Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas weekend!

We entertained a few guests at our place on Christmas Eve which was really nice, and yesterday we spent the day relaxing. Another perfect weekend here in Korea!

Our Christmas corner

Our stockings!

One a Week Wednesdays: Country # 3

View Lithuania in a larger map

So this post is almost a week late, but here it is! Lithuania

After exploring Riga and Daugavpils in Latvia, Matt and I will take a night train to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Lithuania, along with the other two Baltic states (Latvia and Estonia), is not well known, but that's the beauty of it. We won't be spending a lot of time here either, but are excited to explore Vilnius for a few days in transit to Western Europe.

As I might have mentioned before, we are taking this route through Latvia and Lithuania to avoid the visa process of going through Belarus. We couldn't be happier about the situation. Andy, a guy we met while exploring the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, actually gave us some inspiration to visit the Baltic States. Here is a guy who is around 40 years old and has been to more than 100 countries. Of course when you aren't married and don't have any children this wild dream is possible! We were so intrigued and inspired by Andy, and while he has explored so many off the beaten path locals, he mentioned his next trip would be to the Baltic States. At home on his coffee table he had the Lonely Planet book waiting to be explored. That is how he travels: goes to the local bookstore, buys one or two Lonely Planet books on whatever location looks interesting, and places them on the coffee table to remind him of his next adventure. Hasn't failed him yet!

While we haven't researched Lithuania a lot, here are some pictures:

hopefully we can check out a castle!

Day Maker

It's Monday. I have 3 weeks left of school, one week of summer camp and then I am essentially done for 2 months. Yeah, I shouldn't be allowed to complain, ever.

But last night Matt and I ventured to Costco to pick up some pictures, which was a very bad idea for a Sunday night. Let's just say that for 2 straight hours I was essentially pissed off at EVERY SINGLE person I came in contact with. Whether it was the children running around and running into ME and my CART because their parents weren't watching them, or the teenage boy who dove in at the last minute and took the table in the food court I was going to take after the couple got up, or the motorcycle that almost mowed me over on the sidewalk. UGH. I assign some of the frustration on just living in a city and dealing with masses of people, and some of the blame on Koreans themselves. While 99% of the time we love it here, love the culture and adore the people, occasionally we get fed up with their lack of respect for strangers, their disregard for parenting in public and their downright rudeness.

ANYWAYS, to make it better today, I was handed a note in class by two of the lowest level girls I have. Here is what it says (word for word):

Dear Dani  Danny Dani Teacher !!!

We are your students our name is Lee seo yong / o so hee and your very fashiony star. Your is very kinds and your class is very fun. You hear color is beautiful. Danny teacher is my favorite teacher!!!!! I like you Danny Teacher.

From your students

AWWWWW. Way to make me smile, girls!

Under the Weather

Seriously, the horrible sinus infection/ cold I have caught is colder than the temperature outside. It's been a balmy 50-60 degrees outside all week and I have been stuck inside, sicker than I've been in a while.

Despite spending lots of time at home resting and recuperating, I have neglected the blog. Staring at a computer screen for long periods of time doesn't help the sinus headaches one bit. Sorry!

So I will get back into blogging this weekend. I missed the one a week Wednesday post, as well as some other entries I wanted to share this week as well. Hopefully I can find the motivation to get things done.

I'm back at school today, and all I can say is thank GOD it's Friday. The first and second graders have finals next week and they are already acting like a bunch of wild animals. The third graders have been "done" with school for almost a month now and we still have 3.5 weeks left. UGH UGH UGH. I was handling my classes fine, but being sick makes me irritable. I am used to yelling (in a nice way) to get attention, but I just don't have the energy today. Oh well, two more classes to go and it's the weekend.

I plan on starting back up the Turbo Fire on Monday once I am 100%, as well as a diet plan. I have less than 6 weeks to go before I head off to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia. Craziness!

Happy December everyone. 'Tis the season! I'll post pictures of our tree tonight when I get home :)

One a Week Wednesday: Country #2

View Latvia in a larger map


Country number 2 is one that most Americans don't even know exists: Latvia. Why are we going to Latvia? Well, as it turns out, we are trying to make our way westward into Europe and the visa through Belarus is VERY expensive, and you need one even if you are just passing through by train. Because of this, (and the fact that the visa is hard to obtain anyways), we are taking a different route around through the Baltic States.

