My son is turning 7 on November. That means he will be in first grade… in June if we are in the Philippines, last March if he started attending a Korean school, and in August if he goes to an international school.

Since we are here in Seoul, he will be attending an international school. And I have narrowed down our choices to 3: Seoul Foreign School, Yongsan International School of Seoul, and Dwight International School.

For those who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, these schools have a common eligibility requirement as set by Korean law:

• one or both of the student’s parents holds a foreign passport; or
• in case both of the student’s parents are Korean nationals, the student must have resided in a foreign country for at least three years

I spent months researching on which school to send our son to. Even when I was still in the Philippines, I was already keeping in touch with the Directors for Admissions of these 3 schools. And they were all prompt with their replies and patient with my questions. But, mind you, I haven’t made up my mind until this week.

So, to help out parents who will be coming over or who are planning to send their kids to an international school here in Seoul, here are the requirements and contact details of each school I listed above:

Seoul Foreign School (email: admissions@seoulforeign.org)

• Passport copies of parents and child
• Copy (front and back) of Alien Certificate of Registration
• Child is a fluent English speaker
• Request for confidential teacher recommendation (to be passed by teacher through email)
• SFS Admissions test
• Writing test

Dwight International School (email: admissions@dwight.or.kr)

• Copies of passport of parents and student
• Proof of eligibility
• Copy of birth certificate
• Assessment of student health form
• Bus application (if applicable)
• 3 color pictures
• 1 letter of recommendation from homeroom teacher
• Academic records for the current year plus previous 2 years
• Most recent standardized test

Yongsan International School of Seoul (email: admissions@yisseoul.org)

• Completed application for admission
• Copy of passport of student and parents
• Copy of birth certificate
• 2 passport size pictures
• Copy of school records
• Copy of recent standardized results
• Teacher recommendation form
• Health information or physician’s examination form

For an easier comparison of rates, here is a tabular presentation for the 3 school’s 2013-2014 rates:

Honestly, I would have really wanted my son to get into the Seoul Foreign School (SFS). My husband and I were concerned though because the Admissions Director was quite straightforward when she told me that because my son is currently not enrolled, this might work to his disadvantage. This, despite the difference in school year schedule of the Philippine school system. He has already graduated from Kindergarten. It would be impractical for us to enroll him again in a Kindergarten class so we opted to wait until the August opening. We just can’t pay 300USD for his application fee knowing that he might possibly not make it because of this particular issue or SFS might recommend that we enroll him in their Kindergarten class which finishes in June. Hmmm… impractical and the tuition fee rates are quite steep. Unlike the other 2 schools, SFS requires this 300USD payment prior to submission of the application form. The other 2 schools receive the application form and the supporting documents and the applicant will only be billed of the corresponding fee upon schedule of testing/interview.

With this monetary consideration, it would have been impractical for us to go testing for each school. Though hubby’s company is paying, we have to spend wisely as though we are the ones paying. That’s exactly the reason why hubby has his company’s confidence. We decided to focus on one school instead.

We opted for Dwight International School. It is the newest international school here in Seoul and its campus and facilities are new. It carries with it the history and qualifications of The Dwight Schools from New York, London, Canada and Beijing. And, of course, I didn’t fail to check the qualifications of its teachers and staff:-).

August will be a big event in our family. We are officially sending our Firstborn to Grade 1.

How time flies… not long ago, I was just cradling him in my arms:-)…

March is the time of the year when our family renews our Alien Registration Card (ARC) in the Mokdong Immigration Center. It had always been my husband who goes to the Immigration Center with all our passports and application forms ready to hand in.

Surprise! This year, I  needed to personally go to the Immigration Center, too. Since January 2012, fingerprinting had been part of the requirement for the renewal of the ARC. This we learned after hubby left the Immigration Center with only  his and the two kids’ ARCs. ARC holders who are 17 years old and above are now required to appear so they could be fingerprinted. I guess, this is aligned with the fingerprinting method in the Incheon International Airport Immigration upon arrival in Korea.

Contents of this post might be a little bit obvious to some but for clarity, and in case some would find this information useful, I find it best to still reserve a post for this topic.

Filipino citizens residing in South Korea may have a Catholic Church wedding. The Hyewha Catholic Church in Hyehwa-dong is the most populated Catholic Church by Filipinos every Sunday as this is where Filipinos from South Korea congregate. Even those outside of Seoul take the effort to go to the Hyewha  Catholic Church, not just for their Sunday mass but also to meet fellow Filipinos and catch up with each other’s lives. So, for Catholic Filipino passport holders, Hyehwa is the most obvious venue of their church wedding.

