Saying goodbye

This last week has been a little bit more calm. Now that we know when we're leaving we've been able to visit with some people and say goodbye. We've been doing some shopping as we were warned that it's very difficult for Canadians to find clothes there as we tend to be bigger people in weight and height. It's very difficult to plan a wardrobe for a whole year! Other than that it's been making sure we'll have medical insurance, tying up loose ends here and there and tying to fit in as much visiting as possible. Curtis' cousins Joe and Nikki came up from Texas this week and it was also a great chance to visit with them. Auntie Roseanne and Uncle Rodney made the trip out from Kelsey to wish us well. It wasn't too hard to say goodbye because we haven't seen some of these people in over a year, and the distance won't be felt as much. When it came time to say goodbye to Chris and Ferd though, it was so difficult. Maybe because we've been staying here and it's been so nice to be around them. We're just starting to get used to being close and now we're off. I'm sure it will be very similar when we wave Mom and Dad off at the airport. We're really excited about going, but saying goodbye is always bittersweet.

So here's a breakdown of our roller coaster ride. Looking through contract after contract that was... serviceable. Finding one that looked really great. Hearing from the recruiter right away, everything seeming promising. Not actually hearing from the employer - the position has been filled. Modifying our search criteria and starting from scratch. We even found this great job where Matt, Amber, Curtis and I would work together, and we were minutes behind the competition. We decided to settle for a position where everything on the surface looked good. We dug a little bit for more specific information and it turned out that the overtime was going to be much more than most schools. Back to the drawing board, again!

OK, so after all of that, we've signed a contract! We FedEx it tomorrow and we're already being set up with plane tickets. This is how quick it can go too. We saw the job posting Sunday night and applied. The recruiter called Monday night and we had an interview the same night. We asked to speak with a current teacher and about 1 hr later we talked to Julie (she's the one we're replacing). Monday night was figuring out the contract and making sure there were no loop holes. Tuesday morning was spent making sure we had all the appropriate paperwork and printing good copies of the contract and signing the next year of our life away.

We're really excited about our job acutally. The hours are great and they are actually in our contract! Also, this school doesn't make you do extra hours during the intensive sessions - basically they don't make you do 11-12 hr shifts 3 or 4 weeks in a row. Phew! We're only 40 minutes away from Matt and Amber in a suburb that is around 700,000 people strong. Not bad, hey? We fly out of Calgary Nov 29th... it's so soon!! It's no wonder why some people decide not to go... I mean, that's crazy timing... but we said we wanted to leave in November so we are honestly getting exactly what we wanted. Ok... so the next time you'll hear from me I'll be in YongIn City!!! WOOOO HOOOO!!!!

Waiting... good thing I didn't hold my breath!

So after much packing and organizing we are currently unemployed and homeless. We are still waiting for that perfect opportunity in Korea and we are still getting offers that aren't exactly what we want. I think this is what patience is... really... I thought it was enjoying standing in lines at the grocery store or not loosing your cool in traffic. Really, this... standing on the edge and not having any idea what's going on, this is patience. It's also exhilerating, stressful, evokes feelings of powerlessness... so if anyone asks how I'm doing lately, take your pick. We're not hopeless... not yet, and we might even take one of these "not quite right" jobs by the end of the week. We'll keep you posted.

Calm Before the Storm

Things are about to get ugly. I can feel it. Ok, so ugly is a bit dramatic, but this is the long pause before violent winds of change. I feel like I should hold my breath or shut my eyes but then it might go too fast and I won't be organized. Yes even I fear disorganization.

We don't have a contract yet, but the past couple of days we've had interesting phone coversations with recruiters who are pushing us for details and information. Some of them saying, "Wow, I don't know if we can find you a job if you don't take this one". While others are just as laid back as we are about the whole thing. We're not sweating - We've already turned down about 4 different positions and we are still about 1 month out. Sigh. Patience is the name of the game.

Wow... I'm actually Blogging

This all started with an e-mail. You know one of those ones that tells someone what you're up to that you wish you'd copied and pasted for everyone to read to let them know what's really going on. Well this is the e-mail. It was written to our friend Jane from Austrailia. We met her and her husband Brian in Austrailia on our honeymoon. Curtis has written her a few times but this is the first time since our honeymoon that I wrote.

Hi Jane!
Hehehehe... Thank goodness for Curtis and his immovable loyalty! It's so nice to hear from you and to keep one toe on the time we shared in Fiji, while the rest of us is in the daily life. Thanks for thinking of us and keeping in touch. It's great to hear about you and Brian and how things are in your life. I'm glad things are mostly well and I'm glad for you that you don't rely on the farm for your livelihood. It's getting difficult for many farmers I think. In Canada you need to own a huge farm even to make any profit. Sigh, what to do?

In this sleepy little town things are changing very quickly. They are building a Walmart on the other end of town and most people are really excited about it. I'd rather buy locally, but you can't convince people who are trying to budget the best they can. They are also starting the process of building a nuclear power plant here. It's really controversial and the reactions have been dramatic! There is a fun contest on to build the best scarecrow. Right now it's fall here and there are many different harvest festivals and things like that. The local environmental group made a scarecrow and named it mother earth and I guess someone didn't like it enough to burn it down!! Luckily it wasn't super close to any buildings and the straw burned down so quickly that there wasn't much other damage done. It was very strange to me to have such a violent reaction to something that ought to be accepted as a positive way of thinking by now. What is it like there? Are most people environmentally friendly?

Yes we are Korea bound!! One month to go and very very excited. I think Curtis is nervous sometimes because he doesn't have experience working with kids. I know he'll do fine, but they can throw you into the fire there if they need a warm body in a classroom. He's friendly, he'll be fine. It will feel quite different being on the other side of the world! I keep thinking about how it will be and sometimes I get faint images, but it's mostly blank. I have no idea!! It's a good think that kind of thing is more exciting to me than scary hehehe. I'm not sure exactly how close we'll be, it will definitely be much closer than right now, and the invitation is open to come and stay with us in our flat. It's going to be a squeeze, but it could be a great opportunity to visit Korea if you're up for an adventure. The thing I can't quite get over is being away for Christmas. I've never missed one with my parents. Here comes the sobs!!! I'll hold them for when I'm actually there and it's acutally Christmas Day.... waaaaaaaa!!! hehehe... I guess we've got to start our own traditions sometime.

Well that's about all that's new for now. We'll hear from you soon!