We will board an overnight train from Moscow headed for Riga, the capital of Latvia. Latvia, along with the two other border states Lithuania and Estonia, has been occupied by throughout history by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, but claimed independence in 1989 after the peaceful "singing revolution". It is one of the least populated countries in the European Union and that attracts us. We'd like to visit a few places off of the well trodden map and we think we'll enjoy our short stay in Latvia a lot.

After a few days in Riga, we will board a train for Daugavpis, a smaller city near the Latvian/Lithuanian border. We will hang out there for another day or so before traveling onward.

Here are a few pictures of Latvia:

While we won't have a lot of time to explore Latvia, we're hoping to taste a bit of culture!

'Tis the Season

...the season of  KIM JANG.
"Jang" loosely translates to season and "kim" is short for.....you guessed it! Kimchi. November is the month that Koreans make a YEAR's WORTH of kimchi.

All spring and summer different types of cabbage, radish and various other roots and greens are grown so that come late fall they can all be harvested, packed with spicy red bean paste, and left to rot in clay jars/plastic containers for all to enjoy every day of the following year. Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

yummy yummy in my tummy

 Now, for those not living in rural Korea, the clay pots of old are out. For anyone who has ever tried kimchi, you know that it smells. Whether you like the taste or not, it STINKS. So...with no backyard for clay pots to store gallons of fermenting cabbage, how do you keep your house from smelling up a storm?

Enter the kimchi fridge

Yes, they make refrigerators specifically for kimchi. While most Koreans who decide to splurge on this usually just buy a smaller, one or two drawer fridge, there are enormous ones on the market, for all of your kimchi needs. Considering the strong stench, it seems like a good investment to me since kimchi makes everything else in your fridge smell as well.

Happy kim jang! Now if the lunch room could PLEASE start putting out the fresh stuff, this year-old kimchi is getting really pungent!!

Idiocy.

OH. MY.GOD.

Out of curiosity, I checked round-trip tickets today from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia- Portland, Maine. Why might you ask? Because at the moment Air Asia (which is the best airline EVER as far as I'm concerned) has amazing deals from Seoul-KL and so I thought "hey, maybe tickets from KL to home are cheaper than tickets from Seoul to home." If the cheap tickets from Seoul-KL are WICKED cheap, we could save money.

You won't believe this, people.

Here is what I found from doing a quick search from KL-Portland, on the same dates that I used from Seoul-home:

$1800.00
Okay, so right off the bat the ticket is appearing to be 300.00 cheaper per person than Seoul-Maine. Adding in a ticket TO Kuala Lumpur from Seoul, it ends up being just a little bit cheaper (and a lot of extra time) than our original plan.

BUT just LOOK at the KICKER:

You probably can't make it out, but those are the flight details. DO YOU SEE WHERE THEY ROUTE YOU THROUGH?!?!?!

That's right. They route you through SEOUL. So, to put things in simpler terms:

Flight from Seoul-Portland, Maine :$ 2200.00 (and climbing)
Flight from Kuala Lumpur-Portland, Maine THROUGH SEOUL: $1800.00

It's CHEAPER for me to fly down to Kuala Lumpur from Seoul, fly right back to Seoul and THEN fly to Portland instead of just flying from Seoul to begin with!


Absolutely ridiculous. Matt and I could catch a  flight down to KL, spend a few days sightseeing, then jump on another plane, come back to Korea for a few hours and leave for Maine and it would be CHEAPER.

Can you tell how mad this makes me?

What makes me the most angry is envisioning these prices from Kuala Lumpur decreasing as time goes on and for us to actually end up buying them. As it stands right now it's not worth it (maybe we'd save an extra 150.00-200.00 total), but if it keeps looking better, we could justify this. Absurd.

I really don't understand anything anymore.

Tent Talk

So with this Friday's paycheck we plan on putting the deposit down for the tent rental! It's very exciting stuff since this will be the first big purchase for the wedding (cost-wise...obviously my dress is "bigger"!)

The tent was one of the first decisions Matt and I made way back in the winter right after the proposal. Once we decided to have the reception at Bradbury Mountain it was obvious that we would need it, especially with how quickly Maine weather can change. We don't have the saying "If you don't like the weather, wait a minute and it will change" for nothing. Having a tent is essential for outdoor weddings in Maine, regardless of month or season. You just never know!

After scouring the internet for examples of tent decor, I found some pretty ridiculous set-ups, like these:

a see-through ceiling and COUCHES?!

Chandeliers? Seriously?

COUCHES AND CHANDELIERS...ahh!!

