Blog Glitch

Vacation is over.

School is back in session and we are now on the 2 week countdown for our plane ride home! I

have been on summer vacation since the last week in July and its been awesome.

N8 and I didn't do much, we just laid low and saved some money by living it up in our town by the beach. I have never seen so many bikinis in Gangneung. People flocked from all over to come to GyongPo Beach and just sit under umbrellas and wade in the water. The beach culture here is very different from what we are used to back home. The beach was packed at all times, it was interesting.

We also did a small hike in Seoraksan mountain with our friend Paula which was a nice day trip.

It has been very low key lately and we've been enjoying every minute of it.

Throughout our vacation we also had some summer camps to attend to but those

are fun to do and I got paid for mine which was an extra bonus!

We are also dog sitting for our friend, Josh, and I've tried to upload a video of the doggies but it hasn't been working but I figure it out soon.

Having the end coming up so soon is causing some mixed feelings. I'm feeling relaxed because work isn't too hard now but I'm getting stressed about finding another job, readjusting, saying good bye and all of that good stuff.

Just gotta breathe and take it easy. see you all very soon!

N8's Bday

So I've been waiting for N8 to write about his birthday adventure so that he could choose what to say and what to omit....especially considering the photos that we have....
In celebration of his birthday, N8 decided to grow out his beard and shape it like the characters from the movie Gone With the Wind in order to be referred to as "Colonel Wildcat." If anyone slipped up and called him anything but Colonel Wildcat that person was obligated to have one shot of Soju. (yuck!)



N8's face went from a full beard to colonel then to just a mustache and MAN DOES HE LOOK LIKE HIS DAD!

We rented two vans and took people 2 hours north to Inje to play paintball and go white water rafting. It rained all day, but surprisingly it actually made the whole experience that much better! Paintballing int he rain made it very intense and difficult and everyone seemed to have a good time. Afterwards we were taken down to the river to raft down the quick waters and it was still raining. We all thought we'd freeze to death, but the rain was quite warm and it was a beautiful feeling to be on the river in the rain surrounded by lush mountains. The best part of rafting was that we were coaxed out of the raft and swam in the river and it carried us down stream for a while where we met people who were jumping off of the rocks into the river. We didn't get a lot of photo opportunities because of the rain.

When all of the events for the day were finished we got back into the van and headed back home to Gangneung. Some of us went to an all you can eat meat buffet. We ate, we drank, and we were merry! Once our bellies were full we proceeded to go out to a Korean club, which isn't my favorite thing...but its fun since we are the only ones who really dance on the dance floor.
This particular club usually has performances. That night they had a few singers and the D.J. also made a very public appearance by stripping all of the way down to his birthday suit...happy birthday N8! It was bazaar and we left...

The rest of the night was a bunch fun and a total success! N8 is now 24, his favorite number. <3

Murung Valley

Now that the weather is nice, we've been taking advantage of some of the natural beauty around us. On an impromptu Saturday morning, we decided to round up some friends to go for a hike. We got together at the bus station and took a 1 hour bus ride to Donghae (south of us). Our good friend, Graeme, taught in this area before and he is familiar with the city. We ended up going to Murung Valley, a popular hiking spot for Koreans because the hiking path follows a river that cuts through the mountain. Graeme took us off of the path to hike along the big rocks, we passed some Koreans that were having a quaint picnic by the river and they proceeded to tell us that we shouldn't go any further because there weren't any people up ahead...but that's exactly what we wanted!

We set up camp by a small swimming hole and enjoyed the sunshine. Later we were met up by some more friends who heard about our outing and once it got dark we built a fire and cooked up some soup and hotdogs. We suspect that some rangers found us but it was too dark to do anything about it. We camped out and stayed until the next day and ate our leftover hotdogs for breakfast, the rangers came back once we were all packed up and brushing our teeth. Two or three rangers came by to stare but because they don't speak English nothing was done about our mischievous behavior.

Its really wonderful to have such beautiful surroundings nearby.

I once was blind...

and now its still a little blurry- as expected~!!

This past weekend I went to Seoul, to a recommended lasek clinic, to have my eyes corrected. The staff was really wonderful, most of them spoke English and they were very sweet. The doctor warned me of the pain and recovery time but also of the safety of the procedure. My eyes were in pretty bad shape, so the effects of the surgery were expected to be a little more painful. N8 called off of work to come with me and be my seeing eye dog for the weekend. He was a wonderful support and really patient with the whole process. I had the surgery on Friday, I was super nervous and anxious, but the women prepping me were so kind that they helped me calm down. One of the ladies actually held my hand through the whole operation! Nate was able to see me in the operating room through a glass wall, he was also able to see the surgery on a monitor that they had displayed. The whole thing was utterly painless, just a little awkward and uncomfortable at times. The doctor talked me through each step which helped pass the time. The weirdest part, though, was that at the end of the operation the doctor told me he was finished and as he walked out the door, a song boomed out of the speakers singing: "CONGRATULATIONS! AND SALUTATIONS! ...." it was so bizzar.

I was amazed that I was able to see everything so clearly just minutes after the surgery! My eyes were a little tired and sore for the rest of the day but my vision was crystal clear. The following two days, however, were another story. My eyes were in so much pain, it was hard to open them. It was no fun but I was warned, so I wasn't worried. I went back to the doctor for a follow-up and he said that most patients regrow20-30% their epithelial layer by the next day, but my eyes had recovered by 50%. I tried to keep myself entertained by watching tv shows on the computer throughout the weekend, but the glare was too bright. But watching the screen was too bright if it was in the dark, so there I was, in my room with all of the lights on, the computer on a low light setting, watchign Dexter with my sunglasses on. classy.

By Monday, I was able to wake up without any pain but my vision is still a bit blurry. Today I will go to another doctor in my city so that they can remove the protective lens from my eyes. They say that my sight should steady out within a week or two, and that my eyes will not be fully healed for about 3 months. I'm very happy with my decision and the results!

Brain Matter

I have officially set the date! I am now registered to take the GRE in January of 2010. It was an intense feeling to make it so final, my heart was pounding as I was clicking "I accept" buttons and retyping my email address over and over again.

N8 convinced me to take the GRE kaplan prep course so that I can really "nail the test"! I'm hoping to lean on him a bit with some help because lord knows I don't know basic math.

"Now, if Julie has 3 apples and she eats on apple..." aaaaah! it just makes my head spin!

Its very intimidating to be in love with someone as smart as this fella...I've come a long way where I can now actually ask for help without bursting into tears of jealousy and embarrassment.

I hope to start the prep course in October and I'm really looking forward to being back in a classroom setting where I'm the student. This is just a small step towards finding out what I want to really focus on in the future. I have looked into Psych Grad programs in different Universities, but I'm also interested in an IPSL graduate degree (international partnership of service learning and leadership). Either way, the first step is getting GRE score under my belt.

In other news, N8's birthday proved to be an utter success this year! Most of our friends came out to join us for some outdoor activities even though it was raining-it actually was quite nice! but I'll leave those stories and pictures up to the birthday boy to post.

This weekend we are planning a hiking trip with some close friends to Meurang (?) Valley. I heard its an interesting hike, especially if you go off the trail and go along the river. We just need to spend some quality time outside and get out of the smokey bars! It should be good clean fun...but who's bringing the soju?

City of Champions

It has come to our attention that the city of Pittsburgh thrives without Nathan and I in its presence. We are sad that we missed so many great things this year (also including Emily's graduation *congrats!!*)
Either way, it was so nice to be a rep of Pittsburgh here in Korea and we were able to watch the game from a live feed online. What a world we live in!! It was a great game and it surely left a great big goofy smile on N8s face. He then proceeded to sing out lyrics to the song "Here we go, Steelers" but for the Pittsburgh Penguins-it was all quite catchy and it ran together well.
in other news, I have officially set a date for my lasek operation. The people in Seoul are very nice and the price is unbeatable! There is one price for the whole surgery, which is about half of what the surgery would cost back home. I was referred to this lasek center by a very happy customer, also a foreign teacher. Not only is the surgical procedure half the price from back home-but all consultations before and after the procedure are free, i get a year's worth of free eye drops, and since I'm coming from across the country they are setting me and N8 up for free at a hotel near the center!
I'm very happy with the Dream Eye Center and the doctor was very nice. The only thing that kind of freaked me out was that he explained how there are two types of surgery. And my eye condition requires an EK surgery. He said "IK surgery is quick and painless. EK surgery .... well is very good and extremely precise and better in the long run. But it hurts. A lot. Do you understand? Many many pains."
ah .... so I'm not looking forward to the pain, but its only a 10 min surgery!
I can't wait to see you all with my new eyes!!

*note to my dad-please don't think about this too much. it'll gross you out. I was thinking about posting a video of EK surgeries but I decided against it. JUST FOR YOU.

Booked

We have officially booked our flights to go back home!
(loud applause and roaring crowd)

Yes thank you, thank you! We are so pleased to have a set date on the horizon. We will be flying out of the Incheon airport at 11:30am on September 3rd to Tokyo, Japan. After a 4 hour layover we will depart to Chicago and then after a 5 hour layover we will arrive in Pittsburgh at 10:30pm on September 3rd!
20-some days of actually teaching classes are left in the semester and I have to admit I'm starting to slack. We are slowly falling into lessons that consist of bingo, PowerPoint games, and watching videos. During the summer break I will be teaching a 5 day course for Korean English teachers. I have to prepare at least 50 pages of lesson material and teach 4 hours per day. Its not hard work and its extra money so I'm excited to have this gig.
Nathan will probably be teaching a summer camp at his school which will probably last for a week or so. We are allotted a 2 week vacation and I think that we're just going to lay low, save some money and maybe travel to a Korean island-which sounds better than it really is... believe me.
Classes will start back up at the end of August so N8 and I may be dragged back into the classroom, and I know it will be an emotional roller coaster for the both of us. No matter how much of a terror these kids are, we love them!
Our contract ends on August 31st and then we have one last day in our great apartment and then head off to Seoul for the 2nd and stay the night in a hotel until we head out on the 3rd. We don't have much time for decompression so that will just have to happen during summer vacation and after our last day at school we will rush out of here...

soon to come-what we will miss/NOT miss