20 DAYS LEFT! (but who's counting?)

Hey all- sorry for the lack of posts in the past 2 weeks. I have actually been quite busy and somewhat overwhelmed. My friends here have started to leave one by one and it has begun to get quite emotional. This past weekend was the Lunar (or Chinese) New Year and I ha a friend come from Charlotte to visit. My friend Allison Payne came on Saturday, Jan 24th and stayed until the 29th. It was fun to get to hang out with her and we actually stumbled upon some great things to see.

Lunar New Year is a 3-day long holiday here which happened to fall on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday this year. Most people in Korea spend this holiday with their families and it is probably the biggest holiday for them on the calendar every year. I went into Seoul on Friday evening and picked up Allison from the airport on Saturday afternoon. We joined some of my friends for dinner on Saturday night, but didn't stay out too long as a 17-hour plane ride had caused Allison to be tired. (imagine that) Sunday we went to one of the smaller palaces in Seoul and then to a traditional Korean performance called Miso. I have seen it now 3 times, and I still think it is the best show in Seoul. Monday, we went to COEX mall to try and catch a movie since a lot of the stores were closed. We missed all the shows and settled for a mani/pedi instead. Monday night we went to see a martial arts comedy called Jump. Tuesday we decided to go see a traditional folk village. I had read that there were going to be games and stuff, but had no idea of the big celebration that was going on there. We were lucky to stumble upon a circus act that was really entertaining. Wednesday I had to be back here for work, so we headed back to camp and spent the day here. Allison left here for the airport at 550 am on Thursday. It was a great visit.

Now, I am down to 20 days. My great friend Stanley left today to head back to Canada for a month's vacation. It was really sad to see him go.

Tomorrow I will actually be heading back into Seoul for dinner with another friend for his birthday. I can't believe the time I have left here is so short. I am still looking for a job at home, and am kicking up the prayer request to a Level 10! We have a 3-day teaching program next week and an English Festival on Thursday. After that, I will be doing some prep work for the teachers that will be here next year. It is weird to think of a whole new staff doing our jobs, but I guess such is life.

Hope you are all well. I can't wait to be stateside soon. Take care...