Almost 10 Months

July 4th marks my 10th month in South Korea. I can hardly believe that I've been away from America, friends, and family for an entire ten months. It's insanity. I've done so much since my last update - I've done so much that I never wrote a blog about. 

Recap:

April 2: Geumchon Olympics. For the second year in a row, the foreigners of the Paju area gathered together and engaged in a series of contests in an effort to determine the best of the best. This year the competition included bowling, an eating challenge (fruit - (1st round) orange, banana, watermelon, (2nd round) kimbab, (3rd round) ice and ice cream, (4th round) 9 marshmallows, 4 slices of bread, large teaspoon of cinnamon (I did the 4th round!)), an hours worth of basketball games, full soccer game, a drinking challenge (a mix of tomato juice, gatorade, chili pepper paste, rice tea, chocolate milk, coke - disgusting!), an American biased pub quiz (rocked that!), pool, and darts. There were even prizes given out to the best in each category as well as the ones who gave the most effort, fair play, etc. I won Best Female Fair Play and Female Drinker. ^_^

May 22: We ran a race called the Paju Love Marathon. However, it wasn't a marathon, it was just a 10k. Before the race we had a group warm up session with the Koreans. Stretches and back massages and the like. It was rather odd. Then they lined us all up and we were off! The path was a great one - beautiful scenery including North Korea. Wait, what? Yea, we ran the race along the line that divides North and South Korea. That alone was pretty awesome. I wanted to run it in under an hour - that was my goal. I managed to run the race in 56:35.57 - 3 and a half minutes under my goal time. Definitely a PR! Jacob ran it in 56:38.98. 

June 4-June 6: Deojeok Island. We had a three day holiday on a small island off the coast of South Korea. The island is surrounded by the icy Yellow Sea. I was not impressed with the freezing ocean however the island was awesome. Over 100 foreigners in one pension with endless booze and loud music - it was like Spring Break in PCB except instead of burgers and oysters we ate kimchi and bulgogi. The beach wasn't bad - doesn't hold a candle to Florida beaches but it was still nice to see sand and smell the ocean. I hope we end up visiting Busan this summer - that's where the gorgeous beaches are supposed to be hidden. 

I'm nearing the end of my contract and looking for a job elsewhere. Apparently, my school is getting phone calls from random elementary schools looking to employ me. Two calls so far! Finding a job isn't the hard part, finding a job that'll make my last year in Korea a relaxing one...that's where the difficulties begin.