Baginia, bye-bye, Seosan! ㅜ.ㅜ

These days, time is both flying and dragging. It's hard to believe that it's only been about a month since I did the interview for the UAE job and, somehow, today is my last day at Seosan Elementary School.

The kids have been wonderful ~ giving me little gifts, or cards, or telling me how much they are going to cry when I leave (ㅜ.ㅜ <-- that's a Korean crying face). Surprisingly, things have run very smoothly with my school administration. It still takes a bit of, well, nagging on my part to get stuff done, but all in all, it's not as bad as I'd expected.

In preparation for our departure, we had an apartment sale last Sunday. We invited people to drop $10 in a box, then leave with whatever they could carry: books, clothes, household items... We donated the money to a girl named Nerine, a South African ESL teacher who was burned up pretty badly in an apartment fire. The outlook had been pretty grim, and she died after about 2 weeks in a coma. The good news for the family, however, is that private donations have helped cover most of the medical and transportation bills. You can read more about it here.

I sorta kinda pretty much have a departure date: January 5. We may end up living in a hotel until our apartment is ready (!!), and I've been in touch with another teacher who works in the same city (same school?) as I will be. It's making me nervous, but in a good way.

And... in the spirit of saving the best for last:

Tomorrow is our wedding day. We're going to celebrate with a few close friends before our big going away party. This is going to be followed, on Monday, by a 3-day trip to Seoul to, basically, run around to various embassies and get the forms all stamped so that it's a real-live official marriage. We are also collecting donations (in lieu of gifts or cards ~ we are downsizing for our move, right?) for KAPS, the Korean Animal Protection Society. If you are reading this, and not in Korea, and would like to , please donate to your local Humane Society or SPCA.

And really really saving the best for last:

Last night, Ty wrote "Will you marry me?" on our window in dry-erase marker, got down on one knee and really proposed (re-proposed?) with an engagement ring. It's a rather non-traditional choice ~ a hammered silver band with a hammered gold band around it, symbolizing the path of life with all its ups and downs ~ and I love it.

Photos to come...