And life goes on...

So we've accepted that we won't be getting that day off and are adopting the whole "and so it goes" attitude. Moving on.

We've been pretty lucky to have some visitors over the last week. Dawna's friend, Jess, whom she traveled to India with and who was in Korea on vacation (from teaching English in Tokyo), paid us a visit. Not that we did anything out of the ordinary... we more or less showed her our little town, our favorite Makgullee bar, Busan and other things. I must say that it was nice to have somebody around who was so interested in how things work here... made me appreciate the things I've grown so accustomed to.

Also, Dawna's mom is here visiting for about three weeks. She found a bargain deal to come here and it's nice having her around as well. We've showed her the PNU area of Busan which is a great shopping area, took her out to a Turkish restaurant, and showed her bits of a little shopping area in Masan called Chang Dong. We plan on going to Seoul in a couple weeks and enjoying the sights there. Like I said, it's nice having guests who are intrigued and excited to see the things around us.

On a sadder note, Alex, a good friend of mine (and now Dawna's) from University came up to work at our Hagwon for the last 5 and a bit months. She's leaving next Tuesday which gives her a week left. It's crazy to think that she's been here for that long already. I remember the staff meeting we had right before she came where co-workers where inquiring with me as to what Alex was like. I've gotta say that the second half of our year in Korea has been going by faster than the first half. We're a few weeks away from being able to say that we've lived in Korea for nine months (or 75% of our contract... but who's counting?) In any case, we'll miss Alex and after she leaves, our small list of friends will shrink even more.

Work is still work. It's still a grind... working to enjoy the weekends. I'm on break right now and was taking a look at the lesson I have to teach in my next class... and I get frustrated as I've taught this lesson like three other times to other classes. It's tough to stay motivated with class material when you've already taught it inside and out. I wish I had a little more freedom to go outside of these books... or just ditch the work in the books and use the main ideas instead.

So how long have we been here? Well, I've gone from shaving my head to having long hair again. We've seen three foreign teachers wrap up their contracts, two Korean teachers finish theirs... we've experienced every one of the four seasons. Nine months... can't believe it! That's like doing nine consecutive Global trips... and I thought those were long.

Speaking of Global, this is the time of the year when all our close friends are heading out on their respective trips. It's so strange to see how a lot of people we know are so involved in Global these days. I remember two years ago, when I first joined Global... it was tiny... nobody I knew was interested or aware of the organization and now it's just exploded. I'm very envious of all my friends and their month-long journeys... and Bryson... Drew... Sasha... Matt... everyone else... I'll be thinking and praying for you a lot over the next few weeks... and I know you'll all do great jobs. To the Global staff... Dave, Sharon, Tim, Beth, Theresa (is she still working there) and any of the other volunteers... you guys rock.

Lastly, I want to mention YWAM Modesto. We were fortunate enough to travel to Modesto, California, last year in February for ten days. While there, we helped the staff of YWAM with their work which is pretty basic in nature: to help the local homeless community and build relationships through different means. I just wanted to mention how much Dawna and I miss the staff and mission there... and how we're itching... VERY BADLY... to return. We don't know when, we don't know how... but we know we'll be back helping out and strengthening relationships sometime in the future. God bless you guys.

So that's where I stand now. Thanks to anyone who still finds the time and interest to keep up with our journey here. Dawna and I really appreciate it... and we want our friends and family across the globe to know that we really miss them.

- Gilad