Thrift Store Dress

Innovative Inventions

2012-02-22T16:51:00.001+09:00

I asked one of my classes to come up with an invention of their own and tell me 7 things about it. I was quite humored at what a few of them came up with and I decided to share them with you...

I mack a magic pencil because it is cool. Magic pencil write english. I don't mack computer. I mack computer pencil. I mack magic robet. Magic robet is cool. I don't mack books.

~Tiger

The fly shoes is very good. Because this shoes fly around. I like fly. This is very good shoes. I like this shoes. I want make shoes because this shoes is fly. This is so good or great. I like flying. I like this shoes because this shoes have wings. I like made the this shoes because it is so good.

~Alex

Magic Water is magic. Magic water's drink and change. Change's a monster. Angry birds, lion, tiger many things. And a many animals. So I'm happy.

~Nicky

I mack computer because computer is the play game. I don't mack book because book is the homework. I favorite mack the toy because toy is the play toy. I favorite don't mack the video because noisy. I favorite mack food the chicken because very delicious.

~Joseph

I make the magic TV. I talk the Naver (Korean version of google). The TV is naver home and I talk the game the TV is game home. The game is many games the mario game and sony game many many game. I like the game.

~Tony

Well obviously not all of them fully understood the idea of coming up with a new idea but I was still proud of what they came up with and their writing skills. They continue to improve and I love to see how they think! :) Hope you enjoyed this little teacher moment... I have plenty of them stored away.

Students' writings...

2012-02-21T21:25:00.000+09:00

Every once in awhile, you get reminded why you do what you do. For me, this happened again last week when I asked a few of my students to come up with a list of questions and answers. I was really proud of them for what they came up with and decided they were just too cute not to share! I left them in their original form for your enjoyment.

Q: Do you like draw picture?

A: Yes, I am.

Q: Do you like computer game?

A: Yes, I can.

Q: What do you favorite weather?

A: My favorite weather is a sunny.

Q: I like food meet (supposed to be 'meat') what do you like food?

A: I like....

Q: Do you like turkey ice cream?

A: no answer ?? :)

Q: Do you like animals name?

A: I like animals name is skunk.

Q: Do you like weather climate?

A: I like climate is snowy

Q: What do monkey eat?

A: It monkey eat is banana.

Q: What is your dad job?

A: My dad job is work computer company.

This is honestly one of my favorite parts of being an English teacher. The students' work is so cute and they put so much effort into it. I love discovering their world through their writing and limited conversation.

a year has passed...

2012-02-20T19:39:00.001+09:00

I remember when we were packing up to head to Korea, people would say "you're moving where?!" After which they would say, "you can handle anything for a year." Well, that year has come and gone and we find ourselves staying here. Yes we are moving to a new place and starting a new job but we are still in Korea and still enjoying our lives here. Sure, there are frustrations, cultural differences, and days when we look at each other and say "what in the world are we doing here?!" For the most part, however, our life here is a wonderful experience. We have had amazing times here and made wonderful memories and met some pretty awesome people. It's hard to believe the year has already passed since we arrived here. I can still remember the sights and smells, the way I felt, the things that surprised me, the excitement and the tears.

We arrived on February 19th, 2011... and it was the start to a new adventure... I remember walking into the apartment for the first time. Everything was a bit surreal. It had been quite an emotional and hectic ride--the decision to move, the sorting, packing, selling, and getting paperwork in order-- which all took place in less than a month. There were people that didn't even know we left because it all happened so fast!

Some of you may recall how the apartment looked when we arrived. I remember meeting the children for the first time and falling in love instantly. I remember getting to experience my very first real Spring! Our day spent in Japan was quite memorable and expensive (if you will recall the minor language mishap)...

It's true what they say about culture shock, regardless of the severity, it hits everyone at some point and ours initially hit around three months. We both felt like punching someone out of frustration and then sobbing over a hamburger and fries because we were so homesick (at least that's how I felt). The problem with culture shock is that it can come and go at random. At around the 5 month mark, it seemed to come on with a vengeance...perhaps the terrible weather helped it out. Regardless of the reason, I cried myself to sleep a few times and wallowed in a cup of coffee a few other times (pathetic I know, don't judge).

It's always important to celebrate the little things, and by little things I do mean Summer vacation. Here in Korea, Hogwons take a day for summer vacation. I knew I had to cram every little bit of goodness into that one day and boy did we ever! We made a memory filled day packed with all your ordinary summer activities.

When I hit the six month mark, I made a surprise visit back to the states. That trip really made the homesickness dissipate and I was able to enjoy life a little more after my return! :)

We got to celebrate America's biggest national holiday "foreigner style". Being able to adapt to surroundings and situations makes holidays all the more fun! We made our decorations from scratch and made a massive trip to Costco for all the American goodies. It was a day worth remembering.

Another first for me was Fall. I have always lived in tropical climates which don't often have much Autumn-ness. Thus, I was thrilled at the prospect of Fall. I wasn't disappointed.

Even when you are accustomed to a place and in a routine, there is nothing that prepares you for the loneliness that accompanies a special holiday. Thanksgiving is such a family- oriented holiday that it was one of the saddest to celebrate here. We had a great time with friends and I made traditional dishes which took away some of the pangs of loneliness.

I experienced another "first" ever~ being in the hospital! Imagine that... come all the way to Korea and never be in the ER. Well, now I can check that off my list... Been there, done that, got the IV, thanks.

And most importantly, we have made incredible friendships while living here. Living internationally can be a very isolated feeling if you do not have friends to lean on and support. We are blessed with amazing friends and I thank God for bringing our paths together. I can't begin to list them all but thanks so all of you for all the love, kindness and support over the past year. We love you all!

The movers came, packed all our earthly belongings, threw the stuff out the window (not really... just the moving system here) and we prepared for a move outside Seoul. There is excitement, a little trepidation, and some sadness.

All in all, we are walking through doors that God is opening and therefore are never alone. He has promised to be with us no matter the place or situation and even when things get rough or confusing, we can always rely on that promise.

I want to say a big thank you to all of you who have been on this journey with us via this blog. It means more than you probably know that people care to take time out of their busy lives to read about our life here in Korea. I have loved writing this blog this past year and look forward to new adventure to share in the upcoming year.

Thanks for being part of our Adventure...

valentines day~

2012-02-20T19:13:00.000+09:00

It never ceases to amaze me how opinionated people can be. I fully support individuals having the right to their own opinion, but when it results in an attack on various holidays, it seems like its a bit much. I love holidays!! I will get excited about President's day if it means I can plan a party, seriously I'm that bad. So, imagine my excitement for Valentine's day, granted one of the most cliche and cheesy holidays in the year, but I still love it! I scoured the internet for fun ideas, menus, and decorations to help me make this day extra special for Robert. I know all the stuff people say "you shouldn't be pressured into expressing your love on just one day.." "I don't need to do anything special on Vday because I show my love everyday..." and on and on it goes. For that matter, why should be celebrate birthdays since we treat the person like they are important everyday? What's so special about a birthday? Well, good for you. I happen to love a special day that I can express to my husband just how special he is. So, on to my rant... I got a little annoyed at all the anti-Vday stuff I found mixed in with the cute ideas. People get down right hostile about Valentines day! Really?! I understand that at the core, it is a romantic holiday but it is meant to be shared by everyone~ romantically or no. I always loved school valentines day parties where I gave out cute valentines day cards to all my friends. My parents always gave me a little gift on Valentines and so I never grew up thinking that if you didn't have a special someone, the day was void. It's a day about love, in all its forms. If you don't like it, skip it... don't ruin it for the rest of us! Ok, folks, and that is about as controversial as I get. There... I voiced my opinion~

I LOVE VALENTINE'S DAY!!! :)

This year, as we are in Korea, we decided to do things the Eastern way... For those of you that don't know the difference between the Eastern and Western way (because I didn't until moving here), February 14th, Valentine's Day, is reserved for the boys. Girls make chocolate and give it to the boys. On March 14th, White Day, its all about the ladies. The boys buy chocolate and flowers for the girls. I have even heard of April 14th, Black Day, being reserved for the singles...so you see, we take care of everyone here :) There, now that we are all on the same page... the day was all about Robert.

Being the sweetheart he is, he still bought me roses even though it was supposed to be all about him.

I decided that the best way to hide his presents, was to buy stuff for myself as decoys... it totally keeps his presents secret and I get stuff in the process! Genius plan....

"We're all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness- and call it love- true love." ~ Robert Fulghum

Robert and I laugh together everyday...

The Dinner Menu

Tossed Salad

Tomato and Balsamic

Cinnamon Baked Squash

Steak with a Mushroom Glaze

Cake and Tea

My Handsome Valentine

Time for dessert...

I would ordinarily make something myself but I had to be in Gimcheon for meetings all day Monday and then worked all day Tuesday... Lucky for me Paris is just a few steps away (or at least a bakery that claims to be Paris)....

Robert's response: "EVERYTHING is Pink!!" :)

So there you have it... how we celebrate Valentine's day in Korea. It was a really fun day and I really enjoyed making it special for Robert. I hope you had a love-filled day with those closest to you. I hope you realized just how blessed you are and how much those around you appreciate and value you. Because when it comes down to it... that's all Valentine's day is.

Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look which becomes a habit. ~Peter Ustinov

Who, being loved, is poor? ~Oscar Wilde

Take away love and our earth is a tomb. ~ Robert Browning

Love is absolute loyalty. People fade, looks fade, but loyalty never fades. You can depend on certain people...and that's love, even if it doesn't seem very exciting. ~ Sylvester Stallone

You really shouldn't say "I love you" unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget. ~ 8 year old Jessica

You learn to like someone when you find out what makes them laugh, but you can never truly love someone until you find out what makes them cry. ~ Unknown.

to the girls

2012-02-17T16:25:00.002+09:00

This past weekend was a little bitter/sweet for me. Though I am so excited for all the new changes that are coming, I am sad to say goodbye to my friends and co-teachers. Yes, I will still be in country, but I will not get to see them everyday and hear them wish me good morning or laugh with them over a cup of coffee. They have been such wonderful friends, welcoming me into the teaching staff and making me feel like I belong. I love them all so much and will miss them terribly. The time around my birthday was a bit hectic last month so they threw a birthday/goodbye dinner for me on Friday night. Sally had given me a sweater and pearls and then Gloria gave me this adorable pom-pom hat and Hannah have me a lovely sweater vest.

Since I got to choose the restaurant, of course I chose my favorite, Sam-gap-sil (pork) and was not disappointed. It is always delicious.

When it started to sink in that this was really my "goodbye" dinner, I started getting a little sentimental. I refrained from tearing up but I was definitely walking down memory lane of the past year with these ladies. I decided to share a few highlights from the year...

Easter

Spring

Chuseok

Seoulland Theme Park

Musical

Kid's Play Cafe

Seoul Milk Farm

Hiking Day

Presentation Day

Winter

Thank you ladies for all the laughs, memories, and good times. You truly are very special and I love each and every one of you. I wish you all the best in the upcoming year and will see you again soon on my next visit to Seoul :)

Love you~ Hannah (thanks for all your hugs- they're my favorite:), Sally (I have laughed more with you than anyone in Korea. You are so special. I'm glad I made you go tubing down that hill with me!:), Gloria (You are always ready for a good time and I loved all the times we ate lunch together :), Jackie (I enjoyed all our chats about Classic literature. It was nice getting to know you for a few months), and Kristen (It's always nice to have a familiar face around. Glad you got to join the team :)

First Korean Meal

2012-02-14T21:57:00.003+09:00

Some of you may remember shortly after arriving, my boasting of cooking a Korean meal at home. You might also remember that meal including opening a box and pouring the ingredients in the pan and mixing. If you don't remember either, just continue reading... this is the first actual Korean meal I cooked and I honestly did cook this one from scratch. It was a lot of fun and it turned out pretty tasty!

TteokGuk=떡국

This is the traditional Korean New Year's meal.

Ingredients:

Meat

Tteok (rice cake)

chives or garlic stems

eggs

salt and pepper

soy sauce

water

kim (seaweed)

Step 1: brown the meat and put the water on to boil

Step 2: add the garlic stems and the Tteok

Step 3: after the Tteok is softened, stir in the egg which has been lightly beaten

Let the soup simmer for a few minutes and them serve with some seaweed if you would like.

Its a very delicious soup and if you happen to come across these ingredients, give this soup a try! I think you will really enjoy it!

맛있는 (mas-issneun)the Korean term for delicious/tasty

dr. fish

2012-02-12T03:48:00.000+09:00

Ever since moving to Korea, I have been dying to go to "Dr. Fish" and finally got to do it last weekend!! Now some of you already know what it is and some of you aren't catching on to the name "doctor~ fish"... no worries. I will explain. There are these nifty little fish that love to eat dead skin off people's feet, therefore "curing" them of dead skin, hence the name... ok, ok, you got it. Moving on. Jordan and Bethany are so good about researching cool places to try out so they were the ones that organized the whole evening. We journeyed to Gangnam and found a lovely cafe. I kind of expected a huge pool with fish swimming and that to be the main attraction in this place but actually the cafe was brimming with people (several foreigners, I might add) and at the back of the cafe there were two small pools with the fish in them. Basically you ordered your drink and told them you wanted to do dr. fish and then you went to the pools whenever you were ready. It was a very relaxing evening with lots of laughs (the fish are very ticklish!)

Jordan and Bethany

Brian and Emily

Kyle and Jess

Us :)

Time to see the Doctors!

The pools were small so we split into two groups: boys and girls

munch'n away!

I told you they were ticklish. :)

After seeing the doctors, we went in search of food. We decided upon a restaurant called "School Food" and it is literally that. They take common Korean school food and amp it up a little for restaurant cuisine. It's good and its cheap. Can't get any better than that, right?

After dinner we eyed a Kona coffee shop, which is simply unable to be ignored. Brian and Emily had to head home but the rest of us made our way to the Hawaiian goodness called Kona coffee .

It was definitely a memorable evening of fun, fish, and friends. I'm so glad we got to experience Dr. Fish and I would happily go back again! The next time you are in Korea, be sure to check it out! You won't be sorry and your feet will thank you! :)

a snowy day of fun..

2012-02-05T22:37:00.000+09:00

I always look forward to our Kindy field trips and this time was no different. I had heard we were going tubing and asked if we were going to a nearby mountain or what. They said no and I was trying to figure out where we were going to go in the middle of Seoul! Sure enough, we boarded a bus and drove for about 20-30 minutes and then pulled in a driveway right in the center of the city! Its a public park that is used for a swimming park and a tubing park in the winter. :) The kids were so excited and the teachers had quite a bit of fun too! :)

I wore my rain boots thinking that they were be warmer than my suede boots because they would keep my feet from getting wet. I was mistaken. My feet were completely frozen!! Luckily I had a little feet warming time between tubing and riding little fair rides :)

We had paid for a package that included a full lunch so we all enjoyed the warmth and the food...tubing makes a person quite hungry!

The park also included a mini trick art museum. There's a larger one near here but I have yet to go to that one. This one isn't quite as good as I've heard the other one is, but it still was a lot of fun and the kids really enjoyed it.

Rainbow~ Yellow

Red

Ocean

Up, Up, and Away!

I love Jason's face! Molly started out looking scared and then she got angry that Jason got in her picture. Hence, the face! :)

What can I say? I'm a pro :)

From Molly's perspective...

After the trick art museum it was time to hit the hills again! This time around, the teachers got in on the fun. Andy was so sweet and carried up a tube for me so I could race him down the hill :)

It truly was a great day and we all had a great time!

ice. ice. ice. and trout

2012-02-01T17:23:00.000+09:00

This past weekend we were invited by our good friends, Jordan and Bethany, to accompany them to an Ice Festival a few hours away. We were delighted at the opportunity and headed out bright and early on the subway to catch a bus. We got a little lost, only because none of us had been on the green line and it so happens that its the most confusing line of the entire Seoul subway system. Once that was corrected, we boarded a bus for the next 2 hours bound for the Ice Festival.

The host town is a tiny little spot that was hardly on the map until it decided to have the Ice Festival. Now its the entire existence of the town. Everything revolves around the festival. We got vouchers when we bought tickets and those could be used anywhere in the town just like cash! :)

We didn't actually do any Ice fishing but we enjoyed watching others stick their faces

in the ice to try to catch fish :)

It's called "food guilt" and this is one of the best examples I have seen yet!

In case you don't know how to ice fish, there's an academy for it...

There was literally every activity that can even be remotely connected with snow or ice! I have never seen so many options at a festival. It was incredible!

(Jordan was feeling a tad under the weather and wasn't up for the fast driving

and circular motions of the all- terrain vehicle~ it was better than a fair ride :) .

One activity that is generally not connected with snow and ice is trout fishing by hand... none the less, it was an activity offered. Individuals were issued shorts and t-shirts and then instructed to go bare foot into a pool of freezing water and try to catch a fish by hand. They did it in groups of kids first and then adults. These poor kids were shivering before they even got to the water!

Next it was the adult's turn. Surprisingly enough, there were some miguks (Americans) that participated. It was quite entertaining to watch them and how the Koreans cheered them on :)

This was the funniest part of all... you would have thought that American girl was Angelina Jolie the way those camera guys buzzed around her! Poor girl stood in the water for 5 minutes posing with that fish until they finally let her get out and then took more pictures of her :)

This is the first time I have every seen a designated place just for us! :)

We enjoyed various types of street food, among them was mutton skewers. We also had some fish jerky... see the following picture for my reaction. It wasn't terrible but I don't think I will be ordering it for dinner anytime soon. Hey, at least I tried it!

There were trout fish everywhere throughout the little town.

There was also an Ice Sculpture display...

I would say our dresses are a tad revealing... what do you think?

We continued to sample street food... small birds

(of some sort~ perhaps pigeons, but I'm not sure)

There was a museum of German woodwork (I really have no idea why... random) and we enjoyed looking through that. As you exited there were beautiful Korean figurines. They are a perfect representation of Korean culture and history.

