Greetings!

Greetings!

It's 9:45 am, June 7th, and I think it's safe to say summer is here. My windows are open, the fan is blowing, and i'm sitting here, basically inactive, sweating up a storm. So unfortunate. But, until the humidity swamps over, I just can't bring myself to turn on my air conditioner yet. I'm from the desert- i got this!

Much has happened since my last greeting. I'm pushing 5 months in Korea, and life is good! I'll break my update into a few categories to make this greeting more organized.

School
Work is good. Though the past few weeks have provided moments and days of pure chaos, for the most part, my job remains the same and i'm still enjoying it. I am really enjoying my writing classes. In one of my middle school classes, i was teaching them how to write "How-to" or procedural essays. I told them to pick anything. Serious. Funny. Crazy. Boring. Whatever they wanted to write about, WRITE ABOUT IT. (And like it!) One of my favorite students wrote: "How to Blink". And let me tell you, it was a brilliantly written, hilariously funny essay that just made me smile! Writing is fun... and i hope my kids are learning that!
Excerpts to come soon.

Travel
I have taken a few small trips since my last greeting.
The Lotus Lantern Festival was great! I missed the parade, but got to see some of them on the river at night, which was beautiful .

Kelly, Nick, Steph, Ames, and Me

Over the weekend of Buddha's birthday, the ladies and I traveled to Gyeongju. It was a great, horribly less than ideal trip, but much needed trip out of Seoul. Check out my blog below for the full story! I also attended my second baseball game, and like the first, it was awesome. I like to say im an official Doosan Bears Fan. Korean sporting events are just fantastic, and for 5,000W... you can't pass it up. I also made my way to the Korea- Ecuador soccer game! Which was also awesome. Korea likes soccer. Again, check out the post below for a more complete story.

World Cup
Speaking of sports, the World Cup starts this weekend, and unlike the good USofA, soccer is a big deal in Korea. And when i say big, i mean MASSIVE. This weekend is a major game: Korea vs. Greece. Thousands of people will be flocking to the center of Seoul to watch the game in one large, red sea of fans. It's going to be awesome, and undoubtedly overwhelming. But, not something to miss out on. More to come on that soon, but it's going to be awesome.

Life
I recently applied for a Glimpse Correspondent position. If chosen, i'll embark on a 10 week endeavor this fall to write and produce features for the online magazine www.glimpse.org. In doing so, i'll have access to journalists from whom i'll learn the art of travel writing.
Ah! I get excited thinking about the possibility.

Upcoming
A lot is coming up. I'm pushing my 6 month mark and the summertime is promising a lot of awesomeness.

• DMZ Tour. There is rumor that they might shut it down if tensions continue, and I will be horribly disappointed if miss it.

• 23. Whoot! My birthday is coming up, and i'm going to rock it Korean style.

• Mud Festival. Summer time. Mud. Awesome.

• Summer Break. Last weekend of July, we're hoping to make it down to Busan for a long weekend on the beach in a new place. Ahh... just delight to my heart.

• Thailand at some point in my tenure to visit a good friend!!

Good things are to come this summer! The awesome team of foreign teachers I work with will be turning over this summer too... which is sad. So so sad. They're awesome and I will miss them dearly, but, it's also exciting knowing that new folks are on their way, and new things are to come.

If there is anything I've learned about life, it's that things change. Sometimes things change in big ways. But, God is good. Life is made up of choices. And life is a awesome adventure! Even more so when you're living in a foreign country!

Blessings to you all!
sarah, capa, potts, pottsie

Things to look forward to

• Taste Test: The Korean Sausage Phenomenon.
• Meet the Kiddos: Want to meet my students?