Old School

Well, since we'll be shortly returning home overseas, I thought I'd get out my hand-written travel journal from the start of our Korean trip and backlog all that we've done since first leaving the US. It starts on February 16, 2009, our first morning in Korea. I'll keep updating sequential entries until we're caught up to today!

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Feb. 16, 2009

Our first official morning in Gwangju found us in a hotel on the fifth floor, with a huge screen TV, a computer, a bottled water dispenser, instant coffee, large community bottles of hair products and combs, a hard as rock mattress with pillows ot match, two red velvet dining chairs, and a bathroom with a tub and a toilet that shoots water at your crotch. It was also piping hot in the room.

The plane trip was interesting. Fresh air seemed nonexistent and I wonder if we had our first experience of the smells of Korea, which had I not had a migraine, might not have been so bad. Korea Air took good care of us, giving us free headphones, two meals, free drinks, blanket, pillow, and a pouch with an eye mask, socks, toothbrush, and toothpaste. I saw between Aiden and a young man of few words who liked to click his pen incessantly, even though it was obvious people were trying to sleep and had migraine headaches. But, all is now forgiven. May they never find his body. Kidding!

Halfway through the flight, when all is numb from your waist to your toes, Aiden and I switched seats so I had the window. I loved the lady behind me who knew only one level of loudness of her voice to use in a crowded space, and who liked to pen the shade to reveal the blinding light of nothing but sun and clouds to all who sat closest to her. In front of me was the man who remained in a constant reclined position, even when people behind him were trying to stretch, eat, breathe, or anything else human beings require time to time to avoid going bonking insane.

Mar. 1, 2009

Sorry it's been so long! We've been busy! Aiden and I are in our apartment, hopefully temporary, and have found our way to our new school. We're out for lunch and Aiden goes outside to point to the pictures of dishes with numbers on them. The daughter of a waitress around ten years of age writes down our order for us. I love it! (restaurant-Kimbab Nara by Emart)

Mar. 2, 2009

First day of work. We're here at 9:30 and there's no one here or ready to work. Aiden's more nervous than I am, which is strange, because usually I am the one kept up at night. Hopefully it'll be smote sailing. We have to remember to be tough and mean the very first day. I'm looking forward to having my own classroom and not subbing anymore.

I do love Korea. It's funny to have so many people looking at us, especially in our new neighborhood when there are less foreigners. Hmm.

Apr. 19, 2009

Bizbaz "Original Coffee Story" has oversized couches, big pillows and internet. It's our favorite coffee shop. It's got full sized couches that face each other with high backs so each table is kind of secluded and private. Only drawback is the constant haze of cigarette smoke.

May 17, 2009

Too infrequent is my writing! Aren't I going to treasure this book much more than an internet site-no offense, Baby? Grr, Sarah!

So, it's Sunday. A and I are at DaVinci Coffee downtown. Aiden's on his computer and we're drinking iced mochas waiting for five pm when Wolverine starts. I truly love my husband.

Yesterday I went to Seoul with Brooke and Cassandra. Our bus left at 6:30 am. I haven't been up this early since we left for the airport to come here in February! Anyway, the bus ride was three and a half hours and cost around twenty bucks. A and I had taken the train to Seoul before, when we went and it was fifty bucks and took three hours. I actually think the bus was comfier since the chairs are bigger with more space and recline pretty far. Anyway, we got to Seoul in a downpour. We tok a taxi to Itawon (pronounced e-tay-wan). I had a cup of Starbucks coffee and a bagel and cream cheese. We walked around until eleven when the Mexican restaurant opened. I wasn't too hungry, but ordered a veggie burrito and ate about half. Cass got a veggie b., too, and guacamole. Brooke got a taco. She dislikes veggies, but I demanded that she get salsa. The Taco is the name of the place and it's really good! The owner was from Southern California, who lived in Guatemala and brought Spanish food to Korea after marrying a woman from here. He was quite a character.

Anyway, Brooke led us to two foreign grocers, one owned by Indians, and one by Philippinos. Between the two places, we bought corn tortillas, Doritos, VO5 shampoo, Red Bull, and a classic rock and kids Christmas CD, both in English. Whohoo! The stores have spices, canned foods, oatmeal, nutella, granola bars, deodorant, you name it, they got it. What a find!

An even bigger find was the foreigner bookstore. What the Book! It's a basement full of new, used, fiction, non, everything you could want to read from home! I bought 5 books-4 sci-fi-ish for Aiden and a Rudyard Kipling collection. I put down Roald Dahl's collection of darker works because it was too expensive and Mark Twain's complete collection because it was too frigid' huge. These five should keep us quite busy for a while! When I'm done writing here, I'm going to give into Crichton's Airframe. What a terrible loss the literary world has suffered with his passing! A true, American great he was.