And then there were more snow sculptures!

I really have no clue what this sign even meant... served as a great photo op though.

After spending several hours in the snow and cold, my feet were super cold (the issue that arises when choosing incorrect boots) so we found a great cozy coffee shop to warm up in.

As we were leaving, all the street lights were on and it was gorgeous. It definitely was a great experience and we enjoyed spending the time with friends!

Friendship

2012-02-01T00:58:00.000+09:00

We have been fortunate enough to make some pretty amazing friends during our time here in Korea. It's funny how the knowledge of something suddenly makes that thing more visible. Allow me to explain my vagueness~ you know the first time you notice a Dodge Durango, and then from that moment on you see hundreds of Dodge Durangos on the road? Well the same goes for international teachers. While it seems like a stretch, stick with me... before moving to Korea, I only knew of a few people that lived overseas teaching English and the same went for my family. After moving here, everyone and their mother in law knows someone who is currently or has in the past, taught overseas. See what I mean about the Durango? Well, on to my post about friends... We had never actually met the Newtons before arriving in Korea, but through mutual friends and plenty of "Oh you are moving to Korea?! My friends are moving there too!", we formally met Chad and Joanna and it was "friends at first sight".

Now fast forward a few months from our first meeting and we arrive at "Seoullal"~ Korean Lunar New Year which is the biggest holiday all year here in Korea. We decided that a trip to Daegu to be with friends would be the best way to spend the holiday! Oh, did I mention it was the bigest holiday of the year? Yea, well, we tried to be all organized and plan ahead so while we were still in America we tried to buys KTX (bullet train) tickets. The website said we couldn't buy them until a particular day in January... on that day we got on to buy them and *kabam!* they were all gone! We moved on to the slow train... same story, different sound effect. Finally our friend, Jin was sweet enough to hunt around for us and found us bus tickets. While the 4 hour ride wasn't what we were planning on, we were just happy to have transportation and the bus wasn't really that bad. We left straight after work on Friday, boarded a bus at 8:45pm and arrived at the Newtons shortly after 1am :)

They had the cutest hostess/congratulatory gift waiting for us :)

Remember how I said that we celebrated Robert's birthday while in Daegu? Well, we did and it was quite the party! If you know Robert at all, you know he is pretty low key. He has put up with all my parties very graciously but his personal preference is the less hoopla, the better. Following suite, we had a cozy little dinner at an Indian restaurant, following by games, coffee, and dessert at a coffee shop.

The atmosphere at the coffee shop was perfect. We sat outside on an indoor patio and had heaters and blankets which just made it even more cozy.

If I had to condense the entire weekend into 5 words it would be this:

coffee-shop* scrabble* laughter* more scrabble* coffee

Daegu will actually be our nearest big city when we move to Gimcheon so they were good enough to act as tour guides and show us all the best spots, including very yummy restaurants...

We had late nights and late mornings... some of us didn't even want to get up then! :)

*pinterest-ing

*technology-ing

Friends from nearby, Pedro and Kirstey, came to spend part of the holiday too. It was great seeing them again and getting better acquainted with them!

Not only did we play Speed Scrabble all weekend, there was always a game of Words with Friends or Wordle going on too! :)

Pedro and Kirstey introduced us to a really neat place: a Game Cafe.

It's exactly what it sounds like... You pay either for an unlimited amount of games plus a drink, or you pay per game. When you are seated you are given a menu of games and you can choose as many as you want! It's the greatest thing ever! Why they don't have them in the states is beyond me.

After the game cafe, we headed to an indoor golf range with an interactive screen. It was pretty amazing! There are cameras and sensors on the ball which coordinate with the screen while you hit the ball outside into the open net. It's like a driving range and WII golf put together :)

It was a fabulous weekend with friends, but also bittersweet as it was the last time we will see them for awhile. They have finished their year here and are heading back to the states. A sad aspect of living here in Korea is all the goodbyes you have to say. You meet other teachers, make connections and then have to part. We had many great times with the Newtons and are sad to see them go. We wish them all the best on their return to the states.

We got home around 2am to a ground covered in snow :)

another year old

2012-01-30T22:31:00.002+09:00

Special days can be a little tough when you are away from family...at least for this extremely sentimental girl. Birthdays are no exception. I have come to the conclusion that birthdays are becoming less fun the older I get. It's not that I mind getting older. I believe that with each year you are gaining knowledge, friends, experiences, opportunities that are amazing and only come with age. Sometimes I just miss all the memories of fun birthday parties that my mom put so much thought and work into. As per our tradition, Robert and I celebrated out birthdays together since we are only a week apart. We decided on our favorite Samgapsil restaurant and made reservations. The man is such a sweetie and was delighted that we had chosen his restaurant for the occasion. He had the table set nicely when we arrived and served us with diligent attention (especially me, but that's just because he really likes me) :) A few of our friends were able to join us for the celebration and it was a lovely evening spent in good company.

Eric and Bogyeoung

Jordan and Bethany

Hannah

(she was upset because the owner only took

pictures of the couples and forgot about the singles:)

Kristen

The owner~ we will really miss him and his restaurant when we move to Gimcheon!

After dinner we returned to the apartment for dessert, music, and games. With this group, there is always music being made and I love it!

I would say a war is about to ensue...

Party poppers are poised and ready... and POW! afterwards you only have a small amount to clean up. Makes sense to me :)

Korean bakeries supply you with candles, matches, party poppers, and a knife. Seriously they think of everything :) I really like their candle system too. It makes a lot of sense. The taller candles represent 10 years and the small candles represent 1 year. Our candles added up to a total of 49 years :)

What do you do when your feet are cold? Put on the nearest set of slippers you can find! :)

It is not a party until the scrabble tiles are pulled out! This game went until about 1:30am!

After most of the crowd left (Hannah spent the night), we decided to open our gifts. My mom and dad had sent a gift back with us at Christmas which I had sitting on our desk untouched until the party.

So, Robert turned 25 and I turned 24...however, in Korean age he is 26 and I am 25. "Does that come as an advantage?"you might ask. Well, usually I tell my American age, but there are a few instances that I rely on my Korean age. For example, in Korea age is extremely important and you lose respect the younger you are. There is something called the "Confucian Order" which ranks you against others based on a series of questions.

1. How old are you?

2. Are you married?

3. What is your occupation

4. How much is your salary?

By asking these simple questions, a person can automatically place you in a particular category. I have only had this happen to me once and believe me when I say...I didn't make the cut. Because I am so young and I am married but have no children, I am often placed in an "acquaintance" category. Now, all that to say, at times its nice to be a year older without actually lying :)

To say the least, a great time was had and we are so blessed to have wonderful friends to share special events with. It took the sting out of being away from family on our birthdays for sure. So, thanks to all who made our days extra special. We love you!

Since we had the joint celebration, we kept the actual day pretty low key. On my birthday we ate Samgapsil again (seriously, its that good!) but at a different place. Jordan, Bethany, Kristen, Ted (from church), Robert, and I had a lovely dinner together.

Since the Master's degree waits for no man or birthdays for that matter, we headed on over to Cafe Bene to study. I couldn't go the night without at least a piece of Birthday cake (yes, I'm that narcissistic) :), so we got a delicious piece of brownie cheesecake.

So, in answer to your question,

yes... I feel infinitely wiser and mature following the events of my 24th birthday.

Thanks for asking.

For Robert's birthday we happened to be in Daegu (a post coming soon) spending the lunar new year with our great friends, Jo and Chad Newton. They were so sweet to make sure Robert had a great birthday. We at a wonderful Indian restaurant and then headed to a cozy cafe to sip coffees, eat birthday dessert, and play games. It was the perfect setting and we had a wonderful time together.

Speaking on his behalf, I think Robert would echo my sentiments that being with friends made this day special and not seem like just an ordinary day.

Later that week we went out for a special Birthday date~ just the two of us. We decided on T.G.I.Fridays and a movie~ "Puss in Boots 3D". The food was great, movie was so funny and, as always, enjoyed each other's company immensely!

Astonished, once again, at the size of American portions! :)

So, yeah, I guess you could say we had nice birthdays this year :) We're ready to see what all this year has in store for us! Thanks to all our friends and family who took the time to wish us happy birthday or send us cards or gifts. We love you and thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. It really does mean the world to us! You are the very best of friends. Love you!

MeggieKate Boutique

2012-01-25T23:26:00.000+09:00

I am so proud of my sister and all that she does. She is a dedicated mother of 3 and an amazing pastor's wife. She continually astounds me with her creativity, her sweet and giving spirit, and her decorating sense (I always secretly envy her every time I visit her house, but shhh that's our little secret. :) Well, anyways, my sister has just accomplished one of her dreams... she has opened an Etsy shop with beautiful bows, hair accessories and more. Please head on over to MeggieKate Boutique and check it out. The items are made with love and creativity. Click on the banner below to visit the new shop!

So proud of you Jamie!

On the eve of change.

