March Madness

March hasn't panned out to be the best month. After my birthday trip things went downhill, but not to worry because things are looking up. Anyways, I got pretty sick for a while, with what I'm assuming is the flu. I spent 2.5 days in my bed literally not leaving my house and sleeping more than any normal person could force themselves to. The "sick" part faded after a few days but I have had a cough that refuses to go away. It has driven me crazy for about 2 weeks now. Just after getting over being sick I went to play soccer with some friends on a Sunday afternoon and sprained my knee. My teacher took me to the doctor and through some translating basically told me to just stay off it for a few weeks, do some physical therapy, and take some mystery pills. Unfortunately, I signed up to run in a half marathon this coming Sunday the 5th, and between being down sick and then my knee, my training has gone to hell. The thing that really made me angry is that before I got sick I was doing really well with my training and getting into some really long runs; I was hoping I could make a good time (for me anyways!) I think I'm going to attempt the run nonetheless with a brace and a few extra drinks of water. I think I can will my way across the finish line, though I know I won't be setting any records, I still really want to do it. I'll do another one someday to redeem what I'm already predicting to be a poor finish. I will say though, that my knee is feeling much better and my cough is fading ever so slowly, so I am feeling better. Though too little too late for the race I'm afraid, I am glad that I'm getting my health back.
Here are some random pictures of some going-ons. The first few are from a night out in Seoul (though these might actually be from Feb. I can't remeber): dinner, a cool cafe with coloring and tons of pop-up books, and ending in a lounge with a crazy decor.


These next few photos are from a Saturday afternoon in Seoul doing some touristy things. We went to the Deoksugung, a palace. The weather was amazing that weekend showing the first signs of spring. It has gotten a bit colder these last few days, but I have hope that my jacket will go back into my suitcase soon.

Quarter Century and so on

Since my last trip, I've stuck pretty close to home. I had to teach another English camp at work for 2 weeks and then this past week was the start of the new school year (much different system then the one I'm use to). Up until this week, the pace of life slowed down a lot. I was only working a few hours a day and then had long weekends where I would hang out with friends day and night, played soccer once (so fun!), watch movies, and sleep in late! But, life has started again, so I have to get use to business. Also, my birthday was last weekend (March 1st) which was also the last weekend before school started. I got a small group of friends together and we went on a weekend getaway to Seoraksan National Park, about 2 hours east of Seoul. My teachers had mentioned that I should go there sometime because the mountains are beautiful and there is a beach. They were right and the trip was a much needed change of scenery and really great before starting back. We did a bit of hiking in the park as well as rode a cable car to one of the peaks. We went to the beach the following day, and though too cold to tan or swim, it was nice to see the ocean and sand. We also did a bit of celebrating me turning a quarter century; and I still can't figure out how I got so old? They got me a cheesecake, yummm! and we stayed in a motel where I shared this amazing circle bed with my friend Rebekah. (We were so excited about the circle bed; hence the photos of us jumping on it). I had a really great birthday and I've enjoyed all the cards, emails, and packages too. Thanks! For some reason on my birthdays it seems to hit me hard that I'm near near home and family, but I stayed pretty occupied and didn't get too home sick. And now... I'm 25! yikes!


This last picture isn't from my birthday weekend, but just from a random subway ride in Seoul. I had a few friends from another city called Ulsan come up to visit and so I helped show them around Seoul a bit. This picture is a candid shot of me and Mallory and an old Korean man making our way across town. A pretty typical scene, hehe!