Murphey's Law

I'm not sure why I expected everything to go smoothly ... b/c when you're taking on a trip as ambitious as we are, there are bound to be a few hang ups. SO - long story short - I am leaving Korea on Tuesday morning without a tourist visa to India. This means I need to ammend my itinerary and stay in Japan long enough for my visa application to process there. Which means ... I have to say annyong to Thailand. Not gonna lie, I am more than a little bit disappointed. But I have fumed, and complained, and accepted it, and now I am over it. I am grateful for the perspectove top recognize that ... poor me... I have to spend a full 8 days in Japan. boo hoo.

Other than that, work has been - work. And I have been trying to ignore it and enjoy my last days with my students. Their mother's are extraordinarily generous and I have received very kind notes and gifts from them saying they'll miss me and wishing me luck on my trip. Some of my kids are pretty bummed - and in a strange way I am grateful for that. I was so worried that they wouldn't care when I left. But Niki, my replacement, is wonderful and I know she will do great with them! I think my students will warm up to her in no time. She has the same hair color, so my kids are glad for that too. haha. :-)

We are experiencing technical difficulties...

...That meaning, I don't have a computer anymore.

I am going to do my best to keep updating, but right now I am quite busy because I leave Korea in a week!

No worries though, the adventures will continue.

Stay Tuned :-)

Beijing huan ying ni! ...The Olympics

Okay, so maybe I am not in Beijing, so I shouldn't tell you 'Beijing huan ying ni' (which means 'Welcome to Beijing') ... but I am really into the Olympic Mascots, and their names spell that sentence out. So that's what you get.

Sorry for the one week hiatus, but life has been super hectic since Summer Vacation. (As I guessed it would be.) I was able to watch the opening ceremonies - twice! I watched them in Korean last Friday night on KBS, and then watched them when AFN broadcasted them the next morning. I thought they were stunning, both times. My favorite part was when they recreated traditional Chinese images with giant (human) printing blocks. But overall I was mostly impressed with the Chinese's ability to synchronize thousands of people into such intricate designs and choreography. It was beautiful! Since the games have started I have been keeping an Olympic medal count on the board in my classroom. I love to see the kids get excited when we update it together in the morning. Koreans are very competitive and it's so fun to be here for the games. Other than Beijing, I imagine Korea is one of the best places to watch the Olympics this year. They are doing very well in the overal standings, and everyone is very excited for the games. It's interesting. I have never been in a foreign country for the Olympics before. And for me, seeing the enthusiasm Koreans have for the Olympic Games emphasizes the real point of them... international competition and friendship. It makes me glad.

And in other news, my parents are in Korea. We're in Busan for the weekend ... but I will update with details of their trip another time.

GO USA!

Boracay...

...was amazing. This was one of the best vacations, ever, period! For so many other reasons than the sheer beauty of the island too.

We had an *interesting* night in Manila (sleeping on benches outside of the closed airport) while we waited for our connection to Kalibo. Once we got to Kalibo it completely set in - we made it! From there, a friend we met on he plane helped us to find affordable transport to Caticlan where the folks from Frendz were waiting to pick us up. Once we got there, it was just one more short boat ride to Boracay. The boats are so small they just pull right up to the shore and you climb on in! Once we got to Boracay, we took "trikes" (a motorcycle with a sort of passenger cart on the side that seats 4) to our hostel. Frendz was full of other teachers from Korea, and we ade a lot of quick friends. It was great! I guess that's expected when EVERY hagwon in the entire city has the same week off for Summer Vacation.

We did a lot of relaxing. The food was wonderful - it was so nice to have so many choices! Most of the places we ate for dinner had tables set up right on the beach so you could eat with your toes in the sand. : ) The storm that was expected to hit the Philippines went off towards China instead, so we had excellent weather (considering it's rainy everywhere in Southeast Asia this time of year!) for the whole week. Other than just laying on the beach and soaking up the glorious sun, the four of us went island hopping and snorkeling, and I spent one day at a spa. (Which was wonderful, of course - i had a view of the ocean from my room!!) The views on the island hopping trip were stunning. And the company was great - a big group from Frendz came too, and they were very, well.. friendly! Sadly the snorkeling was sort of a disappointment. Most of their reef is completely dead - and they don't seem to have too many laws in place to protect it... some of the other people on our boat pocketed two starfish and one beautiful and giant shellfish. It was nearly as big as my face! When we urged them to put them back, the Filipino guide discouraged them, and told them the shellfish was yummy... so they kept them. Sad.

The beaches were truly breathtaking though. I have never seen sand that was so fine and so WHITE! Really.. some say it looks like cocaine - I'd like to say flour, thanks. haha. I mean, when you look at the pictures it doesn't do it justice. The best thing about our "resort" was that it was just 2 minutes from the best beach on the island. Not too far from the restaurants and bars etc ... but far enough that you don't feel hounded on the beach. I felt so in my element, sitting on the beach with my journal at sunset letting my mind run miles a minute. It was perfect. Especially with my year in Korea winding down (really, can you believe it?), I feel like I have a lot of possibility ahead of me, and a gorgeous beach at sunset isn't exactly a bad place to sort those things out. I thought about my goals and my dreams and about the person I am becoming - and that was all really exciting. And that's a big thing for me because I don't really do change well; to say the least. Being in Boracay on a REAL vacation for the first time on my own in my (gulp) adult life was so surreal. Thinking about all my friends and I are about to take on, being surrounded by other people our age doing the same things as us, meeting people from all corners of the world who are stopping over in this paradise before heading back to reality and real world jobs... I can't imagine going from Boracay to your new gig as an accountant in Manchester. But hey! That's just me. But all together, the thought of it all -taking it all in and just relaxing into my thoughts for the week- made me feel so alive. I'm excited for what's about to come... in so many ways my 'adventure' is really just beginning.

Some kids playing on the shields (?) they put up to protect people from the rain/wind at night.

Me and Liz at dinner on the beach.

Swimming during our island hopping trip.

So lucky to be there!

Out for Indian food (so good!) on Mullen's last night.

As always, stay tuned. : )

Teaser

So looking back on this, some of my posts are uber long -- do you all EVER finish those ones? If not - let me know.

Also, it came to my attention that you might not all know about my grand travel plans that set into motion in a mere TWENTY EIGHT days. so for the record: Andrea, Kirsten, Liz and I are traveling together (you did know that much, right?) for about 2 months. I will be setting foot in the following places (if everything goes right): Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Bahrain, Egypt, Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, Ireland, and now maybe England because my sister pointed out that the Chargers play the Saints in London (long story) the day we leave Dublin -- it just so happens that those are my two favorite NFL teams. So there may be a detour if I can afford it. After that I will spend Halloween in D.C., shoot up to New York to see a few friends and Equus before flying home on voting day. So there - that's the story.

And yes, a post on Boracay is coming soon -seriously soon- I have to upload my photos first, but stay tuned. It's coming, I swear. Keep reading ... even the long ones! lol