Thailand & Bali

Wow, the last few weeks have been amazing! I'm sad to say that I think I had too high expectations for Thailand. It's been my #1 country to travel to for about 5 years now. And I finally made it, only to find it extremely touristy. I mean, yes, there are gorgeous beaches, amazing food, etc, it just seemed a little too 'traveled.' Let's see, after we left Cambodia, we headed to Bangkok, stayed on Tao San Rd (crazy street), went to see the emerald buddha at the Royal Palace, then headed to Ko Phangna where it virtually rained everyday we were there. Next stop, Krabi, where we went Elephant Trekking & Kayaking (georgeous!). Next was Ko Phi Phi where we took an amazing boat ride to Maya Bay (where they filmed The Beach) & went snorkeling. Then our last stop in Thailand was Phuket where we stayed 5 days. I went diving there & did a lot of beach stuff.
Now we are in the glorious Bali. I can't believe how incredibly cool it is here! Like, I want to move here! They ALMOST didn't let me IN the country because I ran out of passport pages...but I paid him $40US & he let me in. Yikes. We are staying at a place called Nick's Homestay, it's like half temple half home. REALLY REALLY sweet! The architecture here is amazing, tons of cool, trendy shops. Not sure how long Meg & I are staying here, maybe a week. You know what I keep telling her, we are SOOO close to Australia! Why not keep going??!!
More later:)






















Bali Picts

Cambodia, check....Thailand Bound

So we've been in Cambodia a week now & we are Thailand bound today. We're about to get on a 10 hour bus ride to Bangkok. I'm gonna miss Cambodia! The food, the tragic history, the friendly smiling people, how cheap everything is, the rawness of the country, & more. I didn't really know what to expect when coming here but I assure you that whatever expectations I had, Cambodia far exceeded them. Eventhough Cambodia is a very poor country, they have come such a LONG way in just a short time. Only 3 decades ago, Cambodia was going through a genocide. We will never be able to comprehend the pain & suffering these people have gone through.
Ankgor Wat blew my mind. We went to see the sun set there & then headed out super early the next morning to catch the sunrise. Breathtaking! We spent the whole day there, going by tuk-tuk to each site. Incredible! I can definitely see why it's one of the Seven Wonders of the World!
Well, the bus will be here any minute. Bangkok...here we come! Goodbye Cambodia, you will be missed, but never forgotten.

Cambodia...tragically beautiful

So....day 2 of traveling in southeast asia. Feels like a lot longer already. So I am pretty blown away by Cambodia. Makes me realize how very little I knew about Cambodia before coming here. There architecture, language written & spoken, the food, etc....all surprised me. !!!
And I love it all. Christina, Megan & I are currently in a beach town called Sihanokville (spelling?). We had a full meal for the 3 of us for $5.50. Megan's beers are $0.25! Crazy cheap! Unreal! Yesterday we were in Phnom Pehn & it was pretty incredible. We went to the Killing Fields which blew my mind away, tragically sad. And the fact that it all happened not long ago is mind boggeling! I realized how much I DIDN'T learn about the Cambodian Genocide in school. It's really sad that much of the world doesn't even know who Pol Pot is & that the genocide even took place. I left yesterday feeling a bit nauseous. It was very disturbing. Everyone should go there sometime in their lifetime.
So we're gonna relax here tomorrow & then head out to Siem Reap to Angkor, super stoked about that. Then....off to Thailand! SWEET! Oh, & I may be meeting up with Travis Knight, a friend from college! So, all is good. Loving it here so far! More later! LOVE YA

