Peter Pan Performance

Another performance! This is my 6 and 7 year olds performing Peter Pan. They did a FANTASTIC job and loved this play more than I could have ever imagined. For the past month, all I've heard in the hallways is lines from Peter Pan, songs from Peter Pan, excitement about performing Peter Pan and so on. A couple of the kids even bought their costumes for Halloween so that they coordinated with their character. (You will notice that Tinkerbell is pretty decked out in full costume -- wand and all!) My favorite part is in Scene 4 when Leo, who was playing Lost Boy 1, says, "He took her to his shit!" instead of, "He took her to his ship!" so keep a look out for that. :) I'm so proud of them! I think this play and the songs from this play are some of my favorite that I've written so far. How will I leave these kids and this program to someone else? I'm getting so attached...

A Small World

I've been battling one of those colds you get in Korea that hangs on and on and on until you forget you have a cold and start thinking that blowing your nose 29 times a day is normal. I woke up Saturday morning, fully planning to stay bundled up in my covers all day to recover, until I checked facebook and saw that Lisa Duitman, a friend of my mom's and someone I grew up with, wrote on my wall. Apparently, her daughter, Elayna, was on tour in Asia with the Cleveland Orchestra and perhaps I would be able to see it. So I did a little searching on google and lo and behold, Elayna and the Cleveland Orchestra were literally playing a concert 5 minutes from my house that evening. What were the odds! So I promptly biked over to the concert hall and bought myself a ticket. Hooray! An orchestra! And not just any orchestra--the Cleveland Orchestra is currently ranked #1 in America and #7 in the world. It was an absolutely amazing concert, and being the absolutely only white girl in the audience, it felt even more special. What a small world! A girl from my home town playing a concert just minutes away from me in Korea. I caught Elayna after the concert (MUCH to the disapproval of the Korean usher who very plainly told me that I was ABSOLUTELY not allowed to go back stage) and we went for breakfast the next morning at her hotel in downtown Seoul, and then I showed her and a couple of the members from the orchestra to one of Seoul's palaces. (That's where the picture of us was taken.) So random and so fantastic. God bless facebook.

And speaking of facebook, later in the weekend I saw the new movie that just came out about Mark Zuckerberg and the beginning of facebook called "The Social Network." It was one of the best, most engaging movies I've seen in awhile. Everyone who knows anything about facebook should see this movie! And if you don't care about facebook, go for the soundtrack! Trent Reznor does all of the music for the movie, and it is PHENOMENAL.

To end on a less upbeat note, today at 2:30pm North Korea shot artillery shells at a South Korean border island called Yeonpyeong Island. Two marines were killed, sixteen were wounded, and three civilians were wounded as well. South Korea then fired back, and they're saying this is one of the worst clashes between the North and South since the Korean War. As one person who commented on the BBC website put it, "North Korea is like a spoilt child. You can issue empty threats of retaliation all you want but it won't learn." This incident is a bit unnerving, especially after the Cheonan naval ship was sunk (presumably by the North Koreans) just last March! But don't fret, friends and family, Yeonpyeong Island is a couple of hours away from here. Also, it seems as though South Korea may have been conducting some military exercises near the border, so perhaps the attack from North Korea wasn't because they're completely crazy and there is fault from both sides? For some reason, that seems slightly more reassuring. If you haven't read about it already, click here for the article from the BBC.

Success!

Ali and I ran the Sports Seoul Half Marathon on Sunday! It was cold, it was early, and there was a shockingly fierce wind when we turned around for the second half of the race, but we survived! The han river was a nice place to run. I ran it in 2 hrs 7 minutes, similiar to my first half marathon, but not as good as my last one (which I did in 2 hrs.) I blame it on the wind! :) Ali did it in 1 hr 43 minutes, which is a KILLER time, especially since it's only his first one! That's under an 8 minute mile! I was proud. :)

We spent the rest of the day in recovery, and I'm afraid that my knees still haven't forgiven me. How people do a full marathon, I don't know. Every time I've done a half, just as I'm about to cross the finish line, I think..."Imagine if I had to do that all over again right now..." and I shutter at the thought of doing a full marathon. 13.1 miles is enough for me. :)







Nervous smiles before the race...














Ali showing off his form!




















World Cup Stadium in the background, where the race started.


















Kissing our medals!

Goodbye, Korean Fall

Fall has almost already come and gone. The leaves are barely hanging on to the trees. So before my final fall in Korea says goodbye, I'd like to give a little shout out to Korean Fall. Hollah!!!! I took these shots in the big square near my house on Sunday evening. I love Fall in Korea and I'm sad that I may not ever see it again. So, Korean Fall, I just want you to know how much you've meant to me and how much I've loved seeing you after the long, oppressive Korean Summers. Just between you and me, you are my favorite of all seasons in Korea. But don't tell the others. (I don't want Korean Winter finding out and lashing out at me like last year...)

























































































And a Happy BOOOOlated Halloween to everyone! I went as a Geisha Girl (very appropriate given my surroundings) an Ali and company went as zombies.

Third Time's a Charm

This Sunday, I'll be running my 3rd half marathon. This one feels different for a few reasons. First, I'm running it with someone, that someone being Ali. After 2 1/2 years of being together, I think we've finally nailed down the very fragile art of running together. There were some tears along the way, some furious stomping (that would be me), some full out yelling battles that consisted of sentences like "EITHER RUN WITH ME, OR DON'T RUN WITH ME!" (also me, but in my defense Ali was doing this thing where he runs at my same pace, but about 2 meters ahead of me...INFURIATING). So the system we worked out is that we run in the same time frame, I leave about 15 minutes before him, we usually go different directions around the lake, give each other a high five here and there if we pass each other, and wallah--the perfect running buddy system.

Secondly, this is my first half that I'll be running and not sweating my face off. Oh, the joy of running 13.1 miles in November! The forecast say 57 degrees and partly sunny. PERFECTO! And finally, the race I'm doing is called the Seoul Sports Marathon and it's HUGE! There's thousands of people participating, which is a big change from my previous two races that were all small and intimate. (This will also mean more foreigners--anyone remember the "Where's Waldo?" picture from my last half?) Thousands of people running along the Han River through Seoul is a bit intense!

Wish us luck!