I'm Glad I Don't Live in Korea (or, what to do about the porn skateboard)

My Korean neighbor has a pornographic skateboard. This wouldn't bother me too much, except for the fact that it is almost always on display outside his apartment door, which happens to be right across from my apartment door. This means it is the first thing we see every time we leave our apartment.

He probably views this possession of his as completely unremarkable and innocuous, since pornography is much more common in Korea (glad I don't live there!). But I find it offensive. So when I ran into him yesterday as he was outside smoking (and if it's socially acceptable in Korea to smoke as much as he does, that's another reason I'm glad I don't live there), I politely asked him if he could do us a favor and keep his skateboard inside, as it is offensive to us. He nodded and said "Yeah, alright," so I assumed the issue was closed.

However, the next time I went outside, the notorious pornboard was again waiting for me, and has remained there since. Because we have been on friendly terms with our neighbor and his fiancee--we have had dinner with them once and chat briefly whenever we see them--I would like to think that he is not deliberately trying to offend me by leaving it there after telling me he would remove it. I will give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he just didn't understand what I was asking, since his English leaves something to be desired. But if that is the case, what should I do now? If I ask him again, he probably still won't understand what I am talking about.

I have tried to ignore it and not let it get to me. I know there are lots of people who live in places where pornography is all around them. There are lots of other somewhat offensive things that I encounter regularly, and I usually just ignore them. If I see an offensive ad on TV, I just change the channel (although I hardly ever watch TV anyway), or if I see an inappropriate billboard, I just forget about it. But seeing this every day has honestly started to get to me. Even the times that I anticipate it and deliberately look elsewhere, avoiding it makes me think about how much it bothers me that it's there in the first place. I find it degrading and objectifying that a photograph of some woman's body (of course it's a white woman, and of course it's only her neck down to her knees), would be carelessly plastered onto a skateboard. How can our society think it is okay to portray people as objects and then exploit them to sell products, or purchase those products to indulge in lust?

Perhaps I'm bothered by it so much because it belongs to someone whom I consider a casual friend. It's one thing to know that greedy corporations without morals or values are willing to make money by degrading women. But to know that someone I have invited to my house for dinner subscribes to this and would purchase something like that, and carelessly leave it outside his house as if it's the most insignificant thing in the world, seems more offensive.

Or maybe it's just that I have never been subjected to pornography on a daily basis before. Did I just write that?! I am being subjected to pornography on a daily basis, as is my husband and everyone who comes to my house!! Wow. And now I am questioning myself as to why it bothers me?! This is ridiculous. We should not have to put up with this!

If you have any advice as to how you would approach this, I welcome the input.

(Please note that I have known many great and wonderful Korean people and that this post is not meant to imply that I think all people in Korea accept pornography, or smoke.)

ROAD TRIP!!!

Hi. We haven't written for a while because we were on vacation for a whole month. Well maybe not a WHOLE month; we were actually gone for four calendar weeks but that's pretty close. Christina might delete that sentence later. (and that one).

"Where did you go on such an extended vacation?" you may ask. "Somewhere really cool and exotic I hope." If Idaho is exotic, then yes. More specifically, we took a tour through much of the Western United States to visit friends and family.

First we traveled south to California. Our first visit was with Christina's grandparents near San Jose.

Next we traveled down to Soledad to visit Adam's parents in their new house!

We had lots of fun adventures with Adam's parents, his sister Amber, and Lily's only cousin Amelia. 

We took a hike through Pinnacles National Monument.

 And visited the famous Monterey Bay Aquarium.

 Lily and Amelia (and the grown-ups) had a great time looking at all of the fish and other sea creatures.

 We also went out to breakfast; Lily thought the menu was superb. 

  And we took a trip down to the beach to have some fun in the sand and the waves.

Next we drove out to Utah, stopping to visit some of Adam's relatives in St. George and Enoch along the way.

We stayed with Christina's family in Salem but spent lots of time visiting old friends,

family members,

and former co-workers.

We also went to the zoo...

and the Air Force Museum.

We also saw some really cool cars. Lily wouldn't let us leave until we took a picture of this one.

Our next stop was Stanley Lake, ID where we went camping for a family reunion with Christina's mom's family. And yes, that really is how we dress when we go camping with the Lofgrans. (okay, not really)

One great thing about family reunions is that there is always someone willing to hold or watch the baby for you.

Lily had a fabulous time playing in the sand and the water while we went kayaking and tubing on the lake.

She sat in the freezing cold stream, playing happily with the rocks and the sand for over an hour! Good thing mommy has been feeding her so well.

