutely loved our home Bible study group at DSCC with Pastor Steve and Tami Engram and some delightful friends. Nicki enjoyed the Roots women’s home Bible study as well that was started for women connected to the military in one way or another; she helped start a Roots Bible study at Sheppard AFB in TX and was so glad to see a group at Luke AFB! Tim stayed extremely busy learning to fly the F-16 Flying Falcon (a.k.a., Viper), then learning to perfect the skill of flying the Viper. Tim also graduated as Top Wingman from his class! God truly blessed the time we had in Phoenix and we believe He is continuing to do so where He has now placed us: Osan Air Base, South Korea.

We are now living about a mile off Base in South Korea in a townhouse duplex amidst some snowy rice paddies. This is an amazing country with very kind and courteous people. We have sampled the local cuisine and Tim has taken to it very well – Nicki is still learning to adjust. Tim’s assignment here is for 12 to 18 months and it is unaccompanied, meaning Nicki will be going between Indiana and S. Korea. We have plans for lots of travel as neither of us have ever been to Asia, but that will have to be in next year’s letter. We appreciate your love and prayers – we feel them each and every day. God has blessed us and we are confident His will is being done in our lives, so thank you for praying for that as well! Well, that is all for the 2012 Christmas letter/update, but I will continue to post on our new blog so that we can communicate with you all while we are here in S. Korea! Thanks for reading!

Much love,

Tim & Nicki Six

Getting ready to hit the trail in the Grand Canyon

Saguaro in PHX

                                                                                       

On our way into the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon!

A little fun on the way down the Canyon: Nicki, Carrie, Tim

Great friends at Graduation: (L to R) Gretchen and Paul Fulkerson, Tim & Nicki, Bryan and Trisha Mussler

After Graduation! Great job, Tim!

At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas

Went to the San Diego Zoo in May

At Sleeping Beauty's Castle in Disneyland

Petting the stingrays

Coronado Island in San Diego area

Sedona

Grand Teton National Park at sunrise

Geysers in Yellowstone NP

Yellowstone Falls

Boiling River in YNP

Zion NP

At the Nutcracker ballet in Seoul, S. Korea Dec. 23rd

Merry Christmas to all!

Christmas Party, Orphanage Visit and On the Town

Hey there!

I've been trying to take more pictures so y'all can get a better idea of what it looks like here. So here are some more for your enjoyment :)

This is the Ae Hyang Orphanage where the 36 Fighter Squadron goes every year to give the children presents and have a little Christmas party. We all carpooled to the orphanage, gave them presents and Santa even showed up! Then some of the children there performed songs, danced, and some of the older children did a drum performance; very impressive! It was a great experience.

Outside the Ae Hyang Orphanage 

The younger children performing a song and dance for the 36 FS. 

Some of the older children singing carols - they sang mostly English carols and even sang "Feliz Navidad"! Talk about culture shock ;) I was sitting in South Korea listening to Koreans sing to Americans in Spanish... I need to learn some languages other than English!

This was the drum performance. These kids were AMAZING! What a cool thing to see! 

I hope this video works because this is a little bit of the drum performance. Enjoy, we sure did!

Santa made an appearance and all the kids were so excited. Talk about melt your heart! 

It rained for 2 days straight so all the snow melted. Dad, this picture is for you so you can see that the rice had all been harvested :) 

No more snow on the roads! Can't say I like the scenery any better without snow...at least it looks like a winter wonderland with snow. Time for more snow! ;) 

I remembered to get at least one picture at the 36 FS Christmas Party, and here it is! 

Tim decided it was time for me to try authentic Korean food, so we went to Korean Barbecue after church. There's a little grill in the middle of all the tables! 

I'm a little overwhelmed by all the plates in front of me here. 

We pretty much ate it all - first taste of Korean food was a success! Kimchi...not so much, but perhaps I will learn to like it, we shall see. Everything was tasty but I have no idea what most of it was called...mostly because I know 3 words in Korean. Gamsahabnida! (Which means "thank you".) 

Songtan entrance with it's Merry Christmas and Happy New Year sign. I'm a little disappointed that the "Merry Christmas" part of the sign is soooo tiny. But at least it's there!

 Street food vendors in Songtan. Korean fried chicken is pretty doggone tasty; the other "KFC", hehe!

This is one of their beautiful bridges from Incheon. 

Mr. Lim taking my measurements for my Fiendette dress. Mr. Lim is pretty hilarious and the best guy to go to if you need a custom suit. Plus he speaks English super well and every now and then throws in some Spanish...he's been close to the Base too long ;) Thanks Mr. Lim!

That's all for now! Harrumph! ;)

~Nicki

Songtan

Tim, myself and a couple friends went to the marketplace yesterday. The name of it is Songtan! Lots of shopping! Here are some pictures for y'all:

The Korean Paper Art is amazing! The lamps are even made out of paper! 

Tim and I went to Thailand 2 - the delicious Thai restaurant in Songtan right off Base. 

It's hard to tell from this picture, but Tim's "#4" curry was...quite spicy! He was tearing up and his face was turning very red. We'll have to try #3 next time :)

That's all for now! 

Much love,

Nicki

Annyeonghaseyo!

Translation: "Hello!" in Korean. Well, really it means "Is peace with you?" or something like that. Don't judge, I'm still learning. ;) Just say "Nay" and move on. Haha, "nay" means "yes".

