tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post3959089730709571281..comments2024-02-28T22:43:49.960+00:00Comments on Asia Vu: Expat Life: Family Photos - Making The CutMsCarolinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-6431554857682801572012-10-31T04:40:25.365+00:002012-10-31T04:40:25.365+00:00I've been reading from the start! I get the e...I've been reading from the start! I get the entries delivered by email as you publish them. Great, great work! You have a finely honed skill for story telling!Joshua Austin, DDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02127072473578498356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-16909562367222266182012-10-29T21:50:10.523+00:002012-10-29T21:50:10.523+00:00DrA - Thanks! If I'd known you were reading, I...DrA - Thanks! If I'd known you were reading, I would have thrown in a gratuitous phrase about dentistry in Seoul just for your benefit! MrL and I found a dentist here who seems competent (although he did mix up the words 'toothbrush' and 'toothpaste' when we were talking - not necessarily a good sign, US Dental school or not!)but it's definitely not home! MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-27938763608560087192012-10-29T21:45:45.376+00:002012-10-29T21:45:45.376+00:00Stacy - We actually brought furniture with us (the...Stacy - We actually brought furniture with us (the company will move as much or as little as you want) but we didn't find an apartment until after we'd packed up our house in the US, so we went with only the most vital things - beds, for example (you know how hard Asian beds are!) and basic living room furniture(sofas in Asia- also hard!) - things we knew would fit in any apartment. We don't have any local souvenirs ourselves yet, except (oddly) maps and sketches - I have a weakness for old maps - that I've picked up along the way. I do have a standing agreement with MrL that we will buy a dol hareubang before we leave, because I MUST have one for my garden (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dol_hareubang) Other than that, most of the items out there are things we grew up with in our parents' houses and therefore not particularly exotic to us anymore!<br />Like you, I have one professional black-and-white portrait of my boys, but it's much older - they were 6 and 9 or something - so far nothing has topped it, so it stays. Of course, with two artistic children, your walls might look a little different than the average expat's - how fun that your daughter graduated from SAS - our neck of the woods and I think they compete with Seoul Foreign School in some of the APAC things. As far as holes go - we probably would have hung much more on the walls if we'd had drywall and/or paint on them, but Seoulites seem to be fans of wallpaper, and those holes are much more challenging to cover! <br />Oh, and re: the pecans: Yes, I saw your comment- of course pecans would be acceptable! ; ) I must have missed wherever you said it in the post. I can't even believe I asked, in retrospect, given the source and all! ; )<br />MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-51941270265589249672012-10-29T21:25:30.588+00:002012-10-29T21:25:30.588+00:00Elizabeth - I love that phrase, 'earn their ke...Elizabeth - I love that phrase, 'earn their keep' - it's exactly how I feel about the ones I brought along! Most of the photos I have displayed are older, as well - they capture times and places and people in a combination that made me ineffably happy. That's definitely the sort of thing you need around you when you're 6,000 miles (96500 km) away from home!<br />MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-80034242256166064782012-10-29T20:53:39.823+00:002012-10-29T20:53:39.823+00:00I loved this entry, C. Excellent prose, madam. H...I loved this entry, C. Excellent prose, madam. Hope all is well in the East!Joshua Austin, DDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02127072473578498356noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-77075014064820011432012-10-29T10:01:03.653+00:002012-10-29T10:01:03.653+00:00Our first three expat postings included only what ...Our first three expat postings included only what we could take in our suitcases so the photos were small and precious. Now we are allowed a 40-foot high top container and have furniture and rugs and paintings, etc. But I swore early on that I would not have a house full of local knickknacks so I limit myself to one or two special items from each place we live. It makes me think and choose judiciously. My two most valued possessions, though, are a black and white professional portrait of our two girls when they were 16 and 18 and the acrylic portrait my elder daughter painted of her and her sister as MY surprise graduation present (when she graduated from Singapore American School) and went off to Rhode Island School of Design. When you know you have to cover and repaint all the holes in the walls when you leave, you make them count, so the photos are still few and precious. <br /><br />Great post! <br /><br />(Did you see my answer? YES to pecans!)Stacyhttp://www.foodlustpeoplelove.