A Week in Paradise

This week we went to Boracay in the Philippines.  We left Saturday morning and came back on the following Sunday. The weather was perfect the entire time. We had only one thunderstorm on Thursday night, which we played in while everyone else went under cover.  We stayed on White Beach, which is kind of the touristy area. We spent the week soaking up the sun and playing in the beautiful blue water. We walked around the island, ate delicious food, and got massages by the beach. 

Every day, these spectacular sand castles would line the beach.

As you can see, we had it pretty rough.

Sailboat at sunset.

One evening, while we were sitting on the beach, these kids started playing in the sand next to us. When they noticed me taking pictures of them, they started posing! Apparently the Philippines also has an abundance of cute children.

More sunsets!

From the roof of our hotel.

Sand castle goodness!

Philippine lumber truck.

Beach at night!

Across the island, on Bulabog beach,  there were tons of kite surfers. Apparently this beach is one of the best places in asia to kite board.

Some of them got really great air!

Did I mention the beautiful sunsets?

Everywhere you turned, there was someone selling fresh fruit. We could not get enough of the fresh mangos and mango shakes all over the island.

We spotted these guys while walking through a market.

Another little poser!

Our hotel, Villa Romero. The lady who runs it was lovely to us, and very accomodating. Not a 5 star resort, but definitely a homey place to stay.

Jump!

In the back of a trike.

We spent an afternoon at Puka Beach, where the beach was  much less crowded and the waves were fantastic.

Make-shift lounge chair.

Splash!

Chicken on the side of the road.

On our way back to White Beach.

Fruit!

These guys played around the island almost every night. They had a great rhythm.

We had a lovely week. And with the exception of the tsunami warning, everything went perfectly.

Next... Vietnam!

Annyeong hi gyeseyo Korea!

Well, it is the end of the year. We leave tomorrow morning for the Philippines, where we plan to bask in the sun for a week.  Once we are good and sunburned we will head back to Seoul for a long layover, and then fly to Vietnam for 10 days before heading back to Oregon!

We have had a wonderful year here in Korea. Throughout the year we have seen as much as we could, but we still find ourselves wanting to see more. Leaving is definitely giving us a bittersweet feeling. When we left, neither of us had been away from home for longer than a month. This year has flown by, and we can hardly believe that we have been away for that long. It is a great feeling knowing that we can make anywhere feel like home. 

We are excited to see family  and friends back in the NW, but there are many things in Korea we will miss....Korean food, no tipping (or rent or car insurance), efficient public transportation, and National Health Insurance, to name a few. We were lucky enough to make some incredible friends here.   And you know we will miss those adorable children.  I think from now on we will always feel like we have people and things we care about all around the world.

Here are a few photos from around our school, and from our last few weeks in Korea.

Near Grace School.

We went to this coffee shop at least twice a week during our lunch break. I do love being a regular!

We will definitely miss cheap Korean food. Bipimbap and Mandu (dumplings) are two of our favorite snacks.

Kimbap. Korea's version of sushi. Rice, egg, radish, carrots, and some greens wrapped in Kim (seaweed). This is Chamchi(tuna) kimbap. Delicious!

Migeum Station, a few blocks away from Grace School.

Roti buns! Perhaps the most delicious pastry ever.

This is where we lived all year! Sejong Grancia II Officetel. Close to food, close to the subway.  It was a great place to live.  

It will be weird going home where not every building will look like this!

Samsung Tower, Seoul. We went into town for one last afternoon before leaving.

Insadong.

Tea/Herb shop

Science Time!

As the science teacher at Grace School, sometimes I get to choose fun projects. This week was Quicksand! We mixed cornstarch and water half and half, and it creates a substance that is a liquid and a solid. If you try to pull your fingers out quickly, they get stuck.  If you hit it quickly, it becomes hard.

 

I think it was probably the most successful science project yet. Every kid loves playing in a bowl full of goo.

 

Even Sam had fun. I took the opportunity to grab a snapshot of the momentous occasion.

I will miss teaching science to these guys!