Four-Year-Old Gangnam Style

Yesterday was our last day of work.  We are now officially unemployed. :)  

There are tons of stories, photos (and tears) from our last day, but not much time now.  

We are off to the Philippines this evening (!) and have to be put the final touches on packing, cleaning and pedicuring.  
For now I leave you with this: My favorite class, whom I've taught every day since last September, serenading me with Gangnam Style.  

 

Ok, now I'm crying again, but smiling at the same time.  
I guess that's the thing about change.

On Leaving

Oktoberfest Send-Off

Last weekend we had Korean shabu-shabu for dinner.  

For this meal meat or seafood is tossed into a large pot on the table along with veggies, rice cakes and tofu.  More fresh veggies accompany the meal as do rice papers to wrap it all up and sauce to top it all off.  
So good!

 Later that night we had drinks at Busan's best brewery, the same place we had our first going away party in 2011.

 

 

We spent hours that evening laughing with friends, saying goodbye and celebrating Oktoberfest, Korean style.

Ryan and his new friend were politely asked to get down from their place on the table...

Such a fun night out.  

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This weekend our time has been consumed with our kindergarten's drama festival.  

 Pictures to come!  

Prepare yourself for cuteness overload :)

Summer Days, Drifting Away

Happy fall!
 
It's hard to believe that summer is over.  In the cold, dark days of winter it seemed like it would never come.  Now, too quickly my favorite season has reached its end.

We may not have done every little thing on our to-do list, but this summer was wonderful nonetheless. 

Mostly we enjoyed the simple things.

*Picnics in the park *Fancy summer drinks *Lazy days at the beach 

*Reunions with old friends  *Sunsets at the wine bar 

*Homemade pesto *Fresh grilled seafood

*My best friend's visit  *Celebrating 28

*Relaxing evenings together

 

 

 

 The end of summer brings the end of our thirteen month stint in Busan.  

In a few days we'll pack up our last few things, descend the stairs of our apartment for the last time and say goodbye to Korea.  
We have loved our time here and truly appreciate what this experience has brought us, not once, but two times.  
We are unbelievably excited for our next adventure and can't wait to see what the future holds.  

We plan to enjoy each and every minute.  

Small Joys

We are leaving Korea in just over one month and ending an incredible chapter of our lives.  

Before we know it we'll be moving out of our little apartment, carefully packing a choice few belongings into our backpacks and setting out to explore Southeast Asia once again.  The next thing we know we'll be back in Oregon in January, reuniting with family, catching up over happy hour with friends, and deciding together what our next steps will be.

As amazing as those impending experiences are I don't want to rush them. 

I want to enjoy the last month in our teeny tiny apartment, the beautiful beach that's just a subway ride away, the subway itself, the travel books we have yet to read, and the adorable kiddies that we've grown to love.  

I want to notice the small joys and hold them close, because life's little things are often just as important as the big things-we just don't take the time to notice.  I will notice.

A Stroke of Luck

Ryan and I have been on a pretty crazy ride since the summer we got married.  

We were four weeks from our wedding when he got laid off.  A month later I missed the boat on my dream teaching job and we found ourselves in a rut.  As newlyweds we had some pretty big obstacles in our way.  In those often difficult days, we had no idea that the best was really yet to come.

Six months after our wedding we found ourselves in Korea for the first time, exploring this crazy city and the culture and history of its people.  After teaching, Ryan realized that he didn't want to sit at a desk job that he disliked, and started to dream about what he could do with the rest of his life.  In the meantime I was able to gain valuable experience in the classroom.  Later we were lucky enough to take a trip we'll never forget, and embraced our friends and family with open arms upon arrival at home.  We appreciated everyone even more after being away from them.  

By further crazy circumstances we did it all again, packing up last summer and taking the leap for round two.  I'll never take for granted the opportunities this year has given us to see new places, revisit old favorites, and share our home away from home with my family.

