Ritz Carlton Seoul

... br>
Strangely, when I was waiting in Ottawa for my flight to Toronto some guy approached me because he thought he recognized me and it turns out he went to high school with my sister. I don't personally remember ever meeting him, but I must have since he recognized me. I'm not sure if I should be flattered that I haven't changed that much since I was 17 or not...

I'm really excited to be back ...

... as it allows me more time to explore things, both externally and internally. I'm learning more how to sit with discomfort, how to soothe myself without depending on anyone/anything else. I'm learning that life is never boring- even though I've been in the same place, working the same job and establishing "routines"- life is constantly changing and evolving. I'm learning more fully about myself and what I need, what's important to me, without judgments or ...

... silver thumb rings at a jewelry store that have a famous Korean poem in-scripted on them.  We both wanted just one souvenir that we could cherish for the rest of our lives to remind us of our trip to South Korea!
We were then taxied to the Korean War Memorial- which was more or less like every other war memorial, except one thing, it was not quiet.  Oddly, there was a shooting game, where you could pay to play and you could here gun shots echoing throughout the whole ...

I got me a bag of books

It ain’t gonna be burnt by intellectual crooks

The same crooks that control the mainstream media feed

Ruling over a system that gives a man three years for a gram of weed


When we teach our kids never to bully

What integrity do we have when around the corner the leaders of the world do it fully

Sticks and bones may break my bones

Names hurt just as bad regardless of soft tones
Uijongbu, Gyeonggi, Korea Rep. morpheous

... life. In some ways, being apart forces you to talk in a way that we often take for granted in each others presence. I am so proud of her and it's beautiful to see her develop into a lovely, wise, compassionate woman. I talked with my brother today. We didn't talk for long, but I appreciate that he keeps me in the loop with things going on for him and feels he can talk to me about stuff, honestly and openly. He shows a maturity and wisdom way beyond his years. When I was home ...

Flying into San Francisco looks like you're going to land right in the water... it's freaky. Flying into Incheon looks like you never left home... all the airport buildings out the window have English on them. At the airport I follow a strange man into his van and the first thing I notice is that it's not nearly as cold as I had been warned by my Korean friends. We head for a motel in Seoul ...

... about Koreans, they shop with absolutely no regard for anyone else in the store. They park their shopping carts in the middle of the aisles, they linger in front of you as they talk on their cell phone, they cut right in front of you because they see something they need on the other side of the aisle! But....that is just the way it is here. Either join them or get angry and make a fool of yourself....yelling at a Korean in English is going to get you no ...

... and before i know it i was on a bus on my way to the city where i would live and teach for the next year of my life. I met some great people in that week of training, and had a lot of fun with my room mate. but do to the busy schedule didn't see much of Seoul at all. i will definitely have to take a weekend trip there. Love Rachel

... 5 or 6 schools. Their regular school, language school, maybe piano or violin, math or science, etc... Its pretty intense for them, but I've seen them having plenty of fun anyway. I'm really looking forward to meeting my students. I made it through training though and they must have thought I won't mess the kids up too much so I start teaching my classes on Monday. Pictures will be forthcoming.