 This was not what I was imagining with our backyard BBQ feel of our wedding! Fortunately, for most of us, the reality of having a tent transformed as an indoor space is just not a logical option. Unless I was extremely rich, having a fancy-shmancy tent like one above in Maine at a state park would make me look like an idiot.

Here are some pictures that reflect what I had in mind for our tent:

Of course, these are both very yellowy weddings, and ours would be all blue, but you get the idea. The second picture is a better gauge because we will also have round tables and white garden chairs like the ones pictured.

While I would love to have expensive fabric draping from the ceiling, I'm just going to have to deal. Who cares? The pictures look great. As you can see, I have a thing for lanterns. Yeah, they might be overdone in the wedding world, but again, WHO CARES. They're lanterns, they're fun. They give a pop of color to a white backdrop, AND they give a nod to Asia. Although we are not trying to have a themed wedding, we are incorporating some Korean/Asian decorations, and lanterns are definitely in.

Our thought about the reception sight in general is to let the outdoors be the majority of our decoration. Why would we need to lavishly recreate a backdrop when our tent is going to be surrounded by trees?

Along with some blue lanterns and flowers on the tables, we are thinking of adding one last element: ribbons.

If we can find some cheap ribbon (and if we have enough time!) we really like the look of a few ribbons hanging from the chairs. Maybe not as many as in these pictures, maybe just three different shades of blue.

Other than flowers, ribbons and lanterns we're letting the outdoors set the scene for our reception! Now let's just pray for good weather (ie: no hurricanes or torrential downpours).

9 Months!

In exactly 9 months I get to say "I do" to this guy:

Hongdo Island for our 2 year anniversary

cheering for Korea during the World Cup

Mongolia, 2010

 

 

 

 

I'M SO EXCITED.

One a Week Wednesdays: Country # 1

View Russia in a larger map

 So! After talking to Matt, I have decided to reveal some details about our big trip one country at a time. Every Wednesday I will publish an entry with details and an itinerary for one country, in order of our trip. Because we are traveling to a LOT of different countries, this is going to take some time!

So up first, straight from Korea, is..... RUSSIA.

Yes, the "motherland". The largest country in the world. If you got any hints from my recent post about how we are taking "the long way home", maybe you came to this conclusion. We will be traveling across the ENTIRETY of Russia by TRAIN, on the famous Trans-Siberian railway. 

At the end of February, after packing up, shipping our valuables home and saying one last goodbye to Daejeon, we will head to Donghae, a port city on the eastern coast of Korea. From there we will board the Eastern Dream, a ferry/small cruise ship that will take us on a 24 hour journey to Vladivostok, Russia. After getting our bearings in Vladivostok (re: adjusting to the FREEZING temperatures of March in Siberia), we will board a train for a 3.5 day journey to Lake Baikal. Yes, you read correctly. Three and a half DAYS. While many people couldn't imagine spending this much time on a train (let alone an old, creaky, Russian train, where almost no one speaks English), we are beyond excited. What is more romantic than spending 4 days whisking through the thick Siberian snow-covered forests in March, while sipping tea and snuggling in the warmth of your sleeping bag? Nothing. Not in my book anyways :)

Once we reach Lake Baikal, we will get off the train and enjoy (re: freeze) a few days doing an assortment of things. Most likely this will include DOG SLEDDING, enjoying the Russian Banya (some of the hottest saunas in the world), and sharing vodka with strangers along the banks of the world's oldest and deepest fresh water lake. 

After that, we will board another train to continue our journey to Moscow. This will take another 3.5 days. As you can imagine, the break at the lake is necessary, unless being on a train for a week straight is something you fancy. 

Once we arrive in Moscow, we will do some sightseeing. The Red Square comes to mind. 

After Moscow, if we have time, we will head to St. Petersburg for more sightseeing. Most likely though, we will bid Russia farewell and head to our next destination. 

Traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway has been a goal of mine for quite some time. Matt got on board (haha...wow) with the idea right off the bat, and we've been planning for this part of the trip for awhile. For a lot of people, Russia might not be a place you'd put at the top of your list, but we couldn't say no. We're so close, and traveling one of the longest railways in the world was something we just couldn't pass up. People we have spoken to that have been to Russia have all said that they were pleasantly surprised with how much they enjoyed it. We hope to do the same!

Pull out a map and try to figure out where we're off to next...

Say Yes to the Dress!

