!Thailand!

So, we FINALLY have our teaching city established, Visas in order and now we have a country picked out for pre-travel-teaching-expedition: Thailand! Yes, I know we will be travelling/living abroad for a year, but we felt it necessary to find our way to warmer climates in order to gather oursevles before we actually committed to a 40 hour/week job. Mindy and I have lives that make committing to a 40 hour/wk job a scary predicament, so we felt like procrastinating from this responsibility as much as possible. After contemplating many scenarios -financial, practical, and otherwise - we have decided that three weeks in Thailand would best serve two broke, but aspiring ESL Elementary school teachers. With the going away party on March 29th and our Visas scheduled to be processed by April 3rd we have decided to fly out of Seattle for Bangkok on Saturday April 5th. Mindy was there for four months a couple years ago, so she, in her infinite wisdom, will be guiding me through the region. From Phad Thai to Thai strippers - er, I mean Thai History Museums - we will be experiencing the entire range of possibilities the country has to offer. Northern Thailand has more local culture with the possibilities of treks and remote adventures, whereas Southern Thailand is more susceptible to tourism, but also has snorkeling, scuba diving, rock climbing and, most importantly, cheap drinks, hammocks, and $5 massages.

So check back every now and then. We will give updates from Thailand and wherever else we happen to be in the world over the next year or so.

-Scott

Going Away Party!

We are planning a going away party because if we ever had a good reason to party leaving the country would be it. If you are in the area you should stop by for it. We are not planning anything huge, but we are going to have a band called Sugar, Sugar, Sugar, some kegs and a little BBQ fun. I don't know, maybe we will have some kimchee in honor of our new foreign home. Speaking of which, our teaching city has, once again, changed to a city an hour South East of Seoul called Gwangju. After both Mindy and I gave our placement "agent" an earful on multiple occasions we have succumbed to the realization that we are at the whim of the ESL gods in this thing - that god being named Chaos.

Plan on showing up and be ready to hot tub, mingle, BBQ, dance and drink lots of beer.

Party Details

What: Going away party for Scott and Mindy. BBQ, Band (Sugar, Sugar, Sugar), Keg, Hot Tub

When: Saturday, March, 29th
* BBQ starts at 7:00 and ends whenever we run out of dishes, fresh wild caught seafood from our buddy Kyle (sorry you can't come man) and/or meat.
* The Band - Sugar, Sugar, Sugar - will start around 10:30.

Where: Mike's house, which is in the process of renovation, on King St. off of Alabama (see link at the bottom of page). It is the second or third house on your right after you get on King St. Yellow with white pillars.

What to Bring: Yourselves, a small side dish if you make it in time for the BBQ, swim trunks.

-Scott

Holy Crap, We Have a Job!!

Amazingly, Mindy and I have been placed in a school in the Gyeonggi Province.  Our parents are proud - we have jobs!  We were assigned to Guri City, which is just a 10 minute drive from the eastern side of Seoul.  Mindy and I will be teaching in separate schools, which is good and hopefully keep us from killing each other.  I will be working in the Booyang Elementary School while she will be teaching in the Inchang Elementary School. I have a little experience with Elementary school kids through volunteering, but all-in-all this is going to be new ground for Mindy and I.  The preparation of learning materials, classroom organization, disciplining, and everything else that comes from working with kids of that age.  Apparently, Korean kids are pretty much identical in demeanor to American kids; they talk about their favorite bands, joke around, have fun, and giggle.  The only difference is they are slightly more responsive to authority, which is a good thing for us!

 

As usual we are hesitant to jump in, so we are looking for a place to travel before we start teaching.  Thailand looks pretty sweet, so we are planning to go there.  Unfortunately travel to and from South Korea is hindered by the need to obtain the proper documents and Visa requirements, so we are having to jump through some hoops before we can purchase a ticket.  Right now we are about two+ weeks from obtaining our Visa, which means we have to wait that long to purchase a ticket.  We have to send all our accumulated documents (notarized criminal background check, transcripts, diploma, etc) to Korea for processing, which is then sent back to us; then we have to run down to Seattle to the Korean consulate so that we can have them process it so we can obtain a Re-Entry Visa, which allows us to come and go as we please...*phew*!  Just the thought of all this damn paperwork ALMOST makes travelling in Thailand seem like a waste of time - then i start to think of cheap drinks and Phad Thai, sandy remote beaches with translucent blue waters, extensive archipelagos, 75-80 degree weather, $5 massages on the beach, and running around half naked in the jungle and I realize it is worth it!

 

The next few weeks in Washington will be spent cleaning and moving out of Mindy's VERY cluttered apartment, visiting friends and family around the state, and basically trying to stay sane in the face of such a drastic change in lifestyle.  It is going to be fun!  Let the chaos ensue.  To those of you who are wondering why we are travelling abroad instead of coming to visit you (you know who you are) before we take off, all I can say is please don't be offended. You are important and we love you, but we just can't do it all and we will be happy to pass along our adventures on our return. As always please stay in touch and stop by the blog site from time to time to see what we are up to.  We will post pictures and stories with a fair amount of frequency.