Anyway, I bought Aiden three button-down shirts for warmer weather work. One is black, one is burnt orange, and the third is a really pretty blueish-green. I also found him a necklace, since his massage friend broke the only one he had. I bought two cool dresses, a few summer tops, and a GREAT purse! It's pink and leather and I love it!

All in all, it was a great day. We had burgers and fries at Sunny Days, a healthy, hippy-ish place. We also had Coldstone ice cream. Yum! The girls and I get alng great and I really enjoy their company. We can talk easily and have a lot in common. I can vent about life with them and they can do the same.

Ok, off to read!

Aiden's Birthday

Poor Aiden didn't get the celebration I had planned. I caught a stomach bacteria and was holed up for the weekend. We did manage a dinner out at one of our favorite restaurants, Giardino. Aiden had fabulous chicken alfredo and I had soup broth. Yum!

Nearing the End

We have nothing but tests next week for our students. Two teen classes insist on being allowed to "work together", i.e. cheat. They've insisted I get information about the test for them ahead of time to "prepare" for what's to come. And, the kicker; "Our teachers before have always let us work together and talk." I know I don't look that old, but I'm really older than having been born yesterday! Teenagers make me want to shudder, cringe, cry and scream for our future. I'm not being dramatic in the least!

Aiden and I begin to clean out our apartment today. It's amazing how much stuff accumulates after only four months. We had only purchased the necessary-iron, broom, fan, etc., and we'll leave it behind for the landlord's future tenants. The hardest thing to pack or leave are our books. They become like friends. We read their stories here and if we bring them home, they'll always be our tie to Montenegro (along with the hundreds of pics we have...).

Another apartment to clean, another move. I've done this how many times before? And how many more in the future? People think that this is difficult-to pack up and move across the world to a virtually unknown living/working situation, but what really terrifies me is the thought of moving back to California with permanence, buying a house, having kids and "settling down". I feel as though I've been in transit since high school, or at least my mind was... This was my dream even then. Move. Explore. Venture. Move again. I've got Aiden, something I couldn't fathom back in high school, but I feel as though we're invincible and that there's nothing we can't do and nowhere we can't go. Thank you to you, our loved ones, for being supportive, loving, and patient while we trek around the world. We hope to inspire others to take up the journey and meet us sometime, somewhere. Perhaps permanence is overrated.

Budva on the beach

This was one of our earlier trips and we love the sea. Something about water is restorative to the soul and psyche. Plus, the statue was pretty cool. Sunshine+sea=happy Sarah.

The Great Debate

To sell out and teach somewhere to make a ton of money or not to sell out and teach somewhere to make a ton of money. THAT is the question.

We've come to a crossroads in our careers. Saddled with school loans, we're hardly a carefree couple who can work for beans. Having just started out (well, nearly two years out), we're beginning to see the way the world of teaching outside of the U.S. works. Asia offers plenty of jobs with a range of teaching salaries and expectations. Europe makes is darn near impossible for U.S. citizens to get into and teach and the pay is better but the cost of living makes it difficult to save. South America offers the experience of a lifetime but hardly enough money to survive. And then there's Africa. We know little of Africa because their job listings don't dominate the employment sites and teachers who've taught there don't comment much on job forums.

So, we ponder. Why did we get into this profession exactly? We're not lit or rhet majors. We're TESOL majors. We want to teach English to those who have different native languages. But now we'd like to become double threats and not just teach a language, but perhaps contribute to improving the lives of the suffering and needy. And make money all at the same time? Oy.

I'm writing this as an outlet to my frustration. Thanks pop culture and professional athletes for reminding me just how out-of-whack the world is. Why do teachers not receive million dollar paychecks again?? Should we put a price on education? Yes. Let's start at a thousand bucks an hour and go from there. Here's to all the educators out there who have made it their life's work to helping the improvement of developing minds!

First Time's a Charm

Welcome to blogspot, readers! I had done a little posting of blogs on our website, but it's quite a complicated task because it takes Aiden's handiwork to upload and publish and stuff that I don't understand and obviously can't do. Anyhoo, here we are, at present, freezing our tushes off in Podgorica, Montenegro. The current temperature is 34 degrees with an expected high of 36. But, at least no rain!! We've been quite drenched for the past month or so and some of our students have missed classes because their houses were flooded. I'm getting in a quick posting before work to jump start the process of regular updates. We've been here for nearly four months and it's about time I started reflecting on our time here. I don't know when we'll get back to Eastern Europe and I have a memory like a brick wall, so I'll see you soon!