2012-01-18T21:15:00.000+09:00

Change. It's such a loaded word. With the word comes such a myriad of emotions and reactions. People handle change in different ways; some embrace it, others balk at the very notion. It's used as campaign slogans, personal resolutions, and turning over new leaves throughout our lives. It can bring joy and laughter, while other times usher in a season of pain and grief. The New Year is often seen as a time for re-evaluating one's life, taking stock of priorities, and if need be, change a few things. I am often wary of setting new year's resolutions because I hate the feeling of disappointment. For this reason, I generally stay away from announcing all sorts of promises for the new year. That being said, my brain is a buzz of all sorts of projects, goals, and aspirations for the upcoming months. I'm beyond excited for some of the new opportunities God is opening up for us and I sit back in awe at how blessed I am.

The biggest change this year is taking place in about 5 weeks. Robert and I are leaving Seoul and moving a couple hours outside the city to work at Gimcheon University. Now, I am as surprised as you are that I am about to become a University professor of English. It's down right ridiculous, but the doors have opened and I truly believe God's hand is leading us in this direction. This is the direction Robert has been trying to go since we moved to Korea and he was the first to get an interview. While we were in the states, he received the word that he had passed the first stage of applicants and got a phone interview. The ball began to roll and when we arrived home, he headed down for his face to face interview. The position he interviewed for was a 2 day a week basic English Instructor. The plan was that he would commute for the 2 days and we would remain in our current location. Following his interview, however, the Administration unanimously decided that they wanted him for the full time English department position. This was amazing news but it meant that he could not commute and that we would need to move outside the city. Robert then suggested that they give me an interview for the 2 day position. To jump ahead a few days... I got the job! (and yes, I will only be working 2 days a week so hence the buzz in my brain of all the projects!).

The newly appointed English Department Professor

The newly appointed Basic English Professor

Where we will be working:

I snagged these shots off the internet. If you want to visit the website to see more of the campus,

click here (look to the top right corner for the English option).

While I was there for my interview, I looked at a few apartments and found a really great one! It is still in construction stage, but I am so happy with the layout of the place. I am so excited! Here are the pictures I snapped while I was out looking. Of course, when we move in, you'll get to see the finished product! :)

Two Bedrooms

The bathroom is much smaller than our current one,

but I finally get an indoor laundry area so I don't mind the trade off!

The large open room which will be the kitchen and living room.

As you can probably guess, a lot has to happen between my writing this and when we begin this new chapter in our lives. Just to name a few: organize and purge the apartment before the movers come to pack everything up (yes, you read that right...as far as when the packing actually begins, I don't have to lift a finger), arrange all the housing and new job details, finish up any unfinished projects at school, complete the module that we are currently working on for our Masters, and of course say our goodbyes to the friends we have made during this first year in Korea. We will still be planning "Seoul weekend" trips to see everyone, but we will really miss everyone, especially our church and the dear friends we have made there. As with any kind of change, it's bitter/ sweet.

A very special group of people that I will really miss is my kindy kids. I love these kids like they are my own. They bring a smile to my face even on the worst of days and are the reasons I step into the classroom every single day. They are the most honest, sincere, and lovable people I have ever meant. The saying is true, "to touch the life of a child, is to touch eternity." I am so honored to have had the opportunity to take part in the lives of these precious children. I hope they will always remember the kindergarten teacher who loved them and who was so proud of them.

So, the horizon is bright, the future is within our grasp (or something just as motivational sounding)... bottom line is we're moving on to a new chapter and are excited to see where the road takes us.

Until next time...

Ringing in the new year a little differently...

2012-01-09T10:24:00.002+09:00

Typically the New Year is spent staying up until midnight with family and friends huddled around the TV to watch the ball drop. Or at least that was what mine was for the last few years. Prior to that it was usually spent babysitting for wealthy families, of which I have a very scary story which I can tell you anytime you wish...

Anywho... back to the ushering in of 2012. We left America early Friday morning, December 30th but with the various time zones we passed through, we lost a day and by the time we arrived in Shanghai, China it was December 31st. We were exhausted from our long trip (remember how I said we traveled through 5 airports? Well, we did it all backwards this time around). We had an overnight layover and always being the thoughtful husband that he is, Robert had booked a hotel for us near the airport so his little wifey wouldn't have to sleep sitting in an airport chair. I love that man! We had to cart all our stuff with us to the hotel (a total of 5 suitcases~ we had to add an extra bag on the way home on account of all the gifts and souvenirs) and that gained us some pretty funny looks since the majority of other passengers were on a short transfer flight with one little carry-on bag

(again with the funny looks from people?!).

Our hotel room was nice and we were able to get cleaned up and sleep in a comfortable bed. As to "ushering in the new year"... The government has banned most fireworks in Shanghai so there was a light show on TV instead. We set our alarms for 11:55pm and woke up just in time to see the light show and drift right back to sleep. So that was the extent of our first new year's of the year

(Wait, what?! the first..?! You might ask...keep reading.)

Robert said I can't say I've been to Shanghai since I never left the Airport property. I say I can. What do you think? I SAW Shanghai...I WALKED on Shanghai ground... I ATE Shanghai food.... I will continue to say that I have BEEN to Shanghai :) On a side note...Facebook is banned in China. I thought that was interesting.

Having traveled for a bit, we were super hungry when we got up and decided to search out some good food in the airport. We found a nice spot with a view and proceeded to eat a delicious breakfast. With the conversion rate, it ended up being pretty expensive... oh well... you live and learn

Yes, I had two cups of coffee and I'm not sorry either! :)

After living and traveling in Asia for a while, one would think we would have learned but alas we still think like Americans. As you well know, you can take a Domestic flight just about anywhere and all you will get is peanuts and a drink (if you are lucky!). Being used to that lovely American treatment, we stocked up on our yummy breakfast. But wait, we aren't in America anymore are we? Here in Asia, they actually treat their passengers like... wait for it...valued customers! Imagine that! On a 1 hour flight we were served an entire meal. Can you even fathom that?! :) I know I am over exaggerating my excitement, but it really did impress me.

Back on Korean soil... on the limousine bus headed home :) Having slept the night before, we were feeling great! We made it home at 1:50pm and got a text from the Blacks saying "we're watching the ball drop... are you?" Queue the second New Year's ringing in (for all those confused right now, we are 14 hours ahead of the states...i.e. 12:00am = 2:00pm). We quickly turned on the computer, and got to ring in the year that way too. Because we were feeling so great, we decided "Why skip church?" So we grabbed lattes and headed to church.

Good to be back to the land of delicious lattes

After church, we headed to one of the deacon's houses for a New Year's celebration. Bethany and I learned how to make a few of the Korean favorites and all around we had a great time. We had to be awake anyways so might as well be having a good time doing it!

While the women cooked, the men entertained themselves with a traditional Korean game.

My cooking teacher, Grace :)

Where there's a Korean party, there's always alot of delicious food!

So, now you see a little different New Year's than most. The great thing about traveling over New Year's is that you get to celebrate it multiple times :) Though it was out of the ordinary, that's what made it fun! One thing I will miss from last year is being able to say "Its the 011 son" (Jimmy Fallon) but other than that, I'm pretty excited to see what the new year holds, what doors God will open, and where Robert and I will end up during the duration of the year. We would appreciate prayers in the following weeks as we are in the decision process for the upcoming school year in March (Korean term). We wish you all a very Happy New Year filled with Love, Joy, and Peace.

~Love you!

holiday festivities...third

2012-01-06T17:02:00.000+09:00

As I mentioned in my last post, on Sunday night we packed up and drove to Orlando to spend the second week of our vacation with the Blacks. Together with the majority of the "Good" family, we rented a large house near Disney and had a wonderful relaxing week (Ryan and Tara~ you were missed). Most of the time was simply spent hanging out, drinking coffee and catching up. It was awesome! The other great thing about this week was that I got to spend time with family that I really only met at our wedding. As you know, that's not usually the easiest time to spend quality time so this vacation allowed me to get better acquainted with aunts and uncles and cousins. I loved it!

Grandma and Uncle Terry

After a shopping day in the Western Store :)

Aunt Tina, Parker and Allie made a gingerbread man Nativity.

It was super cute and they had a great time!

Parker became my little buddy this week and I loved every minute of it! :0

Sisterly bonding... we were quite hyper and singing to the top of our lungs.

In Robert's words, "you two were off the chain!" :)

Even though Christmas was over, we were still celebrating our Christmas so we decided me needed a tree. We colored felt ornaments and hung them on a palm tree :)

We always love being together over Christmas because, not only do we get to celebrate Christmas (duh), but we also get to celebrate Shalah's birthday! :) So here are a few shots from her party :)

Robert~ So typical...