Korea...Over & Out...For Awhile Anyway

So this Fall has been amazing! It's been so much fun having my bro around. I was getting a bit worried for him because it took him awhile to find a job...but, end the end he found one, & a pretty sweet one at that. So that's a relief. This fall has been gorgeous in Korea! We've done a bit of hiking, went to the Busan International Film Festival, trying lots of new food & lots of hanging out with friends. And even though my bro & I have been crammed in my tiny apartment, we've managed to get in zero fights!! I know...impressive!
So my time in Korea is coming to an end. I have 2 more days of teaching! Crazy! I'm soooo glad I'm coming back to Korea for a bit after I travel, so it's not officially goodbye. I'd be so sad if I truly had to say goodbye to my friends on Friday for good. But, no worries, when I get sick of travel (doubtful to happen) then I'll come back & stay with my bro a bit & then head back to the states for some weddings!! (Kacy Bear & Stacy Bear). All of the narr's are getting married (except for me of course). So I'm not too sad, but I am very sad to say goodbye to all of my kids! I did a ton of complaining about teaching while I've been here, but now that it's almost over, I'm realizing how much they mean to me. I will miss some of them so much (a couple of kids, not so much;).
So the plan for the next couple of months: I'll be traveling with Megan & Christina to Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore & Indonesia. Then my bro is gonna come join me in Indonesia for Christmas. And if I want to (& have the money), I hope to head back up to Vietnam, Laos & Phillippines to finish off the trip. Sounds amazing & exhausting. And we'll see...I may be getting in over my head a bit. But I am quite the budget traveler, so it's possible. I'd appreciate your prayers while I'm traveling. I hope to do some volunteering along the way. I just found out that Rachel Chester is going to Vietnam to visit an orphanage, so that's a possibility. If you know anyone or have any contacts....hook me up!

2 BJ's in Seoul....Watch Out!

So my bro FINALLY arrived to Seoul yesterday! It only took him about 11 months to get here! Better late than never I suppose. I'm SOOOOOO excited for him to be here! I've been wanting him to travel & see the world for years now! And he's finally doing it! My teaching contract is finished mid-Nov, I'm gonna go travel southeast asia, he's gonna come & join me during xmas break. Then I'm going to go back to Korea & hang out with him for awhile before returning to the states. And then what??....well, that's a little up in the air.
My whole plan for coming to Korea was to save money for grad school. I've already been accepted to Fuller Seminary, of which I will be studying Cross-Cultural Studies with a concentration in Islamic Studies. I've been deferring it so I have to start classes by summer 2010, or I will have to reapply. Maybe I'm just getting nervous about starting grad school, taking out more loans, etc. So Megan and I have been throwing ideas around. What about putting grad school off 1 more year & going to primarily learn Spanish & teach English as a means in either South American or Spain??? Something that is REALLY important to me is to be fluent in Spanish. I think it's absolutely ridiculous that I only know 1 language. So, I dunno. I've been praying about it & asking for clarity. So that's my prayer request. If you could pray for direction, clarity & guidance, that would be fabulous! I will go wherever God wants me to. I don't want to do what "I" want to do. Thanks & love ya!

First Asian Race

So I ran my first 1/2 marathon this past weekend. I wasn't too nervous about it. I ran 10 miles the week before so I figured I could do the last 3 miles on adrenaline. Lots of people were "suppose" to run it, but only about 7 of us ended up going through with it. So it started in Sincheon (where I live) on the Han River & we ran all the way to Mapo & turned back to finish where we started.
I woke up at 6am to ran. But turned out not to be so bad, it was a cool day, perfect for running. There were about 9 foreigners total, the rest Korean. Donna, who ran with us, said that asians are really fast! So I was a bit intimidated at first. Joel & Julie showed up, what a sight! Julie was in a bumble bee suit & Joel was in, well, some type of bunny outfit. Hilarious! People LOVED him! They were practically lining up to take pictures with him!
So the race started. I ran my normal pace the first half. Then, this older Korean guy came up running beside me. I recognized him because I had passed him earlier. He started talking to me in Korean. It was crazy. He wouldn't let me slow down. He kept talking to me in Korean, I think he was telling me to keep going, great job, how much time we had left, etc. If I started to slow down a bit he would look over at me, slow down a bit, then make me catch up to him & run fast. We were HAULING!!! We went over 5 miles at the pace I usually sprint at the end of my run! If he wouldn't have been there pushing me, there's no way I would have run that fast! It wasn't too comfortable.
So, we finished, I wasn't sure my exact time or how good/bad it was. Before I knew it, they slapped something around my neck & ushered me up on stage. Turns out I got 5th place for the women! Jeff & Joel finished & spotted me up on stage getting my awards & they were like what are you doing?? I got a trophy, plaque, & ceramic dishes! heheh...it was hilarious!
My favorite part of the race was the post-race food. It was...tofu! It was a fun run! I think we're gonna run another 1/2 in Busan in October!










(ya see the #5...yep, that's right;)