Today was an interesting day. Kindergarten did not go too well, but it wasn't as stressful as it could have been. The children were so into their own little world that doing anything with them seemed impossible. They had ballet today, so that was a benefit.

 

I talked with my director about the boxes, and she had the post office come to get them. What she failed to realize is that they only come to get them if you ship by air ($250). It wasn't totally wasted though, as the man gave me and my boxes a ride to the post office where they were set to be shiped by ground (boat) for only $84. It is a ton slower, but I was looking for cheap!

 

In my afternoon class (only one today) my students through me a party. They made me stay in the teachers' lounge while they prepared the room with balloons and wrote good bye to me a million times on the white board. They also included little sad faces to make it look good. When I was finally allowed to go in, they jumped out at me and sprayed me with soapy foam stuff. It was your traditional surprise party, though it wasn't really a surprise to me as one of the students told me that I was to stay in the teachers' lounge because of a party. Another student told her to not tell me, so she quickly said "no party."

 

After the "soaping", they all produced little snacks from their bags: crackers, chips, and similar items. One student gave me a pen with a little note that told me how I was a good teacher. Two other students gave me little fake velvet roses (one red and one white) that were made with candy at the middle. We played games for the rest of the time.

 

At the end of class they all said good-bye again. One student took the picture of me off the door and kept it. That was something I didn't expect. It was a day of sad good-byes and feeling good that the students felt I was a positive influence in their lives.

 

I should be packing right now, but I don't think my clothes are dry yet, and, besides, I like to wait until the last minute to do things. I really do not want to leave, but it will be nice to visit friends and family again.

 

I am trying to wrap things up here with friends and getting packed and other such nonesense. Sunday night I went out with friends. We had an awesome time, but it was sad as well.

 

Tuesday night I went out after Korean class. A new Korean teacher attended, and he spent most of the evening afterward staring at me. I hadn't eaten so I had a shepard's pie and some french fries. This is a ton of carbohydrates, but I didn't care it tasted good.

 

Today I went to the post office. I have to send some boxes home, but it is difficult. It seems that one of the boxes I had was 1 kilogram over weight, so I brought two of the three boxes home to try and rearrange the contents in a way that will keep them both underweight. I had no idea it would take so long at the post office I ended up being 20 minutes late for work. This is not a good thing this close to the end, and I felt absolutely horrible. I am just glad I had someone with me who spoke Korean, or it would have taken even longer. I have to go back tomorrow, but I have a long lunch, so maybe it won't be so bad.

 

I am not sure how I am going to get the boxes to the post office, but I will figure something out. I also need to borrow a scale so I can make sure they are both below the weight limit. This is going to cost me a fortune. I sent the lightest one, and that cost around $30! That isn't too bad, but it may take 6 weeks to get there.

 

I haven't been to kumdo at all this week. I have been too busy. I have to go get my sword and uniform either tonight or tomorrow though. It feels strange having to leave something after a little less than a month.

 

Korea is wrapping up there won't be many more of these adventures coming up. Who knows though, maybe there will be something similar in the future.