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-74466627224595398222012-10-28T23:05:58.075+00:002012-10-28T23:05:58.075+00:00I think you have it exactly: when the photos have ...I think you have it exactly: when the photos have to earn their keep you get the ones which really speak. When I worked away from home for a couple of years during the week I had an array of photos which I loved. Now they are all out of date - the children aren't teenagers any more and my husband doesn't have the black hair - they are in a drawer now, still in their frames. There doesn't seem much point in putting them up but I would hate to lose them. Love the cycling photo by the way!Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-69371789564311768592012-10-28T20:52:10.527+00:002012-10-28T20:52:10.527+00:00Emma - Thank you! And,yes, I always say that my fa...Emma - Thank you! And,yes, I always say that my favorite photos seem to come from someone's phone! Of my favorite photos, very few have come from a professional photographer and very few have 'planned.'MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-9666788494360652542012-10-28T20:50:43.871+00:002012-10-28T20:50:43.871+00:00@Trish- thank you! Yes, the walls in many homes in...@Trish- thank you! Yes, the walls in many homes in the US are filled with photos as well - probably why the lack of them made such an impression on me and caught my attention. In our parlor (sitting room, whatever) back home, the entire wall was covered with old family photos from both families - we both love them, and I actually brought a few really special ones with us to Seoul, although I've nowhere to hang them (nails are frowned on by our landlord - ruins the wallpaper...sigh.) I had a very hard time choosing the ones to take along, but the few I brought bring an immediate smile to my face.MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-73608675595757139672012-10-28T20:00:22.150+00:002012-10-28T20:00:22.150+00:00I loved this post Caroline. So very thought provo...I loved this post Caroline. So very thought provoking. So very true! I come from a long line of photographers, yet some of my favourite pictures that come with us everywhere are the least professional! :) BavarianSojournhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12701272367912860549noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-91797832347592726102012-10-28T18:55:01.536+00:002012-10-28T18:55:01.536+00:00A fascinating post, MsC. And how beautiful was you...A fascinating post, MsC. And how beautiful was your grandmother!<br />I do know a lot of people here who fill their walls with family photos, mostly portrait photos of their children for every school year and occasionally a rather large canvas wedding photo above the fireplace. It would be much nicer to see some old photos alongside these.<br />For me, walls are for paintings and photos look better in small frames on a chest of drawers or cabinet. <br />I wonder which ones would make the cut if I were an Expat? That's something for me to ponder. Trishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00119443727504215312noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-39544600966639936052012-10-28T08:20:23.193+00:002012-10-28T08:20:23.193+00:00Wilma, it could very well be, at least in the sens...Wilma, it could very well be, at least in the sense that you aren't bogged down with a lot of extra stuff you don't need. I was definitely comparing it to the houses I was used to seeing in the US, where the 'Hall of Horror' (eg, chronological progression of family and baby photos marching down the wall)was almost a foregone conclusion(we had one), and lots of my friends had large, beautiful professional canvas-type family photos hanging over fireplaces and such, as well as many others all over the house. Maybe that's why I notice their absence so much. Not saying that they all aren't special- I only have about 8 framed photos here in Seoul that are very important to me, and the decision-making process was not easy!Interestingly - I have a photo of me and my parents from the late 60s, but none of my dad after about 1990 - still makes me too sad.MsCarolinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03623997911568143459noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4551977354338403876.post-73230239650637450912012-10-28T07:58:58.435+00:002012-10-28T07:58:58.435+00:00Interesting. Never really thought about that. We d...Interesting. Never really thought about that. We don't have many photos in our house either as we lost most of ours. Even though we got some of them back we still only have the same ones out that we had before. Oddly enough, they are the same ones that you speak of: my paternal grandmother, my maternal grandmother and me when I was 7 years, John's maternal grandfather holding his Aunt Laura, our wedding picture, Sean at about 3 months old, Sean's 1st birthday and Sean the week before he started kindergarten--the ones that were too precious to pack and chance losing. Also there is one of the 3 of us and one of Sean on our fridge. No photos out of our folks even though those didn't go missing. Can't look at those on a daily basis. Still miss them too much. :( Maybe people who live 3 people in a 625 sq. ft. apartment live similar to expats?Wilmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03943837947695508102noreply@blogger.com