So, it's done. Measurements were sent in yesterday, as well as the deposit. With the help of my awesome consultant Quyen, the dress I decided on is perfect! Basically I was able to take two ideas from other dresses I've seen, merge the skirt and the bodice together, choose a back that I like, and choose the fabrics.

Because it's the high season for weddings in Vietnam (winter is the dry, nice season), Quyen suggested I send in my measurements now so they'd have plenty of time to tailor the dress. She promised she would send me a picture when it's finished. I desperately wish I could post it, but someone I know probably wouldn't be able to stay away from this website :)

In just 57 days I will be off to Ho Chi Minh to try on the dress!

Big sigh of relief that it's coming up fast. I am at the point where I am dealing with disinterest from my students (due to end of the year apathy), homesickness, cold weather setting in and as a result I'm having issues with motivation on all fronts. I just can't possible imagine doing this job without the significant amount of vacation I get. As much as I love Korea and love my job, every 6 months a relatively long vacation is not only warranted by NECESSARY. I know for a fact that without summer and winter breaks I would be one unhappy camper here. While I spend my days pleasantly enough, there is only so much routine (or lack of routine which happens in schools more often), that I can take. While some of you might think I am spoiled (which yes, I totally am), it's hard to compare living in a foreign country to living and working at home. I remind myself constantly of how fortunate I am to have this opportunity.

Bottom line is, it's the end of the school year, everyone is tired, and I'm ready to see my mom, rejuvenate, and start the next (and last) school year refreshed and mentally prepared.

Ginko.

Maine has Korea beat for fall foliage. Despite it being a mostly coniferous state, Maine's broad-leafed  trees tend to all change at relatively the same time, while the leaves here in Korea are so sporatic. Despite this, there are two trees that are so gorgeous here that we cannot enjoy at home. These are the Asian Maple (aka the Japanese maple to those of you back home), and the Ginko. The Asian maple, like most maples, turns a gorgeous deep red. These trees are everywhere. Ginkos are my favorite, though. They are planted all over Daejeon and when fully changed, their bright yellow colored leaves appear like snow falling when the wind blows. They are especially beautiful at night time in the lamplight on the sidewalks. The shape of the ginko leaf is unique in and of itself. It's one tree I wish we had back in Maine.

The 10 Week Push

Okay, so it's more like 9.5 weeks. Sue me if I am a few days late with starting this! Before our vacation to Malaysia, Matt invented his own "5 Week Push" to get him in shape. It worked out pretty well for him, and so he has decided to do a 10 week push for our trip to South East Asia trip. He has always been one to motivate me, so I am starting my own! If you want to check out his progress, along with fun stuff he finds on the internet and his own musings on Taoism, then follow him on his tumblr:

http://mattmeetstheinternet.tumblr.com/

 While he is focusing on gaining some muscle and toning up, my goals will center around weight loss (duh). Sad news is that in the past month I haven't lost any weight. I'm not surprised since my exercise has been sporadic. Good news is I haven't gained any either, so I'm starting right where I left off.

Here are my goals for the next 10 weeks:
1. Start the Turbo Fire back up again. From week 1. Do the full 9.5 weeks of the program. 
2. Track my food, for real.
3.Cut back on all liquids except water. For me, that mostly means coffee and a little bit of soda.
4. Get more sleep. Sheesh! Start back on a good routine.
5. Watch what I eat.




Doesn't sound too hard. I was doing great before. All I really need to do is get back into exercising 6 days a week. I know how I am, and exercise impacts my weight loss the most. While a lot of people say diet is much more important, I see more results with exercise. Of course, I don't eat crap for every meal. I am assuming if you were to only exercise and not care at all about what you consume that you won't get results, but that's not me.



So here's to the next 9.5 weeks before the trip! It's time to find the motivation I seemed to lack for the past few weeks. I keep having to remind myself that this isn't just a fun vacation. I'm going to Vietnam to try on my dress for crying out loud! It will be the only time I get to try it on before going home in 10 months!

Let's do this!

Sneak Peek: 2013 Travel Plans

One thing is for certain: that whole blog post I wrote a month or so ago about going to Japan for 5 days? Totally out the window, and you'll understand why.

