Packing, packing

Funny, I always thought I was a fairly easy traveler. Turns out, I'm too obsessive and everything.
I actually started packing about two weeks ago. I wish Kate and James and Mike and Finn were coming, too, but this does not hinder my intense excitement. I can't believe I will be able to take showers and baths without turning on the hot water for an hour beforehand, without holding a shower head to hose myself off, and then hosing down the bathroom with bleach to fight off the mold.
I have a couple of spots of mold that have threatened to takeover and move in while I am gone. I'm trying to reason with it, but you understand, it's just mold. It's hard to reason with single-celled organisms.
Not dealing with the mold and my bathroom for a whole week, this in itself is a vacation.
But then, I get to see most of my fabulous family. And anyone who knows them, knows that this is a vacation.
It's funny, though, because as I started planning for this trip, I began trying to pack. Maybe I started packing about a month ago, I think, because I was so excited. But this has become a harder chore than I thought it was going to be. I will only be gone for a week, but I plan to bring back enough coffee and antibacterial lotion to raise some eyebrows at the immigration counter (Meg, I like the darker and medium roasts best, and no, I don't have a grinder. Don't worry about coffee if you don't get any because I know I can get some in HI). I also have to pack a carry-on bag for a six hour layover in Japan and a fifteen hour flight to Hawaii.
Like I said, the conundrums of travel when I'm way too obsessive and excited. Still, I wish I were going for a month.

Never a Dull Moment

The last post was "Absolutely Nothing New." Just when I think that I am getting a little comfortable, just when I think I can settle in for a quiet weekend of waiting for Hawaii, just when I think all is quiet on some front, well, it's just not.
Well, the crux of the situation is that two new teachers showed up Friday night. I did not meet them until yesterday (Saturday) morning, but once again, the school is doing things I simply do not understand. We have enough teachers, the crazy intensive month of January is almost over, and enrollment appears to be dwindling. I do not know.
On the flip side, they seem very nice. We drank some coffee for a bit yesterday, and talked. One gal is from Boston, the other is from Mechanicsville (spelling?) near Albany. They have both been in California for a couple of years, though.
My apathy about school is growing. All I want right now is to be on a plane to Hawaii. I only wish I could stay for an additional week or two--the week will go by much too fast.
So I am drinking some barley tea (not very good) and eating dried pineapple (very expensive but very good). The coffee here is both very expensive and not very good unless you end up at Starbucks or something. I had my first Starbucks since I have been in Korea, not because they are not around but because they are very expensive and inconvenient. I savored the large Mocha on Friday night, and then could not sleep until three o'clock in the morning.
It was worth it. I would do it again.

Absolutely nothing new

It stopped raining in Busan yesterday morning, but the cold that has settled in is disarming. I have lived in Minnesota for a bit of time, but I guess the idea of walking a mile and a half in freezing temperatures is too much for me.
I have actually resorted to taking the bus a couple of times this week--for the rain or the cold.
I have been trying to do a bit of shopping, and this is sort of interesting. My tolerance for the spending hobbies is still limited, but somehow, I can tolerate this more surrounded by the humor of my language barrier and gawking Koreans. I still haven't quite gotten over the feeling of being watched wherever I go and standing out of a crowd like a lost child (these are Jenna's words not mine). Sometimes it is sort of funny: I have my "friends" that I greet on my way to and from work, but I get tired of people trying to talk to me on the subway and on the street.
Well, like I said, there is absolutely nothing new this week except for my almost unbearable excitement about going to Hawaii next week. I know the week in Hawaii will go by too quickly, but I just can't wait to see my family.

It's a cold, cold night

Yep. It's pretty cold here in Busan, and I'm doing laundry outside on my front porch/entry/whatever. I'm keeping warm, but I'm really looking forward to some warm days in Hawaii. So here is the top ten things I want to do in Hawaii:

10. Take a ridiculously long bath.
9. Eat a lot of strange foods that I have been craving--like avocados, guacamole, Mexican food, and decent coffee.
8. Take a ridiculously long shower.
7. Go into at least three places of business and ask for something--in English.
6. Pretend it is still Christmas.
5. Sit outside on the linae with everyone for a ridiculous amount of time.
4. Give all my family huge hugs.
3. Drink coffee in the mornings with Mom and Meg and Dad and hopefully Mandy.
2. Talk to Mom, Dad, Meg, Mandy, and Scott for a ridiculous amount of time. Try not to tell them too many times that I miss them and that I love them.
1. Hold my new nephew JT for a ridiculous amount of time.

Korean Men

Well, I don't really have any news. John and SunHee (I really have no idea how to spell her name or any other Korean's name--I don't know why I even try. It just seems better than saying, "John and his Korean wife who has a name I can't spell") left for California today. A few of the guys from the church are moving into John and SunHee's beautiful apartment, and Jenna is moving into the guys' old apartment. She has one roommate, but she wants me to move in, too. I'm not really game. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a bit of a homebody. I like to go home at night, I like to do my own silly routines, and I like to be alone.
Great. I'm already turning into an old maid.
So, strange story about Korean men. When Jenna first came to the church, she began meeting some of the Western men that live here. One of the Western men offered to give us a ride to lunch. She saw several with cell phones. After she started dating Matthew (at church), she met several other Western guys with cell phones and cars. She said something like, "Wow. Foreign men with cell phones and cars! They are just like Korean men!"
I laughed really hard. At the moment, I thought this was simply ridiculous. Now, I think this is sort of sad. Western guys have set the standard for everyone else: Western guys usually have a few electronic toys and some sort of interesting mode of transportation.
Ten years ago, this was not the case here in Korea. Now, everyone--OK, at least the younger generation--seems to want a nicer car, a bigger apartment, a better phone, and nicer clothes. I think consumerism is catching.

Misc. Stuff

So here's a link to the blog at the church here. They have some pretty good pictures posted, mostly of the group that I see on the weekends. Some great pictures of Jenna and John and Sun Hee.

http://iccpusan.blogspot.com/

So speaking of which, John and Sun Hee (or Yee, I'm not really sure which) got all the green card stuff worked out last week. They are leaving later this week. I'm royally bummed: this is the couple I feel that I have connected with the best. And I have not spent that much time with them.
And Christmas keeps coming. I got a package from Kate and James today, but I haven't opened it. I got a package from Mom and Dad, too, that I haven't opened either. I think I will wait for a spare hour to enjoy them a bit more. Pretend it is Christmas again, or something.
So, nothing else new, really, except I'm enjoying my new schedule tremendously, and I feel a great weight lifted since the "bad" teacher left. Everything feels a lot easier right now. It's fantastic.

January 2

The New Year is in full swing, and all the strangeness that is both my school and South Korea are in full swing. The last couple of days have been quite cold--a couple of degrees below freezing only. This isn't really that bad, but I walk to and from school, well, and my apartment is a bit cold. I do not heat my apartment at night, only running a small space heater and the floor/water heater for a couple of hours at night and in the morning, and in the morning when I wake up, it is cold enough that I do not want to get out of bed. I usually turn on the heat an hour or so before I get up. Strange.
And today.
First off, the teacher I do not particularly like didn't show up today. Turns out, she probably took off back to the US. I'm trying to feel bad or sympathetic about the situation, but after covering a few of her classes this morning, I was glad she was gone.
Then, the afternoon classes rolled around with another schedule change. My schedule doesn't change on a massive level usually, but it has changed at least five or six times since I have been here. Now, thank God, my afternoons have changed so that I'm finished by 6:30 three days a week! I'm also down to 33 hours of teaching. I'm not so sure that this will stay my schedule, and I will miss the massive amount of overtime, but this will be great.
Thanks for everyone who has been praying. This change in schedule is so welcome. I may be suffering from a bit of post-holiday/winter blues, but working a few less hours a week will help tremendously. These kids make me tired.