With humble apologies

Hi everyone,

I have to apologize to you for missing last week's blog.  I can't wait to tell you of everything that has happened in the last two weeks.  I have pictures, video, and more--so much more.  From Grand Openings to Hepatitis B Vaccinations, from the hills of Mount Halla to the shores of Busan, and from my home to yours: this blog is going to be awesome!  It seems as I begin this week, putting all the events into a clear and focussed order seems to be a bit daunting.  Here it goes:

Last week started as any of the other past few weeks, but would end completely different. Monday morning opened with our typical faculty meeting.  We start school late on Mondays.  The students don't start until 9 a.m.  I think this is a fantastic idea.  Coming from a weekend, there is actually time to get settled and start with a clear focus.  We were informed that Thursday would be our big Grand Opening.  Bigwigs and Chieftains from all over Korea would be there, and definitely not forgetting the T.V. cameras.  I believe you can even watch the youtube video of some of it.  Things would get hairy towards the end of the week, but more to explain later.

Wednesday, a fellow teacher, Duane, and I made a mad dash to the hospital for our second round of Hepatitis B vaccination.  A 30 minute drive, 2 minutes in the Hospital, 30 minutes back = quality time.  And to think, I could have taken a nap.  Ha!  It seems that naps are few and far between these days.  I'm rambling, so I'll continue.  Wednesday, before leaving for the hospital, we had a dress rehearsal for the kids.  They had this amazing musical program planned.  And all organized in less than 3 weeks.  Then the executive decision was made that instead of the kids going to their classes, we would practice again. So, the practice at 8:45, and the real thing at eleven.  It was great!  The parents came and enjoyed the festivities with us.  On a really interesting side note, I met a father of one of Leigh Anne's students who taught in Germany at a university.  So there I was, speaking German to a Korean in South Korea.  Amazing!  The world is getting flatter every day! After lunch,  BBQ deliciousness, the parents had the opportunity to come to our classes. They went through their child's schedule, except classes were six minutes at a time.  Then the moment we had all been patiently waiting for came--all the kids had to go home for the weekend.  It was incredible.  Everyone seemed to need a break and here it was.

One of the Korean staff members, Dr. M.K. (sounds so mysterious or James Bondish), threw us a party.  Now I've partied in college, and I've partied with educators, and I would say that this party equalled that calibre.  There was a huge buffet of food that even had some specialties like sushi and blood sausage (not bad, by the way).  Then there was the drinks they provided, and we cannot forget the Karaoke!  Incredible evening, which was topped off with an amazing round of "Settlers of Cataan" (pic on Facebook).  Everyone blew off some steam, and the really cool part was the bonding with the Korean Staff. It was great seeing them relaxing as well.

The next day began early with a Professional Development; which was scheduled for the entire day.  It was a bit of a struggle, but made it through.  Earlier in the week, Leigh Anne and I decided that we would go to Busan for the weekend. It's also known as Pusan.  Since the kids were away and we had no other obligations, we thought we would head over not only to see the city but also to get a chance to go to church.

Busan was great.  We went from one end to the other.  I got some really nice shots from the plane.  A really good idea for any traveler would be to look for ways of traveling locally.  Here, a simple purchase of a Tmoney card is a life-saver.  This card allows the person to put X amount of dollars on it and then it's a simple swipe over the card reader and off you go.  It can be used for the subway, bus, and some taxis.  It's a smart way to go.  As we left the airport, we used the monorail and made our way to the city. As in any city, there were many different neighborhoods to explore.  We tried to go to as many as we could while also making trips to the sea.  Among foreigners here, there is a network of information for hard to get items.  Avocados are really expensive and I have yet to see a lime.  So there are always creative ways of attaining such items.  One of the ways we heard was using Costco.  They would ship anything from the mainland to the island, we would just have to do it directly from the store.  We went, and frustratingly failed.  That particular store did not ship, but on the brighter side--we are now card carrying members of Costco!  Sam's club, eat your heart out! HAHA!

We loved it there.  It had the typical hustle and bustle of city life and there were great things to see.  We walked toward the harbor and found a fish festival.  The amount of fresh seafood was astounding.  You could get anything from live octopus to blowfish.  We had a great time!  Going to church was fantastic!  The people were fantastic.  Even though the service was in Korean, they still gave us a copy of the topic and explanation for the day in English.  We met a South African couple who has been teaching in Busan for several years, and some of the Korean members spoke broken English, and some...well, let's just say there was plenty of smiling.  It's nice to feel connected to people.

A really interesting observation I've made recently is that I guess strangers are strangers anywhere in the world.  I know that sounds crazy, but whenever we see Americans, or people we believe to be Americans, we are never even acknowledged.  I'm not saying that I deserve acknowledgement, but one would think that in a completely foreign country, there would at least be some sort of greeting.  But there isn't.  Everyone leaves everyone else alone.  Strangers are strangers everywhere.  Anyone have any thoughts?  I would love to hear any.

On the brighter side, the staff here have been amazing and I'm so thankful that Leigh Anne and I have made some good friends here.

On we go with our adventure!  We returned Sunday evening only to find work waiting for us.  We had to get ready for Monday's classes and the rest of the week.  This week was particularly brutal because we knew we had to work Thursday evening and then work through the weekend as part of our obligated duty.  Thankfully we only have one more duty weekend to go before Christmas.  I've found that they are tiring.  Yesterday, we took our group on a hike of Mt. Hall.  We returned and played soccer for a little while. Then it was off to the auditorium for a movie.  It was 11:30 p.m. before we knew it.  Today, the boys had to clean their rooms, another 2 hour soccer session (me included, of course), and then an afternoon in the gym for basketball, volleyball and badminton.  After dinner, the boys have study hall until 9:30 and then, finally, it's off to bed. Whew!  What a day!

 The BBQ

 In front of the school

 The Ribbon Cutting ceremony...and some random guy on a cellphone

 All the kids

 The sign covering the sign

 Leigh Anne and Emily

 The kids up close

 The balloon release...caught too late

 Balloon Stragglers 

 Our first cheer from our new cheerleaders

 Everybody crowding around

 lunch!

 our dorms

 more people

 and more

 the video of the balloons...

 The video of the sign being released to show the sign ;)

School song

Our headmaster is on the piano, his wife on the guitar, and the director of business on the drums!

Party!  Didn't realize it was 1999!

I know...snazzy!

 At the airport

 Busan Harbor

 Fish market

 Clams

 Looks yummy, huh?

 Our brunch!

 It was delicious!

 Fish market

 I took this picture because things looked fishy!!!

 no explanation...just awkwardness.

 I decided I wanted the same picture...she got in the way

 Notice the Starbucks

 Went to the largest department store IN THE WORLD!

Inside CostCo! 

 Awesome!

 See the land?

 Busan nestled in the hills.

 Crazy big!

 How adorable is that!

 Gwangali Beach

 I wonder who goes to this club?

 When does it open and close?  I'M SO CONFUSED!

 Look how big those crabs are!

 The church in Busan

 It was on the second floor

 Not really sure

 Centum City (a neighborhood in Busan)

 Beautiful

 Haeundae Beach

I believe I've covered it all for the last two weeks.  I'm sure I've missed something, but will add it as soon as I remember!  Hope you enjoyed the pics!  Love you guys!