A few weeks ago, Matt and I shook on a trip plan. Why did we shake hands on it? Because ever since we set foot in this country we have both been guilty as charged of spending countless hours conjuring up travel plans only to scratch them the following day/week/month. We were getting sick and tired of always changing our minds. Of course this decision, especially on where to go when we're done, shouldn't be taken lightly. When we are finished in Korea, our things will be sent home on the slow boat from China (almost literally), and truthfully, we both know that it will be our last chance to travel for a while. Once we touch down in Maine it will be also systems go towards solid jobs and a down payment on a house. After that, it's kids. Now, this all sounds so typical, right? The adventurous couple gets it "out of their system" young and then comes home to dig in to "real life".We don't like to think in those terms. We are very committed to staying adventurous in the future, but we are both realistic about these goals. In the next 5-10 years we want to focus on jobs, children and, if all goes to plan, starting a small farm. Whether or not this farm becomes anything more than just a backyard, sustainable project we're not sure. Regardless, we won't be able to take a lot of time or use a lot of money to travel internationally. Because it is important to us to farm and concentrate on family, we are perfectly okay with this.

So, when deciding on where to go, we had to come up with a set amount of time to do it. We knew we didn't want to be away for too long, but we also wanted to take advantage of the time given to us, and our proximity to other places. We finally agreed that 4 months of travel will be the perfect amount. We finish our contracts the last week of February, 2013. Our goal is to be home by the 4th of July. One reason for coming home in July is that it will coincide with openings for teaching jobs. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I would most likely be twiddling my thumbs until the end of June anyways, since most teaching positions for the following year aren't posted until then. For Matt it doesn't matter when we come home. He can apply for business jobs any time.

So, where to go for 4 months? What did we decide on? Because this is only a sneak peek post, I'm not going to reveal our actual plans. All I will say is that our theme for the trip is "the long way home". Maybe that will give you some idea as to how to plan on traveling. You never know! Our final choices for destinations are varied and AWESOME. We are so excited to make it all work!

When we realized that the cost of 5 days in Japan is equal to 2 months of our big trip, we quickly diminished thoughts of making it there before we leave! We can't believe how expensive it is!

More to come at a future time. For now, it's back to wedding planning and finishing the save-the-dates!! We are psyched with how they are turning out, and only have a few more to put together before we can mail them home! Pictures of the process will be posted within the next week or two :)

Fireworks.

Here is a short video that gives just a glimpse of what the hour-long fireworks show was like in Busan.

While I am having a fantastic Tuesday listening to Mumford and Sons on Pandora and getting ready for my next speaking test, three girls are getting screamed at by two teachers. Tears are flowing and although I can't understand, harsh words are universal. Being around students always reminds me of what it was like to be young and impressionable, and how serious everything seemed to be.

The science teacher just came over to me, patted me on the shoulder and asked if I was okay. Confused, I said "of course". I now realize she was making sure I wasn't thrown by all of the madness going on around me. I suppose a white girl sitting in a room full of screaming Koreans with her headphones on raised some questions. It's nice to know someone is looking out for me!

Well, I'm off to class.

Budget Woes.

With less than 10 months to go, things seem more real. With that reality check comes a harder look at our wedding budget.

While we're not planning on having a potluck, barefeet, backyard affair (although that would be awesome!), we are having this wedding on a rather strict budget. Considering that most weddings in America these days are enormously expensive (the average wedding cost is around $26,000!), we are pulling this off WAY below average. Even though we knew from the start that our wedding would be budget friendly, the best part is that when we hashed out what we wanted our wedding to be like, where we wanted it to be and what we wanted to do, we realized that it didn't need to cost us much anyways. It's not like we had our hearts set on a nice, all inclusive wedding venue and had to settle for less. Our original plan was for the state park, and that's where we're having it, and the best part is, it's free! (well, we have to pay the small entrance fee for guests, but it's minimal in comparison).

Everything so far seems good. Prices are fair, we have some awesome friends and family helping us out and we've found some great vendors that we're happy about. Whether or not we'll be able to pull off a lot of the small stuff depends on how much we can actually save outside of our 2nd year bonus. The bonus is what is essentially paying for the big stuff (tent rental, food, etc). But as you all know, there is much more to a wedding then chairs and a buffet.

Unlike most weddings, there is one aspect of our budget that is going to end up causing a lot of unnecessary anguish: the plane tickets home. Yes, for the bride and the groom, we're having a destination wedding. There's no wedding if we can't afford to fly home! I've been keeping an eye on the tickets since they became available 2 months ago. Things are not looking good. What frustrates me the most is this:

1. price for one, round-trip ticket from Korea-Maine-Korea:

The cheapest ticket to date has been $2000.00.