Ryan and I recently talked it over, and we decided that even though our jobs were set to finish at the end of September, we wanted to extend that time to the end of the year.  

"How about leaving in December?" we offered our supervisor.   

"How about adding another year to your contract?" our school countered.   

"Meet in the middle on March?" we both discussed. 

But that didn't work out, for a variety of reasons.  Initially we were quite frustrated.  Ryan and I had more we wanted to do here, and were hoping to save a little more money for a bigger trip once we finished teaching.   But a year from October is too long.  Even staying through next March would cut our travel plans shorter than we'd like.  There are opportunities that we have to take advantage of now, because that chance might not come around again.

In many ways we're in a little bubble here, with endless amounts of time for each other and with few of the distractions that daily life in the US provides.  Sometimes we don't want that to end.  But time keeps moving along, and this life isn't going to wait for us, we have to live it now.

There are fewer months left on this adventure than we thought.  But when I reread Dalai Lama's words, I know that once again, they apply to us.

We're getting more excited every day as we look at possible travel opportunities.  We are looking forward to enjoying our last summer in Korea, and eventually the chapter after that... whatever it may be.

Busan Bound

When Ryan and I left South Korea last spring, we weren’t completely closed off to the idea of returning there again.  We decided to discuss the idea once we were back home.  After a month of visiting family, friends, and our favorite local hangouts, we went back and forth about heading abroad for another year.  Could we leave everything again?  Were we prepared to go through another year without the familiarities and amenities of home? 

For awhile we were torn.  Part of us wanted to find a local place of our own.  A place with a dishwasher, an oven and a dryer!  We were excited to think we could rescue all of the wedding presents stored in my parents’ basement, and arrange them in a cute little condo or house somewhere.

But another part of us thought about the amazing experiences that we had last year.  The countries we traveled to, the adventures we had, and the opportunities still open to us.

After much communication with recruiters and a lot of bumps in the road, we both found jobs at a new school in Busan.  I have been hesitant to share the news here until things were finalized, which took much longer than we had anticipated.  (Did I mention there were bumps in the road?)  But it's all worked out now, and we are set to arrive back in Busan by THIS WEEKEND.  Today we finished packing up our little house on the river and are currently jamming our lives into four suitcases and two carry-ons.  Part of us is still in shock, but we are also extremely excited to begin another yearlong adventure together.  Stay tuned!

Korea: The Last Days

Once we'd said goodbye to our kiddies back in March, it was time for our own send off.  First it was dinner with co-workers at our favorite Vietnamese restaurant, followed by micro-brews and dancing at a nearby German beer hall.  

Two days later we said goodbye to our apartment and made our way to Vietnam via Seoul and China.  

"Sipping" soju from juice boxes in Seoul.... 

And our last meal in Korea....

Next up, photos from our Southeast Asia trip!

The Graduates

Our six-year old students graduated from the kindergarten program on Friday.  They walked the stage, received their diplomas and took their bows.   Each child had their adorable photos displayed within a velvet diploma case.

In closing, all of the foreign teachers were forced to sing ABBA’s "Dancing Queen," which wasn’t too bad in the end.

On Monday we said our goodbyes to our four and five year olds as well.  Most had prepared cards with priceless messages and illustrations.

We hugged each student and wished them luck.  It was hard to let some students go.

We will truly miss seeing these little faces everyday!

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Thursday was our last official day, meaning another round of goodbyes with our older students.  They gave us more letters, candy, and several pleas to stay in Korea.  I got quite a kick out of one class's response to their most recent writing prompt, a letter to me about the past year.  My favorite paragraph was from one of my eight year-olds:

Dear Norah Teacher,

Thank you.  Because you teach me many words.  You teach everyone.  So you are tired.  Aren't you?  Now you don't need to worry.  I wanted to study with you more.  But it has come to this.  

It was complete with a drawing of a girl waving.  It made my day.   A bittersweet one.  

Later tonight we'll have dinner with co-workers and ship our final items home before our trip.  Reality is starting to set in!