Happy Birthday Shalah! We love you! So glad we got to celebrate with you this year :)

After the Birthday festivities were over, we had our last Christmas for the year :) With so many people, we opted for a fun game of __________(insert the name you are familiar with: "Dirty Santa", White Elephant, etc...). There were a few presents that got passed around quite a bit and poor Aunt Karen couldn't seem to hold on to any of her presents! :)

Christmas #5: Good Family

Wednesday was Park day and boy was it fun! We started the morning out with breakfast at IHOP followed by a full day in Epcot (my absolute favorite of the Disney parks)

I was thrilled at the prospect of meeting my friend Hannah's (whom I met here in Korea) parents who live in Orlando! We scheduled a meeting at IHOP...only problem was, there were 4 IHOPs on the same road and we game them the wrong one...epic fail. We ate our breakfast, they ate their breakfast and luckily were able to get connected at the last minute! :) Despite all the craziness, it was a pleasure meeting them both! Hannah has been such an amazing friend this year in Korea and it was special meeting her parents :)

Epcot time!!! The place was packed, but honestly it was the only park that we could have enjoyed since its not really a ride park. They said on the news that parks were closing that day and turning people away because they were just too full! Can you imagine the let down that would have been for some people!?

We all did the first ride together and then split up until lunch.

~The Land~

I love this little ride and all the cool plant stuff :)

Yes, that is a real lemon, folks!

A great Street version of Charles Dicken's "Christmas Carol"

These guys were hysterical!

For lunch, we ate in Morocco... it was fun to try everything and see how everyone reacted to the food. It went over better with some than others :)

Robert decided that the best way to show his love and appreciation to his Uncle Myron

was to get his name tattooed on his arm with Henna. You can be the judge of that :)

Austin has all kinds of musical connections and he has participated in this Christmas event in the past and was very excited for us to enjoy it. It was beautiful! A huge choir sang Christmas carols and a famous deaf actress (who I don't know) signed the Christmas story from Luke 2. It was beautiful. I enjoyed it but I would have enjoyed infinitely more had I not been frostbit....

or at least that's how cold I felt. :)

Next was the best fireworks show I have ever seen! I always love Epcot's fireworks but this year they did even more and it was amazing!

It would be an understatement to say that everyone had an amazing day! Disney claims to be the happiest place on earth and it could have been, had two vendors not been sold out of hot chocolate on the coldest night in Florida!! I mean, really?! Other than that, it was a magical day in Disney...

Thursday was a relaxing day... some went fishing, some went to Downtown Disney and others just hung around the house.

Enjoying some cuddles from Allie and Parker :)

I love Downtown Disney! It's one of my absolute favorite Orlando spots.

This time was no different. It was so exciting to see what had changed and what new things were there!

The Lego displays are my favorites

Parker loved the Princesses :)

You can't go to Disney and not get a momento :) Mine was my favorite character, Tink :)

While it was a bit stressful on my poor husband, we managed to get 22 people in a Korean restaurant off the beaten path of Orlando so they could experience a little bit of our cuisine. :) The place was authentic and we ordered some of our favorites like kimchi jigae, bulgogi, and all the endless sides. It was delicious and everyone was surprised that it wasn't all that bad :)

My parents drove up to be a part of the dinner and to see us off early the next morning. It was also great to have Kerilyn with us since she was also catching a morning flight out of Orlando :)

Due to the "off the beaten path-ness", JP and Jolie unfortunately didn't get to enjoy the entire meal with us but we were psyched to see them anyways! And we FINALLY got to meet precious litte Eva!

After dinner, we returned to the house to enjoy dessert and coffee and some genuinely good fellowship

"Aunt Kei needs to feed me more often!" :)

JP and Jolie were at her family's during our whole trip so we were so glad they were able to stop through Orlando on their way home the night before we left! :)

Parker loved the baby :) She rode home with me in my parent's car

and was so excited that the baby would be at the house :)

There is way too much coolness going on here :)

"been there, done that, have the mouse ears.."

Thanks for coming and seeing us! We loved spending time with you

(even though it was shorter than we would have liked)

After the house settled down, Robert and I stayed up all night. Brantley was determined to stay up with us. He made it til about 1:00 I think, before drifting off. Grandma said her goodbyes and then was heard sniffling for the next 15 minutes from the other room...goodbyes can be tough.

At 3:45 we packed the car and headed to pick up my parents from their hotel.

The airport was near so the ride didn't take too long.

Memories of almost a year ago came to mind but the feelings were a little different. A year ago we had packed and sold most of our possessions in a matter of weeks, moved in with my parents and said goodbyes to family and friends. We were heading to a place we knew nothing about. We were excited but also a bit nervous. I remember the ride to the airport was rather quiet and I held my mom's hand the entire time. There were no tears on the ride there, but as soon as we stepped on the curb and the hugs began, I was forced to look into my mom's eyes and the tears came. I held to my mom and dad for as long as I could and then let go... the very thing I was raised to do, but dreaded when I had to do it. I remember getting through security and arriving at our gate. I took my pillow, hid my face, and sobbed. I was a big girl now, going away to a far away land and it was heart wrenching. Now that I have left you with a complete sob story, allow me to fast forward 10 months to our next parting...

Having settled in Korea, with friends and connections, we were really excited to get back. Being in Florida was an absolute blast, but returning as a visitor just isn't the same... We were ready to get back to our lives. Saying goodbye still wasn't fun but there were less tears this time around... perhaps that had to do with the lack of sleep. The tears that did come were actually from laughter, which is the best kind in my opinion. I was so exhausted from the fun week and staying up all night that when I hugged my mom to say "Goodbye", I accidentally said "Well, Goodnight mom." We both started laughing and it made the parting not so somber :)

I hope these last few posts have given you a small glimpse of just what an amazing time we had with our friends and family on our visit to Florida. We already miss you all and can't wait till we see you again. We are back in our routine and finishing up our first week back home here in Korea.

We had a really great trip back and already there are huge changes that are about to take place in our lives...more on that later!

~Love you!

holiday festivities...second

2012-01-06T10:37:00.001+09:00

With visiting two families, plus friends, plus some extended family, we celebrated Christmas multiple times! Each Christmas had its own signature traditions and I loved each of them!

#1: The Black Family Christmas

~apparently that's what "going light" looks like!

*Stockings*

Presents were followed by the family's traditional breakfast of French toast

(we added waffles this year for Austin's sake~ spoiled rotten!) :)

As always, we loved our time with the family!

We are so blessed to have such a loving and supportive family

(on both sides) :)

Christmas #2: Sanjuans

We went out to dinner at Park Avenue and then returned to their house for dessert and Christmas :)

We enjoyed traditional Plum pudding from Ireland and traditional Spanish honey desserts from Spain. It was quite the treat! The Sanjuans are like family and have been such an important part of Robert and my life through the years. We are so blessed to have them in our lives!

After presents, we got to continue our tradition of looking at Christmas lights with them :) We drove down to Prosperity Farms and enjoyed a gorgeous display!

Christmas #3: Foley Family "Sockings"

This is a new tradition but a really good one... with everyone spending money on traveling, we thought it best to keep the cost of gifts to a minimum. Someone suggested we give socks to everyone and then fill it with small, inexpensive goodies. Robert and I filled ours with small Korean candies, lotions, etc and it was a really fun gift to put together for everyone!

Everyone went together to get Grandma a Keurig coffee maker

complete with all the trimmings... extra coffee and the carousal to hold them :)

All my loot :)

My days ran together a bit, so I'm not exactly sure when it was but at some point, my mom and I went to lunch at Guanabanas ( a classic South Florida spot). It was a blast to be in the gorgeous weather and enjoying the surroundings. I love that the servers look like they just surfed to work :)

This is a bit random but I figured I'd throw it in here... I love coming home and staying in my old room. Its very nostalgic :) I also love what my mom has done with it.

ok, ok, back to Christmasy stuff...

~Christmas Sunday~

We had a lovely Christmas sunday with family! It was wonderful to be able to worship, surrounded by so much family! I loved it!

Loved seeing our boys!

~The Howards~

(Brian, Jamie, Megan, Katie, Jack, Jeremy, and Delani~ You were missed!!!)

Mom and Dad :)

Told ya :) another "kitchen picture"

Best guys around :)

*Yummy Christmas Brunch*

Christmas #4: Howard Christmas

Apparently the year for Keurigs :) We all went together to buy Dad one.

He's wanted one for years :)

The first cup :)

Some longtime friends, Travis and Brittany stopped by to say goodbye

before we headed to Orlando for the Good Family Christmas.

Next, we had a delicious joint-family (Black and Howard) Christmas Dinner

with all the special holiday dishes!

It appears as if Robert and his dad are the only ones eating :) No worries, we all ate and it was delicious! :) After dinner we get everything packed up and headed to spend the week in Orlando with the Blacks and extended Good family.

Wow! It was a whirlwind experience being back in the good ole' "Sound". We made tons of memories and would have loved to stay longer, but enjoyed the moments we had. Thanks to all who made the visit back home memorable! We love you!

holiday festivities.. first

2012-01-05T00:14:00.001+09:00

Try leaving a place for a really long time, and then returning and wanting to do absolutely everything possible! That's what we did on this trip :) For my readers sake, I will split up the events so that its not too overwhelming...

At the risk of sounding very materialistic, Christmas is not Christmas until I have shopped at the Gardens Mall in West Palm Beach. Now, the reason being, I love the atmosphere, the decorations, the music~ everything about it. I have been going there for 13 Christmas's and I look forward to it every year! We went shopping with my mom and dad and then followed it up with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory in Downtown...another thing on the list to do :)

*loving the amazing weather!