It seems I have LOTS to learn here in South Korea. There are so many things that are different, but there is one thing that is absolutely the same: we are all human. I have to keep reminding myself that since I am in a bit of culture shock right now. Being semi-permanently in a completely foreign language/culture/everything  can be extremely overwhelming on every one of the senses. But, Tim has adjusted very well, as always. He's been here for a little over a month now so perhaps that is it, but I have my suspicions that God has just blessed him with an ability to adapt in any situation whereas I'm still learning to be flexible.

About being flexible, our plans have changed a million and one times since we made them - I guess that just goes to show that God laughs when we make plans ;) Anyway, one of the reasons I decided to make this blog was so that y'all could keep up to date with us in as simple a way as possible. For now, I am staying in Korea for 90 days at a time. After 90 days, I will fly back to Noblesville, IN, where my parents live, for at least a couple weeks at a time. Jet lag is rough so I don't want to turn right around to fly 14+ hours again the next day. I could, but I don't think I want to do that. So we will continue on that track for now. It may change...just keep that in mind. I've come to understand that planning has been nearly impossible since Tim and I have been married, except to plan on not planning. If that makes any sense at all, you're doing well!

Anyway, we are here in South Korea. We have a townhouse/duplex about a mile from base; of course I guess I should use kilometers since it's metric over here ;) It's nestled in between a dairy farm and quite a few rice paddies, very nice little place and actually quite similar in size to the house we rented  in Phoenix but more vertical rather than horizontal. Tim is doing initial training so he can be mission-ready - all you need to know is that he's flying and nearly prepared for anything that could happen out here. For the most part, he can't tell me everything and I don't ask. I know that is just how it is going to be. You must understand that it will be the same for y'all.

We go to Base for groceries and they have a Base Exchange (BX) that is very similar to a small mall so we can shop there for "American" stuff. However, off base is a place called Songtan. It is a bunch of buildings all squished together and there are a million little shops selling nearly anything you can imagine. They are essentially stacked up on top of each other. And haggling is a must at all of them. Quite fun! But there are no restrictions - that I can tell, anyway - on advertising or signage like in the US so it is a bit of sensory overload when you go. Much of S. Korea that I have seen thus far is like that. Many of the vendors at Songtan speak at least a little English, but elsewhere it is very limited. The Base has pretty much we could ever need so there is no need to go anywhere else, but Tim and I decided we want to learn the culture and people wherever we go.

I can't drive - no Korean driver's license yet - but Tim has his and we do have a car he bought over here. I still am not sure if I want to drive though. The rules of the road are similar but sometimes very different. Such as, you can't turn left on a green light, only on a green arrow. I think I'm going get that one wrong frequently. When Tim is around, he drives me around but if I need to go somewhere when he's at work, I have to get a taxi or become fast friends with anyone from base who lives close. For those of you who were in or are in the military you will understand, but for everyone else, being in the military means you make fast friends with everyone wherever you go. Partly because you're lonely, and partly because you may only be there for a year (or less) so you better make friends and you better do it fast or you most assuredly will be lonely.

Tim has been working mostly 12-hour days (or more) since I've been here so I have been going to as many social gatherings as possible to meet people. The only problem has been the gatherings have mostly been in the evenings and that is the only time Tim is home. It's the holidays so it is a little busier than usual. Everyone I've met has been so kind and welcoming. I've been keeping myself busy just trying to adjust to "Korean" time and make the house "homey" for Tim and I. Our little piece of America in the midst of Korea. Of course, Base is like a little America, too, but the Korean influence is still there since there is a Korean side of Base and the American side.

Well, my friends and loved ones, I don't know if I have anything else to say at this point but thanks for checking out my post and sorry if it is a terrible blog. I'll try to keep it up-to-date but keep in mind we are 14 hours ahead of Central time (Indiana time), so now it is 2pm in Korea and midnight at home in Noblesville, IN. The best way to communicate with us is going to be email or Facebook (me, Tim never checks it), and we can call you but it uses your cell phone minutes. Tim and I love you all and hope you are doing well! Here are some pictures...I will try to do better about taking pictures in the future! :) Oh, and please do not post these anywhere or send them to anyone else unless you ask me first and I approve it. Thanks!

Much love,
Nicki

This is a grave site near our house. They mound the earth and put little gravestones. Look how snowy!

This is what it looks like around our house: the detail of the rice paddy can be seen here. 

Our complex is there to the left. 

Our road to get to Base. The main roads are cleared but off-roads aren't and it's up to the cars to clear the path! 

Just arriving on the ROK (Republic of Korea) side of Base. 

Not sure what this is...it's all in Korean, but it's on Base! 

Nearing the 36 Fighter Squadron! Harrumph! :) 

The 36 Fighter Squadron: the Flying Fiends! Tim's squadron building 

Here's the sign outside the front 

Back-tracking a bit: on the way to our house from Incheon International Airport 

Inside the entrance to the Officer's Club. The Club is very active and has a nice restaurant. Yay! Christmas lights and decorations!  

Closer view of our complex. Ours is the second to last door in the middle buildings.

Looking out from our complex entrance. Our complex's name is Virginia Park, haha 

View of the rice paddies tucked in for the winter. 

Our living room! Ready for Christmas :) 

The kitchen/dining room which is connected to the living room. 

"Foyer" - the left is the door to Tim's office/"gym", the far right is a bathroom and the middle doors are our front room where we put out boots and whatnot. 

View of the stairs...we have a very tall ceiling. 

Our bedroom

There are no closets so there is a wardrobe in every bedroom. 

More of our room 

The guest bedroom. It is open in case you want to come visit! :) 

 Random to have a chandelier in the hallway...but, there it is.

View from the upstairs hallway.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!