2. Now, observe the one, round-trip ticket from Maine-Korea-Maine:

 $1762.00! Now, that might not seem like a lot of difference, but this isn't the lowest price I've found. It has gone up and done from 1400-1800 for the past two months. If we just planned on going home for vacation and nothing else, then we could swallow an extra 600.00. But, we simply can't send aside more than 4000.00 just to get us home! It makes me so angry that tickets going in the other direction are ALWAYS cheaper than ones coming here. I know I need to just get over it, but it's unnerving nonetheless.

The tickets from Maine to Korea have been fluctuating a lot, while the ones from Korea have never gone below a certain amount. I know it's a LONG ways away, but I am a ticket-searching addict. We plan on buying our tickets early on since we need the rest of the money for the wedding, so we're looking at buy them around March. Here's to hoping #1 prices drop, or else we're not giving out favors, let alone flowers! hehe.

In my Free Time.

 As with most people who are addicted to the internet, I spend a “few minutes” every day checking in on various social sights, blogs and the like. Since getting engaged, the list of sights has grown tremendously.  The online wedding planning world is one of the most extensive internet research categories I’ve ever come across. I thought that the world travel sphere was huge, but weddings have taken the cake, literally. You can spend entire days reading blogs and checking out examples of every single wedding detail you can possibly imagine, including cakes:  cake toppers, cake cutting utensils, who cuts the cake, the pros and cons of cake face smashing, what flavors, what bakeries to use, which frosting is the best for whatever weather, what style will match your wedding attire, etc. It’s absolutely ridiculous.

Trying to keep it all in perspective is key when searching through the plethora of amazing online wedding sights. I have narrowed my search down to a few blogs that I have found the most useful and entertaining.

The first and foremost one is called Wedding Bee. For any bride (or groom for that matter) who has gotten married in the last few years, this site should be well known. The blog is updated dozens of  times a day by “bees”: recently engaged women, as well as recently married women who share their wedding planning journey with the rest of the universe. Their ideas and inspiration have led me to consider a lot of things about my wedding that I never would have thought of. The idea of our invitations comes from a crafty “bee” who blogged step by step picture instructions. Amazing. Along with blogposts about everything from what to get your bridesmaids, to the wording of your save-the-date to spa treatments, the site also has message boards where everyone can contribute and get answers.

If there are any girls out there with a ring on their finger, or hope to have a ring on their finger, or who just LOVE weddings, check out this sight. You won’t be disappointed. 

www.weddingbee.com

Progress.

Tonight we should be receiving the final draft of our save the dates from our friends, Claire and Kait. Tomorrow we have plans to go to old downtown here in Daejeon to print a test card. If everything looks good, this weekend will be go-time. We’re thrilled, envisioning cozy nights on the couch with some good music and perhaps a beer or two while cutting, stamping, writing and sealing. Of course, it might end up being more annoying than not, but we’ll stay optimistic until we start :). The goal is to mail them out from here no later than the following weekend. They should arrive in one big bundle to my mom’s house, and they she will mail them out locally from Maine. If all goes according to plan, people should receive them before Thanksgiving. That was what we hoped for, to avoid the holiday rush of mail. Fingers crossed we can get it all organized!

Less than 300 days to go!

Here is a quick list of the progress we’ve made in planning so far:

Dress: sending in measurements this weekend to Vietnam!

Officiate: my childhood priest has agreed to marry us :)

Ceremony location: church has been booked (months ago!)

Reception location: also booked (months ago)

Tent/tables/chairs: sending in deposit next month

Music: in contact with DJ, awaiting quote

Flowers: in contact with local farm, awaiting quote

Photographer: Thank goodness for awesome cousins!

Food: vendor confirmed and booked.

Cake: thank goodness for friends/bridesmaids!

Paper products: Save the dates almost done, invitations to come

Ceremony details: awaiting pamphlet from church in the mail

Ceremony musicians/readers: still need to coordinate

Honeymoon: home is our honeymoon! The real trip begins 3/1/2013 when we’re done in Korea. More on those exciting plans to come!

That’s all I can think of for now.

The sun is shining today, albeit cold. My fingers are numb from giving speaking tests in the freezing hallways. Because construction in Korea constitutes building from concrete and slabbing wallpaper directly over it, to say that there are mold problems here is an understatement. To try to keep mold growth at a minimum (and to "better your health"), schools keep most of the hallway windows wide open, even on the coldest of days. That's all well and good, except for me, the lonesome English waygook teacher who is stuck sitting in the hallways for the next two weeks of classes. sigh. Such is life here: you have to roll with the punches. Tomorrow I'm donning a hat and gloves :)