Annyeong, Korea!

After a few short catnaps Sunday night, I finally awoke for good around 5:30 am Monday morning. I dragged myself out of bed, into the shower, and into a taxi for a short ride to the Airport Limousine Bus stop. I climbed onto the bus around 8:45 am and did my best to stay awake during the trip to Incheon Airport.

I arrived at the airport just before 10:00 am and was told I needed to first stop at the Immigration Office. Unfortunately, despite all my sweet talk and eyelash batting, the woman at the desk refused to back down, and I was forced to pay $100 for my lost Alien Registration Card. Strike 1. Then, I went to the check-in counter and discovered that I had to pay $135 to check a third bag (I swear the woman on the phone said $35!!). At that point I was so tired and ready to get out of the country that I did not use common sense (which would have been to toss out some clothes and get everything into two bags) and instead paid the ridiculously high fee. Strike 2.

Finally, I boarded my plane for Tokyo at 11:00 am, and we took off at 11:30. Again, I miraculously managed to stay awake for the short flight. After departing the plane in Tokyo, I had to wait for a shuttle bus to take me to a different terminal. I then had the brilliant idea of plugging my Dell MP3 player into an outlet to charge while I waited. Eventually the bus arrived, I was swept to a new terminal, and as I was about to board my flight to the States, I realized that I was sans MP3. @#$#(&$!!! Strike 3....and I wasn't even out of Asia yet!

The rest of the trip went without much of a hitch. I got a sweet bulkhead/exit row window seat on my long flight home, got to watch "The Island" on my personal movie screen 1 1/2 times too many, and we even arrived in Atlanta early. Oh, and I think I took about a two-hour nap as well! Flying into Atlanta, I felt a sense of pride and joy rush over me, but after about 20 minutes in the airport, I was already starting to miss Korea. Of course, I instantly realized how much I had missed the southern charm and friendliness, but the grating accents, obesity, and Tommy Hilfiger, khaki pants, and big hair that surrounded me were almost too much to handle.

I later settled into my final flight of the day on a teeny tiny plane with no working toilet. As expected, we had a late take-off. Finally, at 8:00 pm, approximately 26 hours after I began my long trip home with that first taxi ride, I arrived in Valdosta, GA (and it was still Monday!!!). I excitedly greeted my parents, and, per my request, we went to the Cracker Barrel, a southern-style restaurant with amazing biscuits and strong coffee. After dinner, we headed home to their house nestled in the woods of North Florida, and after a marathon chat with my dad, I finally snuggled into bed at 2:00 am....about 52 hours after climbing out of bed from my last real sleep Sunday morning.

My Last Korean Weekend

With only a few days left until I leave this country forever, I knew I wanted to spend it with my favorite people doing the things that made me happiest! Friday night, I met up with a crowd of friends in Sanbon for Shabu-Shabu. Afterwards, we ended up at the Pirate Bar for some final ice-throwing and Texas Hold 'Em. I was up for a while, but of course, in typical Tiffany form, lost it all on one game...I blame it on ADD.


Me and the boys... 

Saturday morning my friend Mike and I headed to the world's largest electronics market in Yongsan. My goal for the day was to finally suck it up and buy a digital camera. After much window shopping, I finally settled on a Pentax and 1GB memory card, which I will never even use to its full potential, but bigger is better, right? I then went to Hongdae to get my hair done, which took absolutely forever...I finally got on the subway home at 4:30 pm, not arriving at my apartment until 5:30 pm. The problem? I had reservations and plans to meet up with about twenty of my closest friends at a restaurant in Gangnam at 6:00 pm. NOT going to happen!


Does your camera do this? 

I rushed inside, changed clothes, did my best to look presentable, and ran to the bus stop to wait for Mike. He arrived, and as we were walking to the bus, the heel on my shoe broke! It was already after 6:00 pm, my phone was ringing nonstop, and I had one shoe! I was on the verge of tears, ready to throw it all in the bag and just go home and go to sleep. I went back to my place, changed shoes, and Mike and I decided to pay $20 to take a taxi. Fortunately, we arrived at the restaurant at 7:00 pm. It was an all-you-can-eat-and-drink place from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, so we had a little bit of time to get our money's worth. After dinner, we headed to Itaewon for some final laughs together, and I finally settled into a cab home just before 2:00 am.


A final hug goodbye...handing off the torch to my soccer replacement, Melanie. 

Sunday morning I finished my packing, as I had to be out of my apartment that afternoon before the newbies arrived. I made it to the soccer game with forty minutes remaining and afterwards celebrated the victory with the boys at a Galbi restaurant. I said a sad goodbye to my favorites on the team, leaving them around 8:00 pm to meet my climbing friend Erin for one last goodbye. I then met up with my friend Jessica for a bit before finally heading back to my home for the evening to prepare for a long night. I came up with the brilliant plan of staying awake all night so that I can time my sleep perfectly on the flight home to avoid jet lag. We'll see how that one works! I cannot believe I am leaving tomorrow!!!

Oct. 31 - Nov. 4: Last Week at Swaton

Well, I just commenced my last and final week of teaching little Korean tots how to speakee the Englishee. Monday was a full day of Halloween fun, and I spent the better half of the day painting some of the ugliest pictures ever onto unsuspecting children's faces. However, my excitement of the day turned into exasperation when I was told that I had to move out of my apartment and into my coworker's apartment (he moved in with his girlfriend) the next day!

So...that evening I transferred most of my things and thoroughly cleaned my smelly home for the next six days. On Tuesday I headed home right after getting off work early to pack the rest of my things, only to find my boss digging in my medicine cabinet! I almost had a heart attack right there, pleading with him to let me deal with my bathroom articles. We finally got everything loaded into the moving truck, driven across town, and up into my new apartment. I was NOT a happy camper.

Fortunately, I had a lovely evening that really made me forget about my day's troubles. I went out for a final dinner of Dalkgalbi with my friend Mike, and then we went to a "Game Board Room" where you rent out games by the hour for super cheap...we played Battleship for a bit before finally succumbing to the craving for ice cream.

Wednesday morning I taught my favorite kindergarten class how to make banana splits. After work, I met up with Erin for Pho at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, and then afterwards she came over to my house for some chatting while I packed. Thursday was an easy day, and as I was leaving work around 6:00 pm, I got a fantastic surprise when my cell phone rang. It was one of my favorite six-year-old students calling to tell me that he was watching TV and that tomorrow was going to be a bad day because I was leaving! After I got off the phone with Kevin, I went to dinner with my two private students, Frank and Julia, and their families, followed by the now traditional Wine Night with Jessica.

Today was a sad day. I tried my hardest to be a terrific, attentive teacher , but my mind was not there. My boss's wife took all us teachers to lunch, and when we came back to the school we were greeted by about fifteen mothers and a room full of food, such as fruit, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc. We had a party, the children gave us cards, and we said goodbye. After my midday break, I taught three more classes, and then at 7:30 it was all over. I am offically retired from my teaching career! It was quite sad saying goodbye to some of my students, particularly my morning kindergartners, but at the same time I am ready to go.