I will never eat rice again

Wow. I can't believe it's here. I have been dreaming of this moment pretty much since I got here, and now it's here. My last few hours in Korea. My last day was pretty good, with one minor glitch. I found out this morning that I had to go to the pension office to apply for my refund, so I had to go home at lunch to get my passport, then when I left to go to the pension office, I accidentally missed the surprise goodbye party my kinder class had for me! I thought I had already said goodbye to them, but they had a whole party planned. I honestly can't think about it too much because it breaks my heart to know that they were waiting for me and I didn't come. UGh. Really, I can't think about it. My Korean co-teacher started crying when she said goodbye to me, which made me cry. I had no idea she felt so strongly about me. What a sweetheart! So it has been quite a day, complete with tears and lots of cards and goodbyes.

I have been compiling these two lists in my head for the past couple weeks, and I thought it would be a nice way to sum up my time here.

Things I Will NOT Miss About Korea

• working 10 hour days
• the subway
• feeling large and strange looking
• shopping
• pollution
• my elementary students
• stupid curriculum and meaningless tests
• dirty humidity
• negative coworkers
• being called fat
• my laziness after work
• the mosquitoes
• rice

Things I Will Miss About Korea

• cheap public transportation
• not having a car
• the kindness of my Korean coworkers
• feeling rich for once in my life
• delicious coffee drinks for less than a dollar
• my adorable kindergarten students
• my big bed
• gimbap (Korean sushi)
• living alone
• dinner (bibimbap) for 3 bucks
• seeing mountains in the distance
• no lesson planning
• walking to work
• convenience stores on every block
• living an adventure

I'm off to get a few hours of sleep before starting my crazy journey home. Here's the plan: wake up at 4:30 am, my director is taking me to an airport shuttle at 5, get to the airport by 6:30, flight leaves at 8:40, stop in Japan for 7 hours, then to San Francisco, Denver, and finally Omaha at 9:50 on Saturday night. I'm going back in time! 27 hours travel time. Yikes. It just might be the longest day of my life, but well worth it to bring me back to the ones I love.

It has been a joy to have you along for this adventure. It really means so much to me that y'all have been keeping up with me. I've enjoyed telling the stories, I hope you've enjoyed reading. I hope I can see you all soon! Much Love!!