Hotel Home Sweet Hotel Home

We have been in the Turumi Lodge now for about two weeks and we still have about two weeks to go.  The Turumi Lodge is the TLF (Temporary Lodging Facility) here at Osan.

Kevin is not considered "essential", so we have to wait for a 4 bedroom to open up.  If someone comes to the base that is essential, then they will get the apartment before us and we just keep hanging out on the waiting list.  Since we have gotten here, most families that got here the same time or after us, have all been placed in an apartment.  We just keep waiting and waiting.

Since we are a family of 6, we are over a single room occupancy, so we are assigned two rooms.  None of the rooms, as we can see, connect.  They gave us two rooms, and the rooms are not even next to each other or across from each other.  One room is in the middle of the lodge and the other room is the very end room.  Each room has a small kitchenette when you walk in the room with enough plates, bowls, silverware, etc. for 6.  It also includes a small selection of baking necessity, such as pots and pans, measuring cups, mixing spoons and such.  There is a small microwave/oven in one, stovetop burners, and an American fridge (Thank goodness!!!). Korean  fridges are so so small! After you pass through the small kitchen you are at the living room which has a small table and 4 chairs, sofa and a tv.  There is then a door which opens to the bedroom.  The bedroom has a desk, tv, and a double bed.  There is a bathroom vanity area to wash hands and do hair, then an actual bathroom with shower and toilet.

We put little Monster's crib in the bedroom with us, and for the first week Big Sis and M&M slept on the sofa bed, and Little A slept on a toddler size air mattress on the floor between the table and sofa sleeper.  The air mattress kept getting in the way, so we found out that the sofa cushions are the same size as the air mattress, so we had her sleeping on the sofa cushions.

The second room was used to store our excessive amounts of luggage and was used as the game room.

We brought our wii and before we left the states, I bought a few new games so the kids had something to look forward to.  During the day, we will escape to the game room and play board games, watch movies and play wii games.

The only problem is that the room is so hot!  The game/ luggage room is the one where the AC only slightly works in the bedroom part.  So, the main room doesn't get very cool.

After a week, the two older girls were complaining about sleeping on the sofa bed, and were begging to sleep in the real bed in the other room.  Little A was begging to sleep in any sort of normal bed.  The poor girl has been on air mattresses and the floor ever since our stuff was packed away two months ago.  I thought the girls had valid points, so I dug around all the luggage and found the baby monitor.  We set the monitor up in the luggage/game room and let the older girls share the full bed in there.  With the monitor, we can hear when they go to bed, when they wake up and if there are any problems.  Little A finally got a real bed and now sleeps on the sofa bed.

I had high hopes that with all of us in such small confines, we would get along better, and there would be less sibling fights, and less yelling. It seems the kids are more irritated with each other.  There have been more fighting, name calling and rude behavior.  I feel I am just playing referee all day putting one kid in time out after another.  I sure will be grateful for more space when we finally get into an apartment! However, when they are in good moods, they do play well together.  They will play the wii, color, read books, and watch movies.

One nice thing about living in such a small space and without our belongings for so long, is that I have learned that we can live and be happy with even the littlest of possessions.  Our stuff is just that- stuff.  And the more stuff you have does not equate to more happiness.  Perhaps for our family space=happiness.  LOL!!  But it is nice to know if I lost everything, we would move on and live just fine.