Next on the list, Mom's breakfast of waffles. We have delicious waffles at home in Korea, but they are most a coffee snack and are not the same as the ones I grew up with at the breakfast table :)

On Tuesday, I wanted to have a few minutes with some special friends. Not everyone could make it, but the ones that did, had a grand ole' time :)

Loved getting to spend time with my mom!

The Whole Group :) Thanks Cilla and Audrey for making this happen!

After lunch, my mom acted as my chauffer so that I could visit two of my favorite past employers

Mrs. Cox

Mrs. Lillian Johnson

It was so good to see them both! They have both kept in contact with letters and packages and I can't tell you how special that makes me feel!

Tuesday night I went out with another group of friends for a special "girl's night" at Carrabbas

(also on the list... are you seeing a pattern yet?) :)

On Wednesday it was a real treat to visit the college bookstore and see all the awesome changes.

It is beautiful! After working in the bookstore every camp, and going there everyday in college, it is a special little spot to me :)

That afternoon we returned to the Gardens Mall because on our previous trip, I had forgotten to take my gift card for J. Crew that I won from this blog. First stop: Starbucks! It makes Christmas shopping so much more fun! :) After buying everything in the men's department of Macy's, we trekked on over to J.Crew to peruse their racks.

A good time was had by all. We came home to a yummy dinner of Taco Soup (Robert's favorite meal in the entire world) with Ja and Tami and her family who was also visiting for the holidays :)

*The classic Kitchen picture~

we have hundreds of these pictures in the same place but we keep taking them :)

Loved getting to see Ty again. He's growing up so fast!

The boys enjoying one of their early presents: The Wii

Thursday started out with breakfast at Harry and the Natives~ a local favorite. Its a travesty to pass through Hobe Sound and not go there! This was at the top of my list for sure!

After breakfast, we split ways and the boys went to the airport and we girls went to get our nails done :) We met back up and headed to Olive Garden (on the list) to meet Ja and Tami and the boys for lunch. I love being with family!

After lunch, we went to Ft. Pierce to see my dad's office. He moved into it after we moved so we had never seen it, though he's been there for some time now.

Thursday night was a girl's movie night with mom and Grandma :) Mama and Roanna were busy preparing for Christmas, so it was just the three of us but we had a really good time :)

It's always good to see Mrs. J~ the lady my mom takes care of.

She's quite a lady :) Again, enjoying the wonderful weather on the patio!

Oh don't worry... there's plenty more where that came from!

Bonjour!

2011-12-30T16:34:00.000+09:00

Just before we left Korea for our Christmas vacation, we had the pleasure of having our friends from Paris visit for a few days. Though it was a very busy weekend, we had a really great time together. They were gracious enough to host us in the summer of 2010 on our anniversary trip to Paris. We were happy to return the favor on their trip through Seoul.

To start things off, we took them to Myeong-dong (of course!) and found a great traditional Korean restaurant. They really liked the food but weren't quite used to all the spices :)

I mentioned that it was a busy weekend... besides getting packed for our trip back to Florida, we also had our company Christmas party to attend. Again, the Bandas were so gracious to come along to this before we went out to celebrate a birthday :)

We snacked at the party since we were going to dinner afterwards. We took them to a great Korean Barbecue spot where the girls tried their hardest to master the chopsticks...

We decided they needed to go back to the basics :)

Birthday party time!

Thank you Bandas for coming and spending time with us and allowing us to celebrate with you. We enjoyed having you here in Seoul. You're welcome back anytime!

A Welcome home bash...

2011-12-30T16:16:00.001+09:00

After 10 months in Korea, away from friends and family, we were more than ready to head to the states for Christmas! Our trip went something like this:

Work all week and then stay awake the night before the trip (that was a killer, let me tell ya!)

4:30am Sat. carry four suitcases down four flights of stairs and then walk down to street to meet our ride, Jin, who was kind enough to take us to the airport at such an early hour

Walk through the priority check-in line (Silver Medallion status was the best thing ever on this trip~intentional hyperbole) and eat breakfast at Paris Croissant before going through security and finding our gate (priority again) :)

Fly to Shanghai, which is less than 2 hours away and struggling to stay awake the entire time

Go through Shanghai customs, find our gate and wait with a nice gentleman we met who had been doing gospel concerts in Korea.

Board the flight bound for New York along with droves of people including a screaming toddler, who, no exaggeration... cried 9 out of the 13 hour flight! I'm not a mother, so I was trying to be understanding, but boy did I want to get my hands on that kid! The flight was a cheap one, therefore the plane was pretty barebones... aka the only entertainment was a few screams in the ceilings playing movies I had already seen. blah. Oh well. We were supposed to be sleeping now since we were prepping for the new time zone.

Arrival at JFK (the world's worst airport with the world's rudest people)... went through American customs and had to take all our luggage to the next building, which was the domestic terminal. You can only imagine what we looked like at this point of the trip. We found our gate, nestled in a quiet corner with a Chili's nearby. I took the opportunity to go freshen up, which included washing my hair in the sink. I wondered why I was getting so many odd looks until Robert reminded me that we were in the domestic terminal. These people were probably only flying like 3-6 hours and wondering why I was taking a shower in the airport sink! :) After freshening up and feeling a whole lot better about life in general, we headed to Chili's for some meal (I don't even know which one it was).

We boarded a plane for Atlanta. While there, we found we could catch an earlier flight but that our bags would be late. We figured it would be better to wait with our parents than sitting in Atlanta alone.

After another layover, we boarded the plane headed for West Palm Beach. With all the time changes and long flights, it was now nearing midnight on Saturday... yes, I know... time zones confuse me too. Don't feel bad. Both sets of parents were eagerly awaiting our arrival. We waited awhile for the luggage and headed home, arriving after midnight sometime. Yes, it was a pretty crazy trip but the prospect of seeing everyone kept us going for a little while longer.

We got up the next morning and headed to church where we got to see great friends.

Favorite Piano teacher of all time and best "Angel" instructor around! :)

I will always love this view!

Sunday Lunch~ a family tradition!

When we got our tickets, I was so excited that we would be in America for my oldest brother, Jason's birthday! It was really fun to be able to celebrate with him.

Some friends came over in the afternoon to hang out and prepare for the upcoming party that evening (I know, right?! A party that soon? Well, I figured it was best to do it right off the bat while I was still running on pure energy!)

In the following pictures, while it may seem like I am in more pictures than Robert, that's simply because I am in more pictures! He loves visiting Florida but it doesn't quite have all the same memories for him as it does me. I grew up there from 5th grade until last year. Most of the people that came have known me for that long. I just wanted to clear that up :)

Alicia and Cilla

Just like family~ Marie and Carmelo

One of my favorite little girls in the world.

Got to hold her in the hospital when she was born :)

It was very special to have the majority of my high school graduating class present!

David- Travis- Candace- Me- Brittany- Heidi- Heather- Danielle

Great Friends catching up

Enjoying a little bit of music :)

I wish I could have gotten a picture of everyone that came, but literally there were people everywhere! I was so honored and humbled that all these people took time out of their busy schedules to come over to catch up on life :) I could write pages of memories and wonderful things about each and everyone that came. Each one has played a very special part in making us who we are today. I thank you for always being there, caring, loving, and supporting us at each step of the way. You're the best!

Only your real friends will tell you when your face is dirty. ~Sicilian Proverb

A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world. ~Lois Wyse

Celebrations all around...

2011-12-28T05:03:00.001+09:00

Before Christmas, it was time for the second birthday bash in Kindergarten (if you recall, our other bash in August). Kindy birthday parties are honestly one of my favorite events of the year. The kids arrived and we all just hung out until the food was set up and the party was ready to begin.

6 year olds

*Alex and Bella*

7 year olds

*Jack, Lily, Josephina, Mel, Sean, and Julie*

~Giving Gifts~

*Yellow Class*

*Red Class*

*Ocean Class*

All the Birthday Kiddies

LUNCH TIME!!

After lunch we watched a movie and had a fabulous time.

Our English service of 50-75 people is part of a much larger Korean congregation that can run upwards of 7,000 members. Our service is at the grassroots stage and we are working to build it up. On Wednesday night we sang Christmas carols for the Korean congregation. If we already didn't stand out, the red hats certainly sealed the deal! :) It was fun and the congregation really enjoyed it!

It was a busy week before we left for America but we enjoyed all the events that took place! Now its time to move on to all the Christmas festivities with family in America!

friends, dinners, parties, and more...

2011-12-11T01:36:00.001+09:00

As I mentioned, we have had a little more time for socializing... me being a complete social and party bug am delighted at this fact. One thing I have missed so much while living here in Korea is the lack of parties that I can host or attend. Back in Florida, it was rare to go a week without a party, while here its been months. That all changed this week! There were two functions at our apartment and both were successful.

Function #1: An American family style Christmas dinner

There is a common misconception here in Korea that the only foods Americans eat are hamburgers, french fries, and pizza. While these maybe typical American cuisine, they are not an accurate representation of what the average family eats. I wasn't sure what I wanted to give my Kindy co- teachers for Christmas and then I realized what I wanted to do. I wanted to give them a taste of what actual American home cooking tastes like...just like grandma used to make.