We finally made it home safe and sound which is no small feat considering that there were massive wildfires burning just north and west of where we had been camping. Fortunately a timely rain storm suppressed the fires enough that the road was open when we needed to come home.

So that was our trip. Thanks to all of our friends and family who let us stay in their homes along the way. We had a wonderful time and miss all of our loved ones across the country already. So if you're ever in the Willamette Valley please give us a call and stop by!

I am an Olympic/Nature Photographer!

Okay, I'm not really that good at photography, but I did take some pretty cool pictures of Olympians and Nature which I have posted below. :)

My parents and my brother Daniel came to visit at the end of June. My mom and Daniel came to visit me and see Lily.

 
But I think my dad mostly came so he could go to the track & field Olympic Trials in Eugene (ok, he came to visit us too). He was very kind and took me with him to one day of the meet, and it was fantastic! From third-row seats, we got to watch Ashton Eaton run a lifetime best, gut-wrenching 1500 as the final, world record-breaking event in the decathlon. Everyone in the stands, which were packed, was screaming and cheering through the whole race, and jumping up and down when he finished in the time needed to break the record. It was breathtaking.

I like going to track meets, just became I'm that kind of geek, but this was REALLY fun. Partly because everyone else there was track-and-field-obsessed, and partly because it was amazing to watch some of the very best athletes in the world compete. I went to another day of the trials with Adam, and we got to watch Allyson Felix run the 4th fastest 200 in history! As in the history of the world, EVER! We were really impressed by the women high-jumpers, which included a 15-year-old high school sophomore and a 36-year-old. Here are a few pictures.

This is Chaunte Lowe with her daughter on her victory lap after winning the high-jump and qualifying for the Olympic team:

Here is Sonya Richards-Ross before the final heat of the women's 200, in which competed 7 of the 10 fastest women in the world.

Allyson Felix, preparing for a world-class 200 race.

Wow, they were good! But since most people are probably not as interested in reading about every element of a track meet as I am, I will spare you the minute details of each event. You can just watch the Olympics.

While my parents were here, we went camping at Cape Perpetua. I was a little nervous about camping with a baby, but my parents just got a pop-up camping trailer, which worked really well. It provided a dry sleeping space (not easy to come by when camping in Oregon), and a little more privacy for nursing Lily. We had a lot of fun, and the area was beautiful.

My dad's family decided to join us and make it into a family reunion, so they were staying in a beach house about 10 minutes from our campsite. We went on some really fun hikes, and spent time at the beach. This is my cousin Emily giving me a break from carrying Lily on a hike.

We saw some of the best tide pools I've ever been to, and hiked up a mountain for an incredible view.

 
We also visited the Sea Lion Caves, which is the largest sea cave in the world, and it's full of sea lions (as if you couldn't tell by the name). It was crazy to watch the males fight each other for the best sleeping spots. They are huge, and I really wouldn't want to meet one.

 
I really enjoyed spending time with my grandparents and some aunts and uncles I don't see very often. In fact, it was really hard when everyone left. I think I had forgotten how much I crave being around other people. It was difficult to go back to my very solitary life of taking care of Lily by myself most of the time. Adam has been really great at helping out, but of course he has school and work to do. I guess I realized that being around family is more important than I had thought. Hopefully when we go somewhere more permanent, we will be a little closer to family than we are now.

In the mean time, I will enjoy the time I have with Lily. She is growing up so fast! Lily is trying very hard to crawl, but has not been successful. I think this is because she is too heavy to support herself on her arms and legs. I don't mind though. She is easier to keep track of the way things are. She has two teeth, and loves eating new foods. Here is Lily devouring a plum during our camping trip:

And finally, we have some big news . . . Lily said her first word! She has been babbling for some time, so it may have been coincidence, but we think there is understanding behind it. We have been playing a game with her where I say "Da-da" and then Adam jumps up or appears from around the corner. And whenever she inadvertently says "da-da" Adam comes in and claps and cheers and repeats it. So after playing this for a while last week (officially it was July 1), he came in the room and Lily looked right at him, smiled and said clearly, "Da-da!" She has done it a number of times since each day since, so maybe that is significant. Maybe not, but hey, as her parents, it's our job to be over-excited about everything she does, right? :)

6-7 Months Pictures of Lily

This picture is to show that Lily isn't happy 100% of the time, in case anyone had mistakenly gotten that impression.

This was Lily's first day eating real food!

Scripture study with mommy.

This day was just full of funny expressions.

Lily's first experience swimming:

This is Lily's first experience with avocado: