Festive Festivals

It's about time that I blogged about some of the festivals I have been able to participate in while here in Korea. 

 

Busan- Holi Festival - March 16th

I will make this brief because I talked about this festival in an earlier post. Holi, also known as the Festival of Colors, is an Indian celebration welcoming spring and celebrating the end of winter. It is a colorful celebration full of face painting, bright hats, food, and of course colored powder. Hundreds of Koreans and foreigners gathered together on Haeundae Beach. There was much socializing, eating samosas, and general merriment. We dressed in white so we could experience the full effects of the colored powder. After a countdown, the colors were released, music was played, dancing happened, and we all celebrated!

Jinhae- Cherry Blossom Festival - April 6th

I thought this festival was beautiful and so did millions of other Koreans. Every year the little town of Jinhae gets millions of visitors during the cherry blossom season. There are more cherry trees planted here then in any other town and the way they are planted makes for beautiful pictures and a great festival. There is a cute stream that is lined with trees, the railroad tracks are lined with trees, the streets are lined with trees... the trees are lined with trees... ok I made up that last one, but seriously, so many trees. If you want a birds eye view, you can even ride a cable car over the town. I didn't do this because the lines were long and the threatening rain clouds chased us from the festival early.

I had only been in Korea for a little over a month when I went to Jinhae and I was not ready to deal with the crowds. We had to wait in long lines to catch a bus, wait in long lines for food, wait in long lines to see the quaint spots, imagine these quaint spots didn't have thousands of people blocking the view, and wait in long lines to get out of the town at the end of the day. I am better with the crowds now, heck I can even push my way along almost as well as a Korean adjuma (older korean woman... they are very pushy). Ok, I will be honest I can push my way through as best as a Midwest girl can which means there is a lot of excuse mes and apologies :)

Overall Jinhae was a beautiful place and I am glad I went once. If I am here for another cherry season, I will enjoy the blossoms in my towns and the towns around me.

 Boryeong - Mud Fest - July 19th & 20th

Just recently I got to experience Mud Fest. Yep, it is just like how it sounds. There were lots of people covered in mud. It was great! The mud in Boryeong is supposed to be very good for skin health so about 20 years ago they decided to start a festival to bring more people in. I booked the trip through a tour group in Daegu. It was really nice because I didn't have to figure out transportation or lodging, they did it all for me. It was worth the little bit of extra money. Trying to book accommodations in these smaller towns can be very difficult with my limited Korean abilities, and everything fills up so fast around festival times. I hopped on a bus Saturday morning and was on the beach covered in mud by early afternoon. There was an area you could pay to go into that had more mud and slides/games. I didn't do that, instead I slathered my self in mud the old fashioned way and sat on the beach. When the mud dried, we could just go wash off in the ocean and go back for more. At night there was a K-pop concert, fireworks, and tons of great food venders for late night munching. There were so many foreigners at this festival and I had a blast meeting new people and connecting again with other teachers from orientation.

There are some great people in Korea, wonderful festivals, incredible foods, and adventures around every corner. I am lucky to be having this experience!

Oh the places I've been...

One of my big goals in coming to Korea was to travel. While I am here I want to see and do as much of Korea as I can (well at least the southern part :) Over these last couple months I have been to many of the major cities of South Korea and a couple cool festivals too. This blog will be about some of my traveling adventures thus far!

~Daegu~

My first weekend after settling into my new home was spent in Daegu. I have thus spent many a weekend in this wonderful place. It is only a 30 minute train ride (with a 15 min taxi ride or a 45 min bus ride to the train station) into the city. Maybe the 4th largest city in Korea, this gem is the place I go when I need a little western in my life. I can hit up the Costco and am a proud card carrying member, get a burger, see other foreign people, get some pretty decent beer, and even buy clothes at the occasional western store like my favorite H&M.

Go Go's

Birthday Ball Game

I was lucky enough to celebrate my birthday here with some wonderful friends. We had cupcakes for breakfast and sushi for lunch. Then we went to cheer on the Samsung Lions, the Daegu baseball team. Korean baseball is pretty fun and very popular. The stadiums are smaller and they don't serve hotdogs, but on the plus side you can bring in your own food and drinks and the ticket prices are pretty cheap. The popular thing to eat at baseball games is fried chicken and beer... delicious! After the game we went downtown and visited one of my favorite hangouts, Go-Go's! They sell alcoholic drinks from iv bags and people congregate in the streets with them. In Korea you can carry and drink alcohol in the streets. For 5,000w ($5.00) you can get a drink and a sparkler... the sparkler really makes it so much better :) Finally we hit up some of the other western friendly bars and met cool people from all over the world. A night out is never complete without a norebang experience. Norebang is a private room set up with couches, tables, a screen, and all the karaoke one could ever want. Sometimes they even have tambourines. You get a group together and everyone orders food and drinks, and then you sing your heart out in a swanky room. It is quite wonderful!

My first ballet.

Daegu holds a special place in my heart because many of my friends call it home. I always have a floor, bed, or couch to sleep on and great people to hang out with. The city is foreign friendly and easy to get around! There is always something fun to do, good food to eat, and fun people to meet!

 

~Busan~

Busan sign when you get off the train!

Busan rocks my socks off... quiet literally because there are some great beaches there, and well beaches and socks... not such a good combination!It's only an hour and a half train ride to get to Busan from my place. Busan is laid back, foreigner friendly, and on the ocean... what's not to love! It is the second largest city in South Korea and when traveling around the city, the size is very noticeable. It takes quiet a bit of time to get from place to place. Unlike Seoul though, the feeling of Busan is much more relaxed... must be the whole beach thing. You can buy drinks from street carts, head down to the beach, buy fireworks from a cute old women and borrow her lighter and you have yourself a perfect night. Busan has great bars with drinks like champagne and hard cider (things that are hard to find in Korea), wonderful food, and fun people.

Beach fun

Holi Festival

I have been to Busan 3 times so far, and will be spending the 4th of July here too. My first time in Busan was in March. I went for Holi festival, an Indian festival (there are quite a few Indians in Korea). We threw color powder and celebrated spring with hundreds of others on the beach. I also visited the where the International film festival is held, Nampo, and ate an unhealthy amount of street food. My second time in Busan I was mostly passing through... but because of some difficulties reading subway maps and bus information, I was able to see much more of the city than I wanted to  :/ My last time in Busan was spent on the beach, drinking champagne, hanging out with great friends, and catching a baseball game. The baseball stadium is great and I was able to see the Giants game after acquiring some scalped tickets... that was an adventure!

Giant's Game

-Seoul-

 

Seoul is dynamic, always buzzing with energy, and overwhelming in almost every capacity. This gigantic city has about 10 million people (1/5 of the population of Korea). I've been to Seoul a couple times and have seen so very little in this city. I love the historic feel of Gyeongbukgong (an old palace) and the traditional Korean homes near it. I love that next to this old palace are skyscrapers and modern feats to make Korean ancestors proud. Any kind of restaurant or shopping you could ever want is available in this massive city. There is also a huge foreign presence. Itaewon is a neighborhood that attracts many foreigners and it is a fun place to see many cultures mixing and mingling. You can grab a gyro, pop into an Irish pup for a cider, go dancing at a club with techno music, and hit up a Taco Bell on the way home. I like visiting Seoul and will probably have more to post later, but I am happy that I don't live there. The crowds and hustle bustle would get to me after awhile.

A day in the life...

Sorry, it's been so long. I could give you a bunch of excuses as to why I have been so silent on my blog, but let's just say I have been adjusting to life in Korea and leave it at that. So much has happened in these last two months. This post is going to be all about my school, my kids, and teaching English in Korea!

My School

In my last blog, I mentioned that I am working at an elementary school under a mountain.  I walk 5 minutes to school every morning and am greeted by my kids on the streets. Most of my students live in the same neighborhood as me, so I see them all the time. They are still very excited to see me... like it is a surprise that I am a person outside of school. My first day of school, I was introduced to the students at a assembly (along with all the other new teachers) and when my name was announced the kids went nuts! Frozen is a huge hit here... like a crack for kids. They love that my name is Elsa, and many of them will sing Let it Go to me or ask me if I want to build a snowman (If this doesn't mean anything to you... watch the movie, it is worth it!) I feel like a celebrity at school. My first couple weeks were unreal. I am the first full time foreign teacher my school has ever had, so for most of my kids I am their first western English teacher. They like to tell me how beautiful I am (which they must have learned somewhere else and they try to use it to get something from me :). They also like to comment on my appearance like, "teacher big" and then they point to my nose or "teacher big like boat" and point to my feet. I have been there for two months now and am less of a celebrity, but they still love to say hi and to greet me outside of school. I even got invited to a birthday party by one of my 3rd graders the other day :)

My Schedule

Reward Charts... 5th and 6th grade love them too!

Each week I see all of the 3rd-6th students at my school and 1 class of kindergarten. That means I teach about 550 kids a week. I never wanted to be this teacher, but I don't know most of my students names... okay I only actually know a couple. I have no class lists and just don't see my kids enough to really get their names down. Also, they never really use names in class and their names are structured like Park So Hyun (last name and given name) which is hard for me to get used to, so anyhow... that is something I want to work on. In teaching all these age groups, I have confirmed something for myself. I absolutely got the right teaching license 5-12. Don't get me wrong, my kindergarteners and 3rd-4the graders are cute and they have their moments, but I am not made to teach young kids. They take a crazy amount of energy and enthusiasm, rigid structure, and discipline. My third graders are the hardest part of my week and I struggle to keep the class under control. On the other hand, I really enjoy my 5th and 6th graders. My 5th graders are fun and pretty easy to manage thanks to an incredible co-teacher. My 6th graders are getting a bit too cool for school... especially English, but I love that about them. It is fun to trick them into learning and I love when they get into an activity and the classroom is buzzing with English. Makes me so happy! Everyday I learn something about myself as a teacher and I learn about my students. It is a difficult job, and some days I leave the classroom wondering if I taught them anything, worrying that I should have been more strict, worrying that I was too strict, and hoping that next week will be better. Other days I leave class to the high fives and voices of my students saying "I love you Elsa Teacher" and "thanks Elsa Teacher." Those days give me the courage and strength to try again. I cannot promise that I am teaching these kids as much English as I should be, but I sure am trying and I really do care. This is the hardest job I have ever done.

3rd Grade

5th Grade

Other then my students, school days are filled with lesson planning, socializing with my co-teachers (some of whom speak pretty good English), eating school lunches (mostly in hurried silence because very few teachers speak any English and they all feel uncomfortable around me... like at any moment I am going to run up to them and start speaking English very loudly and quickly), and playing volleyball for the staff team. Let's start with my co-teachers. I am incredibly lucky and I have great co-teachers. They all have a different teaching style, they all want different things from me, and they all have different English speaking abilities. I try to remain flexible and teach what they want me to, without losing my teaching style. I do not always succeed... and it is not an easy thing to do, but I have a good relationship with my teachers so we talk about problems that arise and fix them... usually :) Moving on, school lunches!!! My school food is really good... like really, really good. Unless of course you don't like Korean food. The lunch ladies don't speak English, and I am ashamed to admit that my Korean is pretty crappy and minimal. I greet each one and thank them for the food. They pile my tray with food to show that they like me. I eat as much as I can because the head cook always walks over and check to see if I like it and how much I am eating (she also doesn't speak English). If I don't eat enough she thinks I don't like her food. If I eat a good deal of it, she tries to get me to take more. It is a vicious/delicious cycle, so I learned the word for delicious in Korean and when she comes to check on me I leave some food on my plate, but tell her it was delicious. That way she doesn't get offended and I don't have to eat more :) Finally, staff volleyball!!! The head cook, also plays volleyball with me and she is one tough cookie (do you see what I did there?) I was invited to play on the staff volleyball team. Being tall, I was of course a hot commodity. I agreed, because duh volleyball is awesome, but like everything in Korea I had no clue what I was agreeing to. The coach of the vb team is the PE teacher and he is serious about winning. We were practicing 2 hours everyday for a couple weeks. He had me playing on both the men's and women's team. Because here I am a rock star (the whole being tall thing) I was in charge of most of the court and every third ball was mine... to spike of course. It was lots of fun and I even bonded with my principal, he is a very good player. Unfortunately, vb has been cancelled along with every other school activity that is fun for the next couple months because of the Sewol accident. I am not going to get into that now, but will in a later post.

School lunch

Brownie with the school's name

I think that is it for school life at the moment. This time I really will post again soon.

Sending my love,

Elsa

EPIK South Korea!

I haven't blogged in a long time... I guess since I crossed the globe :) To be fair... I haven't really stopped moving long enough to reflect on these last two weeks. I can't believe so much has happened in two weeks! Hold on to your socks... this is going to be a long blog!!!

Leaving Hawaii was hard and I had my first "what have I gotten myself into" moment at the airport. I was waiting in line at Korean Airlines and realized that I was the minority. I didn't understand those talking around me and did not know how to read most of the signs. When I got to my terminal, I saw hundreds of people and none of them looked like me. I took a couple deep breaths and got on my plane. The stewardess was very nice and would talk in English for me. I flew 11 hrs and lost one day and arrived at Incheon international airport at 5:50 pm. I made my way through the airport in a hazy dream... people were very kind and helped me whenever they could. I found my EPIC group, got my cell phone working for Korea, and boarded a bus headed to Jeonju University... 3 hrs away!

Korean Language Classes

I arrived at the college around 11pm and was given my room assignment and a roommate. We hit it off from the get-go, but didn't talk long... we were both exhausted! The next week was a whirlwind of EPIC training and orientation. There were about 400 of us at that training site (there was another site training too). We had great lectures led by expert EPIC teachers who were or had taught in Korea for many years. We also had language classes taught by EPIC staff members. My teacher was so sweet and cute, her name was MJ. I met tons of people and I got close to some girls almost immediately, and ironically they are all within an hour of me! We ate Korean food with metal chopsticks (that's what they use in Korea... which make learning to eat very tricky... metal is slippery, ask my stained Khakis). Korean food has lots of side dishes with many flavors. I am getting used to it all and really liking some of it! One day we took a field trip to the historic part of Jeonju and got to experience some history and culture. We played drums, games, saw how paper was made, ate bibimbap (a famous Korean dish), and made Korean pencil cases. For the last part of orientation we had to show what we could do. We were put into groups of 3 and had to co-teach a lesson. Tuesday the 25th we presented our lessons in the morning and by the afternoon, we all knew where we were going to be living and teaching for the next year.

Jeonju Historic Village

As many of you know, I was hoping to be placed in middle or high school. That is the age group I am licensed for and what I am most comfortable with. Over the course of my orientation, I had decided that whatever age group I got, I would take and grow from the experience. When I found out I was going to be at Inpyeong Elementary School in Chilgok-gun (really more in Gumi) I signed the contract and felt excited for something new. I got my placement on Tues. 25th and Wed 26th met my co-teacher, applied for my alien registration card (a card that you can do nothing without... like open a bank account or get your gas turned on or get a cell phone plan), went to my school to meet the principal, moved into my apartment, went shopping for essentials with my co-teacher(to him that meant bread... because all westerners need bread), and went to dinner with said co-teacher. His name is Robin, and he is my age. We get along very well and I am lucky to have him. He even lives in my same building... so I can ask him for advice easily. My apartment is a five minute walk to my school, and my school is right under a mountain. It is considered country living(not anything like the country I know) and I can walk to the grocery store in 3 minutes or go on a mountain hike in 5 minutes.

I passed my drug tests... and Orientation!

I will be writing again very soon to fill you in on my first week of teaching and my many adventures thus far in Korea. Sending my love to you all!

Elsa

Aloha Maui!

I can't believe I am writing this but, my time here in Hawaii is coming to an end. Today I said goodbye to my beloved Maui and am writing from a hostel in Honolulu. Tomorrow I leave for South Korea! As sad as I am to leave such a paradise, I am ready for my next great adventure. Here is a recap of my last week and a half in Maui!

A couple days after my last post, the farm owner surprised a couple of us with a snorkel adventure. A friend of his chartered a boat and had some extra space so Kali, Liz (another woofer) and I got to do 'PR' for the farm while hanging out on a boat all day. We snorkeled at Molokini (the best spot in Hawaii to snorkel) and it was incredible. The water was blue, the fish brave, and the whales whee singing. I got to see a baby whale hamming it up with his mom and a school of spinner dolphins (about 60 dolphins or so) doing tricks in the water. The whole day was incredibly magical and I couldn't believe how lucky I was. Most of my time in Hawaii has been a series of "most amazing moments" that are just expanded on by the next "most amazing moment!"

Another amazing moment was seeing the sunrise at Haleakala. Four of us woofers camped at a campground on the mountain. We woke up at 5 and drove to the top to see the sun coming up through the clouds. It was memorizing and even though I wasn't quite prepared for the cold at the peak (my toes were a bit blue in my sandals) we stayed until the sun was high in the sky. We then spent the morning hiking and enjoying the park.

A couple days later, Kali, Liz, and I went to Little Beach. I can't capture this experience with words or with pictures, but I will give it a shot! Little Beach is an unofficial nude beach in Maui. If you climb over a rock cliff on Big Beach, you will find this gem of a place. During the week, Little beach has few nudes and is usually occupied by people who want a calm experience. On Sunday however, the Beach is transformed to a Hippie party extraordinaire. There are people everywhere, many nude and just as many clothed. People are happy and very friendly and they just want everyone to have a good time. They don't want this to become too touristy so it is a bit of a secret gathering. We went with an open mind... the only kind one can have in this kind of place! It totally paid off and we had a blast. When the sun set on the ocean, everyone clapped and then the drums started playing. A drum circle set the tone for a night full of fire dancers performing for the crowds. We enjoyed the show late into the night (well late for us on our farm life schedule... 10:30 ) and then slept on the beach like many of the others there. I woke in the morning to the sound of a whale flapping his fin in the water the next morning!

The rest of my off  time in Maui was spent at beautiful beaches around Lahaina and coffee shops working on South Korea stuff. This morning I enjoyed a slow morning of card playing, coffee drinking, and pie eating at a roadside dinner across from the ocean. The weather today in Maui was overcast and misty... I think the island was sad to see me go. I was certainly sad to say all my goodbyes!

On a positive note, it is off to bed for me... I have a plane to catch in the morning!

Aloha from Hawaii,

Elsa

Lahaina Family Farms

For the last two weeks I have been living and working on a farm outside of Lahaina, Maui. Lahaina Family Farms is a great organic farm nestled in a valley on the side of a mountain. It is a very young farm, started about 4 years ago by Tim and Harline Moyer and their families. The land that the farm sits on has many Wiliwili trees (a native Hawaiian tree that is almost extinct due to an invasive bug) and is very valuable to native Hawaiians! This young farm has lots of great things going for it including an aquaponics system, great outdoor living/entertaining spaces, young fruit trees, and a host of eager hardworking people to make the dream a reality. Because this farm is so young, there is not a lot of produce being sold yet... all good things take time!

View from the farm!

Farm life is pretty relaxed and structured. We start everyday before the sun comes up (at 6:30am) and end our work at 11:30. Work varies quiet a bit, but lately we have been joking that we  work on a driveway farm :) We have spent many days cleaning, fixing, digging, and fixing water problems on the mountainside driveway. Other than that, I have spent some time planting vetiver (a grass used in perfumes and handy for water erosion), propagating plants at aquaponics, weeding, and last but certainly not least... trail building!!! Kali (the friend I am woofing with) and I are both well versed in trail building from our time in AmeriCorps. We have put in a lot of time fixing and retreading tails on the farm. It is sort of our pet project... and I have to be honest- we are awesome at it! Breakfast is on our own (but all the ingredients are provided), lunch is made for us by other woofers, and dinner is usually lunch leftovers. Two nights a week we have a meal for all farm folks and other guests. Monday is pasta with homemade bread in a brick oven and Thursday is pizza night with handmade pizzas in brick ovens!

Trail Work

 In two weeks, I have met many new woofers and in a very short time, have created some great friendships. Everyone here comes from some place else and has a great story to tell. Working, eating, sleeping, and playing alongside these folks has been my favorite part of this journey thus far. My first weekend in Maui I went to Hana with 8 other woofers. We rented two cars and made the winding journey, stopping at waterfalls, pools, beaches, fruit stands, and ice cream shops along the way. Some of the woofers were braver than me and jumped into the pools... I had just as much fun wading in :) We spent the night camping at the Seven Sacred Pools park and went on an incredible hike in the morning. The plant life here continues to amaze me! My favorite thing thus far has to be the bamboo forests. Their dense shade creates an air conditioning effect and the bamboo bumping together makes a soothing hollow sound. I could enjoy their beauty for days!

Beach Fun with fellow woofers

Yesterday our boss treated all the female woofers to a spa day! The boys wanted an estrogen free Super Bowl party, so we ladies had an incredible time taking hot showers, getting our nails done, sitting in saunas and jacuzzi, and being pampered. We then went out for an incredible lunch with fruity drinks. All of us farm girls are pretty tough, so it was fun to be super girly for a day.

Girls at the Spa

  Finally, I am knee deep in applying for my VISA for South Korea. My contract came in the mail on Thursday and I sent it to the embassy Saturday. Today I got a call saying all was received and my Visa was being processed. I am flying out of Hawaii on Feb 17th and will be in Korea by the 18th!!!

Hope all is well and warm wishes!

Elsa

Honolulu Woohoo and Maui Wowie

Aloha,

The last two days have been a crazy whirlwind! I landed in Honolulu around 10:55 pm Thursday. The first thing I noticed when I got off the plane was a sweet smell in the air and the glorious temperature. Heaven must be somewhat like Hawaii!  When the checked luggage rolled out all of my pieces were on it, even my carry-on that I checked in MSP made the trip! I was picked up from the airport by Diane, a friend of some great Wartburg alumni (Abby and Kevin Smith). She took me to her church in downtown Honolulu so I could store my South Korea bags in her office. She then drove me to my hostel. Her kindness was much appreciated and I am quickly learning that around here, most people are just as kind as Diane.

I stayed two nights at Waikiki Beachside Hostel which happened to be a block from the beach! My first night was uneventful and after meeting my roomates, I crashed. The next morning I was up early and my first stop was Waikiki Beach. The beach is most beautiful in the morning and the flowers seem to smell the best too. I was intoxicated by the magic of the city and wandered around for an hour or so before heading to Diamond Head. My excitement may have gotten the better of me and after about five miles of walking my sandled feet were not excited. Still, the hike up Diamond Head Crater was wonderful. The views from the top... even better than the walk! Having quelched my desire to walk, I took a city bus back to my hostel and then spent the afternoon on the beach. A little sun, some swimming, and a whole lot of sand in every crevice made my afternoon perfect.

I decided to take a bus out to Pearl Harbor and I did just that. Little did I know that the visitor center closed at 5 and the bus I took went to the base NOT the visitor center. I was not let into the base, instead I was kicked out at the gate and wondered til I found another bus. After hearing some military guys say Waikiki I got on. Back I went (1.5 hrs) to Waikiki. The Navy guy (Will) in front of me was new to the island so we got off at a stop and walked the whole beach. We had fun exploring the island and even did some night swimming. Did I mention that I love Hawaii, I love the ocean, and I love that you can swim at night!!!

This morning I packed up and caught a shuttle to the airport. My airplane to Maui was so small (8 person plane) and we had to check all our bags. The flight was incredible, I even saw whales jumping!!! While on the flight I got to know the girl next to me. She was a first grade teacher in Oahu and her parents lived in Maui. She offered to drive me to the market where I would be meeting my farm family. Instead of paying for a taxi, I took her up on the offer!

For the next couple weeks, I will be living and working on Lahaina Family Farms, right outside of Lahaina. There are at least 12 other Wwoofers, and while I have only spent a couple hours here... I am going to like it. We stay in a bunker/ hanger type structure and walk up to the farm to work each day. This afternoon, 11 of us piled in a minivan and went into Lahaina. This town is adorable and I can't wait to see more of it!

At the moment, I do not know what my life will be like on this farm, but I have a good feeling about the work and the people. My posts will be hit or miss for the next couple weeks because we have no electricity or internet at our home.

Off to the beach...

Aloha!

Waikiki Beach in the morning

Top of Diamond Head Honolulu View

Top of Diamond head

My plane

Off I go into the wild blue yonder...

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

 My journey has begun!!! You may be asking, "where are you going, what are you doing, and how are you doing it?" I am asking those questions too :) Applying to teach in South Korea has taught me some very important things: live in the moment, find peace in the unknown, trust that things will workout, and have lots of patience.

Here is what I can tell you. After months of planning, dreaming,  and sifting through paperwork, I am finally moving forward. After a successful send off dinner last night, I finished packing and spent the last night in my bed. This morning my parents braved the windy roads and took me to MSP airport. Everything went like clockwork, and after a teary goodbye I was off. My flight was wonderful (the man next to me got a complimentary tv device and he didn't want it so he let me use it to watch videos about Hawaii. We also had a great conversation about all the things I must do while I am there). I am currently waiting in Seattle for my connecting flight... oops guess it is time to board. Next time I post will be from Hawaii! Aloha!

This pic sums up the craziness that has been my life these past couple weeks!

This is all that craziness in bags

This is me and my cute dog!

Send off dinner