The menu was simple and classic

Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Broccoli Salad

Roles

Cheesecake

They were shocked that I could cook, and that actual family style cooking was so delicious!

It was a treat to have my boss Hannah in my home

Teachers: Kristen, Jenny, Sally, Gloria ~ love these ladies!

It was a successful dinner and they loved it! It was a great way for me to show my appreciation for their love and friendship, while giving them a glimpse into my culture.

We laughed, danced (well, some of us that is), and had a blast.

Function #2: Ex-Pat Christmas Party

We are so blessed to have wonderful American friends that understand what life in Korea is like. We have made such wonderful friends and we wanted a chance to spend an evening together laughing and enjoying each other's company during the holiday season. I loved having the chance to pull out a few of my "go-to" party foods from my Florida days.

The menu was fun and tasty:

Fruit platter

Egg Salad and Crackers

Grapes-n-Cheese

Chicken Bacon Wraps

Lil' Smokies

Friends brought:

Apple Pie

Green Tea Shortbread cookies

Persimmon bread

Chocolate Chip cookies

Honey- Jam Bread

From start to finish, there was fun and laughter throughout the tiny apartment. This party was a record for us... 14 people total. We squished and grouped and had a grand old time.

Jordan and Bethany

Brian and Emily

Kyle and Jess

Kristen

Candace and Joel

Jay and Us, of course :)

Hannah and Annabelle (Joel and Candace's baby)

We had two rousing rounds of Mafia

The "coat closet" :)

After Mafia, we split between rooms and the guys took on Scrabble...

...while the girls took on a competitive game of Dutch Blitz

It was such a wonderful evening of fellowship. It was a time of being with old friends, getting to know some better and making new friends... A chance to enjoy each other's company in a place that can feel rather lonely at times. Sometimes all it is, is someone understanding your joke without needing an explanation or knowing about a certain dish from America.

The holidays are so sentimental... its important to have friends to share those times with.

Until next time...

The holiday season...

2011-12-10T17:14:00.001+09:00

With more and more Western culture coming to Korea, holidays are becoming more widely celebrated. When we moved here we were told that Christmas was not celebrated and we would barely see any decorations around. I was pleasantly surprised to see trees in subways and restaurants and beautiful Christmasy-ness everywhere. I know, I know... it's not the real reason for Christmas, but it sure does feel a little more like home. Recently, we have been staying quite busy, but a fun kind of busy! For once we are not spending every waking moment in coffee shop with blood shot eyes from staring at a computer screen for five hours. With just one course, the school work is very manageable and we have been able to have a little bit of a social life. I am loving it!!!

For starters, my co-Western teacher Kristin Duncan invited a few of the Kindy teachers over for homemade fajitas. It was a really fun night and the food was delish...

Robert and I went on a date to Myeong-dong for an Italian dinner and some shopping. As usual, we had an absolute blast! Being in a foreign country is remarkable, but being there with your best friend tops anything I can dream. I can't imagine experiencing the world with anyone else.

Robert giving his best Korean pose*

Next, the Kindy teachers successfully pulled off a surprise birthday party for our boss, Hannah. It was so much fun and she was in tears. She said it was the first time she has ever been surprised and was so touched by the party.

It's a great group... I missed the "let's do a goofy picture" part. fail.

Hannah sporting her cardigan, necklace, gift card set :)

After the surprise part, we were all hungry so we decided to head to samgyupsal (pork). We went to Robert and my favorite spot and the owner loves us. He spent the night praising me and bringing me special things. We laughed about it and gave him a hard time since it was Hannah's birthday. He then brought her a very special piece of birthday pork :)

Next on the agenda... a very special Christmas weekend. My friend Hannah doesn't get to go home for Christmas, as do many other teachers (its a big treat that we get to) so we decided that we needed to have a Christmas-packed weekend. All the fun little things that make the holiday special.

First stop: caffe lattes from Paris Baguette.

Second stop: a delicious Southern breakfast of biscuits and gravy and hash browns cooked by my adoring and wonderful husband :)

Third stop: HomePlus for all our baking needs. This is not to make anyone feel guilty for enjoying a convenient life (believe me, there are days when I miss it!), but we realized something... you appreciate something more for it's rarity and its accessibility. We walked 15 minutes to the store (yes, we could have taken a taxi, but decided the crisp air only added to our Christmasy weekend), searched high and low for powered sugar (turns out they call it sugar powder which kind of makes more sense if you think about it), and lugged all our goodies the 15 minutes back. Now, do you think we had a blast making those cookies? You bet after going through such a process. I'm not saying you can't enjoy something unless its hard to do, but I am saying that I appreciated it all a little more...

What's Christmas without hot cocoa and marshmallows next to the tree?

Turns out, Korea only likes fun colored marshmallows.. no objection here.

We enjoyed sipping our cocoa and watching the "Christmas Card"

(a family favorite~ missed you Jeremy).

Next came the long awaited Christmas cookies!

Along with decorating the cookies, we watched "Christmas with the Kranks"

(a little more on the lighter side :)

Along with our search for "sugar powder", we tried finding food coloring. Guess what? they were one in the same! The sugar powder was colored sugar powder! Fancy that?! However, these colors consisted of pink, green, and yellow... not exactly the most Christmasy colors. That didn't stop these Florida girls! We just opted for a more "Lily Pulitzer-esque" style of Christmas cookie. Hey, they still tasted like Christmas cookies and they were just too cute!

Cookies and Milk~ I can see why this is a favorite with ole' Mr. Claus!

Thanks Hannah, for this amazing and fun "Christmas-packed" weekend.

Some may say little traditions like these aren't that important, but I say that when you are oceans apart from family and friends, it's the little things like hot cocoa and Christmas cookies that make all the difference sometimes. It's making new memories with old traditions and adapting those traditions to new situations. If I have learned anything from my childhood in Africa or my time here in Korea, it is to never take anyone for granted and take time to appreciate the small stuff.

A foreigner's Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T23:58:00.001+09:00

Thanksgiving has always been a favorite holiday of mine. Though I love Christmas and all the gifts and traditions, there's something nice about a day set aside for just family~ no gifts expected, just a chance to be together and let everyone know how much they mean to you. All the food we eat is traditional and the smells are sentimental. I was getting pretty homesick thinking about being away from home on Thanksgiving and not being able to cook all my favorite traditional dishes. Thanks to some of my awesome friends, I had received a big "Autumn" box in October with Fall decorations and pumpkin, apple cider, and apple pie scented candles. That made our home feel a little more seasonal. I started feeling better when I made plans to make a few of my favorite dishes for the church's Thanksgiving dinner and our great friends, Chad and Jo Newton decided to come up to spend the weekend with us. Knowing that we were going to spend the holiday with other Americans and that we were going to have a traditional Thanksgiving meal, made my homesickness go away. I started getting really excited about the upcoming holiday after all. After receiving a handmade card from my friend, Brittany Engebretsen, I got inspired to make cards. These were the results:

In other news, we finished our first set of courses!!! As you know, we have basically been living in coffee shops so I decided to take a picture of the final cappuccino for the first set :) We are enjoying the short respite until we start again on December 1st. We are taking less classes this time because of Christmas and traveling, so it won't be as stressful.

The fun weekend finally arrived and Chad and Jo made it to Seoul late Friday night. The time was so short, we had to take advantage of all the time we could! We stayed up until about 2 am just visiting and enjoying yummy brownies and ice cream (I had my MIL send me some brownie mixes and I only make them as special treats for guests~ this was one of those times).

On Saturday morning, we all dragged ourselves out of bed at 9:00am (an incredible feat for Robert and I who are major night owls, especially on weekends and love to sleep in to a ridiculously late hour) and Jo and I made a big breakfast of eggs, bacon, and pancakes. It was delish to say the least. I had already made the Apple pie on Thursday night so after breakfast I just made the finishing touches on the Pumpkin Souffle.

*the pie was literally as big as my oven :)

After the souffle was finished baking, Jo and I decided to hit a few shops for Christmas shopping and just enjoy some girl time sipping our Caffe Lattes on an overcast day :)

The boys did a lot of male bonding~ whether on their Iphones and Ipads or playing pool.

They had fun and we spent the money :) That's generally the way we roll...

I had done as much as I could for the stuffing, except just mixing it all together and cooking it, so I did that before we left for dinner. It started on Monday when I bought the bread and set it out to dry out, and cutting it into little squares. It was easy from there...

I loved using family recipes. It made me feel more at home :)

It was off to Thanksgiving Dinner at the church. We met in the dining hall downstairs of the church. There were way more people than we had expected! Let's just say, I could have doubled all my recipes! I didn't take a scrap of food home~ all of my items were eaten up quickly :) I just started snapping pictures throughout the dinner...

It truly was an amazing multi-cultural feast! I loved the Korean elements thrown in with the traditional American menu. Everyone pitched in and there was so much food! It was all so delicious!

My favorite aspect of this dinner was eating with chopsticks. I eat with chopsticks every day but Thanksgiving dinner was really special because it was an example of how you can acclimate to any situation or culture and still be American, celebrating a very American holiday :)

We had quite a few other foreigners join us for the dinner and it was wonderful meeting new people and getting to share the special holiday with them.

