Countdown to Christmas

SO sorry it has taken me a while to get back on here to post. As you may know, I had company here in Korea in the form of my sister Julie for about 10 days. She was able to take some time off and we had a holiday here called Chuseok. It is like the Korean Thanksgiving. All of the teachers were so in need of a break, and it was great that everyone was able to get some time away. Julie arrived here on Sept. 12 and we did some really fun things. We went to the Seoul Zoo on Saturday and spent the day walking around there. It was a huge zoo with a lot to see. It was disappointing to see the behavior of some of the Koreans. They were shouting at the animals and throwing food into the cages. No zoo workers around to stop them either. Sad. Anyway the next day we wandered around in Insadong with my friend Sarah. Monday, we headed back to Gapyeong so Julie could see my school. We left here Tuesday afternoon and headed to Sokcho. This is the beach town I went to back in May, but we went to Seoraksan National Park, just outside of Sokcho. It was a little past "summer season" so the place seemed quite deserted. Which is always nice to get away from the usual crowds you find everywhere. We spent Thursday up on the mountain walking around some really beautiful sights. Thursday, we headed back into Seoul. Friday, we went on a tour of the DMZ. It was something I wanted to do while I was here. All I can say is that I can check it off my list. It wasn't that cool or inspiring. In fact, I felt like it was a lot of silly propaganda about how the ultimate goal is for Korea to be one united country again and I just don't see how that can happen anytime in the near future. So, for the time being, South Korea can profit off of tours of this area while the people of North Korea starve to death. Just kind of all around sad. Saturday was colder and rainy, which was a bummer as we had decided to check out a outdoor traditional performance. We went anyway and it was a covered amphitheater so we were able to check it out. It was some sort of mask dance story, which was pretty difficult to understand. Anyway- we went to a dance comedy show that night that was a lot more fun. Sunday, we headed back to the airport and got Julie on the plane to take the LONG flight home. It was a great visit, but of course bittersweet.
So, I have started the countdown to the next big goal which is Christmas when my parents come. It is 12 weeks away. Seems like a long time to me...but hopefully it won't be too drawn out. I am really praying that God lines up a job for me when I return. The economy doesn't seem to ready to turn around anytime soon, so there is a bit of worry. Keep your ears open for me!
This week, we went back to teaching elementary school kids, which was a welcome change from the stretch of middle school boys we had prior. I am on the Game Lab station, which is a quite easy class to teach.
I hope all of you are doing well. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Running on the Downhill Slope

HOORAY! I have reached the 6 month plateau and everything from here on out is a countdown. 19 more weeks of teaching. 23 more weeks until I am home. 10 more Bank and Post Office lessons forever. 15 more weeks until my parents come to visit. Lastly, 7 more days until Julie gets here to visit. I know all of these numbers seem small to you guys...but I am not quite there yet. It still seems like a L-O-N-G time until I see my dogters again. I REALLY miss my puppies. I miss them most when I come into my room and no one is at the door to greet me and at night when I go to bed and there is no one cuddled up at my feet. I know they are in good hands, but I can't wait to see them again.
Sorry for the lapse in posting. I was in Seoul last weekend for the Nike Human Race. It was a worldwide 10K run in 26 (?) major cities across the world, and Seoul happened to be one of them. It was all for charity and was a great experience. I didn't have much time to train for a truly competitive time, but I ran it in 70 minutes which was not too bad. (for an old lady like me ha ha) I ran it with Jennifer and Jessica (fellow teachers) and we all had a really good experience with the race. Of course I can run a 10K anywhere, but now I can say I ran one in Korea! And- I ran with hundreds of thousands of people across the world. Pretty cool. Of course, I wish I could have run in Austin, TX with Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey- but whatever. They did close off 2 major bridges in Seoul crossing over the Han River, so running there at sunset was something that not many people get to do. Sadly, I did not run with my camera, so I have no pics other than the ones posted here from pre and post race.
So, for most of this week I was pretty tired. We had a week of middle school boys again, so it was fun-filled. I am on the Arts and Crafts lesson, which I LOVE and I am sure I could teach that station all year long. But, it is paired with Bank and Post Office which is difficult to make fun and exciting for the kids. We have another week this week of middle school boys, which will be tough, but then A WHOLE WEEK OFF! Hooray! As I mentioned, my sis Julie is coming to visit. It is a national holiday on Monday the 15th called Chuseok. It is like the Korean thanksgiving. Hopefully, it won't be too difficult to get around with the entire country trying to get places.
Tomorrow, I am headed back into Seoul to celebrate Jessica's birthday, so that should be fun. I will try to get another post up this week sometime. Take care and keep sending the emails. They are truly the highlight of my days. i miss you guys (ALL OF YOU!)