But, it is important to note that parties do not just comply with the civil requirements for the Catholic Church to officiate the wedding. Couples could only get married in the Church after they have been married at the Embassy of the Philippines in Seoul. This is because between Filipinos only marriages officiated at the Embassy are legal and binding.

For a complete list of requirements for Filipino citizens who intend to get married in Korea, check the Philippine Embassy website. You will have the detailed list under the item Solemnization of Marriage.

This post is inspired by our family’s long-time Saturday companion who is getting married at the Philippine Embassy this Saturday. She and her husband-in-3-days will have their church wedding on January. Best wishes!

Yeah, November babies were conceived on Valentine month, February.

Hubby and I have 2 Valentine babies, beat that! One was born on the 1st day of November, the other was born on the last day! I know, extremes!

So, November is a busy month for our family. We just finished with the birthday celebrations! My Second-born had an advance celebration last Saturday with a Lightning McQueen birthday party. He loves Lightning McQueen and he was just so happy to have his own Lightning McQueen birthday cake and Lightning McQueen birthday shirt:

Firstborn had a fun-filled costume party and he chose to be Optimus Prime:

It is comforting to know that my Valentine babies feel at home here in Seoul despite having no Korean lineage. Our Filipino friends make our life here more exciting and memorable… We know we will leave Korea someday but while we are here, we are making good memories for ourselves, for the kids and for the friends we make along the way…

For moms in countries where a nanny is a rarity, I am sure we all have stories to share on how we cope up with household chores and taking care of our kids.

This is how I get things done:

Kids (usually my Firstborn has the say) choose whether they watch TV or play computer while Mommy prepares dinner. Firstborn chose playing in the computer tonight. Secondborn thought he was also playing. To stop the crying, I gave him his own mouse to play with so he felt he was also controlling the movements in the video game:-).

The two kids continue playing right after dinner… in the bath tub. They both love it so I don’t hear any protests whenever I announce “Bath time. To the tub now.” I can finish washing the dishes and cleaning the mess made during dinner.

How do you get things done?

Perhaps I have written about my husband’s travelling a number of times already. But each time I write about it, there is always something to tell because each time he leaves there is always a certain amount of loneliness that I find more and more difficult to conceal from my perceptive 4-year old boy.

Though my husband travels the world for a living, I still find it difficult to get used to the idea of being alone during the night **sigh**.

Just as we were about to sleep tonight, my 4-year old Little Dynamo touched my face and said, “Don’t worry, Mommy. Don’t cry. Daddy will be back.”

Sweet. I wasn’t crying, by the way:-).

There used to be only 1 toddler who loved to get into his daddy’s Samsonite luggage whenever we do the usual preparation for my husband’s business trip. Now there are 2: 

It’s double the fun and double the delay. But of course, we wouldn’t want it any other way…

Happy weekend!

Have you ever used your smart phone for shopping here in Seoul? I just did and I went home smiling.

Hubby gifted me with Shinsegae gift checks (**wink**) last February 14.  When a girl friend learned about it, she was so excited to accompany me and she showed me how to use her Smartphone for shopping discounts. Unfortunately, our babies didn’t give us shopping time. So, I urged hubby to download the Shinsegae icon so we can avail of the discounts exclusive for Smartphone users. If not for the kids constant nagging, we would have loved to go around the department store for more. I ended up with some shopping gift checks left.

So, how does it go? Big department stores here in South Korea have developed Smart phone applications which a Smartphone user can download. First, a user should download the establishment’s icon. As soon as the icon is on your smart phone, you can browse through its content for news, events and shopping coupons for discounts. Of course, I was interested with the shopping discount coupons. Classic example: a Shinsegae spring jacket for 168,000-won could be purchased upon presenting your Smart phone with the Shinsegae discount coupon for just 99,000-won. Definitely, a good buy.

Some of the establishments I know which have icons that can be downloaded to your Smartphone are:

• Shinsegae Department Store
• Lottle Department Store
• Hyundai Department Store
• VIPS Family Restaurant

I’m sure there are more but these are the only ones that I personally know. Be a practical shopper and do your research for your Smartphone. Enjoy!

It took us longer this morning to go down to the lobby to bring Little Dynamo to his waiting school bus.

The reason:

Baby Dynamo was crying for his brother’s school bag. To put a stop to his waling, I also put on a little backpack for him.

Not yet, baby, not yet! Mommy’s going to be really sad!

Little Dynamo has his own batch for playmates here in Seoul. I’m glad my children do not lack this important part of their childhood. But what’s so special about Baby Dynamo’s friend in this picture?

For one, their mommies have been friends for 4 years already. We had been together almost everyday until last year when they had to move to another place. Second, their older siblings had been friends since they were infants. It’s a no-brainer that they follow the same path.

Cheers to the bond  of friendship!