On our way out of church, we grabbed a quick picture by the beautiful Christmas trees outside.

Unfortunately we had to say goodbye to our guests :( The weekend was far too short but they had a long trip ahead of them... We were so glad they came up to Seoul and spent the holiday with us!

On Sunday night, I decided to put up the few little Christmas decorations we bought so we could enjoy them for the few weeks we are here in December. Since we are leaving in less than 3 weeks, we didn't go big this year... as you can see :)

When we moved here we were told that Christmas was not really celebrated here and that no one decorated their homes much. However, as there is more and more Western influence, the holiday is gaining importance and every store sells trees, ornaments, etc and all the restaurants, coffee shops and stores are decorated for Christmas. I love to see all the holiday cheer :)

To sum up this post on Thanksgiving, I wanted to tell you a few things that I am Thankful for:

1. A loving and faithful husband who shows me every single day what it means to love selflessly. A man who provides for me, comforts and cherishes me, and who I laugh with on a daily basis.

2. An amazing support system of family and friends who have been there time and again through text messages, Skype calls, Facebook messages, and hand written letters. They have been my strength and comfort on the lonely days.

3. Coffee... go ahead and judge. I love coffee so much and can't imagine a world without the wonderful goodness.

4. Social networks that offer easy and accessible ways of staying in contact with friends and family. It has made the separation far more bearable.

5. The Korean heating system... hot water pipes below the floor make it amazing on cold nights and in the morning, you never have that "cold floor" feeling.

6. A loving and forgiving God who made the ultimate sacrifice for me and offers me a free gift of His Grace. I cannot do anything to earn this gift, I only have to accept it and live my life to please Him and bring glory to His Name.

7. My students are my constant source of joy. From the adorable little language blunders they make to their honest and loving spirits. They love with complete abandonment and only want your love and attention in return.

8. The Holy Spirit who guides and draws near at all times. There is never cause of despair because I am never really alone. His spirit is always there, engulfing me and directing my steps.

9. Coffee Shops... Thanks to Cafe Bene, Coffine Gurunaru, Gloria Jean's, Paris Baguette, Coffee Mama's, Witch's Coffee, we are on our way to completing our Masters degrees.

10. I am thankful for Hope. Not the cliche term that everyone drops in speeches, conversations, and Hallmark cards, but the true hope that comes from living surrendered to Christ. The idea that you can do anything you set your mind to and that the world truly can be a better place. Hope for the future, hope in others, and hope in Jesus Christ.

11. Public transportation takes me anywhere I want to go efficiently and at a low cost. I can grab a bus, taxi, or subway all over Seoul. It's amazing and convenient. I love it!

12. A pharmacy with a doctor that speaks English. Its so much more comforting to know that if something goes wrong or I have health questions when I'm so far away from home, I can at least explain my symptoms and know that he understands me!

13. Clean clothes, stairs, Korean food, rain boots, candles, chocolate, oatmeal, peppermint tea, shopping, crafts, sewing machine, books, entertainment, zebra slippers, umbrellas, Do-gae-be market, et all...

And that folks, is what it's like to celebrate Thanksgiving as a foreigner. I hope you had a wonderful time with family and friends. Hope you have a wonderful few weeks leading up to Christmas! A lot will be happening between now and then, so stay tuned!

As of late...

2011-11-25T19:52:00.000+09:00

Well, its been a busy last few weeks. I think I sometimes sound like a broken record... "busy...busy...busy" Well, thank goodness that's over for awhile. I can actually breath now! We decided at the beginning of our Master's course to just dive in and get a good chunk done, so we enrolled in 3 courses. For all you college people, 3 courses doesn't sound like much. However, let me assure you that it is a full plate, especially when you add it to teaching full time. It tends to suck out any life you may have had prior. Am I complaining? Not at all. Am I rejoicing that those classes are all successfully behind us and done with good grades? YES I AM! So, we have a short respite until December 1st when we start the next set, but this one won't be nearly as stressful because with the holidays and going to America, we backed our course load down to 1 class for this set. We will be able to enjoy the next few months :)

What else? Well, Winter is almost here and with it, its disgusting weather! As I have said before, I am a Florida girl. I hate cold with a passion and would rather be sweating. Everyone always says how much they love the cold weather because they can wear cute winter clothes. Forget it! I'm so bundled up, its impossible to see if I look cute or not! What's the point!? :) Ok, so a girl still has to shop even when she doesn't want to (wink* wink*) so I ran into a little consignment store on the way to school and found this adorable coat. I was in love and so was the coat, so we left the store together.

Last Saturday Kindy had its big presentation day for prospective parents. They had passed out a ton of flyers a few weeks back and were hoping for a big turnout. For my sake, I was pretty glad that it was not well attended but for the schools' sake I felt really bad. I had to give a demonstration class on Phonics with some of our current students just to give an idea of how we conduct our English classes. The presentation went very well and I was was pleased.

Textbooks and Uniforms

Being that things generally run last minute here, we spent about 3 hours running around cleaning, gluing things, hiding things, and all manner of preparation for this event. I forgot that fact

(after 9 months you would think I would catch on), so I went with hair curled and

completely dressed up. Oh well... :)

As I said, my presentation was on Phonics. It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to really enjoy it. The reason there is no photo documentation is because the gentleman I asked to take pictures forgot.

I won't disclose who he is, but his initials are R.B. :)

So, after I was finished, I snapped one of Kristen doing her presentation on which animals live in the zoo and the farm. It was cute.

A. We are in Korea and its just what we do, and

B. the room was just completely remodeled with new wood floors,

so they ask you to remove your shoes and give you these classy little slippers.

I just love how they accent my outfit :)

Here are some of the materials I used for my presentation :)

After a long day at work (ON A SATURDAY), I was delighted to be able to spend the evening with my bestie, Hannah. We live about an hour and a half from each other so we can only see each other on weekends. It had been awhile and we were both excited to see each other. We went to Myeong-dong and started the evening out with a delicious Italian dinner in a lovely little restaurant neither of us had been to. After dinner we hit up Forever 21. Being that it is 3 stories, it takes awhile so we didn't shop anywhere else. After shopping, no evening would be complete without coffee. Starbucks started their Christmas drinks so I was super excited to have a Peppermint Mocha. I was pretty angry during Fall that they didn't have my Pumpkin Spice Latte. In a very small way, this made up for that. We decided to sit outside and enjoy our hot drinks in the cold

(I know, I know... me who hates cold....I'm a walking contradiction I guess).

Yes, Hannah Nee, let's rediscover why we're best friends...

After all that goodness, a whole week went by with nothing special going on. I was a little homesick with the soon arriving Thanksgiving holiday but I tried to be a big girl... Our church is having a Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday which I am extremely excited about. The paster ordered Turkeys from the army base and some cranberry sauce. I am making apple pie, stuffing and pumpkin souffle and people are all pitching in for other sides. It will definitely be a fusion meal but that makes it all the more fun, don't ya think? Our friends, Chad and Joanna Newton are coming up to Seoul to stay with us this weekend and anytime the four of us are together, its a party for sure!

On the actual Thanksgiving day, of course we all worked... no biggie... but weren't sure what to do for dinner. It seemed almost un-American not to do SOMETHING special. We decided that as long as we ate American food, that was good enough so all the American teachers (except Eric who had to work late) headed to TGIFridays for a Thanksgiving dinner :)

Robert said it was almost sacrilegious for me to eat Chicken Enchiladas on Thanksgiving,

but hey... you got to do what you got to do, right?

Ashley- Kristen- John- Robert- Jen

HAPPY THANKSGIVING from South Korea...

*There's more to come after the weekend*

a less than desirable weekend

2011-11-10T00:46:00.000+09:00

In this month of Thankfulness, I am so glad to have my health. It seems that I often take it for granted until I am laying in bed, miserable and sick. Well, this happened last weekend. I don't like to share my personal "bellyache" (no pun intended) stories but this was somewhat of a milestone for me. How you might ask? What's so special about this bit of sickness? Well, I will tell you. It was my first time (that I can recall) in my life to be in the emergency room of a hospital... in Korea no less.

From Thursday to Sunday I stayed home, eating almost nothing and being miserable with a stomach flu. Robert was such an amazing nurse and took great care of me, including homemade chicken soup :)

Being the tough and hardy American that I am ;), I refused to go to the hospital until the last possible moment. Finally on Sunday I was so weak and dehydrated that I finally decided to get checked out, and get on an IV. They took my blood, did some x-rays and then just let the IV do it's magic. I felt stronger as I got the fluids.

(My first IV)

just 'cuz I'm tough like that

The final verdict on the stomach bug? It was caused by one of three things: something I ate, something I drank, or just a bacteria I picked up from being around kids. No biggie...

So, it was back to juke (rice porridge) for another day

I lost a little bit of weight which set my co-teachers on a self-proclaimed mission of getting me "back to health":) Tuesday night was Sally's dinner treat and Thursday night is Gloria's treat. They crack me up!

Let's just say, I am so happy to feel well again!