Lately I've been fussing over what to do after August, along with the recent natural disasters that occurred in my neck of the woods last month. My efforts in Korea don't feel very practical in reference to the rest of the worlds' needs. So maybe I ought to do something about that; I'm open to suggestions.
Things are fairly satisfactory in my world for the most part. I'm counting down the days until I'm home again. My gripes about living here keep on adding up but I won't get into the details. Not that important. However... my 2 cents can be counted here: I'm already experiencing 100 percent humidity and it's the beginning of summer. July is the worst month in the summer I hear. Can't wait for that to come. But I'm done working July 22nd. Awesome. And I will be back home at the end of August. Weee. Cent number 2: Since the new school year started in March, I've been having problems with one of my grade 5 classes, and to be honest, they completely ruin Tuesdays and Fridays for me. All it takes is 5 little jerks to make Laura upset. Upset is a mild word... I know my last name is Strand on those days. :)

On a lighter note, I took a trip to Japan in April to see my friend Shaun just for a weekend. It was fantastic even though it was for 3 days and I only saw Osaka and Tokyo. But... I got to see Osaka AND Tokyo in 3 days.

Some snazzy snapshots:

Cherry blossom season




Tokyo Tower heights and bird's eye views






Laura's eye views







The airplane really doesn't do it justice



And so it is. Japan stole my heart.



Moving on. Here's the newest addition to the Mokpo family of friends. My friends had a baby in March and his name is Jeremy.

He's quite the cutie.



Class in session. Not all students are bad students. These girls are lovely and 100% f.u.n.

Yae-jin and Eun-ji



Jin-ju


Yae-jin in teacher-sized slippers


Sports day... I don't recall ever having a day, twice a year, dedicated to playing sports and having fun outside when I was in elementary school. It was nearly 15 years ago since I was there, however, so my memory might be a bit shabby. Regardless, it was hilarious and lots of fun to watch.









Kindergarten... how I adore them



Speaking of kindergarten, these are some pictures they drew for me a while back.

I love yow

They don't really know how to spell yet, but bless their hearts for trying!

Sa-rang hae-yo Lo-ra san-saeng-nim pig

Which translates into: I love you Laura teacher pig (this one wins, hands down)
Later I asked why this child wrote the word pig on the paper along with other cute things, just out of curiosity. She said that pig was the only word he knew how to spell, and he wanted to impress me. ^.^ How cute.


More visual stimulation


Sunset in Seoul



And... the 80s are back and neon is the new black. Definitely the latest fashion in Korea, and I hope it doesn't spread like wild fire around the world. Maybe it already has. .



Finally, the cutest bulldozer of a Bulldog the world has ever seen. . .

Lola (she's even cuter than she looks)



... She's not my dog by the way. But I wish she was.

Okay, that's all. Ciao for now. Love you all.